Bai Zhizhi flew out of the tree hollow, surrounded by the familiar environment he had grown up in. The sky was barely breaking dawn, and the entire Qingqiu was still immersed in the silence of the night.

Standing in place for a moment, Bai Zhizhi pulled a small bag out of his storage tool. Inside was the ID card he had just acquired, complete with his photo and the address of Jiang Lin’s small courtyard.

The fact that the ID card was still in his hand proved that his experience of nearly half a month in that other world was neither a dream nor an illusion.

With a lift of his hand, the bell on his wrist revealed itself. He gave it a casual shake or two, and a moment later, Beishan flew over with sleepy eyes, wearing his sleeping robes, his hair a messy bird’s nest, and not even wearing shoes.

Probably because he wasn’t fully awake yet, Beishan barely recognized his own young prince at first glance.

Looking more closely at the person with short hair and strange clothes, Beishan realized it was indeed his young prince and gasped in shock, “Young Prince! What on earth are you wearing? Why is your hair so short too? No matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t take it out on your hair! Oh wait, it is an illusion spell. You scared the life out of me.”

Having just been startled awake from his bed by the young prince, his bleary eyes had made him think the prince had cut his own hair. Fortunately, it was just an illusion spell, otherwise his soul would have left his body.

Beishan could not help but let out a yawn, adding, “Prince, the sun isn’t even up yet.”

Suddenly snapping fully awake, Beishan covered his mouth and whispered, “Prince, could it be that you want to take advantage of this dark and windy night to steal the King’s official warrant and slip out?”

Bai Zhizhi rolled his eyes at Beishan and asked, “What time is it right now?”

Beishan gave an “ah” sound and looked up at the sky, replying, “Based on the sky, it should be around the hour of the Tiger.”

Bai Zhizhi asked, “How long has my sister been gone?”

Hearing this, Beishan looked at his young prince with concern, wondering if he had become muddled from anger. Carefully observing the prince’s expression, he replied, “She has been gone for about seven or eight double hours.”

After a thought, he added, “Even if we could smoothly steal the King’s warrant, we probably wouldn’t be able to catch up with the Princess Royal anyway.”

They had no idea where the Princess Royal intended to go for her training after leaving Qingqiu, so trying to pursue her would be completely aimless.

Bai Zhizhi reached out and pinched Beishan’s face, making him cry out in pain while not daring to dodge. Once he confirmed the person in front of him was real, he let go and said, “I hadn’t even returned to my sleeping quarters, and you just went back to sleep?”

Beishan rubbed his face and replied, “I called out to you from outside, but you didn’t answer me.”

Besides, it was not the first time the young prince had stayed inside the tree hollow without coming out. Sometimes he would fuss over who knows what inside, and it was quite common for him not to show his face for ten days or a fortnight.

Furthermore, this was within Qingqiu and inside the royal palace. No matter what happened, the young prince could not possibly go missing, so he had felt perfectly safe going back to sleep.

Bai Zhizhi snorted. The moment the illusion spell dissolved, a cascade of long hair tumbled down. A light breeze swept past, causing the strands to linger softly in the moonlight as if coated in a silver glow.

His slightly rounded facial features turned cold and focused, completely discarding the innocent and clueless facade he had put on in the modern world. As he frowned in deep thought, his face, which still carried a trace of youthfulness, already bore the majestic authority of the Fox Clan’s royal family, making the previously giggling Beishan too intimidated to even breathe loudly.

Glancing back at the tree hollow behind him, Bai Zhizhi lightly tapped his foot and flew back to his own sleeping quarters.

While letting out a small sigh of relief, Beishan could not help but scratch his head, wondering what the point of calling him over actually was. Alas, the Princess Royal was gone, and the young prince’s plan to slip away using the opportunity had fallen through. The prince was likely in a foul temper, so he had better keep his head down and lay low for the next few days.

Returning to his sleeping quarters, Bai Zhizhi took off the pajamas from that other world. Initially intending to toss them away carelessly, he thought better of it and stored them back into his storage tool.

He walked into the spiritual pool and immersed his entire body. The dense spiritual energy washed over his body along with the flow of the water, thoroughly cleansing away the mundane impurities he had accumulated during this period.

His wet hair clung to his body, and water droplets rolled off his porcelain white skin. His neck was slender, and his delicate collarbones were half visible beneath the water. Bai Zhizhi leaned against the edge of the bath, resting his cheek on his crossed hands. The spiritual energy in the pool surged, wrapping him in a hazy white mist.

