The Portal of Wonderland

Wang Rui Kun waited for both of them to leave the hall. He then stood in the same place for a while. Afterwards, he stepped forward, and walked into a room inside the main hall.

A middle-aged man was seated in that room; his face was square in shape. And, he was clad in a yellow-embroidered robe.

“Vice President.” The square-faced middle-aged man stood up and made a respectful bow as he saw Wang Rui Kun walking in.

“Well, there’s no need of such formalities between the two of us,” Wang Rui Kun beckoned with his hand.

The two then sat down on their respective seats, and the attendant served them tea.

“Elder Yun, what do you think about today’s matter and Zhong Xiu?” Wang Rui Kun took a sip of the tea, and asked.

“This woman has a brilliant mind. She’s not very old, but she has still faced this difficult situation in a calm and collected manner. It’s hard to come by people with this sort of behavior,” the square-faced middle-aged man said.

“Well, go on.” Wang Rui Kun said.

“In retrospect of various actions and performances this woman has displayed over the course of these days… it now seems that this woman must’ve discovered some clues a long time ago. But, she had deliberately distracted the opposite party’s line of sight, and made them loosen their vigilance. Meanwhile, she had secretly executed her plan, and eventually regained the stolen goods at one fell swoop,” the square-faced man said.

“Zhong Xiu kept her mouth shut from the beginning to the end. She didn’t mention anything about those plunderers and their identities. But, some speculations arose in my heart after I considered the matters of some other places. It looks like that force has planted spies in the Rising Sun City as well. This might be the reason why Zhong Xiu didn’t raise this topic even once. Perhaps, she hadn’t been able to get hold of any solid evidence,” Wang Rui Kun thought for a moment, and then he said.

“I believe that Vice President Wang can find an opportunity to have a talk with Zhong Xiu in private regardless of whether there’s evidence or not,” the square-faced man suggested.

“Well, I’ll consider this matter. By the way, I think the reason why Zhong Xiu could recover the goods this time was because of that person who sticks close to her — Shi Mu. He must’ve played a very crucial role in this whole incident. Have you investigated this person’s background yet?” Wang Rui Kun gave him a brief nod. Then, he asked again.

The square-faced man drew out a jade slip from his bosom as he heard these words. He then handed it to him, and said, “This slip contains some information related to Shi Mu. Take a look at it.”

Wang Rui Kun took the jade slip, and stuck it to his forehead. He then released his spirit sense to explore it, and his eyebrows twitched upwards in response. Then, he opened his eyes after a while.

“This person indeed deserves a little of our consideration. His martial arts can’t be considered weak. On top of that, he’s also a Charm Magician. In addition, he is from the Eastern continent… It can be said that the Eastern Continent doesn’t have an abundance of resources. But, it still gives birth to many talented people every now and then,” Wang Rui Kun said.

“It is truly said that people practice relatively harder in difficult circumstances,” the square-faced man added.

“I can say that Shi Mu and Zhong Xiu should be lovers based on the information provided. And, this seems ever more likely after the situation we saw today. This man has considerably good abilities. He can be a big support to us if we can pull him into the Chamber of Commerce,” Wang Rui Kun took a moment of consideration, and then said.

“I think it doesn’t matter what Shi Mu thinks about this. We shouldn’t forget that he and Zhong Xiu are lovers. All we need to do is control Zhong Xiu. Then, we don’t have to be afraid that Shi Mu won’t strive for our Chamber of Commerce,” the square-faced man said.

“Elder Yun’s words sound quite reasonable to me,” Wang Rui Kun nodded.

…

Zhong Xiu and the enchanting woman walked out of the hall. There was a rocky road in front of the door. They walked along that road to a forked intersection.

They looked at each other once, but didn’t speak anything. Then, they parted ways, and walked in different directions.

Zhong Xiu then accelerated her pace and returned to her dwelling place with full speed. Shi Mu stood in the courtyard with his hands crossed behind his back at the moment. And, he was talking with Cai in a desultory way; Cai was on his shoulder.

“Big Brother Shi, I thought that you couldn’t come back when I was there,” Zhong Xiu saw Shi Mu standing alone in the courtyard. She ran over, and threw herself into Shi Mu’s bosom. She no longer acted constrained like she had previously done in front of the people.

