Chapter 622: People You Can't See Through

“Perhaps they know Nightmares, isn't that the case with Cheng Yu?” the grotesque head explained. “Besides, scarcity makes things valuable. Dreamscapes are very difficult to collect, so they sound like high-end collectibles. And what’s more—”

It chuckled, “You humans always have some unspeakable thoughts. How great would it be to act them out in dreams? And so freely.”

“Huh?”

“Beautiful girls also dream,” the grotesque head cackled. “Intimate in dreams, nothing when awake. As the saying goes, ‘a great dream leaves no trace.’”

He Lingchuan understood. No wonder Fang Canran had emphasized to him that the town where this dreamscape was located had many beautiful women.

“Alright, that dreamscape will be your lair from now on.” Getting the Nightmare to leave Dragon City was simple; he grabbed the grotesque head and threw it directly into the river. “Go on.”

To the residents of Dragon City, it looked as if he had just thrown a stone into the water. The grotesque head immediately sank to the bottom and disappeared.

Humans need houses, dogs need kennels; Nightmares also need to stay in a dreamscape to recover their energy. Staying in Dragon City for too long, it received no replenishment and could barely move during its last few missions. Only then did He Lingchuan spend a large sum to buy it a lair.

After all, sending the Nightmare to do errands was very convenient, as it could ignore many real-world constraints. For example, a few days ago, the Nightmare entered Zaifu Kua’s dream and extracted a lot of information about the Spirit Gathering Formation in Mount Xu.

Zuju, the lava monster, had a foul temper and was cunning. Why would the gods still designate Mount Xu as their earthly palace? Wasn't that like building a bonfire under one’s rear?

Only from Zaifu Kua did He Lingchuan find the answer: Firstly, Mount Xu, formerly known as Mount Shou’an, was the old site of the Great Revival Sect. This was one of the oldest immortal sects/Taoist schools in existence, famous for producing numerous exceptional talents, and was also a main force against the gods in ancient times. The gods deliberately built their heavenly palace here to tread their old adversaries underfoot, which held strong symbolic meaning.

More importantly, Mount Xu was the source of Spiritual Void City's earth veins. The Spirit Gathering Formation had to be built here to continuously supply more abundant spiritual energy to Spiritual Void City. This concerned the well-being of all cultivators in Spiritual Void City and could not be neglected.

However, Mount Xu’s geographical conditions were actually unsuitable for this version of the Spirit Gathering Formation. The Heavenly God and the Emperor forcibly ordered Zuju to shift mountains and move peaks; only then was it barely completed. Leaders issuing orders usually only care about satisfactory results, not the difficulty of the process. Officials, including Zaifu Kua, revised the plan repeatedly; even if it couldn't be built, they would create the conditions to build it.

Of course, the Spirit Gathering Formation eventually began operating as scheduled, once again demonstrating the Heavenly God's omnipotence. But the cost would not disappear. The completed Spirit Gathering Formation naturally had some inherent weaknesses that could not be eradicated, only repaired. Thus, it required countless large and small inspections and repairs every year, which were labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive. Of course, given Spiritual Void City's immense wealth, it could afford this price.

Spiritual Void City was a bustling commercial hub, with taverns, teahouses, and playhouses serving as places for business discussions. Teahouses, in particular, saw an increase in patrons seeking hot tea to warm themselves as the weather turned colder. In the afternoons, renowned storytellers would perform, so while not exactly boisterous, the teahouses maintained an occupancy rate of at least seventy percent. Fortunately, such establishments naturally had private rooms.

This teahouse had a serene atmosphere. Outside the private room was a small, patio-like courtyard, only a few square meters in size, but paved with white sand and planted with various trees, giving it an air of quiet detachment.

Upon entering, He Lingchuan inquired, and the attendant guided him, “Upstairs, the private room!”

He went up to the second floor, entered the elegant room, and found a beauty like jade sitting opposite him: Li Qingge. Today, she was dressed in men's attire: white robes with a blue overlay, her hair tied up with a jade crown. In front of her was a small red clay stove, and white steam was already rising from the cast-iron teapot spout.

He Lingchuan smiled upon seeing this. “Lord Jue is truly keeping up with the trends.”

In the past year, it had become fashionable for women in Spiritual Void City to go out in men's clothing. This trend originated from the Floating Island. Therefore, such cross-dressing did not require darkening one's skin or deliberately making oneself unattractive. It simply added a touch of heroic spirit when a woman wore men's attire. There were even special makeup styles for this type of cross-dressing. Having seen many such instances on the streets these past few days, He Lingchuan sighed, “The young women in the imperial capital certainly know how to have fun.”

Li Qingge had also applied light makeup today; who could not tell she was a woman? No man was that fair-skinned. No man had such enchanting eyes. Nor did any man have such flawless, delicate skin. Yet, dressed like this, she simply looked beautiful. Beauty was enough.

Li Qingge lifted the teapot and poured He Lingchuan a cup of hot tea. “Do I look good?”

“Of course, you do.” There was nothing to deny.

They sat by the window. To their left, they could see the activity in the street; to their right, they could hear the storyteller on the teahouse's first floor. One could say they heard all the clamor, both inside and out.

“Why are your clothes wet?” Li Qingge asked with concern. “Should I have someone buy you a clean change of clothes?”

“No need,” He Lingchuan waved his hand. “A quick dry with my true power, and they'll be dry instantly.”

