"You are a drifting outsider, and your current situation in Lingxu City is precarious and fraught with peril. One wrong step and you'll lose your life. Why even talk about the future?"
He Lingchuan stretched lazily. "A man like me only knows how to live in the moment. When there is wine today, I get drunk today; let tomorrow bring tomorrow's worries. You took such a great risk to come see me—surely you didn't do it just to flap your lips?"
Risk and reward had to be proportional. If the other party had bargaining chips, now was the time to bring them out.
Sure enough, Xi Yunhe continued, "If you handle this matter properly for me, I can guarantee your safety in Lingxu City."
"Oh?" He Lingchuan looked at him intently. "How will you manage that?"
"I have my ways."
"I don't believe you." He Lingchuan used a spoon to stir the rice wine in his bowl.
He couldn't drink it, but stirring it was better than nothing.
"A wanted criminal like you can barely keep his own neck safe, yet you want to guarantee my well-being?" He Lingchuan laughed out loud. "Who do you think you are—a National Preceptor?"
The puppet controlled by Xi Yunhe stood woodenly, not even blinking an eyelid.
He Lingchuan watched him at his leisure.
Xi Yunhe asked, "What National Preceptor?"
"I don't know, it just slipped out." He Lingchuan smiled pleasantly. "Was I mistaken?"
Why could he guess? Because of Dong Rui!
Of course, he couldn't casually sell out an ally sharing the same trench. "Come off it. The fact that you sought me out today means you came prepared to lay your cards on the table. Why don't we both save some time?"
Xi Yunhe sighed. "You truly are a clever man."
"So which National Preceptor is the master behind you?" He guessed it was the National Preceptor of the Autumn Palace. "No need to worry; I have a barrier set up here."
Xi Yunhe answered without much hesitation, "National Preceptor Shuangye."
Heh, as expected. He Lingchuan gave a slight sneer. "Just as I guessed."
How could a mere wanted criminal like Xi Yunhe have the standing to strike a deal with him? This was when the power backing Xi Yunhe had to take the stage.
He had dodged and hidden without being caught by Bai Ziqi to this day; naturally, he couldn't have been operating alone.
"What bitter grudge does he have against National Preceptor Qingyang that he wants you to drive her into a corner like this?"
No matter how neatly Xi Yunhe conducted his affairs, the clues he arranged pointed unequivocally toward the Azure Palace.
In a place like Lingxu City, anyone capable of targeting the Azure Palace—or rather, standing against a behemoth like the Azure Palace—had to be the Heavenly Palace, a coalition of high officials, or... another National Preceptor.
Xi Yunhe said coldly, "Public enmity and private vengeance."
"Feeding Bai Ziqi a new clue through me—is that National Preceptor Shuangye's idea too?" He Lingchuan asked. "He has plenty of men at his disposal. Why must he have me do it on his behalf?"
"First, you were an original investigator of this case. A clue submitted by you carries the most credibility; both the celestial gods and Bai Ziqi will accept it readily without digging deeper." Otherwise, if any random nobody showed up to report clues, they would merely be beaten out of the Heavenly Palace with clubs. "Second, you and the Chiyan Crown Prince are riding high in Lingxu City right now. If you can give another push to the elixir of immortality case, truly no one will dare lay a hand on you for some time."
"Looking out for me that much? Why, thank you." He Lingchuan gave him a polite nod. "And what's the real reason?"
"We must stay out of it," Xi Yunhe said. "We cannot be tainted by the elixir of immortality case."
"Why?" He Lingchuan asked, puzzled. "The friction between the Autumn Palace and the Azure Palace—is there anyone in Lingxu City who doesn't know about it?"
"It is precisely because there is friction that we cannot make a move," Xi Yunhe shook his head. "Otherwise, even if the elixir of immortality case is solved, the Demon Emperor would still be displeased."
He Lingchuan gave an understanding sound. "You mean the Demon Emperor dislikes National Preceptor Shuangye even more?"
