Chapter 81: Taking Advantage

Would a treasure with spirituality allow itself to be melted down? "Then who can handle it?"

"No one in Heishuicheng can do it, and Jinzhou is a long shot, too." The blacksmith hesitated slightly. "It's best to go to a large eastern city or the capital. I've heard the Spirit Tool Sect has outposts in those places; perhaps they have secret techniques or furnaces that can remove the gold-alloy from the staff head."

To put it bluntly, only a magic treasure can defeat a magic treasure. His furnaces here are ordinary; the staff would just be taking a sauna. Only a sect that specializes in casting magic treasures would have the proper equipment.

He Lingchuan knew it was useless to make things difficult for him, so he tossed him a small ingot of silver, stood up, and left.

Zeng Feixiong hurried to catch up: "Let me treat you to a drink, Young Master."

Three days after returning from the desert, he had received his generous reward, and He the Prefect had kept his promise, sending someone to look after Old Man Zeng, providing care twelve hours a day.

The pressure on Zeng Feixiong had vanished; he felt the sky was bluer, his breathing was easier, and his purse was bulging.

He Lingchuan deserved much of the credit for his survival, and this desert trip had greatly changed his perception of the Young Master He.

He Lingchuan, however, shook his head: "Some other day."

The excitement of surviving the ordeal had passed, and as he returned to his daily routine of eating, drinking, and playing, he suddenly felt a sense of ennui.

He decided to just go home and sleep.

But after taking two steps, a thought occurred to him, and he suddenly turned back and said: "Change it to tonight. I'll have Liu Baobao host."

After returning to the manor, He Lingchuan did not lie down to sleep, but instead went to the small training ground to practice his saber techniques.

This trip to the Panlong Desert made him truly feel the gap between himself and Nian Songyu. After falling into the illusion and losing the support of his father and the Heishuicheng army, the thing he thought about most when facing Nian Songyu's malice was how to save his own life; he didn't even have the energy to be indignant.

Only later did he realize that Nian Songyu's nature was even more vicious; the verbal taunts directed at him and Mao Tao in the Panlong illusion were only because he and Sun Fuping intended to sacrifice the two of them later, and he couldn't be bothered to bicker with people who were as good as dead.

The family's Traction Technique only provided a foundation for He Lingchuan. While pushing himself, he also needed more and deeper methods.

In the first two months after arriving in this world, he only wanted to lay low and enjoy his wealth, but the appearance of Sun Fuping and the others told him that in this world, trouble likes to find you on its own.

Over the past two days, he had also sought out He Chunhua, hoping his father could find him a more powerful and suitable cultivation technique. He Chunhua readily agreed.

The saber light flashed, and in the blink of an eye, an hour passed.

The intensity that used to leave him drenched in sweat now only left his back slightly damp. Perhaps the experience between life and death had increased his stamina and resilience.

Finally, He Lingchuan stopped, wiped his face—which had recently been roughened by the desert sun—and decided to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.

It seemed he was getting hungry faster than before.

The He manor was very quiet today; He Chunhua was at the government office, and Ying Hongchan was out, so he didn't have to deal with anyone.

He Lingchuan, familiar with the route, felt his way to the cupboard where the kitchen maid kept the food. He opened it and saw, oh, not bad—besides a mountain of red date cakes, there was also white, tender osmanthus almond tofu in the cooling cabinet, trembling when touched with a spoon.

The making and preservation of this kind of almond tofu required summer ice stored in cellars. September in Heishuicheng had just entered the rainy season, and the weather was muggy and hot. At a time like this, eating a few spoonfuls of cool, sweet almond tofu could drive away all the summer heat from his head.

He Lingchuan grabbed a large bowl and poured out nearly half the pot.

He had just eaten a few pieces when someone nearby said urgently: "Hey, leave some for me!"

He turned his head and saw He Yue.

"Why are you back?" The little bookworm shouldn't be home today.

"Came home to get some account books." He Yue also began to scoop dessert for himself, his movements refined, but his bowl was as large as He Lingchuan's. "Wanted to eat something to cool off."

Watching his older brother wolf down the food, He Yue hesitated to speak.

When stealing food, He Lingchuan always kept his eyes open. "Speak up, don't hold back."

"Father and I have been so busy lately we haven't had a moment to rest. One hundred and five people died on the Panlong trip, and thirty-seven were injured. The pensions and rewards are a huge expense, plus the promotions... the items were only finished today."

"Oh." What did that have to do with him? The Young Master He had always been responsible only for being carefree.

He Yue hesitated.

"Anything else?" The boy's forehead was wrinkled into a 'chuan' character. "You look like you're constipated. Eat more almond tofu, it'll clear you out!"

He Yue subconsciously moved his bowl away.

"Most of this work was left to me, because Father has been busy meeting numerous merchant guilds and delegations these past few days; he's been to restaurants four times alone."

"I know that. He even had me arrange a meeting for him with the Liu merchant guild, that is, Liu Baobao's family." He Lingchuan was indifferent. "What's the problem? Isn't that part of his job?"

Every time the sandstorm season began and ended, He Chunhua was very busy, because there was a large amount of trade activity in Heishuicheng at these times.

The sandstorm season had just begun this year, and the merchant caravans and delegations that caught the last train on the Red Cliff Road to enter Great Yan all had to clear customs here before they could disperse into the east and central regions. The workload for He Chunhua's entire staff could be imagined.

"All other meetings, big and small, were handed over to the officials in the office. Do you know what was special about the guests Father met with these past few days?"

He Lingchuan shook his head.

"They are all going to the capital." He Yue's expression was grave. "The first batch left three days ago. Now the road east to Woling Pass is open; if they take a boat from there to transfer to the waterway, because it's downstream, they can reach the capital in just a few days!"

"So?"

"My office is not far from the meeting hall, and I can often hear laughter and joy inside."

"What's wrong with that?" He Lingchuan felt it was quite normal.

"Big Brother, Father is usually quite dignified when meeting merchants; it's usually not this style."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" He Lingchuan looked for water; the red date cakes were a bit choking. "Stop stuttering, you're like a woman."

"Let's just talk about this privately; don't spread it." He Yue hesitated again before saying, "I suspect Father wants them to go to the capital to build momentum and spread the rumors first."

"What rumors?"

"The news that we defeated Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu." He Yue revealed a faint smile. "Weren't you all bragging about it in Heishuicheng these past few days?"

He Lingchuan was unconvinced: "Isn't that the truth? How can you call it a rumor, and how can you call it bragging?"

"If Father hasn't submitted his report yet, and this spreads first, it's called a rumor."

He Lingchuan was stunned: "Father hasn't submitted his report yet? How is that possible?"

(End of chapter)