Chapter 669: Great Misfortune Leads to Future Blessing

## Chapter 663: Surviving a Disaster Brings Good Fortune

“Even if you, Young Master, urgently need money, you can withdraw funds from the branch’s account first, without paying interest. If you’re unable to repay later, it can be directly deducted from your dividends.” She paused: “If you need personnel or resources from the local Songyang Prefecture branch, they can also be allocated to you.”

“This is a lot of authority,” He Lingchuan said, moved. “Alright, I’ll join.”Working alone has been too tiring; it’s better to have more friends and more options.

“If you don’t approve of these young masters, there’s also… hmm?” Li Qingge blinked. “You agreed?”

“What else is there?” He Lingchuan regretted agreeing too quickly. “Tell me more conditions.”

“That’s all,” Li Qingge coughed lightly, pulling out a paper contract from her pocket. “Come, sign.”

“Sign…” So, she was prepared? She said it was to repay a favor, but it turned out she was trying to recruit him!

He Lingchuan took the contract and examined it word by word.Although his relationship with Li Qingge was good at the moment, he still needed to read the terms carefully to avoid falling into a trap later and suffering in silence.

“Oh, right, what did Your Ladyship do with that bamboo tube?”

“I spent a lot of time and money searching for a way to cure the Co-Heart Gu.” Li Qingge lightly pressed her chest. “I’ve already used the Gu worm in the bamboo tube to draw out the companion hidden in my heart. So…” So she was safe and no longer threatened by the Co-Heart Gu.

She looked at He Lingchuan, her gaze understanding. “Did Young Master already know what was in the bamboo tube?”

He Lingchuan shrugged. “Shi Kai, one of Cen Boqing’s subordinates, died from the Co-Heart Gu.”

Since it was related to the Elixir of Immortality case, he must have thoroughly researched the Co-Heart Gu. Li Qingge gazed steadily at him and said earnestly, “Thank you!”Thank you for knowing the bamboo tube contained the Co-Heart Gu yet still being willing to help her retrieve it instead of keeping it for himself.A great kindness needs no words of thanks, but she didn’t know what else to say besides “thank you.”She had hinted several times, but this young man kept his distance. Being very intelligent, a hint of vexation unconsciously appeared in her eyes.

He Lingchuan finished reading the contract, found no issues, and signed it with a flourish.

Li Qingge immediately pulled out a token from her pocket and handed it to him. “This is an elder’s token, and it’s also your proof of status in Songyang Prefecture. Don’t lose it!”The token was knife-shaped and exquisitely crafted.He Lingchuan immediately put it away.

To ease the awkward atmosphere, he quickly took out several round beads and placed them on the table. “I didn’t find the Frost Silver Beast, but I got these beads. See if you can make do with them?”There were sixteen or seventeen in total, some as large as eggs, others as small as longans, and they varied in color.Five of them immediately caused frost to form on the tabletop.The oil paper on the table also turned white, and when He Lingchuan lightly touched it, it shattered.He didn’t like touching these beads either; they froze his hands.

“What are these?” Li Qingge’s mood shifted, and her expression became focused. She took out her gloves, put them on, and picked up a white bead for closer examination. “You said these aren’t produced by the Frost Silver Beast? But the only Danube Beast in the Flere Realm that can spew frost is the Frost Silver Beast.”

“I took these from the heads of two ‘Nameless Beasts’.”

“Nameless Beasts’?” Li Qingge switched to examining a few more beads, growing more surprised with each one. “All these beads came from just two Nameless Beasts?”

“Yes,” He Lingchuan explained. “These are extremely rare Danube Beasts; few people have seen them in decades. They seem able to absorb the talents of other Danube Beasts for their own use. When I was adventuring in the Flere Realm, I happened upon a battle between lord-level Danube Beasts. The Nameless Beast leader seemed to want to seize the eggs of the Thunderous Colossus. Their struggle created an opportunity for me to benefit.”

“Absorbing the talents of other Danube Beasts…” Li Qingge said, pressing the beads. “This is almost a perfect replication.”

He Lingchuan’s breathing quickened slightly. “Can they replace frost orbs?”

“I’ll need to take them back for further testing, but for now, I’d say there’s at least a sixty percent chance,” Li Qingge said, looking at the beads on the table. “There are five frost cores here. At a minimum, they can produce three ice talismans. Is that enough?”There’s a certain failure rate in crafting talismans and artifacts; even a master artificer like her wouldn’t dare claim a hundred percent success rate.

“Probably,” He Lingchuan replied. This number already exceeded his expectations.The more ample the preparations, the higher the tolerance for error.

Li Qingge’s eyes sparkled. “What about the remaining beads?”

He Lingchuan said without thinking, “Your Ladyship can take them back and do whatever you can with them.”

“Alright!” Li Qingge cheerfully picked up all the beads, as if she had received a beloved toy. “I’ll go back and study them! Did you find any other treasures on your trip deep into the Flere Realm?”While hunting in the Grass Sea was dangerous, the returns over the years usually correlated with the risks. The Flere Realm’s specialties weren’t just floating stones, beast orbs, and beast materials, but also rare minerals hard to find in the human world.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, then simply pushed a few tables together and dumped out all the Flere Realm miscellaneous items.Several of them caught Li Qingge’s interest.Finally, she pointed at one item and asked, “What’s this?”

This was a large, dark, hard object, thick like a shield. The front felt like rock, even cracked in places, but the reverse side was fleshy with blood, and even had a layer of tough fascia.

