West… The Holy Son of the Heaven Sect’s expression subtly changed, frowning as he asked, “Why?”
Xu Qi’an did not answer, and continued, “We’re going to Leizhou.”
“Absolutely not!”
Li Lingsu shouted reflexively.
Xu Qi’an curled his lips. “You can leave if you wish.”
What a foul-tempered senior… Li Lingsu grumbled inwardly, sighed, and said,
“Senior, the Dongfang sisters are also heading to Leizhou. We’re bound to run into each other.”
Although the Heaven Gu clan’s “Shifting the Constellatinos” could mask Heaven’s secrets, as long as the parties met, the Dongfang sisters would surely recognise him.
In the presence of a peak fourth-rank expert, any disguise technique was no more than an empty pretence, a glance was enough to see through it.
At this moment, Xu Qi’an tugged on his reins, and the little mare, understanding his intent, slowed to a trot, forcing Li Lingsu to reduce his own speed.
“What do you think of him?”
Xu Qi’an pointed at a man by the roadside, a dull-looking man with average features, dressed in a thick cotton coat and pulling a donkey cart.
“?”
Li Lingsu looked utterly clueless.
Ten-odd minutes later, by a riverside, Li Lingsu crouched, his reflection on the calm surface showing the face of that same dull-looking, average-featured man they had just passed: the donkey-cart driver.
“Amazing!”
The Holy Son of the Heaven Sect looked back, both admiring and astonished as he regarded Xu Qian, saying,
“There truly is a disguise technique in this world that can alter both the flesh and bone of one’s face?”
Top-ranked experts could also achieve this. For instance, once he had refined his Yang Spirit, he could change his appearance at will, but that was more a technique of transformation.
However, what this Xu Qian had demonstrated was a means to achieve a similar effect with only a potion, so much so that even an ordinary person could alter their appearance at will.
Not a bad job… Xu Qi’an smiled faintly, his manner unhurried as he said,
“Live long enough, and you’ll pick up all sorts of odds and ends, and meet all manner of odd people.”
Mu Nanzhi quietly pulled a face.
Worthy of being a centuries-old monster… By ‘odd people’, surely he’s not referring to me… The Holy Son of the Heaven Sect admired him, saying,
“Senior, you’re remarkable.”
Xu Qi’an nodded slowly.
“The potion’s effect will wear off after twenty-four hours, and your appearance will return to normal. Also, you can only change your face, not your bearing. You’ve slept beside the Dongfang sisters for half a year, they know every detail about you.
“If you want to hide from them up close, you’ll have to stay constantly alert.”
…
At lunch.
Li Lingsu leapt into the river and caught several plump fish. Turning around, he saw that Xu Qian had already set up two small pots, one for cooking rice, the other ready to stew fish.
Li Lingsu was not surprised in the least. For such an unfathomable senior to own a storage artefact was the norm.
If not for the Dongfang sisters having cleaned him out, he too would own a storage artefact: one was a storage pouch given by his master when he descended the mountain, another was an Earth Book fragment gifted by Daoist Jinlian.
“Sigh, if not for my power being sealed, by now I should have reached the peak of fourth rank, and then after three years, I could return to my sect.”
Li Lingsu cleaned the river fish as he sighed ruefully.
Heaven Sect disciples could only return after three years of travel. For the Holy Son and Holy Maiden, they must reach peak fourth rank before returning to the sect.
Fourth rank to third rank was a threshold; only by understanding the principle of ‘Supreme Forgetting of Emotion’ could Heaven Sect disciples transcend mortality and step into the third rank.
For lunch, the three of them feasted on fish soup, tender tofu with stir-fried pork, braised duck, stir-fried preserved sausage, and winter bamboo with lamb…
All cooked by the very average-skilled chef Mu Nanzhi.
Ever since he had assimilated the Sevenfold Gu, Xu Qi’an’s appetite had become infamous. He often woke up hungry at night and then had to settle his hunger with hot water and plain buns or pastries.
