Chapter 529

While preparing the materials, the Mirror asked him:

"Are you still going to meddle in this case?" "Fu Fu Shanyue refuses to hand it over completely to Lingxu City, so that must be the Sovereign's intent." He He Lingchuan shrugged. "Since I've investigated this far, I have to get my hands on that book."

"Why is the Chi Yan Kingdom so fixated on this case?"

"Even if you asked Fu Fu Shanyue, he wouldn't tell you the truth." Giving an explanation to the kingdom's victimized demon citizens? Heh, just listen to that and take it with a grain of salt.

Just then, a guard knocked on the door and handed He He Lingchuan a letter, saying it had been slipped under the door of the old inn, and the inn's clerk had delivered it.

Over the past few days, the number of letters and gift lists the inn clerk had forwarded to He He Lingchuan was truly excessive; after all, he had just pulled off such a high-profile feat at Baishajuan.

His real name, He Xiao, was written on the envelope, and the seal was intact.

He He Lingchuan opened the letter and saw a familiar handwriting:

Congratulations to the Special Envoy for surviving the Lotus Palace.

You have some ability, and I have a fondness for talent, which is why I offer you this advice: get out before the case is closed, and stop letting yourself be used as a pawn by the Fu Fu Shanyue father and son.

Chi Yan and Lingxu City already have a rift. Over the past seven years, Lingxu City has dispatched Chi Yan's troops to fight wars four times, causing heavy casualties and a huge burden on Chi Yan. That is why Chi Yan is investigating the messenger case so strictly; once they uncover some inside information...

Do not think the Crown Prince can protect you.

When the time comes and Lingxu City is displeased, the first person to suffer might just be you.

Signed, unnamed.

At a glance, He He Lingchuan knew this was written by Mai Xuewen.

This fellow didn't rush to escape after swallowing Lord Zhongsun Mou, but instead snuck back to the inn to leave him a note; he was truly unhurried and daring.

The Mirror saw it too: "That Mai fellow has a big mouth, it's really annoying. But he's not wrong. We are foreigners and don't understand the inner workings of Between Beijia. Don't work yourself to the bone for Chi Yan, only to be sold out by Fu Fu Shanyue in the end."

Lingxu City and Chi Yan are, after all, in a superior-subordinate relationship. No matter how they gamble against each other in the end, the dissatisfaction of those in power usually requires those below to pay the price to appease them.

Who would be that price?

He He Lingchuan shook his head: "Do you think we can retreat now?"

"Ah, is it too late?"

"It's too late." He He Lingchuan lit a fire and burned the letter to ashes. "From the moment I tracked it to Cen Poqing, this matter couldn't end well. The water is already muddy."

"Lord Zhongsun Mou is ninety percent dead, and Cen Poqing is trapped in his own mansion. Lingxu City, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and the Lord Zhongsun family will all be watching how this case is investigated and who is investigating it. Oh, and now there might be another force, the Tongxin Guard." He He Lingchuan said slowly, "Even if I wanted to let go now, I couldn't escape."

"Then, what do we do?" The Mirror felt it was ominous just listening. What kind of behemoths was its master facing? The Chi Yan Sovereign and his son behind him might not be reliable, and yet he had no foundation in the Between Beijia Kingdom.

This, this, this—isn't this like an egg hitting a rock? But why is the master so calm? "If the Chi Yan Sovereign yields and throws the case back to Lingxu City to handle, that's when we'd be in danger." He He Lingchuan smiled; he had thought about these problems before he killed Lord Zhongsun Mou. "If they stop caring about the case, they might stop caring about me too, ignoring how Lingxu City deals with me."

"On the contrary, Chi Yan being so determined is actually beneficial to me. In fact, I probed Fu Fu Shanyue several times in my replies; as long as he showed a hint of hesitation, I would have pulled out without a second thought." He said, word by word, "Actually, the way to protect oneself is simple: lay this case out in the sunlight. The more public, the better; the more transparent, the better!"

In this game between several parties, only by being public, fair, and transparent can one leave others with no reason to vent their anger.

The Mirror couldn't help but mutter: "If I'd known this, it would have been better not to help Fu Fu Shanyue investigate the case."

"If you don't step in, how would you know how deep the water is?" He He Lingchuan hated people/mirrors who spoke with hindsight. "Besides, I've likely already been in the warehouse."

"What?" The Mirror didn't understand. "What warehouse?"

He He Lingchuan refused to say more, only stating: "Let's go, we're going to build the Copper Guard."

He had jumped into this muddy water himself; there was no taking back a move once played.

He took out the Jin Jia Copper Guard formula gifted by Li Li Qingge.

Compared to the Jin Jia Copper Guard formula he had exchanged for with military merit, Li Li Qingge's formula used more refined materials, and the finished product's performance was also improved. After all, over a hundred years had passed; the craftsmanship and procedures should have progressed.

Most importantly, the new formula thoughtfully added many precautions for the refining process, which was very suitable for a half-baked caster like him.

Of course, this formula could now be handed over to the casters in the Chi Yan Royal Palace to execute; he just needed to watch from the sidelines.

Cen Mansion.

"What, everyone has run away?" Cen Poqing received the guard's report and slapped the table in anger.

Crack! The dining table split in two, and the food and wine fell all over the floor.

He couldn't eat anyway. But hearing the news that the private residence rented by Wu Kai was already empty, his anger still flared up.

It turned out Wu Kai had long been prepared to run away; not only did he slip away himself, but he also took his family with him.

That afternoon, Commandant Lu brought troops to surround the Cen Mansion; logically, Wu Kai should have been the one to coordinate the carriages and personnel. As it turned out, Wu Kai received orders from him and then vanished!

