Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 606 is not very clear.

"Sister Hong, another anonymous person has sent you a letter."

On the rooftop of Zhu Lang Pavilion, in the pavilions and towers bathed in wind and moonlight, the second steward, Tian Shen, handed a letter to the proprietress, Yin Xu.

Yin Xu opened it to check, and found that, as expected, it was something else that had been prepared and was meant for her to contact Shi Chun.

After dismissing Tian Shen, she crumpled the letter into ashes that flew away in the wind, then turned around and took out the mother-child talisman to contact Shi Chun directly.

Unfortunately, Shi Chunjiu did not reply this time, so he had to give up and planned to contact him again every now and then.

Shi Chun already knew she had sent a message, but due to his hands being injured, he could only ignore it for the time being and planned to contact her again later...

Alan, sitting in front of a pile of bottles and jars of perfumes, would occasionally glance at the mother and child charms arranged beside him, look at the messages on them, and then reply to them, appearing serene and self-possessed.

Having observed the various reports, she got up and went to the red-clad woman who was reading, summarizing her report: "The Demon Eye's tracking is progressing smoothly, but we can't yet confirm whether they are tracking the target. The items refined by the Spirit Building Sect in the desert, after being transferred to the tavern they've been monitoring, have been used by a patrolman named Yin Fei on Mount Shen, who has contact with Granny Qi. After making contact with Granny Qi, he sent someone to the tavern..."

The woman in red, who was turning the pages of the book, asked, "Wasn't Feng Xi supposed to be secluded in the mountains?"

Alan: "They said that Granny Qi preferred the food and wine from down the mountain, so the people at Shenshan made an exception. After that, Yin Fei sent someone down the mountain to secretly deliver a letter to Zhu Lang Pavilion. According to our investigation, the letter probably ended up in the hands of Yin Xu, the proprietress of Zhu Lang Pavilion. After Yin Fei's people bought food and wine at that restaurant, someone from that restaurant went to Zhelan Slope outside the city and buried something under a large rock. It might be the 'Death-Repelling Incense' that we've been guessing we've been working on. It looks like they're delivering the goods, and they've already sent a master of concealment to lie in wait and watch."

The woman in red murmured as if she'd heard it before, "The proprietress of Zhu Lang Pavilion..."

Alan knew that she didn't remember those minor figures very well, and even if she had reported them before, she might not remember them. So she immediately added, "It's the lover of the Western Emperor, the Lord of Hanzhou, the fox demon who runs an inn at the foot of the sacred mountain, the one who is said to be familiar with Shi Chun."

The woman in red put down the book she had been using to shield her face. "So, she might be the one who notified Shi Chun to receive the goods?"

Alan: "Very likely."

The woman in red: "So, she's quite close to Shi Chun?"

Alan: "We're already trying to plant spies around her to keep an eye on her."

The woman in red stopped talking, picked up her book, and continued reading.

Alan bowed slightly and returned to the table. He saw that a mother-and-child talisman had lit up again. After reading the contents, he reported from a distance, "Your Majesty, news has come from the Xun Gate exit that Situ Gu has already left."

The woman in red, her face hidden behind a book, breathed a slight sigh of relief. She was glad the man was gone; otherwise, she would have had to stay hidden outside, afraid to return to the library. She replied casually, "I wonder if what happened at the Refining Heaven Sect is related to the demonic path. We don't need to keep an eye on that Demon Sixteen for too long. He's good at escaping, and if we keep an eye on him for too long, he'll easily notice us. If no one meets with him within three days, we'll arrange for his capture. Our surroundings aren't necessarily clean either; we'll interrogate him secretly after we catch him."

"Yes," Alan replied.

At the central array of the Xun Gate in the Western Niu King's capital, Situ Gu appeared and then entered another Xun Gate. Soon he appeared at the central array of the Northern Ju King's capital, and then entered the Xun Gate of Yanzhou. After appearing in Yanzhou, he went straight to the Xun Gate of the Lian Tian Sect.

