Where Immortals Once Walked

“All kinds of unusual ores and spirit woods.”

“Oh? I thought it would be rare treasures and curios. I didn’t expect it to actually be raw materials.” He Lingchuan stroked his chin. At this point in time, anything related to the Ke Family interested him. “Does the Ke Family have a jewelry business and commission Dun Garden to find supplies?”

Among Lingxu City’s nobles and dignitaries, which family did not sit on vast assets and monopolize the most profitable trades?

“The Ke Family does have a jewelry business, of course, but that is not the key here.” Fang Canran pointed north. “Those things are supplied to that side.”

The north?

He Lingchuan looked north.

What’s to the north? Is he referring to Mount Xu or the floating islands?

“You mean?”

The moment Mount Xu was mentioned, He Lingchuan immediately remembered the day he had followed the tour group up Tianshu Peak. Ke Yanming had also ascended the mountain via a teleportation array, and the servants behind him had carried several large chests.

Clearly, he had been delivering something to Star-Plucking Tower.

Fang Canran said slowly, “For a very long time, the Ke Family has been responsible for serving Mount Xu’s guardian spirit.”

Among Lingxu City’s upper circles, everyone knew this.

“Guardian spirit...” He Lingchuan swirled his cup. “The lava inside Tianshu Peak?”

“Correct.” Fang Canran nodded. “Only the Ke Family can satisfy the guardian spirit’s demands. That is precisely why they enjoy such glory and wealth. Countless people in Lingxu City have wanted to replace them, yet none have ever succeeded.”

He Lingchuan understood. “So there really is such an impressive guardian spirit?”

No wonder, no wonder... That must be why before the true completion of the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array, before installing the array eye, the Lord Emperor had ordered the Ke Family to soothe Juju into sleep. The things their family offers please the rock-fire aberrant creature most, so it had probably consumed what it was given without much wariness.

“Among guardian spirits, those hidden in deep forests can at most govern a few wild beasts and monsters, and basically no one worships them. But if Mount Xu’s guardian spirit stamps its foot, all of Lingxu City trembles three times. Tell me then, does it have capital or not?”

“The earthquake more than ten years ago?”

Fang Canran nodded. “Young Master He knows quite a few of Lingxu City’s old matters.”

“What happens here is always a major matter. It draws the eyes of the world.” As He Lingchuan spoke, his gaze unconsciously fell once more on Fang Canran’s signet ring.

If one spoke of walking along the edge of life and death, then compared with Shao Jian, he still seemed a little lacking.

That man had carried and sent Dragon Punishment Pillars throughout the world, working hard to cause trouble for the gods, doing his utmost to stab holes into the divine realm.

Once the gods behind Lingxu City discovered what he had done, they would probably seize him, tear out his tendons, and flay him alive.

Fang Canran sat straighter and also looked at the signet ring.

“Young Master He seems very interested in this ring?”

This was an unconscious movement, which meant Fang Canran cared greatly about the conversation that was about to follow.

They had finally reached the true topic. He Lingchuan’s expression remained unchanged. “Mm, its design is very special. I would like to have one made as well.”

If he had guessed correctly, this was the real purpose of Fang Canran’s visit today!

He Lingchuan also gathered his focus.

This man was meticulous to the extreme. He had merely looked at the signet ring a few more times in Dun Garden, and Fang Canran had noticed.

But that also reflected something else, and that was that Fang Canran knew very well where the five-whorled sea snail ring came from.

He had come to probe how much of the secret behind it He Lingchuan knew.

“This was something an ancestor took to...”

“Many nobles in the west have the custom of wearing signet rings. Aside from looking good, they are also convenient for stamping seals.” He Lingchuan clenched a fist and touched his knuckles to the table, making a stamping gesture.

Fang Canran’s smile faded slightly. “Correct. Young Master He is so young, yet so widely knowledgeable.”

“These signet rings are passed down from generation to generation. Mr. Fang, how many years has this one been handed down?”