Beishan carefully followed him to the sleeping quarters, poking his head in quietly. Seeing the prince taking a bath, he turned around and sat down on the steps to wait.

Closing his eyes, Bai Zhizhi turned his face the other way, pondering over this bizarre world travel.

The entrance and exit of Qingqiu were sealed by the Grotto Heaven Stone, and the royal palace of Qingqiu was protected by a massive barrier. Every single time he entered or left the royal palace, his father and mother would sense it. It was impossible for anyone to have the ability to take him away and bring him back unnoticed.

He had stayed in that other world for at least half a month, while only seven or eight double hours had passed here. Seven or eight double hours, according to the time calculation of that world, amounted to roughly fourteen or fifteen hours. This duration perfectly matched the half month if there was a time difference, though he did not know if it was a mere coincidence or if the flow of time differed between the two sides.

Recalling the things he did before going to that world, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. None of his treasures or spiritual items were newly acquired, and it wasn’t as if he had never slept on the wicker chair inside the tree hollow before. So what exactly had triggered his travel across space?

Thinking about the myths and legends regarding Qingqiu in that world, Bai Zhizhi was not even sure if he had traveled through space or through time.

Could it be that the current Qingqiu was the very Qingqiu from the legends of that world?

The moment this thought popped up, Bai Zhizhi shook his head to dismiss it. The scale of the territories was entirely different. Qingqiu alone was comparable to the size of their entire planet over there. Moreover, aside from Qingqiu, this place also had many cultivation continents, and above the continents lay the Celestial Realm and the Demon Realm. Therefore, they should be two distinct worlds rather than two different timelines of the same world.

So what on earth was the reason?

Since the items he possessed showed no anomalies, the anomaly might lie in the location. But that tree had been there since before he could remember, and the treehouse inside the hollow was something he had planned and built bit by bit. So what exactly was the catalyst?

Unable to figure it out, Bai Zhizhi reached through the air to grab his sleeping robes. As he flew out from the spiritual pool, a quick dust cleansing spell instantly left his body dry and comfortable.

Draped in his sleeping robes as he walked out, he lightly kicked Beishan, who was still sitting on the bath steps, asking, “Why are you sitting here instead of sleeping?”

Beishan immediately widened his eyes and countered, “Young Prince, who was the one who summoned me while I was fast asleep?”

Bai Zhizhi let out a laugh and said, “You can go sleep now.”

Beishan asked, “Ah, so we aren’t going to steal the warrant anymore?”

Bai Zhizhi replied, “Sister just left, so Father and Mother are guarding against me tightly right now. It would be a miracle if I could steal it. Go back to sleep.”

Beishan scrambled up from the floor, but just as he was about to leave, he was called back.

“Wait.”

Beishan turned around and asked, “Young Prince?”

Bai Zhizhi said, “You sleep on the side couch today.”

Beishan gave an “oh” sound, followed the young prince into the inner chamber, and watched him get into bed. After stepping forward to lower the bed curtains, he consciously climbed onto the side couch.

As the young prince’s personal guard, he had grown up eating, drinking, and sleeping alongside the prince since childhood. Later, as the prince grew older and disliked having someone follow his every move, he was dispatched to the side palace. Now that he was sleeping back in his more familiar small bed, Beishan fell asleep in no time.

Listening to the light, shallow breathing beside him, Bai Zhizhi stared at the bright, soft spiritual pearl above his head, lost in thought. Why exactly did it happen?

As soon as dawn broke, without waiting for Beishan to come and serve him, Bai Zhizhi changed his clothes on his own and ran out.

The fox father was originally sitting in the courtyard taking a slow sip of his tea. Sensing a familiar aura approaching, he stood up and bolted without a second thought.

The moment Bai Zhizhi arrived, he saw his own father running away, so he quickly gave chase, shouting, “Father!”

The fox father called back, “Don’t look for me! If you have the guts, go look for your mother!”

Bai Zhizhi shouted loudly, “I’m not looking for you to get the warrant!”

The fox father replied, “Even if you don’t want the warrant, go look for your mother anyway!”

He was the least capable of resisting his children’s tantrums. A few tears in front of him would completely leave him helpless. Now that his daughter was away for her training, only his son was left at home. He had to harden his heart and could not let his son coax him with sweet talk.

Bai Zhizhi was very fast, but no matter how fast he was, he could not outrun a father who was an High Immortal. Seeing that he truly could not catch up, Bai Zhizhi simply sat down right on the ground, tilted his head back, and let out a loud shout, “Mother!”

