Chapter 1202: Being Pinned to the Wall by an Old Friend

The sun was dipping towards the west when He Lingchuan and his companion finally spotted a town on the high ridge ahead.

Dong Rui joyfully patted his horse's flank. "See? See? We've arrived!"

"No," He Lingchuan said, looking around. "We're going to Jishi Village. Does this look like a village to you?"

"Villages can be big or small," Dong Rui retorted, though he had already realized his mistake. He still argued instinctively, "I've seen villages with over a thousand households, big enough to be towns."

"Tsk, you're always leading us astray," He Lingchuan scoffed. "Can't you be more reliable?"

Dong Rui felt wronged. In this unfamiliar place, wasn't getting lost a common occurrence? And they hadn't hired a guide, so could they really blame him?

The Ghost Ape suddenly pointed at the lush green crops on both sides of the road and chattered twice.

"Yes, these are all peanut fields," Dong Rui said, nodding enthusiastically. "This town is really into peanuts. I'll buy some for you and Lingguang as snacks later."

Since they were already here, they might as well go into town and resupply.

Only after walking in did they realize the place was vast, with many buildings. What they had seen from below the ridge was merely a small corner of it.

This was clearly a city!

"There's a steamed bun shop..." Dong Rui's words trailed off when he realized no one was following him.

Dong Rui turned around and saw He Lingchuan stopped by the roadside, examining the wanted posters on the wall.

His expression was somewhat surprised.

The earthen wall was almost entirely covered with wanted posters. The wind made the yellow papers rustle, creating a desolate atmosphere.

Passersby behind them didn't stop to look, as if they were accustomed to it. A voice drifted by faintly, someone muttering, "Good people don't live long, alas..."

"What, did you see a familiar face again?"

Dong Rui just asked casually. To his surprise, He Lingchuan nodded. "Indeed."

"Who is it?" Dong Rui wondered. How could he forget that this guy was rebellious to the core? Having a few rebellious friends seemed perfectly normal for him.

He Lingchuan pointed at one of the portraits. "Him."

Portraits usually had very abstract brushwork; it was good enough if you could tell male from female. But this person had a scar on his neck, which was also depicted, making it a distinguishing feature.

Dong Rui looked at the name again. "Situ He?"

The bounty description stated that this person was the son of a bandit leader, extremely wicked, and from Gaopu Kingdom. Informants could receive ten taels of silver, and if he could be apprehended, dead or alive, the reward was one hundred taels!

This was a hefty reward.

"Son of a bandit leader?" Dong Rui asked, surprised. "Hey, this person's surname is Situ. Aren't we going to..."

Despite his surprise, he didn't forget to lower his voice. Discussing such things on a busy street was inappropriate.

He Lingchuan hummed in agreement. The place they were going was indeed the Situ family's territory.

The Situ family was supposed to be a powerful local potentate in this area, but he hadn't expected Situ He to become a wanted criminal, with his portrait displayed everywhere.

The Golden Flash Plain had far too many strange occurrences. His intelligence probably needed updating.

"The wanted poster doesn't even say what crime he committed."

The wanted poster for Consort Mei that they saw in Qianbo Kingdom at least listed the crime of "plotting to poison the imperial family." But what crime had Situ He committed?

It wasn't mentioned at all.

He Lingchuan shook his head. "'Son of a bandit leader' — isn't that the crime?"

It seemed Situ He's father was the one "guilty."

As they walked toward the steamed bun shop, Dong Rui asked again, "Are you sure the wanted man in the portrait is someone you know?"

"Situ He does have a scar on his neck, just like the portrait, and I also know he's indeed from Gaopu Kingdom." He Lingchuan continued, "The name, features, and origin all match; the chance of mistaken identity should be very small. He should be an acquaintance from my time at Lingxu Imperial Academy. The Yangshan Merchant Guild's business in this area was also conducted with his family. I just don't understand how Situ He, a descendant of a distinguished general, ended up with his face on a wall here, labeled as the son of a bandit leader."

Situ He was one of the students He Lingchuan met at Lingxu Imperial Academy, often associating with foreign dignitaries like Jin Zhen. At the time, He Lingchuan only knew he was the son of a great general from Gaopu Kingdom, but he didn't know where that country was located.

At that time, He Lingchuan didn't even know the location of the Golden Flash Plain, so naturally, he wouldn't care about the small states within it.

How many distinguished figures gathered at Lingxu City's Imperial Academy? At least half were descendants of prominent families from around the world. Situ He's family background was quite unremarkable among them, and he rarely mentioned it himself.

He was very diligent, his grades were excellent, and he had insightful opinions. But he wasn't a talkative person; usually, Jin Zhen, Zheng Zewu, and others would be in the spotlight, while Situ He quietly stayed on the sidelines.

However, Situ He would open up after a few drinks, discussing contemporary heroes with He Lingchuan and the others.

From He Lingchuan's observation, the man had excellent character, though he was a bit stubborn. Once he made up his mind about something, not even eight horses could pull him back; he wouldn't care even if he ran into a wall until his head bled.

Unlike students like Zheng Zewu who were determined to stay in Lingxu City, Situ He, on several occasions while intoxicated, had sworn to He Lingchuan that he would definitely return to his homeland to change its poverty and weakness.

That place was where He Lingchuan now stood.

Only by experiencing it firsthand could one understand the extent of the chaos in the Golden Flash Plain and how difficult it would be for Situ He's dream to come true.

Situ He's bold words still echoed in his ears. How had he, instead, become a wanted criminal?

Dong Rui blurted out, "Did his father rebel?"

"Possibly."

In the Golden Flash Plain, if his family hadn't been wealthy and powerful, how would Situ He have had the chance to study and see the world in Lingxu City? The ups and downs of his life were probably tied to his family.

Hearing news of an old acquaintance so suddenly, especially under these circumstances, He Lingchuan sighed.

"Seeing this wanted poster," He Lingchuan said, "I know we're definitely lost."

The place they were going was the Situ family's territory! With Situ He's wanted poster displayed here, this was clearly not their destination.

But since they were already here, they might as well get something to eat before leaving.

Everywhere, people were selling boiled peanuts and crispy salted peanuts. It seemed this was the local specialty, so both of them were starting to crave peanuts.

Inside the steamed bun shop, despite its small size, it surprisingly sold eleven or twelve kinds of hot, steaming food, one of which was "Manjiangao."

"Give me two plates of Manjiangao," He Lingchuan ordered. The shop only had space for one small wooden table, so they simply sat down to eat.

This item was different from the steamed buns He Lingchuan had eaten before. It was two fingers wide, with a honeycomb texture inside. When he bit into it, it was soft and fluffy, filled with a sweet and moist mixture of peanuts, sesame, lard, and sugar.

It wasn't too greasy either, just right.

Paired with a large bowl of peanut and mung bean soup—where the mung beans were cooked until they burst open and the peanuts floated individually—it was utterly refreshing!

Of course, eating sweets in a place like this meant they were the most expensive items on the menu.

Madam Sun liked sweets, and having accompanied her on many shopping trips, He Lingchuan's palate had long since gone from resisting to accepting sweet flavors.

Dong Rui didn't care for sweets. He only ordered scallion pancakes and large steamed buns filled with peanut sprouts and egg.