The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#406 - Chengguan

As the sun began to set, Yan Jun and the others arrived one after another at the [Well] of the academy to gather, but Lu Jing was nowhere to be seen.

After waiting for a while, someone couldn't help but say, "What should we do? Should we go and urge him?"

Bai Yu Gongzi, Lü Ping, shook his head upon hearing this, "My residence isn't too far from his. I wanted to invite him along when I came over just now, but no one answered when I knocked on the door."

"He's not home right now? That's troublesome."

There was still some time before the banquet started, but considering the place they were going to and the people they were going to meet, it was obviously necessary to leave early, because just entering the imperial city would take a lot of effort, not to mention the red tape along the way.

And Lu Jing, of all people, didn't know where he had run off to at this moment, so some impatient people suggested that everyone set off first, and then send a letter to Lu Jing via messenger. If he could catch up, he would, and if he couldn't, so be it.

Anyway, this errand sounded very simple, and six people would be enough.

However, before he could finish speaking, a figure came striding from the direction of the Suspended Sky Viewing Fish.

It was a square-faced man, about thirty years old, with a sallow complexion, as if he were ill. The beard on his face hadn't been groomed for who knows how long, some of it even tangled together, and he was wearing a pair of tattered straw sandals.

At first sight, the words "unkempt" involuntarily appeared in everyone's mind, but then they had to admit that this person certainly had the capital to be unkempt.

His features, taken individually, couldn't really be called handsome, but together they gave people a faint sense of vicissitudes, the feeling of a wandering rogue. It could be said that he had brought out all the charm that a man of his age possessed.

However, the six of them exchanged glances, and they all saw a hint of doubt in each other's eyes.

But judging from his face alone, there were indeed no flaws, which couldn't help but surprise him. He opened his mouth and asked curiously, "Lu brother, is that a human skin mask you're wearing on your face?"

"That's right." Lu Jing took off the human skin mask on his face and generously showed it to everyone.

After obtaining Lu Jing's consent, Lü Ping reached out and touched the mask, then exclaimed with emotion, "As expected of Li Qiaoshou's work. No wonder I didn't see it at all before."

"Li Qiaoshou?" Lu Jing raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, Nan Qianmian, Bei Qiaoshou are the two best human skin mask makers in the world. Every human skin mask made by them can be mistaken for the real thing. Unfortunately, one has retired, and the other's whereabouts are unknown. This has led to the fact that the human skin masks made by the two of them are now worth their weight in gold in the Jianghu."

As Lü Ping spoke, he returned the human skin mask to Lu Jing, "I wonder what relationship Lu brother has with Senior Qiaoshou?"

"Oh, I don't know any Li Qiaoshou. I accidentally obtained this human skin mask from a flower-picking thief."

In fact, Lu Jing himself didn't like this human skin mask very much. The reason was very simple: this thing was a little too eye-catching. Being an uncle was already being an uncle, but he had to create a sense of vicissitudes, which was inevitably a bit attention-grabbing and inconvenient for slacking off.

But there was no way. He had a total of six human skin masks on hand, some male, some female, some old, some young. After all, Lu Jing hadn't formally studied disguise, and it would be a bit difficult for him to cross too large an age range or even gender to disguise himself.

And he had already used Feng Jiulang's face once before, so this time only Qi Kui's face was available.

Yan Jun hadn't spoken until everyone had arrived, and then she reminded them, "It's getting late, we should set off."

Naturally, everyone had no objections. When they left the coffin shop, the carriages of the Si Tian Jian were already prepared outside the door, a total of five, two people in each carriage, and one was used to carry the materials needed for the ritual later.

Although it was just to make a show, the necessary equipment had to be fully prepared. In addition to these seven people, there was also Xie Anshi, who came from a real Taoist temple.

Although he had studied the art of observing qi and stars before entering the academy, he naturally wouldn't neglect the exorcism rituals that Taoists used to make a living. However, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous when he thought that he was going to perform a ritual in the imperial palace this time.

Fortunately, in addition to these academy disciples, the Si Tian Jian also sent a Zhishi to accompany them.

The Zhishi's name was Cheng Guan, but he wasn't a cultivator. His usual duties in the Si Tian Jian were mainly to handle some documents. Like Lu Jing and the others, he was also being conscripted this time.

Fortunately, Cheng Guan was, after all, a person with an official position. He had also participated in the Grand Assembly a few times and was considered familiar with the official family, of course, he was familiar with the official family, not the other way around.

But at this moment, he did seem much calmer and shared some matters of entering the palace with Lu Jing and the others.

The Si Tian Jian was not controlled by imperial power, but it still tried to maintain good relations with the rulers of past dynasties, because obtaining the support of the imperial court, in addition to obtaining silver and money, would make many things easier and more convenient.

Therefore, at least on the surface, the respect that should be given must be given. Even Guo Shouhuai, the de facto leader of the Si Tian Jian, had to take time out of his busy schedule to enter the palace to perfunctorily deal with the matter when summoned, let alone others.

However, according to Cheng Guan, Lu Jing and the others only needed to ensure basic etiquette, and they didn't need to bend the knee to welcome them. The Si Tian Jian had a special status, and the official family wouldn't treat them as ordinary subjects. Tonight, they would be entering the palace more as guests.

In addition, Cheng Guan also warned everyone not to interfere in the struggle for imperial power, especially the matter of seizing the heir apparent, which was a major taboo of the Si Tian Jian. It was best not to get too close to those princes and nobles from the beginning.

Anyway, whoever sat on that dragon chair couldn't do without the Si Tian Jian, so the Si Tian Jian didn't need to bet on it in advance. Winning the bet would have limited benefits, but losing the bet would have endless bad consequences. More importantly, once this precedent was set, there would be endless incidents of cultivators interfering in the struggle for secular power in the future. Everyone would want to be the emperor, and no one would deal with those strange things and protect the human world.

In Cheng Guan's words, "It is not difficult to obtain power, but it is difficult to control the desires in your heart and use this power to do the right thing, not the thing that is beneficial to yourself."

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