Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 567 Helping to Pursue Women

"One hundred! There are so many! They're all stock, they must all be the stock left behind by that person, there's no mistake, there's no mistake..."

Grandma Qi was inside the cage, leaning on her cane and pacing around, muttering to herself, a hint of excitement in her expression.

Yin Fei, who was outside the cage, was full of speculation and doubt after witnessing this. He had just brought back a message from the contact point given to him by the other party, saying that he had obtained the materials, a full one hundred fish, and asked if he was sure he wanted to cook them all.

Seeing Grandma Qi's expression and reaction, he realized that the so-called "fish" was definitely not simple.

After trying to calm herself down, Grandma Qi went to the prison bars and whispered affirmatively, "Tell them to make as much material as they have."

“Okay,” Yin Fei replied.

At the North Mountain Central Hub, Jiang You'er quickly went up to the second floor, walked to the window behind Huang Ye who was standing with his hands behind his back, and bowed to greet him, "My lord."

Huang Ye slowly said, "Give the instructions. We will temporarily stop dealing with Shi Chun's matter and only observe. No one is allowed to take action without permission."

Jiang You'er asked in surprise, "Stop? Is that what the higher-ups mean?"

"Sigh." Huang Ye sighed, "That person fell into a trap, was seriously injured by Fu Que, and his identity was exposed. The higher-ups are worried that it has alerted the relevant authorities and that Zhang Hao is waiting for us. After careful consideration, they have decided to withdraw and observe from the sidelines."

Since it was a decision from above, we could only comply. However, Jiang You'er still felt quite regretful and said, "It might be that they could uncover Situ Gu's secret. It would be a pity to give up like this."

Huang Ye: "The higher-ups have their reasons, we just need to follow them."

"Yes," Jiang You'er replied.

The vast grassland scenery at the foot of the sacred mountain in Yaoshan City made Li Hongjiu, who was new to the city, feel quite refreshed and happy for a while.

Standing on the undulating waves of grass, watching the green waves like the sea, people rise and fall with the wind, and the heart is as vast as the boundless world. How can one do without wine?

He immediately took out the wine flask and took two sips.

It would have been better not to drink this wine at all; once I started, it immediately disrupted my mind and brought me back to reality. The reason was simple: after drinking the two jars of fine wine that Shi Chun had given me, this wine just didn't taste right. I hadn't gotten used to it yet, and knowing that it would be available soon, I was unwilling to settle for it.

He lost interest in sightseeing and looked towards the distant Yaoshan City. He felt that seeing Shi Chun was the most important thing. No matter how despicable that scoundrel was, surely he wasn't lying about having good wine on hand?

Based on the fact that the other party claimed to have plenty of fine wine, he felt that the trip was worthwhile, provided it was true.

He immediately flew away.

Before long, the person arrived outside the west gate.

Looking around, he followed Shi Chun's instructions and entered the city through the west gate, eventually arriving at a crossroads where a very obvious sign stood, where he waited.

Soon, a man walked up to him. He looked somewhat familiar. After staring at him for a while, the man smiled and asked, "Are you Mr. Li? I am Xiao Sheng. Do you remember me?"

Both sides disguised themselves slightly, concealing their original appearances.

Li Hongjiu recognized Xiao Sheng, having spent some time together. After recognizing him, she said "Oh" and asked directly, "Where's Shi Chun?"

Xiao Sheng gestured and said, "The boss is busy and asked me to show Mr. Li the way."

He knew very well that the current leader wouldn't easily show himself unless he secretly observed Li Hongjiu carefully from all sides.

Li Hongjiu glanced at the bustling surroundings, but didn't say much. She nodded slightly and followed him.

The further he walked, the more uneasy he felt. Finally, after leaving the city through another gate and finding himself amidst a vast grassland, he had no choice but to stop and ask, "Where are you taking me?"

He also took out the mother-child talisman and contacted Shi Chun to ask what it meant.
Shi Chun told him simply and directly that he had offended too many people and had to be careful. He told him to just follow along and that nothing would happen.

Li Hongjiu found this news amusing. So that bitch knew she had offended many people. Was it worth putting herself in such a predicament just to get ahead?
"Your boss isn't hiding nearby, is he?" Li Hongjiu teased, looking around with a playful expression.

Hitting the nail on the head, Xiao Sheng smiled without answering, took out his Wind Scales and used them to sweep the other person into the air and fly away.

The vast grassland stretched as far as the eye could see. After circling around a few times, Xiao Sheng led his men straight towards Dazhi City.

