"Moreover, if you are ever in urgent need of funds, Eldest Young Master, you can make withdrawals directly from the branch's ledger interest-free. If you cannot repay it later, it can simply be deducted from your dividends." She paused. "And if needed, the local Songyang Mansion branch's personnel and supplies will also be at your disposal."
That was extensive authority. Moved, He Lingchuan said, "Alright, I'm in."
Working completely on his own all the time was too exhausting; having more friends meant having more avenues.
"If you don't care for any of this, Eldest Young Master, there is also... Hm?" Li Qingge blinked. "You agreed?"
"What else is there?" Regretting that he had agreed so quickly, He Lingchuan asked, "Let's hear what other terms you have."
"None, then." Li Qingge cleared her throat softly and pulled a paper contract from inside her robes. "Come, let's sign."
"Sign..." So she had come fully prepared? She claimed she was repaying a favor, but in the end, she was still recruiting him!
He Lingchuan took the contract and examined it line by line, word by word.
Even though he and Li Qingge were on good terms right now, the terms still had to be scrutinized to avoid tumbling headfirst into a pit later with no one to blame.
Speaking of which, "How did the Marquis handle that bamboo canister?"
"I spent a great deal of time and money in the past searching for a cure for the concentric Gu." Li Qingge pressed her hand lightly over her heart. "I used the Gu worm in that bamboo cylinder to draw out its mate hidden inside my heart. So..."
So she was safe now, no longer threatened by the concentric Gu.
She looked at He Lingchuan with understanding in her eyes. "Did you know what was inside that bamboo cylinder all along, Eldest Young Master?"
He Lingchuan shrugged. "Cen Boqing's subordinate, Shi Kai, died from a concentric Gu."
Since it was connected to the elixir of immortality case, he must have thoroughly researched the concentric Gu as well. Li Qingge gazed at him intently and said earnestly, "Thank you!"
Thank you for retrieving it for her even though he knew full well a concentric Gu was inside, rather than keeping it for himself.
Great kindness could never be repaid with mere thanks, yet aside from those words of gratitude, she did not know what else to say.
She had hinted at her feelings several times, yet this young man kept her at arm's length. Shrewd as she was, an involuntary trace of hurt reproach flickered in her eyes.
He Lingchuan finished reading the contract. Finding no issues, he swept his brush and signed.
Li Qingge immediately drew a medallion from inside her robes and handed it to him. "This is the elder medallion, and proof of your status within Songyang Mansion. Don't lose it!"
The medallion was shaped like a blade, finely crafted.
He Lingchuan put it away at once.
To ease the awkward atmosphere, he quickly produced several round spheres and set them on the table. "I didn't find any frost silver beasts, but I did get these pellets. Could you see if they can make do?"
Altogether there were sixteen or seventeen, the large ones resembling chicken eggs and the smaller ones like longans, in varying colors.
Five of them caused white frost to instantly congeal across the tabletop.
The oilcloth on the table turned white as well; when He Lingchuan tapped it lightly, it shattered.
He didn't like touching these beads either; they froze his hands.
"These are...?" Li Qingge reined in her emotions, her expression turning focused. She put on a pair of gloves, picked up a white sphere, and scrutinized it closely. "You're saying these weren't produced by frost silver beasts? But in the Fu Realm, the only Donao beast that can exhale frost is the frost silver beast."
"I retrieved these from the heads of two 'Wu beasts.'"
"Wu beasts?" Li Qingge switched to examine a few other spheres, growing increasingly astonished. "All these beads came from just two Wu beasts?"
"Right," He Lingchuan explained. "They're an extremely rare species of Donao beast; hardly anyone has seen them in decades. They seem capable of absorbing other Donao beasts' innate talents for themselves. While adventuring in the Fu Realm, I happened upon a clash between lord-grade Donao beasts. The Wu beast leader seemed intent on snatching a Thunder-Wielding Behemoth's egg. Only because two titans clashed did I find room to profit."
"Absorbing the talents of other Donao beasts..." Li Qingge pressed her fingers against a sphere. "This is practically a flawless replica."
He Lingchuan's breath hitched slightly. "Can they substitute for frost pellets?"
"I need to take them back for further testing, but as things stand, I'm at least sixty percent sure." Li Qingge looked at the spheres on the table. "There are five frost cores here, which can reliably yield at least three cold ice talismans. Is that enough?"
Crafting talismans and artifacts always carried a certain failure rate; even a master artificer like her dared not claim a hundred percent success.
"It should be." That number was already beyond his expectations.
The more thoroughly one prepared, the higher the margin for error.
Li Qingge's eyes sparkled. "What about the remaining beads?"
Without a second thought, He Lingchuan replied, "Take them back with you, Marquis. Make whatever you can out of them."
"Done!" Li Qingge briskly gathered all the spheres, looking like she had just received a beloved toy. "I'll study them once I get back! Did you pick up any other treasures on your foray into the Fu Realm?"
Dangerous though the Grass Sea hunt was, over the years the returns had usually been proportional to the risks. The Fu Realm's specialties were not limited to floatstones, beast pellets, and beast parts; they also included rare ores scarcely found in the mortal realm.
He Lingchuan thought about it, then simply pushed several tables together and dumped out all his miscellaneous scraps from the Fu Realm in one heap.
Among them were several items that caught Li Qingge's interest.
Finally, she pointed at one object. "What is this?"
It was a large, dark, hardened slab, thick and shield-like. The front felt like rock, complete with cracked striations, but when flipped over, it had blood and flesh, and even a layer of tough fascia.