For him, the distance that actually took the most time was the flight distance from Dazhicheng to Xunmen of Jukuzhou; the other sections were reached in the blink of an eye.

Upon returning to the sect, he went straight to his two mountain strongholds but did not see Zhen'er. He asked the newly arrived gatekeeper and learned that Zhen'er and Ju Shihong were still under the sect's watch and were being questioned by the sect.

To release the prisoners, he had to contact the sect leader, so he went directly to Luo Yan and begged for their release.

Releasing people is a minor matter. Luo Yan, who was in the pavilion, waved for him to sit down first, and then asked, "I received news not long ago that Zhen'er was released because you went to the Phoenix Clan's sacred mountain in Jukuzhou and kidnapped people from the Phoenix Clan to use as hostages, which forced the mastermind behind the scenes to release them. Is that true?"

Situ Gu hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "That's how it is."

Luo Yan asked again, "Is the Phoenix Clan the mastermind behind this?"

Situ Gu shook his head. "It should be the demonic path."

"..."

When the demonic path was involved, even Luo Yan was speechless. After a long while, he asked, "Is it for the secret method you have to find the divine fire?"

Regarding the search for the Divine Fire Secret Technique, the Refining Heaven Sect was the least worried and didn't think too much about it, because Situ Gu was one of their people. If Situ Gu knew this secret technique, then their sect would know it too. Situ Gu said that it was still being researched and improved, and they were happy to see it improved.

Situ Gu: "Besides this, there's probably no other reason."

Luo Yan's expression turned grave as he asked, "How do you know the mastermind is the Demonic Path?"

Situ Gu immediately quoted Shi Chun's reply, "It was Shi Chun who told me. He was being hunted by the demonic sect and inadvertently learned about some of their plans, which led him to make a deal with me..."

He then recounted how he had taken on disciples at the Dazhi City Academy, something he felt he had to give an explanation to the sect about.

He hadn't intended to hide anything, including the matter of going to the Phoenix Clan's sacred mountain to capture demonic cultivators; it was only after Shi Chun inquired that he became agitated.

Shi Chun felt that he was bad at speaking, so he took the initiative to make up some details for him, which could both maintain the original flavor of the events and cover up Shi Chun's secret. After all, the fact that he was chased by Mo Shiliu in the library was not a secret to some people. Luo Yan pondered and stroked his beard. Taking on disciples was a minor matter. His junior brother had the authority to make the decision. He could just help to make arrangements and clean up the mess later. As for the rest, after thinking it over, he said in a serious tone: "Junior brother, according to the news sent back by some of our disciples who work in the Heavenly Court and the Four Great Courts, many things seem a bit unclear and hard to say! In short, the affairs of the demonic path are very complicated. We should not wade into them lightly, otherwise, there will be endless troubles."

Situ Gu: "I have no intention of provoking the demonic path. Just release the person."

Luo Yan nodded. "That's right, that makes sense."

The matter was dropped, and after some more polite exchanges, Situ Gu left.

Of course, they also went to the place where Zhen'er was being looked after and took her away.

Back at Liangqiu Mountain, Situ Gu suddenly turned around in his iron-clad room and stared at the disciple standing there, looking him up and down. He sensed that something was wrong with the disciple.

She suddenly became quiet and demure, standing there with an air of elegance, no longer shouting or making a ruckus as before, and her eyes held a deeper meaning.

If he hadn't been able to sense that this disciple was still the same Fire Spirit, he would have thought that the person he released was an imposter. His quiet demeanor made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Situ Gu asked with concern.

Zhen'er: "It was a close call, but nothing serious happened. We're alright."

"That's good." Situ Gu nodded, then hesitated for a moment, but still tried to negotiate: "I'm afraid we'll have to put aside the promise I made to you last time that I would take you to find Shi Chun after we returned from the Heavenly Palace. How about we talk about it again after some time?"

