Where Immortals Once Walked

Chapter 625: Fang Canran’s Hospitality

Inside was a toilet, so guests would not have to squat until their legs went numb.

Heavy incense burned in the private chamber at all times, while fragrant ash and bamboo charcoal were laid beneath to dispel any unpleasant odors.

He Lingchuan waved him off. “No need. I can... I can go myself.” After saying that, he staggered off.

He walked as though stepping on cotton, one foot sinking deep, the next shallow, his center of gravity swaying unsteadily. But in the end, he still made it over.

Fang Canran waited outside the private chamber for quite some time. Then he suddenly heard a thud from within, as if something heavy had struck the floor beyond the double doors.

He hurried over and took a look. He Lingchuan had collapsed on his way out, sprawled flat on the ground with all five limbs touching the floor.

Fang Canran crouched and shook his shoulder. “Brother He?”

The youth did not respond.

Fang Canran called twice more, but He Lingchuan still showed no movement.

At that, Fang Canran’s smile vanished. He took out a rope, murmured a few lines of incantation, and slipped it over He Lingchuan’s hands. The rope tightened on its own, winding around him twice.

Fang Canran tugged it twice to make sure the binding was secure.

Just then, the wooden window banged open in a gust of wind, sending a rush of air through the hall.

At some point, rain had begun to fall outside. Cold rainwater rode the wind in and slapped wildly against people’s faces.

Afraid He Lingchuan might be roused by the wind and rain, Fang Canran rushed over in two strides to shut the window.

At that moment, someone outside knocked on the courtyard gate and called, “Chief Steward Fang.”

Fang Canran answered, “Speak!”

The wind was loud. The man had already crossed the courtyard to the door and called through it, “General Yang is entertaining guests in the Evening Fragrance Courtyard. Seven or eight of them are drunk and about to leave. But the hundred taels of silver they brought out to settle the bill are... fake. When cut open, there’s a tin core inside. What should we do?”

Fang Canran immediately said, “Accept it. See the guests out as usual. Tomorrow evening, take the fake silver to the Yang Residence.”

“Yes!”

Fang Canran listened as the servant’s footsteps receded. Only then did he return to his captive, lift him back into the small hall, and press him onto a chair.

Then he took out a golden toad ornament, which was half a palm wide and facing upward with its mouth open, and tossed a tiny spark into the toad’s large mouth.

Before long, wisps of smoke curled from the golden toad’s mouth. Astonishingly, the smoke came in three colors—red, blue, and black. Each color rose on its own, never mingling with the others.

Fang Canran held his breath, then placed the golden toad beneath He Lingchuan’s nose.

As if guided, the smoke slipped into He Lingchuan’s nostrils.

He Lingchuan seemed uncomfortable and shifted slightly. Fang Canran’s expression tightened.

Fortunately, he soon went still again, and even his breathing softened.

If someone else were here to witness this, their jaw would have dropped. The chief steward most trusted by the Golden Horn Clan, the same Boss Fang whose business had grown vast and strong, was personally ambushing someone in secret!

Ordinary people could split their skulls thinking and still fail to understand why he would do this. They would only assume this was the highest realm of commercial warfare.

Fang Canran counted the time. After forty breaths, he moved the golden toad away, extinguished the spark, and performed a wind-summoning gesture. A faint breeze carried the remaining smoke in the air toward the rear hall. Only then did he dare breathe freely again.

He leaned close to He Lingchuan and said softly, “Young Master He?”

He Lingchuan did not respond.

He asked again, and only then did He Lingchuan murmur a dazed “Mm.”

Fang Canran’s voice became as gentle as it could possibly be. “Young Master He, where are you?”

He Lingchuan said, “I, I don’t know.”

“Don’t be afraid. You are very safe, very comfortable. No one will do anything to you. Do you know who I am?”

“Don’t know.”

Fang Canran asked again, “What is your full name?”

“He Xiao.”

“Where are you from?”

“State of Fu.”

What Fang Canran was using was Three-Colored Calming Smoke. It could place its target in a state between sleep and waking, between consciousness and unconsciousness. With proper guidance, one could make the subject answer questions, and afterward, the person would not even know what had happened.

This smoke was ideal for interrogating suspicious targets without anyone knowing.

Even Fan Sheng had lost to the man before him, so Fang Canran did not think he could gain any advantage through martial force. But young men usually lacked firm wills and were easily tempted by luxury, pleasure, wine, and women. Thus, he believed that was where he could begin.

He asked a few routine questions first to dispel the captive’s unconscious wariness. Then Fang Canran moved to the real topic. “Why did you come to Lingxu City?”

“Bai Ziqi told me to come. I couldn’t refuse.”

His story was known throughout Lingxu City. Fang Canran naturally understood what that meant.

“What else? What else do you need to do?”

He Lingchuan’s tone was utterly blank. “Do... what?”

“In Lingxu City, do you have any other important matters waiting to be handled?”

“I don’t know.” He Lingchuan sounded even more confused than Fang Canran. “Do I?”

How would Fang Canran know whether he did or not? He could only change the question. “What is your relationship with Songyang Mansion’s mistress, Li Qingge?”

“Friends.”

“How did you meet?”

“I asked Songyang Mansion to forge a saber for me. That’s how we met.”

Fang Canran frowned. “When you met a few days ago, what did you discuss?”

He Lingchuan moved slightly. “The Marquis of Songyang wanted to recruit me as a guest elder.”

“That’s all?” So there isn’t actually some scheme going on?

He Lingchuan did not respond.

Fang Canran continued, “Do you recognize a signet ring with five whorls on it?”

“I do.”

