He nodded and looked into the bottomless dungeon. With a flick of his wrist, the entrance to the dungeon slowly closed.

...

After the grand event, Phoenix Street was still bustling with people, but it was no longer as lively as it had been in the previous days.

Li Jiang strolled leisurely down the street, followed by Mu Dong and Shen Xun.

Mu Dong had been very curious about this suddenly appearing child, but he hadn't had much of a chance to speak. Now that he had the time, he started asking questions nonstop.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Are you really eight years old? This is the first time I've ever been around such a young child..."

Why aren't you saying anything? Are all the other kids as aloof as you?

"Who are your parents? Aren't they worried about you starting out in the world at such a young age? Or perhaps..."

"Can you be quiet for once?" Shen Xun said impatiently, arms crossed.

Mu Dong suddenly jumped in front of him, and exclaimed with sudden realization, "Oh, I know! Are you Qinghe's child with another man? No wonder you two have such similar personalities, I even think you look alike now..."

He carefully examined Shen Xun's face and analyzed it with a solemn expression.

Suddenly, someone grabbed him by the back of his collar. Li Jiang had returned without him noticing. She pinched his collar with two fingers, but her eyes were on Shen Xun. She said, "Don't mess with him."

Shen Xun raised an eyebrow and looked back at him.

Mu Dong tried to free her collar from his grasp, but she used too much force and fell backward due to inertia, stepping on something soft.

Mu Dong froze on the spot: "Tell me, what I stepped on wasn't an insect or anything like that."

Li Jiang glanced at it: "No."

Mu Dong breathed a sigh of relief and moved her foot away.

Li Jiang squatted down and looked at the petals of the rose that Mu Dong had crushed under his foot. He remembered that these flowers were placed on the roadside as decorations on the day of the flower-viewing ceremony.

If you do the math, six days have passed since that day. The flowering period of the rose is short, and six days without water would be enough for it to dry out and wither. But judging from the petals scattered on the street, that doesn't seem to be the case.

"There's something wrong with these flowers."

Mu Dong also squatted down: "You suspect that someone poisoned the flower petals?"

Li Jiang: "Otherwise, they wouldn't still have moisture now."

All things have a spirit, and flowers and plants are also blessed by the heavens. Even if their spiritual power is weak, it should not be underestimated.

Once the toxin seeps in, the growth of the spiritual energy veins will become abnormally slow, which will delay the life cycle of the petals. Moreover, the fragrance spreads quickly and is not easily detected, so sprinkling poison on the petals can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Clearly, someone took advantage of this to achieve their goal.

Mu Dong: "But there are quite a few of these flowers, and many people have come into contact with them. It might not be easy to find out who poisoned them."

Li Jiang: "Then let's start by tracing the source. Let's find the supplier of these flowers..."

Before he could finish speaking, Mu Dong suddenly stood up, as if he had discovered something, and pointed at the crowd in front of him, shouting, "Senior brother, look! Isn't that the swindler who cheated you out of your money?"

When Li Jiang turned around, he saw the fortune teller he had found on their first day in Tianqi Capital. He had set up a table with writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, and next to it was a banner with the four characters "divine calculation".

The fortune teller was reading a young woman's palm, touching every single one of her delicate fingers. His eyes kept glancing at the woman, completely unaware that someone was approaching him menacingly.

"As long as you listen to me and do as I say, I guarantee you'll be fine."

"Really, Master? You must help me..."

With a thud, Mu Dong slammed his fist on the table, looking at the man with the hanging face with a mocking expression: "Miss, he's in dire straits himself and can't help you now."

The girl was confused and stared blankly at the three people who had suddenly appeared.

The man with the missing face had a good memory and recognized Li Jiang at a glance. Just as he turned to run away, Mu Dong grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

Seeing this, the girl thought they were there for revenge, so she quickly grabbed her maid and left.

Mu Dong looked at the man with a smile: "You still remember me, right? Hmm? You swindler, you cheated my senior brother out of his money, and you still dare to set up a stall. If I catch you today, I'll beat you to a pulp!"

The man with the mask was quite principled, stubbornly refusing to admit it, saying, "Who's a liar? Who cheated you out of your money? Let me tell you, this is Tianqi Kingdom, not your territory as outsiders. I have family members who work for the government. If you dare to touch me, I'll make you regret it!"

Mu Dongping despised such bullies and was about to start a fight when Li Jiang stopped him with one hand.

"If you want us to not use force, answer a few questions and I'll let you go."

Upon seeing that he wouldn't be beaten, the man immediately asked, "What's the problem?"

Li Jiang: "Who arranged for the roses used as decorations on the day of the flower-viewing and wine-offering ceremony?"

The man's eyes darted around, and just as he was about to speak, Li Jiang said again, "You'd better tell the truth, my junior brother here has quite a temper."

