Chapter 560: Dodge a Disaster

Chapter 556: Escaping a Calamity

"If one were to go to a local area and serve as a county magistrate or prefect, it would take too long. For an official's son like Zhongsun Mou, going out under the title of Inspector-General allows him to both supervise the people's livelihood and enrich his own qualifications, serving both purposes perfectly. The best part is that the title of Inspector-General can be revoked after the inspection is complete."

He Lingchuan understood: "Gilding."

"'That's a very apt description,'" Li Qingge said with a smile. "However, the Inspector-General still holds the right of impeachment before the Emperor. A few years ago, in Zhuolu Commandery, I encountered an Inspector-General from Spirit Void City. He was far more impressive than even the Governor-General of Xiazhou visiting Xiazhou in person. Officials along his route received him with the highest honors, showing more deference than they would to their own parents. There were even eight carriages clearing the way for the Inspector-General, with music and dance accompanying his journey everywhere he went."

He Lingchuan clicked his tongue: "Is this so the Inspector-General can put in a good word for himself before the Emperor?"

"No, you're mistaken." Li Qingge shook two slender fingers. "This is so the Inspector-General says fewer bad things about them before the Emperor."

He Lingchuan was speechless.

"So, in short, Zhongsun Mou is also just mediocre in Spirit Void City?"

"He's not exceptionally good, nor is he exceptionally bad; he's just average," Li Qingge nodded. "Sons of officials like him are everywhere in Spirit Void City. Geniuses are always rare; even here, mediocrity is more common."

"Alright then, please spread the word for me, Lord, emphasizing that Zhongsun Mou hit walls and got nowhere under my hand, utterly helpless."

Li Qingge gave him a strange look: "Are you afraid the water isn't murky enough?"

He Lingchuan grinned: "My Lord understands me."

Since he had already come all the way to Spirit Void City, there was no need to be timid. His situation wasn't good anyway, so he might as well go big. Who knew, maybe he could flush out Liu Anming?

"So, it doesn't matter if the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Cen family know everything?" Li Qingge's gaze shifted slightly. "They probably already realize that you helped Prince Chiyan capture Cen Boqing."

"The more people who know, the better; 'more people' includes the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Cen family. Strictly speaking, it was actually a Cloud Envoy who caught Cen Boqing, but that's another story..." He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. "No matter, the news will reach them eventually."

"A Cloud Envoy?" Li Qingge exclaimed. "Don't tell me you've provoked a Cloud Envoy as well!"

"No."

Just as Li Qingge was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she heard He Lingchuan continue: "It was a Cloud Envoy who provoked me."

"You..." She glared fiercely at He Lingchuan. "I might have to consider breaking off our acquaintance."

"Don't say that!" He Lingchuan quickly clasped his hands. "My dear lady, I'm completely alone in Spirit Void City; I'm relying entirely on your help."

Li Qingge's delicate brows furrowed: "Cloud Envoys are practically the earthly representatives of the gods. Which one did you offend?"

"Bai Ziqi." He Lingchuan gave a slight cough. "I didn't offend him; I even helped him catch Cen Boqing. But the way he looks at me is always very strange."

"Bai Ziqi?" Li Qingge's expression became serious. "He's highly favored by the gods and by the Emperor. What did you do to catch his attention?"

"That's the problem—I didn't do anything!" He Lingchuan protested. "But it seems he's investigating another case and has listed both me and Fu Shanyue as suspects."

"Did you really commit a crime?"

"Of course not!" He Lingchuan said miserably. "But you know how powerful Spirit Void City is; they might not care about the details and just make me suffer first. Fu Shanyue has his status to protect him, but I'll be in trouble. So—"

He rubbed his hands: "Did you receive the message from the hawk?"

"Yes, you wanted to borrow something from me." Li Qingge pulled out a rectangular box from her sleeve and placed it in front of him. "It's a good thing you sent word ahead of time. This item was at another branch, and I had to travel over a hundred *li* back and forth to retrieve it."

He Lingchuan opened the box, took a quick look, and then closed it.

"How many people in Spirit Void City know about this, or know that it belongs to you?"

Li Qingge shook her head: "Almost no one."

"Thank you." He Lingchuan let out a long breath. "You've really helped me a great deal." That's why he had asked the hawk to go ahead and deliver a message to Li Qingge while he was still in Baisha Jue, so she could prepare this item in advance.

"What do you need this for?"

"To gain trust," He Lingchuan said seriously. "I'll return it to you as soon as I'm done with it."

Li Qingge smiled: "Alright, use it as you wish."

"I owe you another huge favor this time."

Li Qingge said meaningfully: "Don't worry, you might have a chance to repay me very soon."

"..." Why did he have a bad feeling?

Whatever Li Qingge wanted him to do, it certainly wouldn't be easy.

"Well then, would Your Lordship mind doing me another small favor?" He figured he had so many debts, a few more wouldn't hurt.

Li Qingge found it amusing, curious to see how shameless he could be: "Tell me."

"Please help me gather information on the Cen and Zhongsun families," He Lingchuan said seriously. "It's always wise to be on guard against others. And perhaps even harbor some ill will."

"A small matter," Li Qingge replied. She had already helped him with several things, so one more small task wouldn't hurt. "Once it's compiled, I'll have someone bring it to Dunyuan. We can exchange it there."

"Dunyuan?"

"In five days, Dunyuan will host an auction," Li Qingge said with a smile. "It's held twice a year, a grand event that gathers rare treasures from all over the world, and it takes place in the Lower City. Don't you want to see the excitement?"

