Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 567: A Grand Garden of Dazzling Wonders

The scene before him was fit for a painting.

Most visitors preferred to walk up the mountain, enjoying the picturesque autumn scenery along the way.

Dun Garden covered nearly forty hectares. Originally, it had occupied only half the mountain. But a century ago, the neighboring estate just beyond one wall fell into decline and sold off the land on the other side to the Golden Horn Clan. That was how Dun Garden came to monopolize an entire mountain as it does today.

One small mountain, and seven or eight scenic sites upon it.

As He Lingchuan walked upward, he saw flying waterfalls and running springs, pine-lined ravines wreathed in drifting cloud, and maple and parasol trees welcoming visitors along the path. For a garden of this scale to look so natural, so artless and free of deliberate craft, the labor and care poured into it must have exceeded that of ordinary estates by an enormous margin.

Compared with that, the various halls and pavilions, large and small, that had been built in response to the landscape, felt almost like embellishments.

He Lingchuan strolled along the narrow path, dry leaves rustling beneath his feet in endless layers no one could ever fully sweep away. This garden was so large that merely walking through it became tiring. It possessed more space than most people could ever dream of wasting freely, and it was the largest estate He Lingchuan had seen since entering this world.

Thinking of it that way, he realized that over the past year and more, after drifting from place to place, he had not remained anywhere for even two months straight.

Some people wandered rootless and unsettled, while others sat astride immeasurable wealth.

And given the price of land here, where every inch was worth gold, what sort of sum would an estate this vast be worth?

Along the way, every waterside pavilion held quick-tongued attendants ready to receive guests, point out the way, and answer questions.

Halfway up the mountain stood several imposing buildings, all at least three stories tall, separated from one another by sparse groves and shifting greenery. One could hear movement from them, yet never see the people directly.

The attendants explained that the auction was being held simultaneously in those buildings, which were known as Fragrance Hall, Tranquil Terrace Residence, and, at the highest point, Heavenly Rain Tower.

Guests were free to move among these venues at will.

Naturally, at Fragrance Hall, which was the foremost of them all, someone from the estate came out personally to receive them.

The moment Fushan Yue reached the steps, a man came forward with effusive warmth. “Your Highness, it has been too long!”

He wore a brocade robe and looked a little past forty. His face was pale and beardless, and though his brows and eyes were long and narrow, they were lively and alert.

“Steward Fang, still in good health, I see. And where’s that old rhino of the Golden Horn Clan?”

The man laughed. “General Jin hasn’t yet returned to Lingxu City, but he has already sent three letters instructing us on how the auction should be conducted.”

“This is He Xiao.” Turning to He Lingchuan, Fushan Yue then said, “He Xiao, this is Steward Fang Canran, General Golden Horn’s chief steward. All the general’s holdings, including Dun Garden, are under his management, and he is the one overseeing today’s auction.”

He Lingchuan and Fang Canran exchanged formal greetings, and He Lingchuan’s gaze naturally dropped to the man’s hands. At once, he gave a slight start.

Fang Canran let out a small exclamation. “Ah, one really must see to believe. Young Master He’s reputation has been rising rapidly of late. Truly, youth is to be feared...” Then, seeing He Lingchuan staring absentmindedly at the back of his hand, he asked again, “Young Master He?”

He Lingchuan snapped out of it and smiled. “You flatter me.”

As Fang Canran clasped his hands, He Lingchuan saw clearly that the man wore a red signet ring on his middle finger.

A signet ring was nothing rare in itself, but this one—its shape, its size, its color, and the pattern engraved upon it—He Lingchuan could swear he had seen only days before.

It was identical to Shao Jian’s ring.

No, it was not merely identical; it was very likely the very same ring, because engraved upon it was the image of a sea snail with exactly five whorls in its shell.

Shao Jian had even explained its significance to him before. Because he himself had founded the trading company, only his signet ring bore the five-whorled sea snail. The rings of everyone else in the company had at most two or three whorls.

And how many founders could a single trading company have had?

Across a span of more than a hundred years, He Lingchuan had somehow laid eyes on that ring again.