Mu Dong made a fierce expression to match his expression, and the man had no choice but to resign himself to speaking: "It's Yao Bing, the owner of Linglong Flower Shop. Every year during the Flower Festival and Wine Offering, he provides various flowers for the court. He wasn't originally from Tianqi Kingdom. When he was young, he came here with his father to do business and found that the soil here was very suitable for growing flowers, so he settled down here. After his father passed away, Yao Bing inherited the family business, and the business grew bigger and bigger until it became a royal supplier."

Li Jiang: "Is he the only owner of Linglong Flower Shop?"

After thinking for a moment, the man said, "The boss is one person, but I don't know about the shareholders. I guess there are several."

Li Jiang: "Who are the shareholders?"

Xiang Guaren shrugged: "I don't know about that. Merchants never reveal their secrets; that's the rule."

Mu Dong glared at him: "Didn't you claim to know everything from astronomy to geography? You don't even know this?"

The man forced a bitter smile: "I'm just trying to make a living..."

Mu Dong pulled up his sleeves: "It's lucky you met someone as easy to talk to as us. If you had met someone with a fiery temper, you wouldn't even know how you died!"

The person muttered, "I really didn't see that coming..."

Li Jiang: "Where is Linglong Flower Shop located?"

The man pointed in a direction: "You'll see it as soon as you turn the corner on that street. It's a very beautiful house."

Li Jiang pulled the two people along towards their destination.

Mu Dong asked in confusion, "Why won't you let me beat him up? Just looking at his face makes me angry!"

Li Jiang ignored him, and Shen Xun said, "That man is right. This is not our territory. If you beat someone up here, it will be very troublesome."

Mu Dong: "At least get the money back. If we do nothing, we'll be at a huge disadvantage."

Shen Xun looked at him, a strange light flashing in his eyes: "You can wait until we leave Tianqi Kingdom and then sneak back to kill him, without anyone knowing."

It was supposed to be a joke, but Mu Dong actually started to seriously consider the feasibility of the plan.

Shen Xun sighed, unsure whether to call him a man of his word or simply naive and foolish.

After walking for a short while, a magnificent mansion came into view.

The vermilion gate was tightly closed, with a plaque hanging above it bearing the four large, vigorous characters of "Linglong Flower Shop".

Li Jiang stepped forward and knocked on the door. A moment later, a kind and gentle old man came out, looked her over for a few moments, and said, "Are you here to see the master?"

Li Jiang: "Yes, please inform them."

The old man nodded and went inside.

A moment later, he came out again and said to the three men, "Please come in."

Once inside the courtyard, the three realized just how large the exquisite flower shop truly was.

A long corridor runs through the center of the spacious courtyard, flanked by lotus ponds. In the height of summer, the ponds are filled with lotus blossoms, their fragrance filling the air and creating a serene and refreshing atmosphere. Artificial hills rise from the ponds, and clear water flows down their slopes, producing a melodious sound.

Passing through the corridor, you arrive at the main hall in the center, where a huge white marble screen stands in front, carved with a lifelike and exquisite flower and bird painting.

A short distance was left on either side of the screen, where two long covered walkways stretched into the distance, with a row of wisteria flowers hanging from the pergola, and several orioles flitting among them, making cheerful bird calls.

The garden is filled with all sorts of flowers, giving one the illusion of being at a flower exhibition.

Mu Dong was stunned and whispered to Li Jiang, "See? This is the life of the rich. I wonder if I'll ever be able to live in such a big house in my lifetime."

Li Jiang glanced at him: "Qingyun Sect is such a big place, haven't you already settled in?"

Mu Dong looked at him as if he were mentally challenged: "Are you serious?"

A soft cough came from behind them, and Yao Bing, the owner of the flower shop, slowly walked out of his magnificent living room, playing with two jade balls in his hands. His bright yellow brocade robe almost blinded the three of them.

Yao Bing greeted the guests with a smile: "Three guests, would you like to buy flowers?"

Li Jiang: "No, we just wanted to ask the boss about the poisoning incident in the capital."

Having reached this level in business, Yao Bing naturally has his own set of methods; business people are always cautious.

He asked, "You look unfamiliar, not like locals. What does this have to do with you?"

Li Jiang: "It's like this, a friend of ours accidentally got poisoned. She said it was because she touched the roses supplied by your shop and then started feeling unwell. The three of us came here to ask the owner for some information."

Yao Bing: "Are you saying there's something wrong with what I said?"

Li Jiangzhi said, "That's right." He took out the flower petals he had picked up from the ground earlier and explained the reason to Yao Bing.

Yao Bing looked at the petals, while Li Jiang, who had been observing his expression, keenly noticed a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

It seems he was unaware of it.

The jade ball in his hand spun loudly. Yao Bing paced back and forth a few steps, seemingly deep in thought. Li Jiang waited patiently for him.

After a short while, he stopped in his tracks and gestured to the three men: "Gentlemen, let's go inside and talk."

Li Jiang and Mu Dong exchanged a glance, then followed Yao Bing into the inner hall.