Qualification

He Lingchuan thought for a moment. "Find them two sets of new clothes, get them cleaned up, and make sure they get two good meals. No matter how much they curse, you are to greet them with a smile. Also, keep an eye on Chen Laoqi; don't let him run off. He smashed someone else's backside, so he might just find his own getting opened up this time."

The cultist agreed, but couldn't help adding, "Young Master, we can't afford to offend Donglai Manor. If we let them go like this..."

The Red and White Path had only acted so ruthlessly before because they knew the pair's background and were certain they were dead men walking. Dead men tell no tales, so what did it matter if they struck?

But now that He Lingchuan intended to release them, the Red and White Path members couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Don't worry. Since they have something they need from us, they shouldn't care about such trifles. Besides, this is Qiansong Prefecture, Blackwater City. As the saying goes, a mighty dragon shouldn't suppress the local serpent." This wasn't a place where Donglai Manor called the shots.

Once the Red and White Path cultist was dismissed, He Lingchuan turned back to see his younger brother's worried expression. "Big Brother, how are we going to explain this to Father?"

"It's just a minor misunderstanding; Donglai Manor will surely prioritize the big picture." He Lingchuan laughed, his expression steady. "This is nothing!"

He Yue remained silent. What was a trivial matter to a Grand Marshal was something the He family had to approach with fear and trepidation, weighing every move.

One man's mountain is another man's dust.

The wind blew through the fallen leaves in the garden, rustling softly. Having grown up with the wind at his back, the young man of the He family felt the frustration of being a small player for the first time.

It really was hard to swallow.

"What's wrong?" He Lingchuan saw the boy looking gloomy, as if he had something on his mind.

"Nothing." He Yue smiled. "I'll be going now."

The moment he left, He Lingchuan turned to Uncle Hao. "Something happened?" Uncle Hao's state was off.

"Young Master, Little Gray is dead."

He Lingchuan was startled. "How did it die?"

"It didn't fly back last night. I went to the cliff at Gourd Mountain and retrieved the body." Uncle Hao's voice was strained. "Its wings and abdomen were pierced, and the blood was dark green—it had been poisoned—but the cause of death was a broken neck."

"Nian Songyu, State Preceptor Sun!" He Lingchuan saw Uncle Hao's eyes redden and felt a pang of sorrow himself. "Sending Little Gray to tail them was my idea. Uncle Hao, I'm sorry!"

Little Gray was a hawk demon, Uncle Hao's childhood companion who had been with him for decades. It could speak human language, and they usually ate, drank, killed, and burned together, as close as brothers.

Uncle Hao had no children and no siblings. With Little Gray dead, it was as if his own limbs had been hacked off.

"You weren't the one who struck, so why apologize?" A fierce glint shone in Uncle Hao's eyes. "If those two wanted to ask questions, they could have just asked! Why take its life? Can you help me figure out who dealt the killing blow? Was it the State Preceptor or that man named Nian?"

"I will." He Lingchuan immediately urged him, "But don't be impulsive. Not just you—no one in all of Jin Province dares to make them their enemy."

"Little Gray saved my life, at least twice." Uncle Hao was resolute. "It cannot die in vain!"

"If you go for revenge now, you'll just be throwing your life away." He Lingchuan rolled his eyes. "The Coiling Dragon Desert is a man-eating abyss. Even if they manage to come back alive, their strength will inevitably be greatly diminished." It would be best if they didn't come back at all.

"Wait another ten days or so, and the chances of successful revenge will increase more than threefold." He pressed down on Uncle Hao's shoulder, looking exceptionally sincere. "As long as there is an opportunity, Father and I will certainly help you."

The opponent was a State Preceptor, a weapon of the state. Going for revenge now was far too reckless.

"By the way, does Father know?"

Uncle Hao shook his head. "I came to find you first."

He Lingchuan took the mutton-fat jade ring off his finger and pulled out a string of pearls, stuffing them all into Uncle Hao's hands. "Take three days off. I mean, take these three days to rest well." And to mourn. "Don't drink too much. I'll call for you if I need anything."

The mutton-fat jade ring featured a massive ruby—a piece fit for a nouveau riche—and every pearl on the necklace was the size of a sparrow's egg, uniform and priceless.

Uncle Hao took them, stood numbly for a moment, then nodded and turned to leave.

A loved one's life was, of course, priceless, but ample wealth could at least soothe a wounded heart.

After he left, He Lingchuan slowly sat on a stone bench in the garden.

This was truly a case of sitting at home while trouble fell from the sky.

If the hawk demon Little Gray had lost contact yesterday, it meant that even before Nian Songyu and State Preceptor Sun sought out the He Manor, they already knew the He family held the clues they wanted. Was their visit today a case of "courtesy before force"?

Not to mention the disparity in status, State Preceptor Sun was here on the King's orders; did He Chunhua dare to say no?

But to have them respectfully offer up the leopard corpse and honestly send their own men to serve as cannon fodder for these two nobles? He Lingchuan was unwilling—so very unwilling.

These two had raided the West Mountain leopard den, causing him to fall off the cliff, killing his predecessor and leaving him, this imposter, to suffer twenty-plus days of agony.

These two had easily slaughtered the He family's scouts on their own turf.

And now they wanted He Chunhua to send cannon fodder to help them enter the Coiling Dragon Desert to seize the Great Square Pot. Once they succeeded, they would reap all the credit, while Governor He would get nothing but scraps.

To lose men and officers only to receive a word of praise from the Emperor.

But what right did He Lingchuan have to challenge them?

It seemed he would have to swallow this bitter pill, whether he liked it or not.

How frustrating!

He Lingchuan held his head in his hands and let out a long sigh, when suddenly he saw something white drifting down before his eyes.

It was a feather.

He didn't know which bird had passed overhead.

He grabbed the feather and twirled it unconsciously, when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Hm? That's not right.

He Chunhua had only transferred Uncle Hao from out of town to be his personal bodyguard after he had recovered from his injuries, so Little Gray might not have known the details of his fall. Besides, the He family didn't allow demons on the premises; the hawk demon had always perched on the branches outside.

He Lingchuan had not spent much time with Uncle Hao, but the man was reticent by nature. What Uncle Hao had seen, Little Gray might not necessarily know.

From the perspective of Nian and Sun, the information they pried out of Little Gray was likely quite vague.

At the very least, they did not know the Sand Leopard's corpse was stashed at He Manor, nor were they certain if the clues they sought were hidden here. After all, the Sand Leopards that fled the lair had scattered in all directions, and they had sent men to pursue each group; how could they be sure that the one which fled to Gourd Mountain was the right target?

What if one of the other fleeing Sand Leopards was the one hiding the token to the Coiling Dragon Ruins?

Most importantly, they did not know that the Sand Leopard's remains were in the hands of the young master of the He family!

With so many uncertainties, they could not simply strike at the local power brokers on a whim.

Coercing them with royal decrees and tempting them with profit were the best methods.

Given that, what did the He family have to fear?

Having thought this through, He Lingchuan stood up, brushed off his backside, and decided to head to the office to find his father.

There was no point in scaring himself over nothing.

He Chunhua was busy writing furiously, but upon hearing his eldest son's words, the brush in his hand came to a halt.