So what was the relationship between Fang Canran, the chief steward under General Golden Horn, and Shao Jian, the exile from the long-dead State of Yuān?

Before he could think further, Fang Canran handed each of them a luminous jade bidding token. “Raise this if you wish to participate in the auction. Come, please come in and enjoy some tea!”

Fushan Yue shook his head. “No tea, no tea. First, tell me, has anyone from the Zhongsun Family or the Cen Family arrived yet?”

Fang Canran paused before answering, “The eldest son of the Zhongsun Family is in Heavenly Rain Tower. No one from the Cen Family or the Minister of Finance’s household has arrived so far.”

Well, Cen Boqing did just get escorted back to the capital by Deputy Cloud Envoy Bai. His crime’s far too grave. The Minister of Finance and the Cen Family might well be in no mood to attend an auction right now.

Fushan Yue grinned. “Good.”

So the Zhongsun Family had sent someone after all, they’re clearly confident that the elixir of youth case would never lead back to them.

The two men proceeded into Fragrance Hall.

There was no need to dwell on the interior decoration of Dun Garden. This was the imperial capital after six hundred years of refinement. Everything was grand and elegant, wealthy without losing grace. The instant He Lingchuan stepped inside, he felt at once that the place possessed extraordinary bearing. Yet when he tried to pinpoint exactly what made it so, there was nothing obvious to name.

Perhaps it was the ancient tree in the open courtyard, its thousand-year branches moving in shadow and light.

Perhaps it was the exquisitely crafted roof tiles, which rang like music whenever rain struck them.

Or perhaps it was the enormous jade screen in the great hall, depicting the rising sun illuminating ten thousand golden mountain peaks.

The screen stood five meters tall and twenty meters wide, stretching across the entire hall with breathtaking force.

Moreover, the picture on the screen actually moved. Clouds rolled in constant motion, green mountains shimmered with life, and when one drew near, a chill seemed to emanate from it, as though the mists and clouds of the painting were pressing straight into one’s face.

He Lingchuan recognized it at once as the work of Songyang Mansion.

A much smaller moving screen barely the size of half a door panel was on sale in Songyang Mansion’s Dunyu branch for two hundred taels of silver. For a giant screen of this scale, how much must a custom commission like this have cost?

It was well known that the larger the screen, the greater the technical challenge.

Then again, Songyang Mansion had effectively secured itself a massive advertisement here. One wondered whether Dun Garden had at least received a discount on the final bill.

Fragrance Hall consisted of three main halls, two side chambers, several wing rooms, and connecting corridors, all currently displaying auction items. Naturally, every showcase was guarded, and the guards’ expressions made it perfectly clear that they were to look only with their eyes, not their hands.

Every two hours, an auction session would be held in the main hall.

Guests streamed through the hall in ceaseless flow, all of them notables of Lingxu City. At a glance, He Lingchuan estimated that humans made up about eighty percent of them. Distinguished guests talked and laughed together, beautiful women abounded, and everywhere there was cultivated elegance.

Many of the guests stood in clusters, exchanging greetings, sipping drinks, and conversing in low voices.

Clearly, this was also a rare and valuable social occasion.

Fushan Yue dragged He Lingchuan into two rounds of introductions, and everyone proved highly interested in the Baishajue affair and in the war in the east.

While Fushan Yue held forth enthusiastically, He Lingchuan quietly slipped away from the crowd and went off to wander elsewhere.

When he once more passed the giant Songyang Mansion screen, someone approached him from the side and said softly, “He Xiao, Young Master He?”

He Lingchuan’s expression did not change. “You must have mistaken me for someone else.”

But the man smiled. “At Her Lordship’s request.”

So Li Qingge had sent him?

He Lingchuan gave a soft “oh,” and casually accepted the black iron ring the man held out.

It was a storage ring. Sending his divine sense into it, He Lingchuan discovered that it contained a booklet.

The man turned back toward the giant screen as though introducing it to him, but in reality said in a low voice, “Her Lordship would also like to ask one more favor of you. A guest currently viewing weapons in the Western Second Side Chamber may also be someone you know. Her Lordship wishes you to approach him under another identity and become acquainted with him anew.”