"Do not presumptuously speculate on His Majesty's thoughts."
He Lingchuan truly did not know much about National Preceptor Shuangye. Seeing that Xi Yunhe was about to speak, he preempted him, "Right, tell me about the grudge between you and National Preceptor Qingyang."
"What does that have to do with you?"
Even through a puppet, He Lingchuan could sense his irritation.
"If you want me to do something for you, you have to make the whole story clear," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Call it a small token of sincerity."
The puppet stood still for a good while before speaking:
"National Preceptor Qingyang is elegant, gentle, and flawless in virtue, treating people like a soft breeze and gentle rain. Among the Four Great National Preceptors, she enjoys the greatest popular support among the common folk. Drawn by her reputation, I entered the Azure Palace and worked tirelessly, eventually becoming her direct disciple. In those years, Master was my sky. Her every word and action shone upon me like divine light; nothing she did could be faulted.
"Yet there were rumors outside unfavorable to Master, and I even overheard fellow disciples in the Azure Palace whispering among themselves. In a fit of fury, I reported all of it to my revered master.
"Revered Master merely smiled serenely and said the mountain breeze sweeps over the ridge, but what is pure remains pure—why bother paying heed to such talk?" Xi Yunhe let out a dry sound in his throat. "Seeing how magnanimous she was, I naturally revered her even more.
"Not long after, I discovered that someone was stealing treasures from the Azure Palace. Upon investigation, I found that several senior martial brothers were abusing their positions to steal. On the surface, they registered the treasures as damaged or discarded, but secretly smuggled them out to fence. I thought this was outrageous, so I captured two of them and presented them along with the evidence to Revered Master.
"After looking at it, Revered Master said their crimes deserved death, but out of sentiment for their many years as master and disciples, she would merely recover the stolen goods, sever their wrist tendons, and expel them from the sect." Xi Yunhe said darkly, "I had no objection to her soft-hearted mercy, but when I captured those men, I uncovered new leads.
"Following the vine to the melon, I subsequently reported four more batches, totaling around thirty people."
"If you caught around thirty people, that was a whole syndicate. Right under your master's nose, how could so many people be stealing from within without raising your suspicions?" He Lingchuan crossed his legs. "You were in for big trouble."
Xi Yunhe tilted his puppet head slightly. "Revered Master praised me highly as well, and then assigned me to Qionglin Garden in the western suburbs of Lingxu to manage the Azure Palace's estates, saying I had plenty of devotion but urgently needed seasoning so I could take charge of matters on my own in the future."
Hearing this, He Lingchuan couldn't help laughing.
"She found you an eyesore and tossed you far away so out of sight, out of mind, and you wouldn't get in the way. That was already pretty good—you disrupted her business, and she didn't even take your life."
"Back then, my mind was blinded by foolishness; I wholeheartedly believed she wanted to promote me." Xi Yunhe's voice grew even colder. "In my fourth year at Qionglin Garden, when the local notables and wealthy figures had grown familiar with me, one of them approached me to buy the elixir of immortality. I was astounded, but by then I was no longer a greenhorn. I didn't report it to Revered Master right away; instead, I buried my head in thorough investigation."
He Lingchuan rubbed his temples. "Playing like that, you'd drive your master to death with anger." You were already banished to Qionglin Garden, and you still wouldn't quit!
Judging by Xi Yunhe's performance in Chiyan, the fellow had outstanding abilities and tied up loose ends cleanly—he must have been a capable, practical hand. He had simply been young and naive back then, too obstinate and too earnest.
"Yes. That was why, when my investigation led to Qingfu Temple, someone ambushed me from behind."
He Lingchuan uttered a sound of surprise. "Striking with premeditation against an unsuspecting target, yet the assassins sent by National Preceptor Qingyang couldn't kill you?"
"I fled to the lakeside, gravely wounded and on the verge of death, but someone rescued me. That person even faked the illusion of my death, fooling the assassins Qingyang had sent," Xi Yunhe said. "That person was National Preceptor Shuangye!
