Let's See What I Can Do

! On the terrace, warm jade tiles covered the ground, and rosy clouds hung like curtains.

Lu Qiyuan crossed the smooth jade bricks barefoot, waved away the maids, and personally ushered Chen Qing to his seat. The table was carved entirely from ten-thousand-year warm jade, and the delicacies and spirit fruits upon it were all rare treasures.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, do you know what makes this place so special?" Once they were seated, Lu Qiyuan gestured around them, his tone smug. "This is one of Yujing City's finest pleasure palaces, a ladder to the heavens! Those who come and go are either true disciples of the Immortal Gate or scions of noble houses! The seeds of divine lightning arts from the Divine Firmament Dao, the sword-obsessed heirs of the Myriad Sword Pavilion, even several reclusive members of the imperial family have all lingered here!"

Seeing the light flash in Chen Qing's eyes, Lu Qiyuan pressed his advantage. "Just say the word, and within three days, I'll make you famous throughout Yujing City and wash away every stain on your past! Resources, cultivation arts, beauties, power—all will be within your grasp! Why be buried alongside a tree that's already about to fall?" He leaned forward. "Even the Spiritual Bone that was taken from you—I can help you get it back!"

"Oh?" Chen Qing heard him out, then smiled and shook his head. "Young Marquis, do you know whose debt I intend to collect?"

Lu Qiyuan burst out laughing. "Who cares who it is! There's nothing in Yujing that the East Sea Marquis's Household can't buy!" His words were warm, his gaze blazing.

Seeing this, Chen Qing didn't beat around the bush. The longer he stayed out, the greater the chance that the Sixth Prince's men would corner him, so he spoke frankly. "Young Marquis, when you were at the Princess's fief, you wanted to ask Princess Xiyao to become your Dao Companion. Why are you so eager to steal another man's woman now?"

Lu Qiyuan picked up a vermilion fruit and chewed twice before smiling. "With my status and position, what peerless immortal maiden could I not find? I won't give you any empty talk. Back then, Xiyao was still the Immortal Emperor's favored Tenth Princess. Winning her over would have been a great boon to my House Lu! The essence of her primordial yin, exchanged through divine communion, could also have helped me condense the 'Boundless Vast Sea Dao Seed,' saving me a hundred years of effort."

He clapped his hands and changed the subject. "But now the Immortal Emperor has ascended, the Empress holds the reins of power alone, and the Sixth Prince is about to take the throne! She can barely protect herself. Why would I offend the Empress for someone already marked for death?"

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Chen Qing. "Chen Xu, you're a smart man. You know that a fine bird chooses the tree where it will nest! Don't do something foolish like an ant trying to shake a tree. Even if someone once recognized your worth, what is that compared with your life?"

Chen Qing sighed. "Young Marquis, don't worry. I came here to ask you about two things."

"So that's it." Lu Qiyuan raised an eyebrow. "What two things? Ask away."

"First, I'm looking for Red Vein Stone." Before Chen Qing had finished speaking, he saw Lu Qiyuan's pupils contract.

"That won't be easy to find. It's tied to an old case from twenty years ago." Lu Qiyuan's hand tightened around the wine cup he was turning over. "Still, I can help you sound out the rumors."

Tied to an old case? No wonder it was so hard to find.

Chen Qing nodded, showing no reaction, then continued. "Second, Young Marquis, do you know who bears the Daoist title 'Mystic Bright'?"

"Mystic Bright? A Daoist title?" Lu Qiyuan paused, then thought it over. "If you asked about someone else, I might not be able to answer. Fortunately, I have friends everywhere. The person you mean might be the music fanatic from Mystic Bright Retreat outside the city."

"Mystic Bright Retreat?" Chen Qing's heart stirred. "Who lives there?"

"The Seventh Prince." Lu Qiyuan shook his head with a sigh. "He spends all day playing the qin and painting at his estate outside the city. He hasn't shown his face in ten years... Hmm?"

He stopped abruptly and gave Chen Qing a suspicious once-over. "Why ask about him? He can't even be bothered to manage his own fief, and he's only on so-so terms with Xiyao. Besides, his cultivation should be mediocre. He won't get involved in this."

Chen Qing's heart was in turmoil.

The title Mystic Bright was associated with a prince!

By that logic, this man was almost certainly the historical Mystic Bright Layman—the second ruler of the Immortal Dynasty!

Suppressing his thoughts, Chen Qing asked as casually as he could, "Young Marquis, do you know the Seventh Prince's name?"

Lu Qiyuan looked doubtful, but answered anyway. "His Majesty the Holy Emperor is descended from the ancient Xu Kingdom, so the imperial family of the Immortal Dynasty all bear the surname Xu! The Seventh Prince's given name is Qingfeng."

"Xu Qingfeng..."

Chen Qing murmured the name.

"In Yujing City, you can't go around mentioning people's names," Lu Qiyuan pointed out.

Weren't you the one who brought him up first?

Chen Qing kept his expression unchanged and continued. "It's surprising that His Highness Xu Qingfeng keeps such a low profile. Since he's a prince, does he have no desire to become ruler of the Immortal Dynasty?"

