Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 584 Words on the Bag

Xiang Lan'er immediately leaned closer and whispered, "Is there something special in that package?"

Feng Chi: "It feels like an iron box, but I wonder what's inside."

She couldn't use magic to examine the contents of the iron box in front of Shen Moming; if she got too close, the fluctuations in her magic would definitely be detected.

Xiang Lan'er nodded slightly, "We need to report this to our superiors as soon as possible."

Feng Chi paused, watching Xiang Lan'er walk away with a complicated expression. She quickly followed, whispering, "If Miss reports to her superiors, they'll want us to figure out what's in the box first. It's better if we try it ourselves first. I think it's more appropriate to report after we've figured it out..."

On the streets of Dongsheng Capital, the carriage that had delivered the messenger to the roadside had just left. The messenger had just walked a short distance, full of excitement, when suddenly someone passing by covered his mouth and dragged him away, pulling him onto a carriage that happened to be parked by the roadside.

The carriage sped away immediately, and the messenger abruptly disappeared into the street.

The person was taken directly to a small courtyard, dragged out of the car, and pulled into a house for interrogation.

An interrogation was conducted effortlessly, and the messenger quickly confessed everything he knew.

Upon learning that the so-called messenger from the Miaoxian Sect had sent the letter from Xiniu Jukuzhou, one of the interrogators immediately left the scene...

At Wuyu Pavilion, a carriage had just left and gone a short distance when the driver abruptly stopped the horse.

Originally, most of the carriages in the capital were driven by spirit beasts and did not require drivers. However, in the last two years, the demonic forces have been causing trouble and interfering with the journeys of the spirit beasts that pull the carriages, which has led to the gradual resurgence of the profession of coachman.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and the driver turned around and called out, "Sir."

The curtain was lifted and the young master Nan peeked out. He saw a low-key yet luxurious carriage parked across the road ahead, accompanied by a group of capable attendants.

The curtain of the carriage was slightly parted, revealing the face of an elderly man with white hair and beard. He glanced at them indifferently before lowering the curtain again.

Others might not recognize the old man, but Young Master Nan trembled and quickly jumped off the carriage and ran over. Just as he was about to bow, he was interrupted by a dignified voice coming from inside the carriage, "Don't make a sound, come up and talk."

Young Master Nan dared not disobey and quickly climbed onto the other party's carriage, obediently crawling inside the curtain.

"Please sit down," said the elderly man sitting in the main seat inside the car.

Young Master Nan then lowered himself to sit on the side, forcing a smile as he said, "Why did you come in person? You could have just sent someone to call you if you needed anything."

The old man said, "I met your ancestor when he was still alive and even received his guidance. So I don't want my subordinates to embarrass you, which is why I came here personally to ask you a few questions. I hope you won't hide anything from me."

Young Master Nan quickly sat down and bowed, saying, "I wouldn't dare. Please feel free to give me any instructions."

The old man asked, "I heard someone just delivered a package and a letter to you. Who delivered it?"

Young Master Nan froze, realizing he was being watched.

His hesitant lips betrayed his inner turmoil, but when he met the old man's imposing gaze, he immediately deflated and honestly confessed, "It was sent by someone through Shi Chun."

Old man: "I heard he's gotten into some trouble lately?"

Young Master Nan cautiously replied, "I've heard a little about it."

That's the truth. If the relevant information is blocked by someone with ulterior motives, most people might not know what's going on with Shi Chun. But he's someone who can guess Shi Chun's whereabouts, so he can't help but pay attention to that side. That's why he knows that something seems to have happened, and that even the Demon Queen has been alarmed.

If even the Demon Queen could be alarmed, then it's no wonder that this person before us would show his face.

But he really didn't know what had happened, nor did he know what Shi Chun and the others were doing.

The old man asked again, "I heard that the goods in the treasure shop over at Jukuzhou are all supplied by you?"

These words were tantamount to a warning. Young Master Nan secretly groaned, not expecting that the other party had even found out about this. So he braced himself and replied, "Yes, it was agreed that the payment would be returned. I was just helping a friend. I really don't know what he's up to."

The old man changed the subject again, "What did he send you?"

Young Master Nan: "Besides the letter, there was also a sealed iron box. I was told to keep it safe. I used magic to check it, but there doesn't seem to be anything inside."

The old man asked, "Is it on you?"

"exist."

"Can I see it?"

Young Master Nan's expression froze, but he still obediently took out the letter and the iron box and respectfully presented them with both hands.

The old man turned his head and reminded those outside, "Don't be domineering and block other people's way, it's not good."

The people and carriages on Henglan Road immediately adjusted their positions and moved to the side.

The passing vehicles were moving smoothly. The old man reached out and took the letter, then pulled out the letters inside to examine them.

However, just like the letter Shen Moming received, even with the old man's analytical skills, the contents of the letter could not be found to have any connection with Shi Chun.

So the old man shook the letter in his hand at Young Master Nan, as if asking how he could be so sure it was related to Shi Chun.

Young Master Nan couldn't help but smile bitterly, "I have a lot of dealings with Shi Chun. This is his handwriting. You may have heard about his background. His handwriting is ugly."

The old man immediately folded the letter and put it back, his every move showing proper manners, before taking the iron box and looking through it.