“Silly girl, didn’t I return safe and sound?” Shi Mu softly caressed and stroked Zhong Xiu’s head, and said in a gentle voice.

“I was afraid…” Zhong Xiu buried her face in Shi Mu’s chest, and wrapped her hands around him tightly.

“Don’t worry, your Brother Shi is a lucky man who has God’s blessing. So, nothing will happen to me,” Shi Mu said with a smile.

“Wow, you’re too disgusting Shi Tou. I can’t continue watching this anymore!” Cai spread his wings, and flew away from Shi Mu’s shoulder. Then, he started to squeak in a strange manner.

“Too talkative!” Shi Mu smiled and shouted at him. Simultaneously, he flicked his finger, and a streak of cold air shot out straight towards Cai. Cai issued a strange squeak as he saw this. Then, he dodged the shot, and flew away in an instant.

A gleam of amazement flashed through Shi Mu’s eyes as he saw this. He noticed that Cai’s reaction-speed had become much faster than before. It had been just an easy shot which didn’t contain the slightest trace of his Real Qi. However, it had been shot from a very short distance. But, Cai had still been able to dodge it so conveniently. This scene took Shi Mu by a big surprise.

Zhong Xiu’s face turned red, and she loosened her hold on Shi Mu.

“Come on; let’s go into the house for further discussion,” Shi Mu drew Zhong Xiu into the house, and they sat down therein.

Then, Shi Mu told Zhong Xiu about his experiences during these days in response to her inquiry.

“Dark Moon Cult… Liu An… So, he has made this sinister plot.” Zhong Xiu said.

“He must be scheming something again. And, it seems that he needs a large number of Star Stones,” Shi Mu said.

“Big Brother Shi, this matter is already over. We’d better not provoke him if he doesn’t come to provoke us,” Zhong Xiu said after a momentary thought.

“Well, I’ve kept a proper distance from this matter. Oh, by the way… that Wang Rui Kun had called you in. What did he say?” Shi Mu asked.

Zhong Xiu didn’t keep anything in the dark. She told him everything that Wang Rui Kun had mentioned in the meeting. She told him everything in full detail whether it was about the auction or the special envoy to the Demon Race.

Shi Mu was the most important person to her now. Hence, Zhong Xiu totally ignored the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce’s set rules, and told him this secret news without missing a word.

“Beautiful Gauze Region… Rising to the Heavens Mountain Peak!” Shi Mu’s facial expression changed, and he stood up with a sudden jolt.

“Big Brother Shi, what’s wrong?” Zhong Xiu was startled to see Shi Mu’s sudden movement. So, she immediately asked.

“Well, to tell you the truth… I had come to the Western Continent to avoid the hot pursuit of the arrest order. However, I also wanted to go to the Rising to the Heavens Mountain Peak…” Shi Mu took a moment of consideration. Then, he told her that he had always wanted to go to the Rising to the Heavens Mountain Peak.

As for the matter of the white ape’s dreamland… it was too bizarre to believe. So, he attributed it to a dream that he had frequently seen, and skipped it with some vague words.

“As far as I know… the Rising to the Heavens Mountain Peak is a holy land of the Demon race. And, the three big tribes of the Demon Race have taken the charge of its protection. So, it’s impossible for an outsider to get close to this place,” Zhong Xiu said.

“That’s right. That’s why I’ve been building up strength in advance. My plan is to wait until I acquire enough strength. Then, I’ll embark on the journey to that place,” Shi Mu said.

“Big Brother Shi, it’s too dangerous to go to the Rising to the Heavens Mountain Peak even if you were to step into the realm of the Earth-ranked powerhouses. But, this is a propitious opportunity. I’ll get the right to take you to the territory of the three biggest demon tribes if I can become the special envoy to the Demon Race’s people. Then, we might get the chance to get close to the Rising to the Heavens Mountain Peak.” Zhong Xiu thought something, and then said.

“Well… then I’ll try to assist you in this auction with every bit of my strength!” Shi Mu said with a nod.

“Right!” Zhong Xiu moved her head in a nod with full force. She had no idea when they would start. But, she had a sense of security as long as Shi Mu was there by her side. Moreover, the degree of her confidence sprang up several folds at once.

