"Staying is for your own good!" He Lingchuan's mind raced. "How did Xi Yunhe arrange your route?"
"I ride the snail-toad and leave the city with them," Dong Rui replied, utterly baffled. "What other arrangement could there be?"
"Are you sure they'll let you leave?" He Lingchuan said coldly. "Wouldn't silencing you be the safest route?"
Dong Rui shuddered.
"You ride the snail-toad out of Lingxu City, and the moment you're clear, they kill you and dump your body," He Lingchuan chuckled. "They won't even need to smuggle a corpse out of the city—you walked right out yourself. Perfect."
"You..." Dong Rui wanted to accuse him of fearmongering, but his own thoughts were a chaotic mess.
"You think Xi Yunhe isn't that kind of person? That National Preceptor Shuangye isn't that kind of person?" He Lingchuan continued like a demon whispering in his ear. "Let me tell you, since National Preceptor Qingyang accused you, she must have realized you're in league with National Preceptor Shuangye. Before the celestial gods, that is an extraordinarily severe accusation. To protect himself, National Preceptor Shuangye cannot afford to stumble because of you!"
Otherwise, how could National Preceptor Qingyang have ever connected things to someone like Dong Rui?
At such a critical juncture, she would never waste words or take pointless actions. Her counterattack in desperation had to be precisely targeted.
A chill ran through Dong Rui's heart.
This wasn't his first time working with National Preceptor Shuangye.
He had figured out something of what kind of man the National Preceptor was, and what kind of character his subordinate Xi Yunhe possessed.
His nose for danger had always been sharp; it was just that Qingyang's accusation had terrified him so much this time that he had been left in a daze. Now that He Lingchuan had pointed it out, he snapped to his senses immediately.
"What do I do now?" Dong Rui urged in a low voice. "Can you help me escape?"
"If you run now, you'll be facing a manhunt by two National Preceptors plus the Heavenly Palace guards—on just two legs," He Lingchuan analyzed calmly for him. "And don't forget that ruined face of yours. Who could see it and not remember?"
The key to evading capture in a city was blending into the bustling crowds so no one could trace you.
With Dong Rui's face—tsk, impossible!
"Then you tell me what to do!" Dong Rui almost ground his teeth. "Aren't you usually full of tricks? Think of one for me, hurry!"
'It's called being resourceful,' He Lingchuan thought. After a moment's reflection, he asked, "Who does the snail-toad obey—you, or Xi Yunhe?"
"Of course it's—" Before Dong Rui could finish, a guard walked in, looking suspicious.
"Is everything all right? Sounded like something was going on in here?"
This fellow had just been reassigned here, unlike the previous guards who were used to Dong Rui's verbal abuse and gave him a wide berth whenever they saw him. Dong Rui gave a cold sneer. "If I fart or burp, do you want to inspect that too?"
The guard choked, then flared up. "Watch your tongue!"
Dong Rui said grimly, "Do you know who I am?" Anyone who had dared to talk to him like that in the past had long since been fed to demon puppets. Well, except for that bastard surnamed He.
Just as the guard was about to speak, a companion rushed in from outside, pulled him back, and hissed, "Don't stir up trouble right now!" Then he said to Dong Rui, "Apologies, he's new."
The two retreated. Dong Rui shut the door, took some materials out of his pack to spread across the table, casually set up a warding barrier, and only then said to the eyeball spider, "Come on, go on."
Resigned, He Lingchuan repeated, "Who does the snail-toad obey?"
"Oh, right. Me, of course!" Dong Rui sounded proud. "I am their creator!"
"If you and Xi Yunhe give orders at the same time, it will obey you?"
"Yes."
"Without hesitation?" He Lingchuan confirmed again. "Your life is on the line. Don't be overconfident."
"Without hesitation!" Dong Rui scoffed. "I have my ways."
"Then it's simple." Since Dong Rui was so confident, He Lingchuan had no choice but to trust his control over the demon puppet. "When Xi Yunhe arrives riding the snail-toad, mount it and run, or shake Xi Yunhe and his men off along the way. Whichever method you choose, you cannot let them stay right behind you!"
"Mm, that's not hard." Dong Rui's eyes darted. "And then?"
"Afterward, I'll set up some misdirection so neither Xi Yunhe nor Lingxu City knows where you went, and they won't have time to bother with you," He Lingchuan said urgently. "But once you take the snail-toad, you must come to me. I have an excellent place for you... and the snail-toad."
Dong Rui muttered, "Why shouldn't I just take off for good?"
"Because you know firsthand how awful it feels to be a wanted man in Lingxu City, don't you?" He Lingchuan said quietly. "Let's put our heads together and figure out how to get that bounty off your back."
Dong Rui paused. "You have a way?"
"As long as Lingxu City considers you insignificant, you'll be fine," He Lingchuan said. "After last night, Lingxu City has plenty of its own problems. If they think you're beneath their notice, they won't even bother with you."
"How do we pull that off?"
"I'm still thinking," He Lingchuan snapped. "Did you think I could resolve a catastrophe of this magnitude on a whim? But if you run right now, Lingxu City will hunt you to the ends of the earth. The divine blood is a major thorn in the gods' side, far more serious than the reason you were wanted last time. They won't stop until they get what they want."
Dong Rui was truly sick of living like a rat hiding in the shadows.
He Lingchuan added, "Not to mention, if there isn't a dedicated organization supplying large amounts of prunella spike for this snail-toad, its distinctive trait will make it extremely easy to track down."