The fox father, who had already run far away, reappeared in a flash, instantly covering Bai Zhizhi’s mouth, saying, “Don’t shout, don’t shout! Your mother has a morning court assembly today. Be good, how about Father lets you pick any two treasures from my private treasury? You know that the heavy burden of the entire Qingqiu will fall onto your sister’s shoulders in the future. Training is an indispensable path of growth in her fox life…”

Bai Zhizhi pulled his father’s hand down and covered his mouth instead, cutting off his impending lecture, saying, “I already said it’s not about the training!”

The fox father stopped his brainwashing lecture and finally asked, “Then why were you chasing me in such a frantic rush?”

Bai Zhizhi replied, “If you hadn’t run, why would I chase you?”

The fox father snorted, straightened his clothes, and regained the dignity of the Fox Clan’s King Consort, saying, “Speak then, what do you want from your father? Caught your eye on some treasure? Or do you want to go out of the royal palace to play? Going out to play is fine, but you must bring more people with you. You can’t go out with just Beishan.”

Bai Zhizhi also scrambled up from the ground, spreading his arms wide as he asked, “Father, look at me. See if there is anything different about me?”

The fox father walked around his son twice, rubbing his chin as he praised, “Our Zhizhi looks even more handsome today. This clothing must be the Cloud Pearl Clear Moon refined by Master Konglan of the Phoenix Clan last time, right? As expected, the ribbons carry a pearly luster, and walking or waving your sleeves makes it seem as if a hazy lunar aura is wrapping around you. Beautiful, it matches my son’s supreme appearance perfectly.”

Bai Zhizhi looked at his father speechlessly and said, “It’s not the clothes, it’s me! Yesterday during cultivation, I felt my breath becoming blocked and my mind grew unsettled. In a daze, it felt as if my soul left my body and traveled to a strange place.”

Hearing this, the fox father grabbed his son’s hand, channeling his spiritual energy into his body to investigate. After thoroughly checking every single meridian, spiritual platform, and even his dantian energy sea, he could not help but raise his hand to give him a light knock on the head, saying, “There’s absolutely nothing wrong. Your divine soul is perfectly stable. You’re just talking nonsense to scare your father.”

The brat must be using this to act pitiful and scare him just because his training trip was blocked.

Bai Zhizhi hadn’t found anything wrong when he checked himself, and now that his father had inspected him as well, it was impossible for his father not to notice if an anomaly truly existed. Bai Zhizhi had no choice but to drop the matter, intending to go check the tree hollow by himself later.

Rubbing his struck forehead, Bai Zhizhi pulled out the two jade pendants he had brought back, asking, “Father, help me look at this. Is there something inside?”

The fox father took the jade pendants and glanced at them, asking, “Where did this come from?”

The spiritual energy was minuscule, the carving was crude, and the deceptive concealment refined on the outside was practically non-existent. There shouldn’t be such a low grade item inside the royal palace.

Bai Zhizhi asked, “Father, can you tell if there is anything special about this item?”

The fox father lightly tapped his fingertip on the jade pendants, and the two pieces instantly snapped together. As streams of spiritual energy were channeled into them, the concealment layer on the outside shattered apart.

Hidden inside were two pieces of soft iron twisted together, clashing against each other while simultaneously repelling each other.

Bai Zhizhi tilted his head up to watch, asking, “What is this thing?”

The fox father let out a soft laugh, tapped his finger gently, and after channeling the power of an High Immortal inside, the two pieces of soft iron actually condensed into a palm sized, cone shaped object. It bore row upon row of jagged gear marks, looking like a key to open something.

Handing the object, now stripped of its concealment, back to his son, he explained, “It carries a spatial aura. It might be a key to open some sort of small scale space.”

Bai Zhizhi examined the key and asked, “A small scale space?”

The fox father replied, “Where did you get it? See if there is any matching treasure chest or domain. However, based on the aura on it, even if there is one, it won’t be anything impressive.”

Whether it was a treasure chest holding powerful items or a large scale domain, the key used to lock it would definitely contain massive energy within. Judging by the energy carried in this key, whatever it could open could not be very powerful.

Bai Zhizhi put the key away securely and asked again, “Father, what kind of tree is my treehouse built in? It has grown so massive, how old is it?”

The fox father looked at his son in bewilderment, asking, “Why the sudden question?”

Bai Zhizhi replied, “Just thought of it and decided to ask. I flipped through the Compendium of a Hundred Objects before, but I didn’t seem to find any record regarding that tree.”

