Fang Canran said solemnly, "Only with a foundation of mutual non-harm can we talk in depth. Moreover—" He paused. "Maintaining an ancient marvel like this is no easy feat. Using it early takes a load off my mind as well."
*This fellow is still afraid I'll report him to the Heavenly Palace, which is why he wants this insurance for both of us!* He Lingchuan glared at him for a long moment. "If you had such a good thing, why were you trying to deal with me just now?"
Fang Canran chuckled, offering no explanation.
Even stepping back a few paces, even if the two of them were friends rather than foes, he still had to sound out the other's true strength.
That would determine how they interacted going forward.
Dragons mingle with dragons, phoenixes with phoenixes, and friends of rats know how to dig holes. People of a certain rank kept company with those of the same rank.
Even among one's own people, there were upper, middle, and lower tiers.
He Lingchuan had merely poked at him with that jab, and immediately agreed, "Fine then, let's seal it!"
Even after receiving his verbal guarantee and being untied first, this chief manager remained uneasy. How could a promise left entirely to self-restraint be as secure as an oath watched over by an inner demon?
Clearly, he knew all too well that human words were the least trustworthy of all.
Fang Canran seized one of the manacles and slapped it onto his own wrist with a crisp click.
He Lingchuan took the other and fastened it.
Both men then recited the oath. The iron links of the shackles began to glow red, and runes surfaced on the metal, fluttering up and down.
Once the recitation concluded, the chain slowly faded from view, and the shackles on their wrists transformed into ordinary-looking silver bangles.
"That does it." Fang Canran visibly relaxed. "From this moment on, neither of us can break the oath, or a wretched end awaits."
The oath made no mention of having to be completely honest with one another.
Because neither was willing to do that. They both harbored far too many secrets.
Leaving some room for leeway suited them both.
Fang Canran brewed fresh tea and offered a cup to He Lingchuan. "Why did you say Shao Jian is connected to the Emperor's Flowing Dew?"
He Lingchuan dipped a finger in the water and swiftly wrote a single character on the table.
The moment Fang Canran saw it, his pupils constricted sharply, and He Lingchuan noticed a vein throbbing violently at his temple.
The character, of course, was—
*Xing*—Torture.
The "torture" of the Dragon-Torture Pillar.
A second later, He Lingchuan wiped it away, lifted his cup, and took a sip.
"Did I write it right?"
With the Chain of Oaths in effect, neither could harm the other, so he no longer worried about Fang Canran slipping poison into his water.
Emotions shifted across Fang Canran's face, his eyes betraying undisguised shock. "You...?"
This brat He even knew about *this*!
Such a detail, such a...
No one in Lingxu City knew of this, naturally, or Fang Canran would have been dead long ago.
He had never expected that a secret carefully guarded by his family for over a century would suddenly be laid bare by a stranger.
An outsider of unknown origin.
It felt as though the sturdy ancestral house one had lived in for over a hundred years had suddenly suffered a collapsed roof—a far from pleasant sensation.
If He Lingchuan had not already bound him with the Chain of Oaths, preventing them from harming each other, Fang Canran would have silenced him at all costs.
For more than a century, anyone who touched the secret of the Dragon-Torture Pillar—apart from a handful of high-ranking figures—died without exception!
"Did you learn this secret from the illusions of that ancient city as well?"
He Lingchuan nodded.
Fang Canran fixed him with a piercing gaze. "Then did you see who gave those things to Shao Jian?"
"Of course." He Lingchuan silently mouthed the name—
"Mitian."
Reading those two syllables from the shape of his lips was not difficult.
Fang Canran slowly leaned back against his chair and let out a long breath. "As expected."
"You didn't know?"
"Shao Jian always kept it shrouded in deep secrecy, never mentioning the origin of those items to anyone. But I deduced they came from this ancient god."
With the Chain of Oaths in effect, both spoke far more bluntly, no longer talking in circles or desperately denying things.
Fang Canran stared at He Lingchuan. "That ancient city you mentioned... could it be Panlong City?"
"You know of Panlong City?"
"How could I not?" Fang Canran gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Shao Jian went there often. Besides, I investigated that city's history. The reason Panlong City ultimately fell was the same as the Yuan Kingdom's."
He sighed softly. "Young Master He, did you really come to Lingxu City only for the case of the elixir of immortality?"
He cared deeply about this and had asked several times.
"I have long admired Lingxu City's reputation, and wanted to broaden my horizons while carrying out a friend's entrustment along the way. As for the elixir of immortality case, it began as a simple missing courier case. When Crown Prince Yue entrusted it to me, I had no idea it was entangled with the dignitaries of Lingxu City." He Lingchuan spoke the truth. "The waters here run far too deep, alas. Later, Emissary Bai demanded that I come to Lingxu City to assist the investigation."
"You must have had plenty of chances to extricate yourself along the way, no?" Fang Canran sipped his tea. "Striking a rock with an egg—ordinary people don't take on such thankless toil."
"Someone has to do it." He Lingchuan looked straight at him, speaking word by word. "If everyone looks only after petty gain, no great righteousness can exist in this world."
"What was your friend's entrustment?" Fang Canran seized on the key point. So solving the case was merely incidental, while fulfilling his friend's entrustment was the real priority?
He Lingchuan smiled. "Just coming over to handle a few matters on its behalf."
"What matters?"
He Lingchuan watched him for a good while, answering with a question instead: "Given your background, Mr. Fang, you could have gone anywhere. Why choose to stay in Lingxu City of all places?"