"Careful!" Lu Qiyuan's expression shifted. Then he continued, "His Highness the Seventh Prince is quiet and detached, rarely shows his face, and has no ambition. By the way, where did you hear the title 'Mystic Bright'?"

Chen Qing made an excuse. "I heard it by chance and grew curious."

Lu Qiyuan studied his face for a moment but asked nothing more. He only said, "Yujing's waters run deep. It's best not to pry into certain matters." With that, he filled a cup with spirit wine and pushed it toward Chen Qing. "Try this 'Jade Sea Tide Dew.' It's drawn from a ten-thousand-zhang-deep cold spring in the East Sea, and nowhere else in Yujing serves it. Since you're here today, just enjoy yourself. Don't trouble your mind."

Chen Qing lifted the cup and took a sip. A clean, mellow sweetness flowed through his lungs and entrails, then turned into a warm current that surged through his limbs.

"Excellent wine."

"Hahaha!" Lu Qiyuan laughed and clapped. After a few pleasantries, he made an excuse to leave and went to a private room behind the hall.

Someone was already seated inside, dressed in an elegant Confucian robe. It was his close friend, Zhou Renjing.

Lu Qiyuan pushed open the door and got straight to the point. "Brother Zhou, do you have a clever plan to bring this man over?"

"His Spiritual Bone was ripped out, yet he hasn't wavered. He was tortured in the Mysterious Prison, yet his wits remain intact." Zhou Renjing spoke unhurriedly. "Brother Lu, I understand your admiration for talent. But this man's rough edges remain, and his heart is still with his former master. Judging by why he came today, his search for Red Vein Stone and questions about the Seventh Prince are both pretexts. His real purpose is to scout the way for Princess Xiyao!"

Lu Qiyuan furrowed his brow. "It's precisely because he's so loyal that winning him over would show our skill!"

"Not so." Zhou Renjing's expression turned serious. "A loyal man is sure to be proud and haughty! Ordinary wealth and power, beauties and treasures—how could any of them catch his eye? If we can't break his pride, then even if we force him to stay, we'll never win his heart!"

Lu Qiyuan fell silent for a moment, then ventured, "Should we let him hit a wall? Make him suffer a little?"

Zhou Renjing paused, then smiled. "You want to win him over and earn his loyalty. If you use schemes to force him to stay, and the truth comes out later, you'll only make an enemy of him."

Lu Qiyuan narrowed his eyes. "Then what would you suggest, Brother Zhou?"

Zhou Renjing answered at once. "If we can win him over through the Princess's troubles, wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone? With his support, the East Sea's foundation will be secure, and we'll have a chance to shape the currents in Yujing."

Lu Qiyuan stared at Zhou Renjing for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"Good! What a way to kill two birds with one stone! What a fine plan for the East Sea!" His eyes blazed. "Renjing, Renjing, you twist and turn so much that even I nearly got lost in your winding thoughts! But..."

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. "The Empress is too powerful. Saving the Princess would be like touching her scales—the path is closed."

Zhou Renjing sighed. "In that case, Chen Xu is firm of will and cannot be swayed by wealth or rank. It'll be hard to bring him into our fold."

"Not necessarily!" A flash of light passed through Lu Qiyuan's eyes. "His search for Red Vein Stone and questions about the Seventh Prince may well have deeper meaning! Besides..." He lowered his voice. "He lost his Spiritual Bone. If I can help him find it, he'll owe me a favor."

Zhou Renjing furrowed his brow. "The Spiritual Bone? The Princess's Estate searched everywhere and found nothing. It may already be impossible to locate—or someone may have refined it, or hidden it somewhere beyond reach."

"Heh!" Lu Qiyuan scoffed. "How many people does the Princess's Estate have? If we bring all the East Sea Marquis's Household's connections and wealth to bear, pave the way with money and crush them with our influence, then in Yujing City, there are no lips we can't pry open and no secrets we can't dig up, except in a few forbidden places!"

He swept his hand grandly through the air. "Half a day at most! I'll find the Red Vein Stone for him too!"

Zhou Renjing hesitated, then said only, "Young Marquis, your boldness is admirable. But the Spiritual Bone is tied to an old affair. What if..."

"What if what?" Lu Qiyuan cut him off, unconcerned. "Could it be more dangerous than saving the Princess and standing against the Empress? Just wait here without a worry!"

Before his words had even faded, Lu Qiyuan sprang to his feet.

"Guards!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three figures flashed out of the shadows between the pillars like ghosts and dropped to one knee.

"Take my Fish Dragon Tokens!" Lu Qiyuan flung out three palm-sized, deep-blue tokens shaped like dragon sharks. "Within six hours, I want to know where Chen Xu's Spiritual Bone is, and I want every lead on Red Vein Stone in Yujing City!"

"Yes, sir!"

The moment the tokens landed in their hands, the three figures dissolved into streaks of shadow and vanished.

Lu Qiyuan turned and raised an eyebrow at Zhou Renjing.

"Just watch what I can do!"