Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 542: Mutual Deception and Hidden Dangers

“Did the cord-and-bell array ever ring?”“Yes, it did.” The guard thought back. “It was just when Uncle Wu called me over. The bells outside the courtyard, inside the courtyard, and in the room were all ringing. They went on for quite a while before stopping. Uncle Wu said something was looking for Mr. Cheng.”

“What was it?”

“Uncle Wu didn’t say.” The guard added, “The lantern inside that shell stayed lit the whole time. Up until the very last time I saw it today, it still… still hadn’t gone out.”

Fushan Yue immediately said, “A Heaven, Earth, and Man Hanging Bell Array? If Cheng Yu’s enemy couldn’t be seen, then it was probably some kind of evil yin spirit.”

That array was specifically used to detect an enemy’s movements.

“Bring us that shell.”

At Fushan Yue’s command to Commander Lu, the latter rushed off at once.

Not daring to keep the two big shots waiting, he came back about a quarter of an hour later with a wooden box in his arms.

When he opened it, the transparent shell was indeed inside. But its surface was covered in cracks. One glance told you it was ruined.

“It was already like this when they found it,” Commander Lu emphasized.

Bai Ziqi examined the bottle carefully. He even relit the white-and-gold candle, pinched the lamp spirit off it, and tossed it into the bottle.

The lamp spirit, which had just shown off so mightily by the lakeshore, fell silent the moment it entered the shell.

It went out.

Trails of smoke rose up, but instead of lingering within, they all drifted outside the bottle, as though guided by some invisible force.

With a faint pop, the shell shattered into countless glass-like fragments that spread across the tabletop.

The little cabin that had originally been placed inside the bottle came into contact with the outside air and instantly scattered away like fine sand caught by the wind, vanishing into nothing.

Only the shards remained on the table.

Bai Ziqi sighed softly. “What a pity. Ruined just like that.”

Fushan Yue was curious. “What is it?”

“This place is self-contained. It instinctively rejects the lamp spirit’s presence.” Bai Ziqi put away the candle. “In this form, the lamp spirit is at its gentlest and least harmful. Other than voids and lands of wicked entities, almost nowhere should reject it.”

He Lingchuan had seen the lamp spirit’s violent side, but it seemed that most of the time, it was refined and mild.

That suited its role in Star-Plucking Tower.

“Based on what Xue San just said, Cheng Yu was unconscious the whole time, the stopper could only be removed once the light went out, and the bell array rang once, so this bottle was most likely…” Bai Ziqi paused and considered his wording carefully. “…a dream land?”

Fushan Yue said in surprise, “I’ve heard dream lands form on their own. Who’s ever heard of one being made by human hands?”

When enough living beings gathered in one place, with all their daily thoughts and nightly dreams, a dream land would naturally come into being.

“Dream lands take different forms. Some are large, some small. Some are growing, while others are withering away,” Bai Ziqi explained. “A village may once have been prosperous, and its dream land would have flourished with it. Later, the population thins or war breaks out, the living grow fewer and fewer, and the dream land weakens as well. Once only three or five living people remain in the village, the dream land ceases to exist altogether.” He pointed at the glassy fragments before them and said, “This was probably a dream land in decline. Cheng Yu used a special method to seal it up so that nothing else could enter. When danger approached, his soul could hide inside it to avoid disaster.”

This was also He Lingchuan’s first time seeing a dream land sealed inside a bottle-like structure. But based on things the nightmare had told him in the past, he felt that Bai Ziqi’s explanation made a great deal of sense.

Knowledge related to dream lands was extremely esoteric. A cloud envoy simply knew more of it than ordinary people.

Bai Ziqi said slowly, “A dream land bottle is no easy thing to acquire. What interests me is why Cheng Yu felt the need to prepare something this unusual in advance. Did he think he might be subjected to a soul attack?”

He Lingchuan’s heart gave two quick extra beats.

