Lin Qingyang walked inward around the display platform. Several transparent crystal tanks stood in a ring beneath it, the spirit spring water inside shimmering under the gentle light, flowing almost imperceptibly. A beautiful mermaid swam in each tank. As Lin Qingyang passed, he could not resist reaching out curiously to stir the water. The mermaid beauty surfaced, took his hand with an alluring smile, and kissed the back of it.
"These are Merfolk captured in the Liuxian Sea. If you're interested, Immortal Lord, we can discuss the details in a private room," the Peacock Demon said.
"I'll look around some more," Lin Qingyang said.
Farther out, screens divided the space into individual booths furnished with couches and low tables. The people inside all appeared wealthy or noble. Gauze curtains had been lowered across the fronts of some booths, obscuring their occupants.
The Peacock Demon led Lin Qingyang into a booth and seated him. A beautiful maid immediately served tea and refreshments.
Lin Qingyang frowned and asked, "How much does this cost?"
The Peacock Demon froze, clearly encountering such a question from an honored third-floor guest for the first time, but quickly recovered. "Six hundred and eighty-eight Spirit Stones."
Lin Qingyang nodded. "Quite an auspicious number. Take it away." He was not wasting money on that.
The Peacock Demon paused slightly, but still smiled and nodded with practiced composure, gesturing for the maid to remove it.
Then the Peacock Demon presented Lin Qingyang with an exquisitely bound illustrated catalog. "Immortal Lord Lin, you can look through this first. If anything interests you, I'll bring them over."
Lin Qingyang took the catalog and casually flipped through it. Inside were introductions to various Demon Slaves. Whatever spell had been used, their pictures were not only incredibly lifelike but could move as well. These were also varieties of Demon Slaves he had never heard of before, such as Heavenly Feather Cranes, Moonlight Butterflies, and Fire Spirit Foxes.
After looking through a few pages, Lin Qingyang noticed that the Peacock Demon was still watching him from beside him. He cleared his throat. "Well, I'll look through it myself. You can go for now."
"Then I won't disturb you, Immortal Lord. If you need anything, just ring this bell to summon me." The Peacock Demon pointed to a white jade bell on the table, then nodded and withdrew.
"Damn, this place really is something," Lin Qingyang marveled. "Did A-Qi really come here?"
"Actually, you could try sensing him," Lin Yao said.
"Sensing him?"
"The Demon-Locking Ring has a tracking function. You're his master, so you can use spiritual power to detect his location," Lin Yao explained.
"You should've said so sooner." Lin Qingyang activated his spiritual power. In a daze, he felt his divine sense sweep rapidly through many places, from a gloomy underground space filled with stifled, anguished sobs to a suddenly bright and bustling hall, then up along the stairs. Finally, his gaze settled on the stairway.
Sure enough, a short while later, he saw Qi Mo wearing a set of his clothes. Somehow, his ears and tail had disappeared, making him look much like a sect disciple. But he did not seem to intend to stay on this floor and instead headed straight up to the next.
Seeing him disappear, Lin Qingyang tried to follow with the Movement Technique, but two flicks of his sleeves both failed. It seemed the building had restrictions placed on it, so he had no choice but to get up and follow.
As Lin Qingyang had expected, the upper floor was an office area, with rooms lining both sides of the corridor. Some looked like accounting offices, others like reception rooms. But everyone was presumably busy downstairs at the moment, as there was hardly anyone up here.
Spotting two people dressed as guards standing watch ahead, Lin Qingyang concealed himself behind a pillar and searched the surroundings. Sure enough, he found Qi Mo hiding behind a wall, watching them. Then Qi Mo rummaged in his sleeve and actually pulled out a live mouse, setting it straight onto the floor. The mouse scurried away, running past the two guards' feet, and they hurried to catch it.
Once the two had been lured away, Qi Mo continued forward, with Lin Qingyang following behind him the whole way. Lin Qingyang practiced wind magic and could use spiritual power to make his body incredibly light. He could even conceal his presence, leaving even Qi Mo unable to detect him.
They continued all the way to the end of the rooms, where a large iron door stood secured with a heavy lock. Qi Mo took out a piece of wire he had obtained from who knew where and casually poked at the door twice. It actually opened.
Lin Qingyang frowned. "This kid has quite a few skills."
While Qi Mo was closing the door, Lin Qingyang used Heavenly Wind Shadowless to flash inside. Qi Mo only felt a gust sweep past him. Puzzled, he looked around but found nothing, so he closed the door first.
The room was pitch-black. Qi Mo took out a crystal he had prepared beforehand for light, and only then could he see that this was actually an archive room. Rows upon rows of shelves filled the room, with files neatly arranged on them. Each shelf was also labeled with a year.
He searched the shelves one by one, finally stopping at the shelf for ten years ago, then began rummaging through it.
Lin Qingyang silently landed on the shelf directly above him and crouched there to watch. Between the darkness and his spiritual power concealing his presence, Qi Mo did not notice him at all.
Lin Qingyang glanced over the booklets on the shelves and found that they recorded the varieties and names of Demon Slaves. These were presumably the Jin Yao Workshop's Demon Slave records. What was he looking for these for?
Watching from the shadows, Lin Qingyang could not help recalling how he had taught Qi Mo to write before they set out.
That day, Qi Mo had just learned to write his own name. Lin Qingyang watched him write "Qi Mo" on the rice paper. His trembling brush tip was not very steady, but the two characters were barely passable.
"This is your name. Remember it." Lin Qingyang picked up the brush and briskly wrote three characters. "Next, practice this."
Qi Mo looked at them, then frowned. "There are too many strokes. Can we change it?"
Lin Qingyang gave him a sidelong glance. "That's my name. Do you think we can change it?"
Qi Mo's expression shifted at that, and he lowered his head to study the three characters for "Lin Qingyang" on the paper. Lin Qingyang's calligraphy was not particularly good, but its sweeping strokes were just like him, free and flamboyant.
"Get writing. You have to master it today." Lin Qingyang started to rise.
But Qi Mo suddenly asked, "Then how do you write 'Chou'?"
Lin Qingyang picked up the brush again and wrote the character for "ugly" on the paper. Qi Mo lowered his head to look.
"Why are you asking?" Lin Qingyang asked, puzzled.
Qi Mo shook his head. "Just asking."
Lin Qingyang, however, found it a little odd. He looked down at the rice paper, where the words plainly read, "Lin Qingyang is ugly." So the kid was sneaking in an insult here. Lin Qingyang raised an eyebrow and gave him a dangerous look.
Realization struck Qi Mo, and panic crossed his face. He hurriedly explained, "No, that's not what I meant!"
But Lin Qingyang had already picked up the ruler on the desk with a cold laugh.
And so, that evening, Qi Mo sat at the desk with swollen hands and an aggrieved expression, writing until midnight. What he had to write had also changed from a single name to "Lin Qingyang is the most handsome man in the world."
Back in the archive room, Lin Qingyang snapped out of his recollection and scanned the booklets on the shelves. Sure enough, he immediately spotted one labeled A Chou, but Qi Mo still had not found it after looking for ages. Of course he could not find it: Lin Qingyang had taught him the simplified character, while the booklet used the traditional form of "A Chou."
So that really had not been what he meant. Lin Qingyang was somewhat speechless. With a flick of his fingertip, A Chou's booklet floated off the shelf. As Qi Mo stared in surprise, Lin Qingyang's voice came from above his head.
"A Chou's record is here."
Qi Mo's expression turned panicked, and he abruptly looked up.
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