Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 808: Sun Hongye’s Discovery

A shrewd man should have chosen the latter. After all, even if He Lingchuan had managed to become a special envoy of Rongshan, he still had no real foundation within Yuan itself. He Chunhua, on the other hand, was already the most important rising figure in the capital.

Hence, which master offered the brighter future was obvious.

People’s loyalties changed easily. He Lingchuan truly did not blame Shan Youjun for looking after his own prospects, but...

He Lingchuan stared at him, and his voice suddenly turned sharp, “But I need to ask you one thing. Did you kill Sun Hongye?”

Shan Youjun jolted in alarm and shook his head like a rattle drum. “No, no! I never did anything like that!”

He Lingchuan studied his expression carefully. “Explain everything from beginning to end. Depending on what you say, I may spare your life.”

There was no need to add otherwise, because Qiu Hu was standing just behind and to the side of Shan Youjun, radiating killing intent like a tiger.

The hairs on Shan Youjun’s back stood on end. His right hand clenched into a fist as he desperately suppressed the urge to draw his saber behind him.

It was a stress response born from fear.

Where in the world did the eldest young master find such a murderous man?

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!” Shan Youjun swallowed. “Sun Hongye and I got along reasonably well. I borrowed money from him before, but I paid it back soon afterward. About a month ago, Lord He suddenly ordered me to monitor Sun Hongye’s movements. He said Sun Hongye had been acting strangely and told me to report anything unusual at once. I couldn’t disobey my orders, so I did as I was told. Over the next few days, I noticed that Sun Hongye really did seem to be investigating something. I tried sounding him out indirectly, but he refused to tell me anything.”

Shan Youjun paused.

“And then?” He Lingchuan could tell there was more.

“Later, I followed him to a tavern in the capital and saw him meet Lady Zhu. He also handed her a book.” Shan Youjun swallowed again. “I reported it to Lord He, and he ordered me to retrieve the book.”

“What was it called?”

“Collected Commentary on the Jade Blossoms.”

Realization dawned on He Lingchuan. “So you were the thief who broke into Zhu Xiu’er’s house and stole the book?”

Shan Youjun smiled awkwardly.

“And then?”

“Lord He and I both looked through it, but neither of us found anything unusual. Lord He originally kept it in his study, but then, Eldest Young Master, you suddenly... suddenly returned. So, Lord He gave the book to me and told me to hide it somewhere safe.”

The moment he finished speaking, He Lingchuan held out his hand. “The book. Give it to me.”

Two breaths later, the slightly worn copy of Collected Commentary on the Jade Blossoms was in He Lingchuan’s hands.

It turned out that Shan Youjun had been the one holding onto it all along. No wonder He Lingchuan had gotten nothing out of Steward Wu even after going through the other party’s dreams.

“And then?” He Lingchuan asked as he flipped through the book. “What did you do to Sun Hongye?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Shan Youjun was one step away from swearing to Heaven itself. “Sun Hongye resigned from Lord He’s service and left. Lord He simply told me to see him off.”

He Lingchuan frowned. “See him off?”

“Yes, literally just see him off. I didn’t kill him!” Shan Youjun coughed. “I escorted him through the eastern gate of the capital, but I still wasn’t reassured, so I secretly followed him for another two days. He really did keep traveling east without ever turning back. He stayed at inns, ate meals, and continued on his way. He didn’t have any suspicious conversations with anyone either. After that, I returned... and the moment I entered the residence, I saw you, Eldest Young Master.”

He Lingchuan gave him a faint, knowing smile. “You weren’t reassured? Was following him secretly your idea, or my old man’s?”

“I... I decided that myself,” Shan Youjun said quietly. “People come and go from the residence all the time. Lord He didn’t care.”

He Lingchuan understood.

His father had probably considered silencing Sun Hongye permanently.

A few months earlier, if Sun Hongye had behaved this suspiciously under his nose, He Chunhua likely would have killed him without hesitation. After all, the thing he had feared most was someone discovering that he had privately performed a rite of divine recompense.

