Chapter 32 Night Banquet ⑥ - The Tiny Spirit Between us, there's no need to fuss...
Unexpectedly, the mystery was revealed in such a sudden way. Lan Shuyin walked out of the murder mystery game shop, her heart heavy, unable to feel happy at all.
Despite having confirmed many things and figured out the truth about the ghost, she felt a wave of exhaustion.
She slowly strolled out of the creative park, a cool evening breeze brushing against her face. The stone steps at the entrance were chilled by the twilight, so she sat down and casually pulled off the hair tie, letting her long hair flow freely down.
She lowered her head, her fingertips digging deep into her hair, wanting to sit quietly for a while before going back.
Everything makes sense, except for that strange "self" in the mirror... Was that also Liu Qingshan's doing?
The phone she was holding suddenly vibrated, interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced at the screen and saw it was a voice call from Wei Li.
Lan Shuyin was slightly taken aback, then quickly pressed the answer button and held the phone to her ear, "Hello?"
She did send a message to Wei Li before leaving home today, but he didn't reply. The timing is rather opportune.
"Hello." A clear, gentle voice came through the receiver, with the faint sound of traffic in the background, suggesting he was also outdoors. "I just finished work and saw your message. I didn't want to call and bother you, but..."
He paused slightly, then said, "I think it would be better to ask you directly. What exactly do you mean by 'a treasure you can show off'?"
The moment she heard his voice, Lan Shuyin instinctively stood up and slowly walked forward along the sidewalk.
"It's like this, Night Banquet Listening Secrets...you should know about it, right?" This time it wasn't a test; she went straight to the point, saying bluntly, "I received an invitation. I heard it's a place where you exchange information for information, and if you don't have information, you have to exchange it for valuable treasures...so I wanted to ask you, do you know the rules there? For example, roughly what level of treasure is needed to exchange for a piece of valuable information?"
Her decision to ask Kui Li was made after careful consideration.
"The Night Banquet to Listen to Secrets" was too important to her, but the invitation was in her hand, the rules were vague, and the cost was unknown.
She desperately needs a benchmark to measure the price she might have to pay.
Mr. Wei was indeed generous; during their collaboration a couple of years ago, he had given her several treasures as compensation. But she always felt that he was too distant and not close enough, so she dared not and was unwilling to rely on that dangerous appreciation in this matter.
As for Wei Li… for some reason, he possessed a relaxed, detached quality, a strange affability that made people unconsciously lower their guard. It was precisely because of this that Lan Shuyin felt it was easier to speak to him.
In addition, he had a collaboration with Boss Wei, so he was more familiar with the rules and standards of that circle than others.
Just as I was pondering this, Wei Li asked from the other end of the phone, "Are you in Beijing?"
During their casual chat at the stone pagoda of Xiangweng Temple, Lan Shuyin did mention that she would return to Beijing the next day.
She hummed in agreement.
Kui Li was indeed easy to talk to. After only a slight pause, he said, "This matter can't be explained over the phone. I happen to be in Beijing too, so let's talk about it in person. I can't leave right now, but here's an address. Is it convenient for you to come over?"
"Okay, I'm coming over now."
Lan Shuyin wrote down the address he sent and immediately took a taxi there.
However, halfway through her journey, she suddenly realized that it would be inappropriate for her to go empty-handed.
Although Wei Li seemed easygoing, they weren't exactly close. She had taken the initiative to ask for advice, so it was only natural that she should reciprocate.
"Driver, could you please stop at the intersection ahead?" Lan Shuyin said immediately. "I need to buy something, I'll be quick."
Then she quickly turned into a local traditional pastry shop, and from the dazzling array of pastries, she chose a box of elegantly styled multi-flavored tea snacks. Not expensive, but not impolite either.
The car came to a smooth stop at the entrance of an alley.
Lan Shuyin followed the address on her phone and walked in, following the house number. However, she gradually felt a little surprised – the place that Wei Li had given her was actually a rather large courtyard house.
