Chapter 503: Each Has Its Own Damage

The fire was already raging fiercely. A loud explosion from above Tongfu Inn made everyone retreat in unison.

The purple flames were incredibly powerful; they couldn't be doused with water. In just a short time, half the inn had burned down. Fortunately, the inn was a standalone building, so the fire did not spread to other nearby structures.

However, a large amount of black ash floated in the air, causing the onlookers to cough. "Who started this fire?" they wondered.

Both He Lingchuan and Fan Sheng pointed at the other, shouting, "He did!" Magistrate Tian instantly felt a massive headache.

Seeing Magistrate Tian's face so contorted with distress, He Lingchuan walked over, patted his shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "Never mind, I'll help you out. We'll put it all on the Crown Prince's account."

It wasn't out of softness; rather, Magistrate Tian's appearance was perfectly timed and effectively prevented the other party from continuing their attack.

The two brothers from the Tongxin Guard were not only formidable cultivators but also seemed to possess powerful connections. He Lingchuan, with only the fierce tiger Jiao Yu as an aide, would be at a significant disadvantage fighting against them.

He clearly understood their intentions. The moment Magistrate Tian announced his status as the Crown Prince's special envoy, Fan Sheng could no longer feign ignorance about his opponent's identity, and the confrontation had to cease.

Magistrate Tian quickly expressed, "Thank you, Special Envoy."

The moment He Lingchuan moved, Fan Sheng strode over, asking coldly, "Trying to leave?" "Otherwise?" He Lingchuan retorted.

Fan Sheng pointed at the giant bear and scoffed, "You wounded my brother and still expect to walk away? Where in the world does such a good deal exist?"

The giant bear, its front paws reluctant to touch the ground, stood precariously on three legs.

He Lingchuan also summoned Jiao Yu to his side, pointing to its chest and front paws, and asked, "My companion was also injured by you. How do you intend to compensate?"

He wasn't lying; the fierce tiger had several lacerations on its fur. Although not directly struck by the axe, it had endured multiple axe-wind impacts, and its front paws were burned by the purple flames.

Magistrate Tian interjected weakly, "Gentlemen..."

At that moment, several more individuals emerged from the onlookers, led, surprisingly, by Zhongsun Mou.

He surveyed the scene and interjected to mediate: "Gentlemen, if you'll grant me this favor, how about both of you go to the medical hall to have your injuries assessed, and then we can discuss compensation?"

"Why bother with all that trouble?" He Lingchuan said boldly. "I'm skilled in medicine. Just have this giant bear come to me every day, and I'll treat its injuries. I guarantee it will recover within a month."

Bear demons tend to be quite simple-minded; if this creature were to be exposed to the Soul-Snatching Mirror for thirty days, there's no telling what changes might occur. He Lingchuan felt a slight sense of anticipation at the thought.

Fan Sheng's chest rose and fell twice, and he refused with a livid face, "There's no need." The berserk bear possessed strong vitality and an excellent physique; even without any medicine, its injuries would heal naturally within a month.

"Then I suppose there's nothing left?" He Lingchuan shrugged. "Goodbye." With that, he and the fierce tiger turned and departed.

Fan Sheng clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking audibly.

Yet he remained rooted to the spot, only asking Zhongsun Mou, "Why are you playing the good samaritan?"

"In any case, we can't deal with him for now; it's better for Brother Fan San to heal and rest early." *It would also save face,* Zhongsun Mou thought to himself. *I warned you not to be overconfident; who is there to blame but yourself for not listening?*

While his words sounded reasonable, Fan Sheng merely snorted and refrained from rebuking him publicly.

He had initially assumed that He Xiao, being merely a teenager and a visitor from a minor state, couldn't be very formidable and could be dispatched with a few strikes. To his surprise, the opponent was incredibly elusive. Yes, elusive.

While his cultivation might not have been exceptionally strong, he was as slippery as an eel, constantly evading Fan Sheng's crucial blows. The post station was directly opposite, so Fan Sheng went to request a carriage to transport the berserk bear away.

Magistrate Tian's face was plastered with a smile, but Zhongsun Mou shot him a glance and asked, "Did you help He Xiao hide Fu Songhua?"

Magistrate Tian froze, then waved his hands frantically. "No, no, how could such a thing happen!" "Without your help as a local, where else could he have hidden the person?"

Magistrate Tian thought to himself, *Baishaque is so vast, where couldn't someone be hidden?* But outwardly, he remained respectful: "Why would the Special Envoy need to consult me regarding his actions?"

Zhongsun Mou snorted, then ignored him, turning to board Fan Sheng's carriage. As Magistrate Tian watched the carriage rumble away, the smile vanished from his face.

*Those from Lingxu City always look down on others,* he mused. But Zhongsun Mou's question lingered: *Where would the Special Envoy hide the prisoner?* In an inn within the city, or a cave out in the wilderness?

Baishaque was a renowned scenic city, but ultimately, it was still a small place.

This young special envoy acted boldly, but Magistrate Tian didn't believe he would dare to send away the imperial fugitive from Lingxu City.

Forcibly taking Fu Songhua could arguably be explained as the special envoy requiring his assistance in an investigation. This conflict was merely a friction between two bureaucratic systems, easily defused as a minor issue if the King of Chiyan intervened.

However, if Fu Songhua were to leave Baishaque, the nature of the situation would change entirely. Lingxu City could then easily charge He Xiao with aiding and abetting an escape.

Therefore, the special envoy absolutely must not act foolishly.

The giant bear was so massive that even when Fan Sheng commandeered the largest carriage, its bulk nearly filled the entire interior, leaving barely enough room for the two men to squeeze in.

"I still have some good medicine that Brother Fan San could use," Zhongsun Mou offered. His demeanor towards the Fan brothers was notably similar to Magistrate Tian's deference towards him.