“This is…” The battle of the past day had been too intense, and he had acquired too many miscellaneous items. He Lingchuan thought for a moment before remembering. “This is the hide and flesh of the Thunderous Colossus. It was bitten off by the Nameless Beast leader and happened to fall right beside me.”

“This is the hide of a lord-level Danube Beast, and it has lightning properties?” Li Qingge was moved. “Your luck is simply too good!”

“I think so too,” He Lingchuan scratched his head. This trip to the Flere Realm had been full of dangers and obstacles: natural disasters, beast tides, and man-made calamities—he encountered them all without exception. To return from the Flere Realm completely unharmed, his luck truly was good.

Li Qingge picked up the hide and carefully rubbed it. “By the way, weren’t you looking for an artifact to ward off powerful lightning?”

He Lingchuan nodded. Artifacts with this property were extremely rare; besides the Heavenly Palace and Heaven’s Heart Island, even Spirit Void City might not be able to find one or two.The main reason was the difficulty in finding materials.How many treasures in the human world could withstand continuous bombardments of divine lightning?

Li Qingge had only found him one lightning-warding talisman and conducted several rounds of tests. Its effect was indeed good, but it could only block ordinary lightning. As for how powerful the “Thunder Pool” in the array core was, Li Qingge had not witnessed it and couldn’t determine.However, He Lingchuan detected her dissatisfaction from her tone.Now, she pointed at the beast hide before them and said solemnly, “But with this piece of lord-level beast hide, I can try to craft one.”

He Lingchuan was overjoyed and instinctively took a deep breath. “I’ll leave it to Your Ladyship!”This was one of the biggest challenges of the Void Mountain project.Although various aspects of the plan had been advancing steadily, he hadn’t found a reliable solution for the “Thunder Pool” restriction mentioned by the Rock-Fire Giant, Ju Ju.He had also asked Fang Canran to collect lightning-warding artifacts.Fang Canran directly told him that he had already acquired several, but their strength was insufficient. Warding off a divine restriction was not easy; gambling on them would only cost them their lives.The biggest difficulty here was that, as the Chief Steward of Dunyuan Garden, he dared not openly procure them, otherwise, if they caused trouble in the Heavenly Palace later, it would be easy for others to trace it back to him.

The spoils of war he coincidentally picked up from the Flere Realm unexpectedly brought such a pleasant surprise. He Lingchuan felt a heavy burden lift from his heart, and the prospects suddenly became bright!Heaven knew how much of his feigned composure and confidence before Ju Ju and Fang Canran was just empty boasting.Now, he had finally taken a solid step towards his anticipated success.This Flere Realm adventure was worth it, absolutely worth it!Indeed, surviving a great disaster surely brings good fortune.

Li Qingge saw his elated expression and couldn’t help but temper his excitement. “Don’t get too happy too soon; I didn’t say it’s guaranteed to be made.”

“With Your Ladyship’s touch, how could there be a substandard product?” He Lingchuan was always adept at flattery. “I’ll just wait for the good news with peace of mind!”

“You’re putting me on the spot,” Li Qingge said, covering her mouth with a laugh. “Alright, I’ll expedite the research and development and notify you once it’s made.”

The two chatted for a few more moments, both in a relaxed state of mind. Li Qingge also mentioned a few updates about the Yuan Kingdom.

“Borrowing money?” He Lingchuan frowned. “War is a bottomless pit; how much money can fill it?”

“If they don’t borrow, they’ll immediately run out of money to fight.”

“Are there still countries willing to lend it money?”

“That depends on what collateral the Yuan Kingdom can offer in exchange. Who would lend money based on empty words?” Li Qingge sighed softly. “Nations, like merchants, value integrity. If you can’t maintain that, you’ll have to pay a greater price.”

With matters concluded, she put her veiled hat back on, bid farewell to He Lingchuan, and went downstairs.During the period of overthrowing Nian Zanli, she would be especially cautious, not allowing others to see that she and He Lingchuan still had secret dealings.

He Lingchuan exited directly through the back door of the silk shop.With a solution for the lightning artifact looking promising, He Lingchuan was in high spirits. He slurped down a large bowl of fish ball noodles outside before slowly strolling back to Pianxiang Mountain Villa.

But before he even returned to his residence, a servant reported:“Chief Steward Fang of Dunyuan Garden is visiting and has been waiting for you for over two quarters of an hour.”He had just returned from the Flere Realm, and Fang Canran already knew? That fellow was as well-informed as ever.However, Old Fang was also a person of status in Spirit Void City. Why didn’t he send word before coming?

He Lingchuan returned to his residence and saw Fang Canran as soon as he entered the courtyard.The man was dressed in lake blue today, looking vibrant. As soon as he saw He Lingchuan, he came forward, cupped his fists, and smiled, “Congratulations, Brother He, you’ve returned alive!”

“What kind of talk is that?” He Lingchuan said, half-laughing, half-crying. “Was I going to the Grass Sea to die?”

“This year is unusual; even many skilled members of the Heavenly Palace Guard and Co-Heart Guard have died,” Fang Canran sighed. “I was worried about you too.”

The words were spoken with sincerity, but He Lingchuan knew their hidden meaning. This person was worried that if he died in the Flere Realm, he wouldn’t be able to execute the subsequent Void Mountain plan.

He Lingchuan spread his hands. “Didn’t I come back completely unharmed? Old Fang, you look very lively today, have you encountered something joyous?”

Fang Canran looked left and right, appearing hesitant to speak.

(End of Chapter)