Chapter 514: What Was Meant to Come Has Come

Zhongshen Mou immediately said to Fan Sheng, "Brother Fan, there's no need to rush. I'll handle this myself."

He Lingchuan smiled, "Let's be clear, I don't accept mermaid pearls. You can produce those yourself, as many as you want."

The allusion to mermaids crying pearls at night was a blatant mockery at this moment. Zhongshen Mou shot him a cold glance, but what he took out was not a magical artifact, but a stack of banknotes: "Fifty thousand taels of silver."

The banknotes in this stack ranged from a minimum face value of three thousand to a maximum of ten thousand.

As soon as he slapped the banknotes onto the table, the noisy Chaohu Tower fell silent. A bet of fifty thousand taels?

This was a record-breaking wager at the Baishajue Lotus Fragrance Festival.

"It's your turn," Zhongshen Mou said unhurriedly, waiting to see He Lingchuan's response. "If you can't produce the money, you can offer that round shield as collateral."

"My shield?" He Lingchuan was startled. This guy actually coveted the Soul-Devouring Mirror? Right, he had been using this mirror recently to detect spiritual mechanisms.

The mirror shrieked in his ear, "No, no! I don't like being submerged in water!"

Zhongshen Mou was a merman, spending at least half his life in water. It was a mirror, and it hated rust spots!

Of course, only He Lingchuan could hear its cries. He reached into his embrace, stroked the mirror for a long time, and a hesitant look appeared on his face.

Seeing him look so pained, Zhongshen Mou sneered inwardly. An impoverished outsider, holding Fu Shanyue's token, yet trying to act like a big shot?

One move would send him back to his true self.

But in the end, he took out the mirror and handed it forward: "You mean this?" Zhongshen Mou naturally took it and examined it carefully.

The mirror surface was so bright it could reflect a person, and its style was ancient, not a contemporary artifact. It was also a bit damp; could it be this guy's sweat?

Zhongshen Mou disgustedly wiped his hand twice on his trouser leg. "Yes."

In fact, he had immediately fallen in love with the mirror upon holding it. But after only two quick glances, He Lingchuan snatched it back.

Fan Sheng stood behind Zhongshen Mou, blocked by him and unable to intervene in time.

"Forget it, this treasure is too valuable. Even three more fifty-thousand-tael bets from you wouldn't be enough to match it!" He Lingchuan went back on his word on the spot and rummaged in his embrace for a long time again.

Zhongshen Mou, with his hands behind his back, sneered, "If you can't afford the bet, just say so. I won't force you." Cen Boqing, however, smiled, "My Lord Envoy, may I lend you some first?"

The noble spectators on the side were also whispering and pointing.

Inside the tower were dignitaries from Lingxu City and old gentry from Chiyan State. Their positions and identities differed, so their gazes at He Lingchuan were complex. The Lingxu City people openly agreed with Cen Boqing, as if no one else was present; the Chiyan State people, however, looked worried and secretly resented him for stirring up trouble that he couldn't resolve.

Fifty thousand taels. Even with such a concentration of wealth, who would casually carry fifty thousand taels around?

That was fifty million copper coins!

Xiang Yan couldn't stand it, and was about to speak with a light cough. But He Lingchuan waved his hand and finally pulled out three fist-sized, dark red profound crystals from his embrace!

He also looked relieved: "There's too much stuff; I kept rummaging until I found these small ones. They're valued at eighty thousand taels, but I'll round it down to fifty thousand to bet against you."

The buzzing murmur of discussion around them came to an abrupt halt.

Jiao Yu grinned. No one would know it was smiling unless it made a sound, but Commander Lu directly gave a thumbs-up: "My Lord Envoy!"

He Lingchuan placed the profound crystals on the table. The Baishajue County Magistrate said, "Magistrate Tian, please be a witness."

Magistrate Tian nodded vigorously: "Of course, of course, rest assured!" With the appearance of such hard currency as profound crystals, even Zhongshen Mou had nothing to say.

Both their wagers were placed on the table. Magistrate Tian immediately dispatched subordinates to guard the area, allowing no one to approach.

Every year at the Lotus Fragrance Festival, big figures flaunted their wealth, but none compared to this year, where one outdid the other in extravagance.

The bets were set, and He Lingchuan went over to give Jiao Yu and Commander Lu a few instructions. Then, he jumped directly off the high tower and landed in the water.

Everyone saw him splash twice in the lake, then borrow a government officer's horse from the shore and gallop all the way to the pebble beach.

He lowered his head and said to the Divine Bone Necklace, "It's all up to you now. You'll have to work hard later." Those profound crystals were Fu Shanyue's advance payment to He Lingchuan.

The Divine Bone Necklace naturally showed no reaction, but He Lingchuan acted as if it had heard him.

On boat number ninety-seven sat two of Commander Lu's subordinates. Hearing He Lingchuan's intentions, one immediately jumped off to make way for him.

Originally, the fierce tiger Jiao Yu also wanted to join the fun, but its tiger claws made paddling a boat inconvenient, and its weight would affect the speed, so it had to stay in the tower to watch the excitement.

But it turned its head and saw Zhongshen Mou and Fan Sheng whisper a few words to each other, then go together to find Cen Boqing.

What new mischief were these three planning?

It had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Fan Sheng immediately found Magistrate Tian, pointed to the six or seven people behind him, and said, "We'd like to participate in the 'Collecting Chips' race as well."

Magistrate Tian was startled: "You... all of you want to participate?" Fan Sheng brazenly said, "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Uh, but... but..." Magistrate Tian stammered. Each racing boat carried only two people, so these seven or eight people joining would require an additional four boats. Everyone inside and outside the tower had basically placed their bets, and a last-minute adjustment to the participating teams would cause widespread complaints.

