Chapter 523: Money and Life, I Want Both (Extra Chapter)

He desperately wanted to shout "Stop," as how could a mere lotus demon dare to offend a superior officer! But underwater, he could not open his mouth, and being trapped in the fishing net, he could only let the lotus demon tighten its grip on his neck.

Usually, such a tiny water spirit wouldn't even catch his eye, but at this moment, it was a life-threatening ancestor.

……

The moment the Golden-Armored Bronze Man reached the shore, it froze in place.

Jia Yu looked at it for a long time without movement: "Special Envoy?" Had this puppet malfunctioned from being soaked in water? He He Lingchuan pressed his chest.

The Divine Bone Necklace was actually heating up again.

In other words, the treasure it coveted was still in the water? Was it not the Overlord Lotus?

He He Lingchuan let out a long sigh. Thinking back, the Overlord Lotus was something that grew every year; how high were the Divine Bone's standards to look down on it?

What to do now, jump back into the Hegong or continue on the road? He He Lingchuan hesitated for two breaths, then urged the Golden-Armored Bronze Man to continue the journey.

Matters have their priorities; he would return to the Chaohu Tower to see what was happening first. If his guess was correct, something major should be happening there.

The treasures in the Hegong could be retrieved another time if there was an opportunity.

The further south he went, the hotter the Divine Bone Necklace became, clearly dissatisfied with his choice.

He He Lingchuan ignored it entirely.

This thing was too willful; it was good to leave it out in the cold occasionally.

The lakeshore was winding and long; the Golden-Armored Bronze Man ran for over two quarters of an hour before reaching Bai Sha Island.

To He He Lingchuan's surprise, the onlookers had not dispersed or fled; instead, they stood in the back, craning their necks toward the sandbar, keeping what they believed to be a safe distance.

There were actually more people watching the spectacle than usual.

The Lotus Fragrance Festival happened once a year, and some people were already bored of it. But the Imperial Inspector of Lingxu City being swallowed by a monster was a bombshell unheard of since the founding of Bai Sha Island, and it was well worth seeing.

Only by going home at night could one use this gossip to accompany their meal and wine.

On the contrary, the wealthy guests valued their lives and most had already evacuated.

By the time He He Lingchuan arrived, there weren't many people left in the pavilion; the carriages of the powerful were leaving one after another, and the authorities had cordoned off the entire Bai Sha Island.

Commandant Lu was also leading troops on-site to maintain order; Jia Yu jumped down to find his superior and report what had happened.

He He Lingchuan looked around but did not see Cen Boqing; instead, the Magistrate of Bai Sha Island stood by the beach, looking utterly devastated.

"Magistrate Tian, what happened?"

He He Lingchuan walked closer, and Magistrate Tian jumped, as if he had found his backbone: "A monster burst out from underground, and Lord Lord Zhongsun was, was swallowed!"

He He Lingchuan was shocked: "What monster?"

"It's the one you mentioned before, the monster that looks like both a snail and a frog," Magistrate Tian said with a bitter smile. "It also carries a hard shell like a house on its back. After it ambushed Lord Lord Zhongsun, it immediately dived into the sand and fled, disappearing without a trace. Now, sigh, I don't know what to do anymore!"

He was so disheartened that he didn't even refer to himself as "your subordinate."

"So that Snail-Toad came to seek revenge on Lord Lord Zhongsun." As soon as He He Lingchuan spoke, he defined the nature of this sudden event. "I said long ago that this case was not that simple."

He patted Magistrate Tian on the back: "What's done is done; panic is useless. This matter must be strictly investigated to try and rescue Lord Lord Zhongsun and provide an explanation to Lingxu City."

"Res, rescue Lord Lord Zhongsun?" Magistrate Tian looked as if he had grabbed a straw: "Is he still alive?"

"That depends on the intentions of the Snail-Toad's controller, which is Mai Xuewen. If he thinks Lord Lord Zhongsun is still useful, then this is a kidnapping case."

