Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 573 Lost them again
He didn't have any token of love. She gave him a ring, so he could only give her a hairpin. He didn't know whose women's jewelry Xia Fuli had left behind in the Qiankun Bracelet. It was just sitting there anyway, so he might as well use it.

But what he said was something else entirely: "I just happened to see this hairpin that matched you, so I bought it. I didn't expect you to have a love token to give me too. We're so in sync, we're a match made in heaven."

Letting go, yet then instinctively wanting to hug the other person.

The woman in red pretended to go look in the mirror, subtly turning away and pushing him aside. She leaned over the mirror, scrutinizing herself from all sides. After looking at herself, she immediately gave it a bad review in her mind: "Are you blind? This hairpin should be worn by a little girl. How is it suitable for me? Not at all!"

She smiled and said, "It looks really good."

The room was only so big, and Shi Chun also came over, taking the opportunity to hug her from behind. With her warm and soft body in his arms, the two of them alone together, he couldn't help but feel aroused again, and kissed her ear and neck, his breath heavy.

The woman in red was very uncomfortable with his antics, but she was agile and turned around to push him away, keeping her distance and warning him, "When Situ Gu comes, and when you do what you promised me, I will submit to you. Now you are not allowed to have any wild thoughts or do anything reckless. You have to respect me. Can you do that?"

Shi Chun's sweet talk came easily, "I've just never seen a woman as beautiful as you before, I couldn't help myself, there was no disrespect intended..."

However, no matter how nicely he spoke, it was useless. After Dong Wenshu reminded him about his affair with a courtesan, the woman in red really refused to let him touch her anymore. Before, she would pretend to be nice, but now she felt uncomfortable even pretending.

However, she wasn't simple-minded. She used the old woman's trick of wanting both ways and not wanting anything, and managed to stop Shi Chun from wanting to stay overnight. She managed to trick Shi Chun into leaving the house.

However, just before leaving, Shi Chun took another batch of wine from her. Since she wanted him to leave, he naturally had to make a small request.

As soon as Shi Chun left, the woman in red immediately removed the hairpin from her head, disgustedly tossed it aside, and then turned to face the library and transmitted her voice, "Things aren't what you think."

Fu Que replied telepathically, "I won't overthink it. If you're planning to kill someone to cover it up, don't come looking for me. I don't do that kind of thing."

The woman in red said, "It's not what you think. What you see with your eyes may not be the truth."

Fu Que: "I didn't see anything."

The woman in red rarely showed a look of intense, childlike hatred.

Just then, Alan's voice came through, "Your Majesty."

The woman in red, who had been pacing inside, turned around and asked telepathically, "What is it?"

Alan's voice transmission sounded slightly alarmed: "Your Majesty, the informant from the Yanbao Sect has verified in person that Li Hongjiu is not in the Yanbao Sect. The 'Li Hongjiu' in Li Hongjiu's secluded cultivation place is actually a fellow disciple acting as a substitute. Li Hongjiu has most likely already left the Yanbao Sect, but the informant doesn't know the specifics."

The woman in red had a deep, shifting gaze, her chest heaving noticeably. After a brief silence, she slowly replied, "If he can't even handle this simple matter, what use is he?"

Alan immediately understood what she meant and replied, "Yes."

The woman in red continued, "Shi Chun is here, but he won't be leaving for long. Get those two pairs of eyes to keep an eye on him and keep track of all his personnel movements."

"Yes," Alan replied again.

In Li Hongjiu's room, Shi Chun took out ten more jars of wine and put them down. Li Hongjiu's eyes lit up and she walked closer to the table.

Seeing his demeanor, Shi Chun slammed his hand on the wine jar on the table and said, "Brother Wine, I didn't fool you, did I? There's plenty of good wine, but you're being a bit dishonest. You actually made me take a good-for-nothing as my apprentice. Aren't you trying to screw me over? Do you think I can show my face in public given my circumstances?"

He actually ordered twenty jars, keeping ten for himself as backup.

Li Hongjiu also picked up the wine jar and casually replied, "I just wanted to find an excuse to share our good fortune and get together more often since we've finally met. It's just a formality anyway. But after hearing what you said, I realize I was too naive. Fortunately, those who are blessed have their own good fortune. I could tell you myself, but no matter how much I pleaded, you wouldn't want me as your master."

Well, that's all in the past. Shi Chun didn't want to say anything more. There was no point in reasoning with such a shameless person. So he changed the subject and said, "I've already spoken to Ruojun. If you run out of wine, just go ask her for some more."

"Thank you so much, thank you so much." Li Hongjiu chuckled and cupped his hands in thanks.

After chatting for a while, the two parted ways, and Shi Chun returned to his room.

Before sitting cross-legged to regulate his breathing, he took off the ring on his hand, looked at it, and used magic to penetrate it for a careful examination.

The result was that it was just a metal ring. Apart from the exquisite carving of vines and flowers, no traces of magical artifacts were found inside the ring. It was just a solid lump of iron.

But he didn't have the habit of wearing such fancy rings, so he simply tossed them into his storage bracelet...

The next morning, after the streets became bustling with people, Shi Chun quietly left through the side gate of the library's backyard.

Dong Liangyu, who was organizing books upstairs in the library, saw this from the window. To her, it was a departure without saying goodbye, and she felt a little disappointed. Suddenly, she felt someone beside her and turned around in surprise, only to find that it was none other than Li Hongjiu.

