Chapter 481: The Plasterer Has No Good House

"The woman from Red Pavilion Lane." Wan Song sneered, "Do you really think you can use her to threaten me?"

"Even Wan Wan Xianneng has to step aside; what is she worth?" He He Lingchuan also laughed, "I'm talking about the baby in her belly—"

Wan Song's expression shifted slightly as he heard him draw out the words: "—which is your child."

Wan Song was stunned, then couldn't help but burst into loud laughter: "Ah hahahaha... ouch!"

He had pulled his wound, and it hurt terribly.

Yet the more it hurt, the more he wanted to laugh.

"You're saying, you're saying Qing Gu is pregnant with my child?" Tears were almost coming to his eyes, "Can't you draft a better lie before you tell it?"

He He Lingchuan sighed: "You're about to die, why are you still keeping secrets for Mr. Mai?"

"I just love watching you people panic and grasp at straws!" Wan Song took two breaths, "If I die, you won't be able to complete your mission either, and you'll be in just as much trouble!"

A flush of blood actually appeared on his cheeks, and his spirit even seemed much improved; He He Lingchuan knew this was the final flare of life.

Patiently waiting for Wan Song to finish laughing, He He Lingchuan said leisurely: "Fine, you brought this on yourself. The physician says that based on the timing, there's no issue. Qing Gu only had you as a client during that period. Don't you remember? A hundred days ago, you had just received a large sum of money and very generously booked her for a month."

"I met her just a few days ago, and she didn't even mention this!"

"Of course, she doesn't even know it herself. Some women don't show at all even after three months of pregnancy," He He Lingchuan said. "It wasn't until we took her into custody and she suddenly fainted that a physician came to check her pulse."

"Empty words are no proof, keep making things up!" Wan Song said sharply, "A woman like Qing Gu has precautions; it's impossible for her to get pregnant!"

"Believe it or not." He He Lingchuan pointed to his severed leg, "I have already ordered men to cut into your flesh, and Qing Gu is waiting outside. If you don't believe it, we can perform a cesarean section right now to extract the fetus and verify if it is your own flesh and blood."

Wan Song scoffed: "Suit yourself."

He He Lingchuan nodded to the bailiff at his side, who immediately walked out and soon returned carrying a woman, placing her on another bed next to Wan Song.

This woman was unconscious; it was indeed Qing Gu.

Wan Song frowned: "What happened to her?"

"Time is precious, I could only knock her out first." He He Lingchuan spread his hands, "You didn't think I would perform a live cesarean while she was awake, did you? I'm not that cruel."

He turned to ask the physician at his side: "I've never dissected such a small placenta before. How big is a three-month-old fetus?"

The physician held up a finger: "About a finger's length."

"Can you tell the gender?"

"Yes, it already has a rudimentary form."

He He Lingchuan pointed at Qing Gu: "Alright, proceed."

The physician hesitated: "This..." He was a healer, not a killer.

"You can't do it?"

"My lord, this..."

"It's fine, I'll do it myself." He He Lingchuan pulled a dagger from his boot, wiped it casually on a cloth from a tray beside Wan Song, and then flicked his wrist to spin the blade.

Wan Song sneered, not believing him.

This guy was trying to extort him. "Even if she really is pregnant, and even if it really is my seed, what good does it do you to cut it out?" If he killed his child, could he still cooperate with this guy? "You cut off my path, so I'll cut off your lineage. It doesn't do me any good, but it'll vent my anger." He He Lingchuan tapped his face with the back of the blade, revealing a sinister smile, "Come on, let's hurt each other."

Wan Song stared at him fiercely.

He He Lingchuan walked over to Qing Gu and suddenly slashed with the dagger, cutting through both her outer and inner garments. The physician pulled the torn clothes aside, revealing the woman's abdomen.

His strike was so fast it left an afterimage, yet it appeared remarkably casual.

Wan Song was caught off guard, his brows twitching as he watched.

He He Lingchuan had already expanded his spiritual sense, capturing every detail of Wan Song's expression without needing to look up, and he now had a good idea of the situation.

"Last chance." He He Lingchuan poked Qing Gu's belly, and Wan Song's gaze fixed as he realized he was using the hilt of the knife. "The crimes you've committed are enough to warrant the execution of your entire clan; there's no escaping that. But the higher-ups don't know there's an unborn child with the surname Wan. As long as I don't say anything, and the physician here doesn't say anything, you can still leave a seed in this world. How about it, shall we cooperate?"

Wan Song sneered in silence, but He He Lingchuan noticed his cheeks bulging; he was likely gritting his teeth in secret.

The physician at the side couldn't help but say: "My lord, just a half-inch incision is enough..."

"What, are you afraid of hurting the fetus?" He He Lingchuan said with a mocking smile, then said to Wan Song, "Open your eyes wide and see if your brat is a boy or a girl."

With that, he pressed the dagger below Qing Gu's navel and made a cut.

Wan Song saw with his own eyes the tip of the dagger pierce in, confirming that the other party was truly ruthless enough to perform a cesarean, and finally shouted: "Stop!"

Fresh blood trickled down Qing Gu's belly, but not much. He He Lingchuan paused with the dagger in hand and tilted his head to ask him: "Are you talking?"

"I'll talk." Wan Song took a breath, "Don't hurt it."

Even though he was cold-blooded, at the moment of death, he still hoped to leave descendants behind.

