Chapter 564

He He Lingchuan understood: "Gilding."

"That description is truly apt," Li Li Qingge smiled. "However, the Inspector still has a right to submit memorials to the Emperor. A few years ago, I met an Inspector from Lingxu City in Zhuolu County. He was much more impressive than the Superintendent of Xiazhou visiting Xiazhou; officials along the way received him with the highest standards, and they didn't even show that much concern for their own parents. The Inspector even had eight carriages clearing the way, and everywhere he went, there was singing and dancing."

He He Lingchuan clicked his tongue twice: "Is this to have the Inspector say a few more good words for himself in front of the Emperor?"

"No, you're wrong." Li Li Qingge shook two slender fingers. "This is to have the Inspector say fewer bad things about himself in front of the Emperor."

He He Lingchuan was speechless.

"In short, is Lord Zhongsun Mou also mediocre in Lingxu City?"

"Not the best, not the worst, just middle-of-the-road," Li Li Qingge nodded. "Such official sons are everywhere in Lingxu City. Outstanding talents are always the minority; even here, mediocre people are the majority."

"Good, then please spread the news for me, Lord, emphasizing that Lord Zhongsun Mou was thwarted and frustrated at every turn under my hand, and was at his wit's end."

Li Li Qingge looked at him strangely: "Are you afraid the water isn't muddy enough?"

He He Lingchuan grinned: "The Lord understands me."

Since he had already come to Lingxu City, he shouldn't be coy. His situation was bad anyway, so he might as well let go and do something big.

Perhaps he could blast out a bright future? "Then, it doesn't matter if the Minister of Agriculture and the Cen family all know, right?" Li Li Qingge's gaze shifted slightly. "They probably already know that you helped the Chi Yan Crown Prince capture Cen Boqing."

"The more people who know, the better, and 'the more people' includes the Minister of Agriculture and the Cen family. Speaking of which, it was actually the Dou Yun Envoy who captured Cen Boqing, but that's another story..." He He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. "No matter, the news will reach their ears sooner or later."

"Dou Yun Envoy?" Li Li Qingge gasped. "Don't tell me you've also provoked the Dou Yun Envoy!"

"No."

Li Li Qingge was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard He He Lingchuan continue: "It was the Dou Yun Envoy who provoked me."

"You..." She glared fiercely at He He Lingchuan. "I have to consider breaking off relations with you."

"Don't," He He Lingchuan quickly cupped his hands. "My dear lady, I have no one to rely on in Lingxu City; I'm counting on your help."

Li Li Qingge frowned: "The Dou Yun Envoy is almost a walker of the gods on earth. Which one did you offend?"

"Bai Bai Ziqi," He He Lingchuan coughed lightly. "I didn't offend him; I even helped him capture Cen Boqing. But the way he looks at me is always very strange."

"Bai Bai Ziqi?" Li Li Qingge's expression was solemn. "He is deeply favored by the gods and has the Emperor's heart. What did you do to catch his eye?"

"That's the problem; I didn't do anything!" He He Lingchuan cried out in grievance. "But he seems to be investigating another case and has listed both me and Fu Fu Shanyue as suspects."

"Did you really commit a crime?"

"Of course not!" He He Lingchuan said miserably. "But you know how formidable Lingxu City is; I'm afraid they'll give me a taste of bitterness regardless of anything else. Fu Fu Shanyue can still use his status to hold them off, but I'm in trouble. So—"

He rubbed his hands: "Did you receive the letter from the gray eagle?"

"I received it; you wanted to borrow something from me." Li Li Qingge took a rectangular box from her bosom and placed it in front of him. "It's a good thing you sent the letter in advance; this thing was at another branch, and I traveled over a hundred miles back and forth to get it back."

He He Lingchuan opened the box to take a look, then closed it:

"Are there many people in Lingxu City who know about it, or know that it belongs to you?"

Li Li Qingge shook her head: "Almost none."

"Thank you." He He Lingchuan let out a long sigh of relief. "You've really helped me a lot." That was why he had asked the gray eagle to go ahead in Bai Sha Fu Jue and send a letter to Li Li Qingge, so she could prepare this item in advance.

"What do you want this thing for?"

"To gain people's trust." He He Lingchuan said seriously. "I'll return it to you as soon as I'm done, as quickly as possible."

Li Li Qingge smiled: "Fine, use it as you wish."

"I owe you another big favor this time."

Li Li Qingge said meaningfully: "Don't worry, you might have a chance to repay it very soon."

"...?" Why did he have a bad premonition? Whatever Li Li Qingge wanted him to do, it certainly wouldn't be too easy.

"Then, might the Lord do me another small favor?" He wasn't worried about having too many debts.

Li Li Qingge found it funny and wanted to see how shameless he could be: "Tell me."

"Please help me collect information on the Cen family and the Lord Zhongsun family." He He Lingchuan said seriously. "One must guard against others."

One could also have the heart to harm others.

"A small matter." Li Li Qingge had already helped him with several things, so one more small matter wouldn't hurt. "After I've organized it, I'll have someone bring it to Dun Garden, and we can hand it over there."

"Dun Garden?"

"Five days from now, Dun Garden is holding an auction," Li Li Qingge smiled. "It's held twice a year, on a grand scale, gathering rare treasures from all over the world, and it's held in the lower city. Don't you want to go and see the excitement?"

He He Lingchuan immediately agreed.

She then changed the subject: "Have you eaten? You've come from afar as a guest; how about I treat you?"

