Hu Youli, grilling meat patties on the balcony, seemed to have prepared in advance. She pulled a sheet of paper from her sleeve and handed it directly to Nan Zhu.
Nan Zhu did not know what it was. He unfolded it and saw the price of the meat patties at first glance: one hundred taels each.
Was this expensive? Compared to the outside world, yes, it was indeed expensive. But compared to the prices in the Mirage City, it was quite cheap.
Nan Zhu was somewhat surprised. Looking further down at the meat patty ingredient list, he found poultry, beast meat, fish meat, and vegetables. Each ingredient had its purchase price clearly marked.
After carefully examining the purchase prices of the ingredients, the cheapness shocked Nan Zhu. He could not help but ask, “Where did you buy the vegetables? Fifty jin for only ten taels of silver?”
Do not mention him, even Mu Aotie beside him found it unbelievable. They all knew that vegetables here were actually very expensive, more expensive than meat. Could it be that they also grew vegetables on the other side of the strait? But it did not seem like it should be this cheap either. They had walked the streets and understood the prices here.
Hu Youli put down the tongs she was using to flip the patties, letting Little Black continue to flip them. Little Black happily took on this task, working with extremely full enthusiasm.
Hu Youli then pushed aside Nan Zhu, who was in her way, and walked to the corner on the other side of the balcony. There was a pile of rotten vegetables there. Hu Youli crouched down, picked up a rotten vegetable, peeled off the decay, broke off the spoiled outer leaves, and finally only the inner heart remained. The volume was only fist-sized, but it was very clean.
Hu Youli showed the final result to the two men. “Something ugly on the outside does not mean it is ugly on the inside. The heart is very clean, and the taste is even more tender and delicious.”
The two martial brothers’ faces were full of astonishment.
Nan Zhu was suspicious. “Did you specifically go and buy these rotten vegetables?”
Hu Youli put down the vegetable, dusted off her hands, stood up, and reached out toward him. “As long as you have money, I will buy you the most glamorous ones. I have no money. I cannot afford good ones. What is wrong with buying some rotten vegetables? Can I not save up some money for cultivation resources? I do not steal or rob. I bought them openly and honestly with my own money. If I lose face, I lose my own face. I am not losing yours. What is there to be surprised about? Besides, you have seen it yourselves. I did not give you anything bad to eat. It was all cleaned and handled properly. You do not have much money either. Logically speaking, you should not be unable to accept this, right?”
These words made Nan Zhu’s face turn awkward, and he handed the list in his hand back to her.
Hu Youli did not take it. “I knew you were afraid I was taking advantage of you, so I specially made a list for you. Take a good look at it, especially that little bearded man who made a fuss at me over a five-hundred-tael map. Look carefully. I only earn a little running-around money and wages. I am not overcharging you.”
After speaking, she returned to the grill, took the tongs from Little Black’s hand, and continued grilling the meat.
The two men, Nan and Mu, awkwardly retreated. They also saw Yu Qing, who had furtively shrunk back upstairs. The two immediately suspected that Old Fifteen had used them as guns…
In the following days, the three martial brothers took turns wandering around the Mirage City, walking around and looking everywhere. For the time being, they took no extra actions, trying to familiarise themselves with the situation and terrain as much as possible. They were no different from those people who came to the Mirage City to wander around and broaden their horizons.
The three of them always kept one person at their lodging place. Leaving someone to watch Little Black was also one of the reasons.
Three days later, when Yu Qing and Mu Aotie had just returned to their residence, they saw Nan Zhu furtively waving at them. Then he took out a letter. “Heizi has replied.”
Yu Qing immediately felt strange. “A reply? If the person is not coming here to meet, not coming here to take his son away, what is he replying for?”
Nan Zhu sighed with a worried frown. “See for yourself.”
Realising something was wrong, Yu Qing hurriedly opened the letter and checked it together with Mu Aotie.
It was indeed Wu Hei’s letter. Wu Hei first expressed anger at the brat’s behaviour, saying he would deal with him when Little Black returned. However, the tone of the letter then changed. He said that since Little Black had already come here, it was not easy to make such a long trip. There was no need to send him back right after he arrived. He might as well let Little Black broaden his horizons in the Mirage City.
He said that it would be bad if he went over now. If he went over, he would have to deal with Little Black. If he dealt with him and then took him around to play, it would defeat the purpose of the lesson.
The key point was that Wu Hei himself was not worried about anything happening to his son. He especially emphasised one point: for Little Black’s safety, he had previously arranged a Youjiao Port identity for him. He told the three of them to simply display Little Black’s Youjiao Port identity, and basically no one would dare to mess with Little Black. Even if they entrusted him to someone else’s care, there would be no problem.
In short, he finally expressed his apologies and asked the three younger brothers to kindly take more trouble and so on.
This letter left the three martial brothers dumbfounded. It was as if they had picked up a burden halfway along the road. They could not throw it away, yet carrying it was a nuisance. The three of them estimated that Wu Hei simply did not have high hopes that they could find the person, and treated them as if they were here to play.
Just as the three martial brothers were muttering and gossiping about Wu Hei behind his back, in a yellow-painted house at the diagonal crossroad facing south, the top-floor window was half-open.
After observing for a while and confirming that the window was indeed open for a long time, Yu Qing immediately jumped off the balcony and left.
Upon landing, he directly ducked into the streets and alleys. Relying on his understanding of the terrain from the past two days, he made his escape nimbly, heading straight for the seaside. Then he dived into the sea and disappeared.
He swam stealthily in the sea for a long distance before reaching that strait again, quietly feeling his way into the cave from the bottom of the water.