If the handwriting is ugly, that's one thing, but even the welding marks on this box are crooked and uneven, so there's really no need to appreciate it much.

He used his magic to examine the contents and found that there was nothing there, but there seemed to be a bag.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly slashed his finger like a knife and sliced ​​the iron box open as easily as cutting tofu.

Young Master Nan hesitated, but ultimately didn't dare to utter a sound.

Now that it had been cut open, he stuck his head out slightly to see what was inside.

Inside the opened box lay a black cloth bag with a closed opening.

Having lived through an era shared with the underworld, the old man immediately recognized the black cloth bag and muttered, "A soul-binding bag?"

The more I touched it, the more certain I became.

After picking up the bag, smooth out the creases and look at the two vertical characters written on it: "The soul is trapped inside and cannot be released!"
The old man's initial thought of tearing open the bag to check was immediately stopped by the two vertical characters.

The young master Nan, who was watching from the sidelines, muttered to himself, feeling that the guy was getting weirder and weirder. He had actually started playing with soul-binding. What important soul was he trying to bind that required such a roundabout and mysterious approach?
After a moment's consideration, the old man did not open the bag easily. He pointed to the letters and the iron box, saying, "I'll borrow these things for now and return them to you later."

As for when it will be returned, it was not specified.

Young Master Nan could only swallow his bitterness and bow, saying, "I will obey your orders."

The old man said, "Then I won't bother you any longer."

So, the young master Nan wisely took his leave and departed.

After returning to his carriage, he watched the old man's entourage depart before daring to climb back in. He slumped down as soon as he sat down, sighing and muttering, "Brother, they came prepared, personally putting pressure on me. I couldn't withstand it. Don't blame me for ruining your plans again..."

Deep underground, Wu Jinliang, who was lying down reading a book, suddenly sat up and slammed the book in his hands.

Shi Chun, who was also reading, was disturbed and looked up, saying, "Take it easy. That family has been guarding these books for generations. Unless absolutely necessary, these books should be returned intact."

Wu Jin clenched the book in his hand into a scroll and waved it. "No, I still think that bag of souls is not safe. What if it gets stuck in the underworld and can't get out? That would be a real mess. Look at Lao Changtai, he gets so hungry for food in that godforsaken place."

Shi Chun said dismissively, "Don't worry, those two bags of souls will be fine. Even if there is an accident, it shouldn't be that both bags will be damaged."

"No." Wu Jinliang scrambled over the pile of books, bent down and sat in front of him, saying, "Spring, you can't say that. Think about it, if those people can't catch us, won't they target our home and Young Master Nan's side? Although the things we sent were deliberately concealed, they probably won't stand up to scrutiny by someone with ulterior motives. If you ask me, the safest thing to do is to have the messenger wait for us at a certain place with the things."

Shi Chun: "The danger I am most worried about comes from the messenger himself. That is the most uncontrollable risk. You can know a person's face but not their heart. No matter how carefully you choose, you may still entrust the message to the wrong person. If the messenger opens the message and peeks out of curiosity or greed, then it's all over."

That's precisely why I insist they deliver the packages to the recipients themselves. If they want to receive another payment, they'll face the recipient's final review—an invisible constraint that stifles any undue desires.

The reason I sent someone else to make the round trip empty-handed was to find out if there were any obstacles from the outside world. Throughout the process, my concern was whether something might happen to the messenger on the way; as long as nothing unexpected occurred, everything would be fine.

Wu Jinliang couldn't help but scratch his head. "Spring, why don't you understand what I mean? What I'm saying is that after the goods are delivered, they might be targeted by someone. I'm worried that they might be stolen by someone else."

Shi Chun withdrew his gaze and calmly continued flipping through the book, saying, "As long as the goods are delivered, it doesn't matter who's watching, because I don't care who ends up with them. As long as they're delivered, that's all that matters."

"..." Wu Jinliang was taken aback, seemingly understanding, but then felt something was wrong. "No, in spring, as soon as someone opens it and takes a look, their soul immediately returns to the underworld, and then it's all over. All our hard work will be in vain."

Shi Chun moved the book in front of him and looked at him teasingly, "You think what protects the souls of those two hyenas are the two iron boxes you made? You think what protects the two souls is this cleverly concealed way of sending messages? Neither. What truly protects the souls are the two lines of words I wrote on the two bags."

If the item is safely in the hands of one's own people, they will naturally follow the instructions and not touch it. But if it falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, seeing the ingenious transfer process and the words on the soul-binding bag, you would wonder about the importance of the souls bound inside. Who would dare to open something they've finally obtained so easily?

If you're not confident you can control the soul, you won't easily open the Soul-Binding Bag. If you are confident you can open it, the soul won't escape. So, what impact will it have on who ends up in your hands?

I don't care if it's the demonic path or the extreme fire sect that's doing it, why bother? Maybe I can use this opportunity to test the mettle of the people around me.

"Focus on your reading and learn more about the underworld; that's more practical. Judging by the time, we should be going in tomorrow. Lao Changtai and the others should have arrived by now."

"..." After finally understanding the meaning of these words, Wu Jinliang, who had been in a daze, immediately smiled and threw away the book. He even clenched his fist and started massaging Shi Chun's legs, chuckling and saying, "No wonder you say you're the boss. The boss is wise. My heart is finally at ease."

(End of this chapter)