Magistrate Tian didn't know the Snail-Toad as well as he did; hearing this, hope reignited in his heart. He took a deep breath and said: "I see. I will go issue a wanted notice."

Bai Sha Island had already posted a wanted notice for Mai Xuewen, but Magistrate Tian now had to raise the priority level.

He turned to leave, but was grabbed by He He Lingchuan: "Magistrate Tian, what about the bet between me and Lord Lord Zhongsun?"

"Be, bet?" Magistrate Tian's mind had long since wandered. He was startled by the question, and it took him a while to remember that the two had made a bet and that he was the witness. "Oh right, you won."

"Then can I go collect the money?" He held up the Overlord Lotus in his hand.

He wanted Lord Zhongsun Mou's life.

He also wanted Lord Zhongsun Mou's money! He couldn't leave empty-handed on either count.

How could Magistrate Tian have the heart to care about the Lotus Fragrance Festival? He pointed blankly toward the high tower and gave a bitter smile: "Congratulations."

He He Lingchuan immediately ran to the high tower, used the Overlord Lotus to retrieve his three Profound Crystals, and then grabbed Lord Zhongsun Mou's fifty thousand taels of treasure notes to count them carefully twice.

Hmm, the amount was correct.

This thick stack of treasure notes emitted the scent of money; thinking of its origin, He He Lingchuan felt it smelled even better.

With fifty thousand taels in his pocket, he felt he had become a bit more well-off.

Now that he had a small nest egg and the Hundred-Good Pills for cultivation, he should find some projects to invest in so he would have a steady stream of income in the future.

In the current chaotic situation, he was probably the only one who could still ponder such things.

As soon as He He Lingchuan left the tower, the tiger ran over from afar. Seeing him, it said with great joy: "You won! You actually managed to survive!"

It hadn't misseen the Overlord Lotus in He He Lingchuan's hand.

The first prize for lotus picking was here, He He Lingchuan looked lively, and Fan Sheng was nowhere to be seen. This outcome was truly beyond its expectations.

It had originally thought that it would be good enough if He He Lingchuan could return alive.

"Where is Fan Sheng?" The tiger looked left and right. "Did he not go, or did he lose to you? No, you're injured."

Although He He Lingchuan had returned, his face and hands were covered in wounds, which looked like... bite marks? To be more precise, they were small, sharp tooth marks.

There were also wounds on his waist, which looked even more severe.

"He ambushed me, so I soaked him in the water." He He Lingchuan scratched his head. Fan Sheng's cultivation was profound; two quarters of an hour shouldn't have been enough to drown him.

"When you were in the Hegong, Lord Zhongsun Mou was swallowed by the Snail-Toad." Jiao Yu's eyes were full of doubt. "Did you..."

It remembered Mai Xuewen, who had come to its door yesterday.

He He Lingchuan smiled in response: "Did I what?"

"Nothing." Jiao Yu had been an official for many years; although it was a monster, it had learned many schemes. At this moment, it understood that what shouldn't be said must never be spoken, especially since it had no evidence at all, so why worry? "After Lord Zhongsun Mou's accident, Cen Boqing's expression was very ugly, and he left immediately after. I followed him all the way to the Cen residence before returning. I'm worried—"

Jiao Yu paused: "I'm worried he wants to flee back to Lingxu City. Let Commandant Lu send people to watch the front and back doors of his house."

Bai Sha Island was in the territory of the Chi Yan Kingdom. Once Cen Boqing returned to Lingxu City, he would have the home-field advantage. If these people from the Chi Yan Kingdom wanted to investigate him further, the difficulty would rise by more than one level.

He He Lingchuan nodded, whistled to the sky, and waved his hand.

Soon, a goshawk descended from the sky and landed on a branch beside him.

"Pass the message, quickly!" He whispered two sentences to the goshawk. "You know who to find."

The goshawk nodded, flapped its wings, and headed east, disappearing into the horizon in a moment.