Liu Piaopiao had not arrived yet. He was not in a hurry. He sat there and waited slowly.
After about half an hour, he saw Liu Piaopiao emerge. Yu Qing immediately stood up to greet her.
As soon as the two met, Liu Piaopiao did not stand on ceremony and directly got down to business. “Regarding that so-called Sea Maiden, I went to inquire at Qianliu Mountain. It seems no one knows of her existence. Among the various existing accounts, they all say that when they attacked the Undersea Immortal Mansion back then, they only encountered one mountain guardian beast. Several great masters besieged the guardian beast. No one else was seen.”
Yu Qing again recalled the words of that shop assistant from Xingluo Island. He pondered, “Could it be that the person is really still alive? If truly alive, how could such a figure hide for so many years without revealing any trace? It is indeed somewhat inconceivable.”
Liu Piaopiao: “The results may not be true. These are all accounts passed down by word of mouth. Perhaps there are omissions.”
Yu Qing thought slowly and said, “If even those people who did not let go of any clue in the Immortal Mansion and searched and investigated everywhere did not know of the Sea Maiden’s existence, then she must have survived.”
He remembered Wu Hei saying that the strongman said his sister had the ability to protect herself.
And he had asked Liu Piaopiao to investigate just because he was afraid of mistakes, so he would not act blindly. He needed confirmation.
Liu Piaopiao reminded him, “After all, it is something from several thousand years ago. You are so certain. Be careful of mistakes.”
Yu Qing: “That Sea Maiden had the ability to protect herself. If the people who attacked back then had encountered her, the commotion would not have been any less than the siege of the guardian beast. How could she have remained silent and unnoticed in the legends?”
He could be certain that the guardian beast was not the Sea Maiden. He had also heard the legends of the Undersea Immortal Mansion being breached.
Put this way, Liu Piaopiao pondered for a moment. Thinking about it, yes, that was indeed the case. But she still could not help exclaiming, “Can a normal person really live that long? If she has really hidden for so many years, she must not want to show her face. How could you find her just because you want to? Besides, she may not even be in the Mirage City anymore. How will you find her? You cannot publicly shout for her, can you?”
The image of that woman as described by the inn shop assistant appeared again in Yu Qing’s mind. His eyes showed deep thought as he said, “The Mirage City should still be a place she is fond of. I think she should come to find me on her own initiative.”
He did not want to say the specific reason. He directly changed the topic and asked, “How did the investigation on that Hu Youli go?”
Hearing this, Liu Piaopiao smiled. “It should not be someone scheming against you. That fox girl seems to quite like you. About two years ago, she was doing odd jobs at the largest inn in the Mirage City, ‘Langhuan Residence’. She saw a guest speaking disrespectfully in front of a hanging poem. It was your poem. He said you were nothing special and so on, in short, belittling you. This fox girl argued for you and even got into a conflict with the person. Unfortunately, her strength was no match. She was beaten half to death, and on top of that, she was locked up in the ‘Zhenhai Office’ for causing trouble. For getting into a conflict with a guest over such a matter, you can imagine the attitude of ‘Langhuan Residence’. Naturally, they smashed her rice bowl.”
“…” Yu Qing was stunned. He himself could hardly imagine that A Shiheng’s name could have such great charm?
Liu Piaopiao continued, “This fox girl, because she looks somewhat attractive, has also had people wanting to keep her as a mistress multiple times. Yet she would rather earn hard money than accept it. For this, she has also angered people. She refused a toast and was forced to drink a forfeit. She was taught a lesson and beaten. To a certain extent, she is quite backbone. She is not a bad person. There should be no major problem with you staying there. It is just…”
Yu Qing was listening intently. Hearing this, he pressed, “It is just what?”
Liu Piaopiao showed a teasing expression. “Such a delicate and charming little fox spirit, who has admired and been fond of you for so long, once she learns that you are A Shiheng, if she takes the initiative, can you resist? Will you leave a romantic affair of the Tanhua in the Mirage City?”
He thought she was going to say something serious. So it was this. Yu Qing rolled his eyes upon hearing it. “You, a cold and beautiful woman, do you not find it strange to say such things?”
“Alright, let us talk about proper matters.” Liu Piaopiao changed the subject, took out a scroll of paper, and handed it to him.
Yu Qing opened it and found it was a map. The intertwined routes were somewhat confusing. He asked, “This is not a map of the Mirage City, is it?”
Liu Piaopiao: “It is. It is an underground sewage channel map. I thought about it. This meeting place has been used twice already. Using it again is no longer safe. For our next meeting, let us go underground. I have marked the numbers one, two, three, and four on it. For our next meeting, follow the numerical order of the locations. But you still need to be careful and cautious on the way.”
It could be seen that she was very worried about this aspect. Yu Qing understood and nodded. “Alright.”
Liu Piaopiao: “You leave first this time.”
“Sure, I will listen to you.” Yu Qing said in a playful tone. After putting away the map, he dived into the water and left.
He swam in the water for a long time. When he came ashore again, he returned to his lodging via another route.
Seeing Nan and Mu, after briefing them on the situation, he wanted to find Hu Youli to take care of some matters. But she was not there. They said that woman had gone out again with big and small bags of things to hawk on the streets.
Because of this, Yu Qing was silent for a long time. Nan Zhu asked him what was wrong. He did not tell them about Hu Youli being beaten and locked up in prison for him.
This was not something he could easily tell Nan and Mu. Otherwise, it would inevitably become material for teasing in the future.
Afterwards, he took out ink, brush, paper, and inkstone. Using neat and orderly strokes that would not reveal his handwriting, he wrote out a title: “Missing Person Notice!”