Where Immortals Once Walked-Chapter 217: The Marquis of Songyang and Sun Fupings Connection
“Me worried about her?” Madame Ying snorted a few cold laughs, then quickly asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“She’s a titled noble and the head of a Daoist sect. She would not become anyone’s concubine.” He Lingchuan waved a hand. “The Marquis of Songyang could never marry into our family. What do you have to be afraid of?”
Madame Ying fell into thought.
Her eldest son was not wrong. A woman of the Marquis of Songyang’s standing would only ever be a wife, never a concubine. Still, the thought did not completely ease her mind.
He Chunhua was only thirty-four or thirty-five this year. He was tall, handsome, and not without his attractions. His appetites were hardly negligible. And he was only about fourteen or fifteen years older than the Marquis of Songyang, such an age gap meant little. In this world, it was not unseen for old men in their eighties to take a twenty-year-old bride if they wanted.
Just then, the Grandmaster Artisan Li Fubo requested an audience.
Since the Marquis of Songyang was traveling with the Coordinating Army, Li Fubo had been running between both camps. After all, one side was his patron, while the other side was his client.
This time, he told He Lingchuan, “Young Master, Lord Marquis requests your presence.”
He Lingchuan was surprised and pointed to himself. “She asked for me?” Not my father?
“Yes.”
Madame Ying, overhearing, urged her eldest son, “You go.” Talk to the father one day, the son the next. The Marquis of Songyang is indeed bold.
Ru County had two inns. The Marquis of Songyang naturally stayed at the better one, in a secluded single-courtyard suite.
The moment He Lingchuan stepped inside, a rich fruit fragrance greeted him.
On the Marquis of Songyang’s table sat a delicate white porcelain bowl rimmed with gold. The porcelain was fine enough to be mistaken for jade, clearly not something this humble inn normally supplied.
The bowl held a creamy white liquid that did not quite seem to be milk.
She clapped her hands. “Bring Young Master He a bowl of almond milk.”
A maid entered with a tray and set it down. He Lingchuan thanked her and took a sip. The warmth of the almond milk spread through him, and the flavor bloomed in his mouth.
The almond milk, which was actually almond tea or soup, had been prepared fresh and spiced with extras.
“It’s got a strong aroma to it,” he said, slurping. “I taste rose, and... what else?”
There was also a floral, fruity note.
Li Qingge smiled. “Impressive, your guess matches what your father said.”
He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow. So his father had been drinking almond tea here too, and he had probably had more than one bowl.
Li Qingge lowered her voice and said, “There are also dried cherries in it.”
A brazier of silver-thread charcoal burned brightly, giving her cheeks a faint flush. She was a porcelain beauty. Her skin was like snow, flawless to the touch, her eyes contained a subtle, natural charm, and her speech was poised and proper.
Her beauty had none of the brazen coquettishness of a courtesan; instead, it was like the gentle sunlight of early morning—warm and approachable, making people unconsciously want to draw near.
He knew his father’s tastes. He knew that his father did not fall for ordinary pretty faces, but this sort of woman...
No wonder Mother’s temper flared.
He set the bowl down and cleared his throat. “May I ask why Your Lordship summoned me?”
“May I take a look at your broken saber?”
The broken saber was, of course, kept at his side. Beyond being the instrument that let him enter a certain dreamscape, it had saved his life more than once. He Lingchuan unhooked it and set it carelessly on the table. “Here.”
Li Qingge took the scabbard and drew the saber out slowly. Cold light glinted, and the room seemed to drop two or three degrees.
“A fine saber. It’s better than what Li Fubo described,” she said, stirred. Her fingertips traced the spine down to the tip, then flicked it. The saber rang with a crisp, pleasing note.
“This saber has the temper of a sleeping beast, always eager to pounce,” she murmured curiously. “Young Master He, what have you done to awaken it?” Its condition was different from Li Fubo’s report; it at least appeared to be far more vicious now.
Less than half a month had passed, and it had grown more vicious.
He Lingchuan scratched at his neck awkwardly before saying, “Well, I’ve used it like a throwing knife. I’ve thrown it at people a few times, and that’s about it.” Even if I had more to tell you, I wouldn’t.
This saber was the key that allowed him to enter the Panlong Dreamscape. If what the Marquis of Songyang was saying was true, did it then mean that the things he did in the dreamscape somehow affected the saber itself in the waking world?
“Would you be willing to lend it to me for a few days to study?” Li Qingge asked. The more she looked at it, the more extraordinary it seemed.
He Lingchuan chuckled. “That wouldn’t be wise. I used to have frequent nightmares, but ever since this broken saber came into my possession, I haven’t had a single one.”
Not that he had had any other dreams since, either.
“Very well, I wouldn’t dream of taking what someone holds dear,” she said with a faint smile. “Still, this saber is undeniably ominous. Whoever carries it may not bleed out in disaster, but they’ll suffer weakness and a shortened life. Even if I wished to keep it, I’d need to perform rites and prayers to subdue its malice. Yet you handle it with ease, seeming to face no calamity, only receiving blessings. If that’s not fate, then it means that you are no ordinary man.”
He Lingchuan’s interest was piqued. “So which is it, in your opinion?”
“Your father said you’re a child of fortune. And I’ve heard you even subdued an ominous monkey of the Thousand-Heart Flow and turned it into your medicine ape after its ill fate has already devoured four masters before you.” She rested her chin on one hand. “At Panlong Ancient City, at the shore of Immortal Spirit Lake, and under the Luming Garden, perhaps you weren’t the one who took the top credit, but you certainly made vital contributions. When General Ke Jihai left Luming Garden that night and entered the palace to report in person, he praised you endlessly. That’s why the King granted you your reward.”