The vast expanse of lush greenery on the ground suddenly seemed to have been stripped bare, leaving behind a desolate and ugly landscape of ash and dust. As a cultivator, one could immediately tell that it was a remnant of a great battle.

Once you get here, you won't be far from Dazhi City.

Before long, the two landed outside Dazhi City.

Li Hongjiu glanced at the names on the city wall and asked, "Is the person here?"

Xiao Sheng said, "The chief said that Mr. Li would definitely think that he called you here with ill intentions, and that Mr. Li would also be very curious as to why we should meet here. The chief also said that Mr. Li is a smart man, and he may not believe what we say. Rather than meeting with misunderstandings, it would be better for Mr. Li to find out what the chief has been doing here before meeting."

Li Hongjiu frowned slightly, and was about to speak when Xiao Sheng added, "The boss used the alias 'Wang Ping' and lived in seclusion here for a year or two."

Li Hongjiu was taken aback. That bitch had been here for a year or two?

Having stayed here under an alias for so long, he was also curious about what Shi Chun had actually done here.

With Xiao Sheng extending his hand to guide her, Li Hongjiu, filled with curiosity, followed him into the city.

At this moment, Xiao Sheng also transformed into a guide, explaining the general layout of the city to him along the way.

As they passed the entrance of "Chaoyue Pavilion," Xiao Sheng whispered, "The Boss used to work odd jobs at this guy's library for over a year."

Working odd jobs in the library? Li Hongjiu was taken aback. Why go to all this trouble?

Next, Li Hongjiu was to ask around to see if that was the case, lest someone say that everything had been arranged beforehand. They couldn't possibly have arranged everything for the entire city in advance, could they? Actually, the people around didn't know much about Wang Ping, a menial worker, and as they chatted, the conversation naturally drifted to the series of recent events at the library.

Afterwards, Xiao Sheng took him to the entrance of "Xunbaozhai" and told him that the shop was secretly opened by Shi Chun.

Out of curiosity, Li Hongjiu then inquired about the story of the "Death-Repelling Incense" that Xunbaozhai had previously created.

Then they arrived at the "Bai's Rice Shop," whose doors were still tightly closed. Xiao Sheng then told Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, who were using aliases, that they were still considered employees of the rice shop.

"Huh?" Li Hongjiu asked in surprise, "Wu Jinliang is here too?"

He was certainly familiar with Wu Jinliang. If he hadn't been seriously injured by that bastard's "backhand grab," how could he have fallen into Shi Chun's hands and caused all that trouble?

Xiao Sheng said in a low voice, "They're here. They were tending horses and doing odd jobs at the horse farm outside the city. Then, some experts clashed outside, and the horse farm was instantly reduced to ashes and gone."

Working odd jobs at the horse farm? Li Hongjiu was secretly surprised and suspicious. What were those two bastards doing, spending so much time and holding back their patience?
He had a vague feeling that a huge pit was waiting for him to fall into.

Of course, now that he was allowed to verify it personally, he naturally had to inquire about the situation of Bai's Rice Shop in the surrounding area.

The specifics are unclear, because outsiders are also unaware of the truth. They only see the surface changes and don't know the inside story, but at least it lets him know that the events at the bookstore, the rice shop, and the treasure hunt shop are related, and that they are connected to Shi Chun and his gang.

He became increasingly curious about what that bitch was plotting here.

Whatever he was planning, he was already on guard. He was okay with drinking, but he wouldn't agree to anything else and would never fall into the trap.

With their own ulterior motives, the two continued walking through the streets and alleys. When they passed through a quiet and secluded alley, Li Hongjiu suddenly stopped, her nostrils flared, and she turned her head to look at the courtyard gate next to her, where she vaguely smelled a familiar aroma of wine.

He turned to look at Xiao Sheng, who was accompanying him.

“The boss is right, Mr. Li’s sense of smell is not wrong.” Xiao Sheng smiled and walked to the door, opened the courtyard gate, and gestured for him to enter. “The boss has been waiting here for a long time.”

Li Hongjiu was taken aback, and with a hint of wariness, he slowly walked up the steps and crossed the threshold. There, at the entrance of the main hall at the other end of the courtyard, a familiar face appeared and waved to him. "Brother Jiu, come quickly, good wine and good food are ready."

Who else could it be but Shi Chun?

Li Hongjiu chuckled coldly and strode away. After a few steps, she looked back and saw that Xiao Sheng had already closed the door with both hands, shutting herself out and clearly giving the people inside space to talk privately.

As Shi Chun ran down the steps, he wanted to hug him. "Brother Jiu, I'm so glad to see you! I've missed you so much!"

