Seeing that Shopkeeper Zhang was being evasive about the dreams and unwilling to give a direct answer, Lu Li did not push any further.
Instead, he lingered at the Sweet Water Shop, casually asking the man several unrelated questions.
After questioning the shopkeeper for a long while and realizing he couldn’t extract any more useful information, Lu Li prepared to leave.
“Haha… I am sorry to have disturbed you for so long, Shopkeeper Zhang. It is getting late, so this Daoist shall take his leave.”
Seeing Lu Li rise to leave, an attentive smile immediately spread across Shopkeeper Zhang’s face.
He personally escorted Lu Li to the shop’s entrance.
“Master Lu, what are you saying? Your presence is a blessing for my humble shop,” the shopkeeper said, bowing slightly in an extremely humble posture.
“Walk slowly, Master Lu. If you have the time, please feel free to come by and visit my shop again. It allows me to soak in some of your Immortal Qi…”
The shopkeeper’s attitude toward Lu Li was respectful to an excessive degree, which was quite different from the usual warmth of a businessman seeing off a customer.
Beneath that kind smile, there seemed to be a trace of barely perceptible caution, even… fear.
Lu Li nodded without saying another word.
He turned and merged into the crowd on the street outside, but his heart was already filled with suspicion toward this Sweet Water Shop.
‘After all, Shopkeeper Zhang’s attitude toward the nightmares was far too suspicious.’
Furthermore, given the scale of the Zhang family’s water shop and its daily business of providing drinking water to the entire city, it wouldn’t be difficult to use some treacherous means to secretly mix something into the water, causing the citizens to experience frequent nightmares.
Thinking of this, Lu Li silently made a note of the shop.
He planned to bring this matter up to the Jin Emperor, Zhou Ruolin, when he went to report back later.
Behind him, Shopkeeper Zhang watched Lu Li’s back until he disappeared around the corner.
Only then did he slowly straighten his body.
He raised his hand, using his sleeve to wipe a nonexistent bead of cold sweat from his forehead, and let out a soft sigh of relief.
The mask-like smile on his face instantly collapsed, replaced by a gloom mixed with tension and lingering fear.
He quickly turned back into the shop, nimbly closing the entrance doors and even hanging a wooden sign that read “Closed for Today.”
The once bright shop suddenly grew dim, with only a few slivers of light piercing through the cracks in the door, illuminating the dust motes floating in the air.
Shopkeeper Zhang did not linger.
He hurried through the front hall and went straight to the inner courtyard.
This courtyard appeared ordinary, piled with various clutter and several large vats used for storing water.
His sharp gaze scanned the area before settling on an inconspicuous rockery in the corner.
He walked behind the rockery and pressed several seemingly random protruding stones in a specific sequence.
*Click…*
A faint sound of a rotating mechanism echoed.
A stone slab about 3 feet square at the base of the rockery quietly slid inward, revealing a dark hole that extended downward, just large enough for one person to pass through.
A cool breeze, smelling of earth and a certain spice, wafted out from within.
Shopkeeper Zhang did not hesitate and ducked inside.
The entrance closed silently behind him. From the outside, the rockery looked perfectly intact, showing no signs of anything unusual.
The secret passage was narrow at first, barely wide enough for a person.
After walking several dozen steps, the space suddenly opened up.
This was a hidden Underground Stone Chamber.
Fluorites embedded in the four walls emitted a faint, eerie glow, bathing the room in a miserable green light.
In the center of the chamber, a slender figure sat with her back to the entrance, quietly meditating and breathing.
She was dressed in a tight-fitting black night-suit that outlined her graceful yet powerful curves.
She wore a silver-white mask that only revealed her chin and cold eyes.
Her entire body exuded a chilling aura that warned others not to approach.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, she did not turn around.
Her cold voice echoed in the stone chamber with a metallic quality.
“Has he left?”
Shopkeeper Zhang stepped forward quickly and stopped five steps away from the woman.
He bowed respectfully, his voice carrying an unprecedented level of deference and a hint of a tremble.
“Reporting to Master, he has left. That Master Lu from the Xuling Sect was just at the shop.”
This masked woman was none other than Lu Li’s fourth disciple, Mo Qingyou, who was now colluding with the Yin Corpse Sect and acting in shadows!
Mo Qingyou slowly turned around.
Her eyes beneath the mask were like two bottomless pools of cold water as they landed on Shopkeeper Zhang.
