Chapter 26 His chest felt uncomfortable again. Shi Lian
The case is finally showing some promise.
After discussing it, the group decided to go to Gu Zhi's room together in the evening. First, they would go to Qin Shi Lou to find Anling Wang's lover, the male prostitute Yu Zhu.
Unexpectedly, after they left, they asked the madam and learned that Yuzhu was unwell and had taken a few days off, and would not be back for several days.
“What a coincidence!” Mingjian frowned. “He just happened to fall ill right when we were looking for him.”
Song Heyu said, "The Prince of Anling is indeed problematic. What Bai Zhang said is true. The Prince of Anling and this Yuzhu should be acquainted."
The four were silent for a while, then Gu Zhi sighed, "Let's go back first, and then we can discuss this further."
When they reached the corner room on the second floor, Xiao Bumian suddenly stopped and looked inside.
Seeing that he hadn't followed, Ming took two steps back and asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Bumian withdrew his gaze, a smile on his face, and shook his head, "Nothing."
Mingjian, somewhat suspicious, tried to peek inside, but Xiao Bumian grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him downstairs.
Mingjian: "..."
"Gentlemen, please come again next time," the madam said in a high-pitched voice, still fanning herself with a round fan.
As they walked away, the madam's smile faded inch by inch, and she said coldly to the mermaid servant behind her, "Why aren't you going to check if they're dead? If they're dead, throw them into the mass grave right away!"
The mermaid servant nodded tremblingly, "I'll go right away."
-
The four of them returned to the princess's residence in a carriage, just in time to see Shi Lian and his entourage coming out of a side gate.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on Shi Liantian's sky-blue robe, making his smile appear even more gentle and refined.
Mingjian has a strong liking for Shilian.
When he first entered the sect, his cultivation was low, and he was always cornered in the training ground by several Foundation Establishment stage senior brothers. He remembered most clearly a rainy day when he was pressed into the mud, his face covered with rainwater mixed with blood. Suddenly, a clear and melodious jade bell sound came from afar, and a long sword adorned with a green jade bell was stuck three inches in front of him with a "clang".
"The seventh precept of the sect is: those who bully the weak shall be expelled."
The young Shi Lian stood holding an umbrella, his moon-white robe spotless. Despite being of the same generation, his status as the sect leader's son forced the Foundation Establishment disciples to kneel and beg for mercy, their faces ashen.
Mingjian still remembers the handkerchief Shilian handed him, which carried the scent of pine and ink, and he also remembers Shilian's words of comfort: "The path of cultivation is long, there's no need to rush." Later, Shilian went to the inner sect, and the handkerchief was washed until it turned white, and Mingjian was still unable to return it.
Perhaps Shi Lian had only helped him casually back then, but this was indeed the first warmth Mingjian felt on Jianming Immortal Mountain.
"Senior Brother Gu, Senior Brother Song."
Shi Lian bowed, sword in hand.
Gu Zhi jumped down from the carriage, circled around Shi Lian for a while, and then suddenly leaned closer and asked, "Did you go to Yunliu Academy?"
Shi Lian was somewhat taken aback. "How did you know, Senior Brother?"
Gu Zhi raised her lips, "Of course we could tell by smell. You all have a strong smell of pine soot. We went there yesterday. I suppose you're not making as much progress as we are. Instead of all of us getting lost in the illusion, we might as well exchange information."
Shi Lian glanced at Lou Jing beside her, and Lou Jing nodded, "Okay."
Half an hour later, dozens of disciples from Jianming Immortal Mountain were standing in Gu Zhi's room.
Mingjian recounted the events of the previous night to them, omitting Xiao Bumian's story, and embellished it further, saying that he and Xiao Bumian saw the disciples walking uncontrollably into the empty alley at midnight, like puppets on strings.
When they followed, they heard two dark figures talking. They mentioned that the disciples had merman eggs inside their bodies. Later, they got into a fight, and the one with higher cultivation killed the one with lower cultivation.
After Mingjian finished speaking, he went on to explain his guess.