In such a large Cen Mansion, everyone searched inside and out, but the person was lost! How could a perfectly healthy person just go missing? No matter how unwilling Cen Poqing was, he could only conclude that Wu Kai had abandoned his master and fled.

This was truly unbearable.

The escape of Wu Kai's family of three also gave Cen Poqing a wake-up call: this was the witness for the "killing demons for pearls" case, the opponent's breakthrough point, and the biggest hidden danger by his side!

Why hadn't he dealt with him earlier? How foolish! Although Wu Kai was on the run, this was Fu Fu Shanyue's territory; who could guarantee he would successfully escape the Chi Yan Kingdom and never be caught?

Once Wu Kai was caught, then...

Cen Poqing turned and walked out, passing through gardens and corridors until he reached Cheng Yu's residence.

A guard was still standing watch here.

He went in and took a look, frowning:

Cheng Yu's eyes were still tightly shut, sleeping soundly, though his complexion was much better than on the day he was injured.

"He hasn't woken up halfway?"

The guard pointed to the transparent bottle on the table and said: "No. Mr. Cheng instructed that unless the lantern inside the bottle goes out, do not pull the stopper."

Snow was still drifting inside the bottle, but the intensity had decreased, with only the occasional stray snowflake falling. A figure occasionally flashed inside the small wooden house.

How many days had it been? Cen Poqing said irritably: "Pull it out!"

"Ah, pull it out now?"

The guard was about to touch the bottle, but Cen Poqing regretted it: "Slow down, wait!"

"My lord?"

"Let's wait until after tonight." Cen Poqing was thinking that Cheng Yu had a terrible temper; if he rashly woke him up and his recuperation was interrupted, would he still be willing to help him?

Wu Kai handled things meticulously and carefully, and this escape was planned in advance; Fu Fu Shanyue might not be able to catch him so quickly.

Seeing that the snow scene bottle was almost out of snow, Cheng Yu should be waking up soon, right?

Tomorrow, let's try again tomorrow. Cen Poqing sighed and walked out with his hands behind his back.

In the evening, He He Lingchuan walked back to the inn in high spirits.

The inn had been booked by the Crown Prince, and apart from guards and servants, there was no one else. Fu Fu Shanyue was sitting on a lounge chair in the courtyard cooling off; He He Lingchuan saw he was a bit gloomy: "What's wrong?"

"I've already sent out several teams, searched the whole city twice, and even went outside the city to chase, but still haven't caught Wu Kai's daughter-in-law and grandson." Fu Fu Shanyue rested his hands behind his neck. "This fellow is truly cunning. Hmm, how is your Jin Jia Guard?"

"As expected of a palace caster, they are much better at upgrading than I am." He had built this Jin Jia Copper Man in the Hanhe army, where conditions were poor and he had to make do with everything; he even borrowed the monkey Ling Guang's medicine furnace. Who knew that now, without even having to lift a finger, he would have expert Chi Yan craftsmen specifically come to Baishajuan to upgrade it for him.

You might not even be able to hire them with money, so, power is truly a good thing.

The upgrading process for the Jin Jia Guard itself wasn't difficult, but just like a home-cooked braised tofu, it's hard for an ordinary person to match the output of a restaurant chef.

Specialization is key.

The released Jin Jia Guard's height hadn't changed, but its whole body was covered in purple-gold copper armor, lined with a layer of fish-scale soft armor inside—double protection, double safety. He He Lingchuan had tested it with various weapons; ordinary blades and spears couldn't even leave a mark on the armor, and fire-type supernatural powers would only scorch a black mark. If the Floating Life Blade's "Army-Breaking" attribute wasn't triggered, it would take a full six strikes to cut through the outer copper armor.

Furthermore, the Copper Guard's joints, such as the knees, elbows, and ankles, had all been optimized to better conform to human movement patterns, making it more flexible for He He Lingchuan to control.

While working, the caster kept complaining, wondering who had cast the primary Copper Man so ugly, poor, and clumsy, causing his workload for the modification to at least triple.

He He Lingchuan just stood by, rubbing his nose and saying nothing.

As expected of a palace caster, not only did he help fix many of the Copper Man's old injuries that were difficult to heal on their own and perform a re-calibration, but he also engraved many "Light Body" and "Wind Spirit" arrays onto the Copper Man, making it move faster, attack more accurately, and feel better to control.

To put it inappropriately, if the offensive and defensive capability of the Jin Jia Copper Man He He Lingchuan built himself was three, the upgraded Jin Jia Guard was seven.

He He Lingchuan played with it for most of the afternoon, only to tragically discover its biggest weakness:

It was too energy-consuming.

Back when it was still a Jin Jia Copper Man, half a piece of light green profound crystal could keep it working for two hours; if it encountered fast-paced, intense combat, it could last at least half an hour.

After upgrading to a Copper Guard, while the exterior was imposing and the offense and defense had risen significantly, it cost money just to move. A piece of dark green profound crystal the size of an egg wasn't enough to support its activity for an hour.

If it were intense combat, hehe, fifteen minutes at most.

At most.

It depended on the rhythm of the battle; if things went wrong, it might run out of power—no, energy—after blocking a few big hits for its master.

He He Lingchuan touched his not-so-plump money bag, his heart aching so much he couldn't breathe.

And this was just a Copper Guard; he had also accidentally inquired about the cost of upgrading it to a Jin Jia Divine General.

Excluding labor costs, just for the materials, the price was about fifteen times that of upgrading to a Copper Guard!

(End of chapter)