Chapter 270 Blood Gu Worms Grant Immortality? The Witch Appears!
Leng Dian and Zhui Yu were both surprised to hear this.
Zhuiyu: "Your Highness, isn't this... just the servant who introduces everyone at the auctions? He's actually the owner of this gambling den?"
Duan Rongshi did not explain to Zhuiyu.
He simply reached out and pulled Li Qingluo back a little.
"Be careful not to fall. What's so interesting about this? He's wearing a mask, and just like you, it's hard to tell if he's male or female."
Li Qingluo: "..."
Your Highness, could you please shut up?
Zhuiyu from the side: Look, His Highness is becoming more and more caring.
It's truly heartwarming and touching.
Granny Zheng: Heavens! Is this really the same Prince Su, the bloodthirsty, ruthless, and god-like killer from the rumors?!?
Speaking to those girls so gently, is this old man dreaming or having some kind of hallucination?
Granny Zheng couldn't help but pinch herself hard.
Then I laughed.
It seems that rumors can sometimes be untrue; His Highness Prince Su is quite a considerate person.
Only Nangong Di showed no reaction, leaning against the window and coldly staring down below.
Li Qingluo sat down, and just then, she suddenly saw that the window of the room that had never been opened was finally opened.
She unconsciously craned her neck to look in that direction.
Then I heard a few faint coughs, and before I could see what it was, a figure blocked my view.
The figure suddenly turned its head and glanced in Li Qingluo's direction.
Li Qingluo immediately and obediently shrank back.
Zheng Lingzhou!
How could it be him?
Their Lotus Sect is truly omnipresent; their presence can be found everywhere.
Li Qinglu frowned and completely hid herself inside the window. Duan Rongshi noticed her unusual behavior and asked, "Did you run into someone you know?"
Li Qingluo didn't hide anything: "Your Highness, they are people from the Lotus Sect. You know them too."
Fortunately, they were all disguised today, otherwise they probably wouldn't have been able to get away easily.
Duan Rongshi didn't seem surprised to see people from the Lotus Sect here. He casually rested his arm on the windowsill and suddenly pointed to two corners below the hall: "They're all from the Lotus Sect."
Li Qingluo: "Your Highness knows that there are so many Lotus Sect followers here today, so why..."
She immediately realized that Duan Rongshi should be locked up in the Prince Su's mansion to reflect on his mistakes.
Therefore, having no authority, it was impossible for him to openly lead people to wipe out this cult stronghold.
He then shut up.
Duan Rongshi said, "It's not just today, it's every auction; this place is always full of Lotus Cult members."
Li Qingluo: "So this gambling den has been taken over by the Lotus Sect? Since Your Highness knew this, why didn't you...?"
Duan Rongshi looked at her and said, "Don't pry into things that aren't your business. Be careful not to get yourself into trouble."
He smiled, as if he were teasing her, yet also as if he were serious.
Li Qinglu thought to herself: Fortunately, she has always kept a clear separation from Zheng Lingzhou, and Prince Su has witnessed her firm attitude several times, otherwise it would really be a mess.
She thought of her half-brother.
To this day, Uncle De has still not been able to find out his whereabouts.
So is he really still alive?
If he were alive, would he hide with Zheng Lingzhou within the Lotus Sect?
Even so, there was not a single word from them, which shows how well they kept their whereabouts secret.
Back when he was still at the General's Mansion, Li Qingluo did want to find him and take action as soon as possible to eliminate any future troubles.
Call her ruthless or heartless, even if she deserves retribution, she doesn't want to involve herself and her grandmother in the matter of having their family wiped out because of her half-brother's relationship with the Lotus Sect.
But now, he and his grandmother have finally left the General's Mansion in Dongyin Lane.
If we were to persuade my grandmother to write a letter severing ties with my family...
As for this half-brother, Li Qingluo no longer cares whether he will ever reappear in front of the world, or whether he lives or dies.
"Look, young lady!"
Suddenly, Granny Zheng pointed into the hall and exclaimed in surprise. Li Qinglu looked down and saw that the pink worm had been poured from the glass bottle into a large wooden bucket filled with water by the young man in black with a mask.
Then, he seemed to add something to the barrel.
It looks like bright red blood!
Li Qingluo and Duan Rongshi both stood up and leaned close to the window to look down carefully.
Looking at the windows of all the rooms on the second floor, they were now crowded with people. Everyone was obviously very curious and wanted to know what that big pink worm was.
Duan Rongshi noticed a probing gaze, and when he slowly turned his head to look in that direction, only half of Zheng Lingzhou's face was faintly visible in the window.
Duan Rongshi snorted coldly, his broad arms completely blocking any possibility of Li Qingluo being seen by others.
Although Zheng Lingzhou withdrew his gaze at this moment, he called his subordinate in: "Go and find out who the people in that room are."
Zheng Wanxiu: "What's wrong? Did you encounter someone suspicious?"
Zheng Lingzhou: "One person was extremely ugly, and there were several others whose faces were covered by masks, making it impossible to identify them."
"Although there's nothing particularly special about it, we need to be careful these days and not be careless."
Zheng Wanxiu nodded upon hearing this: "Although our Lotus Sect has more and more spies and informants in the court now, it is indeed sometimes difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake."
"Moreover, our stronghold in Qingsong Town is becoming more and more conspicuous, yet it has not yet attracted the attention of the imperial court... Even I find it strange. Apart from Prince Su, is there no one else in the imperial court who cares about us?"
