Old Well Pit was actually a few pits dug in various locations when Sea City first opened as a port, with the purpose of excavating drinking water sources. It turned out there was simply no water source in this area, so several useless deep water pits were left behind. Now they have almost all become large pools.
The Old Well Pit in North Market has now become a central landmark of North Market. With such a bustling location, and given the density of construction in Sea City, the space naturally would not be wasted. Even if it was a large water pit, someone had it built into a splendid waterside pavilion. At night, colourful lights reflected in the water, making it quite a sight to behold.
“Where is there any Lingxi Studio…”
Having walked around the streets surrounding the large pool almost once, he still had not seen the target shop he was looking for. Nan Zhu could not help muttering doubtfully.
Yet just as he finished speaking, Mu Aotie suddenly spoke, “Look.”
He stopped at an alley entrance, pointing at a sign hanging at the corner of a shop wall beside him. It was a string of lanterns, each with one character on it. Together they formed the three characters “Lingxi Studio”. The bottommost lantern had a painting of a swimming fish emblem.
The shops on either side of the alley entrance each had their own signs, while the “Lingxi Studio” lanterns at the wall corner were almost facing the alley entrance. The three of them directed their gazes straight into the depths of the alley, where they indeed saw a shop front at the end. The sign on it was also “Lingxi Studio”.
The three exchanged glances, a taste of unexpected joy, and with anticipation for the gains of this trip, they all walked in.
Walking in the dimly lit alley, a few rats scurrying past their feet were like ghosts.
Before they had walked a few steps, Nan Zhu could not help muttering, “Good heavens, this shop is hidden inside here. Even someone searching around would not easily find it. Can ordinary passing customers even see it? Can this business survive?”
Though he said this, in reality, shops squeezed into every available space in Sea City were quite common.
The alley was not very deep. The shop door of Lingxi Studio was almost as wide as the alley itself.
The three stopped at the doorway and looked at the sign above the door. Yu Qing once again raised the ring on his hand and compared it with the emblem on the sign, confirming they were the same. Just as he was about to step inside, he suddenly paused, and stared at the sign again.
Nan Zhu called out, “Come, let us go in and look.”
Yu Qing, however, reached out and tugged his sleeve, asking in a low voice, “Are you sure the news you inquired about that day said this shop had only been open a few days?”
“Yes, what is the problem?” Nan Zhu was puzzled, and followed Yu Qing’s train of thought to look at the sign again. He also froze.
Staring at the sign, Mu Aotie said, “This shop should have been open for no short time. At least, this sign was written no short time ago.”
Without his explanation, Nan Zhu could see it himself. This sign had traces of age. Some places were already slightly mottled. At a glance, it was unlikely to be a newly hung sign. He could not help but hesitate, “I should not have remembered wrongly, right?”
“Let us see.” Yu Qing said, already stepping in first.
The interior lighting was not very good either. The first impression upon entering was that everything looked rather hazy.
The small space facing the door only had a counter, with a wall behind it. On the wall shelves were rows of jars of different sizes and colours, appearing quite messy.
A snow-white cat was curled up on the counter. Sensing someone enter, it only opened its eyes to look, then continued sleeping soundly.
The three looked behind the counter and found no one, just an empty chair.
At that moment, a hoarse old man’s voice abruptly emerged, “What would the three honoured guests like to buy?”
The three brothers looked up in unison, almost startled. They saw a head perched on the wall directly above the door. A gloomy old man’s head. The smile on his face, whether due to the lighting or not, gave people a strange feeling.
A head growing out of the wall? After staring in shock for a moment, Yu Qing’s Adam’s apple moved before he replied, “Let us look around first.”
“Honoured guests, please come inside.” The old man dropped his words, and his head also withdrew from above the wall.
After exchanging glances, the three went around the counter, around that wall, around the cramped space at the front door. The space before them suddenly opened up. In the dim light, rows of shelves and large jars were arranged.
