Chapter 599 - 389: Omen

After Xiao Yu and Shen Mizi left, Duan Rong gave Liu Shushan and Ximen Kankan a list, instructing them to buy some things, then he also went out.

Ximen Kankan looked at the list Duan Rong gave him, and saw it was filled with all sorts of items densely packed.

"What’s this for? Opening a grocery store?!"

Liu Shushan stared at the list, his eyes flickering, trying to discern some hint of Duan Rong’s plan from these items, but upon pondering repeatedly, he still had no clue.

"Forget it!" Ximen Kankan slapped the list into Liu Shushan’s hand. "You’re familiar with the area, see where these things can be bought?"

Liu Shushan roughly scanned through it, and he already had a good idea.

The two quickly left the courtyard.

As they walked along the alley, Liu Shushan suddenly had a thought and asked, "Kankan, I heard you promise Brother Duan earlier that you would burn something, what is it that you plan to burn?"

Just now, when Duan Rong and Ximen Kankan were discussing this in the hall, Liu Shushan was standing right next to Ximen Kankan and heard everything.

Ximen Kankan became quite unhappy upon hearing this and said, "What else? That Spring Palace painting I showed you?"

"What?!" Liu Shushan’s eyes widened with surprise. "That one? Could it be the Light of Humanity?"

"That’s right."

"You’re going to burn the Light of Humanity?! Kankan, you promised me you would preserve it well."

Ximen Kankan glanced sideways at Liu Shushan and said, "Do you think I want to burn it? That fellow Duan Rong has already mentioned it several times. I don’t think it can be kept safe."

Liu Shushan pondered, "But Brother Duan, why does he want to burn it?"

Ximen Kankan said, "Because he painted it."

"What?! Brother Duan... painted it?!" Liu Shushan’s jaw nearly dropped in shock.

"You’re saying the Light of Humanity was painted by Brother Duan?" He couldn’t believe it and stood there frozen, even forgetting to walk.

"Yes!" Ximen Kankan turned his head to look at the stiff Liu Shushan and warned, "I only told you about this. Don’t spread it around!"

"Oh... I understand." Liu Shushan nodded, his face still in a daze.

This news was indeed too shocking for him.

The image of that Spring Palace flashed in his mind again, and Liu Shushan mumbled in astonishment, "Brother Duan truly is an extraordinary person!"

After leaving Liu Shushan’s courtyard, Duan Rong strolled towards the direction of the Prefecture City’s dungeon.

But he did not go to the surrounding market of the dungeon; instead, he entered a residential area not far from the dungeon.

Duan Rong walked leisurely in the alley, which was cold and deserted, with the occasional stray dog passing by.

Most of the houses in this area were quite old, with the occasional collapsed one. Clearly, this was not a wealthy area in the Prefecture City.

Duan Rong’s Divine Sense had been extended outward, investigating the surrounding houses. Most were scanned quickly, but occasionally he encountered ones that required a closer look. Such houses were ones he deemed possibly useful.

Duan Rong spent about two hours examining every house in this area.

Considering the condition and location of the houses, he finally chose three "target houses."

Duan Rong stood outside the wall of a residential house and saw that there were a few weeds growing on top of the courtyard wall, gently swaying in the evening breeze.

With his Divine Sense enveloping the surroundings to confirm that no one was nearby, Duan Rong suddenly moved, and his entire body rose swiftly from the ground, then glided gently into the courtyard like a leaf riding the wind.

In the courtyard, sparse weeds had grown abundantly, and Duan Rong’s arrival startled a few sparrows.

Duan Rong walked through the weeds in the courtyard to the door of the main room. The old door had iron locks, which were rusted.

He raised his hand, and True Qi surged from his fingertips, slicing gently, causing the iron lock to split in half.

As he entered, his face and hands were immediately covered with cobwebs.

After removing the cobwebs from his body, he glanced around and saw that the tables and chairs inside were covered with a thick layer of dust.

"This house has probably been uninhabited for at least two or three years!"

Duan Rong looked up at the half-person-thick beam on the roof of the main room.

The quality of this house was actually quite good, not made of clay bricks but of blue bricks.

The house was also spacious and tall, with a main room facing south, and two rooms on each side connected east to west.

Duan Rong took a tour around the house, feeling very satisfied, and he was quite pleased with the location.

Originally, he had chosen three "target houses", and the reason he came to see this one first was that he thought it was the most suitable, and he was indeed satisfied after seeing it.

With this one secured, the other two alternatives didn’t need to be checked.

Duan Rong went out and gently closed the wooden door of the main room.

By this time, the courtyard overgrown with sparse weeds was already shrouded in twilight.

Duan Rong used his Body Technique to float out.

In the deepening dusk, he returned to the courtyard where Ximen Kankan and Liu Shushan had been waiting for him for a long time.

The two, bored, were playing chess there.

As soon as Duan Rong returned, Ximen Kankan asked, "Why did it take so long for you to come back? You’ve instructed us to buy such a huge pile of things, what’s the use for them? We’ve bought everything."

Duan Rong glanced over and saw a round, bulging burlap sack lying not far from the two, but he did not answer Ximen Kankan’s question. Instead, he asked, "Did you buy everything on the list? Don’t miss anything!"