"That's more like it. Mr. Mai is just your employer, not your own father; why protect him at the cost of your own son's life?" He He Lingchuan thought for a moment, "Oh, he isn't really, is he?"

"No."

Only then did He He Lingchuan retract the dagger, wipe the blood from the tip, and say to the physician: "Take her down and stop the bleeding."

At this point, Wan Song was no longer afraid of showing weakness and hurriedly asked the physician: "Is my child alright?"

The physician carefully checked the pulse and shook his head: "It's fine."

Afterward, the group carried Qing Gu out.

He He Lingchuan sat back down: "Alright, be a man of your word. I've spared your child's life; what will you give me in return?"

Wan Song closed his eyes and said dejectedly: "What do you want to ask?"

"What are the Pulp Beads used for?" He He Lingchuan began to throw out his questions, "Why is the consumption so high?"

"You take an oath first." Wan Song wasn't stupid, "Ensure my child is safe."

"Fine, I swear to the heavens that I will absolutely not harm your Wan Song's descendants, is that enough?"

Only then did Wan Song say: "They are one of the main ingredients for refining Longevity Pills, also known as the Elixir of Immortality. As for how to refine them or what other materials are needed, I don't know."

"Elixir of Immortality?" He He Lingchuan's heart stirred. The name sounded familiar; he seemed to have heard the late King Yuan mention it in the visions of the Thousand Star City ruins. "What effect does it have when consumed?"

"It's just... I've heard it allows the user to extend their lifespan." Wan Song coughed a few times, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, "It was originally called the Longevity Pill, but later they simply adopted the name of the ancient immortal pill, 'Elixir of Immortality.' But I've never used it, so I'm not sure."

"You spend all day hunting Pulp Beads for Mr. Mai, why haven't you gotten a dose of the Elixir of Immortality to try?"

"That's easy to say." Wan Song said coldly, "Is that something I'm qualified to consume?"

He glanced at He He Lingchuan: "You don't need to beat around the bush; I haven't seen the finished product and I never will. The plasterer has no good house, the carpenter has no good bed; I accept it."

"Then who is it for?"

"I don't know. I only care about handing over the Pulp Beads in exchange for silver." Wan Song rolled his eyes, "Who else could use this? The rich or the noble, obviously."

"Tell me about the messenger from Spirit Void City." With several demons nearby, He He Lingchuan had to bring up the question they cared about most, "Why did you kill it?"

"I didn't know beforehand." Wan Song said helplessly, "If I had known, why would I have attacked it and brought a death sentence upon myself?"

"How did you find it?" He He Lingchuan found it strange, "The Bai Jiandiao flies in the sky; how did you know when it would land?"

"There is a small lake outside Shuangyi Town with clear water and plenty of fish and shrimp. Many migratory birds go there to rest and transit, including quite a few bird demons." Wan Song recalled, "We hadn't found a suitable demon in the wild for days, so Mr. Mai ordered us to try our luck by the lake in Shuangyi Town. After we arrived, we saw that Bai Jiandiao... it was drinking water the whole time, the largest and most conspicuous one, and other birds stayed far away from it. Demons like this condense the most Pulp Beads, so we set our sights on it."

He licked his lips: "It was already evening, and we figured the Bai Jiandiao would spend the night there, so we waited until nightfall to strike. The process went smoothly, without any hitches."

"You killed the Bai Jiandiao while it was asleep?" He He Lingchuan knew that such flying messengers usually only delivered oral messages unless it was a long-winded document.

Without anything written down, the intelligence was safer.

But conversely, precisely because there was no written message, the Bai Jiandiao died very unjustly.

"... Yes."

"In other words, your choice of this Bai Jiandiao as a target was merely accidental, and not planned in advance?"

"We aren't prophets." Wan Song took a breath after saying this.

He He Lingchuan waited for a few moments, and seeing him actually drifting off, he had to reach out and push him: "Stay focused, if you fall asleep now, you won't wake up."

Wan Song then slowly regained consciousness.

"Tell me more about Mr. Mai. How did this person appear?"

Wan Song thought for a long while this time before retrieving the original memory: "My previous handler was surnamed Bai, but it changed to Mr. Mai a few years ago. His temper was much better than the one surnamed Bai's, he was quite kind, and he fought for higher pay for us. Twice during the New Year, he even sent us holiday gifts."

"How do you know he took over from the one surnamed Bai, rather than killing him and taking his place?"

"The talismans and passwords all matched." Wan Song said indifferently, "As long as the payment is made normally, I couldn't care less about the rest."

"Who is Mr. Mai's handler?" Since Wan Song's handler could be changed, it meant Mr. Mai was not the highest authority.

"I don't know, I've never seen them." Wan Song saw He He Lingchuan's brows furrowed and, fearing he wouldn't be satisfied, added, "But that person should live in the north. Both times Mr. Mai brought us holiday gifts, they were specialties from Bai Sha Fu Jue. And one time..."

"Hmm?"

"One time, Mr. Mai suddenly ordered the Snail Toad to be deployed, but it wasn't to hunt demons; it was to transport people."

"Oh?" He He Lingchuan became interested, "Who?"

"There were four of them in total, all wearing masks. I don't know their origins. But the leader was a woman; not only could you tell from her physique, but she also thanked Mr. Mai. Mr. Mai said it wasn't necessary, that it was just returning a favor, and he made the woman swear never to reveal the existence of the Snail Toad to anyone."

(End of chapter)