Chapter 1326: If Nothing Unexpected Happens, Something Unexpected Will Happen

**Chapter 1312: When You Expect No Surprises, Expect the Unexpected**

Where could he have slipped off to? Did he escape?

As the sun was about to set, casting a brilliant afterglow, his companions returned. With their empty mule cart, they asked Ah Ang, "Where is he?"

"Didn't... didn't find him."

The four of them berated him severely and then searched everywhere within the manor themselves.

To no avail.

Night fell, and the five men had no choice but to go home for dinner, pretending that nothing was amiss.

Behind the fodder shed on the west side of the manor, a dark shadow flitted past.

Amidst the chirping of spring insects, Chen Family Manor was poised to pass another unremarkable night.

As midnight approached, several savage, drawn-out howls suddenly echoed from the east side of the manor!

The cries pierced the night sky, waking the sleeping manor residents.

They had never heard such strange sounds.

He Lingchuan's "selfless" help to the Situ family set a fine example, prompting various forces, big and small, in the surrounding area to convey their intentions for cooperation with the Yangshan Archipelago.

This was a positive development and He Lingchuan's goal, but it often came with minor annoyances. For instance, one small region hoped to borrow 40,000 low-interest loans from the Yangshan Archipelago, intending to pay interest first, then the principal, with two mines within its territory serving as collateral.

It sounded like a good deal, but one of those two mines was poor in resources, and the other's reserves were depleted. Together, they weren't even worth three thousand taels of silver.

The information sent by this region also included two sets of falsified accounts, revealing their true intentions.

In any case, there was no long-term stability here; they would seize any opportunity to swindle. A few years later, a new makeshift administration would take over, and who would acknowledge the old debts?

The pitfalls hidden within these cooperation proposals were countless, requiring Jiang Lishui to exercise extreme caution.

Currently, the agreement Jiang Lishui handed to He Lingchuan was a trade request from Perliu, one of the seven allied armies that besieged Bixia. Its national strength was considerable, and its government was stable.

Perliu highly valued this transaction, sending envoys to negotiate twice.

However, the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce received so many requests that it took Jiang Lishui several days to draft this agreement and submit it to He Lingchuan for review.

He Lingchuan read it but was not interested. "Set it aside for now; we'll discuss it again later," he said.

Having finished the miscellaneous tasks, He Lingchuan gave a couple of instructions and was about to leave when Fu Liushan strolled in from outside, a fruit leather roll dangling from his mouth.

"Master Fu is back?" He Lingchuan knew that Fu Liushan had recently been "gathering material" in Shizhou Head and Liuping, intending to hear the common people's descriptions of the two major battles and the Black Armored Army.

Anyway, Yangshan covered all his travel expenses for food, drink, and lodging. "How was your trip?"

"Smoothly, no hitches. Yang Meng, the garrison commander of Shizhou Head, has taken over Liuping, and it seems he's also gone to Xiatun, which was originally Zhao Guangzhi's territory. His garrison army has now expanded to eight hundred men."

"That fast?" He Lingchuan recalled that when Yang Meng defended Shizhou Head a few days ago, he only had five hundred soldiers at his disposal. In just three days, he had significantly increased his manpower.

Of course, how much combat effectiveness could these newly added numbers possess?

Still, the superficial increase in numbers could indeed bluff outsiders who were unaware of the true situation.

"I also went to Feng County." Fu Liushan's gaze at He Lingchuan was a little strange. "What happened in these places was largely similar to your previous descriptions, but from the perspective of ordinary citizens, it was particularly shocking and immensely satisfying. I think, no matter who the Black Armored leader is—"

He Lingchuan was being artful, and Fu Liushan humored him. After all, the one who pays the piper calls the tune, and there was nothing wrong with that.

"—the effect he desired has been achieved."

He Lingchuan smiled. "That's good."

He had gone through great lengths to create this illusion, not just to shock people, but for many other purposes as well.

"However..." Fu Liushan drew out his words, "there's one detail you never mentioned before. Before and after the Black Armored cavalry left, an incredibly detailed and lifelike bas-relief pattern of a flood dragon's head would appear on the walls in these places, usually on the city gates. After three days, the flood dragon's head would then disappear."

Yes, it was a *jiao* (flood dragon) and not a true dragon; its head only had small horns, far from being long enough.

He Lingchuan asked him, "You saw it with your own eyes?"

"I did." Fu Liushan's gaze at He Lingchuan was meaningful. "What exactly was that?"

Indeed, what exactly was it?

"There's no conclusion yet," He Lingchuan smiled. "This is an unprecedented new development, as you know, Master Fu."

To Fu Liushan, that smile seemed somewhat inscrutable.

Although he didn't know why there was a flood dragon head pattern on the wall, he knew the truth about the Rakshasa Armor and the Qiang Dragon Battle Armor — that it was a treasure made from the scales of an ancient dragon god!

The Rakshasa Armor had existed for a long time, never accompanied by such strange phenomena until it fell into He Lingchuan's hands.

What exactly did this man, He, do to the Rakshasa Armor?!

However, Fu Liushan quickly returned to his usual demeanor, shrugging. "I just came back to inform you. Nothing else, I'm off for a drink. Ah, I've spent the past few days just traveling."

He Lingchuan couldn't help but remind him, "Write the script first. Dou Wenguan and the theater troupe have been waiting for your script for a long time."

Fu Liushan didn't look back, merely waved his hand, and slipped away until he was out of sight.

He Lingchuan's expression immediately darkened as he slowly walked through the courtyard.

There were no outsiders here, only the tall kapok trees blooming exuberantly and passionately, their vibrant colors like fiery clouds in the sky.

He Lingchuan found a large rock, sat down casually, and gazed at the red clouds, lost in thought.

Earlier, when he led his group away from Shizhou Head and Liuping, he had been in such a hurry that he had no time to check what new things were on the walls. But later, when intelligence from various places was compiled, He Lingchuan was so astonished to hear about the appearance of the flood dragon head bas-reliefs that he almost scratched his head raw!

He was more surprised than anyone because he knew the function of the flood dragon head totem, or rather, the black flood dragon totem.

This mark represented a blessing from heaven and earth, and places like Shizhou Head and Liuping were clearly not qualified. So, did it only last for a mere three days?

Could he interpret it this way?

Seeing him remain silent and still for a long time, the Soul-Sifting Mirror in his arms couldn't help but ask, "Are you thinking about the flood dragon head totem again?"

For the past few days, He Lingchuan had been pensive. Only the mirror knew that he was constantly pondering this totem that appeared and disappeared without explanation.

With the Soul-Sifting Mirror present, it was difficult for external spies and supernatural agents to hide from its gaze, so He Lingchuan felt at ease speaking aloud.

"Yes, this thing appeared at the worst possible time, throwing my plans into disarray."

As soon as he heard that the flood dragon head bas-reliefs appeared following the Black Armored Army's movements, He Lingchuan knew that an unexpected variable had arrived.

Man proposes, God disposes; his plans were rarely smooth sailing and always full of variables.

Heaven truly loved sending him both pleasant and unpleasant surprises.

The mirror wondered, "Isn't this totem a good thing? You yourself said it represents a blessing from the Dao of Heaven. It's already blessed you, and you're still complaining about being in disarray?"

This was information He Lingchuan had obtained from the Pylon World, which he had also mentioned to the mirror.

"It's not the right time," He Lingchuan murmured. "It came at the wrong time."

The mirror pressed him, "So, is it a blessing or a curse?"