He Lingchuan immediately agreed.

Then she changed the subject: "Have you eaten? You've traveled a long way; how about I treat you to a meal?"

He Lingchuan hesitated: "Soon, the Zhongsun and Cen families will regard me as an enemy. If we're seen eating together publicly, and word gets out, it might negatively affect you."

Li Qingge, who had been reaching for her cloak, immediately hung it back up upon hearing this. "You're right, I was thoughtless."

She was a businesswoman; she avoided offending people openly as much as possible.

"I was just too excited to see you after your long journey." Her gaze fell on He Lingchuan's waist and suddenly sharpened.

"Oh, where's your blade?"

He Lingchuan wasn't wearing a scabbard at his waist.

"Uh..." This woman was truly observant.

For a treasure like the Ephemeral Blade, he would only feel at ease if it was on his person. Li Qingge thought for a moment and understood: "The blade has merged with your body, hasn't it?"

He Lingchuan scratched his head: "One night, I suddenly found I no longer needed a scabbard."

His body served as the scabbard; man and blade had truly become one.

"Your weapon is truly extraordinary; it's different every time I see it." Li Qingge slightly pouted. "I really want to examine it again."

Others might have said "Take it" to win her favor, but He Lingchuan knew the Ephemeral Blade held important secrets. He could only say regretfully, "I'd like to give it to you, but it's stuck to me; I can't part with it."

"This semi-divine artifact has recognized you as its master," Li Qingge sighed. "Why don't I ever have such good fortune?"

"Your Lordship deals with spiritual artifacts all the time; are you really afraid no treasure will acknowledge you as its master?" He Lingchuan stood up and pointed east with a smile. "Tonight, I'll be staying temporarily at the Golden Sunflower Inn across the street, under the name Li Junyi. Just send word if anything comes up."

With that, he picked up the box, said his goodbyes, and left.

The accommodations at Golden Sunflower Inn were far inferior to the First-Class Posthouse, but He Lingchuan felt much more at ease staying there.

He Lingchuan had already learned through the posthouse's eye-spiders that Fu Shanyue had just been temporarily summoned by an envoy to the Heavenly Palace.

The Heavenly Palace was not in the sky, but on Mount Xu.

He Lingchuan had heard Shao Jian mention that the temple dedicated to the Spirit Void Saint was called the "Heavenly Palace" and was built on top of Mount Xu. The place where the Spirit Void Saint descended holy edicts and communicated with the Emperor was called the Star-Plucking Pavilion.

So late at night, the Demon Emperor wasn't on the Floating Island, but was instead meeting Fu Shanyue on Mount Xu. Why?

He Lingchuan found it interesting that the Beijia Demon Emperor, as the most powerful monarch in the human world, lived so close to the heavens but couldn't call his residence the Heavenly Palace.

After checking into the Golden Sunflower Inn, he didn't go out again. He simply ordered two large bowls of steaming mushroom and shredded chicken noodles and a basket of osmanthus cakes from the kitchen, then sat in his room, slowly finishing his meal while facing the noisy street outside.

As he was soaking in a large wooden tub, washing away the dust of his journey, the eye-spider suddenly sent him the latest images:

About ten *li* away, at his room in the First-Class Posthouse, someone suddenly knocked on the door!

Naturally, no one answered inside the room.

The person outside even called out his name, He Xiao.

So, it wasn't a mistake in identifying the room.

After two more knocks, the room door suddenly opened. Several people rushed in, looked around, found the room empty, and then peered out the window.

The eye-spider had long since retreated into a crack in the wooden beam, well-hidden.

"He's not here. How are we supposed to report this?"

"Search and ask around everywhere, see where he went. Maybe he went to eat. You all go ask at the nearby restaurants too," another person said. "The higher-ups instructed us to find this He before Prince Chiyan returns."

The few people circled the room again, confirmed He Lingchuan wasn't nearby, then quickly left, not forgetting to close the door behind them.

He Lingchuan exhaled when he saw this.

Fortunately, he had been farsighted enough to leave earlier than Fu Shanyue.

Being new to the city, he didn't know what Spirit Void City's constables wore, nor could he discern the origins of these people.

Did Bai Ziqi send people to look for him, or was the Zhongsun family coming to settle scores?

He had just arrived in Spirit Void, and the city was immense, so the Zhongsun family's intelligence shouldn't be that fast. Furthermore, these people swaggered around the posthouse freely, and the servants bowed to them.

This was Spirit Void City; even a high official's retainer wouldn't have the authority to barge into a posthouse and apprehend someone. Anyone daring to do so would need official backing and orders from above.

So, it must be Bai Ziqi.

Even while soaking in hot water, a chill ran down He Lingchuan's spine.

This person had traveled north with them, chatting and laughing along the way as if they were old friends, only to turn hostile and disown them the moment they arrived in Spirit Void City?

Hmm, Bai Ziqi had reported to the Heavenly Palace as soon as he entered the city.

This meant that getting "He Xiao" back for interrogation as quickly as possible was the will of the Celestial God or the Demon Emperor.

They were going to act against him so quickly, not even willing to wait one more night?

He Lingchuan sensed that the Celestial God or the Demon Emperor's emphasis on "the other case" surpassed even the elixir of immortality case.

Privately refining and selling the elixir of immortality should have already touched the Celestial God's forbidden scales. What could be more important than dealing with that?

He Lingchuan had an answer in his heart.