The fox father said, “That tree, counting the years, is already tens of thousands of years old. It is older than both your father and mother. It’s truly hard to say exactly what kind of tree it is, because it grew from many different trees, flowers, and grasses fusing together. You can see that the flowers it blossoms every year are different. The spiritual woods and spiritual grasses devoured one another, and it gradually grew into that shape.”

Bai Zhizhi gave an “oh” sound. It sounded as if nothing was wrong, but he always felt the issue lay with the tree. He then extended his hand toward his fox father.

The fox father looked utterly confused, asking, “??”

Bai Zhizhi wore a face that clearly said you can’t go back on your word, stating, “The key to the private treasury and two treasures. Father must keep his word.”

The fox father’s eyes instantly widened. This brat, how could his memory be so good when it came to this sort of thing? Letting out a light snort, he tossed over the key to his private treasury, not forgetting to advise, “Just two items, mind you. You can’t take anything that far exceeds your current cultivation level.”

Bai Zhizhi took the key and ran off immediately, calling out, “Got it!”

By the time Beishan heard the news that the young prince had once again coaxed the key to the private treasury from the King Consort and secured two new treasures, he was strolling along while munching on his breakfast, tracking his young master via the detection of the guidance bell.

In the end, he successfully located his young prince outside the treehouse.

Seeing Bai Zhizhi sitting outside the treehouse and staring at the massive ancient tree, lost in thought, Beishan approached and followed his gaze, asking, “Prince, what’s wrong with this tree? What is there to look at?”

Bai Zhizhi sat cross legged on the ground, supporting his chin with one hand. Hearing this, he didn’t even turn his head as he said, “It’s good that you are here. Go dig up some soil from the spiritual herb garden for me.”

Thinking he had misheard, Beishan asked, “Ah? Dig up soil?”

Bai Zhizhi replied, “You don’t need to dig up too much, just enough to fill one cloth storage bag will do.”

Although mystified, the very obedient Beishan finished his pastry in two or three bites and walked toward the herb garden, though he couldn’t quite figure out what the young prince wanted soil for, let alone soil from the spiritual herb garden.

Before he could walk far, Bai Zhizhi called out again, “Go gather another cloth storage bag full of snake spirit fruits. Hmm, pick some spiritual peaches too, and some green lotus fruits as well. Go on.”

Beishan was puzzled once again. These were all items that weren’t worth any spiritual stones. The greatest use for those fruits was simply to scent the young prince’s sleeping quarters for fragrance. Harvesting so many at once left him clueless as to their purpose. Despite his confusion, he still obediently carried out the task, preparing all the items the young prince requested in less than half a day.

Bai Zhizhi stored the cloth bags away, thinking about what else he hadn’t prepared. Ample spiritual stones, spiritual medicines, spiritual pills, spiritual fruits, defensive spiritual tools, and offensive spiritual tools were all pretty much sorted out.

Bai Zhizhi stood up from the ground and waved at Beishan, saying, “Come inside with me.”

After entering the treehouse with the young prince, Beishan was pressed down onto the wicker chair. Bai Zhizhi sat down on it along with him, and after waiting for a moment with no reaction, he repeated exactly what he had done on the day of his travel.

The mystified Beishan watched the young prince clear out his treasury, staying perfectly still and not daring to move an inch.

After fussing around for half the day, absolutely nothing happened.

Bai Zhizhi let out a sigh and said, “Forget it, you can go out now. Go play on your own, and don’t disturb me if there is nothing important.”

Beishan gave an answering sound and left the treehouse. Seeing the young prince directly lower a barrier around the massive tree, he scratched his head in bewilderment. Ever since the Princess Royal left, the young prince was becoming stranger and stranger.

Once Beishan went out, Bai Zhizhi took out the pajamas from the other world from his storage tool and changed into them, then sat back down on the chair.

He repeated the actions from the day of his travel all by himself once again, but there was still no reaction whatsoever.

Bai Zhizhi gave a soft click of his tongue, becoming even more baffled. What on earth was going on? Could it be that he could never go back over there?

Although going or not wouldn’t cause him any actual loss, and he could just treat it as a dream from a trip abroad, not figuring out the reason behind it was truly frustrating.

Bai Zhizhi rested his chin in his hand and scanned the entire tree hollow, carefully examining every spot he thought might be anomalous. Finally, his gaze landed on the wicker chair he was sitting on.

The wicker chair was woven from tree roots. This tree had grown too massive, and its roots were coiled extensively and deeply. When he was only about a hundred years old, he liked to swing around while hanging from the tree roots. Later, his father had people gather the tree roots together to weave them into a chair. The roots, which used to be relatively soft, grew harder and firmer over time, and this wicker chair became increasingly sturdy.

