Chapter 656

He Lingchuan raised his glass to Du Shan: "For those words, one should drink a large cup. Come!" Du Shan also smiled, and the two raised their glasses and drank them dry.

He Lingchuan simply summoned the waiter and said: "Bring five jars of Qinxiang Spring and fill them up for everyone. If five jars aren't enough, bring five more."

The students were overjoyed: "He Xiao is generous!" Not every Imperial Academy student had a good family background and could afford five-tael Qinxiang Spring.

"After Crown Prince Huan set the fire, the Emperor summoned Crown Prince Yue and me to the Tiangong to soothe us." He Lingchuan threw a large silver ingot to the waiter, heroically, "Why should I keep this compensation? It's better to treat everyone to wine today!"

Everyone beamed with joy.

Zheng Zewu, Gao Jilin, Du Shan, and others, however, frowned.

The Emperor was usually at the Lingxiao Palace on Tianxin Island; why would he summon Chi Yan people to the Tiangong to soothe them?

Could it be that the Heavenly Gods were involved in this? The water was very deep.

This time, everyone drank at Xiangman Restaurant until the sun set, and only then did they return while still in high spirits.

He Lingchuan went to pay the bill, but before he could even take out his money bag, the manager smiled brightly: "No need, Mr. He, Chief Manager Fang of Dunyuan already paid for it just now."

He Lingchuan wondered: "He left a long time ago, and we just drank so much wine; how did he pay the bill?"

"Chief Manager Fang often entertains guests here; he usually puts it on a tab and settles it monthly."

Being wealthy is different; they had drunk at least thirteen jars of wine just now, which was sixty-five silver taels, sixty-five thousand coins! Compared to that, the cost of the dishes was not worth mentioning.

"Chief Manager Fang is truly a classy person." He Lingchuan knew that Fang Canran was giving him face in front of the Imperial Academy students. He didn't act coy, patted his sleeve, and was about to leave, but the manager lowered his voice again: "Chief Manager Fang also left a note for you."

After saying that, he handed over a note.

Those few Tongxin Guards were blocked by He Lingchuan's back, so they couldn't see their hand movements.

He Lingchuan quickly took the note and threw it into his storage ring, laughing: "I won't decline, I'm off."

￥￥￥￥￥

That night, the moon hung on the treetops.

He Lingchuan sneaked to the back mountain of Pianxiang Shanzhuang. The tall and dense fir bushes had grown into a solid wall of trees.

He passed through this wall of trees and then felt a real wall.

This wall was the boundary between Pianxiang Shanzhuang and the neighbor next door.

The neighbor next door had always been occupied; the head of the household was surnamed Shi, and he also served as an official in the royal court.

Tonight, his house was brightly lit, and voices were often heard, as if they were holding a banquet.

There was a small corner tower on the wall, built for viewing the scenery, and He Lingchuan saw someone waving at him from inside.

Fang Canran.

He jumped over in two steps and found there were low stools in the pavilion.

"Why did Chief Manager Fang invite me to a place like this?" It was dark, secluded, and rarely visited.

"I'm a guest at the Shi family tonight, so it's just right to invite you for a chat." Fang Canran gestured toward the main building with his chin, and laughter came with the wind, sounding as if both host and guest were happy. "There's a lot of clinking of glasses in there; no one will notice if I'm missing for a while."

He took out a rectangular mirror: "The Heart-Piercing Mirror has been repaired and can be used as usual." After saying that, he taught the incantation to He Lingchuan and explained how to use it.

This was one of the apologies he gave to He Lingchuan.

He Lingchuan accepted it, memorized it carefully, and then sat down: "What else do you want to talk about?"

Fang Canran casually set up a barrier to prevent sound leakage: "Zu Ju."

He Lingchuan was stunned, looking him up and down.

The other party came in the middle of the night, and they actually wanted to talk about the mountain spirit of Mount Xushan?

"Is it really that surprising?" Fang Canran said. "Didn't you already know what I was going to say?"

He Lingchuan blinked: "Say what?"

Based on the lack of trust between the two sides, it was indeed difficult to talk about things. Fang Canran had to make it clear: "Zu Ju asked me for some information, saying someone wanted to use it."

"Oh—" He Lingchuan looked suddenly enlightened. "So it was you."

Actually, when he received the note from the manager at the restaurant in the afternoon, He Lingchuan had already guessed it was this kind of thing.

It didn't require much rational analysis; intuition said so.

Fang Canran had big plans in Lingxu City, and he shouldn't be missing out on this kind of excitement.

"How did you know to find me?" He Lingchuan asked him. "Zu Ju shouldn't have seen my face."

"I wasn't sure." Fang Canran smiled. "But I thought I could try finding you directly; after all, you're the only one who has mentioned Zu Ju to me recently. Heh, isn't it confirmed now?"

The two looked at each other and suddenly laughed.

Fine, deceitful. This time Fang Canran had the upper hand.

Although the two had previously set a contract with the Oath Chain, neither was willing to reveal their mission in Lingxu City. Now, with Zu Ju in the middle, it unintentionally poked through this layer of window paper.

Fang Canran knew He Lingchuan came to Lingxu City to cause destruction, and He Lingchuan knew Fang Canran was in secret contact with Zu Ju, harboring ill intentions—both of which were taboos of the Tiangong.

Confirming a common, powerful enemy, the relationship between the two suddenly drew closer.

Fang Canran put away his smile. "What do you want to do?"

He Lingchuan leaned against the pillar and said leisurely: "I want to give the Tiangong a big gift."

