Chapter 21: Gold and Silver of Heaven and Earth |
Si Zhanqing cast Fang Xun a sidelong glance and let out an almost inaudible cold snort. “Do you take this marquis for someone who repays kindness with ingratitude, or slaughters the innocent without cause?”
Fang Xun trembled and hurriedly replied, “This subordinate would not dare!”
“Since I promised a generous reward upon success… I never go back on my word.” Si Zhanqing flicked her pale fingertip casually. A tiny object, gleaming with golden light, shot through the air and came to a steady halt before Fang Xun.
He carefully caught it in his palm. After examining it for a moment, he could not help but cry out in shock, “Real gold?”
Ecstasy instantly spread across his face. He quickly tucked the gold away close to his body, then bowed deeply toward Si Zhanqing. “Many thanks for your generous bestowal, my lord.”
“These one hundred taels of gold are your reward. As for those laborers…”
“Ten taels of silver each will be enough for them to cast off their lowly status and live the rest of their lives in comfort.” As her voice fell, twenty-three clusters of radiant silver light streaked out like meteors, landing before Fang Xun.
“This matter is concluded. I will be leaving soon. You will distribute these rewards on my behalf.”
At the news that Si Zhanqing would soon depart, a trace of disappointment rose in Fang Xun’s heart. Yet under the overwhelming temptation of the two hundred and thirty taels of silver before him, along with the one hundred taels of gold already in his possession, that fleeting sense of loss quickly vanished.
As a result, gold and silver were of immense value.
More importantly, true gold and silver were indispensable to anyone in the world cultivating the Twelvefold Longevity Methods.
“As expected of the Marquis of Changle. Such generosity… Even without the merit of capturing Xiong Jin alive, these gold and silver alone would be enough to pave my way back to the Sacred Capital,” Fang Xun thought, his heart surging with excitement.
“That will be all. You may leave.” Si Zhanqing dismissed him without ceremony.
After Fang Xun withdrew, the head maidservant at her side suddenly lowered her voice and spoke, “Master, shall we really not…”
Si Zhanqing stood quietly in place, gazing down over Lengshan County. Her line of sight seemed to pierce through the layers of the floating manor beneath her feet.
No one could tell what calculations lay within her heart. Her beautiful eyes appeared calm as still water, yet in their deepest depths, there seemed to linger something inscrutable.
“No need.”
After a long silence, she spoke faintly.
That very afternoon, the massive floating residence hovering above Lengshan County silently tore through the air and departed.
Inside the county office study.
Fang Xun stared fixedly at the piles of silver spread across his desk, his thoughts churning.
“All this gleaming silver… how could it truly be given to those laborers? That would be a complete waste!”
“I’ll hold onto it for them, for now.”
“And that abandoned mine beneath Lengshan…”
His eyes flickered. He immediately summoned Wu Kuang and ordered him to gather the twenty-three laborers once more.
Three days later.
“Are you certain the Marquis of Changle came here that day?” Deep within the core region of the abandoned underground mine, Fang Xun stared at the passage ahead as he asked in a low voice.
Including Li Shun, the six laborers carefully examined their surroundings before nodding in unison.
“Reporting to the County Magistrate, this is indeed the place. However…”
“It feels somewhat different from when we came here before.”
The gathered laborers reached a conclusion.
Fang Xun narrowed his eyes, dismissed everyone around him, and then walked alone into the passage.
There was no difference between this place and the ordinary mining tunnels outside. He searched up and down for quite some time, yet found nothing unusual.
“The underground of Lengshan isn’t nearly as frigid as the rumors claim.”
“And… along our way here, every stalk of Lengshan Grass we saw was nearly withered. Could it be that Marquis Changle truly succeeded in extracting the remnant soul of that fallen great being?”
In the darkness, Fang Xun’s gaze flickered.
“Without that remnant soul, the cold aura permeating Lengshan will inevitably dissipate over time. Perhaps… even the Lengshan Grass will no longer be able to grow as it once did.”
“At present, there are only two sources for new Lengshan Grass seedlings. One is the natural nurturing of the unique environment around Lengshan County. The other is the chance of mature grass producing offshoots, with about a fifty percent probability. The former accounts for the vast majority.”
“Now that such a drastic change has occurred…”
“I’m afraid that in just a few years, the court’s tribute of Lengshan Grass will no longer be met.”
At this thought, Fang Xun’s expression tightened slightly, before he let out a cold snort.
“In any case, I’ll be transferred back to the capital by next spring at the latest. What happens after that has nothing to do with me.”
As his thoughts drifted, he couldn’t help but recall the stolen stalk of Lengshan Venerable.
“What a pity. The Lengshan Venerable is already exceedingly rare. If I had kept it for a few more years, then once Lengshan Grass becomes nearly extinct…”
“Its value would rise to an unimaginable level.”
Suppressing these scattered thoughts, Fang Xun stepped out of the passage. His gaze swept over the trembling laborers still waiting where they stood.
“If they fail to hand in the grass, these laborers will all end up dead anyway. Saves me the trouble of dealing with them myself.”
Though such thoughts ran through his mind, his expression shifted into one of false benevolence.
“Rest assured. This time, you assisted Marquis Changle and rendered great service. The court will certainly not treat you unfairly.”
…
The next day, Li Shun stared at the rewards delivered by the county office. A bolt of silk, three jars of fine wine, and ten jin of dried meat from some unknown exotic beast.
He fell into a long silence.
He understood clearly that Fang Xun had undoubtedly kept the true reward from Marquis Changle for himself.
But Li Shun did not particularly care.
After all, being able to withdraw unscathed without using the Threefold Self-Reflection ability had already far exceeded his expectations.
He truly hadn’t expected that neither Marquis Changle nor Fang Xun had chosen to silence them.
“Could it be… that I’ve been viewing people in this world too cynically?”
Li Shun pondered for a long while, still finding it hard to believe.
In the end, he shook his head with a self-deprecating smile and stopped dwelling on it.
Focusing his mind, his consciousness instantly sank into the Fangcun space within him.
Inside the region where the puppet Li Shun stood, the Lengshan Grass field had already undergone a transformation.
At the center stood the Lengshan Venerable, resembling a half-moon suspended high above all else. On either side, two massive Lengshan Lords stood like loyal guards. Surrounding them were more than eighty ordinary stalks of Lengshan Grass, layered in tight formation.
The entire field presented a strange yet vibrant scene, its hierarchy strict and full of life.
“Ever since I obtained the Lengshan Lord some time ago, I’ve been studying its cultivation method.”
“That musician once said that during its growth process, Lengshan Grass has only a one in a hundred thousand chance of mutating into a Lengshan Lord. But…”
“I don’t know whether it’s due to incredible luck, or because of the aura emitted by this Lengshan Venerable at the center nourishing it, but I succeeded on my very first attempt.”
“One instance proves nothing. Once the results of this batch come out, I should be able to confirm it.”
Li Shun’s gaze settled on the spiritual plant currently being nurtured within the puppet’s body as he thought this.
“I’ve at least grasped some clues regarding the cultivation of the Lengshan Lord. But that Lengshan Venerable…”