Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

As night deepened, the lights on the Qinhuai River shone even brighter.

Li Jinrong leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-open and half-closed. "Miss Wanjun, you play the pipa so well... much better than Yuqin from Wanhualou in Jinshi... I'll come back to listen another day."

Wan Jun covered her mouth and chuckled, "Mr. Li, you flatter me."

Tie Kun glanced at the time, stood up, and said, "Master Li, it's getting late, we should head back."

"Sit a little longer..." Li Jinrong waved his hand, but his body was already swaying, leaning to the side and almost sliding off the chair.

Tie Kun reacted quickly and caught him.

Chen Mo released his arm from Haitang's waist, took out a silver note from his pocket and placed it on the table. "You sang well. I'll come back to see you next time."

Haitang paused for a moment, then smiled, "Okay, thank you, sir."

.....

The black Ford started up and slowly drove out of the alley, heading towards the Jinling Inn.

The lights along the Qinhuai River receded further and further into the rearview mirror, gradually turning into a blurry red glow.

"Chen Mo," Li Jinrong, who was half-drunk and half-awake, suddenly spoke up, his voice slurred, "you and that girl Haitang seemed to be having a good chat."

"good."

"What do you mean 'okay'?" He hiccuped. "You two are practically glued to each other, don't you think, Iron Man?"

Tie Kun sat in the passenger seat without turning around. "Mr. Li, you've had too much to drink."

"I'm not drunk!" Li Jinrong shouted, then tilted his head to the side and leaned back in his chair, falling fast asleep.

------

After Chen Mo and the others left, the private room became quiet.

Wan Jun put the pipa on the table, picked up a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat from her forehead, and let out a long sigh.

Peony squatted on the ground, picking up the scattered fruit peels and peanut shells.

Yulan leaned back in her armchair, crossed her legs, picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, and exhaled a puff of white smoke.

"Miss Haitang, have you met a kindred spirit tonight?"

She glanced at Haitang with a half-smile, her tone tinged with bitterness.

Haitang was standing by the window, looking in the direction the black Ford had disappeared down the street. Hearing her words, she turned around and asked, "What did Sister Yulan say?"

Yulan flicked her cigarette ash and rolled her eyes at her.

"That young man is so handsome, fair-skinned, and has a straight posture."

"You shameless woman have been clinging to me the whole time, feeding me lychees and singing songs to my chest, as if you wanted to devour me whole. I'm embarrassed for you."

Haitang walked to the table, sat down, picked up her teacup, and took a sip. "Sister Yulan, isn't the guy you're with, Master Tie, doing quite well?"

"What's so good about him?" Yulan put a cigarette in her mouth and gestured with her hands. "He's over forty, has a scar on his face, and carries a knife at his waist. He looks like a pig butcher."

"I spent the whole night with him, and he only gave me five silver dollars. He also touched me three times and was incredibly stingy."

Wan Jun covered her mouth and laughed from the side: "Sister Yulan, the way you're talking makes it sound like you suffered a great loss."

"I'm the one who got the short end of the stick." Yulan stubbed out her cigarette in the dish, clapped her hands, and said, "Look at Haitang, how generous that young man is! He casually throws out a hundred dollars, and Haitang doesn't even have to lift a finger. He peels lychees for her and feeds them to her, then puts his arm around her waist while she listens to music. How considerate he is."

"Unlike mine, who's old, stingy, and always smells of smoke."

Haitang put down her teacup, glanced at Yulan, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

"Sister Yulan, do you know what that gentleman does?"

"What do you do?" Yulan asked, intrigued, and leaned closer. "A businessman? A government official?"

Haitang paused for two seconds before speaking, "He said he was from the Inspection Bureau."

The smile on Yulan's face gradually faded, and her fingers stopped in mid-air.

Even the peony, who was squatting on the ground collecting fruit peels, stopped and looked up at the crabapple.

"The Inspection Bureau?"

Haitang nodded.

The group exchanged glances, their expressions not looking too good.

They knew the reputation of the Inspection Bureau in the Tianjin-Shanghai-Nanjing area.

A couple of years ago, a branch of the Hehuan Sect was raided in Shanghai, and seven or eight people were arrested. It is said that the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics was responsible for the operation.

