The Portal of Wonderland

“I’ll only wear this bracelet from now on.” Zhong Xiu recovered from her trance when the bracelet appeared in her hand. Then, she said in a soft voice with a solemn look on her face.

“Stupid, this thing isn’t worth any money. It’s just an insignificant thing. You just wait until I come across a truly rare and valuable spirit tool bracelet. Then, I’ll give that to you.” Shi Mu’s words were accompanied by a smile. He then pulled Zhong Xiu, and continued to walk forward.

Zhong Xiu looked at Shi Mu’s side-face once. Then, she gently stroked the jade bracelet in her hand without speaking anything in response. Her eyes were suffused with a solemn look at the moment… as if this bracelet was a very valuable treasure for her.

Meanwhile, they didn’t even notice that Cai had long flown away to elsewhere to join in the excitement. But, these two people simply ignored him, and continued to stroll around the city.

They found a relatively secluded inn for their temporary shelter that night.

“Miss Xiu, we’ll move into action as per our plan from tomorrow. We’ll collect all the missing goods first while maintaining complete secrecy. But, I have noticed that you have a large number of various kinds of things on your list. Would we be able to gather the entire items in this Rising Sun City?” Shi Mu said.

“The Rising Sun City is a very big city. So, there shouldn’t be any problem in gathering those goods as long as we have a sufficient number of spirit stones. But, we might need to spend some time to accomplish this task.” Zhong Xiu said.

“Well, the number of spirit stones is not a big issue. Let’s wait until tomorrow. We will set about this task separately then,” Shi Mu said.

The second day…

Shi Mu woke up early in the morning, and enquired the inn’s waiter about the availability of any suitable warehouse nearby.

After all, they would obviously need a big place to store so many goods.

Shi Mu found from the waiter that the Clay Street in the 15th district happened to be a warehouse location years back. But, the warehouses had later been relocated to elsewhere. And, this had left many abandoned warehouses behind.

Afterwards, some local barbarian tribesmen had felt that these warehouses could be profitable. So, they had bought these warehouses, and had started to rent them to the needy people at a reasonable price.

Some of these warehouses had become the temporary residences of the people with the passage of time. Many impoverished common barbarians had rented these warehouses to reside. And then, these warehouses had gradually become their residence. However, the waiter had no idea whether a few vacant warehouses were still available in the vicinity or not.

Shi Mu listened to that waiter’s explanation, and gave a spirit stone to him. After that, he started to inquire about other related stuff.

Fortunately, Shi Mu found out after some inquiries that there were truly a few idle warehouses in the Clay Street. They were in a very poor condition, but the space was large enough to store all the goods. And, that was the only thing that mattered to him.

It didn’t take long before Shi Mu rented an inconspicuous warehouse at a very low price. In addition, he purchased several sets of Prohibition magic formula from the market, and arranged them around the warehouse.

Afterwards, Shi Mu focused his whole mind on the purchase of goods in the following days.

There were innumerable shops in the Rising Sun City that would deal in spirit materials. But, the goods on those eight carriages weren’t ordinary. In fact, most of them had been specially entrusted by You Can to be delivered to the Lord of the Rising Sun City. Some of them were spirit materials; such as the skin of high-ranked demon beasts, Demon pills, and so on. So, these things couldn’t be easily found in ordinary shops.

Shi Mu wandered around in the city for two days, and purchased more than half of the total goods one by one. However, he still couldn’t collect some of the goods. Especially, there was a kind of black stone which was truly difficult to seek.

Shi Mu had once heard Zhong Xiu talking about this black stone. She had told him that it was called the Ink Stone. It was produced in a mineral mine which was located in the Peaceful Sun City’s vicinity. This stone possessed an extremely vigorous heat-transmitting ability. So, it was considered a good material for building fire rooms.

However, this stone was very scarce. There luckily happened to be a small mine of these Ink stones in the Peaceful Sun City’s vicinity. Therefore, that mine had been producing some Ink stones over the decades.

But, Shi Mu still wasn’t anxious about this Ink stone since he had developed a good relationship with the owners of some of the relatively larger spirit shops in the city during the past two days. Some of the goods on Shi Mu’s list weren’t available for a while. But, those shop-owners had an extensive network of contacts. They had guaranteed him that they would find out those goods in a few days as long as there was adequate number of spirit stones at disposal.

Moreover, Shi Mu had been buying the required goods continuously for the last few days. So, the owners of these spiritual shops had long regarded him as their high-money roller. They were already too late to draw Shi Mu to their side. And, they also couldn’t afford to offend him in any way.

