Chapter 237: Songyang Prefecture Branch

He held the wolf-tooth club in one hand and slapped it twice against his other palm: "Come on over."

He Lingchuan gripped his long saber and took a deep breath.

To deal with this hill-like enemy, was using agility to overcome brute force and lightness to counter heaviness the best method?

He executed the Swallow-Return movement technique, skimming like a swallow over water, and with a low crouch, he reached Meng Shan's side, thrusting his long saber directly at the man's instep.

No one's instep could possibly have impenetrable protection; if this strike pierced through, Meng Shan's mobility would certainly be impaired.

The light above suddenly dimmed.

￥￥￥￥￥

"Holy crap!"

He Lingchuan let out a loud shout and sat up with a start.

The Medicine Ape Ling Guang, who was busy eating melon, was so startled its claws shook, and the honey melon fell to the ground.

It picked it up while casting a resentful look at He Lingchuan; in this freezing weather, such a sweet melon wasn't easy to come by.

He Lingchuan was drenched in sweat, reaching up to touch the back of his head, feeling as though the spot where Meng Shan had struck him was still throbbing with pain.

That truly was a blow with the weight of a mountain; he had nowhere to dodge and, amidst the gasps of the crowd, was sent flying off the arena. That pain felt as if the back of his skull had been cracked open.

Before being knocked out of the dream, he had even heard a crisp *crack* sound coming from his own head.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was bone-chilling.

He Lingchuan knew that, aside from being forcibly shaken awake, there was only one situation in which he would exit the dream unnaturally: death.

Damn, was his skull actually smashed open?

That bastard Meng Shan really played dirty! A true professional at cracking heads.

Seeing him clutching his head, panting heavily, and staring blankly, Ling Guang couldn't help but ask: "Are you alright?"

This was purely out of concern for its employer; after all, He Lingchuan's deathly pale face and cold sweat could only mean he'd had a nightmare.

"A nightmare." He Lingchuan felt nauseous for a long time before replying irritably, "Dreamt I was killed."

He really was a monster who could fight to a draw with Captain Xiao; even Xiao Maoliang had been suppressed by Meng Shan at one point. He Lingchuan had exhausted every trick in his arsenal and still been sent flying; in truth, losing wasn't unjust.

The pride and arrogance he'd felt after defeating Hook were instantly wiped away by Meng Shan.

The strategy he'd envisioned of using agility to overcome clumsiness—bullshit, it was completely unworkable.

Before him, there were probably countless others who had tried this approach, and without exception, they had all lost.

That guy Meng Shan, he was truly vicious, but he was also truly a great opponent.

He Lingchuan clapped his hands together, *snap*, for the time being, he would take him as his target.

So far, he had been killed in his dreams four times.

Heh, he was afraid he might get addicted.

"Oh, then it's nothing." Having a nightmare wasn't an illness and didn't need curing, so Ling Guang returned to the main topic. "By the way, your Foundation Establishment cultivation is complete. I've spent the last few days looking for the next stage of Yin-Yang Powder ingredients according to the recipe you gave me. I've visited nearly nine pharmacies, and um... they're very expensive and very rare."

The secret to He Lingchuan's rapidly increasing cultivation base was taking Yin-Yang Powder.

Simply put, it was the power of money.

Now that the first stage of the Zi-Wu Art was over, the Yin-Yang Powder recipe needed to be adjusted accordingly, and stronger medicinal properties usually meant a higher price.

He Lingchuan was already mentally prepared for this: "How much more expensive?"

"About four times the original price." Ling Guang took out a small herb. "The main cost is the Pity-Light Grass, the primary ingredient for making the Yin Powder. You can't find many of these in Dunyu's pharmacies; it's only enough for half a month's supply. You'll have to find another way later."

When demand exceeds supply, it naturally becomes expensive.

This small herb was light gray and almost entirely transparent, but it bore two blueberry-like fruits, and the whole thing looked extremely fragile.

"Four times..." He was wrong; he actually wasn't mentally prepared. "Buy it."

During wartime, material transport was bound to be affected. Now, goods heading to Xiazhou were surely prioritized for military use. Aside from that, the only things that could make merchants risk the journey were Xiazhou specialties, which were constantly rising in price in the interior.

As for rare items like Pity-Light Grass, they were probably hard to come by in Dunyu nowadays.

That bank note with a face value of 100,000 taels was still lying in his storage ring; He Lingchuan had to cash it. A few days ago, his only trouble was spending more than he earned; sigh, he really missed the old days.

He Lingchuan yawned: "Where are my father and He Er?"

"They went to attend the opening of the Songyang Prefecture branch." Ling Guang tilted its head. "Only you, Proprietor, have slept until now." It was almost noon.

He Lingchuan instantly sobered up: "Huh? The new Songyang Prefecture branch is opening today?" Wasn't it tomorrow? No, wait, wasn't it the day after? "They only just arrived in Dunyu!" Didn't the new storefront need time to renovate? Also, why didn't his father call him to go together?

Remembering that he had also promised Li Fubo he would go to the Songyang Prefecture branch to show his support, He Lingchuan hurriedly washed up, changed his clothes, checked the progress of his broken saber as usual, and rushed out the door.

He had only been in Dunyu for a few days, yet he felt a significant decrease in the number of people in the streets and alleys. Either households were keeping their doors shut, or shops along the street were closing up; in the early spring season, a sense of desolation was actually rushing toward him.

Was everyone terrified by the news that the Xunzhou army had invaded Xiazhou?

