Twenty-two Soul-locking Stone Slag
Lu Yinche's language ability was destroyed by the mudslide.
He suddenly dropped his hand, glared at Xie Juncun fiercely, turned around resolutely, strode to the other end of the room, pulled out a chair, and sat down heavily with his back to Xie Juncun.
He was afraid that if he said another word, he would not be able to control himself and strangle this precious child of Cheng Xiaozong to death on the spot.
Lu Yinche stayed alone for a while, and when he felt his heartbeat calm down, he looked for some water on the table. Just as Xie Juncun was about to speak, he gestured, "Stop, let me finish this glass."
He was afraid that this guy would choke him to death again if they disagreed with him.
Xie Juncun shut his mouth obediently.
Lu Yinche drank the remaining tea in the cup slowly and calmly, and felt much more relaxed.
He raised his empty cup towards Xie Juncun, trying to act like an elder and being generous. "Would you like a drink too? Let me moisten your throat."
Xie Juncun's eyes wandered between the cup in Lu Yinche's hand and the only teapot on the table for a moment, and asked, "You don't want to drink anymore?"
Only then did Lu Yinche notice that this place was so stingy that only one cup was provided. He thought it was part of the atmosphere of the place and was specially prepared for some special guests.
He waved his hand nonchalantly: "No more drinking."
He sneered in his heart: Whoever wants to use it can use it, it’s none of his business anyway.
Upon hearing this, Xie Juncun nodded, walked over, picked up the teacup that Lu Yinche had just used very naturally, poured himself a full cup, and drank it with a calm expression.
This kid is really uncouth.
Lu Yinche looked away, too lazy to investigate further. He wasn't interested in watching a grown man drink water, so he simply stood up and paced around the room to observe.
The furnishings in the house were luxurious, no different from those in ordinary Qinlou and Chuguan.
Lu Yinche glanced at the large carved wooden bed and casually lifted up the thin silk quilt on the bed which was obviously not used for keeping warm.
A bunch of messy stuff rolled out from below.
A few leather buckles of suspicious colors, a light red one embroidered with lotus flowers... of this size, is it a bellyband or a handkerchief?
"Tsk!" Lu Yinche curled his lips in disgust, his eyes attracted by several round, heavy, black hard objects.
He picked one up at random and weighed it. It felt cold and hard, and there seemed to be runes engraved on the surface.
"What is this thing for? A hidden weapon? For hitting people? It's so heavy, it's too awkward to use."
Xie Juncun looked at him unconsciously throwing and catching toys, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
There was nothing valuable to find on the bed, so Lu Yinche turned his gaze to under the bed.
This bed is much higher than ordinary ones, and a large box made of wooden boards and bamboo strips is stuffed underneath.
He hooked the handle of the box with his foot and pulled it out. There were only a few pieces of red gauze inside, and the bottom was hollow - what kind of good person made a box like this? Did he think it would be inconvenient for cockroaches, ants and insects to get in and out?
Lu Yinche bent down and saw a faint indentation of a heavy object on the floor beneath the bed. He simply lay down, put his ear close to the floor tiles, and tapped them a few times with his fingers.
A hollow echo.
Lu Yinche's eyes lit up.
He fumbled for a moment and soon found a hidden mechanism on the inside of the bed foot, and pulled it hard!
With a click, a floor tile about three feet square came loose. When it was pried open, a hole was revealed where an adult could lie down. The edge of the hole was smooth, probably having been there when it was built. A thick layer of dark soft mat was laid inside. A closer look revealed ventilation holes on the floor tile, but they were covered with dust.
Lu Yinche retracted his dusty fingers and rubbed them on the expensive bed curtains. He beckoned Xie Juncun to come over: "Come, come, take a look at this!"
He pointed at the hole, a smile of both joking and surprise on his face. "I've only heard of people with special fetishes who pay to listen in on people's affairs. I wonder if there really is such a private room? A pit specifically dug for people to lie down in and listen to the performance? Tsk, this money is really... easy to make!"
His tone was full of admiration for the way Hongku made money.
Xie Juncun was much more particular than him and immediately stopped Lu Yinche's hand from reaching down.
He frowned, carefully lifted the soft mat with his scabbard, and then poked the bottom of the pit hard.
Boom! Boom! A dull echo echoed.
"Solid." Xie Juncun concluded.
No tunnel?
Lu Yinche couldn't tell whether he was disappointed or confused. "What's the point of this red cave? It's just a place for eavesdroppers. If they're discovered, won't there be a fight? They don't even leave a way out. Are they really expecting the guests to hide in the cave and fight with others?"
He thought the design was absolutely stupid.
Xie Juncun ignored his complaints, his gaze shifting from the awkward hole to Lu Yinche's dusty face. He suddenly asked, "You... used to come to places like this often?"
Lu Yinche was stunned for a moment, then answered reflexively, "No."
Xie Juncun nodded, his eyes sweeping over the teapot on the table and the cup they had shared, and he warned calmly, "It's best not to touch the water and food here. They might be drugged."
Lu Yinche wanted to laugh at him for worrying too much.
After all, he is a cultivator, and he was a famous and powerful person hundreds of years ago. What are aphrodisiacs and poisons? How could he not taste them?
Can it still work on him...?
Well……
Wei Qi’s serious face and the warning, “Your foundation is as rotten as an eighty-year-old bamboo mat, full of holes and will break with a single poke,” instantly emerged in his mind.