As his mind wandered through these thoughts, Bai Zhizhi’s gaze suddenly froze.

For a towering ancient tree that had grown for tens of thousands of years, its roots were spread out wide. Plants were incredibly terrifying and powerful existences. A tiny section of a root could grow continuously, and some roots could penetrate deep underground to places even demon cultivators could not reach.

So could it be that the issue lay deep underground? Was there something underground that was gripped and entwined by the tree roots, allowing the roots to absorb its power and subsequently master the capabilities of that object?

Bai Zhizhi stroked the wicker chair, recalling his father saying this tree had no specific record or name, precisely because many wood element plants had grown together back then, devouring one another and slowly growing into this shape. Perhaps it was because of this that it had devoured something deep underground.

Thinking this way, Bai Zhizhi immediately assumed a cross legged meditation posture.

He possessed a wood spiritual root, giving him a natural affinity with plants, and he had grown up playing inside this tree hollow since childhood. While he couldn’t say how deeply his aura was fused with this massive tree, after nearly a thousand years of companionship, it was perfectly normal for them to have rubbed off on and integrated into one another slightly.

He wanted to use the spiritual energy of his own wood element spiritual root to latch onto the tree roots, attempting to use the roots as a medium to investigate whether there was something hidden deep underground.

As his spiritual energy entered and probed around, Bai Zhizhi gradually entered a state of deep meditation. As his divine sense traveled through the entire massive tree, he could feel the tree’s bursting vitality, as well as the incredibly powerful wood spiritual force inside. This wood spiritual force floated around him grain by grain like scattered starlight.

Bai Zhizhi unconsciously used his divine sense to touch and absorb it. The wood spiritual force was also very close to him, prompting them to rush toward him instinctively without him needing to make an effort to grasp them.

As he absorbed more and more wood element power, Bai Zhizhi felt his entire self enveloped in a comfortable and warm sea of spiritual energy, a feeling so pleasant that it made him want to stretch his limbs and roll around a bit.

The moment the urge to roll around arose, a violent sensation of falling dragged him out of his meditation. Almost instantly, the surrounding environment changed once again.

Bai Zhizhi snapped his eyes open. He was still maintaining his cross legged meditation posture, but the treehouse had turned into the room in Jiang Lin’s small courtyard.

Bai Zhizhi glanced at the sky outside; it was still pitch black with night. He turned his head to grab the phone kept by the bed to check the time. Less than an hour had passed since he had previously lain down on this side.

This time he had stayed in Qingqiu for at least a full day, but only an hour had passed over here. Calculating it this way, the flow of time seemed to have shifted again. The flow of time seemed to revolve around him. Whichever side he was on, a day on that side would equal an hour on the opposite side.

He seemed to have discovered the method for traveling between worlds, finding the trick to moving back and forth. It was just that while the method to come over from Qingqiu was found, the method to return from this side still required further testing.

Regardless, he could go home, and after going home, he could still come back over. This meant he no longer needed to tread carefully while exploring this world, no longer needed to worry about being trapped in this world, and no longer had any reservations. He could completely treat this place as an amusement park outside of Qingqiu.

With this thought, Bai Zhizhi could not help but bounce up and down on the bed. Although this place was not as large as the cultivation continents and the vast majority were still ordinary people, this place was outside of Qingqiu. This place had many things the cultivation continents lacked, so he could come out to play without needing to find a way to steal his mother’s warrant!

Even better, he wouldn’t have to stay all by himself in Qingqiu after his sister left!

The bed here was different from the white jade bed in his sleeping quarters; it was soft and fluffy, and jumping on it provided a springy rebound, allowing the force to bounce him even higher.

However, before he could bounce around a few more times in his excitement, he heard a light laugh coming from outside the window.

Standing on the bed, Bai Zhizhi followed the sound and looked over, only to see Jiang Lin standing outside the window, watching him with a smile.

Bai Zhizhi jumped off the bed, climbed onto the table by the window, and looked at him, asking, “What are you doing standing outside my window in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

His long hair, which he had forgotten to conceal with an illusion spell, cascaded down smoothly as he leaned over the windowsill. Under the wooden window illuminated by the moonlight, the little fox with long hair and a stunning appearance tilted his head up slightly to look at him. After a momentary daze, a flash of amazement crossed Jiang Lin’s eyes.

However, his eyes held only pure appreciation for something beautiful, devoid of excessive worldly desires. He merely felt the little fox bouncing on the bed just now was quite cute, and since he happened to be passing by, he couldn’t help but look a few moments longer, replying, “Not sleeping so late, still playing on the trampoline.”

