Chapter 185 – The Sacred Fire Palace’s Fifth Rank Elder, Blood Gold, Slipping Quietly into Northriver - Part 2

A slender young woman dressed in green led a tall man into the hall. The girl glanced at the highest seat and called out, “Father!”

Elder Zhu’s eyes softened when he saw her. “Qiao’er, I’ve already heard about everything that happened. Don’t worry. This time, I’ve come to purge all the foul creatures plaguing Northriver Prefecture and restore peace to these lands.”

With a sniff, Zhu Qiao’er said, “Father, I hope you’ll stand up for me...” She trailed off meaningfully, then looked at the man behind her. “I’ve already pledged myself for life to Mister Fang.”

At that, Elder Zhu’s gaze flicked toward the young fellow standing protectively behind his daughter.

Elder Zhu froze for a moment. He’d come rushing to Northriver upon hearing his daughter had nearly lost her life to those undying husks. But he never expected to be greeted with this new development.

Zhu Qiao’er was his only child, born just before he broke through to the fifth rank. She couldn’t practice martial arts, which both frustrated him and stirred his sympathy. Because she was so headstrong, she’d never taken interest in ordinary men, and here she was pledging herself to someone out of the blue.

Ignoring those around him, Elder Zhu narrowed his eyes at Fang Jianlong and asked, “Who are you?”

Fang Jianlong already knew Zhu Qiao’er’s father was an elder of the Sacred Fire Palace. Caught between nerves and excitement, he quickly said, “Fang Jianlong of the Blood Blade Sect, greetings Elder Zhu.”

“The Blood Blade Sect?” Elder Zhu scratched his chin. After reaching the sixth rank, one’s memory became exceptionally keen. So after thinking a moment, he recalled the Blood Blade Sect was a small faction in some remote county, cut off from communication in recent years.

He asked abruptly, “Boy, which technique do you cultivate, Earthfire, Bewitching Fire, or Heavenfire?”

Fang Jianlong quickly replied, “I practice Earthfire Roaming, Elder.”

“Hahaha!” Elder Zhu guffawed. “That’s the same lineage as mine, which makes you one of us. Fine, you can stay here. Get along well with my Qiao’er. As for your old sect, just send them a letter.”

Fang Jianlong’s heart soared as though he’d suddenly been named royal consort, and he fought to hide his excitement.

Zhu Qiao’er, meanwhile, pouted. “Father, that won’t work. Mister Fang can’t just stay here. He’s on an important mission for his sect. He came to deliver a message and negotiate an exchange of normal gold for blood gold.”

She planted her hands on her hips in a show of defiance. Though Fang Jianlong tried to argue otherwise, he caught her look and fell silent instead, deciding it was best to let her stand up for him. He didn’t want to risk losing this extraordinary stroke of good fortune.

Elder Zhu’s expression darkened at once. Trading blood gold for ordinary gold was strictly forbidden. Yan Mu, seated nearby, noticed Fang Jianlong avoiding his gaze. He began to rise, but Mu Hua restrained him with a light touch.

Nonetheless, Yan Mu stood and addressed Elder Zhu, “Elder, that Blood Blade Patriarch is family to me. He only asked me about the exchange in private; it was never carried out.”

Zhu Qiao’er muttered, “But Mister Fang still has blood gold in his pouch.”

Yan Mu retorted coolly, “I gave him that as a gift.”

Elder Zhu sat, tapping the arm of his chair in thought. “This Blood Blade Patriarch...so he’s not actually one of your official disciples?”

Yan Mu replied, “No, Elder Zhu. He doesn’t cultivate the Blood Blade Sect’s arts. He just happens to live in the same county. He protected their sect once, so they call him their Patriarch.”

Elder Zhu nodded. “I see. Exchanging blood gold is absolutely prohibited by our regulations, but bestowing it as a personal gift is allowed. Let’s leave it at that.” He glanced at Fang Jianlong. “Youngster, you can hand back the blood gold to Yan Mu so he can rearrange its delivery. You’ll stay here with us.”