The gray bricks and tiles, and the vermilion gate stood silently. As she approached, she saw Kui Li standing at the entrance, with a black minivan parked not far away; he seemed to be seeing off passengers. Two men and two women were about to get into the car, and one of them, a tall woman with waist-length hair, smiled brightly and was talking to him.
Lan Shuyin paused, hesitating whether to wait until they finished saying goodbye before going over, when Wei Li had already seen her.
He looked up at me, a smile in his eyes, and naturally raised his hand in greeting.
Lan Shuyin didn't hesitate any longer and quickly walked over, "Hello..."
"You're here?" Kui Li asked with a teasing smile. "A little later than I expected."
Then he turned to the group and introduced, "Ayin, this is my friend." His voice rose slightly at the end, and the way he called "Ayin" was casual, yet it inexplicably carried a hint of unintentional intimacy.
Lan Shuyin smiled and waved to the group.
He didn't introduce the four people's identities, and the men, sensing the situation, politely nodded to Lan Shuyin while secretly observing her, before getting into their cars and leaving. The whole process was smooth and seamless, but Lan Shuyin keenly sensed that Wei Li's attitude towards them was distant yet polite; these people, to him, didn't seem worth the effort of explaining.
Lan Shuyin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She's really bad at handling these kinds of social pleasantries. As someone who's essentially an "I" (human), forcing herself to act like an "E" (human) is just too much of a mental strain.
Lan Shuyin handed over the box of snacks she was carrying, saying, "It's just a small token of my appreciation, please don't find it offensive."
"You're too kind." Wei Li accepted it, his gaze lingering on her right hand for a moment. "Have you applied any medicine?"
Lan Shuyin paused for two seconds before realizing that he was asking about the injury on her hand.
"Yes, I applied it, and there are no problems."
Kui Li asked no more questions and led her into the hospital.
Lan Shuyin stepped across the threshold, and a bright and open space opened up before her. From the outside, the courtyard house appeared to be a very orderly layout, but inside it was a completely different world. Winding paths and corridors meandered, and artificial hills and waterside pavilions complemented each other. A pool of clear water reflected the sky, creating a scene reminiscent of a meticulously constructed Suzhou-style garden.
“Those guys were a civilian exploration team,” Wei Li explained, her voice ringing out beside her. “One of my old clients introduced them. They’re planning to explore a cave in Qianxi, which I’ve been to before. They came to learn from their experience, and after chatting for a while, they had some unexpected discoveries…”
He paused slightly, "One of their uncles was a professor of archaeology at Peking University, and he was particularly knowledgeable about the Sichuan region."
Lan Shuyin's mind stirred slightly, and she vaguely sensed something, unconsciously holding her breath.
Sure enough, he continued, "I heard that he has done a lot of research on the Feng Zhi family, not just superficially, but in-depth research. Unfortunately, he was one of the members who went to Xiangweng Temple for research more than ten years ago, and he went insane not long after returning and is still recuperating in a mental hospital."
Hearing this, Lan Shuyin was somewhat disappointed, but she quickly adjusted her mindset, nodded, and didn't ask any more questions.
Kui Li led her through a moon gate and into an exceptionally spacious and bright hall.
As soon as she entered, Lan Shuyin was stunned.
This is not a residence, but more like a private exhibition hall. The space is extremely open, with floor-to-ceiling antique shelves and temperature-controlled display cases on all four walls. Soft spotlights shine on each piece of the collection, making every detail visible.
She glanced at it, and her heart trembled at what she saw.
There were some things she had indeed heard of in anecdotes.
For example, there is a fragrant dew cup in a jade bowl, which is said to be able to condense water without roots on its own; next to it is a warm fire jade that is as red as flame; and there is a piece of lightning-struck wood that is as black as charcoal but whose wood grain is strangely twisted into a human face.
More often than not, they were strange objects she had never heard of before.
There was a "Star-Containing Stone" inside that seemed to contain a flowing galaxy; and even inside a specially made transparent protective cover, she saw a gray-white right angle marked "Pixiu Horn".
