Zhao Shuning acted under Luo Qiu's name.
It was originally to avoid trouble.
The name Luo Qiu could give people a sense of security, so it was not inappropriate to use it to soothe everyone.
After two quarters of an hour.
Someone brought the map of Master He's residence in the east of the city.
Along with it was a portrait.
Zhao Shuning opened it and took a look. The person in the portrait had kind eyes and was smiling at her.
A chill ran down Zhao Shuning's back. She felt creepy. The old man's smile looked more and more strange the more she looked at it.
It was as if he had practiced the forbidden blood oath. Although he was smiling and his eyes were slightly squinted, Zhao Shuning could still tell that his eyes were unfocused.
"Your painter's skills need improvement. There's no sparkle in the eyes of this portrait. It's like a walking corpse."
"Senior, this portrait was painted by Master He himself."
A self - portrait?
"How much does it resemble the real person?"
"I dare not say it's a perfect match, but it's at least nine - tenths accurate."
Zhao Shuning nodded and put away the portrait.
Blood oath, soul - capturing?
Unable to figure out how to explain it for the moment, she simply put the portrait into her Qiankun Bag. There were too many mysteries in this matter.
The waiter saw that the tea had gone cold, so he went out on his own initiative to refill Zhao Shuning's cup.
Biluo Chun? High - grade tea?
"This tea is quite sweet. Who dried and blended it?"
"Sir/Madam, it's not the tea's problem. It's the well water in our Changle Town that's sweet."
"Well water?"
"Yes. Our well water in Changle Town is quite famous within a hundred - mile radius. This well water has supported several generations of people in Changle Town. It tastes sweet and has never dried up. For all these years, the people in Changle Town have been drinking this well water."
"What about Master He?"
"Yes. And Master He has a habit. Every year, he asks unmarried girls to send tea leaves to his mansion. He says that only the tea leaves picked by unmarried girls' hands are the best."
Zhao Shuning nodded.
"You may go."
When the waiter came back, Zhao Shuning was gone.
At this moment, she was standing beside the well.
There were no flowers or plants around the wellhead. Zhao Shuning scooped up a handful of water with her hand and smelled it. There was no problem, so she took a sip. It was much sweeter than ordinary water, but it was just normal mountain spring water. There was no problem.
Was she just being overly suspicious?
However, there was only one well in Changle Town with so many people, and the wellhead was so small. How could it supply enough water for everyone's daily use?
Zhao Shuning became more curious.
She used her spiritual power to trace the source of the well water.
Going all the way east.
Sure enough, the source of the well water was right under Master He's mansion.
If the well water was fine, then the source should definitely be okay too.
With doubts in mind, Zhao Shuning still took extra precautions. With a light leap, she landed in the yard.
By this time, Master He, who had received the news, had already sent people to surround his mansion tightly.
However, Zhao Shuning was no ordinary person. If she wanted to avoid a group of people, it was just a matter of time.
She successfully sneaked into the outer edge of the ancestral hall.
Seeing that the ancestral hall was solemn and sacred, Zhao Shuning wanted to push the door open and enter.
But before her hand even touched the door of the ancestral hall, she was bounced back.
A protective shield?
Moreover, the spiritual power contained in the protective shield was extremely powerful.
Zhao Shuning looked at the ancestral hall thoughtfully.
With her ability, it would be easy for her to enter the ancestral hall. But once she entered, the protective shield would be affected and fluctuate. By then, the person who set up the protective shield would notice.
"In such a small town as Changle, there's actually such a powerful alchemist. It's really strange."
She had an idea.
She took out the dagger that her master had given her from her Qiankun Bag. There was a jade inlaid on it.
Strangely enough, after Zhao Shuning was born.
She had a red lotus between her eyebrows and wore the Soul - Condensing Pearl that Zhao Huai had given her around her neck. Not long after, that dagger appeared in her room.
She gently used the dagger to cut through the protective shield. Zhao Shuning shrank her body and put herself into the Qiankun Bag.
With a flash of a small ray of white light, Zhao Shuning entered the protective shield.
She quickly got out of the Qiankun Bag and let out a sigh of relief.
Such a small movement could be made by an ordinary rabbit or bird, so the alchemist who set up the protective shield probably wouldn't notice.
Zhao Shuning entered the door.
She thought there would be countless memorial tablets in front of her.
But there weren't.
In front of her was a huge bath.
The bath was extremely large, taking up the whole room.
Zhao Shuning couldn't see who was inside through the curtain, but she could hear occasional coquettish cries and flirtatious noises.
Men and women were frolicking and having fun to their hearts' content.
Master He was an old man. How could he still have the energy for such play?
Zhao Shuning secretly lifted a corner of the curtain.
The person inside was indeed Master He. There were many similarities in appearance, but the man in the hot spring clearly had smooth skin and black hair. He wasn't very young, but at least he was more than twenty years younger than the Master He in the portrait.
Soul - capturing? Rejuvenation?
Zhao Shuning seemed to understand something.
Now one mystery was solved. It remained to be seen how to connect all the other puzzling things.
Zhao Shuning took out a light - colored dress from her Qiankun Bag.
She changed into the dress, put on a veil, and carried some tea leaves that she had casually taken from the waiter's water. Then she walked out from behind the curtain.
As soon as she appeared, everyone's eyes were on her.
Not to mention her looks, just her figure outshone the many beautiful women in the pool.
When Master He saw Zhao Shuning, his eyes popped out.
"Beauty, come here."
Zhao Shuning gave a faint smile.
She gently stepped into the hot spring and slowly walked towards Master He, who was looking at her with lust in his eyes.
The man in front of her had extremely powerful spiritual power. As Zhao Shuning walked forward, she sensed more information.
The man's mind was full of indulgent desires.
All the beautiful women in this room weren't enough to satisfy him.
"Beauty, are you new here? Don't be afraid. Soon, you'll forget everything that happens here."
Zhao Shuning nodded.
She walked very slowly.
When she stepped into the hot spring, she suddenly understood.
No wonder she couldn't find anything wrong.
Rootless water.
It was originally non - toxic.
But when this rootless water was mixed with the sweet sweat of women and then slowly flowed into the well water, it would taste sweet.
The people in Changle Town loved to drink tea. But when the tea powder in the tea leaves was combined with the sweet spring water mixed with the unknown women's sweet sweat, its effect could be hallucinogenic.
The tea powder was crucial. To achieve the hallucinogenic effect, professional techniques were necessary.
If Zhao Shuning guessed correctly.
Then under this hot spring was the source of the well water.
She just didn't expect that the culprit wasn't just Master He.