He He Lingchuan hesitated: "Before long, both the Lord Zhongsun family and the Cen family will treat me as an enemy. If you and I are seen eating together and it gets spread around, I'm afraid it won't be good for you."

Li Li Qingge had already taken her cloak, but upon hearing this, she immediately hung it back up: "That's true; I didn't consider that."

She was a businesswoman; she tried to avoid offending people openly as much as possible.

"I saw you came from afar and was too excited." Her gaze fell on He He Lingchuan's waist, and she suddenly froze: "Eh, where is your knife?"

He He Lingchuan didn't have a scabbard at his waist.

"Uh..." This woman was truly observant.

Only by keeping a treasure like the Floating Life Knife on his person could he feel at ease. Li Li Qingge understood after a moment's thought: "Storing the knife in your body, is that it?"

He He Lingchuan scratched his head: "One night, I suddenly didn't need a scabbard anymore."

Using his body as a scabbard, man and knife were truly one.

"Your weapon is truly strange; it's different every time I see it." Li Li Qingge pouted slightly. "I really want to take it and study it again."

Others might have said "take it" to win her favor, but He He Lingchuan knew the secrets of the Floating Life Knife were significant, so he could only say regretfully: "I'd like to give it to you, but it sticks to me and won't let go; I just can't give it away."

"This is a quasi-divine artifact that has already recognized its master." Li Li Qingge sighed. "Why don't I have such good luck?"

"The Lord is surrounded by spiritual artifacts of the world; are you afraid no treasure will recognize you as its master?" He He Lingchuan stood up, smiled, and pointed to the east: "I will be staying at the Golden Sunflower Inn across the street tonight under the alias Li Li Junyi; just notify me if there's anything."

After saying this, he picked up the box and took his leave.

The accommodation conditions at the Golden Sunflower Inn were far inferior to the first-class inn, but He He Lingchuan felt much more at ease staying there.

He already knew that Fu Fu Shanyue had been temporarily summoned to the Tiangong by an envoy through the eyeball spider at the inn.

The Tiangong was not in the sky, but on Mount Xu.

He He Lingchuan had heard Shao He Jian mention that the temple dedicated to the Holy Venerable of Lingxu was called the "Tiangong" and was built on the summit of Mount Xu. The place where the Holy Venerable of Lingxu descended with holy edicts to communicate with the Emperor was called the Star-Plucking Tower.

So late at night, the Demon Emperor wasn't on the floating island, but instead wanted to see Fu Fu Shanyue on Mount Xu. Why?

He He Lingchuan found it very interesting; as the most powerful monarch in the human world, the Demon Emperor of Between Beijia lived so close to the heavens, yet he couldn't call his residence the Tiangong.

After checking into the Golden Sunflower Inn, he didn't go out again, just had the kitchen send up two large bowls of steaming mushroom and shredded chicken noodles and a basket of osmanthus cakes. He sat in his room and finished them slowly while facing the bustling street outside.

Just as he was soaking in a large wooden tub, washing away the dust of his journey, the eyeball spider suddenly sent him the latest image:

Over ten miles away, at his room in the first-class inn, someone was suddenly knocking on the door! Of course, no one in the room answered.

The person outside even shouted his name, He Xiao.

So it wasn't a case of the wrong room.

After knocking twice more, the door suddenly opened, and several people rushed in, circled around, found the place empty, and then went to the window to stretch their necks and look out.

The eyeball spider had long since shrunk into the cracks of the wooden rafters, hiding very well.

"He's not here. How are we going to report this?"

"Look around and ask everywhere to see where he went; he might have gone to eat. You guys go to the surrounding restaurants and ask around too," another person said. "The higher-ups gave orders to find the one surnamed He before the Chi Yan Crown Prince returns."

The group patrolled once more, confirmed that He He Lingchuan wasn't nearby, and then left quickly, not forgetting to close the door behind them.

Seeing this, He He Lingchuan let out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, he had the foresight to leave earlier than Fu Fu Shanyue.

Being a newcomer, he didn't know what the uniforms of the Lingxu City officials were, nor could he tell where these people came from.

Was it Bai Bai Ziqi who sent people to look for him, or was the Lord Zhongsun family coming to settle scores? He had only just arrived in Lingxu, and this place was truly vast; the Lord Zhongsun family's information shouldn't be that well-informed. Besides, these people were swaggering in the inn, coming and going as they pleased, and the servants bowed and scraped when they saw them.

This was Lingxu City; even the servants of high officials didn't have the qualifications to rush into an inn and arrest people. Anyone who dared to do this had to have an official background and the backing of orders from above.

That meant it was Bai Bai Ziqi.

Even while soaking in hot water, He He Lingchuan felt a chill down his back.

This person had traveled north with them, chatting and laughing along the way as if they were old friends for many years, only to turn his back on them the moment they arrived in Lingxu City?

Hmm, Bai Bai Ziqi had reported to the Tiangong the moment he entered the city.

In other words, getting "He Xiao" back for interrogation as soon as possible was the decree of the Heavenly Gods or the Demon Emperor.

Were they going to take action against him so quickly, not even willing to wait one night? He He Lingchuan sensed that the importance the Heavenly Gods or the Demon Emperor placed on "the other case" even exceeded that of the Immortality Pill case.

Clearly, the private refining and selling of Immortality Pills had already touched the reverse scale of the Heavenly Gods; what else could be more important than dealing with that?

He He Lingchuan had the answer in his heart.

Dear readers, you wouldn't want anything to happen to Young Master He later, would you?

Hand over your monthly tickets, and I might spare his life ^_^

(End of Chapter)