Fan Sheng, however, coldly replied, "No need," clearly disdaining Zhongsun Mou's medicine.

As they spoke, his hands were busy, swiftly applying medicine to the giant bear, which groaned in pain.

In that short time, the bear's blood had soaked the wooden planks beneath. Its once sleek and glossy fur was now bald and charred from the purple flames, leaving it a scarred and gruesome sight.

"With elemental energy protecting him, the sinister force from that kid's blade couldn't penetrate," Fan Sheng said, gently patting the bear's head. "Bear with it; your bones were also injured, so it will take another six or seven days to fully heal."

The giant bear's vitality and recovery abilities were astonishing; despite its current miserable state, these injuries were superficial to it.

"That spellcaster claimed he was performing a ritual to locate Fu Songhua, so why did this He fellow come here claiming he was under a death curse?" Fan Sheng looked up at him. "You sent a rapid message to Qingding City asking me to assist with the case; why didn't you mention how formidable this person was? If we had known ourselves and our enemy, we wouldn't have ended up in this state today."

"He was obstructing the investigation, so it's not surprising what he says," Zhongsun Mou sighed. *How many times had he warned these brothers, yet they wouldn't listen? What could be done?* "This fellow is cunning and tough; he's not an easy opponent."

"He doesn't look old, yet his cultivation is impressive. Given time..." Fan Sheng frowned. "Haven't you figured out his background yet?"

"He seems to be from Fu Nation, and Fushan Yue trusts him inexplicably," Zhongsun Mou shook his head. "The time has been too short, and information is scarce."

"Appointing foreigners as special envoys is not uncommon in Beijia; it happens periodically," Fan Sheng remarked. *Beijia's history is too ancient; there's truly nothing new under the sun.* "You're always prying around; I thought you'd be able to uncover his background."

"Human capabilities have their limits, otherwise why would I seek Brother Fan Er's help?" Zhongsun Mou pretended not to hear the barb in Fan Sheng's words. "If we eliminate this He fellow and retrieve Fu Songhua, I can return to Lingxu City to complete my mission."

"This task originally had nothing to do with you, so why did you interfere?" Fan Sheng asked, having finished applying medicine to the giant bear and beginning to bandage it.

"..." Zhongsun Mou murmured, "I merely wished to alleviate His Majesty's concerns."

Fan Sheng scoffed. *Saying one thing and doing another, this fellow probably just wanted to claim credit, didn't he? And ended up hitting a brick wall.*

The berserk bear groaned twice in pain. Fan Sheng stroked its forehead and said, "Heal quickly. Afterward, you'll come with me to kill that brat."

He then asked Zhongsun Mou, "If He Xiao is eliminated, my elder brother's debt of gratitude to your family will be settled, correct?"

Zhongsun Mou replied earnestly, "If this matter is accomplished, I will never trouble the Fan brothers again in the future."

"So where is Fu Songhua hidden? Surely you can find out?"

"Not yet," Zhongsun Mou quickly added, seeing Fan Sheng glare. "But soon. He Xiao isn't a local resident, and his acquaintances here are limited, making him easier to track."

After running a dozen yards away from the crowd, He Lingchuan still felt agonizing pain in his abdomen where Fan Sheng had kicked him, especially when inhaling.

He could only regulate his breathing to mitigate the pain, while simultaneously popping a pill into his mouth. Jiao Yu asked with some concern, "You're injured in the abdomen; are you alright?"

"Something is," He Lingchuan replied with a bitter smile. "Fan Sheng's force is immense."

When kicked by Fan Sheng, the Soul-Snatching Mirror's protective function instantly activated, significantly reducing the damage. Otherwise, the force of that kick would have been enough to split mountains and rocks, and certainly enough to instantly kill He Lingchuan before his enlightenment at Sanxinyuan.

Now, even while running, the true energy in his Dantian continuously flowed, alleviating his injury.

Significant progress in cultivation truly became evident only after such major battles. This was not the time to sit down and recuperate. He told Jiao Yu, "Zhongsun Mou set a complex trap here: first, a spellcaster was brought in to deal with me; if that failed, Fan Sheng and his brothers were waiting."

"Those two brothers are incredibly formidable, especially Fan Sheng," Jiao Yu said, still shaken. "If I were to fight him alone, I doubt I'd last ten rounds."

*Even the two of them might not have defeated Fan Sheng,* Jiao Yu knew deep down. *Had He Lingchuan not employed that clever tactic just now, they would surely have lost.*

"If Zhongsun Mou had this person at his side earlier, he wouldn't have let me take Fu Songhua," He Lingchuan asserted. "He must have brought in temporary outside help. But they were still overconfident, believing they could eliminate us effortlessly. Otherwise, they would have had the spellcaster perform the ritual in the countryside, where there wouldn't be so many civilian onlookers, and Magistrate Tian wouldn't have appeared."

A thought struck him at this point.

Could it be that Zhongsun Mou and the others had extraordinary confidence in the nightmare summoned by the spellcaster?

A creature like the Hundred-Faced Nightmare was indeed beyond the capability of someone at He Lingchuan's level to contend with. The more Zhongsun Mou understood the Hundred-Faced Nightmare, the more he believed it could easily dispose of He Lingchuan.

In that case, there would have been no need for the spellcaster to leave the city to perform the ritual, and the Fan brothers' ambush would have merely been a contingency plan.

He probably thought that even if He Lingchuan managed to escape the Hundred-Faced Nightmare's grasp, his spirit would be severely wounded, leaving him unable to pursue the spellcaster. Even if He Lingchuan pursued them for revenge, his own strength would be compromised, making him no match for the Fan brothers.

By any calculation, He Lingchuan seemed to have no hope of victory.