Chapter 97 My relationship with him is not that close.
"Aphrodisiacs?" Shen Qingwu suddenly felt that her knowledge was somewhat lacking.
Seeing her blank expression, Achan kindly explained, "My specially made incense has no effect on humans, it only works on the Jiaolong clan."
Preparing the incense is not difficult; the difficult part is Shen Qingwu's step.
The Flood Dragon Mother has existed for so many years without being discovered by the outside world, presumably because apart from a small group of the Shen family, no one else knows this secret. Currently, only Shen Qingwu has the ability to contact the Flood Dragon Mother.
Although the Jiaolong is more powerful than ordinary demons and can transform into a dragon, it has a fatal weakness: before it successfully transforms into a dragon, the things on a dragon are fatally attractive to it.
The bait she used to catch that dragon was a specially prepared incense, which would be even more potent. Of course, this required a few special ingredients, which was a bit of a waste, but considering that the dragon mother might be at the fourth realm, it didn't seem so wasteful.
Although she didn't know what kind of aphrodisiac could produce the effect Ah Chan described, since Shen Qingwu had chosen to ask for help, she could only choose to believe her for now.
Achan didn't explain much, only agreeing with Shen Qingwu to come back in three days to pick up the medicine, and then dropped the topic.
Soon, Hui Niang's meal was ready, and the four of them sat around the small table and enjoyed a hearty dinner.
After finishing their meal, Achan said to Shen Huixue, who was sitting next to her, "Huixue, I saw that you brought the guards of the Duke of Li's son with you. Could you ask them to do me a favor?"
"What kind of help do you need? Tell me."
“Shen Zhuo, the garrison commander of the Mingjing Division, has come to Xiling. I want them to secretly help me find the whereabouts of these people and pass on a message to Lord Shen, saying that Ji Chan invites him to meet.”
“No problem, I’ll have them go find Lord Shen right away.” Shen Huixue agreed readily without even asking what A Chan wanted to see Shen Zhuo for.
As darkness fell, Shen Huixue, though unwilling to leave, could no longer stay.
She made an appointment with Achan to visit again another day before reluctantly leaving with Shen Qingwu.
After seeing them off, Achan saw Shen Huixue give a few instructions to a guard, who nodded and left alone.
Just after 9 PM, Chen Hui, as usual, drank a cup of demon beast blood and, as if drunk, went back to her room to sleep.
Achan lit a candle and sat at the table, scribbling away. When she got to the last material, she crumpled up two sheets of paper before finally coming up with a euphemistic name.
Shen Zhuo definitely doesn't have this, but he can ask Bai Xiuming for it, so that she won't be the one indebted to him.
Everything she did was for the sake of the Mingjing Division, so the favor should naturally be attributed to Lord Shen.
About half an hour later, there was a regular knocking sound from outside.
"Please come in." Achan didn't get up, but just said to the door.
The door creaked open, and Shen Zhuo, reeking of medicine, walked in.
After smelling the aroma, Achan turned her head in surprise and asked, "Lord Shen, are you injured?"
Shen Zhuo nodded, found a stool and sat down before speaking: "I suffered some minor injuries. Today I went to the Shen family to arrest Shen Zhiyuan, but unfortunately I didn't get anything out of him before he was silenced."
"To be able to injure Lord Shen, it seems the person who attacked him is quite powerful?"
"A fourth-level expert has arrived; the Shen family thinks highly of me." Shen Zhu chuckled. "The clues that Miss Ji provided for me have now been confirmed."
Given the Shen family's wealth, they couldn't possibly raise two people at the fourth level. The one who made the move must be Shen Zhiyuan's younger sister.
He didn't know how to evaluate the people who gave the order. They couldn't possibly be so naive as to think that as long as they silenced Shen Zhiyuan, the case would be closed, could they?
Achan didn't care much about the Shen family. She just felt that the envoys of the Mingjing Division were indeed not to be underestimated, since they could fight against the Four Realms and only suffer minor injuries.
She quickly composed herself, her eyes flickered slightly, and she said, "The Shen family is indeed audacious. With Shen Zhiyuan dead, it's no longer appropriate for Lord Shen to investigate this case openly. It's such a pity that the investigation has come all this way and the clues have been cut off."
Shen Zhuo sensed the other meaning in her words and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Ji, you summoned me here today, presumably it's also related to the Shen family. Do you have a better way to deal with them?"
Achan raised the corners of her lips: "I only have some ideas, and I still need Lord Shen's cooperation."
"What are you going to do? How do you want me to cooperate?" Shen Zhuo immediately became interested, leaning forward slightly, waiting to hear her continue.
“Since the Shen family doesn’t want the Dragon Mother to be exposed to the public, then I can only give it a push and let it appear on its own.” As she spoke, Achan handed over the written list. “Lord Shen, you’d better collect the information on this list and send it to me within two days. Whether the plan succeeds or not depends on you, Lord Shen.”
Shen Zhuo took the form handed to him by A Chan, glanced at it, and suddenly felt that the scene was very familiar.
It seems like this just happened once not long ago?