If it was some special drug that had some effect on the soul, he might really get sick.
Thinking of this, he felt a little guilty.
She pretended to be angry and turned the tables: "You are so knowledgeable, why didn't you tell me earlier? Didn't you drink it yourself? Are you using me to test the poison?"
Faced with this unreasonable accusation, Xie Juncun did not defend himself.
He just glanced at Lu Yinche, his eyes seemingly inadvertently sweeping over the big bed that was in a mess and piled with "toys".
"If we were both drugged," he paused, stating his solution, "it's fine."
Holy shit, this guy looks serious, but is he actually teasing me?!
Lu Yinche realized it belatedly, his eyes widened, his ears burning, and he quickly changed the subject: "You...don't just stand there, get down to business!"
Xie Juncun wanted to hear this. He was still beside the opened pit of the "elegant seat", so he squatted down and carefully examined the edge of the soft mat that was opened by the scabbard, as well as the place where the bottom of the pit was poked.
Suddenly, he paused, picked up a little bit of dark red powder remaining in the cracks of the soft mat at the bottom of the pit with his fingertips, and sniffed it very lightly. "It's the powder of the Soul Locking Stone."
At the same time, at the foot of the wall of Zhang's villa on the edge of Yaocheng, Lu Denghe and Yang Deyou were concentrating on being eavesdroppers.
If they were more informed, they would know that there were several entrances to the Yellow Springs Market nearby, and even that the huge underground black market was right under their feet.
They came with Zhang Ri'an.
Although Young Master Zhang had no cultivation, his personal bodyguard, a mid-stage Jindan cultivator, was extremely vigilant. To avoid being discovered, they initially didn't dare to follow too closely.
Fortunately, the group of people were in a hurry and only stayed in the pawnshop for an incense stick before leaving. They did not stop here and did not notice the two people.
As soon as he arrived at the courtyard, a middle-aged mortal wearing an eight-treasure hat came out to greet him, calling him "Young Master".
The Jindan cultivator beside Zhang Ri'an seemed to dislike this person and immediately said, "The butler is truly loyal to the old master and never forgets him. He hasn't changed his words even after he's gone? Could it be that he wants to stay with the old master and be his loyal servant for a few more decades?"
The housekeeper looked unhappy, and Zhang Ri'an did not come to his rescue, so he could only apologize by repeatedly saying "slip of the tongue".
Then, Zhang Ri'an led the way into the courtyard without saying a word.
The servants unloaded two large boxes from the carriage and carried them inside - things that the two followers had not noticed before.
Yang Deyou moved swiftly and silently, then quickly returned and whispered to Lu Denghe, "I found their warehouse. It was full of boxes like this, at least a hundred of them, and they were guarded by many people. I wasn't sure I could knock them down silently, so I didn't open any boxes."
Lu Denghe thought, "Look at how hard they're trying to lift it. Four strong men are trying to lift it. The thing inside seems to be heavier than the gold, silver and spirit stones. It must be something more solid."
What treasure is heavier than gold and silver? The two were at a loss for a moment.
Butler Zhang led Zhang Ri'an into the main house, stayed there for a while, and then came out. He found a place not far away and began to scold the servants, using extremely vulgar words.
Even a fool could tell that he was using this place to criticize others for "occupying the toilet without taking a shit" as a veiled criticism.
The main house was quiet and no one paid any attention to him.
The housekeeper got tired of scolding and finally remembered the important matter: "Have you counted the soul stones?"
Yang Deyou and Lu Denghe exchanged glances, each showing confusion on their faces—Soul Stone? What was that?
The person who answered the call gave a number and then said, "Master, another tunnel collapsed over at the quarry yesterday, killing fifteen people. The news has been suppressed, but..."
Hearing someone die, he remained calm: "Hurry up! If you have to fart, do it!"
"Yes, yes," the servant said hurriedly, "experienced miners have seen it and said that we are digging too deep and violating the taboos of the Ghost Goddess. If we dig any deeper, no one will survive."
The butler scoffed, "Are there any more stones underneath?"
The servant nodded.
"You ignorant fools, you're just scaring yourself!" The housekeeper waved his hand. "What ghost queen? The ghost bride that's been rumored all over the city still has to stay in bed. It's not you who dug it up, so why should you be afraid?"
The servant dared not mention it again.
He asked about the accounts again and then warned, "Zhang Ri'an... Young Master wants to see the accounts, so show them to him generously. Can he find out anything?"
He paused, his voice tinged with satisfaction. "Wait until the auction ends tomorrow, and this matter is over. Everyone can relax for a few days. I'll give out rewards then. Those who have wives can go home and hug them. Those who don't have wives, tell me your name and go to the brothel to find the best girls!"
Another servant rubbed his hands together and came forward, grinning lecherously: "Master, does this brothel... include the one downstairs?"
The butler glanced at him sideways: "Oh? You also want to taste that high-quality stuff?"
"Doesn't it all depend on your reward? Where would we get the spirit stones? That's the cultivators' territory." The servant said with a playful smile, "But the brothers have been running errands and heard from the Meng family that the people below, both men and women, are of the highest quality."
He gestured obscenely, "As long as we have enough spirit stones, people like us can also sleep with Foundation Establishment cultivators!"
The housekeeper snorted and said, "The Meng family...don't compare yourself to them! Without me, you guys would have starved to death and become beggars in a dilapidated temple!"
After saying this, he did not stay any longer and left the villa with most of his servants in a noisy carriage.
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