The teams participating in the lotus-picking competition also returned by boat one after another.

He He Lingchuan specifically scanned the area and didn't see Fan Sheng, which made him chuckle.

A loud explosion suddenly came from the northwest.

Everyone turned their heads, wondering what had happened.

Wasn't that direction the Hegong? The lotus-picking activity was already over; what other trouble could occur in the maze?

In previous Lotus Fragrance Festivals, which year wasn't smooth sailing? When had so many strange things ever happened?

Magistrate Tian's nerves were always taut; as soon as he heard the explosion, he immediately sent people to investigate.

Could it be related to the Snail-Toad?

After a while, he suddenly came to his senses and realized that a heavyweight figure was missing here:

Fan Sheng.

This Deputy Commander had high combat power and a high rank. He had wanted to discuss the rescue with Lord Fan, only to find that Lord Fan was also missing! Magistrate Tian hurriedly consulted He He Lingchuan, and after getting the answer, he was horrified and immediately sent people into the maze to rescue Fan Sheng.

Another quarter of an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Just when Magistrate Tian thought Fan Sheng had also perished, a lonely small boat finally appeared in everyone's field of vision.

Besides the boatman, wasn't the person sitting in the back row with a foul expression Fan Sheng?

He was dripping wet from head to toe, and his hands and face were covered in wounds just like He He Lingchuan's, clearly having received a warm welcome from the piranhas.

Magistrate Tian went up to offer his concern before asking: "Why was there an explosion in the Hegong?"

"The water spirit of Bai Sha Island has rebelled!" Fan Sheng spat on the ground. "It actually tried to strangle me to death!"

It was truly embarrassing; the lotus demon hadn't been able to strangle him for so long, and it was all thanks to He He Lingchuan's net... That net was extremely resilient and pulled taut against his neck, so no matter how hard the lotus stalk tightened, it couldn't constrict Fan Sheng's throat.

Otherwise, he would have likely met his end.

Magistrate Tian was horrified.

He He Lingchuan, who had walked over, said: "Who told you to hack the lotus walls, even cutting half of the Overlord Lotus? The water spirit is a lotus demon, and that place is its lair; it would be strange if it didn't give you a taste of its power. Hmm, so what was the explosion about?"

Seeing Fan Sheng looking so miserable and having suffered so much, he felt relieved.

"I had some self-defense measures, so I gave them to it." Fan Sheng looked at him coldly, his back teeth itching with anger at his nonchalant appearance. "Consider yourself lucky; it should have been yours."

He He Lingchuan had already returned to the public eye, so he couldn't make another move.

Once an opportunity passed, it was gone.

He He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow, only then noticing that Fan Sheng's back was a bloody mess.

He had thought as much; how could this guy not have a trump card? Fortunately, he hadn't forced him into a mutual destruction.

He didn't know that this measure of Fan Sheng's was given by his older brother, a one-time use item with a high cost itself. Who would have thought it would be used against a tiny lotus demon? It was truly like using a piece of fine Han white jade to press down a pickle jar; he felt the pain in his heart as well.

"What about that lotus demon?"

Fan Sheng said indifferently: "Dead, probably."

Magistrate Tian let out a long "Ah." If the lotus demon, which was the water spirit, was dead, how could the signature activity of Bai Sha Island, the Lotus Fragrance Festival, be held in the future? A tradition of many years had been destroyed in a single day. Furthermore, without the lotus demon's assistance, how could Bai Sha Island's aquatic products remain so prosperous?

Magistrate Tian felt truly bitter and unspeakable.

He He Lingchuan stroked his chin and clicked his tongue twice: "What exactly did it do to you to force you to unleash such a powerful move?"

Fan Sheng hadn't even used his final trump card when he was defeated by him, yet a tiny lotus demon could...

It seemed the lotus demon's methods were even more ruthless.

He He Lingchuan was truly curious.

Asking for monthly votes~~ Jiao Yu is doing a landing-style plea for monthly votes!

(End of this chapter)