For a shop to last a thousand years, Gu Qingzhao naturally understood how difficult that was in the Mirage City. The long years brought more than just the impermanence of worldly affairs. Things changing and people being gone was the norm for the shops in the Mirage City. Shops changed hands and shifted around. Very few could go three hundred years without changing owners, let alone a thousand years.
Those few so called were mostly prominent families or true inheriting great sects with deep roots that were well known in the cultivation world.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingzhao naturally asked, “Is this Lingxi Studio a shop passed down from a prominent family or a great sect?”
Qingya shook his head, “Probably not. If it were, with a famous name, title, and lineage, would Gou Tanhua still need to ask me for help to investigate?”
Gu Qingzhao found this quite curious, “Without some kind of lineage behind it, how could an inconspicuous shop last this long?”
Qingya said, “I am not clear on the situation either. How did Gou Tanhua just happen to investigate this shop?”
Gu Qingzhao grew even more surprised, “Even you do not know the situation? How is that possible? If you thought this shop was suspicious, could you hold back until now without investigating its background?”
Qingya slowly put the shelled peanuts in his mouth, chewing with a fixed set of teeth on one side, and lay back down, “My godmother told me not to touch it.”
“Godmother? Told you not to touch it? What does that mean?”
“In my early years, when I first established myself and took on responsibilities, my godmother was afraid I would blindly offend certain people, so she gave me some instructions. Among them were some old shops that had lasted for a long time. My godmother reminded me that those shops could last a thousand years because there must be a reason behind it. They were not to be provoked by me. If I caused trouble, even my godmother might not be able to protect me.
Among the shops my godmother listed was this Lingxi Studio.
Although I dared not touch it, I could not help being curious. I secretly observed Lingxi Studio, and even watched it in secret for a long time. However, I did not see anything unusual. I only found that although Lingxi Studio seemed to be in a remote location with cold business, its trade was actually quite good. It mostly dealt with old customers accumulated bit by bit over the years through reputation. Many were even regular delivery businesses where the buyers were unseen, but the flow of goods was clear.
After observing, I actually had the same doubts as Gou Tanhua back then. I only knew there was another owner behind Lingxi Studio, but I did not know who the owner actually was. No one in the neighbourhood had seen them either. The owner behind it was very mysterious. I also wanted to know who it was, but since my godmother had given instructions beforehand, I did not dare to investigate further.”
Gu Qingzhao frowned, “I see. I wonder why Gou Tanhua has set his sights on that mysterious owner?”
“God knows what he wants to do. In short, the trouble he causes is often unpredictable, and nothing good ever comes when he comes knocking.”
“Then what should we do? Are you going to investigate or not? How should I explain it to him? We agreed to give him an answer within three days.”
Qingya slowly swallowed what was in his mouth. He fell silent and hesitated. His instinct was to refuse, afraid of being implicated by Yu Qing again. But at the same time, he was curious. He wanted to know what Yu Qing was up to, and he also wanted to know the background of Lingxi Studio.
After thinking for a while, he said slowly, “Since this was instructed by my godmother, let us ask for her opinion.”
Looking at his broken leg, he said, “I have trouble walking. You go make the trip.”
Gu Qingzhao looked back at the sky outside, nodded, and got up.
She left as soon as she said she would. She went downstairs and directly had someone prepare an inconspicuous carriage. She got into the carriage and quietly left Jinghong Hall.
The stars and moon shifted. About two hours later, the carriage returned. The curtain was lifted, and Gu Qingzhao got out of the carriage. Hearing the faint sounds of singing and dancing that had not yet ended, she walked through the winding corridors and went up to the pavilion to meet Qingya again.
Qingya, who was shelling peanuts, looked up and asked, “How did it go?”
Next to his recliner, a pile of peanut shells had fallen. Who knew how many peanuts he ate all day long.
Gu Qingzhao sat next to him and shook her head, “My godmother said that if she told you not to touch something, do not touch it. Do not think too much about what you should not know. Leave yourself some room to manoeuvre.”
Qingya sighed lightly upon hearing this. He was somewhat disappointed. He was very curious about what was going on with Lingxi Studio. He thought he could use Gou Tanhua as an excuse to investigate, but unexpectedly, it was still rejected. He could only nod slightly and say, “Understood. Then you can only reply to Gou Tanhua like this. I am just afraid that fellow will not be happy about it. I hope he will not come looking for trouble when he does not get the answer he wants.”
Gu Qingzhao said, “He probably will not.”
Qingya scoffed, “I have only met him a few times, and he acts like he is very close to me. With his nature, do you think he will be polite? He probably thinks he is the most talented scholar in the world and that associating with me is giving me face. Damn it, what a piece of work!”
Gu Qingzhao said, “I was worried about that too. My godmother said not to worry. She said he will not have time to care about it this time. She said he will go to the depths of the Nether Sea soon, and said it is a good time for you to make your move.”
Qingya was surprised, “My godmother even knows where he is going?”
Gu Qingzhao shrugged slightly, “What is so strange about that? Since my godmother said so, it should not be wrong.”
Qingya nodded silently in agreement, then asked, “Have me make the move in the Nether Sea?”
Gu Qingzhao said, “You have forgotten my godmother’s instructions again. If she wanted you to do it personally, would we have waited until now? It is the same as before. Did you not say the young master of Chilan Pavilion is arriving soon? Since you could instigate him to come to the Mirage City, it should not be hard to instigate him to come to Jinghong Hall to find you.”
“Luring him here is simple enough. Does my godmother mean to have that young master make the move in the depths of the Nether Sea?”
