Echoes 5: Who Takes the Fall for Whom?

Indeed, Lingxu City had countless enemies, so why had every past invasion ended in failure? Why had Fang Canran lurked in Lingxu City for decades without ever finding an opening to strike? Could this be the normal state of affairs? Why was it that only He Lingchuan had succeeded in a single stroke? Was his luck simply too good? Yet could mere luck account for accomplishing an undertaking of such magnitude? Weighing every factor, all variables ultimately boiled down to the person behind it. Though Dong Rui had also been a participant, he could not find the answer either. Stroking his chin, he could only change the subject: "Aren't you genuinely afraid they'll trace this back to you?" "Of course I am," He Lingchuan admitted frankly. "However, in the short term, they're bound to look in the wrong direction. Well, in the short term, at least." "How so?" "If you were the Heavenly Palace and the Demon Emperor, would you ever suspect that the party throwing Mount Xu into chaos and the party wreaking havoc in Lingxu City were actually two completely different groups?" Dong Rui shook his head without needing to think twice. "The turmoil in Lingxu City was clearly meticulously planned; it had to be the work of an organization." Even now, the violent methods of Fang Canran's organization remained fresh in He Lingchuan's memory. "Therefore, Lingxu City's primary focus in its investigation will also be on that organization. Weren't those few demon immortals tearing up Lingxu City conspicuous enough? Won't Lingxu City naturally start tracing from them?" He Lingchuan spread his hands. "Aside from Fang Canran, I have virtually no ties to that group. As long as I act prudently, I won't appear on the Heavenly Palace's list of suspects for quite a while." He gave a radiant smile. "Looking at the outcome, it's Fang Canran and the organization behind him who ended up taking the fall for me." Fang Canran used He Lingchuan's Mount Xu Plan to throw Lingxu City into turmoil. Meanwhile, He Lingchuan used them to divert the Heavenly Palace's attention, securing temporary safety. Both sides got what they wanted, and neither came out on the losing end. Dong Rui was skeptical. "They really won't suspect you?" "No matter how meticulous a plan is, flaws will inevitably show during execution." The Mount Xu Plan prioritized success, and during the retreat, preserving life came first; leaking some clues had been unavoidable. Lingxu City had no shortage of talent—how could they fail to grasp any handle on him at all? If nothing else, he had already used Zhu Erniang's amber blood bead once before during his battle with Fan Sheng at Baishaqu. Even though the spiders summoned across the two battles differed in size, number, and appearance, there was no guarantee no one would connect the dots. Yet during this venture into the mountain to steal Zhu Erniang's immortal molt, no matter how he concealed it, the Heavenly Palace would eventually learn that the intruder had ties to Zhu Erniang. Therefore, knowing a few divine arts of a spider demon wouldn't seem so out of the ordinary. Even so, He Lingchuan still had ample confidence in the celestial gods. Or rather, he had great confidence in Miaozhantian's touchstone divine art. Since he had passed Miaozhantian's judgment, his name ought to have been cleared; the gods should already believe he had no connection whatsoever to the Dafang Pot. Thus, even if some discrepancies slipped through the Mount Xu Plan, they wouldn't necessarily peg it on him. With other prominent suspects available to pursue, they wouldn't put him at the top of their list. Dong Rui asked again, "Fine, fine. Since you can divine and calculate everything, why don't you tell me: what will become of that rock-fire monster, Juju?" "What will become of it?" He Lingchuan replied casually. "It's holding its head high now. As long as it doesn't do anything foolish or fall into a trap, it's going to live quite comfortably from now on." "Eh?" Dong Rui was unconvinced. "You're saying it tore down the Heavenly Palace, yet it'll walk away completely unscathed? Would the celestial gods and the Demon Emperor ever let it off the hook?" "Holding a grudge is inevitable, but settling scores will have to wait for later," He Lingchuan said with a chuckle. "Matters have priorities. Right now, the top imperative for the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City is to quell the unrest and salvage their dignity. At a time like this, the only sensible move is to pacify Juju first and keep the volcano from erupting further. "After we left the territory of Mount Xu, the volcanic eruption ceased. Yet once the Thunder-Wielding Behemoth charged into Lingxu City, Tianshu Peak erupted again. In my view, that was because negotiations between the Heavenly Palace and Juju broke down, and Juju was giving the Heavenly Palace a hard time. If it hadn't acted tough back then, Juju wouldn't have been able to demand a proper price." That fellow Juju had been suppressed by the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation for over a decade, demoted from an exalted mountain god straight into a watchdog, with the Heavenly Palace even docking its rations. Having suddenly regained its freedom, how could it not vent its long-pent-up fury? Moreover, after working together for so long, He Lingchuan had gained a fair understanding of the rock-fire monster's nature; describing it as insatiably greedy was by no means an exaggeration. Otherwise, why would the Heavenly Palace have suppressed it all those years