Chapter 22: The Commander's Keepsake

He Yue jerked back and snapped, “Commandant Nian, please mind how you conduct yourself!”

However, Nian Songyu had no intention of reining himself in. He reached out, clearly intending to grab He Yue.

He Yue’s face went ghostly pale.

Fortunately, someone burst out from the side and swung a fierce punch straight at Nian Songyu’s face!

The punch came roaring in with force. If it landed, Nian Songyu would go flying over three meters with a bloody nose and a swollen face.

However, his reactions were sharp. He tucked his body back, met fist with fist, and simultaneously launched a heavy kick toward his opponent’s chest. The power behind it made it clear that he was furious.

Still, the move caused him to fail to grab hold of He Yue.

The punch, as it turned out, was just a feint. The real strike came from the short blade in the attacker’s left hand, slipping soundlessly toward Nian Songyu’s ribs.

But Nian Songyu had sensed it. He took two quick steps back, narrowly avoiding the attack and the incoming kick as well.

Only then did He Yue’s voice reach them, “Stop! Don’t fight!”

The attacker, of course, was He Lingchuan.

Before Nian Songyu could say a word, He Lingchuan tilted his head and looked genuinely surprised. “Commandant Nian? How could it be you? I thought some shameless creep had snuck into the estate and was trying to take advantage of Little Two. Commandant Nian, what exactly were you doing in front of his latrine at this hour?”

“I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds,” Nian Songyu replied smoothly, brushing off his sleeves. “I was just taking a walk when I ran into Second Young Master He and had a little chat. The capital is a complicated place, far more so than here. It’d do you both good to have someone looking out for you.”

He then turned to He Yue with a smile and said, “We seem to get along. What do you say to another drink tomorrow night?”

He Yue was as pale as paper, unable to utter a word.

He Lingchuan cut in, “Great idea! Little Two and I will both be there! We’ll drink until we drop! Just a warning, though, when I party, I go all out. I hope you can keep up, Commandant Nian.”

Nian Songyu gave a dry laugh. Something about He Lingchuan always gave him a greasy and sly impression. He did not feel like chatting any further.

But He Lingchuan was not done. “Oh, right, did you get any news yet on the snitch who babbled about my injury? They must be a traitor.”

Nian Songyu’s smile faded. “Not yet,” he said coldly, then turned and walked off with leisurely steps.

As soon as he was out of sight, He Yue rushed to the pond to wash his hands, moving like a rabbit that had just narrowly dodged an arrow that had landed by its tail.

He Lingchuan heard him mutter a rare curse under his breath, and then watched him scrub his hands over and over, looking as if he wanted to peel off a layer of skin. “Big Brother, good thing you were here.”

He was only fourteen. No matter how mature he usually seemed, at a moment like this, he still needed his older brother to have his back.

“Ugh, just looking at that smug face made me want to hit him,” He Lingchuan said, patting his shoulder. “But even if I hadn’t shown up, he wouldn’t have dared go too far.”

“He was pretending?” He Yue frowned. “I looked into Nian Songyu. That sort of behavior isn’t out of character for him.”

Several generations of Yuan emperors had indulged in male lovers, and so it had become fashionable in the capital for aristocrats to keep handsome young men as playthings. With his refined features and scholarly grace, He Yue was precisely the sort of trophy some of them hunted.

“Whether he was pretending or not, who really knows?” He Lingchuan gave a dark chuckle. “But scaring you like that means we now have to step up the pace. Afternoon temptations, nighttime threats, that’s called a two-pronged assault.”

He Lingchuan pinched his little brother’s cheek. “With skin this fair and delicate, no wonder people get ideas. I told you to train with me, yet you didn’t want to.”

He Yue slapped his hand away. “They’re getting desperate. Is it because the Panlong Desert’s about to change?”

“Probably.” He Lingchuan turned to leave. “Go to bed. I’m off to find something to eat.”

“There’s always something hidden in the kitchen cupboards.”

“What’s today’s treat?”

“A tray of walnut cakes.” He Yue coughed. “Only half’s left, though.”

“Not apple fritters?” He Lingchuan’s eyes widened. “So that’s why I couldn’t find the walnut cakes! You’ve been stealing them!”

After He Lingchuan chatted with his little brother a bit more, he left. Once he reached a quiet, empty spot, he finally gave his left fist a sharp shake.

“Hss. Damn, that hurts.” He looked down at his reddened knuckles. The skin had not split, but the joints were swollen. “That bastard Nian Songyu... He’s not bad.”

This was a fist tempered over the years with iron sand and flint, strong enough to break through logs as thick as bowls. Yet when it struck Nian Songyu, the feedback jolted him to the bone. His fingers still ached from the shock.

* * *

Early the next morning, the two guests were invited to the main hall, where He Chunhua personally delivered them good news.

“The entire leopard corpse has been recovered.” Commandery Administrator He had been busy until deep into the night and had slept barely an hour, yet he looked more energized than either of his sons. “But I believe what you truly want is this leopard fang.”

He opened his palm and displayed the fang.

Nian Songyu leaned in eagerly. “Let me see!”

No one asked how the body had been recovered. Everyone knew the story was just for show.

Still, He Chunhua let out a heavy sigh. “I had suspected some enemy working in secret. After all, Heishui City lies on the border, and we’re surrounded by hostile forces. However, I didn’t expect such hidden layers to the truth. To have delayed a state preceptor’s affairs, I humbly ask for your forgiveness.”

What else could State Preceptor Sun say? He had no choice but to reply magnanimously, “It’s nothing. One cannot blame those unaware of the truth. Besides, Young Master He was gravely injured as well.”

With that, He Chunhua produced the leopard fang and emptied its contents onto a brocade tray. “Everything is here. State Preceptor Sun, please.”

Everyone gathered around, watching as Sun Fuping asked for a cup of water and dropped a single grass seed into it.

With just a few gentle swirls, the seed began to sprout roots, then leaves. It grew rapidly before their very eyes.

In just over ten seconds, it bloomed into a single flower, a soft white blossom with six petals, each no larger than a fingernail.

One by one, Sun Fuping brought the tray’s contents close to the flower.

There was no reaction until—

Until He Lingchuan held up a broken half of a comb.

The moment it neared, the flower withered instantly. Its leaves and stem shriveled away, and in seconds, it crumbled into dust and scattered in the water.

“This must be it,” Sun Fuping said, just reaching for the comb.

However, He Chunhua snatched it up first and examined it closely. “Even after more than a century, the lingering resentment clinging to it is still so intense.”

Nian Songyu blinked in surprise. “A comb? That’s the personal keepsake of the dignified commander of Panlong City?”

He Lingchuan shrugged. “He had a wife and daughter, didn’t he?”

He Yue followed up with a question, “There’s something I don’t understand. After the State of Xianyou went through all that trouble to conquer Panlong City, why didn’t they take the Generous Pot? They suffered heavy losses, so they had to know of its value.”

State Preceptor Sun said after a sip of tea, “According to Xianyou’s historical records, on the third day after the city fell and the massacre ended, the river wells dried up, and even the moat vanished overnight. On the fifth day, all vegetation blackened and died, crops and grass alike. On the seventh day, every livestock animal dropped dead. The troops of Xianyou saw the signs as terribly inauspicious and retreated as soon as possible. With no water or food, they couldn’t hold the city. What’s more, their forces were immediately redeployed northward, so the Generous Pot never saw use. I’ve searched through all of Xianyou’s wartime records, and I’ve found no trace of any battle involving mind-bewitching worms. For a treasure of this caliber, if they had truly acquired it, there’s no reason they wouldn’t have used it on the battlefield.”