One of He Lingchuan’s eyebrows rose. “And then?” Is it time to begin repaying the favors I owe Li Qingge?

“And then, we’ll see—those are Her Lordship’s exact words.” With that, the man smiled, gave a small bow, and returned to his previous position.

He Lingchuan left the main hall and wandered into a corridor, eventually selecting a secluded patch of bamboo scenery where no one was nearby. Only then did he take the booklet out of the iron ring.

The handwriting inside was neat and orderly. It recorded information on the Cen Family and the Zhongsun Family in considerable detail: names, ages, habits, tempers, positions, livelihoods, and recent activities of family members, among other things.

As expected of the master of Songyang Mansion, the work had been done with the same thoroughness as always. If He Lingchuan, a complete outsider, had tried to gather all this information on his own, it would have cost him immense effort and still come out incomplete.

The Cen Family had not yet arrived, so He Lingchuan took the opportunity to quickly review the material and memorize the essentials.

“The eldest son of the Zhongsun Family... Zhongsun Ce?”

He paid particular attention to Zhongsun Ce’s file and discovered that the man moved among Lingxu City’s upper circles without having any actual accomplishments to his name.

With that being the case, was Zhongsun Mou actually the most outstanding of his generation? Hm. In that one stroke, He Lingchuan had nearly ripped out the very root of the Zhongsun Family.

Mindful that Li Qingge’s errand might slip away if he lingered too long, he put the booklet away before finishing the whole thing and turned to head toward the Western Second Side Chamber.

At that moment, the divine bone amulet suddenly heated up.

Hm? Has it spotted another morsel it wants to devour?

But of course, this was an auction full of dazzling treasures from end to end. To the divine bone amulet, the whole place must have looked like a self-serve buffet.

He Lingchuan did not hurry. With his hands clasped behind his back, he began strolling idly through the displays, occasionally stopping to ask a question or two about the exhibits. In truth, he was really paying attention to the changes in the necklace, trying to determine exactly which item had caught its interest.

Before long, he stopped near an open terrace.

There was a row of display cases there, each containing four or five objects. The labels above them read: “Unknown Curiosities”.

The moment he reached this area, the divine bone amulet stopped emitting heat.

“What are these?”

An attendant immediately came over and explained, “These are all unusual objects whose use has not yet been identified. The opening price is set by the seller, but it’s generally not high. Quite a few honored guests enjoy trying their luck here. Sometimes one really can find gold in the sand and come away with something remarkable.”

“I see.” So it’s a blind-box stall. Well, people do love gambling. There were only two people at the cases actually handling the objects, though many more stood around watching. “May I take one out and look at it?”

“Certainly. I’ll fetch it for you. Which one would you like to see?” Since these were unknown curiosities, they lacked any meaningful item descriptions. If customers were not even allowed to pick them up and examine them, then who on earth would buy them?

“This one.” He Lingchuan pointed to an object that looked very much like an iron discus. Out of caution, he did not immediately approach the case containing the item that the divine bone amulet seemed to want.

The attendant handed it to him. He Lingchuan weighed it in his hand.

Damn, isn’t this literally just an iron discus?

The material felt somewhat like cold iron, but far more chilling to the touch than ordinary metal.

He thought it looked remarkably like a curling stone, only missing the handle on top.

Once he had lifted it, it was of course even closer to the divine bone amulet, but the amulet gave no reaction at all.

So it clearly was not this object.

As soon as He Lingchuan began handling it, several nearby guests turned to watch. One of them asked, “Can you tell what it is?”

He Lingchuan shook his head. The thing looked as though it had been broken off from some larger device, but when he probed it with true energy, there was no response whatsoever.

Then again, if it had been easy to identify, it would never have ended up among the unknown curiosities in the first place.

The attendant smiled and said, “Actually, several curiosities from Dun Garden’s case have been bought in the past and later identified as real treasures. One of them was even an immortal relic. The buyer had the eye to recognize value and acquired it for less than one percent of its true worth! A truly excellent bargain!”

Someone beside him immediately snorted. “And why don’t you mention the far greater number of people who paid good money to take useless junk home?”