Bai Zhizhi shook his head and countered, “You aren’t asleep either.”

He had just come over after taking a nap in Qingqiu, and having unlocked the method to travel between worlds, he was currently thrilled, so how could he possibly sleep?

Jiang Lin said, “I am heading back to my room to sleep now. You should sleep early too, don’t bounce too late.”

Bai Zhizhi let out a snort and asked again, “You went out just now. Where did you go?”

Jiang Lin did not hide it either, replying, “The Herr you guys ran into at the club this afternoon. The painting of the ladies he bought was destroyed right after leaving the venue, so he went back to the club to demand an explanation. He is an ability user, and matters involving practitioners fall within the jurisdiction of the management bureau, so I went over to handle it.”

Bai Zhizhi had originally just asked casually, but he hadn’t expected Jiang Lin to answer so seriously. He paused slightly before realizing which incident Jiang Lin was referring to, and feeling inexplicably guilty, he asked, “Did he cause trouble for the club? How did you handle it?”

Jiang Lin said, “It should be an internal problem among their own people, having nothing to do with the club. I went over, sent them away, and it was fine.”

Bai Zhizhi asked, “An internal problem among their own people?”

Jiang Lin did not view Bai Zhizhi as a fox who knew nothing, so he explained without being superficial, “Simply put, someone did not want him to obtain the painting, so they found a way to destroy it after he bought it. As the main venue for the auction, since the club put the painting up for bidding, they wouldn’t do something like destroying it after it was sold. However, there is another possibility.”

Bai Zhizhi blinked guiltily and asked, “Wh-what possibility?”

Jiang Lin said, “People from another faction were eyeing the painting. It is said that the bidding for this painting was highly competitive this afternoon. Perhaps there is some secret inside the painting, and since the opposing side couldn’t get it, they would rather destroy it than let someone else have it. The truth of the matter is unknown for now, but the current trouble has been resolved. Is there anything else you are curious to know?”

Bai Zhizhi asked, “You’ll tell me whatever I want to know?”

Jiang Lin pondered seriously for a moment and replied, “Some things cannot be told to you.”

Bai Zhizhi, who hadn’t been curious initially, suddenly became intrigued and asked, “What things cannot be told to me?”

Jiang Lin smiled and said, “I cannot tell you the password to my bank card.”

Bai Zhizhi let out another light snort and said, “Who cares to know that? Look at the main gate of your small courtyard, the paint is peeling off completely. You don’t look like a rich man either.”

Jiang Lin smoothed out the hair that had been tousled by the wind for him, brushing it behind his back, his eyes brimming with a smile as he said, “It’s not broken. Those are the past, the marks left behind by many people and many events.”

Bai Zhizhi could not fully grasp the emotion behind Jiang Lin’s words, but he could see that within those smiling eyes, the smile was no longer pure; it seemed to carry a weight that he could not yet comprehend at present.

Before he could look closer, Jiang Lin supported his shoulders, turned him around halfway, and nudged him inside, saying, “It’s very late. Even a demon cultivator shouldn’t stay up late. Time to sleep, okay?”

Bai Zhizhi said, “I know why your cultivation level is so low now.”

Jiang Lin gave an “uh-huh” sound and asked, “Why?”

Bai Zhizhi stated, “Cultivators never sleep. They are always meditating and cultivating at all times. Going into deep meditation for a session is equivalent to having slept.”

Hearing this, Jiang Lin let out a light laugh and asked, “You’ve met many cultivators?”

Bai Zhizhi answered honestly, “I haven’t met them, but that’s how it’s written in books.”

Jiang Lin said, “It seems the hidden residence where you cultivated had a lot of books about the secular world. But times have changed, and each generation has its own pursuits. This world is actually very beautiful, so why should we hurry our footsteps so much?”

Bai Zhizhi turned his head to look at Jiang Lin, but Jiang Lin gently nudged his head back, saying, “Now, go to sleep.”

Forced back onto the bed, Bai Zhizhi watched Jiang Lin leave only after ensuring he had settled down to sleep again. His ears picked up the sound of footsteps gradually walking away. Actually, it wasn’t very far, because Jiang Lin lived in the room right next to his.

He could hear the sound of the other party opening the door, walking inside, and then closing the door. After a moment of rustling, the inner door opened further inside, which should be the bathroom door. A while later, the faint sound of water drifted out from within.

Bai Zhizhi closed his eyes again, listening to every single movement next door, completely unaware of when he had fallen asleep once more.