“We still have two months of time for the auction. It can be said that this time is neither too long nor too short. So, let’s go to the auction site right away in order to plan our next step,” Shi Mu said.

Zhong Xiu nodded.

But then, a voice spread from outside at this moment.

“The Chamber of Commerce has instructed Zhou Rui to pay a formal visit to Elder Zhong.”

Zhong Xiu glanced at Shi Mu, and both of them walked out of the house. They saw a white-dressed young man standing outside in the courtyard in a respectful manner.

This person was dressed in a clean white gown. His eyebrows extended to the hair on his temples. He was a very handsome man, and was probably in the primary stage of the Xian Tian realm.

“Elder Zhong, this subordinate has come here to deliver you the materials as per Vice President Wang’s order. These materials are related to the Rising Sun City’s auction.” The white-robed man made a respectful bow to greet Zhong Xiu when he saw her coming out. Then, he took out a palm-sized jade box, and held it in his hand.

Zhong Xiu took the jade box from him, and opened its lid. A few jade slips, letters, and some other related stuff were placed in it.

Zhong Xiu browsed through them, and found that these materials contained the specific information of the eastern city auction that she had to organize this time. In addition, the stream of the auction processes and the list of various important characters in the city were also recorded in them.

“Well, thank you for your effort,” Zhong Xiu said to the white-robed man.

The white-robed man gave a humble response in return. But, he didn’t take his leave afterwards. He instead continued to stand there.

“Zhou Rui, do you still have some matter?” Zhong Xiu cast a surprised glance at the white-robed man.

“The matter is that Vice President Wang is concerned about Elder Zhong. He knows that Elder Zhong isn’t very familiar with this city. So, many difficulties might crop up during the auction’s organization. This subordinate has grown up in this city. Therefore, Vice President Wang has specially instructed me to assist Elder Zhong during this period and comply with all her orders,” the white-robed man said with deep veneration.

“Well, we are about to proceed to the eastern city auction’s site to take a look at the situation. You can take us there,” Zhong Xiu said.

She was indeed not very familiar with the Rising Sun City. So, to have a helper who was so familiar with that place was naturally something she had been earnestly wishing for.

“Yes.” Zhou Rui complied.

The three of them walked out of the Chamber of Commerce, and arrived at a bustling street in the eastern region of the city.

The street was very broad; so much so that four or five horse carts could travel on this street side by side. Both sides of this street were filled with various large-scale shops. And, the heavy flow of people here seemed as if like that of a river.

“This street is known as ‘Welcoming the Immortals Street’. This is the liveliest place in the eastern part of this city,” Zhou Rui was walking next to them when he opened his mouth to introduce the street.

Shi Mu swept his gaze over the surroundings when he heard these words.

Shi Mu had been on the run throughout the city in the recent days. After all, he needed to buy all kinds of supplies. But, he had been immersed in calculating and balancing the types and quantities of goods that he had to purchase at each store all day long. And, he had done so because he hadn’t wanted to stir up people’s attention at that time. He had already passed through some bustling streets in that process. But, he had taken just a glimpse of them. He hadn’t examined them carefully at that time.

However, he was experiencing the true hustle and bustle of the Rising Sun City under his careful examination now.

The Rising Sun City had indeed proved itself to be the most famous city of the Western Continent… The degree of this street’s grandeur was far superior to that of any other city that Shi Mu had been to.

A large-sized store captured Shi Mu’s attention at this moment; it wasn’t far from them.

That store occupied the most bustling section of the street. The front of the store was very wide, and the building was very tall. There were altogether three floors in this building, and the walls of the building were painted with bright red color. The roof was made from glazed tiles which were sparkling and shining beautifully; they constituted a majestic image of this building.

A huge horizontal board hung in front of the shop’s door; it was inscribed with “Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion!”

These three big words were written in gold lacquer. They looked like dancing dragons and phoenixes. They were also vaguely exuding waves of majestic aura.

“Elder Zhong, Senior Shi… this Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion is the auction venue Elder Zhong is required to supervise this time,” Zhou Rui said while pointing his finger in the direction of the store.

Zhong Xiu looked at the lofty building in the front, and a gleam of astonishment flashed through her eyes.

“Let’s go and have a look at it.” Zhong Xiu took a deep breath, and walked towards the Welcoming the Immortals Pavilion.