"Are these all real?" Lan Shuyin stopped in front of a cyan bead labeled "Wind-Stabilizing Bead" and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Can it really stop the wind?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Li smiled noncommittally. "The rule of the Night Banquet Secret Listening is that if there is no news, we will use precious treasures to pave the way." His gaze swept over the room full of rare treasures, and he said indifferently, "Take whichever item you like. Any one of these is enough to exchange for the information you want."
Lan Shuyin was stunned by this extraordinary generosity and magnanimity. After a long while, she shook her head and said, "It's too precious."
She looked down and took out her phone. "Can you help me check if these items qualify?" She opened her photo album, which contained photos of the items Boss Wei had given her last night.
Lan Shuyin flipped through the pages from the last one. She accidentally scrolled past it and landed on Wei Li's video.
Her movements froze instantly.
Then, almost reflexively, I locked the screen and looked up at him.
She knew this was a blatant attempt to cover up the truth. But she didn't care whether Wei Li had seen it or not—she was clearly in the right and could easily use this to turn the tables on him, questioning why he had left that video on her phone in the first place and whether he had ulterior motives.
But none of these questions are as damaging as "Why did she keep this video?"
At first, she only intended to keep it as evidence, but later she felt that he didn't seem like a person with ulterior motives, so she planned to delete it but forgot... Later, even she herself forgot about it.
Forget it, let's just pretend nothing happened.
Given Kui Li's gentle and considerate nature, he would even remind passersby not to look at their phones when crossing the street, so it was probably just a casual snapshot at the time. He must have long since forgotten about this trivial matter.
Lan Shuyin quickly composed herself and asked calmly, "Do you think these things are okay?"
Kui Li smiled faintly, his gaze fixed on her face, his meaningful eyes seeming to see through her deepest thoughts.
After a moment, he spoke slowly, “They’re all antiques. People who can afford to attend the banquet aren’t short of money, and they certainly aren’t short of these things.”
"I'm really lacking in that area," Lan Shuyin muttered to herself.
Whether or not Wei Li heard him, he pulled a wooden box the size of a coin from his pocket, as casually as if he were pulling out a lighter.
The wooden box was exquisitely crafted, exuding a warm, antique charm. He smiled and handed it over, saying, "I didn't think this through. This is something I use when I'm out and about; it's quite a rare item. Please accept it."
Lan Shuyin carefully took it. "May I open it and take a look?"
"certainly."
She gently opened the box, revealing a layer of almost transparent, luminous white powder that shimmered with a mysterious fluorescence under the light.
She recognized it; Kui Li had once used it to command the earth spirit.
"Is this something from a treasure hunt?" Lan Shuyin couldn't hide her surprise.
"I suppose so," Wei Li said. "This thing has many uses, and everyone at the banquet is shrewd enough to know its value."
Lan Shuyin hesitated for a moment, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the warm wood grain, weighing the value of this gift in her mind, "It must be very precious, right? You've given it to me, so you..."
“I can have as many as I want,” Wei Li said.
Lan Shuyin was speechless for a moment.
That's true. Since he's a treasure hunter, this kind of specially made powder might not be anything rare to him.
Thinking about it this way, she felt much more at ease.
"Thank you." Lan Shuyin looked up and said sincerely, "Then I'll accept it. If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
Kui Li's lips curled slightly, his gaze seemingly casually brushing over her brows and eyes. "Between you and me, there's no need to dwell on these things." His speech was calm, but the last syllable of his words was subtly drawn out. "However, there's a question I'm curious about... Why did you choose to ask me?"
Lan Shuyin knew that what he really wanted to ask was why he came to ask him, not why he went to see Boss Wei.
"I..." Lan Shuyin was about to speak when her phone suddenly vibrated.
She looked down and saw the name "Xuan Bingbing" flashing on the screen.
Xuan Bingbing rarely called her unless it was urgent. She gave Wei Li an apologetic look, then quickly walked aside to answer the phone.
Before she could even speak, Xuan Bingbing's anxious voice burst out, "Yinyin! Something's happened to Li Yang! She was tricked into going to the Fang family by that bastard Fang Huan, and she hasn't come back all night!"
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