Shi Mu finally found out the supplier of goods after three days as he had expected. After that, he not only bought a large number of Ink stones, but he also completed the procurement of all goods of the eight carriages. The only thing that he couldn’t purchase till the end was that Star Stone.

Shi Mu had been constantly on the move over the past few days. However, Zhong Xiu had been left behind. After all, it would be inconvenient if her identity got exposed outside. She had stayed back, and had been keeping a watch over the goods the entire time.

The eight Floating Cloud Carriages were placed side by side in the warehouse of the Clay Street in the early morning. The goods were neatly piled up on them in the same manner as they had been shipped from the Peaceful Sun City.

“Well, all preparations are done. The first step of our plan has been accomplished without a hitch,” Shi Mu said.

“Big Brother Shi, thank you so much. I know the past few days have been very tiring for you.” Zhong Xiu gazed at the fully-loaded carriages, and felt a sense of relief in her heart at the moment. She then said in order to express her gratitude to him.

“You’re still being formal with me. Anyway, we’ll leave these things here for now. Let’s go… We are going to the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce.” Shi Mu said.

Zhong Xiu nodded.

The two then walked out of the warehouse. Shi Mu then mumbled something, and shot out a black beam of light with a flick of his hand.

A layer of black light emerged on all four walls of the warehouse the next moment. Simultaneously, the entrance door got closed with a “Bang” sound.

…

The two people soon arrived in front of a black pavilion under Zhong Xiu’s guidance. This pavilion was the Headquarters of the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce.

The black pavilion didn’t come up to Shi Mu’s expectation. It was neither too big in size, nor was it decorated as luxuriously as he had imagined. On the contrary, it seemed as if it had tried to stay low-key and restrained in this city.

However, the place where it was located was reckoned to be one of the prime places in the city. After all, this place was in the central and most unavoidable region of the city.

The pavilion was glistening magnificently in the morning light. Eight ebony columns stood abreast at the entrance; each of these columns was ten-feet in diameter, and was exuding black brilliance. Such an image gave people a kind of calm and dependable feeling.

A big and horizontal board hung above the gate. It was inscribed with golden letters, “Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce”. The characters were big, bold, and simple. In addition, a trace of spiritual aura could be seen curling up between the lines; this looked very unusual.

Zhong Xiu was no longer in the veil. She was clad in a suit of green skirt and blouse. Her overall appearance made her look gorgeous like a fairy.

She stood amid the crowd of people that was shuttling in front of the pavilion at the moment. This allowed many passers-by to stop and cast sidelong glances at her as well as Shi Mu who stood beside her. Shi Mu wore a grey-fabric scarf on his head. So, only half of his face was exposed at the moment. In addition, he was dressed in a rough homespun cloth which made him look like a young male servant.

A handsome young man walked out of the store at this time; he was dressed in brocade clothes. He was suddenly struck with amazement when his eyes caught sight of Zhong Xiu’s ethereal beauty.

Shi Mu knitted his brows and coughed a few times as he saw his reaction.

This pulled that young man back to his senses at once. He then clasped his hands towards Zhong Xiu as a sign of greeting. Then, he said, “You two… are?”

Zhong Xiu extended her hand, and gave him a purple token without speaking anything.

“So, the Elder has finally arrived here. This humble man will go to notify.” That young man swept his eyes over the purple token once, and was taken aback. He was so embarrassed that he quickly took the order token and ran into to the inner room.

That young man re-emerged the room after a while, and handed the purple token back to Zhong Xiu. He then said with due respect, “My warm regards to Elder Zhong… Please come in.”

Zhong Xiu nodded and walked towards the building with Shi Mu.

The pavilion’s interior portrayed the image of exceptional charm and beauty. It was just as Shi Mu had guessed before.

There was a winding corridor with a garden that separated the store from the house. The winding path led to a quiet and secluded place inside. There was a small bridge over flowing water. That bridge and the fragrant flowers had a unique style.

Shi Mu and Zhong Xiu walked along the winding corridor, and reached a cluster of rooms under the guidance of that young man. Then, they stopped in front of one of the rooms.

“Vice-President Wang, Elder Zhong has arrived,” the young man said.

“Come in,” a voice spread from inside. After that, the room’s door opened up.

They saw a middle-aged man in front as soon as they passed through the door; he was clad in a brocade robe, and was seated on the seat-of-honor. The hair on his temples was slightly grizzled.

This man’s sword-like straight eyebrows were connected to the hair on his temples. His nose stood erect on his square mouth. In short, he had an imposing appearance. A woman with a heavy makeup was seated on his left side. Her figure was enchanting. Her phoenix-like eyes were hovering over Zhong Xiu and Shi Mu in a confused manner at this moment.