Fang Canran was Shao Jian's descendant. If merely that identity were discovered, the celestial gods would ensure he met a gruesome end. His staying in Lingxu City meant shouldering immense danger.
Fang Canran did not answer.
Both fell silent.
Their acquaintance was still shallow; it was too early for deep confidences.
After a moment, Fang Canran changed the subject. "Then once these matters are concluded, where will you go?"
"Slip away, of course."
"Oh?" Fang Canran was surprised. "With so many prestigious clans beckoning, not a single one tempts you?"
"Lingxu City clashes with my horoscope. Flamboyant on the surface, but fraught with grave peril beneath—it is no place for me to linger long." Burdened with the secret of the Dafang Pot, He Lingchuan had no desire to stay under the celestial gods' noses for extended periods. "Besides, I've offended far too many noble lords. I won't stay here to be an eyesore to them."
He added, "By the way, I would very much like to know what became of Mr. Shao Jian in the end."
Fang Canran started.
"I also want to know why you always wear this signet ring. Its material is ordinary, containing only twenty percent refined iron, and it doesn't even have storage functions. As the chief manager of Dun Garden, you have plenty of far better rings to wear, don't you?"
Fang Canran glanced at the signet ring. "An heirloom passed down from my ancestors. The material doesn't matter."
"What does matter, then?" He Lingchuan asked. "His unfulfilled legacy?"
Fang Canran remained silent for a long while before finally speaking: "The year Mr. Shao turned fifty-seven, he disbanded the Red Conch Merchant Guild. Three years later, after his sixtieth birthday, he left, leaving behind a letter telling us not to search for him, and vanished without a trace. Another three years passed, and an avian demon flew in with word: he had been seized, beheaded, skinned, and stuffed with straw, charged with secretly profaning the celestial gods. However, he had swallowed poison to take his own life right after being captured, and so disaster did not fall upon his descendants."
He Lingchuan closed his eyes, unable to hold back a sigh.
*A clay pitcher is bound to break by the well's edge.* In the end, Shao Jian had indeed attained the end he sought.
Even though He Lingchuan had long anticipated such an outcome, and even though Shao Jian had already passed away more than a century ago, hearing it from Fang Canran still left a heavy weight on his chest.
After all, not long ago he had been drinking and eating meat with Shao Jian on the Panlong Wasteland, discussing past and present together.
Though burning with vengeance for his fallen country and family, the man had always maintained an optimistic spirit toward resistance, battle, and even the future.
Without optimism, how could one face an adversary so immense? How could one shoulder such a crushing burden day after day, for decades?
For the latter half of his life, Shao Jian had essentially fought alone.
Yet those who stood on Panlong City's side never seemed to meet a good end, and Shao Jian, in the end, had not escaped that fate either.
Fang Canran had been observing He Lingchuan's expression all the while, and now asked, "Why do you grieve for him?"
Having spent years as a merchant, he was adept at reading people. Though the youth's sorrow and wistfulness lasted only an instant, they were genuine and natural.
Besides, they were speaking of an ancient figure from over a century ago; what need was there to pretend?
He Lingchuan sobered his expression and said in a low voice, "Heroes often walk in anonymity. Mr. Shao never attained widespread renown in the world, yet his contributions reached the heavens. I admire him deeply."
He raised his cup. "Come, a toast to Mr. Shao."
Fang Canran clinked cups with him. He Lingchuan continued, "I would also like to ask Mr. Fang about something else."
"What is it?"
"Few ancient giant beasts have survived to this day. I heard the mountain spirit of Mount Xu is one, and I specifically visited Zhaixing Tower several times to observe, but it never showed itself." He Lingchuan smiled. "Is there any way to see it?"
*What kind of question is that?* Fang Canran was taken aback. After a moment's thought, he said, "The rock pool at Zhaixing Tower is merely its open-air bath. The mountain spirit doesn't necessarily stay there. If you wish to see it right away, you will likely have to present an offering."
"Specifically, what kind of offering?"
Fang Canran's eyes flickered. "What makes you think I would know?"
He Lingchuan shrugged. "The Ke family frequently places orders with Dun Garden for rare ores and exotic stones. Presumably, those are offerings meant for Juju."
"Fair enough." Fang Canran rattled off a list of sundry materials—some ores, some spiritual woods, over a dozen kinds in total.
With He Lingchuan's memory, he had no need for brush and paper, but the more he listened, the more his face fell. "It requires this much?"
And every single item sounded ruinously expensive!
"The mountain spirit's palate is very refined and particular," Fang Canran advised him. "You don't need to fill its belly; offering two or three items will do."
Curiosity spread across He Lingchuan's face. "What happens when Juju eats its fill? Does it get drowsy like a human?"
"Of course. Humans digest food when full, and mountain spirits digest minerals. Both require a brief period of slumber," Fang Canran said with a smile. "Though as far as I know, if you want to feed it to repletion and make it sleep, a sufficient amount of boundless gold alone would do the trick."
"Boundless gold?" He Lingchuan blurted out. "Could it be the sword tip of Immortal Shou'an that the Ke family bought at Dun Garden's auction?"
Fang Canran nodded. "Except that amount was definitely not enough. You would need at least twice that much more."
Back then, the hammer price for that broken sword tip had been eight hundred and seventy thousand taels of silver. Twice more on top of that would mean two million six hundred thousand taels!
Not to mention, boundless gold was a treasure with a quoted price but no market supply—a prize sought but rarely found. Under normal circumstances, you could hold up piles of money and find nowhere to buy it.
To feed Juju full in one go... was the price truly so exorbitant?
Chapter 621