The fire was already raging fiercely. A loud blast came from the upper part of Tongfu Inn, and everyone retreated in unison.

That violet flame was truly vicious. Water would not put it out, and in just this short span of time, it had already burned away half the inn. Fortunately, the inn stood by itself, so the fire had not spread to the neighboring buildings.

Even so, the air was filled with drifting black ash, making the onlookers cough nonstop.

“Who started this fire?”

He Lingchuan and Fan Sheng both pointed at each other. “Him!”

County Magistrate Tian’s head immediately began to throb.

Seeing that his face had turned so miserable it looked ready to drip water, He Lingchuan walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said softly into his ear, “Forget it. I’ll help you out. Just charge it all to the Crown Prince.”

It was not that He Lingchuan had suddenly grown soft-hearted. It was that County Magistrate Tian had shown up at exactly the right moment, at exactly the right time, and had effectively stopped the other side from continuing the fight.

Those brothers from the Tongxin Guard were not only powerful in their own right, but they also seemed to have formidable backing. He Lingchuan had only Jiao Yu with him. Going head-to-head with them was simply too risky.

He knew perfectly well what the other side had been calculating. The instant County Magistrate Tian shouted out “special envoy of the Crown Prince,” Fan Sheng could no longer pretend ignorance or claim he did not know who his opponent was. At that point, the fight had no choice but to end.

County Magistrate Tian hurriedly said, “Many thanks, Lord Envoy.”

The moment He Lingchuan shifted his feet, Fan Sheng strode over and said coldly, “You think you’re leaving?”

“What else?”

Fan Sheng pointed at the giant bear. “You injured my brother and still want to walk away? Where in the world is there such a bargain?”

The giant bear did not even dare let one front paw touch the ground. It stood there balancing on three legs.

He Lingchuan also called Jiao Yu over to his side and pointed at its chest and forepaw. “My brother here was injured by you too. How do you plan to compensate for that?”

He was not lying. There were several gashes in the tiger’s fur. Though it had not taken a direct hit from the axe, it had caught quite a few blasts of axe wind, and one of its forepaws had even been scorched by the violet flame.

County Magistrate Tian said weakly, “Lords...” Again?

At that moment, several more people stepped out from the crowd, and leading them was none other than Zhongsun Mou.

He looked over the scene in front of him and stepped in to smooth things over. “Do me a favor, both of you. Go to the medicine hall, have the injuries assessed, and settle compensation accordingly.”

“Why make it so troublesome?” He Lingchuan said grandly. “I’m quite skilled in medicine. Just have that giant bear come to me every day, and I’ll treat its injuries personally. I guarantee noticeable improvement within a month.”

Bear monsters are usually fairly simple-natured. If this brute gets shone on by the Soul-Stealing Mirror for thirty days straight, who knows what might happen to it?

The thought actually gave He Lingchuan a bit of anticipation.

Fan Sheng’s chest rose and fell twice. With a livid face, he refused flatly, “No need.”

The giant bear had tremendous vitality and an exceptional physique. Even without medicine, it would recover from these injuries within a month.

“Then I suppose there’s no problem?” He Lingchuan shrugged. “See you.”

With that, he turned and left with the tiger.

Fan Sheng clenched a fist, and his knuckles cracked loudly.

But he still remained where he stood, merely asking Zhongsun Mou, “What are you playing the good guy for?”

“Since we can’t do anything to him for now, it’s better to let Third Brother Fan get treatment and rest as soon as possible.” At least that sounded better on the surface. Privately, Zhongsun Mou thought, I warned you long ago not to underestimate him. If you wouldn’t listen, who can you blame?

Still, what he said sounded smooth enough on the outside. Fan Sheng gave a snort and refrained from berating him in public.

He had originally assumed that He Lingchuan was only a teenage youth, and a visitor from some small state at that. With that being the case, how formidable could he possibly be? A few swings of the axe should have been enough to finish him.

Who would have guessed the young man was so slippery?

Yes, slippery.

His cultivation might not necessarily be overwhelmingly strong, but he moved like a loach, refusing again and again to let Fan Sheng lock onto any vital point.