“This Old Man is the Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce — Wang Rui Kun. The President isn’t available at the Chamber of Commerce right now. So, I have full authority to act on his behalf for the time being. You are Elder Zhong from the Peaceful Sun City, right?” Wang Rui Kun gazed at Zhong Xiu with his shining eyes, and said in a slow manner.

“Yes. Zhong Xiu is greatly honored to meet Vice President Wang.” Zhong Xiu greeted him.

“I’ve already heard that Elder Zhong is a young and promising person with startling abilities. Also, you’ve barely entered the Chamber of Commerce, but you’ve still managed to complete several important matters. It’s a great honor to see you in person instead of hearing from others!” Wang Rui Kun got up, and clasped his hands together as a sign of respect.

“Vice-President Wang is over-praising me,” Zhong Xiu said with a brief nod.

Wang Rui Kun shot a glance at Shi Mu who stood behind Zhong Xiu. He then immediately withdrew his gaze. Then, he made Zhong Xiu sit on his right-hand side. He then changed the thread of discussion, and shifted to another topic.

“I just had a glance through the Chamber of Commerce’s records. I found that Elder Zhong has undertaken a mission to escort the Peaceful Sun City’s goods. Did everything go smoothly on the way?” Wang Rui Kun asked.

“The journey wasn’t very smooth and peaceful, but I eventually managed to set foot in the Rising Sun City,” Zhong Xiu replied.

“That’s good! Speaking of which… the Chamber of Commerce wasn’t peaceful either during this period of time. The fact is that the goods that we’ve been sending under custody these days are being robbed by strangers. This has happened several times during this period. So, this Old Man was worried that Elder Zhong might encounter the same situation en route. Fortunately, Elder Zhong lived up to expectations,” Wang Rui Kun seemed to sigh with emotions as he said.

Zhong Xiu lowered her head, and didn’t answer.

“I wonder where the goods are at present since we’ll have to make some arrangements for subsequent handovers,” Wang Rui Kun asked once again.

“Vice President Wang, to be honest… even Zhong Xiu ran into a group of robbers when she had approached the Crying Crane Mountain Range,” Zhong Xiu paused for a moment. Then, she said in a slow manner.

“Oh?” Wang Rui Kun was surprised to hear this news.

“Elder Zhong also ran into robbers? Why didn’t you mention it before?” the beautiful woman suddenly interrupted their conversation and said.

“Zhong Xiu had long explained this matter that the transportation route of this trip wasn’t safe and peaceful. I can still recall that I had raised this matter in the Peaceful Sun City. Almost all the guards were killed. It’s just sheer luck that this young girl succeeded in coming here alive.” Zhong Xiu didn’t turn to see the beautiful woman. She instead gave an explanation to Wang Rui Kun.

“What? Everyone died? What about the goods?” the beautiful woman asked in an indignant manner.

“Elder Zhao, listen to Elder Zhong. She is still speaking.” Wang Rui Kun said.

The beautiful woman seemed unwilling to obey him. However, she twitched her mouth, and didn’t speak anything afterwards.

“Reporting to Vice President… the batch of goods has also been robbed,” Zhong Xiu thought for a moment, and then said.

“What? We lost both goods and people that we had sent under escort! But, you still have a face to stand here?” the beautiful woman said in a relatively loud voice.

“Elder Zhao, you aren’t allowed to act so rudely!” Wang Rui Kun said in a lowered voice.

“Senior! This Elder Zhong is…” the beautiful woman said hurriedly.

“Elder Zhong, have those goods truly been robbed? What’s the matter? Would you care to elaborate?” Wang Rui Kun interrupted the beautiful woman, and asked.

Zhong Xiu gave him a brief nod, and narrated everything that they had been forced to contend with on the way. However, she naturally didn’t bring up the matter pertaining to the collusion between the Dark Moon Cult and the Wing Crane Tribe. She had done so because she was unable to provide any evidence that could establish the authenticity of that matter. The opposite party might think that Zhong Xiu had fabricated lies in order to shirk her responsibilities if she would put forth the entire truth without any solid proof.

Wang Rui Kun’s brows slightly creased after having listened to Zhong Xiu’s narration. But, he remained as silent as the grave.

“Elder Zhong, did you come all the way here to tell us these things? You do know that the loss of goods isn’t a trivial matter. The Chamber of Commerce will have to pay the price. In fact, it is now bound to pay three times the spirit stones to compensate for the loss. On top of that, the hard-earned reputation of the Chamber of Commerce would plummet due to this incident!” the voice of the beautiful woman resounded once again.