For the moment, the three had no interest in observing the environment here. They all turned back to look at the place where the thumping footsteps were coming down. They saw a hunched old man with greying hair, smiling so much that his face was full of wrinkles. He was holding a lantern and walking down the stairs. In the lamplight, it was the same old face they had seen before.
Only now did the three understand what was going on with the head growing out of the wall. It turned out that behind the wall was a staircase. The person had simply stretched his head over the wall while standing on the stairs. A false alarm. They had thought it was some kind of magical technique.
Apart from the old man’s footsteps coming down the stairs, it was very quiet here. A wall seemed to have shut out all the noise from the outside world.
“If the honoured guests want to look at goods, I will light all the lamps.”
The old man who had reached the downstairs called out, then hung the lantern in his hand beside the stairs.
Lights came on from the side as well. The three brothers turned to look, and saw a tall, thin, one-eyed man holding a fire starter, lighting the extinguished oil lamps in the indoor space one by one.
Before long, the brightly lit lamps everywhere dispelled the gloomy atmosphere inside, and the old man’s complexion also appeared much more normal.
“Various pill furnaces, various materials needed for pill refining, this shop mostly has them all. Even if this shop does not have them, as long as the honoured guests are not in a hurry, we can also help make contact.”
The hunched old man introduced in a hoarse voice, extending his hand to gesture an invitation.
The three brothers followed him into the rows of shelves, where jars and pots were labelled with various tags, such as cinnabar, meat lingzhi, water cassia, earth-stored red, ten-zhang green, and so on. There were too many names to see and remember.
The three brothers were not interested in these to begin with. They were observing other aspects.
After walking to the end of a row of shelves, Yu Qing asked in a seemingly casual manner, “Shopkeeper, looking at the traces of some ornaments in your shop, it should not be newly opened, right?”
The hunched old man chuckled, “Naturally not. Anyone can see that.”
The three brothers exchanged glances. Yu Qing said again, “That does not seem right. A few days ago I saw your shop’s advertising banner on the street and specifically went to ask. Why did the hired banner carrier say this ‘Lingxi Studio’ was newly opened? Could that advertising banner not have been sent out by your shop?”
The hunched old man nodded as he walked, “We did indeed hire some people to carry banners and solicit customers a few days ago. That should not be wrong. As for why it was said to be newly opened, it was probably because the people who took the job did not explain clearly to their companions. It would not be strange to mistakenly think it was newly opened. After all, most places that dispatch that kind of work are newly opened shops.”
Hearing him say this, the three brothers looked at each other in doubt. But it could not be denied that there was indeed the possibility he had described. They had no power here and could not find the banner carriers of that day to verify again.
Nan Zhu, walking slowly in the middle of the shelves, could not help but ask, “Shopkeeper, then how many years has your ‘Lingxi Studio’ been open?”
The hunched old man shook his head, “To be honest, this old man does not know how many years this shop has been open. I am afraid only the proprietor knows. In any case, it is certainly older than this old man.”
So there was another proprietor behind this shop? Yu Qing subconsciously looked around.
Nan Zhu was surprised, “You are the shopkeeper, yet you do not know how long this shop has been open? Looking at your appearance, you have worked in the shop for quite a few years too. Over all these years, could you resist asking the proprietor?”
The hunched old man chuckled, “I naturally asked. The proprietor was vague about it. We are people who work for others, so it is not good to press too hard.”
Nan Zhu, “Is your proprietor present?”
The hunched old man, “The proprietor is a broad-minded person. He rarely shows his face in the shop.”
Nan Zhu, “May I ask what your proprietor’s surname is, whether he is male or female, and where he lives?”
At these words, the hunched old man stopped. He turned to size up the three brothers, “I say, gentlemen, looking at your appearance, you do not seem to have come to buy things. The proprietor’s affairs are not easy for this old man to speak of, because the proprietor specially instructed so. In any case, this old man can make decisions on all matters in this shop. If you have anything, just discuss it with this old man.”