There was a carriage station just across the way, so Fan Sheng went and requisitioned a carriage to carry off the giant bear.

County Magistrate Tian wore a smile plastered across his face. Zhongsun Mou glanced at him and asked, “Did you help He Lingchuan hide Fu Songhua?”

County Magistrate Tian froze, then waved his hands over and over. “No, no, nothing of the sort!”

“Without a local snake like you helping him, where could he possibly have hidden her?”

Baishajue is this big, why couldn’t he hide her anywhere he liked? But outwardly, County Magistrate Tian remained all respect and humility. “When the special envoy does something, why would he need to discuss it with me?”

Zhongsun Mou gave a snort and stopped bothering with him. He turned and climbed into Fan Sheng’s carriage.

County Magistrate Tian watched as the carriage rumbled away, and the smile vanished from his face at once.

These high officials from Lingxu City always look down on people through their nostrils. But Zhongsun Mou has a point, where exactly would the special envoy hide the prisoner?

At an inn in the city, or in some cave out in the wild?

Baishajue was a scenic and famous place, but at its core, it was still a small city.

The young special envoy acted boldly, but County Magistrate Tian did not believe he would dare send a wanted prisoner from Lingxu City out of town.

Taking Fu Songhua by force could barely still be explained as the special envoy requiring her assistance in an investigation. That conflict was merely friction between two bureaucratic systems; so long as the ruler of Chiyan stepped in, it would be easy enough to smooth the matter over.

But if Fu Songhua actually left Baishajue, then the nature of the matter would become entirely different. Lingxu City could instantly turn around and slap He Lingchuan with the charge of aiding an escape.

So whatever happened, the special envoy had better not lose his head.

The giant bear was too large. Even though Fan Sheng requisitioned the largest carriage available, its bulk nearly filled the interior, leaving the two men to squeeze themselves into the remaining gaps.

Zhongsun Mou said, “I still have some fairly decent medicine here. Third Brother Fan can use it.”

The way Zhongsun Mou treated the Fan brothers was rather like the way County Magistrate Tian treated him.

But Fan Sheng said coldly, “No need.” He had no interest in Zhongsun Mou’s medicine.

Even while speaking, his hands never stopped moving. He quickly applied medicine to the giant bear’s wounds, drawing constant pained grunts from it.

In just this short while, bear blood had already soaked the planks beneath it. Its once sleek, glossy fur had been burned bald and charred by the violet flame. Now it was patchy and awful to look at.

“With origin energy protecting you, the sinister power on that brat’s blade can’t kill you.” Fan Sheng patted its head gently. “Bear with it. Even your bones were cut. It’ll take another six or seven extra days to heal.”

The giant bear’s vitality and powers of recovery were astonishing. Miserable as it looked, these injuries still counted as little more than surface wounds for it.

“That curse master said he was using a spell to trace Fu Songhua’s whereabouts, so why did that He brat come charging over claiming someone had put a death curse on him?” Fan Sheng lifted his head and looked at Zhongsun Mou. “You sent a flying message to Qingding City asking me to come help with the case. Why didn’t you mention that this man was strong in combat?” If he had truly known both himself and his enemy, today would not have ended like this.

“He’s obstructing the investigation. It’s no surprise he’d say anything.” Zhongsun Mou sighed. How had I not said so? I’d warned you two several times already. If you refused to listen, what can I even do? “That brat is cunning, and he has a hard hand too. He’s definitely no easy lamp to extinguish.”

“He doesn’t look very old, yet his level of cultivation is impressive. Given time...” Fan Sheng’s brow furrowed. “You still haven’t figured out his background?”

“It seems he’s from the State of Fu. For some reason, Fushan Yue trusts him deeply.” Zhongsun Mou shook his head. “Too little time, too little information.”

“Appointing a foreigner as a special envoy is no rare thing in Beijia. It happens every few days.” Beijia’s history was too long; under the sun, there had long since ceased to be anything truly new. “You spend all day digging up intelligence everywhere. I thought you’d be capable of uncovering his roots.”