The dragon that caused trouble in the Ji River had only been dead for a few days, and now her target had become the dragons in the four border regions?
How can the four realms be so easily calculated?
But after his previous experience, he didn't dare to voice his doubts easily, always feeling that questioning the other party would make him seem short-sighted.
It's just some materials, why not give it a try?
Shen Zhuo carefully put the paper away and assured A Chan, "Miss Ji, don't worry, I will definitely deliver everything on it within two days."
After saying that, he added, "I am very grateful for Miss Ji's help this time. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
Ah Chan couldn't help but sigh. The matter hadn't even been settled yet, but Lord Shen had already made such a promise. It's true that you can't compare people's character.
"Once the plan succeeds, Lord Shen can thank me then." She sighed after saying that. "Besides, I'm doing this for myself. There are people eyeing me like hawks every day, and I'm afraid to even close my eyes when I sleep, for fear of being murdered."
She spoke so pitifully, but Shen Zhuo didn't dare believe a word she said.
This girl looks harmless, yet she can secretly plot against powerful demons from all four realms without batting an eye. Just as Bai Xiuming said, she is extremely vengeful.
Moreover, they came up with a way to deal with the Shen family in just a few days, even faster than the Mingjing Division. Such a capability is something we must never easily offend in the future.
Unbeknownst to Achan, Shen Zhuo had secretly raised her danger level to the highest level. After explaining everything, Shen Zhuo got up to take his leave.
Shen Zhuo went straight back to Mingjing Division's hideout. The man who came to kill Shen Zhiyuan had injured two of his subordinates and destroyed a wall today.
He had only been gone for less than an hour, and his subordinates, having nothing better to do, had already rebuilt the destroyed wall.
Shen Zhuo looked at the new wall and his subordinates waiting for praise, and suddenly felt speechless.
I always felt that the initiative of his subordinates was manifested in some strange and peculiar ways.
After seeing everyone off, Shen Zhuo returned to his room and opened the list that A Chan had given him, which listed six kinds of materials.
There are three kinds of Shenzhuo that I have heard of. They are rare spiritual herbs on the market. Although they are rare, they are not impossible to obtain. At least the Mingjing Division must have some in stock.
The following is a spice called "Death-Repelling Incense".
Folklore says that this incense can travel for miles, and its fragrance can even bring the dead back to life.
It just so happens that Shen Zhuo had handled a case related to the "Death-Reversing Incense" before and had witnessed its power. Although it was not as miraculous as rumored, capable of reviving the dead, once the fragrance spread, it could make one's blood surge and one's inner energy boil uncontrollably.
If this is not handled properly, it can cause quite a bit of trouble.
Shen Zhuo continued reading, and the fifth item was a small bottle of saliva from a toad. It was the saliva of some kind of toad, which he had never seen before, but it looked rather disgusting.
The last one is... Longyang water?
Shen Zhuo looked at it twice but still couldn't figure out what kind of material it was. Was it related to dragons? Perhaps he could ask Bai Xiuming? It just so happened that he had arranged to meet him tonight.
A few days ago, he was able to sneak into the Xiling Prince's Mansion, but in the last two days, Bai Xiuming said that something unclean had entered the mansion and wouldn't let him go there, so he had no choice but to let Bai Xiuming come to him on his own initiative.
As night fell, the yamen became very quiet, with only the occasional sound of the patrolling Mingjing Guards.
The candle in Shen Zhuo's room had never been extinguished. At midnight, the candlelight flickered twice, and he felt a gentle breeze pass by, and then there was another person in the room.
He turned his head and saw that there was someone standing by the window.
Bai Xiuming, dressed in a white, wide-sleeved robe and with a jade belt around his waist, looked more like a refined young gentleman about to go out to admire the moon.
"Tsk, do you really have to dress like this in the middle of the night?" he couldn't help but say.
"It's the King of Xiling's preference," Bai Xiuming casually explained, then said seriously, "Let's get down to business. What did you call me here for?"
"I originally wanted to tell you that Shen Zhiyuan had been captured, but he was silenced less than an hour later." Saying this made him seem a bit incompetent, so Shen Zhuo paused for a moment before saying, "But at least it proves that the Shen family's Dragon Mother really exists."
Bai Xiuming snorted coldly: "They've got some nerve, daring to try and silence us."
"This is Xiling after all. With the King of Xiling holding absolute power, the Shen family has probably become too arrogant. After all these years, our Mingjing Division has finally gotten a chance to investigate a case in Xiling. We didn't expect to be given such a hard time first. It's quite a novel experience."
Seeing no anger on Shen Zhuo's face, Bai Xiuming was slightly surprised: "It seems you have a solution?"
Shen Zhu chuckled, then changed the subject: "I just went out for a bit. Guess who I met?"
Bai Xiuming looked at him expressionlessly, clearly uninterested in playing guessing games with him.
"Alright, I'll go see Miss Ji."
Bai Xiuming raised an eyebrow: "What do you want to see her for?"
“It’s not that I want to see her, it’s that she sent someone to find me. Miss Ji said she has a way to help me.” As he spoke, he tossed the sheet in his hand toward Bai Xiuming. “Look, this is what she just gave me.”