Dunyu's main street was long and wide, with pedestrians passing by incessantly. He Lingchuan urged the carriage forward, not paying much attention to the shop signs on either side of the street.

No need to look.

Soon, he smelled the thick scent of gunpowder.

"It's right up ahead."

After traveling another four or five yards, the ground was covered in the red paper scraps of firecrackers, which rolled everywhere whenever the wind blew.

Two servants were holding brooms, busy sweeping the street.

He Lingchuan got off the carriage here, looked up, and sure enough, the sign bore the three gold-leaf characters for "Songyang Prefecture."

The shop's facade was quite impressive; even the door panels were made of rosewood, and when the four doors were joined together, they formed a hollowed-out carving of a forest of pines and cranes.

Quite a few people were even gathered there just to look at the door panels, especially the children, who stared without blinking—

This picture could move.

Strictly speaking, it was the pine trees in the hollow carving that swayed back and forth with the north wind, truly living up to the scene of "Pine Waves." Whenever they swayed, the cranes standing in the trees would frequently flap their wings, and fish would jump out of the water in the pond at the edge of the forest, creating ripples.

This was no worse than shadow puppetry.

He Lingchuan knew this was mostly the work of an illusion array, but the carving on the door panels was exquisite, and it constantly showcased Songyang Prefecture's strength—every second the illusion array existed, it consumed energy.

Therefore, the newly opened Songyang Prefecture Dunyu branch was the most dazzling kid on the street—no, the most dazzling storefront. Customers were coming and going, chatting and laughing; the foot traffic was at least ten times that of the neighboring shops.

However, seeing this scene, He Lingchuan understood that he had arrived late.

There were no servants or carriages at the entrance, meaning the dignitaries who had come to show their support had already left, leaving only the commoners who were following the trend lingering behind.

How could he sleep until noon just from having a nightmare?

He Lingchuan walked into the shop and said to the clerk who was busy greeting guests: "I'm from the General Coordinator's Mansion. Is Master Craftsman Li Fubo here?"

Just as the clerk was about to speak, a call came from behind: "Young Master He?"

He Lingchuan turned around and saw, oh, "Isn't this Steward Zhao?"

It was Steward Zhao who had received him at the Songyang Prefecture branch in Shi Huan City and facilitated the deal of trading the Purple Gold Pestle for Yu Gold. He Lingchuan hadn't expected the Marquis of Songyang to bring him to the north as well, and he hadn't seen him at all along the way.

Perhaps he had been too obsessed with his cultivation and ignored outside affairs.

Steward Zhao's signature squinting smile appeared again: "You've arrived. Master Craftsman Li and the Marquis were just mentioning you."

He Lingchuan scratched his head: "My family has already been here, right?"

"Yes, yes, General Coordinator He and the Second Young Master just left; they were only a step ahead of you."

He didn't know if this was a figure of speech.

Steward Zhao continued: "The Marquis will be very happy to see you. Please, this way."

He Lingchuan followed him toward the back room, looking around along the way, and discovered that the layout of this new branch was similar to the headquarters in Shi Huan City, with a dazzling array of goods, and many ingenious items placed in the front hall to pique the interest of guests.

Only then did he realize that Songyang Prefecture had actually refined certain toys into magic treasures; those seven or eight-year-old young masters would walk in and be unable to take their eyes off them, insisting that their parents buy them.

When the fathers asked about the price, ten thousand horses would gallop through their hearts, but they still had to take out their purses under their sons' eager gazes.

The back hall was all private rooms, dedicated to business negotiations and treasure appraisal.

He Lingchuan passed by the doors of the rooms and found that the seven or eight private rooms here were basically all occupied.

Steward Zhao led him further back, climbing the stairs to the attic.

There were traces of new renovations everywhere, and He Lingchuan even smelled the scent of pine wood.

The attic space wasn't large; it was very quiet, with a zither placed by the window.

As soon as He Lingchuan entered, the Marquis of Songyang emerged gracefully from behind the curtain, smiling as she said: "Young Master He is here."

The room was as warm as spring. She appeared in a white gown, with only the collar and sleeves sprinkled with gold trim, and a palm-wide dark-patterned gold belt tied around her waist, making her small waist look as slender as a willow.

Such a vulgar and charming accessory as a gold belt only looked charming on her, not vulgar.

"My deepest apologies." He Lingchuan handed over the wrapped gift, telling a bald-faced lie: "Something came up at the last minute, I'm late."

"No matter, as long as you're here, my humble abode is honored." Li Qingge took the gift and handed it to the maid behind her to put away, not opening it on the spot.

Both of them understood that this was just a gift; it wasn't important.

"Your opening here is incredibly fast. I originally thought it would take at least half a month from leasing the storefront to renovating and opening."

Li Qingge led him to sit by the window: "I thought so too, but when I walked into this shop, everything was already in place; there was no need to ponder much, so it saved a lot of trouble, didn't it?"

The maid served tea. He Lingchuan took a sip; it was fragrant upon entering, very soothing after the hot tea went down, and then a faint floral scent lingered in his throat.

He couldn't help but praise: "Good tea!"

"Your father praised it just the same a moment ago." Li Qingge smiled and beckoned; another maid served an exquisite box. "This is Jasmine Dragon Pearl; I've already prepared a portion for you."

"Who is giving gifts to whom now?" Although he said this, He Lingchuan accepted it without hesitation.

The two chatted for quite a while, and Li Qingge mentioned the progress of repairing the broken saber: "Li Fubo told me that the speed of repairing the saber is slower than expected."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 238 =====