“There are limits to what manpower can do. Otherwise, why would I ask Second Brother Fan for help?” Zhongsun Mou pretended not to hear the barb in Fan Sheng’s words. “Once He Lingchuan is killed and Fu Songhua is taken back, I can return to Lingxu City and report in.”

“This matter originally had nothing to do with you. Why stick your hand into it?” Fan Sheng finished applying medicine and began bandaging the giant bear.

“...” Zhongsun Mou lowered his voice. “I only wanted to share the Lord Emperor’s burdens.”

Fan Sheng gave a derisive snort. Nice words on the surface, another matter in the heart. This man’s clearly trying to seize credit and had kicked an iron plate instead.

The bear let out a few pained grunts. Fan Sheng stroked its brow and said, “Heal up quickly. Then come with me and kill that brat.”

Then he asked Zhongsun Mou, “Once He Lingchuan is dead, the favor my eldest brother owes your family will be cleared, correct?”

Zhongsun Mou answered solemnly, “Once this matter is done, I would never dare trouble the Fan brothers again.”

“Then where has Fu Songhua been hidden? You can at least find that out, can’t you?”

“Not yet.” Seeing Fan Sheng glare at him, Zhongsun Mou quickly added, “But soon. He Lingchuan isn’t a local. There are only so many people he knows here, so he’s easier to trace.”

* * *

After running more than thirty meters away from the crowd, He Lingchuan still felt the spot where Fan Sheng had kicked him aching badly, especially whenever he inhaled.

He could only regulate his breathing to reduce the pain while stuffing a pill into his own mouth.

Jiao Yu looked worried. “Your abdomen’s injured. Are you alright?”

“No.” He Lingchuan gave a wry smile. “Fan Sheng is incredibly strong.”

When Fan Sheng’s kick landed, the Soul-Stealing Mirror’s protective function had activated at once, reducing much of the damage. Otherwise, the power of that kick would have been enough to split mountains and crack stone, and enough to kill outright the He Lingchuan from before his enlightenment on Three-Heart Plain.

Now, though, even while running, the true energy flowing from his dantians could continuously ease the injury.

Only after a great battle like this did the great progress in his cultivation become so evident.

This was not yet the time to sit down and heal. He said to Jiao Yu, “Zhongsun Mou laid down a linked trap here. First, he had the curse master deal with me. If that failed, then Fan Sheng and his brother were waiting in ambush.”

“Those brothers are terrifying, especially Fan Sheng.” Jiao Yu still felt shaken. “If I fought him alone, I doubt I’d last ten exchanges.”

Even two against one, they had not beaten Fan Sheng. Jiao Yu knew perfectly well that if He Lingchuan had not pulled out an unexpected trick just now, they would have lost for certain.

“If Zhongsun Mou had already had a man like that at his side, he would never have let me take Fu Songhua away.” He Lingchuan was certain of it. “He must be outside help invited at the last minute. But they were still too arrogant. They thought that killing us would take no effort at all. Otherwise, they would have had the curse master cast his spell out in the countryside, where there wouldn’t have been so many civilians around watching, and County Magistrate Tian would never have appeared.”

At that thought, something stirred in his mind.

Could it be that Zhongsun Mou and the others had been especially confident in the nightmare the curse master summoned?

An aberrant creature like the Hundred-Faced Nightmare really was not something someone of He Lingchuan’s level should have been able to resist. The better Zhongsun Mou understood the Hundred-Faced Nightmare, the more convinced he would be that it could dispose of He Lingchuan with ease.

If so, then the curse master had no need at all to leave the city to cast his spell, and the Fan brothers’ ambush had only been a backup measure.

Most likely, Zhongsun Mou had assumed that even if He Lingchuan somehow escaped the Hundred-Faced Nightmare’s trap, his soul and spirit would be badly damaged, and he would be in no state to pursue the curse master.

And even if He Lingchuan did come seeking revenge, his own strength would already be impaired, so he would be no match for the Fan brothers.

No matter how one calculated it, He Lingchuan was never supposed to have any chance of winning.