He Lingchuan’s heart gave a little jolt. So that’s where my reward came from?
No wonder. No wonder his first two achievements had earned him not so much as a word of thanks from the royal court.
But if Ke Jihai had gone into the palace that same night to speak privately with the King, there could not have been many witnesses. For the Marquis of Songyang to know exactly what was said, it was clear that she had eyes and ears everywhere.
He finally understood why his father kept running to see her. There was no doubt that his father had sensed just how far her network of connections reached.
For a man so hungry for power, how could he resist such a valuable connection?
Li Qingge went on, “Since the saber’s temperament has changed, I’ll speak with Li Fubo again about refining the saber planting method. He told me this saber was broken by your own hand?”
He Lingchuan nodded.
“How strange. The saber clearly has a spirit. Why would it grow so attached to the very man who broke it?”
He thought back to the Panlong Illusion Realm, to the black flood dragon—Zhong Shengguang himself—entrusting the saber to him. He shrugged. “Pure accident. Besides, I used it in battle against Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu. Maybe it developed a sense of shared enmity.”
Li Qingge froze. “You fought Sun Fuping?”
“That’s right.” He blinked. “Didn’t the military report mention it?”
He had assumed that the entire affair of how he and his father had foiled the Sun Fuping and Nian Songyu’s conspiracy had been faithfully recorded and sent to the royal court.
Li Qingge smiled faintly, skirting the question. “Not to discourage you, but Sun Fuping’s divine techniques are vast. He can summon rain and command the clouds. Surviving an encounter with him at all is impressive.”
Now He Lingchuan understood exactly why his father enjoyed her company so much. She could call you weak, say a single flick of Sun Fuping’s finger could crush you, yet somehow she made it sound like a compliment worth savoring.
Li Qingge returned the broken saber to him, her expression tinged with reluctance. “Commander Zhong’s relics seem to find their way to you one by one. Young Master He, you truly are blessed by fortune.”
As the young man lowered his gaze, he noticed her slender, elegant fingers—bare of long nails yet faintly tinted with carmine dye—resting on the worn, dark scabbard like tender peach shoots against weathered bark. The old and new, side by side, presented a striking contrast.
A pity his mind was elsewhere, caught on the mention of Sun Fuping’s name. “Marquis of Songyang, you and Sun Fuping share some history, don’t you?” The question slipped out before he remembered that his father had likely already asked it.
Li Qingge’s beautiful eyes swept over him once, then she took a leisurely sip of almond tea before replying, “You didn’t know? I thought you’d heard back in Shihuan. Lord He and I have met several times, and he never once brought it up.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Shihuan again! Am I the only one kept out of the loop? He Lingchuan spread his hands helplessly. “When I was in Shihuan City, I thought the Marquis of Songyang was a man.”
Li Qingge choked at once, coughing hard enough that almond tea splattered onto her robe. The maid behind her rushed forward with a handkerchief.
The Marquis of Songyang did not recover for quite some time. At last, she sighed. “Young Master He is upright. You don’t lower yourself to chasing rumors.”
He Lingchuan gave a wry smile. “Your Lordship might as well say I’m out of touch.”
These past months, all his attention had gone to cultivation and the Panlong Dreamscape. He had paid little mind to matters outside himself.
Li Qingge waved it off. “When I was a child, I traveled with my parents and our entourage when we were ambushed by powerful enemies. My parents were killed. I was separated from our people, and my grandfather searched for me everywhere but could not find me. Two years later, Sun Fuping went treasure hunting. He found me in a wolf den and returned me to Songyang Mansion.”
She paused for a few moments before continuing, “The incident caused a sensation in the capital back then. Even the late king and the current king knew of it.”
He Lingchuan drew a sharp breath. “So Sun Fuping is your savior.” He suddenly recalled how the nobles at Luming Garden had gossiped that Zhu Xiu’er’s misfortune sounded familiar. It turned out that someone in Songyang Mansion had a similar story.
So they were talking about Li Qingge.
Could it be? His mind jumped at once to the sudden ambush beneath Luming Garden.
“But over the years, he’s demanded no few things from Songyang Mansion as well,” Li Qingge said evenly. “Perhaps I shouldn’t put it this way. He opened his lion’s mouth more than once, so wide that even the greatest kindness could not balance the scales. After my grandfather passed and I took charge of Songyang Mansion, I all but severed ties with Sun Fuping. Otherwise, when his rebellion came to light, how could Songyang Mansion have remained unscathed?”
That last point was the most persuasive. He Lingchuan had long heard that the King was suspicious by nature. If he had doubted Songyang Mansion, would Li Qingge really be sitting here safe and sound?
“Songyang Mansion even helped hunt down Sun Fuping’s associates and earned great merit for it. The royal court and the public both know this.”
He Lingchuan raised a thumb. “The Marquis of Songyang is loyal to the throne and devoted to the realm. I’m full of admiration.” He switched topics without missing a beat. “Your skill at forging artifacts is renowned. I have one more thing to ask.”
“Please.”
He pulled a talisman from his breast pocket and set it on the table. “I’d like to know what this talisman does.”
He remembered that the Marquis of Songyang’s toy courtyard had been sealed with talisman papers. This ought to be cut from the same cloth, right?
The talisman he presented her was black paper with red script, unlike most. Li Qingge lifted it for a glance, and her eyebrows knit together. “Where did Young Master He obtain this?”
“I took it from Lu Yao, a general under Hong Xiangqian. He was already on his last legs when I got it from him. Back then, he clawed out one of these black talismans and swallowed it.”
“What happened after?”
“Nothing at all. It didn’t seem to have even the slightest effect on him back then.” He Lingchuan shrugged. “Anyway, not long after he swallowed it, someone lopped off his head. I can still picture the shock and disbelief on his face.”
