On the counter visible at a glance inside the door, the white cat had already woken up and was sitting there, its pair of “bright, big eyes” quietly staring at the three people outside.
The three of them walked in one after another, finding the shop still deserted and lacking any atmosphere of trade.
“Meow.” The white cat let out a soft meow.
Then a head popped up from behind the counter. The old man the three had met before sat up from the recliner at the back. Seeing it was the three of them, he hurriedly stood up and said, “Well, well, three noble guests have arrived.”
Yu Qing leaned against the front of the counter, half sprawling, and asked, “Proprietor, has the message been passed to your master?”
Nan Zhu beside him reached out to pet the cat directly. He stroked his hand backwards from the cat’s back to its head, patted the head with one hand, cupped its chin, and even hooked his fingers around the cat’s neck, teasing the white cat until it turned its head and jumped off the counter to leave.
The hunched old man turned his head to watch it go, and only when his gaze returned to Yu Qing did he say with a bitter smile, “Passed it, passed it.”
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie also fixed their gaze on Nan Zhu, looking at him as if he were a fool.
Hearing this, Yu Qing turned his head back and continued to ask, “What did your master say?”
The hunched old man said, “My master asked me to first confirm whether the pattern on the ring face in your hand is truly exactly the same as our shop’s emblem before deciding whether to see you.” As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from under the counter and placed it on the counter. The pattern on the paper was precisely the shop’s emblem.
Hearing these words, the three martial brothers all felt inexplicably somewhat excited, feeling that they should have found the right person.
Yu Qing glanced at the pattern on the paper, compared it with the pattern on the ring himself first, then took off the ring, pressed it onto the paper, and extended his hand in invitation, saying, “Proprietor, please compare them yourself.”
The hunched old man first cupped his hands in a gesture of apology for the trouble, then took the ring, straightened the pattern on the paper, placed them together, and compared them slowly and carefully. After a good while, he nodded and pushed the ring back across the counter.
Yu Qing picked up the ring, blew on it, slipped it back onto his finger, and asked, “Can we see him now?”
The hunched old man sighed and said, “My master does not easily come out to see people. However, he said that if the pattern on the ring face matches, I should tell you his current address.”
The eyes of the three martial brothers lit up, and Nan Zhu hurriedly asked, “Where is the address?”
The hunched old man looked at Yu Qing to gauge his intention, then slowly revealed, “Zilan Island.”
“Zilan Island?” Yu Qing asked in confusion, “Where is that?”
The hunched old man was somewhat taken aback, seeming a bit surprised, but still explained in detail, “It is an island deep in the Nether Sea. The merfolk of the sea race know the place.”
With these words, that was enough. The three of them understood how to get there.
However, Yu Qing still asked, “Where exactly on the island does your master live, and what does he look like, so that we do not miss him by failing to recognise him when we meet?”
The hunched old man tapped the paper with the emblem and said, “I have not been there either. If my master is willing to show his face and see you, you will naturally be able to see him. With this for identification, you will naturally not miss him. This old man is just a worker in the shop. As for anything more, I neither know clearly, nor can I say anything at random.”
With the conversation reaching this point, there was no need to press the matter. Having the address was enough.
Before parting, Yu Qing asked, “If someone comes to ask you what we were doing here on our two visits, how would you answer?”
The old man said, “Rest assured, noble guests. Even for the sake of our master, I cannot speak at random. Naturally, you pre-ordered goods and have come again to urge the delivery.”
Yu Qing nodded in approval.
There was indeed nothing much to chat about with such an old man, so after being slightly polite, the three martial brothers took their leave.
As soon as the three left, the cat walked out from the back again. With an agile leap, it returned to the counter, accompanying the hunched old man in watching the retreating figures of the three walking away in the alley outside.
Suddenly, the white cat spoke human words, emitting the voice of a cold woman, “That fat man has itchy hands!”
The hunched old man recalled the scene of Nan Zhu reaching out and petting the white cat at random, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
The white cat added, “Prepare to move.”
The hunched old man bowed slightly and said, “Yes.”
The three martial brothers, who had walked to the entrance of the alley, felt their visual discrimination was a bit off. The demonic aura, human aura, and such on the people coming and going on the street seemed somewhat blurry. Knowing the medicinal effect was about to wear off again, they took out the “Blue Enchantress” and smeared a faint light blue on their eyelids. Their visual ability to measure and distinguish was restored, and it was clear at a glance whether those passing by were human or demon.
Unless one truly could not afford it, this stuff would be used continuously when walking in the cultivation world.
Of course, once cultivation reached the Xuan level, one could use magical eyes to distinguish them by casting a spell. However, continuously casting spells and consuming magical power was not a sustainable solution. It was better to use some auxiliary items for convenience and to save trouble.
Nan Zhu looked back at the shop at the end of the alley and asked, “Are we heading to that island right now?”
Yu Qing said, “We know nothing about that master. Gu Qingzhao said she would give us an answer within three days. It would be safer if we could gather a bit more information before going, and take the opportunity to find out about the situation on that island.”
Nan Zhu nodded, “Yes, waiting an extra day does not matter.”
Regarding the situation on Zilan Island, they did not dare to ask around everywhere, as they themselves were worried that someone was watching their every move. They planned to ask Hu Youli for help after returning. In the evening, when Hu Youli returned with Xiao Hei, the three martial brothers asked her, and it turned out Hu Youli did know something about Zilan Island.
The key point was that Zilan Island could not be considered a secret place. Most long-term residents of the Sea Market had heard of it. It was simply an island covered with many purple thatch grasses. Generally, no one was willing to go to that island because the purple thatch grass was a man-eating grass.