Now, he could fully understand Lina. If they were still in the capital, the three gluttons would be joined by a fourth.
Li Lingsu ate with grease all around his mouth, exclaiming,
“This chicken essence is marvellous, it has a miraculous effect, turning even slop into a delicacy.”
Turning even slop into a delicacy?! Mu Nanzhi shot him a cold glare.
Li Lingsu hurriedly added, “If paired with your cooking, madam, it’s like giving wings to a tiger, one bite makes the world feel wonderful.”
Mu Nanzhi nodded in satisfaction, glancing at Xu Qi’an.
See? There’s a reason people please women.
I no longer need to rely on sweet words to cajole women; learn a bit about the Southern Marches Desire Gu tribe will you… Xu Qi’an swallowed his food, listening absently as Li Lingsu rambled,
“The arcanists of Sitianjian truly are formidable. The Confucians educate and bring civilisation. Arcanists save lives, refine tools, create devices, and…”
He held up the porcelain bottle. “And there’s chicken essence! These are things that benefit the people.”
“This is something Xu Qi’an invented.”
Mu Nanzhi frowned.
“Xu Qi’an?”
The Holy Son of Heaven Sect was taken aback, as if to confirm, “You’re saying chicken essence was created by Silver Gong Xu?”
Princess Consort Mu raised her chin.
What’s that got to do with you, to make you so proud… The Holy Son didn’t believe it and smiled.
“Madam, this Xu Qi’an is a martial artist. The difference between an arcanist and a martial artist is as vast as that between the Western Regions and the Church of the Warlock God. If martial artist could master alchemy, would they still be called crude martial artists?”
After all, this lady was just an ordinary woman, and Xu Qian and the shaman clans amounted to little, neither had any connection to martial artists.
The Holy Son freely mocked the martial path.
At this moment, Xu Qian shot him a cold and indifferent glance and said,
“The essence of alchemy is knowledge and research. Anyone can begin to study alchemy as long as they learn and understand its knowledge.”
Li Lingsu was taken aback. “From what you’ve said, did Xu Qi’an really invent chicken essence?”
“Xu Qian” lowered his head to eat and made no reply.
The Holy Son clapped and laughed,
“Interesting, most interesting! That Silver Gong Xu truly is a rare genius. Looking across the Great Feng’s history, perhaps only the Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Wuzong can compare to him.
“Hm, Wei Yuan is another, but he’s kept far too low a profile. Compared to Silver Gong Xu’s dazzling brilliance, Wei Yuan has barely made a name for himself in the past twenty years. I’m more and more eager to visit the capital.”
If you go to the capital, won’t I just end up suffering social death again? Well, I’m supposed to keep my identity hidden anyway, and no matter how much I brag, I can always force things back on track… Xu Qi’an changed the subject and said,
“We’re heading to Leizhou from here, tens of thousands of miles away. If we want to get there as fast as possible, we’ll have to travel by water.”
“Do we have to take a boat again?”
Mu Nanzhi frowned. She suffered from seasickness, and the last time she travelled north with the diplomatic mission, she had been sick and vomiting every day.
Li Lingsu slowly started to feel that, although her looks were average, this lady had an extraordinary temperament, and every gesture was full of feminine charm.
Li Lingsu shook his head and said, “At this time of year, there’s a north-westerly wind along the canal to Leizhou, but the canal flows from west to east. This would definitely slow the ship’s journey. If we travel by boat, I’m afraid we won’t make it to Leizhou in time for the opening of the Pagoda.”
Xu Qi’an turned his head to look over. “Then how did you originally plan to get there?”
“Sister Rong has a magic item called the Wind-riding Boat. It can cover three thousand miles a day. We’d only need ten days to reach Leizhou. But for each day of flying, it needs a day of rest. Last time, we just happened to land in Pingzhou, in Yongzhou’s territory.”
This is basically a budget version of a plane. Even the Sitianjian probably doesn’t have such a large-scale magic item… Xu Qi’an was secretly shocked.