“Counting from the ancestor who first cast this signet ring?” Fang Canran murmured, “It should be over a hundred... yes, over 160 years.”

He Lingchuan’s eyes flickered.

Counting from the era when Shao Jian had fled the State of Yuān and traveled the world, it had indeed been more than 160 years. Fang Canran remembered very clearly.

However, that was abnormal.

The humans of the current era do not live long. While some cultivators may barely reach 130 or 140 years old, the average lifespan of ordinary people was under forty. If someone lived to sixty, they already ought to hold a banquet to celebrate.

With early deaths and short lives, people neither knew nor cared much about matters from several generations ago.

What was one’s grandfather’s grandfather called? Most people could not answer.

However, it was not because they had forgotten their ancestors, but because survival was not easy. People had to run around for a livelihood and had no leisure to spare.

The only typical exception was when their descendants became prosperous and gained power or status, and wanted to build ancestral temples and genealogies.

But to be as precise as Fang Canran, even remembering the exact era when a ring had been forged, was strange. Especially when he himself said his ancestors had drifted without settled homes, only settling in Lingxu City sixty years ago.

When people were always moving from place to place, past history, traditions, and customs were easily lost.

This ring was not some peerless treasure, so then why had every generation of the Fang Family taken such relatively great pains to remember it?

Once again, it had to be noted that Fang Canran spoke with such certainty, and that then probably meant his ancestors throughout the generations had treated this matter just as seriously and truly passed it down in proper order.

Otherwise, as a later-generation descendant, how would Fang Canran be able to recall such a seemingly insignificant fact?

He Lingchuan also looked at the signet ring. “The Fang Family has valued this ring for more than 160 years.”

Fang Canran smiled faintly. “Yes.”

“Does it hold some special meaning for the Fang Family?” Something handed down by ancestors was not necessarily good, nor would later generations necessarily value it.

“Special meaning?” Fang Canran looked at He Lingchuan. “When Young Master He sees another family’s ancestral ring, are you always this curious?”

“No, only this one.” He Lingchuan shook his head. “I always feel as if I’ve seen it somewhere before, especially these five whorls. They seem to have some significance.”

“What significance?”

“It seems that different spiral patterns represent different identities and statuses.”

“To be honest, the Fang Family’s first-generation ancestor once founded a merchant association and used this signet ring as its seal. The business grew very large, but not many signet rings were issued.” Fang Canran’s gaze deepened. “Where exactly has Young Master He seen this kind of signet ring?”

He Lingchuan concentrated and thought hard. After quite some time, he sighed regretfully. “I just can’t remember.”

“Is that so?” Fang Canran seemed not to take it seriously either, only smiling. “Then if Young Master He remembers someday, please do tell me.”

He Lingchuan said repeatedly, “Of course, of course!”

This matter was set aside, and the two began chatting again about recent happenings in Lingxu City. He Lingchuan’s heart stirred, and he deliberately asked about State Preceptor Qing Yang’s recent situation.

“State Preceptor Qing Yang has been attending many events as usual. As far as I know, she donated quite a bit of money yesterday to orphans of the Meerkat Clan.” Fang Canran smiled. “Has Young Master He met State Preceptor Qing Yang?”

He Lingchuan shook his head. “I haven’t had the opportunity.”

“In a few days, there will be an event at the Grass Sea[1]. State Preceptor Qing Yang will most likely attend.” Fang Canran lowered his voice and asked, “I heard that some clues in the elixir of youth case point toward State Preceptor Qing Yang. Is that true or false?”

Details of the case would not be made public, of course, but these nobles had plenty of ways to investigate.

“The suspect currently at large possesses a painting of State Preceptor Qing Yang, and he himself seems to have some connection with her.” He Lingchuan poured a cup of wine. “As for further investigations into the case, that has already been handed over to Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai.” He then asked Fang Canran, “I heard that among the Four Grand State Preceptors, State Preceptor Qing Yang is first, and she has held office the longest?”

