Chapter 410: Truth in the Bottle

Fu Shan Yue smiled. "I'm not that idle. I came today to ask about the latter half of what you didn't finish saying at Fengmo Mountain."

"What are you talking about?"

Fu Shan Yue spread his hand, a small wooden bottle lying in his palm. "Do you know what's in here?"

His subordinate looked surprised upon hearing this. Wasn't this wooden bottle supposed to contain dragon marrow? The young master had gone to great lengths to seize it himself, so why was he now asking an outsider?

"Who told you?" As soon as He Lingchuan spoke, Fu Shan Yue's expression darkened. His subordinate couldn't help but say, "Young master, isn't this man talking nonsense? Don't believe him."

Fu Shan Yue slowly turned his head, staring at him as he asked, "Then who should I believe? You, Fu Ji, or Fu Jiu?"

Fu Ji's face changed dramatically, and he opened his mouth to speak, when Fu Shan Yue suddenly slapped him on the top of his head, knocking him directly unconscious.

He Lingchuan displeasedly said, "Be careful, blood is splattering on the wall." He clearly saw that as Fu Ji slid down, his mouth brushed against the wall, leaving a streak of blood.

Fu Shan Yue was this ruthless even to his own people? "Ah, my apologies, just handling some internal affairs," Fu Shan Yue said, finding a towel and wiping his hands. "I've made you witness a spectacle."

"Not only did I witness a spectacle, but I also lent you a hand," He Lingchuan said, referring to the traps he had previously set up in the room, which Fu Ji had all sprung. "Why did you bring him here to settle your internal matters?" Using his strength to deal with his own subordinates — this person really knew how to take advantage.

"Just incidentally," Fu Shan Yue said, dropping his casual demeanor and becoming serious. "Please don't hesitate to enlighten me on what exactly is in this bottle."

He Lingchuan sat steadily. "Information comes at a price, you know."

"What do you want?"

"Depends on what you have," He Lingchuan said, spreading his hands. "If you're so poor that all you have is money, I can reluctantly accept it."

Fu Shan Yue was a little surprised. Does this kind of person lack money?

He Lingchuan maintained his smile. Of course, he lacked money! He had lacked money even when he was Young Master He of Dunyu. Now, alone in Beijia, all he had in his pocket were the savings he hadn't spent from before, which meant he was slowly running out of funds. He still had his cultivation path to follow, and every step required money. So, while talking about money felt crass, not talking about it would be too restrictive.

"Understood," Fu Shan Yue said, taking out two silver notes from his robe and placing them on the table. "This is two hundred taels. It's all I have on me right now." He was out to kill people—no, to negotiate—so why would he carry much money?

"Is your life only worth two hundred taels?" He Lingchuan asked. "Don't demean yourself like that."

"Can't I get a friendship discount?"

He Lingchuan smiled. "Friendship never comes with a discount."

Fu Shan Yue was a bit helpless. He had plenty of hidden weapons on him, but money? Where could he get money on short notice? "What's your destination?" he asked.

"Lingxu City."

Fu Shan Yue thought for a moment. "Plus a five-mu estate in Lingxu City!"

He Lingchuan chuckled. "A five-mu plot, and you dare call that a large estate?" His old residence in Blackwater City spanned twenty-five mu, five times the size of this offer.

Fu Shan Yue's lips twitched. "In Lingxu City, it is!" At this, he gave a cunning smile. "Actually, I don't need to know exactly what this is. Knowing it's not dragon marrow is enough! As long as I know I've been misled, that's enough."

He Lingchuan remained unmoved. "Without knowing the properties of the poison, how will you go back and set up a trap for a counterattack?"

These words struck Fu Shan Yue's sore spot precisely. He instinctively bared his teeth. "Two hundred taels and an estate in Lingxu City, plus I'll owe you a favor." He warned He Lingchuan, "This opportunity doesn't come often. Don't be quick to refuse."

"Alright then, but you still have to answer a few questions for me." In fact, they both knew that these two conditions were insignificant, merely a way for both sides to shake hands and make peace. There was no mortal enmity, nor complex entanglement of interests, so why resort to deadly measures? Furthermore, the person Fu Shan Yue wanted to deal with at this moment was not He Lingchuan at all.

"Ask away."

"What is your relationship with the Monarch of Chiyan?" As he'd thought before, a *ba* (drought demon/zombie-like creature) was rarer in this world than panda blood in his original world, which inevitably led to certain associations.

"He is my father."

Indeed. He Lingchuan blinked. "A *ba* can have children?" After all, isn't a *ba* just... a dead person? Do dead people still have that kind of vitality? However, He Lingchuan had read in "Tales of the Middle Ages," lent to him by Sun Fuling, that when a *ba* first comes into being, they dislike sunlight, have stiff joints, and a pale complexion. Only after their cultivation deepens do their complexions become rosy and their movements normal. At that point, there isn't much difference from a living person; they even regain a pulse, though their method of cultivation is entirely different. With a pulse comes physical function, perhaps... hmm?

"He was also very surprised himself," Fu Shan Yue said faintly. "My mother is human."

His father was once human, so there was no such thing as biological isolation then.

"Since you are a prince of Chiyan, why would you rob your own envoy?"

"I heard that what the Monarch of Shan Yu privately gave to my father would be very beneficial for my cultivation," Fu Shan Yue said with a smile. "My father wouldn't give it to me, so I came to get it myself."

