Chapter 525: Gold Armored Bronze Guards

**Chapter 522: Golden-Armored Bronze Guard**

While preparing the materials, the mirror asked him, "Are you still going to get involved in this case?"

"If Fu Shanyue isn't willing to fully hand this case over to Spirit Void City, then it must be the monarch's intention." He Lingchuan shrugged. "We've investigated this far; I need to get my hands on that book."

"Why is Chiyan still clinging to this case?"

"Even if I ask Fu Shanyue, he won't tell the truth." Give an explanation to their own demon victims? Heh, that's just talk.

Just then, a guard knocked on the door and handed He Lingchuan a letter, explaining that it had been slipped under the door of an old guest room and then brought over by an inn employee.

In the past few days, the old inn's employees had forwarded too many letters and gift lists to He Lingchuan, considering the attention-grabbing feats he had just accomplished in Baishajue.

The envelope bore his full name, He Xiao, and the seal was intact.

He Lingchuan opened the letter and recognized the handwriting:

*Congratulations, Special Envoy, on surviving the Lotus Palace.*

*You possess some skill, and I admire talent, which is why I offer you this advice:*

*Withdraw in time before the case closes; don't be a pawn for the Fu Shan father and son any longer.*

*There was already a rift between Chiyan and Spirit Void City. Over the past seven years, Spirit Void City had dispatched Chiyan's army to war four times, resulting in significant casualties and burdens for Chiyan. This is why Chiyan is rigorously investigating the messenger case; once any hidden details are uncovered...*

*Don't think the Crown Prince can protect you.*

*If Spirit Void City becomes displeased, you might be the first to suffer.*

The sender's name was withheld.

He Lingchuan recognized the handwriting immediately: it was Mai Xuewen's. This fellow, after devouring Zhongsun Mou, didn't rush to escape but instead sneaked back to the inn to leave him a note. He was truly unhurried and audacious.

The mirror also saw it: "That Mai fellow talks big and is quite annoying. But he's not wrong; we're foreigners and don't understand the internal affairs of Beijia. Don't work hard for Chiyan only to be sold out by Fu Shanyue later."

Spirit Void City and Chiyan, after all, had a superior-subordinate relationship. No matter how the two sides ultimately contended, the displeasure of the superior usually required the subordinate to pay a price to resolve it. Who would be that price?

He Lingchuan shook his head: "Do you think we can just retreat now?"

"Ah, is it too late?"

"It's too late." He Lingchuan lit the letter, burning it to ashes. "From the moment I tracked down Cen Boqing, this matter couldn't end well. The water is already muddied."

"Zhongsun Mou is ninety percent dead, and Cen Boqing is trapped in his own residence. Spirit Void City, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, and the Zhongsun family will all be watching how this case is investigated and by whom. Oh, and now there might even be another force, the Concord Guard." He Lingchuan said slowly, "Even if I wanted to let go now, I couldn't avoid it."

"So, what do we do?" The mirror felt a bad premonition. What kind of formidable powers was its master facing? And the Chiyan monarch and his son behind them, who knew if they were reliable? Furthermore, he had no foundation in Beijia. Isn't this like an egg hitting a rock? But why was its master so calm?

"We would only be in danger if the Chiyan monarch yielded and threw the case back to Spirit Void City." He Lingchuan smiled. He had considered these questions before killing Zhongsun Mou. "If they no longer cared about the case, they likely wouldn't care about me either, ignoring how Spirit Void City dealt with me."

"On the contrary, Chiyan's steadfastness is beneficial to me. In fact, I repeatedly probed Fu Shanyue in my replies; if he had shown even a hint of hesitation, I would have withdrawn without a second thought." He said word by word, "Actually, the way to protect myself is simple: expose this case to the light, the more open and transparent, the better!"

In this multi-party struggle, only openness, fairness, and transparency would leave others no reason to shift their anger.

The mirror couldn't help but grumble, "If I had known this, it would have been so much better not to help Fu Shanyue investigate the case."

"How would we know how deep the water is without stepping in?" He Lingchuan disliked people/mirrors who spoke with hindsight the most. "Besides, I'm probably already in the warehouse."

"Huh?" The mirror didn't understand. "What warehouse?"

He Lingchuan didn't elaborate, only saying, "Let's go, we're going to make the bronze guard."

He had jumped into this murky water himself; there was no turning back.

He took out the recipe for the Golden-Armored Bronze Guard gifted by Li Qingge. Compared to the Golden-Armored Bronze Guard recipe he had obtained with military merits, Li Qingge's recipe used fewer materials, and the finished product's performance was also improved. After all, over a hundred years had passed, so craftsmanship and procedures should have advanced.

Most importantly, the new recipe thoughtfully included many precautions for refining, which was very suitable for him, a half-baked caster. Of course, now this recipe could be handed over to the royal casters of Chiyan to execute; he only needed to supervise.

**Cen Mansion**

"What, everyone's gone?" Cen Boqing slammed the table in anger after receiving the guard's report. *Crack*, the dining table split in half, and delicacies and wine spilled everywhere.

He couldn't eat anyway. But hearing that the rented house of Wu Kai was empty, he was still furious. It turned out Wu Kai had long prepared to flee, not only escaping himself but also taking his family with him.