Fang Canran nodded. “When my family’s first-generation ancestor was still alive, she had already become one of Beijia’s state preceptors. At the time, she was the youngest. Now, she has become the oldest.”

He Lingchuan was surprised. “More than 160 years ago, she was already a state preceptor?”

Fang Canran smiled. “More or less. The state preceptors all live relatively long lives. State Preceptor Shuang Ye looks even younger, only around twenty or so.”

He Lingchuan paused. “Hm? Aren’t only the state preceptors of the Spring and Summer Palaces human?”

“Yes. Among the four state preceptors, there must be two greater monsters and two humans.” Fang Canran explained, “State Preceptor Shuang Ye only appears human. His true body is actually a monster.”

“What kind of monster?” Fushan Yue looked human on the outside, but was actually a ba. Yet He Lingchuan had heard that even in Beijia, there were only two ba. No, now there should be three.

“I hear it is an extremely rare monster called a Dusu.” Fang Canran smiled. “Beijia’s very first ever state preceptor was also a Dusu. Perhaps they belong to the same clan.”

He Lingchuan asked curiously, “A clan that has produced two state preceptors must be one of Lingxu’s great families.”

Fang Canran waved a hand. “No, no. The first state preceptor of the founding era left no descendants, and the Dusu disappeared into the long river of history until State Preceptor Shuang Ye appeared. Monsters are different from humans. The stronger the monster, the weaker its ability to reproduce, and lineages are easily broken. The current State Preceptor Shuang Ye also has no descendants. His Majesty is rather satisfied with this point.”

“So that’s how it is.” To be honest, He Lingchuan was no less curious about State Preceptor Shuang Ye than State Preceptor Qing Yang. “I heard that State Preceptor Qing Yang and State Preceptor Shuang Ye seem to have some cracks between them?”

Using “cracks” to describe it was far too gentle. As far as He Lingchuan knew, they seemed to wish they could kill each other. After all, had State Preceptor Shuang Ye not taken in State Preceptor Qing Yang’s abandoned disciple Xi Yunhe precisely to deal with her?

“With high office and rich salary, how could there be perfect harmony?” Fang Canran smiled. “Whether the state is large or small, it is always the same.”

“Mr. Fang speaks truly. But I originally thought that State Preceptor Qing Yang and State Preceptor Shuang Ye would attack each other in the elixir of youth case. Yet ever since I came to Lingxu City, Spring Palace seems to have made no move.” The thunderous wrath from Spring Palace seemed never to have appeared.

“Still waters run deep. Since the Chiyan people and you, He Xiao, are no longer involved in the case, you naturally cannot feel the surging undercurrent.” Fang Canran smiled. “When you were handling the case in Baishajue, could the other famous men and gentry see the private clashes between you and Cen Boqing?”

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, then shook his head.

When he had been pursuing the case most tightly, Cen Boqing had invited Curse Master Cheng Yu to take his life. The nightmare’s killing methods were formless and traceless. How could outsiders possibly know?

So if State Preceptor Qing Yang and State Preceptor Shuang Ye exchanged blows, outsiders might know nothing about many of their methods.

Fang Canran continued, “In truth, Spring Palace began counterattacking long ago. To give one example, the major corruption case exposed a few days ago—the Assistant Treasurer Jia Qingmin, who was investigated, had some dealings with State Preceptor Shuang Ye, and his nephew serves in the Autumn Palace.”

He Lingchuan understood. “Two birds, one stone.”

At the time, Crown Prince Huan had just gone to the Mount Pan Residence to kill people and set fires, and this news had been released soon afterward. Looking at it now, it was the Spring Palace’s doing. On one hand, it diverted public attention. On the other hand, it struck back against State Preceptor Shuang Ye.

1. This may be referring to the Xiling Grass Sea mentioned in Chapter 441, but I’m not sure as it isn’t explicitly said. ☜