Now.
She had more or less probed out the opponent's basic strength.
However.
Zhao Shuning couldn't feel the slightest bit of joy.
If the entrance to the barrier was really set up by a ninth - rank alchemist, given that Zhao Shuning was only approaching the eighth rank. Even though her spiritual power had reached the eighth rank, she still didn't have the ability to enter the barrier set up by a ninth - rank alchemist.
Could it be that those hundreds of infants were really going to be left to fend for themselves?
Those with ulterior motives had captured so many children, robbed them of their basic consciousness and infant souls. Even if they grew up, they would only become mechanical puppets and emotionless killing machines.
Right, could it be that someone was secretly training dark guards?
Zhao Shuning racked her brains but couldn't figure it out.
Most of the ancient books she had read were about Luo Qiu. She knew nothing about the important affairs of other countries.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to help you."
Zhao Shuning squatted on the ground, looking dejected.
This was the first time she had been so frustrated.
"I've done my best. I know without even trying that I can't get into this barrier."
There were only two situations where an outsider could enter a barrier set up by a ninth - rank alchemist.
One was to be a ninth - rank alchemist or higher.
The other was that when the barrier was built, a string of numbers would be left, equivalent to a password key. This was set up in case something happened to the original builder and people couldn't get in.
Needless to say, Zhao Shuning knew she had no chance with the first condition.
At present, she was only at the upper level of the seventh rank. She didn't know how many years it would take to reach the ninth rank.
As for the second condition, she didn't meet it either. Among the people she knew in this plane, except for her master, who was probably a ninth - rank alchemist or higher, there was no one else. But now, her master never even looked at the images she had sent, let alone responded.
For Zhao Shuning to crack this password was simply a pipe dream.
There was blood on Zhao Shuning's hand from the blood she had spat out earlier. Just then, she saw a handkerchief hanging on a tree. She quickly wiped her hand with it and then casually threw the handkerchief into the wilderness.
Then, something incredible happened.
The handkerchief actually passed directly through the barrier and disappeared from her sight.
"What? How is that possible?"
Now it was Zhao Shuning's turn to be stunned.
She stretched out her hand.
To her surprise, her hand could also pass through the barrier.
How could this be?
Could it be that the builder of this barrier was related to her?
Zhao Shuning didn't have time to think carefully. The infant souls in her Qiankun bag were no longer as lively as before. She had to quickly find their real bodies.
"Senior—"
Just as Zhao Shuning was about to enter the barrier.
A young girl's voice suddenly came from behind.
Zhao Shuning turned around and looked at the girl hiding behind the tree. "What's up?"
"Senior, the handkerchief you used earlier was mine."
Zhao Shuning looked towards the wilderness. There was no trace of the handkerchief.
She gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, I thought the handkerchief was ownerless."
"It's okay. Senior is so good - looking. I'm already satisfied just to be able to talk to you."
Zhao Shuning forced a smile.
A bit awkwardly.
"By the way, senior, are you the alchemist Luo Qiu invited by Changle Town? I've heard about you and I like you very much."
Zhao Shuning nodded. "Actually, I'm not Luo Qiu."
"Ah?"
"Never mind. It doesn't really matter if you know this."
The girl responded and then said, "I've been doing odd jobs in Changle Town these days to earn some money to support my family. Does senior have any message for me to convey?"
Zhao Shuning thought for a while. Not knowing when she would be able to return, she instructed, "When you get back to Changle Town, find out who the tea the townspeople drink comes from. Then tell them to be careful of this person. That person is probably the waiter at Tongfu Inn."
Zhao Shuning only figured it out later. First of all, that waiter had been acting strange from the beginning. The crying woman who came up was his wife.
If her speculation was correct, the waiter had recognized Zhao Shuning as an alchemist right away. So he deliberately used that crying woman to tell her this story.
Just now in the mansion in the east of the city, those women said that it was the waiter from Tongfu Inn who sent them there and picked them up.
This meant that the waiter at least knew what had happened to those girls inside. Because the girls said that they would have inexplicable bruises on their bodies every time they woke up, but the waiter always said that they had just accidentally bumped into something while working.
They also said that they had heard the waiter arguing with Master He in the house about a month ago.
Zhao Shuning thought.
The waiter in the inn and Master He were probably in a cooperative relationship. Later, they had a falling - out over the distribution of spoils or because the waiter found out about the disposal method of the infant souls of their children.
So the waiter wanted to use Zhao Shuning's hand to see if he could get rid of Master He.
There was also a very important point. The tea leaves she had been served before had no tea powder on them, but all the tea leaves in the town had been treated with a special tea powder. Only the tea she drank was fine. This showed that someone had been eyeing her since she stepped into Changle Town.
What followed was just a show deliberately arranged by that person.
It had also attracted so many people to go to Tongfu Inn to look for her, making a big fuss about it. All for the purpose of putting her in a difficult situation and forcing her to go after Master He.
Zhao Shuning told the girl in front of her what she was thinking.
The girl was slightly surprised but still nodded.
"Aren't you afraid that I'm a bad person, senior? Why are you entrusting me with such an important matter?"
"You're not. The moment you spoke to me, I probed your mind. It's pure. But beauty, I have to remind you that in this world, it's better to be more cautious sometimes."
"I understand, senior."
Zhao Shuning nodded.
"I'll have to trouble you with the affairs in Changle Town for now. If I can rescue those children, they will surely appear in this wilderness. At that time, please take those children back."
"I will."
If only one day she could become a hero like the senior.
Zhao Shuning turned around and was about to enter the barrier.
Her front foot had already disappeared into it.
She was about to completely disappear from this place when she heard the girl shouting from behind, "Senior, I'm Qingya from the Female Mermaid Clan. If possible, I hope you can remember me."
Qingya?
The name sounded so familiar.
The Female Mermaid Clan?
Oh no.
Zhao Shuning quickly shouted, "Be careful of the woman named Qiuqiu."
But the girl outside only heard the first two words. Then Zhao Shuning completely disappeared from her sight.