He showed little interest in pressing the matter further. Starting a feud with the so-called Blood Blade Patriarch for no good reason was hardly wise.

Zhu Qiao’er, still upset, stamped her foot. “Father, you have to stand up for me—”

But Elder Zhu only said, “My dear girl, that’s enough. We’re in the midst of a fight against these undying husks.”

She huffed and ran off in a show of pique. Seeing her go, Elder Zhu could only glare at Fang Jianlong, who hastily bowed and hurried after her, calling “Qiao’er, Qiao’er!”

With that, the hall finally fell quiet once again.

Elder Zhu suddenly turned to Yan Mu and said, “Yan Mu, your relative is a sixth rank expert and needs blood gold. I have a proposal.”

Yan Mu stood and bowed. “Please, Elder Zhu, go on.”

Elder Zhu continued, “Our five factions share the same roots, yet experts above sixth rank are extremely rare. Dealing with undying husks and ghosts requires that level of power. Why don’t you speak with your relative about becoming one of our enforcers? We can supply him with blood gold on par with our inner disciples. What do you think?”

Recalling his uncle-in-law’s reclusive lifestyle, Yan Mu could only offer a wry smile. “He prefers to keep to himself...”

“Alright, enough,” Elder Zhu cut him off irritably. “In that case, forget it. Let’s talk about another matter—namely, how to kill the prefecture lord of Northriver. Tracing the prefecture lord’s identity isn’t difficult. The trouble is, the one sitting in the prefectural seat isn’t really the prefecture lord at all. The real one is somewhere else. That’s the biggest headache with these undying husks.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

A few days later.

Li Yuan received a letter and a bag of blood gold. Opening the envelope, he recognized Yan Mu’s familiar handwriting and then quietly closed it again.

“I didn’t expect Fang Jianlong to land himself quite a stroke of luck,” he murmured. “That’s not bad.”

Li Yuan could guess how things had unfolded. Fang Jianglong had suddenly found himself a major backer, one linked to the higher echelons of the Blood Blade Sect. Between Li Yuan and Elder Zhu, the former was clearly the worse option. Li Yuan understood that well enough.

Still, he reflected, “Even if I understand, the fact remains he said nothing when that girl sold me out. So any sense of camaraderie between us is over.”

With that, Li Yuan dropped the letter into a small flame. He then turned his attention to the blood gold, which appeared to trap blood within its metallic sheen. It felt hot, unlike ordinary metal, as though radiating warmth from his palm. He couldn’t help thinking of those cold, icy ghost items he’d handled, a stark contrast of Yin and Yang.

“My nephew is sharing his wealth with me. A total of 150 taels of blood gold, likely all he had. At least my white finch saved his life once, that alone makes this worthwhile,” Li Yuan mused. “But this 150 taels is a limited resource. Once I spend it, it’s gone.”

He fell silent for a moment, then whispered to himself, “They want me as an enforcer, huh? The Blood Blade Patriarch has no intention of traveling anywhere; he’s content in the remote counties of Gemhill, Southsky, and Flowerpath. But other people might see things differently.”

His eyes flickered thoughtfully. Soon after, he hired an ox-drawn cart, loaded it with jars of recently brewed Snowbrew, and personally escorted an envoy out through the north gate of Gemhill County. He smiled at the messenger. “This wine may be ordinary, but it’s drinkable. Take a few casks for yourself, and deliver the rest to Yan Mu for me.”

The envoy was quite impressed by his courtesy and returned the gesture. “I’ll be sure to do so.”

Li Yuan made an inviting motion. “Please, go ahead.”

As the envoy departed on horseback, Li Yuan’s fingertip released an invisible thread that wound itself around the man. Like that, he maintained a hidden link as the messenger journeyed on. When the envoy finally crossed the Eternal Rest River, Li Yuan’s connection crossed it too.