That afternoon, Commander Lu brought troops to surround Cen Mansion, and it should have been Wu Kai's responsibility to coordinate the carriages and personnel. But after Wu Kai received his orders and left, he vanished! In such a large Cen Mansion, everyone searched high and low, and the person was gone! How could a living person simply disappear? Even if Cen Boqing was unwilling, he could only conclude that Wu Kai had abandoned his master and fled. This was truly intolerable.

The escape of Wu Kai and his family of three was also a rude awakening for Cen Boqing: This was the human witness in the demon-slaying pearl case, the opponent's breakthrough point, and the biggest hidden danger by his side! Why hadn't he dealt with him earlier? How foolish!

Although Wu Kai was on the run, this was Fu Shanyue's territory. Who could guarantee he would successfully escape Chiyan and not be caught? Once Wu Kai was apprehended, then...

Cen Boqing turned and walked out, crossing gardens and corridors until he reached Cheng Yu's residence. A guard was still stationed there. He entered and frowned: Cheng Yu still had his eyes closed, fast asleep, though his complexion was much better than on the day of his injury.

"He didn't wake up at any point?"

The guard pointed to the transparent bottle on the table: "No. Mr. Cheng instructed not to remove the stopper unless the lantern inside the bottle went out."

Snow still floated in the bottle, but its intensity had lessened, with only occasional flakes falling. Occasionally, a figure would flash within the small wooden house.

How many days had it been? Cen Boqing snapped, "Pull it out!"

"Ah, now?"

The guard moved to touch the bottle, but Cen Boqing regretted it: "Wait, hold on!"

"My lord?"

"Let's wait until after tonight." Cen Boqing was thinking that Cheng Yu had a terrible temper; if he rashly woke him up and interrupted his recuperation, would the fellow still be willing to help him? Wu Kai was meticulous in his work, and this escape had been pre-planned, so Fu Shanyue might not catch him so quickly. Seeing that the snow in the scenic bottle was almost gone, Cheng Yu should be waking up soon, right?

Tomorrow, he would try again tomorrow. Cen Boqing sighed and walked out with his hands behind his back.

**The Golden-Armored Guard Upgrade**

In the evening, He Lingchuan excitedly walked back to the inn. The inn had been booked by the Crown Prince, with no one else present except guards and servants. Fu Shanyue was sitting in a lounge chair in the courtyard, cooling off. He Lingchuan saw he looked a bit dejected: "What's wrong?"

"We've sent out several teams, searched the whole city twice, and chased outside the city, but still haven't caught Wu Kai's daughter-in-law and grandson." Fu Shanyue put his hands behind his neck. "That fellow is truly cunning. So, how's your Golden-Armored Guard?"

"As expected of court casters, they're much better at upgrading than I am." He had made this Golden-Armored Bronze Man while in the Han River army, where conditions were poor, and he had to make do with everything, even borrowing Monkey Lingguang's medicine furnace. Who would have thought that now, he wouldn't even have to lift a finger, as expert craftsmen from Chiyan had specifically come to Baishajue to upgrade it for him.

Even with money, you might not be able to hire them. So, power truly is a good thing.

The upgrade process for the Golden-Armored Guard itself wasn't difficult, but it was like a home-cooked braised tofu dish: what an ordinary person made was simply hard to compare to a restaurant chef's output. Expertise has its specialization, after all.

The Golden-Armored Guard, when deployed, hadn't changed in height, but it was entirely covered in purple-gold bronze armor, with an inner layer of fish-scale soft armor, providing dual protection and double security. He Lingchuan had tested it with various weapons; ordinary blades and spears couldn't even leave a mark on the armor, and fire-element divine abilities only scorched it black. If the Po Jun attribute of the Floating Life Blade wasn't activated, it would take a full six strikes to cut through the outer bronze armor.

Furthermore, the Bronze Guard's joints, such as knees, elbows, and ankles, had been optimized to better conform to human movement patterns, allowing He Lingchuan to control it with greater agility.

The caster grumbled while working, complaining that he didn't know who had cast the original bronze figure so ugly, clumsy, and poorly, causing his workload for remodeling to more than triple. He Lingchuan stood by, rubbing his nose without a word.

As expected of court casters, they not only repaired many of the bronze figure's old, hard-to-heal injuries and re-calibrated it but also inscribed additional lightness and wind-spirit formations onto it, making it move faster, attack more precisely, and feel better to control.

To put it somewhat inappropriately, if He Lingchuan's self-made Golden-Armored Bronze Man had an offense-defense capability of three, the upgraded Golden-Armored Guard was a seven.

He Lingchuan played with it for half an afternoon before tragically discovering its biggest weakness: it consumed too much energy.

Previously, when it was still a Golden-Armored Bronze Man, a small piece of light green profound crystal could power it for two hours of work, or at least half an hour during fast-paced, intense combat.

After upgrading to a Bronze Guard, its appearance was impressive, and its offense and defense increased significantly, but every movement cost money. An egg-sized piece of dark green profound crystal wasn't enough to sustain it for even an hour of activity.

If it was intense combat, *heh*, fifteen minutes at most. At most. Depending on the pace of battle, it might run out of power – no, out of energy – after just blocking a few major attacks for its master.

He Lingchuan clutched his not-so-full money pouch, heartbroken and breathless.

This was just a Bronze Guard, and he had just inadvertently inquired about the cost of upgrading it further to a Golden-Armored Divine General. Excluding labor costs, just the material expenses alone would be about fifteen times the price of upgrading to a Bronze Guard!

(End of this chapter)