ago? It was precisely because of its boundless demands and swelling appetite, which even Lingxu City felt it could no longer sustain. Now that it was free once more, it would naturally make exorbitant demands of the Heavenly Palace. And the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City could only haggle on the spot. Lingxu City could not bear another round of devastation, a reality both sides understood all too well. Hence, without needing to be on the scene, He Lingchuan knew the Heavenly Palace would most likely make concessions to Juju in the end, consenting to its outrageous terms. After all, the Heavenly Palace's urgent to-do list stretched on and on, and the very first item was placating Juju so it wouldn't stir up trouble right beneath their backsides. Only then would they have the bandwidth to attend to other matters. Dong Rui asked in confusion, "Must the grand halls of the Heavenly Palace sit atop Mount Xu? Now that the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation is broken, can't the Heavenly Palace just build its palaces elsewhere?" Did they really have to perch right over a crater? "The wisest course of action would be just as you said: move elsewhere to build the palaces," He Lingchuan smiled. "However, if Juju is unhappy, it can still throw Lingxu City into utter turmoil. Furthermore, the Heavenly Palace has sat atop the highest peak of Mount Xu for six hundred years, serving as the spiritual bedrock of the Beijia people. To prevent that faith from crumbling, so long as there remains the slightest possibility, they won't want to relocate." Taking a step back, if the Heavenly Palace moved its construction elsewhere under Juju's threats, they would lose immense face. It would amount to a practical admission that they couldn't stand up to a rock-fire monster. Therefore, if they could avoid moving, they wouldn't move. Yet He Lingchuan was certain that the Heavenly Palace was no easy pushover either. Having always stood supreme, it was now forced to swallow its humiliation. Once this crisis blew over, it would surely find a way to teach Juju a harsh lesson. The rock-fire monster was rebellious by nature; if it later wished to cooperate with the Heavenly Palace, it would undoubtedly offer information on He Lingchuan to mend ties. Fortunately, He Lingchuan had foreseen this early on and never let its fire-man avatar learn his name, his dwelling, or his appearance. "The grudge between Juju and the Heavenly Palace is firmly cemented," He Lingchuan continued. "Leaving all other losses aside, just the theft of the divine artifact alone will make the Heavenly Palace hate Juju to the bone." Let them pull each other back and forth. To He Lingchuan, that suited him just fine. Dong Rui chuckled. "If Juju triggers a few more earthquakes, Lingxu City won't be able to bear it either." He Lingchuan shook his head. "I reckon triggering earthquakes isn't that simple; it likely consumes an immense amount of energy. Juju itself must make concessions too." Traveling fifty li in this manner, the sky grew overcast with dense clouds once more. Advancing another thirty li, a fine drizzle began to fall. With his autumn clothes halfway soaked, Dong Rui looked pleased rather than dismayed. "So we really are chasing the rain?" "Indeed. From here all the way west lies a rain belt," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "As long as we regulate our speed and match the rain's pace, we can travel via the underground passages the entire way. The chances of Beijia discovering Zhu Daniang will be minuscule." This was the most crucial reason he had chosen to head west. Having pulled off a monumental feat like wreaking havoc in the Heavenly Palace, they certainly couldn't stumble over some trivial detail in the end. He handed Dong Rui a map wrapped in oil paper. "Along the road west, we'll pass several market towns. There might be some prunella spikes left in their storehouses. I've already marked them on the map." Dong Rui was overjoyed, snatching it away. "You even managed to get this?" The lad was remarkably thorough, having anticipated even their lingering concerns. He Lingchuan smiled without a word. The snail-toad needed to consume prunella spikes regularly; otherwise, it could not utilize the large shell on its back, the Mud Palace. This was an issue they had to resolve as a top priority during their retreat. This map was a compilation of intelligence provided by Fang Canran and Old Ge the gibbon. There might be slight discrepancies, but they shouldn't be large. With several claps of thunder and flashes of lightning, the gentle patter of rain abruptly turned into a torrential downpour. Dong Rui let out an odd cry: "Quick, get into the Mud Palace!" He Lingchuan inhaled a deep breath of chilly air. The perils of the days prior felt like another lifetime. With the Dafang Pot lid seized by him, the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City should no longer be able to sense the Dafang Pot's aura. The world was vast, and at last he was free to roam wherever he pleased! From this moment forward, like a dragon diving into the sea, like an eagle soaring across the vast sky. "Where are we heading next?" Dong Rui asked him. "Have you figured it out yet?" He Lingchuan looked back at him and Zhu Daniang, having long prepared a plan: "How about returning with me to the Yuan Kingdom?" He still had latent perils within him to eliminate. And some matters were long overdue for closure. — End of "The Demons' Utopia (Part Two)", concluding Part One of "After the Immortals Disappeared".