“That is the idea. Once in the depths of the Nether Sea, that young master can act without restraint. Here, he has to hold back a bit. He cannot completely ignore the rules of Qianliu Mountain and the Mirage City.”
“I am afraid that will not be easy. You have seen the relationship between Gou Tanhua and the Nether Temple. With the connection to the Nether Temple, there is naturally a connection to the Sea Clan. With the support of the Sea Clan, it is almost impossible to beat Gou Tanhua in the Nether Sea. I am afraid if I go, I will not be able to walk out of the Nether Sea. I estimate Long Xingyun would not dare to take this risk either.”
“So you must take him to the Nether Temple first, and win the support of the Nether Temple first.”
Qingya was immediately shocked, “Win the support of the Nether Temple? How is that possible? I have knocked on the door of the Nether Temple before. I could not even get through the front gate, let alone persuade the Nether Temple to support us in going after Gou Tanhua.”
“That is why you need to take that young master with you. Once he goes, you will naturally be able to enter, and you will naturally be able to persuade the Nether Temple.”
“That is impossible, right? Chilan Pavilion has some reputation over at Qianliu Mountain, but I am afraid the Nether Temple will not take it seriously. It is not just ‘might not’, it is definitely not. In the eyes of the Nether Temple, what is Long Xingyun? The Nether Temple has no need to give Long Xingyun face.”
Gu Qingzhao sighed, “I also find it strange and think it is impossible. But since my godmother said it will work, there must be no problem. Since my godmother said so, whether it works or not, you have to grit your teeth and try.”
Qingya frowned, and in the end, could only nod silently.
When the sky was just beginning to brighten, a soft white light suddenly bloomed from the window at the very top of the Bone Pagoda in the Nether Temple. The light was not strong, nor did it shine far. It pulsed gently.
Changkong, who had risen early, was cleansing himself and preparing for morning prayers. Suddenly seeing the anomaly at the top of the pagoda, his expression turned solemn, and he muttered, “Buddha light!”
He immediately threw down the towel in his hand and walked quickly to the outside of the main hall.
Just as he was about to go in and report, the gentle voice of his master came from inside, “I know.”
The next moment, the Nether monk, rolling prayer beads in his hand, walked barefoot out of the pitch dark hall. He walked to the eaves, looked up at the soft light on the Bone Pagoda, made a gesture of pressing his palms together in respect, and then stepped down the stairs, walking slowly all the way.
At this time, Baiyun also ran over from the back courtyard. Seeing this, he also stepped aside at the bottom of the stairs. Standing side by side with Changkong, he pressed his palms together in respect and muttered prayers facing the Bone Pagoda. He did not follow his master over.
At the same time, two figures in pure white monk robes walked out of the main hall. They were exactly those two old monks with long white beards who seemed to have been sitting in meditation all the time. The two old monks also stood under the eaves, facing the Bone Pagoda with their palms pressed together in respect. They muttered prayers, both looking extremely pious.
The Nether monk stepped into the pagoda and walked up the bone stairs inside. He went up step by step. As he passed the windows, he saw the brilliant lights of the Mirage City, or the stars outside the window flickering in and out of view, or the fish belly white of the dawn sky, winding his way up.
When he reached the stairs near the top of the pagoda, his figure, draped in a black and gold checkered kasaya, was already enveloped by the pure soft light seeping down from above. When he reached the very top floor, even his back was wrapped in the pure soft light.
He did not stop, but walked towards the centre of the brightest pure soft light. In the most intense part of the soft white light at the centre, there was vaguely a condensed human figure made of soft light. He could not see its form at all, let alone its face.
The Nether monk walked up to the human figure of light, slowly knelt on the ground, and with piety, pressed his palms together and kowtowed in worship.
The three martial brothers rested and recuperated for a whole day after their injuries. The sun was shining brightly outside. The three brothers could not stay inside anymore. They bounded downstairs and headed towards the North Market.
As for Xiao Hei, the three of them could not be bothered to look after him. Anyway, whenever they looked after a child, all they knew how to do was force the child to practise calligraphy. Xiao Hei naturally did not like being with them either, so they simply let Hu Youli take him to the streets and alleys to do business.
Without the burden, they felt relaxed. At this moment, the three of them were strolling on the streets. Regardless of whether they had money or not, and regardless of what they had encountered or done before, the three of them were in a good mood now. At the very least, their bodies and minds were relatively relaxed.
Although they did not find Qingya that night, they did get some of the answers they wanted from Gu Qingzhao. The Nether Temple had made a move, which cleared them of any involvement. The death of Wang Xuetang and the debt of the Earth Mother could not be counted against them. It was one hundred percent killed by Tu Xiukui, the elder of Zheluo Mountain.
Because people from the Sinan Prefecture participated in the interrogation, the evidence was conclusive.
As for why, Gu Qingzhao did not explain it thoroughly. She only vaguely hinted at the matter of the Great Sage forcing the disciple of the Earth Mother to death. The three martial brothers immediately understood and realised why Tu Xiukui was identified as the killer so quickly.
So at this moment, the three martial brothers could be said to be relaxing and shopping in the Mirage City.
Looking at the various prosperities on the streets, Nanzhu suddenly sighed with a special feeling, “It is so good not to have a guilty conscience!”
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie could not help but roll their eyes at him. The former said, “Can you stop talking nonsense?”
Mu Aotie also added, “We never do anything to feel guilty about.”
Nanzhu quickly looked around in all directions, gave a dry laugh, and said, “Rest assured, no one will hear this. Even if they do, they will not understand it.”
Walking and strolling, they arrived at the North Market again, and then at the area around the Old Well Pit. Familiar with the way, they entered the alley, and the three of them arrived at the front door of Lingxi Studio once more.