It was another bright and sunny day. Bai Zhizhi stretched his body, shook his head to hide his hair with an illusion spell, and casually picked out a set of clothes from this side to change into. Without waiting for anyone to call him, he walked toward the front yard on his own.

Halfway there, he saw Lin Xiaoyang and Yue Zhihuan sitting on the stone benches in the courtyard eating breakfast. He asked in surprise, “Not eating inside today?”

Lin Xiaoyang waved at him, saying, “Don’t go in. Brother Jiang is hosting a guest in the living room. Hurry up and try this steamed bun, and the pan fried dumplings from the old city next door. Uncle Gao tried to steal the recipe for these pan fried dumplings but failed. They are incredibly delicious.”

Bai Zhizhi sat down beside them, took the chopsticks handed over by Yue Zhihuan, and said thank you. Yue Zhihuan made a gesture back to him.

Bai Zhizhi had memorized some basic sign language, such as thank you, you’re welcome, and eating. Right now, what Yue Zhihuan gestured was clearly not “you’re welcome,” so he looked toward Lin Xiaoyang, inquiring what she was gesturing.

Lin Xiaoyang looked at Bai Zhizhi’s face and said, “Huanhuan is asking if you slept exceptionally well last night. You look very happy today.”

Bai Zhizhi gave a smile. Of course he was happy. He no longer needed to worry about being unable to go home, and if anything disadvantageous to him occurred here, he could retreat at any time. This was naturally something that brought happiness and peace of mind.

He hadn’t expected Yue Zhihuan to be so perceptive of his emotions. Thinking about his time in the small courtyard, whenever there was good food or fun things, Yue Zhihuan always thought of him. She also frequently helped him scold Lin Xiaoyang, who always teased him by taking advantage of his lack of common sense regarding this place.

Bai Zhizhi extended his hand toward Yue Zhihuan, a pink crystal bracelet appearing in his palm, saying, “A gift for you.”

Yue Zhihuan opened her eyes wide in bewilderment, gesturing to ask him why.

Lin Xiaoyang was also curious, asking, “Why give Huanhuan a gift? What about me? Do I have a gift?”

Bai Zhizhi replied, “This is for girls to wear. The crystal stone on it can combine with a person’s body temperature to emit a special fragrance, and everyone’s scent is different. You get nothing. You even stole my monster in the game yesterday.”

Lin Xiaoyang let out a huff of anger, while Yue Zhihuan waved her hands at him, signing: [Thank you, but I can’t take it. This is too valuable, keep it for yourself.]

Bai Zhizhi placed the bracelet into her hand and said, “It’s not valuable, it’s just a fragrant stone, a worthless little toy.”

Lin Xiaoyang said, “Huanhuan, just accept it. Since Zhizhi says it’s worthless, it must be worthless. This stingy fox, I only took one monster from him yesterday, and he insisted that I return two.”

Bai Zhizhi countered, “You’re the petty one. One monster gives one gold coin, and with one more gold coin, I could have expanded my territory by one more block. How could you snatch my land?”

Seeing that the voices of the two were growing louder, Yue Zhihuan quickly lowered the volume manually for them, signing: [Stop arguing! Brother Jiang is talking business inside!]

Lin Xiaoyang covered his mouth and made an OK sign toward Yue Zhihuan. Bai Zhizhi took a few more bites before asking, “Who is he talking with? What is it about?”

Lin Xiaoyang lowered his voice, saying, “It’s about the painting Herr bought yesterday. The eighty million painting he bought was destroyed right after he left the club.”

Bai Zhizhi chewed and nodded. He already knew this yesterday, since the painting was destroyed because of him after all.

Lin Xiaoyang continued, “Yesterday, wasn’t there a table of people who kept competing against Herr and finally gave up only because they truly ran out of money? Brother Jiang had the person who competed yesterday brought over. Since he worked so hard to compete against Herr for this painting, he must know something, or it’s even possible that he was the one who destroyed the painting. Although it’s just a guess, bringing the person over to question him might yield some answers.”

Hearing this, Bai Zhizhi could no longer sit still. With a steamed bun stuffed in his mouth, he dashed toward the living room. He wanted to listen in on what they were discussing.

Lin Xiaoyang was quick with his eyes and fast with his hands, but… he failed to grab him. Watching Bai Zhizhi run into the living room, it wasn’t appropriate for him to chase after him either. Anyway, with Brother Jiang around, Brother Jiang could suppress a fox with immense curiosity.

Bai Zhizhi ran over and sat down beside Jiang Lin. Jiang Lin paused the conversation and looked at him, asking, “What’s wrong? Got into another fuss with Xiaoyang?”