Now came the crucial question. “How do you recognize it?”

“I’ve seen it.”

Fang Canran’s heart tightened. “Where did you see it?”

“In the hand of Dun Garden’s chief steward, Fang Canran.”

“...” Fang Canran felt somewhat helpless. “Had you seen it before that?”

“Yes. In the west.”

This answer was far beyond Fang Canran’s expectations.

The trouble with using Three-Colored Calming Smoke to force answers was that the subject lost the ability to think logically. They answered like a puppet on strings, rarely giving complete replies.

“Where in the west?”

“West of Beijia, then farther west.”

“What’s the name of the place?”

Fang Canran pressed several more times before He Lingchuan finally said, “Linhe City.”

The moment those words emerged, Fang Canran’s face darkened.

His chest rose and fell once, as if he were restraining his temper. “The current owner of this signet ring, what do you want to do to him?”

“Fang Canran?”

“Yes.”

He Lingchuan tilted his head slightly. “Hard to say. It depends on what he wants to do to me.”

“One last question.” Fang Canran’s expression was almost strained. “Are you talking nonsense?”

“Yes.”

Then He Lingchuan opened his eyes.

His gaze was clear. There was not the slightest trace of confusion.

At the same time, Fang Canran’s dagger was already pressed against He Lingchuan’s throat.

“Chief Steward Fang, is this how you treat guests?” He Lingchuan shook his bound hands.

Fang Canran glanced at them and saw the rope was still twisted tightly around him. Only then did he relax slightly.

He Lingchuan could pretend to faint. He could pretend to answer questions, but he was not willing to swallow this silent loss.

If he fell into a disadvantage in their first exchange, Fang Canran would only look down on him and think he could toy with him however he liked.

That said, although He Lingchuan’s story had spread widely throughout Lingxu City, outsiders knew only that Cen Boqing had sent people to assassinate him. They did not know the exact method.

Fang Canran likely had not found out. Otherwise, if he knew even a curse master had failed to kill He Lingchuan, he would certainly have been much more cautious about drugging him and lighting the Three-Colored Calming Smoke.

Fang Canran let out a long, very long sigh. “Wouldn’t it have been so much better if you had honestly stayed unconscious, honestly answered, and then awakened without knowing anything?”

If Three-Colored Calming Smoke had worked, He Lingchuan would have woken with no memory of what he had said or experienced, merely assuming he had become a little muddled from drinking. Would that not have been better for everyone?

The Chiyan special envoy had made a huge name for himself in Lingxu City, and others found it difficult to touch him. That was why Fang Canran had chosen this method, hoping to probe him quietly and without leaving traces. After the questioning, he could snap his fingers, and both sides could happily continue eating and drinking as if nothing had happened.

He Lingchuan shook his head. “That smoke of yours was too choking. One whiff and I woke up.”

Fang Canran felt rather depressed. He had only used the Three-Colored Calming Smoke a few times, and its effects varied by person. The dosage was difficult to control.

Since He Lingchuan had already seen through it, the tacit understanding between them had shattered. In that case—

“Now the scene has become rather ugly.”

“Still not untying me?” He Lingchuan looked at him, lifting his chin lightly as he did. “So many people at Fleeting Thoughts Manor saw you and me leave together. They’re all witnesses. If you untie me now, maybe I’ll let bygones be bygones.”

He looked as if he had something to rely on. Fang Canran sat up straighter. “Since you’re awake, good. We no longer need to speak in circles. Where exactly did you learn of this spiral ring?”

He Lingchuan did not know whether to laugh or cry. “You tied someone up over such a tiny matter? Chief Steward Fang, you’ve gone too far!”

He struggled twice, but the rope only tightened further, drawing a hiss of pain from him, even causing his face to twist slightly.

Seeing that he truly could not break free, Fang Canran finally withdrew the dagger. “This is an earth immortal rope, and it can bind true energy.”

Otherwise, with He Lingchuan’s strength, snapping an ordinary rope would only take moments.

“I only looked at that ring casually, believe it or not.”

Fang Canran looked at him as though he were being stubborn. “I gave you several chances, but you refused to speak. Don’t blame me for this, then.”

After several rounds of contact, he had grown tired of probing. He did not want to leave such a hidden bomb beside him.

He Lingchuan suddenly appeared tense. “What do you want to do? What do you dare do?” With so many witnesses, does he really dare kill me?

The Golden Horn Clan’s chief steward had always appeared elegant and refined. Could this extreme, almost fanatical demeanor be his true face?

Fang Canran poured a cup of wine and pushed it before him. “The respectful wine: tell me the whole story clearly, and I can leave you alive.”

Then He Lingchuan saw him take out a soft cowhide pouch and spread it open. Inside were all sorts of metal tools—small scissors, small knives, tweezers, clamps, hammers, and some strange-shaped implements whose uses were unclear.

Every single piece had been polished to a bright shine.

“The punishment wine: I have twelve major tortures here, and thirty-six minor ones. You can taste each one before you die.”

Is it appropriate for a merchant to keep so many torture tools hidden away?

He Lingchuan gave a cold laugh. “The thing so many of my enemies don’t dare do, does Chief Steward Fang want to do it for them?”

“Those enemies all have concerns. They all care too much about their wealth and prospects. That is why you have room to maneuver.” Fang Canran raised the signet ring and waved it before him. “Since you kept staring at it, you ought to know that the owner of this ring has never feared death!”

The last few words landed with ringing force.

Since he had already offended He Lingchuan and exposed his own anxiety, he was not afraid of offending him to the end.

Things had gone wrong, but he had to gain something from this.

He Lingchuan stopped struggling as well and began studying the ring seriously.