Speaking of this, his scalp tingled a little. He was afraid that the other party would start making a fuss again. However, Shi Chun was hiding like a thief, so it was really inconvenient to entrust him to someone right now. It would be most appropriate to wait until Shi Chun got through this phase. He didn't know if he could get through it, so he had to deal with it for a while longer.

Zhen'er calmly said, "Master, Shi Chun's matter is over. I will not say those nonsense again. I promise you that I will never cause trouble again and will just stay by your side to cultivate properly."

There are some things she has to declare beforehand; otherwise, she simply can't bring herself to say anything about having a child with Shi Chun. She thinks too highly of herself and doesn't even want to act it out.

In her eyes, Shi Chun, that petty scoundrel who relied on his petty cleverness and shamelessness, had no right to bother with her.

She had no interest in Shi Chun either. The reason this line of demonic cultivators sought out Shi Chun was mainly to find the secret method of the divine fire. Now that she was guarding the person who possessed the secret method, why would she need Shi Chun?
Choosing the lower option over the higher one? That's more like being crazy.

It's definitely best and most convenient to stay by the side of the number one weapon refiner in the cultivation world.

"Uh..." Situ Gu was stunned, feeling that his disciple had changed too much, it was a complete transformation, as if he were a different person. He couldn't help but ask with some concern, "Zhen'er, are you sure you're alright?"

Zhen'er could sense his doubts and replied, "Master, there is no need to worry. After this incident, I have learned from my mistakes and understood some principles. If I cannot even protect myself, I have no right to pursue anything. Focusing on cultivation is the best course of action."

“That makes sense…” Situ Gu nodded in agreement, half believing and half doubting.

Jieluohai is a vast ocean located within Jukuzhou Island.

A streak of light shot across the coastline from high above, crashing into the dawn sky, but ultimately did not disturb the elegance of the sunrise, transforming into an arc as it fell into the sea.

Before the light entered the blue waves, it swayed into two figures and landed on a small island reef. It was Shi Chun and Li Hongjiu, watching the white waves crashing against the shore.

Amidst the roaring waves, Shi Chun removed his straw hat, having already moved far away from the sacred mountain area, and could now show his face with peace of mind.

Holding his straw hat, he pointed to the surging waves around him and asked, "Brother Jiu, is this sea enough for you to summon the Thunder Sword?"

Li Hongjiu looked around and said, "It's enough, but I don't know if it's convenient here. Will we be discovered if we make too much noise?"

After all, he had destroyed too many sects' magical treasures in the Divine Fire Domain, and he didn't want anyone to find out that he could control lightning.

The sky over Dazhi City was still pitch black; at this time of day and in this area, the dawn could not be seen.

Wei Mo, Nan Gongzi, and the others in the inn stared wide-eyed at the person in the mirror who had taken off his straw hat. By the light of the morning sun in the mirror, they could tell that it was not Shi Chun no matter how they looked at it.

There was no other way; Shi Chun was disguised, and the lighting wasn't good enough to make him clearly visible.

However, they also suspected it was a disguise. Anyone in the know, even a fool, would know that Shi Chun wouldn't dare to show himself openly these days. Therefore, Wei Mo asked, "Is it him?"

Young Master Nan resisted the urge to raise his hand to his forehead. He had been in more contact with Shi Chun in his natural state and had already recognized him from the driver's habitual movements. However, he still hesitated and said, "I can't see very clearly."

Wei Mo immediately tapped the table, gesturing to the mother-child talisman, and said, "Try contacting him again."

Nan Gongzi's heart skipped a beat, but he still pretended to be nonchalant and sent out the message using the mother-child talisman.

After sensing something while standing on the island, Shi Chun casually took out the Mother-Child Talisman to check the message, and the movement was clearly reflected in the image of the Sky-Gazing Mirror.

(End of this chapter)