From the tone of his words, one could sense that this proprietor was a mysterious person. But it was precisely because of this mystery that the three brothers’ hearts were full of anticipation, suspecting that it was very likely that Lady Li.
Yu Qing fell silent for a moment, then raised his hand in front of him, revealing the ring on his hand for the other to see, “Shopkeeper, take a look. Does it look familiar?”
The hunched old man was puzzled, but still leaned in to look. After examining closely, he let out an “eh”, and continued to observe carefully.
Yu Qing was overjoyed, and immediately asked, “Have you seen the same ring before?”
“There are more of these rings?” The hunched old man looked completely puzzled, leaving Yu Qing looking rather forlorn. Then he pointed in the direction of the door, “However, the pattern on this ring looks exactly the same as our shop’s emblem.”
Yu Qing changed his gesture, clasping his fists together and bowing in earnest request, “Shopkeeper, could you be accommodating and inform your proprietor, doing me a favour to meet and talk with me?”
The old man shook his head and waved his hand, “No, no. The proprietor said, no matter how big the business, do not disturb him. He gave a strict order beforehand. Nothing will work. I see you do not look like you have come to do business, but rather like you have come to pry into someone’s privacy. I am sorry, but this shop will receive you no longer. Please leave.”
Yu Qing had to change his approach, “How about this. Whether or not to see me, let your proprietor decide for himself. The shopkeeper only needs to tell your proprietor that the pattern on my ring is the same as your shop’s emblem. I will leave an address here and await good news. How about that?”
The old man waved his hand with an impatient look, and shooed them away, “No, no. Go, go. If you do not leave, I will have to call the Sea Guard Bureau people to invite you to leave.”
Seeing this, Yu Qing’s expression immediately changed, “Shopkeeper, do you know Qing Ya?”
The hunched old man was stunned, and asked in return, “Are you sent by Master Qing?”
Yu Qing, “Qing Ya is my brother. I advise you not to refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. I will ask you one thing. Do you still want this shop to remain open?”
The hunched old man clearly showed some fear. He sighed, “This old man has said, the proprietor is a broad-minded person. Even if Master Qing came and smashed this shop, the proprietor would not show his face because of it.”
Yu Qing, “What I just said, is it not acceptable even for me to leave an address and have you pass a message to your proprietor?”
He believed that as long as the person behind this shop was related to Lady Li, they would certainly contact him after learning this news.
The old man thought for a moment, and finally sighed, “Very well. But whether the proprietor will respond to you, this old man cannot guarantee.”
Yu Qing could not be bothered to talk further, “Lend me paper and a brush.”
Thus, the group returned to the front counter and laid out paper and brush. Yu Qing picked up the brush and left Hu Youli’s address, and added a line below: Searching for younger sister Li Niang.
After that, this matter was temporarily concluded for the time being.
After the three brothers left the shop, they went around to the surrounding shops to inquire about the situation of this “Lingxi Studio”. The result was indeed as the hunched old man had said before. Even the neighbours on the street had never seen that proprietor. He was indeed mysterious enough.
Walking in the street, Nan Zhu was somewhat worried, “That proprietor is so mysterious to this extent. Are you sure that passing a message will allow you to meet him?”
Yu Qing, “That proprietor is not easy to meet. Qing Ya should be easy to meet, right?”
“Qing Ya?” Nan Zhu was puzzled, “What do you mean?”
Yu Qing, “Qing Ya is well-informed and has wild connections. Having him help us investigate the background of this proprietor should be no problem. If we do not see anyone after a few days, we will go and visit him ourselves. Come, let us go find Qing Ya.”
He also had no other way. That proprietor was so mysterious that he was forced to exhaust all means to investigate. Liu Piaopiao’s side was really not very convenient. In this Sea City, he could only go and find Qing Ya.