This was the one person in Blackwater City he could least afford to offend. The blacksmith quickly said, "No, no. This magical artifact has developed an awareness of its own—an instinct for self-preservation. Besides, it has been tempered through a thousand strikes; it's inherently heat-resistant. I'm afraid my forge simply can't reach the required heat."
Would a treasure possessing spiritual awareness allow him to melt it down?
"Then who can?"
"No one in Blackwater City can do it, and it's doubtful anyone in Jinzhou could either." The blacksmith hesitated slightly. "Your best bet would be to visit one of the large eastern cities or the royal capital. I've heard the Spirit Artifact Sect has branches in those places. They might possess the secret arts and specialized furnaces needed to remove the wujin from the staff's head."
Simply put, only a magical artifact could best a magical artifact. Everything he had here was an ordinary furnace; placing the ritual staff inside would be like giving it a sauna bath. Only sects dedicated to forging magical artifacts would possess specialized furnaces for the task.
He Lingchuan knew there was no point in pressing him. Tossing a small ingot of silver onto the table, he stood up and left.
Zeng Feixiong hurriedly caught up. "Allow me to buy you a drink, Eldest Young Master."
Three days after returning from the desert, he had received generous compensation. True to his word, Commandery Governor He had also assigned dedicated caretakers to look after Old Man Zeng around the clock, all twelve two-hour periods of the day.
With the weight lifted from his shoulders, Zeng Feixiong felt the sky was bluer, his breathing easier, and his purse significantly heavier.
He Lingchuan deserved immense credit for him making it back alive, and this expedition into the desert had completely transformed his opinion of the young master.
He Lingchuan shook his head, however. "Another day."
The exhilaration of surviving against the odds had passed, and returning to the mundane routine of revelry and indulgence suddenly felt rather hollow.
He might as well go home and get some sleep.
Yet after taking a couple of steps, a thought struck him, and he turned back to add, "Let's make it tonight. I'll have Liu Baobao pick up the tab."
...
Upon returning to the residence, He Lingchuan did not turn in to sleep right away, heading instead to the small martial practice grounds to drill his saber technique.
This expedition to the Panlong Desert had made him truly feel the gulf between himself and Nian Songyu. After falling into the illusory realm and losing the backing of his father and the Blackwater City troops, his primary thought when facing Nian Songyu's malice had been how to survive, leaving him no leisure to even nurse his anger.
Only afterward did he learn that Nian Songyu's true nature was far more vile: the young officer's verbal jabs at him and Maotao in the Panlong illusion had only been mild because he and Sun Fuping had already planned to sacrifice the two of them later—there had simply been no need to squabble with dead men walking.
His family's ancestral Guiding Technique had merely laid a foundation for He Lingchuan. Beyond disciplining himself, he needed more and deeper methods.
During his first two months in this world, he had wanted nothing more than to keep a low profile all the way through, enjoying a life of ease and wealth. But the arrival of Sun Fuping and his lot had proven that in this world, trouble had a way of seeking you out on its own.
Over the past couple of days, he had also spoken with He Chunhua, asking his father to help him find a stronger, more suitable cultivation technique. He Chunhua had readily agreed.
The blade gleamed, and in the blink of an eye, two hours slipped by.
An intensity of training that once would have left him drenched in sweat now only left his back slightly damp. Perhaps the crucible between life and death had bolstered both his stamina and resilience.
Finally, He Lingchuan stopped, wiped the rough skin of his face—sun-scorched by the desert's blazing heat—and decided to forage for something to eat in the kitchen.
He seemed to get hungry much faster than before.
The He residence was quiet today. He Chunhua was at the government office, and Ying Hongchan was out, sparing him from having to deal with anyone.
Following a well-worn path, He Lingchuan made his way to the pantry where the cooks kept food. Opening it, he saw a pleasant surprise: aside from a small mountain of red date cakes, a chilled cabinet held silky-white osmanthus almond tofu that quivered at the touch of a spoon.
Making and preserving this kind of almond tofu required cellar-stored summer ice. Blackwater City's rainy season had just begun in the ninth month, bringing muggy, sweltering weather; a few refreshing, sweet spoonfuls of chilled almond tofu were enough to banish the stifling heat from one's mind.
He Lingchuan grabbed a large bowl and poured out nearly half a pot.
He had only eaten a few pieces when a voice cried out anxiously from the side, "Hey, save some for me!"
Turning his head, he saw He Yue.
"What are you doing back?" The little bookworm wasn't supposed to be home today.
"I came back to fetch some account books." He Yue also dished out some dessert for himself. His movements were polite and refined, though his bowl was just as large as He Lingchuan's. "I wanted something to beat the heat."
Watching his elder brother wolf down the dessert, He Yue hesitated, looking as if he wanted to speak.
When sneaking food, He Lingchuan always kept his senses sharp. "Out with it. Don't bottle things up."
"Father and I have been run off our feet lately. The Panlong expedition resulted in one hundred and five dead and thirty-seven wounded. Pensions and rewards each amounted to a substantial expense, not to mention promotions... We only managed to finalize all the ledgers today."
"Oh." What did any of that have to do with him? The eldest young master of the He family had always specialized in being carefree and thoughtless.
He Yue hesitated.
"What else?" The kid's brow was creased into deep furrows. "You look like you're constipated. Eat more almond tofu—it clears the bowels!"
He Yue instinctively moved his bowl away.
"Most of that work was left to me, because Father has been busy meeting with numerous merchant guilds and diplomatic missions these past few days. He's visited taverns four times alone."
"I know. He even asked me to set up a meeting with the Liu family merchant guild—Liu Baobao's family." He Lingchuan brushed it off. "What's the issue? Isn't that part of his duties?"
Whenever the wild sand season began and ended, He Chunhua was swamped, for Blackwater City saw a massive surge of commercial activity during these windows.
This year's wild sand season had only just begun. The merchant caravans and diplomatic missions that had caught the last leg of the Red Cliff Road into Great Yuan all had to clear customs here before dispersing into the eastern and central regions. The workload on He Chunhua and his entire administration was easy to imagine.
"All other meetings, big and small, were handed off to subordinate officials in the office. Do you know what the guests Father met with in person these past few days had in common?"
He Lingchuan shook his head.
"They are all heading for the capital." He Yue's expression grew solemn. "The earliest group set out three days ago. Now that the road east to Woling Pass is open, anyone boarding a boat there to travel by water will be sailing downstream, reaching the Great Capital in a matter of days!"
"And so?"
"My workspace is close to the meeting hall. I often hear laughter and merry conversation coming from inside."
"What's wrong with that?" To He Lingchuan, everything sounded completely normal so far.
"Elder Brother, Father normally maintains an imposing, dignified air when meeting with merchants. That is usually not his manner."
"What are you getting at?" He Lingchuan looked around for water, having choked slightly on eating too much red date cake. "Stop hemming and hawing like an old maid."
"Let's just keep this between us. Don't spread it around." He Yue paused once more before continuing, "I suspect Father wants them to drum up momentum in the capital and spread rumors ahead of time."
"What rumors?"
"The news that we defeated Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu." He Yue offered a faint smile. "Haven't you and the others been singing your own praises to the heavens in Blackwater City these past few days?"
He Lingchuan took issue with that. "Isn't that the truth? How can you call it a rumor, or singing our own praises?"
"If Father hasn't submitted a memorial to the throne yet and the news spreads beforehand, then it's a rumor."
He Lingchuan paused in surprise. "Father hasn't submitted a memorial yet? How could that be?"
Chapter 78