"This is..." The past day's battles had been so fierce, and he had gathered so much assorted junk, that He Lingchuan had to think for a moment before remembering. "This is hide and flesh from the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth. After the Wu beast leader bit it off, it landed right beside me."
"The hide of a lord-grade Donao beast, and one of the lightning affinity?" Li Qingge was moved. "Your luck is simply absurd!"
"I think so too." He Lingchuan scratched his head. His journey into the Fu Realm had been fraught with perils—natural disasters, beast tides, man-made treachery, he had run into every single one. Yet he had returned from the Fu Realm in one piece; his luck truly had been remarkable.
Li Qingge picked up the hide and rubbed it thoughtfully. "Right, weren't you looking for a magic artifact that can ward off powerful lightning?"
He Lingchuan nodded. Artifacts with this property were exceedingly rare; outside of the Heavenly Palace and Tianxin Island, one might not find even one or two in all of Lingxu City.
The primary reason was the scarcity of materials.
How many treasures in the mortal world could endure a bombardment of heavenly lightning?
Li Qingge had only managed to find him a single lightning-warding talisman and had run several tests on it. Its effect was indeed decent, but it could only block ordinary lightning. As for how formidable the "Lightning Pool" at the formation eye might be, she had never witnessed it and had no way of knowing.
Yet He Lingchuan had detected dissatisfaction in her tone.
Now, pointing at the hide before her, she said solemnly, "With this lord-grade hide, however, I can try crafting one."
He Lingchuan was overjoyed and took an involuntary deep breath. "I leave it in your capable hands, Marquis!"
This was one of the greatest hurdles of the Mount Xu Plan.
Although progress across all fronts had been proceeding methodically, he had never found a reliable solution for the "Lightning Pool" restriction mentioned by the rock-fire monster Juju.
He had also asked Fang Canran to collect lightning-warding magic artifacts.
Fang Canran had told him bluntly that he had already acquired several pieces, but none possessed sufficient strength. Warding off a celestial god's restriction was no easy feat; gambling one's life on those artifacts would only end in death.
The greatest difficulty was that even as the chief manager of Dun Garden, Fang Canran dared not make inquiries openly, lest someone trace things back to him after the Heavenly Palace was thrown into chaos.
To think that a spoil of war he had picked up by chance in the Fu Realm would bring such an unexpected windfall. He Lingchuan felt the heavy stone weighing on his heart drop away at last, and the road ahead suddenly turned bright and clear!
Heaven only knew how much bluff and bluster was contained in the supreme confidence and composed mastery he had projected before Juju and Fang Canran.
Now, he had finally taken another solid step toward his envisioned success.
This expedition into the Fu Realm had been worth it—utterly worth it!
Surviving disaster truly brought good fortune.
Seeing him so elated, Li Qingge could not resist dampening his spirits a little: "Don't celebrate too soon. I never said I would definitely succeed."
"When the Marquis acts, how could there be a defective product?" He Lingchuan was always adept at flattery; after all, compliments cost nothing. "I'll just wait for the good news with complete peace of mind!"
"You're putting me over the coals," Li Qingge laughed, covering her mouth. "Fine, I'll step up development and notify you the moment it's finished."
They chatted a bit longer in relaxed spirits. Li Qingge also mentioned a few details about recent developments in the Yuan Kingdom.
"Borrowing money?" He Lingchuan frowned. "War is a bottomless pit. How much money could possibly fill it?"
"If they don't borrow, they'll have no money left to fight right now."
"Are there still countries willing to lend to them?"
"That depends on what collateral the Yuan Kingdom puts up in exchange. How could empty promises borrow anything?" Li Qingge sighed softly. "A state is like a merchant; both rely on trust and credit. If you cannot maintain that, you must pay an even steeper price."
Their business concluded, she put her veiled hat back on, bid He Lingchuan farewell, and went downstairs.
Until Nian Zanli was brought down, she would remain especially cautious, ensuring no outsider realized she and He Lingchuan maintained private dealings.
He Lingchuan left directly through the back door of the silk shop.
...
With a solution to the lightning magic artifact in sight, He Lingchuan was in high spirits. He slurped down a large bowl of thick noodles with fish balls outside before ambling leisurely back to Pianxiang Villa.
Before he even reached his residence, a servant came up to report:
"Chief Manager Fang of Dun Garden has come to call. He has been waiting for you for over two quarters of an hour."
He had just returned from the Fu Realm, and Fang Canran already knew? That fellow was as well-informed as ever.
Then again, Old Fang was a man of status in Lingxu City; why hadn't he sent word ahead before coming over?
He Lingchuan returned to his quarters. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he saw Fang Canran.
Today, the man was dressed in lake blue and looked full of vigor. The moment he saw He Lingchuan, he came forward, cupped his fists, and laughed. "Congratulations, Brother He, on making it back alive!"
"What kind of greeting is that?" He Lingchuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Did I go to the Grass Sea looking to die?"
"This year was exceptional. Even the Heavenly Palace guards and the Tongxin Guard lost many skilled experts," Fang Canran sighed. "I was worried about you, too."
These words sounded earnest and heartfelt, but He Lingchuan understood the underlying meaning.
The man was worried that if he died in the Fu Realm, there would be no one to carry out the subsequent phase of the Mount Xu Plan.
He Lingchuan spread his hands. "Haven't I returned in one piece? You're looking quite spirited today, Old Fang. Did you run into some happy news?"
Fang Canran glanced left and right, hesitating to speak.
Chapter 657