Since Cheng Yu dealt with the Hundred-Faced Nightmare on a regular basis, he must always have done so with the utmost caution. He knew exactly how terrifying that aberrant creature was. Even if the two sides had a contract, he had still prepared a refuge for himself.

After all, if an aberrant creature capable of toppling a king suddenly turned hostile, Cheng Yu would almost certainly be unable to withstand it.

The guard added, “On the very first night I took over, there was blood on Mr. Cheng’s chest. He may have coughed it up himself. His face also looked so bad that he seemed more dead than alive.”

Bai Ziqi immediately pressed for the exact date.

The guard answered honestly.

The moment He Lingchuan heard it, he knew things had gone bad.

And sure enough, Bai Ziqi’s gaze swept over to him in the next instant.

“Cheng Yu was injured, and Wu Kai used Climbing Fig Grotto-Heaven to bring him back to the Cen Residence. He Xiao—”

He looked at He Lingchuan, his voice mild.

“That night, Cheng Yu failed to ambush you, fled back to the Cen Residence, and later even resorted to using the bottled dreamscape. The strangest part is that the bell array rang. Something really did chase after him, intent on taking his life. Do you have anything to disclose about that?”

He Lingchuan could hear the blade hidden inside the velvet, but he still put on a baffled face. “Disclose what?”

“That thing which pursued Cheng Yu that night could not be seen, yet it undeniably existed. So what exactly was it?”

“How would I know?” He Lingchuan said, sounding mystified. “I’m not skilled in this sort of ghostly or spiritual business. Besides, what does Cheng Yu’s experience have to do with the Cen Boqing case? Other than the fact that Cen Boqing hired him to come after me.”

“Exactly,” Fushan Yue chimed in. “That man failed in his attempt, so why is it my envoy who’s being questioned?”

His tone rose sharply.

Back in Lingxu City, he could never have spoken like this to a cloud envoy. But here in Baishajue, he had the advantage of home ground.

Even a mighty dragon could not crush the local snake. Bai Ziqi’s temper was astonishingly good. He showed no irritation at all. “Cen Boqing insisted on taking Cheng Yu with him even while fleeing. That alone shows how important Cheng Yu was to him. How could a suspect like that count as irrelevant? Before his capture, Cheng Yu fled desperately, yet he never used any especially powerful curse spells. That does not match his level of cultivation, which means that even after using the dreamscape, the serious damage his soul suffered ten-plus days ago had still not recovered. He Xiao, was that thing that pursued him sent by you?”

He Lingchuan gave a wry smile. “That thing could force a great curse master into a dream land and make him seal himself inside. Just that one feat alone would rank it among the top in all Beijia, wouldn’t it? If it could also take orders from me, then Cheng Yu would definitely know my name.”

Every field had its specialists. A curse master’s work simply was not something others could do, not even Bai Ziqi.

Anyone capable of pushing a great curse master that far in his own field would most likely have to be another expert of the same type.

Just as He Lingchuan said, if someone had that level of ability, how could they possibly be unknown? Even if ordinary people had not heard of them, how could Cheng Yu not know?

There were hidden masters who swept temple floors, yes, but they were rare. In this world, except for the various second and third-generation scions, most people’s status and reputation ultimately had to match their ability.

If someone’s curse arts were that powerful, how likely was it that they were a nobody?

Of course, He Lingchuan also knew that such an answer could not possibly satisfy Bai Ziqi, so he added another line, “Still, I do remember one detail.”

Bai Ziqi’s attention was immediately caught. “Please, go on.”

“I chased Cheng Yu to the inn, and the trap he set off activated. Evil violet flames swallowed the entire inn whole.” He Lingchuan’s brow furrowed as he spoke. “But I remember that in the middle of his room, there was a square table. On top of it sat a wooden carving or idol that looked especially vicious, and incense had been set before it. The moment I touched the carving, it broke apart into several pieces. I’m guessing here—just purely guessing—but if that carving was the vessel of the evil yin spirit Cheng Yu had invited down, and then he turned around and burned it in the fire, it would definitely be furious.”