Li Hongjiu shoved away the person who was crowding around her, "Hey, that's enough, there's no one else here, stop pretending."

He went straight for the aroma of wine in the hall. Upon entering, he saw a table of exquisite dishes and a familiar wine jar. He didn't sit down immediately but instead circled the table a few times, taking in his surroundings.

While circling around, he asked, "You went to great lengths to trick me into coming here, so tell me, how do you plan to use me?"

"Oh my, my dear brother, how did I lie to you? If you can point out even one thing I lied to you about, I'll immediately commit suicide to atone for my sins!" Shi Chun said, grabbing a jar of wine in each hand and slamming it onto the table. "Is there no such thing as an unlimited supply of fine wine?"

Upon seeing two more jars of fine wine, Li Hongjiu raised an eyebrow slightly, her micro-expression softening considerably. She realized that, as she had expected, the promise of an ample supply of fine wine was indeed true.

Shi Chun remained enthusiastic. Seeing that the man was taking his time to sit down, he personally went over and pulled him to the seat of honor. Then he poured him wine and sat with him.

Li Hongjiu chuckled, "You brought me here just to buy me drinks? Do you think I believe that? If you don't explain yourself clearly, I'd rather not drink this. I'm afraid I'll ruin my stomach."

Shi Chun, who had raised his glass to toast, had no choice but to put it down and sighed, "Brother Jiu has a discerning eye. He doesn't lie to people in front of him. But the truth is, I just want to flatter you. You know I have no backing. I finally managed to get on your good side, so of course I'll think of you first when there are benefits."

Li Hongjiu glanced at him sideways and said, "Speak like a human being."

"See, why don't you believe me?" Shi Chun looked helpless, then sighed and said, "Fine, let me put it another way. I've taken a fancy to a woman and want to win her over, but I'm just a little short of the mark. I need your help, Brother Jiu."

"Chasing women?" Li Hongjiu was taken aback. He looked the other man up and down, unable to think of any way he could help in this regard. If the other man could help, there were plenty of people in the world who could, so there was no need for him to be indispensable. He immediately expressed his doubts, "What Chaoyue Pavilion, Xunbaozhai, and rice shop? They've been hiding for so long, making a lot of noise, just to chase women. Do you think I can believe that?"

Shi Chunli said, "This woman is currently working odd jobs at Chaoyue Pavilion. Her background is not simple. She has a close cousin who is the Empress's confidant. As long as we get on good terms with this woman, many things will be easier to handle."

Li Hongjiu sneered after hearing this, "So what? What does it have to do with me? I don't understand it and I can't help you. Don't come looking for me."

Shi Chun stood up abruptly, walked to the side, and with a wave of his hand, a black banner appeared out of thin air. He unfurled it, and the banner fluttered past a set of chairs and a tea table in the hall, instantly absorbing them into the banner. Then, holding the banner atop the ground, he asked, "Brother Jiu, do you remember this?"

Startled, Li Hongjiu blurted out, "Boundless Banner?"

He had a strong impression of this banner; when he saw its great power, he had specially used lightning to protect it.

Then it suddenly dawned on me: hadn't I ruined this banner?

Shi Chun also said, "Brother Jiu, this banner was originally destroyed by your thunderbolt, but now I have repaired it. Do you know how I repaired it?"

Li Hongjiu, being a weapon refiner by training, recalled the story of the Treasure Hunting Hall and asked doubtfully, "The Fragrance of Death?"

Shi Chun immediately put away the Boundless Banner, quickly walked back to the other party and sat down, whispering, "Brother Jiu is wise, he guessed right away. Brother Jiu, think about it, you've damaged so many magic treasures from various sects, who knows if this matter can be kept secret forever? What if the news leaks out? If they really come knocking on your door, you have the Death-Slaying Incense in hand, you can just repair it for them."

With such good qualities, how could I not think of you? I only hope that my brother will not forget my kindness in the future.

Of course, I'm doing this for myself too. I still have a few magical artifacts that you destroyed that I need to repair. Why would I bother if it weren't for that? Unfortunately, I don't have enough incense, so I need to get some more.

The only problem is that the materials for refining this thing are hard to come by. They are hidden on a sacred mountain, which is protected by an ancient array. Not just anyone can easily mess with it. But that woman's background is easy to deal with, which is why I'm pursuing her.

Furthermore, where do you think all that fine wine came from? It was all given to me by that woman. I sacrificed my looks to get you a plentiful supply of fine wine, and even managed to get you some of the rare, overpowering wines just in case. And you, my friend, only need to go through the motions and pretend, and you can reap the benefits without lifting a finger. Why not?"

(End of this chapter)