Chapter 412: What Is Truly Inside the Vial

Fushan Yue chuckled and said, “I’m not that bored. I came today to ask about the second half of what you didn’t finish saying back at Mount Fengmo.”

He Lingchuan asked, “What second half?”

Fushan Yue spread his hand. Resting in his palm was that small wooden vial. “Do you know what’s inside this?”

At his words, his subordinate looked stunned.

Isn’t that vial supposed to contain dragon marrow? The young master had gone to great lengths to seize it personally, so why is he now turning around to ask an outsider about it?

“Who told you that?”

The moment those words left He Lingchuan’s mouth, Fushan Yue’s expression darkened. His subordinate could not help but blurt out, “Young Master, could he have just been talking nonsense? You shouldn’t believe him!”

Fushan Yue slowly turned his head and fixed his gaze on the man. “Then who should I believe? You, Fu Ji? Or Fu Jiu?”

Fu Ji’s face went pale. He opened his mouth to speak, but Fushan Yue suddenly struck him with a palm to the top of his head, knocking him unconscious on the spot.

He Lingchuan frowned. “Careful. You’ve splashed blood on the wall.”

He clearly saw that when Fu Ji slid down, the corner of his mouth scraped against the wall, leaving a streak of blood.

This man’s this ruthless even to his own people?

“Ah, my apologies, I had to attend to some housekeeping,” Fushan Yue said calmly, wiping his hand with a cloth. “I’ve let you see something unbecoming.”

“You didn’t just let me see it; I even helped you with it,” He Lingchuan replied coolly. All the mechanisms He Lingchuan had set up in the room had been endured in full by Fu Ji. “Why bring him here just to do some housekeeping? Borrowing my strength to deal with your own men, you’re quite good at squeezing value out of people.”

“It just so happened to be convenient,” Fushan Yue said, dropping his flippant tone and turning serious. “So, what exactly is in the vial? Please enlighten me.”

He Lingchuan sat upright, steady and unhurried. “Information has a price. You know that.”

“What do you want?”

“That depends on what you have.” He Lingchuan spread his hands. “If you’re so poor you only have money left, I can actually make do with that.”

Fushan Yue looked genuinely surprised.

Someone like this guy actually lacks money?

The faint smile on He Lingchuan’s face did not change.

Of course I’m short on money, how could I not be?

He had been short of money back when he was the eldest young master of the He Family in Dunyu, and now that he had come alone to Beijia, what he had to rely on was merely the savings he had not yet spent. He was currently living off diminishing reserves.

And he still had a long cultivation road ahead of him, every single step of which cost money.

So yes, talking about money was vulgar, but not talking about money was suffocating.

“I understand,” Fushan Yue said, taking out two silver notes and setting them on the table. “Two hundred taels. That’s all I have on me.”

He had come out to kill people—no, to negotiate. Why would he carry large sums of silver?

“Your life is worth only two hundred taels?” He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow. “Don’t cheapen yourself like that.”

“Can’t I get a friends-and-family discount?”

He Lingchuan maintained the faint smile on his face as he said, “Friendship is never discounted.”

Fushan Yue sighed inwardly.

I have plenty of concealed weapons on me, but money? Where am I supposed to conjure that up on the spot?

“Where are you headed?”

“Lingxu City.”

Fushan Yue thought for a moment. “Then I’ll add a grand residence—a mansion—spanning a third of a hectare in Lingxu City!”

He Lingchuan laughed. “A third of a hectare and you dare call it a grand residence?” His family’s old mansion in Heishui City covered about five times that size, spanning about 1.66 hectares.

Fushan Yue’s lips curled upward. “In Lingxu City, it is!” Then he gave a sly grin. “Honestly, I don’t even need to know exactly what it is. As long as I know it isn’t dragon marrow, that’s enough.”

Knowing he had been misled was all he needed.

He Lingchuan remained unmoved. “If you don’t know the poison’s properties, how are you going to go back and set a trap to kill whoever framed you?”

That hit Fushan Yue squarely where it hurt. He bared his teeth unconsciously. “Two hundred taels, an estate in Lingxu City, and I owe you a favor.”

“This kind of opportunity doesn’t come often,” Fushan Yue cautioned. “Don’t refuse too quickly.”

“Fine,” He Lingchuan said at last. “But you still have to answer a few questions for me.”

Both of them knew the truth that these terms were trivial. What really mattered was that they were choosing to shake hands and make peace.

There was no blood feud, no tangled web of interests, so why fight to the death?

Besides, the person Fushan Yue truly wanted to deal with was not He Lingchuan at all.

“Ask.”

“What’s your relationship with the ruler of the State of Chiyan?”

He Lingchuan had said it before, ba were rarer in this world than those with Rh-negative blood types[1] in his old one. It was impossible not to make certain associations.

“He’s my father.”

As expected.

He Lingchuan blinked. “Ba can have children?”

At the end of the day, ba are basically... corpses, aren’t they? Do the dead still have that kind of vitality?

Then again, He Lingchuan had read in

Strange Tales of the Middle Era

, which Sun Fuling had lent him, that newly formed ba disliked sunlight, had stiff joints, and pale complexions. It was only after their cultivation deepened that their faces regained color and their movements became fluid again. At that stage, they differed little from the living, and some even regained a pulse.

With a pulse comes bodily function, so perhaps... hm.

“He was surprised himself,” Fushan Yue said calmly. “My mother was human.”

His father had once been human as well, so there had not been any reproductive barrier.

“So if you’re the prince of the State of Chiyan, why did you rob your own envoy?”