The thin paper seemed to have suddenly changed material, and it even made a whistling sound as it was being torn apart.
Bai Xiuming reached out and grabbed the paper, flipping it over to see the few lines of text written on it.
His gaze swept over the written materials, finally landing on Longyang Water. He paused for a moment, then realized what it was, and couldn't help but scoff, "These are the materials she asked you to find?"
"Yes, I was just about to ask you, what exactly is Longyang Water, and is it related to dragons?" Shen Zhuo asked humbly.
Bai Xiuming glanced at him, then looked down at the papers in his hand.
This list appears to be for Shen Zhuo, but it's actually a way of asking him for something.
In just a few months, they first got dragon bones from him, then dragon blood, and now they want dragon essence.
The dragon she killed back then actually brought her good fortune.
This time she was smarter, knowing to have Shen Zhuo come to him to ask for it, thinking that by having someone in between, she wouldn't have to owe him a favor.
Seeing that Bai Xiuming hadn't said a word for a long time, Shen Zhuo assumed that he didn't recognize it either, so he said, "If all else fails, I'll go to her again tomorrow and ask her what this is."
"No need." Bai Xiuming closed the paper. "I have some. You prepare the materials, and I'll send them to her later."
"You? Are you free to leave the Xiling Prince's Mansion now?"
"There are still a few moments of free time. Did she tell you what you were going to do with this?"
Shen Zhu blinked, finally realizing he had forgotten something important. He had been so caught up in his excitement that he had only listened to a few words from A Chan before returning without asking about the specific plans.
"She only told me that there was a way to make the Dragon Mother appear on her own, and then she gave me that piece of paper."
Bai Xiuming's heart skipped a beat. She's even using dragon essence; she probably doesn't just want the Dragon Mother to show herself, but also wants to destroy the entire Shen family.
Thinking about it carefully, although the approach was a bit crooked, it was indeed heading straight for the vital point, which is consistent with her style.
Before leaving, Bai Xiuming said, "Send me a message after you've collected everything."
“Okay.” Since he was willing to help deliver the items, Shen Zhuo didn’t take the job.
Two days later, people from the Xiling Prince's Mansion could be seen frequently on the streets.
Upon hearing that the Crown Prince was to be engaged, the Prince was overjoyed and decided to seek out rare treasures for his future Crown Princess.
Now, whenever I go out, I seem to hear people talking about this, and Achan is too lazy to even listen.
She felt that it must be because Bai Xiuming's choice of fiancée was so terrible that she had lost all interest in watching the spectacle.
That night, Achan slept soundly with her blanket in her arms, but woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.
This had never happened before; she was clearly still sleepy.
She yawned and was about to change her position to continue sleeping when she turned over and saw a living person standing at the head of the bed.
Her drowsiness vanished in an instant. Achan sat up abruptly in bed. The person didn't move. She leaned closer to take a closer look and finally confirmed the person's identity.
She said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "What a fool! Only a lecher would break into a woman's boudoir at night."
"When you summoned Shen Zhuo to see you, it was also at night."
"Lord Shen is much more polite than you; at least he knows to knock." Ah Chan got out of bed angrily, intending to light the candles.
Bai Xiuming stopped her, flicked his hand, and a cluster of flames appeared on the candle on the table.
"I'm afraid that knocking on the door will disturb your peaceful sleep."
"You still know how to disturb my peaceful sleep? Can't you come to see me at another time?"
The candlelight flickered on, and Achan looked down at her clothes. Although they were a bit thin, they were still quite decent.
She walked to the table and sat down, poured herself a glass of water, took a sip, felt it was cold, and pushed the glass aside.
Bai Xiuming sat down opposite her, touched the cup with his finger, and the water inside immediately became warm.
He pushed the water glass to Achan's side. Achan took it, and the warmth of the glass made her pause slightly. She then picked it up and took a few sips. The warm water moistened her lips, making them appear slightly red.
Bai Xiuming's gaze shifted from her lips, as if explaining to her, "I'm a bit busy during the day, so this time is more convenient."
Achan glanced at him and snorted, "I know, Lord Bai is busy with his engagement."
"You've heard?"
"Is there anyone in Xiling who doesn't know that the Crown Prince is about to get engaged?"
Bai Xiuming chuckled lightly: "So, you plan to give me a big gift on the day of my engagement?"
The inexplicable irritation in Achan's heart suddenly dissipated. She rested her chin on her hand and asked with a smile, "You guessed it?"
Bai Xiuming remained silent, taking out the items she wanted one by one, and finally taking out a jade bottle that exuded a chilling aura.
The jade bottle was only the length of a finger. Ah Chan immediately realized what was inside and stared at it longingly.
Bai Xiuming placed the jade bottle in front of her: "Use this carefully, it's what you asked for."
At this moment, Ah Chan did not forget to assign responsibilities, emphasizing, "This is what Lord Shen wants, it has nothing to do with me."
Bai Xiuming raised an eyebrow and put the bottle back: "Since it's something Shen Zhuo wants to use, then forget it. My relationship with him isn't that close."
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