Chapter 623: Surprise Flight

The more she listened, the more promising it sounded. Li Qingge nodded repeatedly, a blush spreading across her cheeks. She always presented herself with the poise of a noble lady and rarely lost her composure like this.

He Lingchuan grinned at her: "However, there's a problem here. As someone involved in the Elixir of Immortality case, I can't be openly associated with Grand Preceptor Shuangye. Therefore, I can't personally approach Nian Zanli for this exchange."

Li Qingge, understanding the many intricacies of officialdom, immediately said, "Leave this to me. As long as the token given by Grand Preceptor Shuangye can truly mobilize troops, I don't think Nian Zanli will care who he's dealing with." She stated firmly, "For helping me obtain a military command token from Grand Preceptor Shuangye, Young Master, you have already shown me the utmost kindness! I can complete the rest of this transaction myself."

He Lingchuan nodded and took out a token and two letters from his person. The token was dark red, its material unknown, feeling somewhat soft to the touch, with a frost-leaf design embossed on it. The letters were the same color, and their wax seals also bore a frost-leaf mark. These were the special items of Grand Preceptor Shuangye that he had just retrieved from the location Xi Yunhe had instructed. Incidentally, he always felt this mark was slightly familiar, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.

"In a few days, Beijia will have an event in the Grass Sea, hosted by the Zhongsuns. Grand Preceptor Shuangye will certainly be present," He Lingchuan said, pointing to the three items. "Nian Zanli can go to Grand Preceptor Shuangye himself to verify their authenticity." No matter how genuine the tokens were, only Grand Preceptor Shuangye's personal guarantee would truly convince Nian Zanli.

Li Qingge carefully put away the three items, took a deep breath, and then suddenly rose from her seat and bowed gracefully to He Lingchuan. "Thank you, Young Master."

"What are you doing, Madam?" He Lingchuan leaned forward and gently supported her elbow with just the right amount of force, preventing Li Qingge from completing her bow. "It's not too late to thank me after you've retrieved the bamboo slip. Nian Zanli might not be that straightforward."

"I've considered many methods, but I've always lacked an equivalent bargaining chip and dared not press Nian Zanli too hard," Li Qingge said, picking up the frost-leaf token from the table. "Now with this in hand, in terms of business negotiations and tactics, the Prefect of Xun Prefecture is no match for me!" She flashed a confident smile: "Young Master, just wait for my good news."

However, she immediately brought up another concern: "But if Nian Zanli successfully borrows troops, it will be a major disaster for the State of Yuan, especially for Xiazhou, which will bear the brunt."

"Yes. So you must complete this transaction soon, then proceed with the next step."

Li Qingge's expression changed. "You mean..." She didn't finish her sentence but made a gesture of slitting a throat. Such a ruthless gesture, yet when she did it, it had a touch of playfulness.

He Lingchuan shook his head: "We can't touch him. This is Lingxu City; we can't cause too much of a stir."

Li Qingge also said, "I've thought of poisoning and cursing him. But he's a military commander after all; even away from his troops, he still retains some elemental power. These methods would be too ineffective against him and might easily alert him."

He Lingchuan nodded, leaning slightly forward: "Does Nian Zanli have any enemies or rivals in Lingxu City?"

"Enemies or rivals? He's an outsider; he doesn't have any substantial conflicts with the powerful figures in Lingxu City," Li Qingge said, biting her lip in thought. "However... when Grand Preceptor Shuangye allocated elemental power to Nian Zanli, several elders strongly criticized it. Two of them were former regents left by the previous emperor; although they've retired, the current Emperor seems to consult their opinions. When Nian Zanli came to Lingxu City to borrow troops this time, they also submitted a petition to the Emperor, urging against it. Does—does that count as a rival?"

"If that doesn't count, then nothing does," He Lingchuan chuckled. "So, does Nian Zanli have any properties in Lingxu City?"

"He has two residences, one large and one small, seven shops, and one restaurant..."

He Lingchuan shook his head, interrupting her: "Did he sell anything recently?"

"Yes," Li Qingge said. She had been tracking Nian Zanli's movements and was well-informed about his business activities. "Nian Zanli has been spending money like water to lobby the Emperor in Lingxu City; the little he extorted from me was nowhere near enough. He originally owned three residences, but he sold one a month ago, along with dozens of acres of suburban farmland, a teahouse, and a business association."

"Where is the residence he sold?"

"It's also in the main district." Otherwise, it wouldn't be valuable, and Nian Zanli wouldn't have bothered selling it.

"Who bought it?"

"A wealthy merchant from out of town bought it to serve as the facade for his business association, and he lives there himself. I've been there; there are many people coming and going," Li Qingge said, looking at him with interest. "Do you have a plan in mind?"

"Sort of, but I'll need your cooperation, Madam."

"I'll give it my all." Li Qingge poured him a cup of tea, her long eyelashes fluttering. "What do you need me to do?" Her words were both delicate and charming.

He Lingchuan, however, said sternly, "Frame him!"

"Hmm?"

He Lingchuan didn't elaborate but changed the subject: "By the way, Madam, have you ever heard of 'Glazed Gold'?"

"Of course." As soon as the conversation turned to her area of expertise, Li Qingge's posture unconsciously straightened. "It's a high-end material: transparent, hard as refined gold when solid, and like mercury when soft. Ancient immortals used it to forge magical artifacts. However, the constituent materials are now very rare; Songyang Prefecture once tried to replicate it but failed."