Xi Yunhe had been able to ride this snail-toad far and wide, committing crimes at will, only because he had National Preceptor Shuangye's immense material and manpower backing him.
Dong Rui alone couldn't manage it.
Given He Lingchuan's understanding of Dong Rui's finicky nature, he thought these reasons might not be enough to sway him, so he racked his brains for more while talking.
To his surprise, Dong Rui nodded with barely any hesitation. "Fine. I'll stay."
Huh? Surprisingly decisive. Why?
Next, the two swapped back their respective eyeball spiders right under the guards' noses. He Lingchuan left the little creature nearby while he slipped quietly out of the carriage depot and ordered a bowl of noodle soup at a noodle shop thirty zhang away.
With the weather turning chilly, sitting in a wind-sheltered shop slurping a steaming bowl of braised pig's trotter rice noodles while watching pedestrians outside huddle against the cold brought an instant surge of contentment.
It was just a random shop he had ducked into, yet the broth turned out richly aromatic and deeply simmered, while the trotters were stewed to perfection—the skin and meat tender enough to melt in the mouth, yet the tendon still deliciously chewy.
The rice noodles were thin as silk threads, just like the variety He Lingchuan had eaten in Baishaqu, accompanied by a small dish of salted crispy peanuts.
Of course, in Lingxu City, such a fine bowl of soup and noodles cost at least three times what it had in Baishaqu.
A single bowl certainly couldn't satisfy him. After slurping down the noodles, plenty of broth remained in the bowl, so he copied the other regulars and ordered a few shredded pastry cakes to dip in the beef soup.
The cakes were flaky enough to shed crumbs at a touch, and once soaked through with broth, they offered a completely different delight.
Not bad—this place was really quite good. He wondered if Dong Rui had ever tried it.
As he was eating with relish, movement stirred at the eyeball spider's end.
The low bush where it perched faced the open ground in the carriage depot's rear courtyard. In He Lingchuan's vision, the empty mud ground suddenly sank slightly, and right after that, an enormous figure surfaced!
Snail antennae, a tadpole body, toad limbs...
And, of course, that iconic, giant house-like shell.
The snail-toad had arrived.
Having not seen it in a while, He Lingchuan actually felt a touch of fond familiarity.
Once the snail-toad stretched out, someone jumped from beneath its shell—Xi Yunhe!
He vaulted lightly over the wall and asked the guard who stepped forward to meet him, "Any issues?"
"Everything is normal." Since Dong Rui was still here, the guard didn't mention the minor unpleasantness from earlier. Besides, it was hardly unusual for a weirdo like that to talk to himself; one look at him and you could tell he was a friendless loser.
Xi Yunhe pushed open the door and stepped inside, seeing the table covered in materials while Dong Rui was still busy at work.
"Still tinkering with these, Mr. Dong?"
"Nothing better to do." Dong Rui glanced at him and began clearing the table. "Where is National Preceptor Shuangye?"
"The National Preceptor has gone out on urgent business. I have full authority here." He reminded Dong Rui, "It's time to leave. The snail-toad is outside."
'National Preceptor Shuangye went out?' Hearing those words, He Lingchuan's heart stirred.
The two National Preceptors had been locked in political struggles for over a century. Now, at the critical moment of bringing down National Preceptor Qingyang, how could Shuangye bear to be absent?
Dong Rui looked at Xi Yunhe, then suddenly held out a hand. "Where's my payment? The snail-toad is cured, and my work in Lingxu City is done."
National Preceptor Shuangye had cautioned that this fellow could not be shortchanged, or he would sabotage you elsewhere. Xi Yunhe smiled, produced a casket from his robes, and handed it over. "You're a straightforward man, Mr. Dong. We'll be asking for your help again next time."
"We'll see." Dong Rui opened it to inspect the goods, even reaching inside to knead and test them. Once satisfied, he adopted his usual dismissive, punchable tone. "I need to lie low for a while to let the heat blow over. Don't look for me during that time."
Xi Yunhe smiled without the slightest offense. "Of course."
That smile was far too similar to He Lingchuan's—like a shark baring its teeth. Dong Rui unconsciously shivered.
Earlier he hadn't noticed anything, but after the He brat pointed it out, the more he looked at Xi Yunhe, the more malicious the man seemed, as if he was already planning where to dump his corpse.
Come to think of it, no matter how rude he had been before, Xi Yunhe had always met him with a warm smile. He had assumed the man simply had a good temper, but looking back, that wasn't it at all.
Who would bother holding a grudge against a dead man?
"Let's go!" Dong Rui strode outside.
Xi Yunhe naturally followed closely behind. According to the original plan, the four of them were to escort Dong Rui and ensure he departed Lingxu City riding the snail-toad.
Yet just as he followed him to the wall, Dong Rui suddenly turned around. "Oh, almost forgot. Fetch the box by the head of the bed for me. Be careful—the bottles inside can easily explode if they knock against each other!"
Xi Yunhe nodded backward, and a guard immediately dashed into the room.
Dong Rui vaulted the boundary wall and saw his beloved puppet.
"Oh, haven't seen you in a few days, and your antennae have finally regrown!" Last time, that bastard surnamed He had detonated explosives all over the place, blasting off one of the snail-toad's eyes. It had taken a great deal of effort to grow it back.
He must have been possessed by ghosts to agree to keep working with that jinx!
Seeing him, the snail-toad seemed delighted as well, waving its antennae and meekly bowing its massive head toward him.
Chapter 666