At that point, it wouldn't be Fan Sheng who was resented, but Magistrate Tian.

Moreover, Magistrate Tian wasn't foolish; he could tell at a glance that these people were joining with the intention of targeting the Crown Prince's Envoy.

To try to gang up on someone and openly scheme against the Crown Prince's Envoy on Chiyan State's territory showed too little regard for Chiyan.

"The Envoy predicted it," the fierce tiger stomped on Commander Lu's foot. "Go!"

Commander Lu immediately pushed his way into the crowd and loudly declared, "Magistrate Tian, my thirty men also wish to join!"

"Thi..." Magistrate Tian was secretly overjoyed, but outwardly feigned shock, "Oh dear, that would mean another fifteen boats! Besides, where would we find so many boats at the last minute?"

In reality, there were over a hundred official racing boats at the Lotus Fragrance Festival, usually with an extra dozen or so in reserve. Baishajue was a land of fish and rice; to say there were no boats was a joke. It would merely take a bit longer to allocate them.

But Magistrate Tian, as the host, flatly insisted there weren't any. What could others say? Commander Lu chuckled, "Well, I don't care. We want to go too."

Why could Fan Sheng and his subordinates go, but he couldn't?

The guests in the back were also buzzing with discussion. The Lotus Fragrance Festival had been held many times, but such a situation had never occurred before.

It was Xiang Yan who stepped forward and said, "My lords, this event is just for celebration and good fortune. If both of you participate, won't you scare off all the other teams?"

Another Lingxu City guest chimed in, "It's best to keep things as they are. Don't complicate matters!"

"Yes, stop wasting time, let's start quickly!"

Those who could stay on the tower were not foolish; they could tell at a glance that these two sides intended to engage in a brawl inside the Lotus Palace. It sounded lively, but the Lotus Palace was so far away, and its walls so high, that those present wouldn't be able to see anything at all.

If they couldn't see it, it had nothing to do with them.

Furthermore, the bets had already been placed. Who would be happy with sudden last-minute changes?

"Wasn't this just an opening ceremony event? Keep it simple, don't make it too complicated, okay?" The guests' complaints came early, and Magistrate Tian was secretly delighted.

Fan Sheng and Cen Boqing whispered a few words, then Cen Boqing lightly coughed, "Adding boats at the last minute is indeed inappropriate. How about this: the original number of boats remains unchanged. If Lord Fan also wishes to participate, he can simply replace someone in my team."

He looked at Commander Lu and said, "Envoy He replaced your team member, and Lord Fan replaces my team member. That's fair, isn't it?"

This implied a one-for-one swap, meaning Commander Lu shouldn't go down.

The place was full of dignitaries, all with impatient expressions. Commander Lu also didn't want to stubbornly cause trouble, so he took the easy way out and said, "Fine, I think that works."

So, the final outcome was that Fan Sheng went alone, without a single bodyguard. He also jumped off the tower and rode a horse towards the lakeshore.

That fellow wasn't going for the competition, but to kill someone. The fierce tiger Jiao Yu and Commander Lu exchanged glances, both seeing the other's concern.

Envoy He had foresight just now, and before leaving, he whispered to them:

"If they want to form a group, you join too."

Commander Lu's interference, at best, forced Fan Sheng to go alone.

Fan Sheng was clearly very confident about dealing with Envoy He by himself.

And he had reason to be confident; his combat power far exceeded everyone present, including Jiao Yu and Commander Lu.

Last time, Jiao Yu and Envoy He teamed up two-on-one and still couldn't defeat him. This time, Envoy He was going to challenge Fan Sheng alone. Could he do it?

Jiao Yu was glad that the Envoy had suddenly entered the competition, catching Cen and Fan off guard.

It was certain that He Lingchuan had prepared in advance, while Fan Sheng was entering the fight hastily.

Hopefully, the Lord Envoy could regain some advantage in this regard.

It wasn't until Fan Sheng also arrived at the pebble beach and boarded Cen Boqing's small boat that Magistrate Tian began to ring the bell.

This time, the bell rang with unusual urgency—

This was the signal to start the race.

At the beachhead, a hundred boats immediately raced forward, darting towards the Lotus Palace like arrows.

He Lingchuan had already washed the mirror and his hands several times in the lake water, still feeling uneasy. He quickly paddled his boat away from the shore.

Just then, he heard a familiar tiger roar, deep and distant.

A tiger's roar could travel very far; mountain residents might not even be afraid when they heard it, as it could be coming from a distant mountain peak on the other side.

He Lingchuan looked back at Chaohu Tower, knowing it was a signal from the fierce tiger Jiao Yu, and his expression subtly darkened.

Fan Sheng indeed hadn't missed this opportunity. What was destined to come, had come.

Zhongshen Mou stood beside Cen Boqing, watching the mass launch of boats below, silently grim-faced.

Cen Boqing glanced around, and seeing that everyone else was kept out by the guards, he lowered his voice and said, "We searched inside the city; nothing. We've already checked nine townships outside the city, with only two left. I think it'll be quick; we'll have good news by tomorrow or the day after at the latest."

He gave a cold laugh: "You've also submitted a complaint to Lingxu City, haven't you? The Crown Prince's Envoy of Chiyan State abducting a major criminal, that's quite a story."

"Yes, I've submitted it, but no reply yet. It would be best if I could find Fu Songhua and send him back to report as soon as possible, dead or alive." Zhongshen Mou became annoyed whenever he thought of the abducted Fu Songhua. He had originally thought the tough battle he would have to fight would be in Lingxu City, but who knew that a perfect plan would suffer a setback at its very first step in Baishajue.

This was not a good omen. "That Magistrate Tian also doesn't know how to play along; he's publicly compliant but secretly defiant."