“It was a gift from Sister Rong’s master. The Wind-riding Boat is one of the twelve magical artefacts of the Church of the Warlock God.”
Xu Qi’an nodded slowly. If that was the case, the planned trip along the Grand Canal would have to change. He could just call Sun Xuanji and have him take them to Leizhou.
But if he did that, Sun Xuanji’s presence would inevitably arouse Li Lingsu’s suspicion.
Of course, he wouldn’t immediately suspect that he himself was Xu Qi’an, but given a few more clues of this kind, this clever Holy Son would definitely be able to make the right deduction and guess that Xu Qian was actually Xu Qi’an.
Li Lingsu suddenly smiled and said, “I have a way to get us to Leizhou within ten days.”
Xu Qi’an and Mu Nanzhi both looked at him.
“There is a bird of prey in Leizhou called the Scarlet-tail Flame Eagle, standing thirteen feet tall with a wingspan of thirty-seven feet. It’s a spirit beast. In Leizhou, the local authorities keep flocks of these birds, forming a flying beast army.
“During the battle of Shanghai Pass, the Scarlet-tail Flame Eagle units shone brightly on the battlefield. But after Shanghai Pass, Great Feng’s national strength steadily weakened. The Eagles consumes too much, and the Leizhou authorities could not afford to keep such a costly force. They laid off half the flying beast army and sold half the scarlet-tailed eagles to local merchant guilds, noble families, and martial factions.
“The Leizhou Merchants’ Association acquired the most Scarlet-tail Flame Eagles and uses them exclusively to transport precious goods. It’s safe and fast. Coincidentally, Zhangzhou, right next to Yongzhou, is the location of one of the Leizhou Merchants’ Association’s branch offices.
“These Scarlet-tail Flame Eagles aren’t available for hire, no matter how much money you have. But I have a way to get hold of a few, so we can ride flying beasts to Leizhou.”
Xu Qi’an exchanged another glance with Mu Nanzhi. He asked in surprise,
“Have you been to Zhangzhou before?”
“No.”
“Have you been to Leizhou?”
“No.”
“Then why are you so sure you can get hold of these precious Scarlet-tail Flame Eagles?”
“This… is a long story…”
The Holy Son sighed and revealed a world-weary smile:
“When I was wandering the jianghu, I happened to meet the young mistress of the Leizhou Merchants’ Association, who was on a business trip with a caravan to Qingzhou. She was fair-skinned, bright-eyed and white-toothed, shrewd in business, with formidable enterprising ability.
“Of course, that’s not the point. The point is that we met by chance among the vast multitude, fell for each other, and began a romance.”
…Xu Qi’an was stunned.
“When did this happen?”
“That was when I was on the run from Sister Rong and Sister Qing, I met Rou’er while fleeing.”
Good lord, good fucking lord… Xu Qi’an nodded. “Let’s do that, then.”
Do you have girlfriends all over Jiuzhou?
Now I finally understand why Li Miaozhen would leave him to die…
…
Five days later, at Zhangzhou docks.
Xu Qi’an led his mare down the thick plank off the boat, with Li Lingsu doing the same behind him, and Princess Consort Mu following on foot.
As they walked, they asked for directions, and with help from the locals, they arrived at the Leizhou branch office.
It was a large manor, with red lacquered gates and a golden signboard hanging above. Outside the doors stood two giant stone lions, each as tall as a person.
Armoured guards stood watch at the entrance.
Li Lingsu said,
“When we parted, Rou’er gave me a token. With it, I could use the resources of the Association’s main office and branches, and access up to a credit of one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver. Unfortunately, I lost it by accident when I went to the shaman clans.
“Even if I hadn’t lost it, Sister Qing and Sister Rong would have taken it away in the end.”
Xu Qi’an looked at him coldly. “So?”
Li Lingsu grinned. “Just wait, I have my own way.”
With that, he led his horse over to the gate and said to the guard blocking his way, “I would like to see the branch leader.”
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