"He told me National Preceptor Qingyang had ordered it all, but no matter what he said, I refused to believe it." Even the puppet's voice brimmed with resentment. "Yet less than two days after my 'death,' the Azure Palace announced to the outside world that I had stolen a precious treasure and had been struck down while fleeing!
"Twelve years! I devoted my heart and soul to the Azure Palace for twelve years, only to receive such an end!" Xi Yunhe said grimly. "The day I saw Qingyang's true colors, I swore that if I could spend twelve years serving the Azure Palace, I could spend twenty years avenging myself against Qingyang!"
He Lingchuan gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother, you're certainly ruthless enough with yourself."
Xi Yunhe had gone undercover under Wu Kai ten years ago, patiently gathering clues and weaving charges over all these years, even personally taking part in hunting monsters for their pearls. He truly was a man of his word—a vicious, resolute character.
Ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to himself.
He Lingchuan grew inwardly wary. If a mere subordinate of National Preceptor Shuangye was a talent like this, what caliber was the National Preceptor himself?
In dealing with a power like this, He Lingchuan had to exercise the utmost caution.
"I've explained all this to you not to seek your sympathy, but to make you understand how treacherous and venomous Qingyang is. You and Fu Shanyue investigating the elixir of immortality case ruined her schemes. As long as she survives the immediate crisis, she will inevitably retaliate frantically afterward. Fu Shanyue at least has his status as Crown Prince of Chiyan to shield him. But you—" the puppet said coldly, "you are nothing more than rootless duckweed. If the waves in Lingxu City rise even slightly, you will be crushed to powder."
He Lingchuan opened his mouth to speak, but Xi Yunhe pressed on:
"In Lingxu City, Chiyan's power cannot protect you. Surely you've experienced that firsthand over the past few days, haven't you?" Over the last couple of days, the kid had been both bombed and poisoned; everyone in high society knew it. "Relying on your own strength alone, how do you expect to escape unscathed?"
Xi Yunhe's meaning was crystal clear: National Preceptor Shuangye had extended a powerful thigh for him to cling to, and he had better hug it quickly.
"You pursue the case relentlessly. Seeing you is like seeing my younger self." That was why he had warned He Xiao back at Baishaqu; sure enough, the brat hadn't listened. "I don't want you to repeat my mistakes."
He had done his best to appeal to both reason and emotion.
He Lingchuan appeared to think hard for a moment, his face solemn.
"It's not entirely out of the question, but as I said, cooperation requires sincerity."
"Name it." Xi Yunhe realized once again that he had misjudged. This fellow was far slicker than he had been in his youth; he wouldn't release the falcon until he saw the hare.
He Lingchuan said solemnly, "National Preceptor Shuangye possesses vast divine powers. Matters that seem as difficult as ascending to the heavens for us ought to be as easy as turning over a hand for the National Preceptor."
This was not flattery; it was fact.
Instead of anger, Xi Yunhe felt pleased. "What matter?"
If this kid were without desires or needs, that would be the most troublesome thing.
"Have you heard of Nian Zanli, the surrendered general from Xunzhou?" He Lingchuan was certain Xi Yunhe knew. Although the fellow couldn't show his face in public, he kept his ears to the ground across all quarters with the help of National Preceptor Shuangye's informants. "He wants to borrow troops to attack the Yuan Kingdom again, but he hasn't been able to secure any."
"There is indeed such a matter," Xi Yunhe recalled. "He first sought help from National Preceptor Qingyang, and it seemed he was close to succeeding. But just at that moment, the elixir of immortality case was exposed, so National Preceptor Qingyang had no time left to help him, and the Demon Emperor also rejected her proposal to dispatch troops."
"As it happens, a friend of mine needs a favor from him, so I have to find a way to help him borrow an elite force."
Xi Yunhe frowned. "A friend of yours?"
Chapter 585