Li Hongjiu came to read a book and accidentally discovered this scene. Looking at her reaction and then at the figure that had disappeared into the alley outside the courtyard wall, she was slightly surprised.

"Mr. Li." Dong Liangyu bowed somewhat hastily, losing his composure and displaying an unusual fluster.

Li Hongjiu chuckled and glanced around at the bookshelves. As she walked away, she said, "You go about your business, don't worry about me. The collection of books here is indeed excellent. It's like seeing the whole leopard from a single spot. It's worth appreciating. I never imagined there was such a place in the demon realm. It's truly hidden deep in the mountains, unknown to anyone. But then again, the master I introduced to you yesterday was really good. Whether missing out on the master-disciple relationship was right or wrong for you is hard to say. You can reconsider it later; perhaps you'll see things more clearly then."

The words were somewhat profound and mysterious, and the latter half puzzled Dong Liangyu, who did not understand what they meant.

In the backyard, the woman in red, who had just opened the door and was about to step out of the room, suddenly stopped. Alan's voice rang in her ears again, "Your Majesty, we lost them before they even left the city."

Dong Wenshu, who was dressed neatly in the courtyard, happened to see her, cupped his hands in greeting, and said good morning.

The woman in red nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then retreated back into the house. As soon as she closed the door, she immediately sent a message asking, "What happened?"

Alan replied, "I couldn't detect his aura with my eyes the whole way, and I didn't dare to get too close. After wandering through the streets and alleys, I caught up with him on the main street, but he suddenly disappeared."

The woman in red scolded, "Two good-for-nothings!"

Alan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this also confirms why his traces were able to disappear abruptly on the sacred mountain. He himself has cultivated a technique to conceal his aura."

The woman in red pondered for a moment and said, "You mean, he was originally a demonic being?"

Alan: "This servant does not know if there are any other reasons."

The woman in red slowly raised her hand to touch the flower in her hair, closed her eyes in concentration, and then quickly opened them to transmit her voice: "He hasn't left the city yet, he's approaching the north gate, hurry up... never mind, since he can conceal his aura, there's no use in the two of them following him, it would only alert him, let the two of them wait."

Alan asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, are you just going to let this go?"

The woman in red said, "I have my own plans."

"Yes," Alan quickly replied.

At this moment, Shi Chun was in a carriage, which was one of the reasons why the two eyes that were following him lost him. After he turned and twisted his way out of the alley, Xiao Sheng drove the carriage that was waiting at the alley entrance and took him away directly.

With his eyes darting out onto the street, he was nowhere to be seen.

Of course, the main reason was that Shi Chun used magic to block the aura that could be tracked. Given his caution, since he had already discovered that he had been followed to the library by the demonic path, how could he not take relevant precautions when entering and leaving Dazhi City and the library?

As the carriage sped out of the city, Shi Chunfei dismounted and rode away alone on his Wind Scale.

After circling around, he flew to Zhelanpo and met up with Wu Jinliang.

The first thing he asked upon meeting was, "How's the refining of that batch of stuff going?"

Wu Jinliang: "I asked Bai Qiru, and he said the quantity is quite large, so it won't be quick. He said we'll have to wait a while longer. How did Li Hongjiu go to the academy to recruit apprentices?"

Shi Chun: "Overall, things went smoothly, but that guy is no good. I almost got dragged into a trap by him. I have no intention of harming anyone, but he still has malicious intentions."

Wu Jinliang didn't care much about that, but hesitated about something else, "In the spring, you've put so much effort into that woman in red's mess. I have a bad feeling about it. Do you really want to go to Situ Gu for her sake?"

Shi Chun gazed into the distance, ignoring his apparent fatigue, and said, "It's not up to you and me to do things that are easy to talk about. As for the weight, sometimes I'm also confused. Whether she really doesn't know our identities or is pretending not to, at least one thing is certain: as long as you and I still have value to us, we can still survive."

We'll soon face a problem: how to get the Golden-haired Rat clan out of there. I already revealed my secrets to them in order to obtain the method for refining the Death-Slaying Incense, so we don't have many choices: either get them out or wipe them all out.

Wu Jinliang seemed to be thinking, "You want the woman in red to help you?"

Shi Chun nodded. “With our current resources, it’s not difficult to secretly rescue the Golden-haired Rat Clan. The problem is how to settle them. Should we never let them show their faces again? If they do, they will definitely be hunted down by the Phoenix Clan. If they are caught, can you guarantee that the Golden-haired Rat Clan won’t betray us? The best way is to have that woman’s cousin help the Golden-haired Rat Clan get a pardon from the Demon Queen. Once the Demon Queen pardons them, the Phoenix Clan will naturally have to let go, and only then will the Golden-haired Rat Clan truly gain their freedom.”

He raised his hand and patted Wu Jinliang on the shoulder. “Jin Zhan, a supreme being of the demon realm, that demon book must be extraordinary. You and I saved the entire Golden-haired Rat clan and then passed on the demon book. We shouldn’t miss this opportunity to form a good relationship. Besides, I’m also quite interested in the ‘Big Dipper Spirit Repelling Array.’ It’s a life-saving treasure. I have the command token but don’t know where to start. The Golden-haired Rat clan should be the ones who know the most about the ‘Big Dipper Spirit Repelling Array.’”

(End of this chapter)