Although the Lisboa Casino operates in a relatively secretive manner, it is impossible for the imperial court to be completely unaware of it.
In the past two years, the reputation of the Lisboa Hotel has grown increasingly prominent, yet the central government seems to show no sign of wanting to crack down on it.
This led their Lotus Sect to grow increasingly unchecked, turning this place into a base for accumulating wealth and winning over people's hearts.
However, Zheng Wanxiu felt a sense of unease, believing that the matter was not so simple.
Zheng Lingzhou: "Sister, you are a woman after all, and sometimes you are a little too cautious."
"Currently, it is indeed only Prince Su who is openly cracking down on our Lotus Sect, and he has always been the most ruthless and severe. But do you really think that there aren't any spies from the court among these people who mingle in this crowd?"
"But the Lisboa Casino now takes in more money every day than half of Nanjing combined. Gold and silver are flowing in like water. Do you think no one is envious of such immense wealth?"
"It's just a game between the two sides, neither willing to give up this piece of fat meat for the time being. How could it be easily exposed to the world and collapse and be destroyed?"
"You don't know that there are already quite a few people in the Great Liang Dynasty trying to get their hands on this gambling den, trying to completely muddy the waters and grab a piece of the pie."
"The imperial court doesn't care and lets this place rot away... but if one day they completely turn against us, that will be the outcome of this power struggle."
"But what does this have to do with us? It's just a gambling den of dubious origin. Our Lotus Sect can easily abandon it and get away with it."
Zheng Wanxiu exclaimed softly, "But this is the sect leader..."
Zheng Lingzhou: "As long as the Great Liang Dynasty continues to decay and rot, it will naturally get closer and closer to the ideal country in the leader's heart. What does it matter if it's just a gambling den?"
Zheng Wanxiu listened intently with a furrowed brow until a sudden, sharp cough came from behind her.
She immediately turned back to Jingchuan's side: "Xiaochuan, are you alright? Someone, turn the fire in the stove even brighter!"
"It's all your fault, Mother. I thought I'd bring you here to see the excitement, but I didn't realize you'd already caught a cold in the Pei family dungeon that day, and your health was seriously damaged. This whole ordeal has made you suffer even more."
Jingchuan shook his head.
“Mother, I’m fine. Don’t you know it’s an old ailment? When the weather gets warmer, your son can go out for walks again.”
Zheng Lingzhou watched silently without saying a word.
Jingchuan suddenly asked, "By the way, has there been any change in that pink worm down there?"
Zheng Wanxiu and Zheng Lingzhou looked down together.
Zheng Wanxiu gasped after taking a look: "That bug... the bug has grown bigger!"
Li Qingluo also saw it.
After the pink worm was placed in the large wooden barrel, it quickly swelled and grew to fill the barrel completely in no time.
People sitting on the first floor were even worried that it might continue to swell and grow until it slipped off the edge of the barrel.
Fortunately, this did not happen.
The pink worm's body was coiled into countless circles, its head and tail invisible, and it had no eyes as it swam continuously inside the wooden tub.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the scene before them with a mixture of shock and disgust.
"What on earth is this thing?"
"How can it get so big?"
"It doesn't even look like an eel; it looks even more disgusting than an eel!"
Just then, the masked young man finally spoke up and introduced the large pink worm: "This is the Blood Gu Worm."
"Blood Gu worms? What are blood Gu worms?"
"Yeah, what exactly is this thing? It looks pretty weird."
"I don't know, but I definitely won't want it. It's disgusting."
But then the masked young man continued, "The so-called blood gu worm is a kind of gu worm that is raised on blood."
"This is a very ancient type of Gu worm that has been lost in the Miao region for a long time. Would you like to know how many years this blood Gu worm in my hand has lived?"
People started whispering among themselves, and then someone shouted, "Five years!"
Three years!
"A year, I guess. How could an insect possibly live that long? A year is already the limit."
The masked young man smiled and said, "No. It has lived for at least fifty years."
Everyone gasped upon hearing this.
"How is this possible?"
"Exactly. How could a worm live that long?"
"Isn't that older than me?"
"You're kidding us, right? And even if it can live for fifty years, so what? We're not going to buy such a weird bug to raise at home, are we?"
"Exactly, what's the point of keeping it? Is it to make people lose their appetite, or is it some rare and precious treasure for people to see?"
The masked young man: "Gentlemen, what if I told you that this insect can grant immortality?"
The hall fell silent instantly.
Everyone looked at each other, speechless.
Immortality!?
Is this some kind of fabricated lie?
And if there really were such a good item, why not put it up for auction instead of keeping it for yourself?
But then the masked young man explained, "Of course I know that this is a rare treasure that is unique in the world, but raising this blood worm is not something that an ordinary person can persist in doing."
"Because raising it not only costs money, but also risks lives."
"It is precisely because I cannot do it that we have to reluctantly take it out, hoping to find it a true home."
"If you don't believe me, please take a look."
As the young man spoke, he clapped his hands, and then a person dressed entirely in black gauze, sitting in a chair, was carried out.
Once the black veil was completely removed, everyone could see that she was an exceptionally beautiful woman from the Western Regions!
However, the woman seemed unable to move, sitting stiffly and motionless in the chair.
Only when her eyes occasionally twitch does one believe that she is indeed still alive.
The masked young man said, "The person you see before you is the former owner of this blood worm, a woman from the Western Regions named Zaina."
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