Song Heyu's face grew increasingly grim as he listened. Song Yao was his cousin, and although their relationship wasn't much better than that of the other senior and junior brothers on the Immortal Mountain, it was closely related to the interests of the Song family. If so many innocent disciples were to lose their lives because of Song Yao, the Song family would bear the responsibility.
"You two are only at the Qi Refining stage. Didn't they notice you?" Lou Jing drew his sword from its sheath and held it against Ming Jian's neck, his eyes filled with vigilance. "Or do you two also have mermaid eggs inside you?"
Xiao Bumian raised his eyes, his gaze lingering for a moment on Lou Jing's sword-wielding hand before turning away with a cold look.
Mingjian: "...?"
Is this person sick?
He gently pushed Lou Jing's sword away with two fingers, a forced smile on his face. "Fellow Daoist, if we had mermaid eggs inside us, would I still need to say anything more to you? You would already be nourishment for the mermaids by now."
Lou Jing blushed with anger: "You!"
"Enough," Shi Lian pressed down on Lou Jing's wrist. "Senior Brother, now is not the time to act rashly."
Lou Jing then sheathed his sword, his face displeased. "The Rewinding Formation requires a living sacrifice to activate, and the disciple you mentioned named Song Yao could not have survived. You two are only Qi Refining stage disciples; if what you say is true, those two demons could not have failed to discover you."
Therefore, I must decline to accompany you.
After saying that, Lou Jing turned and left.
"Senior brother!" Shi Lian called out, frowning.
Seeing this, the other disciples also bowed and left.
Shi Lian said apologetically, "I'm sorry, we didn't find any clues at Yunliu Academy today. I guess my senior brother is in a bad mood right now, which is why he took his anger out on you. He didn't mean it."
Gu Zhi shrugged. "It's nothing, I'm used to it. That's just his temper."
Several of the inner disciples of Jianming Immortal Mountain were taught by the same elder, so even though they were from different peaks, they always saw each other.
Shi Lian paused for a moment, then said, "I believe you. I've noticed that the spiritual energy in my dantian is decreasing these past few days. I initially thought it was because I hadn't rested properly for many days, but I've found that's not the case. I've taken several Spirit Gathering Pills, but it's still useless."
His expression was grim. "Logically speaking, with such abundant spiritual energy here, this shouldn't be happening. I asked several other disciples, and many of them were like me, while others couldn't even use their spiritual energy. But some disciples could use it freely. I've seen their spiritual energy, and it seems very strange; it doesn't feel like it's their own."
Shi Lian pursed his lips, glanced at Ming Jian, and said, "It was only after hearing what this junior brother said today that I realized what he meant."
Song Heyu: "Those disciples who can use spiritual power freely do so because they have merman eggs growing inside their bodies, right?"
"right."
After he finished speaking, the group fell silent.
Shi Lian: "I'm a little worried about my senior brother, so I can't go with you to find that demon. If anything happens at the Princess's residence, I will use the Spirit Mirror to send you a message."
As he spoke, he took out a number of pills and talismans from his Qiankun bag. "These things were given to me by my father when I came down the mountain. I hope they will be of use to you."
Mingjian and Guzhi stared wide-eyed at the pile of treasures on the table.
Gu Zhi smiled and said, "It's useful, it's useful, thank you, junior brother."
Song Heyu couldn't bear to look at the two of them.
Xiao Bumian leaned against the wall, staring at Mingjian's face.
A sense of irritation crossed my mind.
He felt unwell again and patted his chest.
After Shi Lian left, Gu Zhi divided the pills on the table with Ming Jian before saying, "You'll get used to it. The one who just brandished a knife at your neck was the sect leader's personal disciple and the first among us juniors to break through to the Golden Core stage. So he's a bit arrogant, but he's not a bad person. He just likes to put on airs and looks down on everyone."
"That was Shi Lian. You should have heard of him. He's known in our sect as a pushover. If anyone does something wrong, he'll be dealt with according to the rules of the Immortal Mountain. We all call him Little Old Man in private."
The two chatted for a while longer.
As night deepened, Xiao Bumian rested his head on his hand at the table with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and said, "Here it comes."
The next second, a woman's faint sobbing could be heard.
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