He Lingchuan expressed sympathy. "It sounds like your relationship with your father isn't very good."

"It's alright," Fu Shan Yue said, his smile unchanged. "He just wishes I were dead, that's all."

"What a loving father and filial son," He Lingchuan said with a sigh. "Why is that?"

"That's a family matter; it's not convenient to share," Fu Shan Yue said, gesturing with his chin towards him. "I've answered enough questions; it's your turn."

"That wooden bottle of yours doesn't contain dragon marrow, but a type of venom," He Lingchuan said, brightening the oil lamp on the chest of drawers. "I've seen its effect on people; those afflicted cannot be cured."

"Poison?" He had thought it was something remarkable, so Fu Shan Yue was somewhat disappointed. "I'm not afraid of poison." Creatures like *ba* are naturally immune to all poisons.

"This isn't an earthly poison; it's produced by a divine offspring," He Lingchuan said. "Do you know Jin Du Mu?" He had recognized it from the scent in the bottle at Fengmo Mountain: Wen Xing, the son of Wen Daolun, the strategist Zhong Shengguang relied on, had exuded this unique sweet scent from his wound after being injured by Jin Du Mu's ninth son. So, was there any need to elaborate on what was in the bottle?

Fu Shan Yue shook his head blankly. "What is that?"

"Not a 'thing,' but a deity," He Lingchuan said, spreading his hands. "It requires a living subject for experimentation."

Fu Shan Yue pointed to his unconscious subordinate Fu Ji beside him. "How about this one?"

He Lingchuan made a "please" gesture with his hand. So this fellow had spared Fu Ji's life specifically to use him as a test subject.

Fu Shan Yue casually took a silver needle, dipped it in the liquid from the bottle. The needle tip remained silvery and did not turn black. He then pricked Fu Ji with the needle; the latter was still in a coma and showed no reaction. Fu Shan Yue was clearly impatient, so he simply made several more quick pricks on the neck, thigh, and abdomen.

After several more breaths, He Lingchuan suddenly said, "It's changing." Fu Shan Yue pulled out a dagger and scraped the pricked areas. The sensation was stiff, or rather hard; the soft skin had turned into something else. Hmm, really wood? He checked several other needle points and found signs of lignification (wood-like transformation) everywhere, spreading throughout the body.

Fu Ji awoke amidst the changes and cried out in alarm, "What's going on?!" Fu Shan Yue shook the wooden bottle in his hand. "You've tested it for me." Fu Ji struggled, collapsing to the ground. "Young master, spare my life!"

"Who spread the false intelligence that the gift from Shan Yu Kingdom was dragon marrow?" Fu Ji stammered, unable to speak. Fu Shan Yue murmured, "I treated you well; why did you betray me?"

Fu Ji desperately begged for mercy, but by then his limbs were already immobile, and Fu Shan Yue remained unmoved. Not until Fu Ji had completely transformed into a wooden sculpture did he pat Fu Ji's shoulder. "There is no antidote for this poison." And the faster the blood flow, the quicker it took effect. Now, anyone standing before Fu Ji would only think that the artisan was skilled, having carved something so lifelike, even the painful expression on the face so genuine.

Fu Shan Yue watched, secretly alarmed.

He Lingchuan asked him, "Do you think you would be spared if you drank this?" A *ba*'s body could resist potent poisons, but it might not withstand the effect of lignification. His expression wasn't good. "I also conducted experiments using pikas, but I made them ingest it orally then."

"Snake venom acts when it enters the bloodstream, but ingesting it often causes little harm. If you had the pikas swallow it, perhaps the effect wouldn't manifest as quickly," He Lingchuan reminded him. "Furthermore, are you certain the pikas used in your experiments weren't switched?"

Fu Shan Yue couldn't utter the word "no."

He thought for a moment, then asked, "What kind of deity is Jin Du Mu exactly?"

He Lingchuan then explained to him the characteristics of Jin Du Mu and her offspring. Fu Shan Yue remained silent after listening, and only after a long while did he exhale slowly. "So that's what it is!"

"Why would the Monarch of Shan Yu send something like this to your father?" He Lingchuan asked him. "Or was this stuff swapped along the way? I heard the Shan Yu envoy was robbed and spent two days recovering their lost items."

"I don't know," Fu Shan Yue said, shaking his head. "But I will find out." He then added, "Currently, Shan Yu's official army is being steadily defeated by the rebellious new army and needs Chiyan's assistance." He had read the letter, which stated that, in addition to this dragon marrow, the Monarch of Shan Yu had also prepared a list of gifts for his father.

He Lingchuan was curious. "Can Chiyan send troops to help?"

"Of course not; this is an internal affair of Shan Yu," Fu Shan Yue replied. "Other demon kings can only watch the tiger fight from afar; they cannot directly intervene. Otherwise, Lingxu City and other demon nations will surely impose severe penalties!"

He Lingchuan, however, noted the word "directly." "So, indirect help is possible?"

All rules have loopholes that can be exploited, and Beijia is no exception. "Money, provisions, and goods can all be sent to allied battlefields under various pretexts, such as trade," Fu Shan Yue explained, shrugging. "If planned well, a few powerful individuals can even be dispatched to provide support. Lingxu City finds these hard to regulate, and sometimes they turn a blind eye. No matter who wins in the end, as long as they pledge allegiance and pay tribute to Lingxu City and gain the gods' approval, they can ascend to power."