Before going out today, the lingering presence of Pianxiang Villa was also hard to shake off. He rowed a boat to the center of the lake again, but Meng Hu warned him that there might be aerial surveillance this time. The Concentric Guards were quick to react; after suffering a setback yesterday, they had addressed their shortcomings today. Fan Long was indeed attentive to his affairs.

Unfortunately, the Goshawk hadn't returned, so He Lingchuan could only dive into the water. The lake water of Qilin Mountain connected with a karst cave. He held onto the gills of the Great-Mouthed Catfish Demon, letting it take him into the cave. The patron who paid had demands; not to mention taking him for a swim, even if it meant having the Great-Mouthed Catfish dance in the lake draped in water weeds, it would do so gladly. Afterwards, He Lingchuan exited from the other side of Qilin Mountain. He was truly growing to like the geographical location of Pianxiang Villa more and more, with its beautiful mountains and waters. Tsk!

Li Qingge didn't press the matter. “I heard the Pan Shan residence was burned down. You should be alright, right?”

“Fu Shanyue and I weren't there, but the servants in the residence suffered heavy casualties,” He Lingchuan's expression darkened slightly. “Crown Prince Huan couldn't find us, so he took his anger out on the servants.”

“A monster is a monster.” Li Qingge wouldn't say "it's still young." “The residents of Floating Island should be very familiar with Crown Prince Huan's temperament. Have you found the instigator behind it?”

He Lingchuan shook his head. “This will probably end up as an unsolved case, just like the inn explosion.”

“Honestly, I thought a legendary place like Spiritual Void City would be very efficient at solving cases.” Reality, however, surprised him a little. Were people like Bai Ziqi rare in Spiritual Void City?

“Do you think the Emperor didn't give orders or send people to supervise?” Li Qingge shook her head. “I think it will be hard to investigate.” She didn't say it couldn't be investigated, but rather “it will be hard to investigate.”

He Lingchuan chuckled, not at all disappointed. If his future was destined to be at odds with Spiritual Void City, then the more chaotic and inefficient his enemies were, the happier he should be.

Just then, someone passed by in the hallway. Li Qingge waited until the footsteps faded before asking him, “You had your companion deliver a message to arrange this meeting with me, for...?”

Last night, she received He Lingchuan's message not through Old Shan, but through a small demon. Logically, she should have been more composed. But as it concerned her vital interests, Li Qingge finally couldn't hold back.

“The Concentric Guards are stationed at Pianxiang Villa. They're watching me very closely, and I'm afraid Old Shan might also find it difficult to shake them off,” He Lingchuan said softly. “I've found a way that might make Nian Zanli voluntarily hand over the bamboo slip.”

Li Qingge's beautiful eyes slowly widened. “Young Master, please elaborate!”

He Lingchuan didn't hold back, explaining the entire story to her. Even though Li Qingge was filled with excitement, she restrained herself and dared not interrupt. Until He Lingchuan finished speaking in one breath and took a sip of tea to clear his throat, she was still somewhat incredulous: “You—you mean you can borrow troops for Nian Zanli from Grand Preceptor Frostleaf?”

“That's right.”

“How did you manage that?” Li Qingge's gaze towards him changed again. This young man had only just arrived in Spiritual Void City, less than a month ago, and had many crises and troubles of his own to deal with along the way. How could he become involved with one of the most powerful people in all of Beijia? She had operated here for many years under the banner of Songyang Prefecture, yet she had only met Grand Preceptor Frostleaf twice and had no real personal relationship with him. In the imperial capital, which had stood for six hundred years, how rigid were the hierarchies of status and rank? What's more, He Lingchuan was asking to borrow troops from him. Could troops be lent out so casually? Even if it was troops from Baling, Grand Preceptor Frostleaf would have to use his connections and take on a certain amount of risk. After all, this matter would eventually reach the ears of the Demon Emperor. What method did this young man use to make Grand Preceptor Frostleaf willing to do such a great favor?

Li Qingge had previously been very clear about He Lingchuan's background: the son of a prefect from a northwestern border region of the Iris Kingdom, and his father was now merely the governor of Xiazhou. In Spiritual Void City, this amounted to nothing. Previously, she had him contact Nian Zanli because the young man was quick-witted and had Crown Prince Chiyan as a backer, so perhaps he could, through indirect means, get some troops for Nian Zanli. It was merely casting a wide net, giving it a try. But now she found that she couldn't see through him at all! How did he get involved with Grand Preceptor Frostleaf? In Spiritual Void City, Crown Prince Chiyan's influence was simply not on the same level as Grand Preceptor Frostleaf's! Did he have other connections?

He Lingchuan smiled. “Sorry, but that's my private business.” He was essentially working two jobs at once.

“I spoke out of turn,” Li Qingge mused. “Nian Zanli only wants to borrow troops to fight his way back. As long as he can retake Xiazhou, that's enough. The origin of the troops shouldn't matter.”

He Lingchuan nodded. “Baling's infantry and cavalry are excellent, and they're close to Xunzhou and northern Xiazhou, which alone will save a large sum in provisions and logistics. Otherwise, even if troops were transferred from Xuluo Kingdom, the journey would at least increase by one and a half times. The most crucial aspect of marching and fighting is feeding the men and horses; the burden would be heavy even before the war began.”

“Besides, even if the Demon Emperor agreed, how many troops could Beijia lend to Nian Zanli? I'd guess they'd be mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled. Furthermore, would Beijia's army truly follow his command?”

Having thirty thousand troops and several generals entirely at his command was a huge advantage. Historically, so-called “borrowed troops” often sounded good but were essentially allied forces, with both sides exercising independent command. If one side was strong, with men and combat power, why should they obey the weaker party?