“And so it went back to take revenge on him!” Fushan Yue snapped his fingers. “In the end, the one thing capable of dealing with Cheng Yu was what he himself had summoned. That line of reasoning is perfectly reasonable.”

He Lingchuan continued, “Cheng Yu knew perfectly well what that thing was and how powerful it was. That’s why he prepared the dream land in advance.”

But Bai Ziqi asked him, “You didn’t bring the wooden carving back out?”

“I wanted to. But Deputy Commander Fan was right on my heels, swinging an axe at me. Staying alive was the priority. Where would I have found the time for that?”

Bai Ziqi looked at the two men in silence.

He Lingchuan stared straight ahead. Fushan Yue, meanwhile, simply met Bai Ziqi’s gaze.

Only after a long while did Bai Ziqi say softly, “No matter. Cheng Yu will wake tomorrow anyway. We can hear what he has to say then.”

Inside, both He Lingchuan and Fushan Yue were cursing him furiously.

But outwardly, Fushan Yue still had to spread his hands and act unconcerned.

Bai Ziqi glanced out the window. “Another few hours and it’ll be dawn. We’ve all been tossed about for most of the night already. Why don’t we go back, wash up, rest a bit, and resume questioning Wu Kai tomorrow afternoon?”

Fushan Yue yawned. “Excellent.”

Both sides headed out, then parted ways and exchanged farewells at the entrance to the county yamen.

* * *

Bai Ziqi watched Fushan Yue and He Lingchuan mount their beasts and trot off into the distance.

Only then did the smile slowly vanish from his face.

Fan Sheng came hurrying to the entrance of the county yamen just then and said awkwardly, “Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai, just now Madame Cen—”

Bai Ziqi raised a hand and cut him off.

“Come with me.”

Fan Sheng followed him back into the county yamen, and together they entered Cheng Yu’s side room again.

There was no window inside. Two guards stood at the door.

“If my guess is correct, he may run into some sort of mishap tonight.” Bai Ziqi pointed at Cheng Yu. “From this moment onward, you will guard him here until we resume interrogation tomorrow afternoon.”

Fan Sheng hurriedly answered, “Yes!” Then he added, “If any mishap comes, I’ll go destroy it!”

Bai Ziqi smiled. “No need. Let me test him first.”

Fan Sheng was not stupid. He quickly caught on. “Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai wants to use him as bait to fish something out?”

Bai Ziqi nodded. “Just a small suspicion. No harm in verifying it.”

Fan Sheng followed him farther inside and could not help but ask, “And if no mishap comes?”

“Then either this man is innocent.” Bai Ziqi smiled again. “Or he’s actually much harder to deal with than we thought.”

* * *

After leaving the county yamen, He Lingchuan drew in a deep breath. This waterside city always carried a damp heaviness in the night breeze of its eighth month.

The day had been too full. Even for someone as energetic as he was, fatigue had begun to creep in.

One sudden incident after another, with no pause in between.

As they rode through the empty streets, he asked Fushan Yue, “Why is everyone so wary of this Madame Cen?”

The Minister of Finance was indeed a high official wielding tremendous power. Lesser officials and commoners alike had to look up to him, and perhaps even the ruler of the State of Chiyan would give him some measure of respect. But Bai Ziqi was a cloud envoy, an attendant of the gods! And Fan Sheng commanded troops right under the imperial capital and clearly enjoyed the Monster Emperor’s trust.

So why did even those two look so helpless when dealing with Madame Cen?

Fushan Yue scratched the back of his neck. “Yao Xingning was gifted from childhood and trained hard in cultivation. She joined the military early and earned far more military merit than her husband ever did. She just so happens to be Beijia’s sixtieth female general, though only a miscellaneous-title general. Of course, that isn’t the main point…”