Coupled with the fact that a demon with profound cultivation was entrenched on the island, and the personalities of most demons were eccentric and unsociable, few people were willing to go to the island. Those who did go would carefully keep their tails tucked in and try their best to avoid provoking that demon.
It was said that the man-eating grass on the island seemed to have been planted by that very demon.
Hearing this situation, the three martial brothers felt somewhat puzzled. Why would the master of Lingxi Studio live in such a place?
After the last trace of the setting sun’s afterglow disappeared from the sky, the liveliness of Jinghong Hall had just begun.
A noble guest had arrived, but refused to go to the lively place of singing and dancing. Instead, he retreated to a secluded pavilion, admiring the moon while leaning on the railing, gently waving a folding fan in his hand.
The man had red lips and white teeth, and his white clothes were as white as snow. He was a handsome man, but with a devilishly charming aura. It was none other than Long Xingyun, the son of the master of the Chilan Pavilion.
Standing beside him were two attendants. One was Cui You, a trusted subordinate of Qin Jue during his lifetime. After Qin Jue’s death, Cui You had basked in the lingering glory of Qin Jue and latched onto Long Xingyun’s coattails. This was also because Long Xingyun remembered the old friendship with his sworn brother when he was alive.
The other was an elderly silver-haired old man. His silver hair was parted in the middle and fell naturally over his shoulders. Although he was advanced in years, one could still see the handsome and unrestrained charm of his youth. He still looked quite dashing at the moment, except that he had a short-stemmed dry tobacco pipe in his mouth, which was completely out of keeping with his temperament. He puffed out mouthfuls of smoke from time to time, and his fingers holding the pipe stem were long and slender.
The old man was named Yin Shanhe, one of the trusted bodyguards of the master of the Chilan Pavilion.
He was able to appear here because Long Xingyun had been somewhat disobedient previously. He had actually dared to barge blindly into the Little Cloud Realm and even run off to cause trouble at Youjiao Wharf. Therefore, for this trip, the master of the Chilan Pavilion had sent a trusted confidant to accompany him. To put it bluntly, he had sent someone who could keep his son in check to avoid causing any big trouble.
The hurrying figure of Gu Qingzhao also came from not far away, rushing over urgently upon hearing the news. As soon as she entered the pavilion, she exclaimed in surprise, “Well, what wind blows the young pavilion master here? You have not visited Jinghong Hall for a long time.”
Walking up to them, she even squatted halfway to pay her respects, while her gaze simultaneously glanced at Cui You and Yin Shanhe beside her.
Long Xingyun gave a faint smile, closed the folding fan in his hand, and actually reached out directly to tilt Gu Qingzhao’s chin to help her up, saying teasingly, “It has been a long time. Has the proprietress missed me?”
Gu Qingzhao, as she stood up, smiled and said, “How could I not miss such a noble guest as the young pavilion master?”
Long Xingyun moved the folding fan in his hand downwards and flicked it towards her full bosom, asking, “Where do you miss me?”
Gu Qingzhao unobtrusively blocked it with her round fan and brushed aside the tease, asking, “Why has the young pavilion master run to this quiet place to hide today?”
Long Xingyun did not beat around the bush with her either. Clasping his hands behind his back, he said, “Where is Qing Ya? Tell him to come and see me.”
Gu Qingzhao immediately said, “Oh, what bad luck. Master Qing is out on business and cannot come. There is no way he can keep you company. He is just a man who knows nothing about romance. What is so good about him? I have plenty of good girls here to keep you company.”
Long Xingyun’s face instantly darkened. “If I can come here to look for him, could I not know where he is? Do you think I am talking nonsense with you? I will say it one last time. Have him come and see me immediately.”
“This…” Gu Qingzhao was made somewhat embarrassed and could only explain, “To tell the truth, young pavilion master, he is injured and really should not show his face or walk around.”
Long Xingyun asked, “He is not dead yet, is he?”
Gu Qingzhao was speechless. Looking as if she did not dare to defy him immediately, she asked him to wait a moment and hurriedly left.
When she returned, there was one more person beside her. It was exactly Qing Ya, walking on one foot, the kind that floated by touching the ground.
Upon entering the pavilion, Qing Ya hurriedly cupped his hands and said enthusiastically, “I did not know the young pavilion master was visiting. I failed to welcome you from afar, I failed to welcome you from afar.”
Long Xingyun looked at his bandaged leg and asked in surprise, “What happened? You could not have just fallen, could you? Did someone break your leg?”
Qing Ya gave a bitter smile and said, “It is a long story. Better not to talk about it. Let us talk about your affairs instead. I wonder what instructions the young pavilion master has for this visit?”
Long Xingyun was not one to beat around the bush either. He asked, “I heard you have been getting quite close to that Tanhua scholar recently?”
“Shi Heng?”
“Who else could it be?”
“I have contacted him a few times. Could it be that my association with him has displeased the young pavilion master?”
“Who you associate with is your freedom. I cannot manage that. I just want to ask one question. Are you two on very good terms?”
“It cannot be called a good relationship. I just dealt with him perfunctorily. Is there a problem?”
“Help me with a small favour.”
“Please just say it.”
“I will point out a place. You help me invite him out. You do not need to worry about anything else.”
Qing Ya was instantly speechless. How could he not know what the other party wanted to do? He just found that people with such family background were truly direct enough, or rather, they did not really put Qing Ya in their eyes and just ordered him around directly.
Since that was the case, he was direct as well. “The matter between you and him at Youjiao Wharf caused quite a stir, and I have heard a little about it. I can guess more or less what the young pavilion master wants to do. I really cannot participate in this matter. Please forgive Qing for being unable to help.”