“I received word that the ruler of the State of Shanyu was privately gifting my father something that would be extremely beneficial to my cultivation.” Fushan Yue said with a smile, “My father was never going to give it to me, so I took it upon myself to acquire it.”

He Lingchuan offered his sympathy. “Sounds like your relationship with your father isn’t that great.”

“It’s fine,” Fushan Yue said with the same pleasant smile. “He just wishes I were dead, that’s all.”

“Such filial harmony,” He Lingchuan sighed. “Why?”

“That’s family business, not something for sharing.” Fushan Yue tilted his chin at him. “I’ve answered enough questions. Your turn.”

“The vial doesn’t contain dragon marrow,” He Lingchuan said, turning up the oil lamp atop the cabinet. “It contains a toxin. I’ve seen what it does to people. Those afflicted are beyond saving.”

“A poison?” Fushan Yue looked almost disappointed. “I thought it’d be something impressive. I’m immune to poison.”

Creatures like ba were naturally resistant to all toxins.

“This isn’t a poison of the mortal realm, it’s produced by a divine child,” said He Lingchuan. He looked straight at the other party’s eyes and asked, “Do you know the Ferry-Crossing Mother?”

Back on Mount Fengmo, the scent from the vial had given it away. Wen Xing—son of Wen Daolun, the strategist most trusted by Zhong Shengguang—had been wounded by a ninth child of the Ferry-Crossing Mother, and his wound had exuded this same distinctive sweet fragrance.

So what was in the vial really needed no further explanation.

Fushan Yue shook his head blankly. “What is that?”

“Not a thing, a god,” He Lingchuan said, spreading his hands. “And it requires a living body for testing.”

Fushan Yue pointed at Fu Ji lying nearby. “How about him?”

He Lingchuan gestured politely.

So that’s why he bothered sparing that guy’s life; he plans to use him as a test subject.

Fushan Yue took out a silver needle, dipped it into the liquid, and examined it. The needle remained bright and untarnished.

He pricked Fu Ji with it. The man, still unconscious, showed no reaction.

Clearly impatient, Fushan Yue stabbed several more times, puncturing Fu Ji’s neck, thigh, and abdomen.

After several dozen breaths, He Lingchuan said softly, “It’s starting.”

Fushan Yue drew a dagger and scraped lightly at one of the puncture sites. The texture beneath was stiff, or perhaps it would be more accurate to simply describe it as hard. Soft skin had turned into something else entirely.

Wood?

He checked the other punctures. All showed signs of lignification, all spreading across the body.

Fu Ji woke with a scream, “What’s happening to me?!”

Fushan Yue shook the vial in his hand. “You helped me test it.”

Fu Ji struggled to crawl. “Young Master, please spare me!”

“Who spread the false report that the gift from the State of Shanyu was dragon marrow?”

Fu Ji stammered, unable to speak coherently.

Fushan Yue murmured, “I treated you all well. Why betray me?”

Fu Ji begged frantically, but by now his limbs could no longer move. Fushan Yue remained unmoved.

Only when Fu Ji had completely turned into a wooden statue did he pat him on the shoulder. “This poison has no antidote.”

And the faster the blood flowed, the faster it took effect.

Anyone seeing Fu Ji now would think that the artisan had extraordinary skill, creating an incredibly lifelike carving that perfectly exhibited a frozen expression of agony on the face.

Fushan Yue felt a chill run through him.

He Lingchuan asked, “Do you think you’d survive drinking this yourself?”

A ba’s body could resist toxins, but not necessarily lignification. Fushan Yue’s expression darkened. “I tested it on mice and a rabbit before, but I had them ingest it.”

“Snake venom acts when it enters the bloodstream,” He Lingchuan reminded him. “Swallowing it may not trigger the effect so quickly. Besides, are you certain those mice and that rabbit were not swapped out?”

Fushan Yue could not bring himself to say “I’m sure.” After a moment, he asked, “What kind of god is the Ferry-Crossing Mother, exactly?”

He Lingchuan explained the nature and traits of the Ferry-Crossing Mother and her offspring.

Fushan Yue fell silent. After a long while, he exhaled deeply. “So that’s how it is.”

“Why would the ruler of the State of Shanyu send something like this to your father?” He Lingchuan asked. “Or was it switched en route? I heard the Shanyu envoy was robbed along the way and spent two days recovering the lost items.”

“I don’t know,” Fushan Yue said, shaking his head. “But I’ll find out.” Then he added, “Right now, Shanyu’s army is being beaten back step by step by a newly rebelled force. They need aid from the State of Chiyan.” He had seen the letter. Other than this supposed dragon marrow, the ruler of Shanyu had also presented his father with a full list of gifts.

He Lingchuan grew curious. “Can the State of Chiyan send troops to help?”

“Of course not. That would be direct interference in Shanyu’s internal affairs. Other monster kings can only watch from afar. If they intervene openly, Lingxu City and the other monster states would punish them severely.”

He Lingchuan latched onto one word. “Directly?”

“Yes, so indirectly is fine,” he said lightly.

Every rule had loopholes. Beijia would not be any different.

“Money, grain, supplies, those can all be sent under the banner of trade or other justifications,” Fushan Yue said with a shrug. “With careful planning, even a small number of elite troops can be dispatched. Lingxu City can’t easily regulate that sort of thing, and they sometimes even turn a blind eye.” Fushan Yue shrugged his shoulders. “In the end, whoever wins only needs to pledge allegiance and offer tribute to Lingxu City, obtain the gods’ recognition, and they’ll take the throne.”

1. The original text here mentioned “panda blood,” but I’m pretty sure it’s referring to this. The Rh-negative blood type is commonly referred to as such in China due to the similarity in rarity with pandas. ☜