"He told you that?" Wanjun frowned. "Why would he tell you this?"

Haitang shook her head: "I don't know. He said it was a joke afterward."

"A joke?" Yulan scoffed, but her tone was clearly unconvincing. "You can joke about something like this?"

Peony stood up, clutching a handful of fruit peels. "Sister Haitang, could he really be here to investigate us?"

The private room fell silent for a few more seconds.

Wan Jun was the first to calm down.

She put down her pipa, picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup of tea for each of her sisters, and then spoke.

"So what if it's the inspection bureau?"

"Sixitang has been operating on the Qinhuai River for decades. What kind of storms haven't we weathered? Our boss has powerful backers. Let alone a mere inspector, even the director of the inspection bureau would have to think twice before acting."

Haitang didn't speak, but she was thinking about something else.

The young man's heartbeat was noticeably slower than that of an average person.

She tried several times, but her painstakingly cultivated Hehuan True Qi sank like a stone into the sea, without even a splash.

Although the Yin-Yang Harmony Technique is not a particularly powerful technique, the Harmony True Qi cultivated from it is something that ordinary people cannot withstand.

The fact that the opponent could absorb her true energy without her having any reaction shows that their cultivation level is unfathomable, at least beyond what she could detect at her level.

Seeing that Haitang remained silent, Wanjun softened her tone: "Haitang, what are you thinking about?"

Haitang snapped out of her reverie and shook her head: "It's nothing. Sister Wanjun is right, I was overthinking it."

Wan Jun glanced at her, but didn't press the matter. She put down her teacup and stood up, saying, "Alright, everyone can leave now. We have guests tomorrow, so don't stay up too late."

Yulan also stood up, walked over to Haitang and patted her on the shoulder, "If that young man comes again, be careful. Good-looking people are often the most troublesome."

------

"Going again?"

The next evening, after dinner, Li Jinrong changed into a long robe, his hair was slicked back and shiny, and he was holding the folding fan with the night view of the Qinhuai River in his hand again.

She was standing at the door of Chen Mo's room, looking at him expectantly.

Chen Mo leaned back in his chair, glanced at him, and uttered two words expressionlessly: "I'm not going."

Why?

The fat man frowned, twirling his fan twice in his hand. "Wasn't last night quite nice? That Miss Wanjun played the pipa so well, and your Haitang wasn't bad either."

"Let's go sit down again tonight, listen to some music, and have a few drinks. How relaxing!"

"You almost fell last night, and you've been sleeping all day today."

"You still dare to drink?"

"No drinking tonight!" Li Jinrong patted his chest and assured him, "Just listening to music and drinking tea, no alcohol."

Chen Mo glanced at him but didn't say anything, remaining unmoved no matter how much the fat man tried to sweet-talk him.

Tie Kun walked over from the other end of the corridor, carrying a bowl of ginger soup. It was specially cooked by Manager Zhou, who said that Jiangning was damp and that drinking some ginger soup would help ward off the cold.

"Mr. Li, you drank quite a bit last night. You should get some rest tonight. The ship leaves early tomorrow morning, so it's important to be well-rested."

Li Jinrong took the ginger soup, took a sip, and winced from the spiciness, but he still wouldn't give up: "Brother Tie, are you coming or not?"

I also advise you not to go.

Tie Kun had just heard Chen Mo's words, and his expression turned serious. "Last night at Sixi Hall, although nothing happened, there were too many people and too many eyes in that kind of place. We're in Jiangning with our goods, so it's better to avoid trouble."

"Once we get to Ganzhou and things are done, Master Li can do whatever he wants."

Li Jinrong glanced at Chen Mo, then at Tie Kun, and the expressions on their faces were remarkably similar.

He finished his ginger soup, handed the empty bowl to Tie Kun, and sighed, "Fine, if neither of you are going, it's no fun for me to go alone."

"Never mind, let's go back to our room and sleep."

The fat man turned and left, but his steps were slow and hesitant.

After walking a few steps, he looked back again and saw that neither Chen Mo nor Tie Kun showed any sign of backing down. Only then did he give up completely and push open the door to his room.