That was exactly what had brought disaster down upon the He Family in the past.

However, circumstances had changed. The He Chunhua of today was already a powerful figure in the capital, a decorated rising star who held real authority. Would the ruler of Yuan truly dare punish him over a rite of divine recompense now?

Even if the court found out, it would probably pretend not to know.

What had once been a crime as heavy as a mountain was now no more threatening than a paper hat. One good breath could blow it away.

He Chunhua now had enough stature to feel secure, and he could not be bothered with whatever Sun Hongye had been investigating. If Sun Hongye wanted to leave, then so be it.

“You may go.” He Lingchuan waved Shan Youjun away. “Serve my old man properly from now on.”

Shan Youjun swallowed the bitterness in his throat.

He knew that with those words, the bond between master and subordinate had come to an end.

He had betrayed He Lingchuan first. The fact that the other man imposed no punishment at all was already exceedingly generous.

Shan Youjun knelt and said, “This lowly one has failed you, Young Master. May your future be boundless, and may you soar ever higher!”

He Lingchuan did not even look at him. He simply opened the Collected Commentary on the Jade Blossoms and began flipping through it.

Shan Youjun turned to leave. When he passed Qiu Hu, he glanced over and saw the man staring at him with undisguised disdain.

Once Shan Youjun reached the garden’s arched gate, he looked back one final time.

Suddenly, he felt a trace of regret.

By all logic, following He Chunhua was the most rational and intelligent choice. Yet for some reason, in this moment, he could not help but feel as though he had just brushed past some great and important opportunity.

After Shan Youjun left dejectedly, He Lingchuan pulled a slip of paper from his robes. This was the note Sun Hongye had asked He Yue to pass on to his elder brother before leaving.

From here, it was easy. He Lingchuan had already done this sort of thing once while investigating the elixir of youth case. All he needed to do was use the numbers written on the note to find the corresponding page and line in the Collected Commentary on the Jade Blossoms.

In no time at all, Sun Hongye’s riddle was deciphered.

Eldest Young Master He’s birth mother is buried behind White Pagoda Temple.

Those twelve words left He Lingchuan stunned for a long time.

“Wait, what?” The Soul-Stealing Mirror was equally astonished. “So Madame Ying isn’t your biological mother? Oh my, this is really...” It had originally wanted to say interesting, but immediately reconsidered. That sounded like a good way to get beaten. In the end, it finished off with, “Following you is never boring.”

Every few days, something new happened. Either it was life-threatening and terrifying, or utterly beyond belief.

None of its previous masters had lived such colorful lives.

He Lingchuan ignored it.

He had assumed the secret Sun Hongye had uncovered was He Chunhua’s private rite of divine recompense.

Instead...

He propped his chin on one hand and fell into thought.

From the moment he first arrived in this world, he had sensed that something about the He Family’s atmosphere was strange. He Chunhua’s attitude toward his eldest son was deeply conflicted, while Madame Ying had always been cold toward He Lingchuan.

The original owner had been only sixteen when he fell from the cliff. He had simply assumed that his mother disliked him because he was a useless wastrel.

But He Lingchuan, as an outsider, had seen immediately that something was wrong.

The way Madame Ying looked at her younger son, He Yue, held the warmth and tenderness one expected from a mother.

When she looked at He Lingchuan, however, there was nothing but pure dislike.

It was not the disappointment of a mother frustrated that her son failed to live up to expectations.

She simply found him unpleasant no matter what he did.

Only later, after He Lingchuan gradually made something of himself and even stayed behind at Immortal Spirit Lake to cover the others’ retreat at the risk of his own life, did his relationship with Madame Ying improve dramatically. At last, there had been warmth in the way this mother looked at him.

He Lingchuan had occasionally wondered in private whether the original owner might not have been her biological child after all.

One careless guess had turned into prophecy.

He was familiar with the name “White Pagoda Temple.”

It was a temple west of Heishui City, dedicated to the guardian spirit of the area, and it received a considerable amount of incense and worship.

He was heading to Heishui City anyway.

Should I stop by and take a look?