Chapter 1588: Is It a Bit Late?

Currently, the general populace in Yaoguo is filled with animosity. He Lingchuan didn't offer further explanation, only chuckled, "After all, this is still Blinggold Plain. When times are good, people are gentle and orderly, but when times are bad, their true nature is revealed."

While they were dining, servants were naturally sent to clear out empty rooms for the esteemed guests to stay in.

He Lingchuan was well-connected and hospitable, so guests frequently stayed overnight at Spring Villa. Currently, five foreign merchants and three nobles were already invited to stay at the villa. Merchants came and went, often socializing with each other, so the palace guards led by Zhao Song had long grown accustomed to the activity and no longer bothered to inquire.

These business activities were too complex. With their meager salaries, they only wanted to do their primary job: guarding He Lingchuan.

After dinner, Yang Shanren took Peng and Mao to settle into their rooms to rest, and He Lingchuan returned to his study and collapsed onto his couch.

He lay sprawled out, but his eyes were wide open.

The mirror asked him, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

If He Lingchuan stayed up all night, he would usually take a nap for half an hour in his study the next morning to restore his energy. After all, his daily work was exhausting, requiring both mental and physical effort.

"I'm wondering what exactly Bai Ziqi came to Tianshui City for."

The mirror was puzzled. "Didn't those two say he was driven away by Lingshan?"

Bai Ziqi himself claimed he was here to investigate Emperor Jiuyou, but Peng Yukui said he was driven away by Lingshan. While the latter's statement could indeed explain why Bai Ziqi suddenly traveled south from Thousand Star Tomb to Tianshui City, He Lingchuan felt that Bai Ziqi's visit might have a deeper purpose.

"That's likely one of the reasons," He Lingchuan said, closing his eyes slowly. "But after Bai Ziqi arrived in Tianshui City, he immediately went to Mangzhou, completely unfazed by the pursuit of Peng Yukui and his group."

Someone lacking a sense of security wouldn't rashly leave their place of refuge.

The mirror asked curiously, "Since he's in Yaoguo, he'll receive double protection from the Yaoguo army and the Myozan Heavenly God Temple. The balance of power between him and Lingshan's pursuers shifts in his favor, so what does he have to be afraid of?"

Didn't its master say this himself earlier?

He Lingchuan reached up to press his Jingming acupoint, and said, "Look at Bai Ziqi's behavior. As soon as he arrived in Tianshui City, he went straight to the Myozan Heavenly Main Temple, without even notifying the Yaoguo court of his arrival. The Yaoguo King only invited him into the palace after he found out. Even if Bai Ziqi is straightforward, he should know that this doesn't comply with normal diplomatic etiquette."

"Oh, so you mean he was in a hurry and didn't care about etiquette?"

"What's inside the Main Temple? He wouldn't have gone there just to have tea with Chief Envoy Liang. And after he entered Yaoguo, Lingshan's pursuers stopped appearing, and Bai Ziqi wasn't chased frantically." He Lingchuan was also clarifying his thoughts. "So, could the reason he was so eager to enter the temple be that he wanted to meet Myozan Heavenly as soon as possible?"

"Leaving Thousand Star Tomb and heading directly south, then entering Tianshui City and going straight to the Myozan Heavenly God Temple, hmm—" His eyes sparkled. "Could he have gone to Myozan Heavenly because of Immortal Qianhuan?"

"Oh, that's actually possible!" the mirror exclaimed. "If Bai Ziqi found Immortal Qianhuan's cave dwelling, how could he be confident in raiding it himself? That's an ancient Grand Immortal! Rushing in would likely lead to more misfortune than good."

It chuckled twice. "To deal with an ancient Grand Immortal, wouldn't you need to dispatch an ancient Heavenly God?"

"So, he rushed here to bring in reinforcements, to seek external aid?" He Lingchuan stretched. "But after he arrived, he didn't make any other moves; instead, he went to Mangzhou. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry anymore."

He was originally going to raid Immortal Qianhuan's cave, but after Bai Ziqi arrived in Tianshui City, he slowed his pace and even turned to Mangzhou to continue investigating Emperor Jiuyou.

That's a big shift, from hurried to relaxed.

"This change most likely occurred during his meeting with Myozan Heavenly."

The mirror asked curiously, "Did Myozan Heavenly tell him to calm down?"

It was meant as a joke, but He Lingchuan snapped his fingers. "Bingo!"

"Huh? Did I guess right?" The mirror was pleased with itself.

"Don't you remember, Qingyang and the temple are about to make a big move?" He Lingchuan said slowly. "Time is running out. I believe their preliminary work is almost complete; it's like an arrow on the bowstring, ready to be loosed. Myozan Heavenly is also in the know. Perhaps it wants to resolve the major event at hand before dealing with Immortal Qianhuan. After all, Immortal Qianhuan has been in secluded cultivation for over 150 years, so a few more days shouldn't matter."

He let out a long breath. "Then that's good news for us—excellent news!"

"Oh..." Good how? "Then, should we just let Bai Ziqi investigate Peach Blossom Villa? What if he really finds something out? What do we do then?"

The mirror still remembered what Bai Ziqi had said before leaving—something about having a good chat with He Xiao after he returned, which was clearly a blatant threat!

"What we did at Peach Blossom Villa was cleaned up pretty well, and several months have passed since then. Even if Bai Ziqi goes to the site, the clues he can obtain will be limited." He Lingchuan had personally handled the cleanup, so he was naturally confident. "But conversely, even if he doesn't find any useful clues there, he can still cause me trouble when he returns."

