Chapter 411 - 410: The Truth in the Bottle

Chapter 411: Chapter 410: The Truth in the Bottle

Fushan Yue smiled. "I’m not that idle. I came today to ask you about the second half of what you started to say on Wind Demon Mountain."

"What was that?"

Fushan Yue held out his hand, the small Wooden Bottle resting in his palm. "Do you know what’s inside this?"

Hearing this, his subordinate looked astonished.

’Isn’t this Wooden Bottle supposed to contain Dragon Marrow? The Young Master went to so much trouble to personally snatch it, so why is he asking an outsider about it now?’

"Who told you?"

The moment Hee Lingchuan said this, Fushan Yue’s expression darkened. The subordinate couldn’t help but say, "Young Master, isn’t this man just spouting nonsense? Don’t believe him."

Fushan Yue slowly turned his head, staring at him as he asked, "Then who should I believe? You, Fuu Ji? Or Fuu Jiu?"

Fuu Ji’s face paled. He opened his mouth to speak, but Fushan Yue suddenly slapped a palm on top of his head, knocking him out cold.

Hee Lingchuan said with displeasure, "Be careful. Blood splattered on the wall."

He had seen it clearly: as Fuu Ji slid down, the corner of his mouth scraped against the wall, leaving a streak of blood.

’Fushan Yue is this ruthless even to his own men?’

"Ah, my apologies. Just cleaning house." Fushan Yue found a cloth to wipe his hands. "Sorry to make a scene."

"Not only did I see a scene, I even lent you a hand." The traps Hee Lingchuan had previously set up in the room had all been triggered by Fuu Ji. "Why bring him to my place to clean your house?"

’Using my strength to clean up his own subordinate. This guy really knows how to take advantage of a situation.’

"It was just convenient." Fushan Yue dropped his flippant demeanor and adopted a serious expression. "What exactly is in the bottle? Please, enlighten me."

Hee Lingchuan sat perfectly still. "Information comes at a price. You know how it is."

"What do you want?"

"Depends on what you have." Hee Lingchuan spread his hands. "If you’re so poor you only have money, I suppose I can make do."

Fushan Yue was a little surprised. ’A man like this is short on cash?’

Hee Lingchuan’s smile didn’t waver. ’Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?’

He had been short on money even when he was Eldest Young Master Hee of Dunyu. Now, having come to Beiga alone, all he could use was the savings he hadn’t spent before. He was essentially living off his dwindling reserves.

He still had the path of Cultivation to walk, and every step required money.

So, talking about money was crass, but not talking about it would leave him in a tight spot.

"Understood." Fushan Yue pulled two silver notes from his robes and placed them on the table. "This is two hundred taels. It’s all the cash I have on me."

He was out to kill—no, to negotiate. Why would he be carrying much cash on him?

"Is your life only worth two hundred taels?" ’Don’t sell yourself so short.’

"Can’t you give me a friends-and-family discount?"

Hee Lingchuan smiled. "Friendship is never discounted."

Fushan Yue was also a bit helpless. He had plenty of hidden weapons on him, but as for money... where was he supposed to get it on such short notice? "What’s your destination?"

"Lingxu City."

Fushan Yue thought for a moment. "I’ll add in a grand residence on a five-mu plot in Lingxu City!"

Hee Lingchuan laughed. "A five-mu plot, and you have the nerve to call it a ’grand residence’?" His old home in Black Water City covered twenty-five mu, five times the size of the one Fushan Yue was offering.

Fushan Yue’s lips twitched. "In Lingxu City, it is!"

At this, he gave a cunning smile. "Actually, I don’t need to know exactly what this is. Just knowing it’s not Dragon Marrow is enough!"

As long as he knew he had been misled, that was sufficient.

Hee Lingchuan was unmoved. "If you don’t know the properties of the poison, how are you going to go back and turn the tables on them?"

Those words hit Fushan Yue right where it hurt. He subconsciously bared his teeth. "Two hundred taels, a grand residence in Lingxu City, and I’ll owe you a favor."

"An opportunity like this doesn’t come often," he warned Hee Lingchuan. "Don’t be so quick to refuse."

"Alright then, but you still have to answer a few questions for me."

In truth, they both knew these two conditions were trivial. They were just a pretext for both sides to shake hands and make peace.

They had no deep-seated hatred or complex conflicts of interest, so why fight to the death?

Besides, the person Fushan Yue wanted to deal with right now was not Hee Lingchuan at all.

"Ask away."

"What’s your relationship with the King of Chiyan?" It came back to the same point: a Ba in this world was rarer than panda blood in his original one, which naturally led to certain assumptions.

"He is my father."

’As expected.’ Hee Lingchuan blinked. "Can a Ba have children?"

’After all, aren’t Ba... just dead people?’

’Do dead people still have vitality in *that* department?’

However, Hee Lingchuan had also read in the copy of *Ancient Strange Tales* that Sunx Fuling had lent him that when a Ba was first created, it disliked sunlight, had stiff joints, and a deathly pale complexion. Only after its Cultivation gradually deepened could it regain a ruddy complexion and move normally. At that point, there wasn’t much difference from a living person; they even regained a pulse. But in reality, their method of Cultivation was completely different.

’If they have a pulse, they have bodily functions, so maybe... hmm?’

"He was quite surprised himself," Fushan Yue said lightly. "My mother was human."

’His father was once human too, so there was no reproductive isolation, I guess.’

"Since you’re a Prince of the Chiyan Kingdom, why would you rob your own Envoy?"

"I heard that the item the King of Shanyu was secretly giving to my father, the king, would be extremely beneficial for my Cultivation." Fushan Yue smiled. "My father would never give it to me, so I came to take it myself."