When Panlong City was destroyed in the past, on the surface, it was the work of the Xianyou and Baling coalition forces, but He Lingchuan had long seen clearly that the mastermind behind it was Beijia.

For him, who inherited the three-piece set of divine bones and the legacy of Panlong, this was an old grudge.

When he first entered Lingxu, it was to do practical and good things for the vast demon people of Beijia, but the Heavenly God invaded his consciousness without a word and conducted a soul trial.

For him personally, this was a new grudge.

It's not that there's no retribution, it's just that the time hasn't come yet.

But he would definitely find the most suitable opportunity. Even if the new and old grudges couldn't be settled at once, they must be settled in batches! The first settlement would start with giving the Tiangong a big gift.

Fang Canran was puzzled: "A big gift?"

"A lively, free-roaming Zu Ju—how about that?"

Fang Canran looked at him for a long time, confirmed he wasn't joking, and then shook his head: "You are courting death."

He understood; this person actually wanted to destroy the Spirit-Gathering Array under the nose of the Tiangong and release Zu Ju.

This had also been Zu Ju's wish for many years; although Fang Canran had long been in contact with it, he had never dared to truly implement it.

If he hadn't fought He Lingchuan, he would have suspected whether this kid was truly crazy or just pretending to be stupid.

He Lingchuan touched his nose.

"How do you want me to cooperate?" Fang Canran said again. "Zu Ju is very suspicious; I spent several years getting close to it before I got its avatar. You only went once?"

"That's right." A wild cat was wandering below, and He Lingchuan threw a small stone down, and the cat ran away in a flash. "Zu Ju has an old friend, and I went with its token, so it was a shortcut."

"I'll say this first: I can cooperate, but you have to do your own big things." Fang Canran raised a finger and shook it. "Don't drag me into the water."

"Don't worry, I'll only buy things and find information from you; I don't need you to act with me."

That was settled.

"Then I'll give you a piece of information first." Fang Canran said. "I got a number here: over the past seven years, the Tiangong has been purchasing fifty thousand jin of meat every month."

"Fifty thousand jin?" He Lingchuan was taken aback. "How many people are in the Tiangong?"

"Besides a few leaders, there are seventy-two Lamp-Guarding Envoys, four hundred Divine Attendants, nine hundred Tiangong Guards, and eighteen hundred Xushan Guards. In addition, there are eight hundred handymen." Fang Canran knew these numbers by heart. "In total, less than four thousand one hundred. The total number fluctuates occasionally, but it's about the same."

"Four thousand one hundred people, consuming fifty thousand jin of meat per month?" He Lingchuan counted on his fingers. "Twelve jin per person per month, four taels a day—wow, this food is great."

Fang Canran smiled, knowing he was being sarcastic: "How many handymen have you seen eating meat at every meal? Even the Divine Attendants and guards don't have such a high quota."

Those two thousand-plus were just garrison troops; they didn't fight or train, so where would such high consumption come from? He Lingchuan remembered that commoners in the Yuan Nation's capital could eat meat about once every thirty days; by comparison, even the people of Lingxu City didn't have the opportunity to eat meat every day. Taking a hundred steps back, even if the Tiangong treated everyone equally and everyone's food was good, eating three taels of meat per person per day would only consume thirty-six thousand-plus jin per month—where did the other ten thousand-plus jin go?

Fang Canran continued: "And among the meat purchased by the Tiangong, they also have to buy many hooves, tails, and heads of cattle, sheep, donkeys, and horses. Do you think this is normal food?"

"It's not for Zu Ju to eat." The Great Fire Spirit didn't like blood food at all, so that could be ruled out directly. He Lingchuan rubbed his chin and thought, "Maybe some of the monsters guarding the Tiangong like to gnaw on heads and claws."

Just like he liked to eat duck necks and chicken claws, provided they were well-smoked and marinated.

"But you're right; specifically buying these scraps probably has other uses. Maybe the Tiangong's purchaser is also using inferior goods to pass for superior ones and lining their own pockets."

"Anyway, I've told you." Fang Canran looked at him and said, "Xushan's defenses are heavy; many experts in the past wanted to sneak in and destroy it, but they all failed. Zu Ju knows this, yet it still thinks you can try... what do you have to rely on?"

This was back to the main topic: "The Spirit-Gathering Array is the foundation of Xushan; I have a way to shake it, as long as I find its array eye."

Fang Canran shook his head: "The array eye is usually hidden in the void. Unless you go directly through the teleportation array from the Star-Plucking Tower, no one can find it."

"No, it's hanging above Xushan right now; it's just shielding the perception of all living beings, and even Zu Ju can't see it."

"Are you sure?"

"I can't be sure; I still have to find an opportunity to try." Plans always have to be taken one step at a time. "This is the prerequisite for our action."

"Is Zu Ju's role heavy?"

"Very heavy." He Lingchuan said solemnly, "Without it showing its divine power, I can't turn the world upside down on my own."

"Its avatar isn't here right now, is it?"

He Lingchuan shook his head.

Fang Canran then took out a pair of shackles from his bosom and handed them to He Lingchuan: "The Oath Chain you wanted; it's the last pair I have."

How to make Zu Ju execute the agreement without fail was something He Lingchuan had been pondering repeatedly recently, and he had also set a few contingency plans.

But none were as simple and straightforward as the Oath Chain.

"I have seen Zu Ju pit others, and I cannot repeat the same mistake. Your choice is very wise."

(End of chapter)