“Why did he come? What did he ask?”
Shopkeeper Zhang did not dare to delay.
He quickly recounted Lu Li’s previous questions and his own answers word for word.
At the end, he didn’t forget to add, as if boasting, “Master, please rest assured. I responded very cautiously. I only claimed that I couldn’t remember the content of the dreams and kept the matter of the nursery rhyme completely hidden. I definitely didn’t leave any clues. Although that Master Lu asked a lot, I saw that he didn’t seem to get anything out of it in the end and just left.”
His tone even carried a hint of self-satisfaction, feeling that he had successfully fooled a Golden Core Cultivator.
However, after hearing his narrative, Mo Qingyou remained silent for a moment.
A soft, mocking snort came from beneath the mask.
“Fool.”
The two simple words were like ice picks stabbing into Shopkeeper Zhang’s heart, causing the smugness on his face to freeze instantly, turning into bewilderment and panic.
“Master… This subordinate… where did I go wrong?”
Shopkeeper Zhang stammered.
Mo Qingyou slowly walked up to him.
Her eyes watched him coldly, as if she could see through his every thought.
“You think your response was seamless? On the contrary, the more eager you were to clear yourself, the more you acted as if nothing was wrong, the more suspicious you became in his eyes!”
Her voice suddenly grew sharp.
“That Master of mine may look easygoing, but his mind is more meticulous than anyone’s! To his ears, your ‘I don’t remember’ was the biggest flaw! If an ordinary person truly had no impression of those bizarre dreams, they would only be confused or ask questions out of curiosity. Why would they be like you, rushing to draw a line and even trying to guide his thoughts by calling it ‘the mindless talk of foolish men and women’?”
Shopkeeper Zhang broke into a cold sweat, his face turning pale.
Mo Qingyou continued coldly, “The reason he stopped asking wasn’t that he was fooled by you, but because he had already obtained the information he wanted from your reaction! He has confirmed that you, and this Sweet Water Shop, are definitely linked to the dreams! His departure was merely a temporary move while he waits to gather more evidence. He is likely preparing to mobilize troops and strike back when we least expect it!”
She paused, her voice carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.
“Pack all important items immediately. Destroy everything that might leave a trace. Take the core manpower and evacuate this place within half an incense stick of time!”
“The Demon Realm Gate is about to open. We cannot afford any mistakes.”
“What… what? Evacuate?”
Shopkeeper Zhang looked up in disbelief.
“Master, this… this shop is a stronghold we have operated for many years. Think of how much effort was spent on it! Just because he came to ask a few questions, we have to give it up? Isn’t that being too cautious? Perhaps he only suspects us and has no concrete evidence…”
“Cautious?”
Mo Qingyou sneered, interrupting him.
Her gaze was as sharp as a blade.
“You underestimate him too much. That is my Master!”
Her voice carried a complex meaning, containing both dread and a hidden, unspeakable infatuation.
“The last person who underestimated him and insisted on having his own way, Zhao Zongchang…”
Mo Qingyou’s voice was bone-chilling, each word squeezed out from between her teeth.
“He was the Sub-division Leader of your Yin Corpse Sect in Yangzhou City. He and his daughter, whom he turned into a Jiangshi using Demonic Arts, have long since turned into ash and bone under my Master’s sword! Do you wish to follow in his footsteps?”
Hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhang trembled violently.
Every bit of color drained from his face, and his eyes filled with terror.
The matter regarding Zhao Zongchang had already spread within the Yin Corpse Sect.
A Sub-division Leader at the half-step Core Formation stage, along with his meticulously refined Iron Corpse, had been completely defenseless against that Master Lu!
He had originally thought the rumors were exaggerated, but now that it was personally confirmed by this mysterious “Master,” a sense of terrifying reality seized him.
“Yes! Yes! This subordinate understands! I will do it now! We will evacuate immediately!”
Shopkeeper Zhang no longer dared to hesitate.
He scrambled to his feet and rushed toward the exit at the other end of the stone chamber to gather the men and execute the evacuation order.
Inside the stone chamber, only Mo Qingyou remained.
She slowly walked to a wall, her fingertips lightly brushing over those twisted and eerie magical symbols.
The eyes beneath her mask flickered with a dark, uncertain light.
“Master… your movements are even faster than I imagined. It seems… the plan must be moved forward…”
Mo Qingyou murmured to herself, her voice dissipating in the quiet stone chamber, carrying a hint of chilling anticipation.