"If one encounters a magical artifact, device, or structure made of this, is there a way to break it?"

"Break it?" Li Qingge frowned. "Can you be more specific?"

"The Glazed Gold is just an outer shell; I want to retrieve what's inside." His question was, of course, related to the core of the Spirit Gathering Array.

"An outer shell? How thick?"

"A palm's width," He Lingchuan said. "It can freely switch between liquid and solid states."

"That's a characteristic of Glazed Gold," Li Qingge mused. "It also depends on who the creator was, what their usual methods were, and what specific proportions of materials were used in the Glazed Gold."

He Lingchuan gave a wry smile: "Is there no way to simply break it?"

Li Qingge gave him a sidelong glance: "Why did immortals use it for magical artifacts? Isn't it precisely because of its exceptional properties? And you think you can simply break it?"

"Yes," He Lingchuan said, rubbing his hands. "Can you think of a way, Madam?"

Since he had just given her hope of retrieving the bamboo slip, how could Li Qingge refuse him? "Allow me to consider it carefully."

He Lingchuan was overjoyed; the need for careful consideration meant there was at least a glimmer of hope.

"Let's stay in touch and plan thoroughly," he said, grabbing his cup and draining it. "My residence at Pianxiang Villa has been closely watched recently, so please be extremely careful with our communications."

The two left one after the other, separated by about fifteen minutes. However, as He Lingchuan descended the stairs and left, someone behind the stairwell in the teahouse lobby looked up at his receding figure, deep in thought. It was an interesting spot: hidden by the stairs, passersby usually wouldn't notice it, but anyone sitting there could observe every guest closely. If He Lingchuan had turned back and seen clearly, he would have realized that this person was Fang Canran.

The next day, Fu Shanyue took He Lingchuan to visit the Ke family. The Ke family had sent gifts and an invitation when he moved into Pianxiang Villa; shouldn't he return the courtesy?

Naturally, the Ke family resided in the heavens, specifically on Tiantong Island, the floating island closest to the Emperor, second only to Tianxin Island, representing the pinnacle of ministerial residences. To ascend to the heavens, one first had to go to Chikan Peak in the center of the lower city and use the Startling Swan Ferry for transportation. Chikan Peak was also a small hill, barely a hundred zhang in height, with a natural gigantic plaza on its hillside, which served as the so-called "ferry crossing." However, its entrance was narrow, fortified with strict garrisons, and directly staffed by troops. Here, sentinels were posted every few steps; only personnel bearing special tokens were permitted entry, and commoners were barred. This was because the Seven Heavenly Islands and Chikan Peak on the ground formed a complete set of magical artifacts, possessing their own unique method of teleportation, known as the "Startling Swan Ferry."

Unlike the teleportation array He Lingchuan had used on Tianchu Peak, the plaza at Chikan Peak featured seven neatly arranged stone gates—strictly speaking, they were seven gateframes over five zhang tall, with translucent pale blue ripples replacing the gate panels. It was He Lingchuan's first time seeing water ripples undulating vertically from the ground. Fu Shanyue told him, "Each gate corresponds to a floating island." The island names were inscribed on the top of the gateframes.

Just then, a contingent of people and horses, after having their identities verified, walked onto the plaza. As they passed through the gate, both their carriages and attendants vanished. Fu Shanyue had already presented his Crown Prince token: "Let's go."

Passing through the blue ripples, He Lingchuan felt a slight coolness on his body, and the scenery before him completely changed. It was convenient, fast, and caused no discomfort, unlike the dizziness he experienced when using the teleportation array on Tianchu Peak. After all, this was within the magical artifact itself, where the rules differed from the outside world.

Upon his first arrival on the island, He Lingchuan looked around curiously. It was late autumn, and in Lingxu's lower city, the autumn wind was bleak, and vegetation was turning yellow. Although the outskirts were covered in golden-red foliage, there was an air of desolation. However, upon arriving at Tiantong Island, He Lingchuan felt no chill at all; even the breeze on his face carried a faint hint of moisture and a subtle floral scent. This was the scent of spring. He turned his head and indeed saw the winter jasmine blooming profusely by the plaza, cascading over the low wall like a flowing waterfall. But as he exited Tiantong Island's Startling Swan Ferry, he saw actual flowing waterfalls and springs pouring down from the peaks, with mountain flowers blooming luxuriantly on both sides, and kites soaring and swallows chirping.

Every time Fu Shanyue saw He Lingchuan's "country bumpkin" expression, he felt a surge of satisfaction: "Tiantong Island is also called the Island of Flowers. Here, it is always spring. Regardless of whether the lower city is experiencing harsh winter or scorching summer, it's always warm and pleasant up here." The streets here were even cleaner and smoother than those in the lower city, with uniform pebbles lining the curbs. Carriages could pass almost without feeling any bumps from the road surface. Lush greenery was everywhere, and meticulously pruned flower arrangements abounded. Here, the roadsides themselves were gardens, filled with numerous valuable tree species, eliminating the need to visit wealthy estates to see them.

After exiting the Startling Swan Ferry, one had to cross a stone beam thirty-three zhang long to reach the main body of Tiantong Island. He Lingchuan walked along the edge of the stone beam, looking down at the lower city of Lingxu. Through the floating clouds, he could see winding streets, densely packed houses, and jade-belt-like rivers.