Hee Lingchuan expressed his sympathy. "Sounds like you and your father don’t have a very good relationship."

"It’s alright." Fushan Yue’s smile didn’t change. "He just wishes I were dead, that’s all."

"Such filial piety," Hee Lingchuan remarked with a sigh. "And why is that?"

"That’s my family’s business, not something to be shared." Fushan Yue jerked his chin at him. "I’ve answered enough questions. Your turn."

"The Wooden Bottle doesn’t contain Dragon Marrow, but a type of venom," Hee Lingchuan said, turning up the wick on the oil lamp on the chest of drawers. "I’ve seen its effect on people. There is no cure."

"Poison?" He had thought it was something incredible, but Fushan Yue was actually a little disappointed. "I’m not afraid of poison."

A creature like the Ba is naturally immune to all poisons.

"This isn’t a poison of the Mortal World. It’s produced by a Divine Son." Hee Lingchuan asked him, "Have you ever heard of the Jindu Mother?"

He had identified it on Wind Demon Mountain just by the fragrance from the bottle. Wen Xing, the son of Zhong Shengguang’s trusted strategist Wen Daolun, had been injured by the ninth son of the Jindu Mother, and his wound had emitted this same unique, sweet aroma.

’So is there any need to elaborate on what’s in the bottle?’

Fushan Yue shook his head blankly. "What is that?"

"Not a ’what,’ a Deity." Hee Lingchuan spread his hands. "We need a living subject for a test."

Fushan Yue pointed to his subordinate, Fuu Ji, at the side. "How about this one?"

Hee Lingchuan gestured with his hand, an "after you" motion. ’So the bastard kept Fuu Ji alive just to use him as a test subject.’

Fushan Yue casually took a Silver Needle, dipped it into the liquid from the bottle, and saw that the tip remained as bright as before, not turning black.

He pricked Fuu Ji with the needle. The latter was still unconscious and didn’t react.

Fushan Yue was clearly not a patient man. He simply pricked him several more times in the neck, thigh, and abdomen.

After a few dozen breaths, Hee Lingchuan suddenly said, "It’s starting to change."

Fushan Yue took out a dagger and scraped at one of the needle pricks. The texture was stiff, or rather, hard. The soft skin had already turned into something else.

’Huh, is it really wood?’

He checked the other needle points and found that signs of lignification had appeared at each spot and were spreading throughout the body.

Fuu Ji also woke up from the strange sensation, crying out in alarm, "What’s happening?!"

Fushan Yue shook the Wooden Bottle in his hand. "You tested it for me."

Fuu Ji struggled to his knees. "Young Master, spare me!"

"Who was it that passed on the false intelligence, saying the gift from the Shanyu Kingdom was Dragon Marrow?"

Fuu Ji stammered, unable to form a word.

Fushan Yue murmured, "I haven’t treated you poorly. Why would you betray me?"

Fuu Ji begged desperately for his life, but by now his limbs were already paralyzed, and Fushan Yue remained unmoved.

Not until Fuu Ji had transformed completely into a wooden statue did he pat his shoulder. "This poison has no antidote."

And as the blood flow quickened, it took effect even faster.

Now, anyone standing before Fuu Ji would only think what a skillful craftsman had carved him, so lifelike, even the pained expression on his face so genuine.

Fushan Yue watched, secretly horrified.

Hee Lingchuan asked him, "Do you think you would have been spared if you had drunk this?"

The Ba Body could resist potent toxins, but it might not be able to withstand the effect of lignification. His expression was grim. "I also tested it on pikas, but at the time, I had them ingest it orally."

"Snake venom is lethal when it enters the bloodstream, but ingesting it is often harmless. Having the pikas swallow it might have delayed the effects," Hee Lingchuan reminded him. "Besides, are you sure the pikas you used for the experiment weren’t swapped out by someone?"

Fushan Yue couldn’t bring himself to say "no."

He thought for a moment, then asked, "What kind of Deity is the Jindu Mother, exactly?"

So, Hee Lingchuan gave him a rundown on the characteristics of the Jindu Mother and its young.

Fushan Yue was silent after listening, letting out a long breath after a good while. "So that’s what’s going on!"

"Why would the King of Shanyu send something like this to your father?" Hee Lingchuan asked him. "Or was this thing swapped out on the road? I heard the Envoy from the Shanyu Kingdom was robbed on the way and spent two days recovering the lost item."

"I don’t know." Fushan Yue shook his head. "But I will find out."

He added, "Right now, the Shanyu Kingdom’s Official Army is being beaten into retreat by the rebellious New Army and needs the Chiyan Kingdom’s assistance." He had seen the letter; according to it, besides this Dragon Marrow, the King of Shanyu had also prepared a list of other gifts for his father.

Hee Lingchuan was curious. "Can the Chiyan Kingdom send troops to help?"

"Of course not. That would be interfering in the Shanyu Kingdom’s Internal Affairs. The other Demon Kings can only watch the tigers fight from a mountaintop; they can’t directly intervene. Otherwise, Lingxu City and the other Demon Kingdoms would surely impose harsh punishments!"

Hee Lingchuan, however, picked up on the word "directly." "So, you can help indirectly?"

’Every rule has a loophole to exploit, and Beiga is no exception.’

"Money, grain, and supplies can all be sent to the battlefield of a friendly kingdom under the guise of trade and other pretexts. If planned well, you can even send a few powerful experts to provide support. It’s hard for Lingxu City to manage these things, and sometimes they just turn a blind eye." Fushan Yue shrugged. "No matter who wins in the end, as long as they declare fealty and pay tribute to Lingxu City and receive the approval of the Deities, they can take power."