Tie Kun watched as the door to Li Jinrong's room closed before turning to look at Chen Mo and lowering his voice, "Mr. Chen, was there anything unusual at Sixi Hall last night?"

Chen Mo knew what Tie Kun was asking.

He was a martial artist at the Bronze Skin Realm. Although he couldn't see through the Hehuan Sect's methods, he should have sensed something unusual when Yulan approached him.

"A few of the girls have cultivation levels," Chen Mo said, not hiding anything, but speaking vaguely. "They're not from any respectable path, but they don't seem to have any ill intentions towards us. It's just that it's best to avoid those kinds of places."

Tie Kun nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He's traveled all over the country for so many years, what hasn't he seen?

Last night, when Yulan leaned against him, he felt a faint, almost imperceptible pull of energy, but that little bit of power was nothing more than a tickle to him.

He didn't point it out because he was too lazy to argue and didn't want to cause trouble in that kind of place.

"Mr. Chen, please get some rest." Tie Kun clasped his hands in a fist salute, then turned and left.

Chen Mo closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed.

By this time, it was completely dark outside the window. Looking out from inside the house, the alleys in the south of the city were silent, and the shadows of the telephone poles stretched long.

In the distance, a cigarette and paper shop that was still open could be vaguely seen at the street corner. The light bulb at the entrance was dim and yellow, illuminating the rows of colorful cigarette boxes on the counter.

He sat by the bed for a while, then flipped his right hand and took out the vermilion mask from his storage space.

Nine Netherworlds.

The mask gleamed with a cold light under the electric lamp, and the crescent-shaped mark on its forehead seemed to be faintly burning, as if calling out to him.

Chen Mo took a deep breath and pressed the mask onto his face.

The cool sensation spread from the cheekbone to the forehead, and the edges of the mask automatically fit together, becoming one with the skin without leaving a single gap.

My consciousness was drawn by an invisible force, and the scene before me began to blur...

The next instant, the view in my eyes turned gray.

A blanket of dust.

Moon Concealed Realm.

Chen Mo's illusory image coalesced and took shape in the gray space.

It had no body, no hands or feet, only a hazy gray mist that barely outlined the shape of a human, with only the mask on its face clearly visible.

He looked around.

It was very quiet in the Moon Concealment Realm today; he was all alone.

Time in the Moon Concealment Realm is different from that outside. An hour here is equivalent to the time it takes to drink a cup of tea outside.

Since you're here, why not check out some free news?

He raised his hand and made a sweeping motion in the air, and the orb of light that Youming had given him last time reappeared in front of him.

The sphere of light was small, like a compressed star, and it slowly rotated in his palm, emitting a soft glow.

Chen Mo probed into it with his divine sense.

There weren't many messages, but each one was significant.

One of them caught his attention.

Chen Mo's gaze lingered on the message.

"The owner of Tingyu Tower in Tianjin Ghost Market is suspected to be a subordinate of Xuan Yin Sect. He lives in seclusion deep within the Ghost Market and secretly controls underground unorthodox transactions in the north."

Chen Mo memorized the name.

Xuan Yin Gate.

He had heard of this sect.

A century ago, it wielded immense power in the north, following a path of Yin attributes, somewhat similar to the Moon Worship Cult, but acting in a more secretive and unpredictable manner.

Later, the group fell apart overnight, its disciples scattered, and its scriptures and ritual implements were lost.

The investigation bureau's file contained only a few words, vague and unclear, as if it had been deliberately obscured.

Listening to the Rain Pavilion Master.

Chen Mo silently repeated the name to himself and continued reading.

Hidden gems of southern Jiangxi?

His brow twitched slightly.

"The Wuyi Mountains in southern Jiangxi have recently shown unusual phenomena, suggesting the emergence of a secret realm."

"It is said that this secret realm is related to the Yinluo Sect, which perished a hundred years ago, and contains a large number of Yin-attribute cultivation techniques and magical artifacts."

"Several groups have already gone to investigate, including local unorthodox sects in southern Jiangxi, the lineage of corpse drivers in western Hunan, and unidentified visitors from the north."

"Secret Realm Tool