"Huh?"

"Have you forgotten how he treated me in Lingxu City? Did he have concrete evidence then?"

"N-no." Bai Ziqi merely suspected He Lingchuan and had him forcibly taken to Myozan Heavenly for judgment.

This person appears polite, but don't forget he's the Heavenly Palace's Cloud Envoy. He doesn't need to be reasonable when he does things!

"The same logic applies this time. Only the location has changed to Tianshui City—and thankfully, this isn't Lingxu City. I still have nearly a thousand guards by my side. If he wants to make a move against me, he'll have to get past the Yaoguo King first," He Lingchuan said seriously. "This isn't his home ground. If he asks the Yaoguo King to arrest me, leaving aside whether the King would agree, at this critical juncture, it would be a completely unnecessary complication and could very likely disrupt Qingyang and Myozan Heavenly's plans!"

"So—" He made a rough conclusion. "Regardless of whether Bai Ziqi finds critical evidence, he shouldn't move against me before the Imperial Nectar erupts."

"Wow, are you sure about that? If you're wrong, we'll be in big trouble."

He Lingchuan let out a small laugh. "Bai Ziqi came to see me that day because he already suspected me. Isn't it a bit late to be afraid of trouble now?"

"Uh..." Was that day exceptionally dangerous? Reflecting now, the mirror recalled that its master did seem a little worried.

"Bai Ziqi already suspected me, so why didn't he just arrest me directly?"

The mirror said matter-of-factly, "Of course not. You have nearly a thousand guards by your side. If the Yaoguo King doesn't nod his approval, how can he just arrest you at will?"

"His not arresting me that day means he has reservations. Whether it's because of Myozan Heavenly or the Yaoguo King, those reservations won't disappear just because he made a trip to Peach Blossom Villa," He Lingchuan analyzed. "Before Myozan Heavenly and Qingyang make their move, if Bai Ziqi wants to touch me, he has to get past the Yaoguo King. I don't believe he can produce conclusive evidence—'correlation' cannot be used as evidence. And I'm still overseeing a massive project like the eastern expansion of the capital city. Do you think the Yaoguo King would believe him?"

"...Hard to say." Putting itself in the King's shoes, the mirror also couldn't imagine whether the Yaoguo King should believe him.

But one thing was clear: He Xiao's role in the capital's eastern expansion project was real and substantial. If he were arrested, the project would undoubtedly be severely affected. As for Bai Ziqi's conclusions, they were merely conjectures, still a certain distance from the truth.

At this moment, the Yaoguo King would be extremely unwilling to deal with He Lingchuan. He knew better than anyone what his own subordinates were like and their capabilities. If He Lingchuan were removed, who would take over such a massive project?

"Even if the Yaoguo King were to deal with me under pressure from Beijia and the Heavenly Palace, it would further worsen the relationship between the Yaoguo court and the temple. This would be very detrimental to Myozan Heavenly's subsequent plans," He Lingchuan said. "Things have priorities. Bai Ziqi is a divine envoy, after all, and shouldn't undermine Myozan Heavenly at this critical juncture. Therefore, I'm temporarily safe."

This "temporary" period would last, at most, until Qingyang and Myozan Heavenly made their move. After that, no one would likely be able to stop Bai Ziqi from doing whatever he wished.

"While Bai Ziqi is out of Tianshui City, we must make good use of this window to first ascertain the strength of Peng Yukui and his group." He Lingchuan blinked. "They were able to chase Bai Ziqi all over the place, so they must be quite formidable. They could become effective allies for us if needed."

The mirror knew that its master was already plotting how to use them.

"Peng Yukui won't mind. He came to you already prepared for mutual exploitation."

"Indeed. We'd best resolve another potential problem."

Just as the mirror asked, "Which potential problem?" a rustling sound came from the branches outside, and the Ghost Ape leaped onto the windowsill, baring its teeth at He Lingchuan.

He lowered his barrier. "Come in."

The Ghost Ape entered through the window, carrying a small pouch made of spiderweb.

"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear," He Lingchuan said with a smile. He then asked, "Did you catch them?"

The Ghost Ape shook the net pouch in its hand but didn't hand it over. Its monkey eyes stared straight at him.

He Lingchuan understood, scrambled up, pulled open a drawer, and took out a small packet of fragrant wine-filled beans, which he offered to the ape.

Only then did the Ghost Ape hand over the pouch with one hand and take the candy with the other. It also glanced at the drawer several times.

"Next time, I won't put them in the drawer."

Hearing He Lingchuan's words, the Ghost Ape reluctantly pulled its gaze away, peeled open the oiled paper, and grabbed a handful of wine-filled beans to eat.

Fragrant and sweet, loved by both children and monkeys. Recently, over twenty thousand catties of fragrant spice powder shipped out of Yaoguo by the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce were made into various small sweets, and these wine-filled beans were the market's newest favorite.

He Lingchuan quietly examined the net pouch in his hand. Inside, two beetles lay motionless.

Each of them had a distinct red line on its abdomen.

The mirror exclaimed, "Oh my! Aren't these Tian Yun's insect puppets!"

Last time, the Ghost Ape had also offered two insect puppets, but those were killed by the Bat Demon, unlike these two... "Wait, are these two still alive?"

He Lingchuan shook the net pouch. The two insects flapped their wings and scurried a few times. Yes, they were full of life.

This was exactly what He Lingchuan had requested: to catch them alive.