Bai Zhizhi shook his head, swallowing the bun in his mouth, saying, “No, please continue.”

As he spoke, he looked at the person opposite them. The man was not very old, and his features were reasonably neat, but he looked incredibly nervous.

Seeing that he sat down with no intention of leaving, Jiang Lin did not drive him away either, saying to the young man across the seat, “Apologies, please continue.”

The young man said with slight uneasiness, “It really is just because the author of the painting of the ladies watching the moon is an ancestor of my family. Previously, this painting had always been in the hands of collectors. Having finally received news of the auction, we wanted to bid on it. It’s just that the liquid funds in our hands were inferior to the other bidder, so we could only miss out with regret.”

Jiang Lin looked straight at him and said, “Mr. Tang, I can tell you explicitly now that the painting of the ladies watching the moon is gone. Yesterday, right after it was bid on and left the club, it burned. Therefore, no matter what you want to conceal, it is no longer necessary.”

Tang Heng sprang up abruptly, exclaiming, “Burned? Impossible! They spent eighty million to snatch the painting, how could it just burn like that?”

Jiang Lin said, “We are still investigating who destroyed the artwork. That is why we invited you here today, hoping you can provide more information. According to our investigation, the liquid funds your Tang family can mobilize far exceed eighty million. Yesterday at the auction, you stopped bidding only after receiving a phone call. Did that phone call tell you that funds were insufficient, or did it tell you that your competitor was an ability user, advising you to stop competing?”

Tang Heng’s expression shifted slightly.

Jiang Lin added, “Now that the painting is destroyed, as the last people who competed against them, don’t you think Herr and his men will suspect your Tang family did something?”

Tang Heng denied it without a second thought, stating, “It wasn’t us! We didn’t do anything, and we didn’t even come into contact with the painting from start to finish.”

Jiang Lin let out a brief smile and said, “Mr. Tang, you say you didn’t do it, and I believe you, but do the American ability users believe you? Your Tang family wanted to bid on an ancestral painting, but why do you think those Americans wanted it? I believe you know the reason behind this, and they know it too. If they had secured the item and obtained what they wanted, perhaps they wouldn’t have troubled your Tang family further. Now that the item is destroyed, if you were in their shoes, what would you do?”

If he were one of those ability users, he would absolutely suspect the Tang family first.

Tang Heng fell silent for a good while before speaking up, asking, “Was the painting truly burned?”

Seeing that he was clearly softening his stance, Jiang Lin said reassuringly, “The information I received says so, but I did not see it with my own eyes, nor can we rule out the possibility that this is false news spread by them.”

Tang Heng let out a sigh and said, “Whether it’s burned or not, now that the painting has reached their hands, it no longer has anything to do with our Tang family. Mr. Jiang, can you help me keep the words I say today confidential?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Of course, I will not disclose anything regarding your Tang family to the outside world. I can guarantee this to you.”

Tang Heng finally spoke, saying, “That painting is actually a treasure map. I know this sort of thing sounds a bit far fetched, but the author of the painting is indeed an ancestor of our Tang family. The reason the Tang family was able to build its fortune back then was apparently because of a buried treasure. My ancestor hid the secret of the treasure inside the painting, and later left a message for descendants stating that if they ever reached the end of their rope, bringing the painting back to the ancestral home to offer sacrifices would definitely allow them to make a comeback.”

Jiang Lin did not display much surprise at his words. If there were no profits to be made, it would be meaningless for Herr to buy the painting at such a high price for no reason, asking, “Where is your ancestral home located?”

Tang Heng answered, “The former Miaoyuan County, which is the current Luoxia Village.”

Bai Zhizhi felt a wave of confusion. Luoxia Village, wasn’t that the place where Xianyu was discovered? However, he had only found water spiritual crystals in that place, and hadn’t discovered any treasure.

Jiang Lin asked Tang Heng, “When the painting was still with your Tang family, did no one from your family go to offer sacrifices?”

Tang Heng replied, “Of course they offered sacrifices. It is said that after the old ancestor left those words, they immediately took the painting to the ancestral home to offer sacrifices, but no matter how they offered sacrifices, it was useless. Some people kept conducting research on the artwork to see if some secret was hidden inside, but in the end, they truly found nothing. Later, they encountered the chaos of war and lost the painting.”

Although the painting was lost, the words left by the old ancestor were passed down from generation to generation. Currently, while the Tang family could not be considered an immensely wealthy clan, mobilizing nearly a hundred million in funds to buy back an ancestral item was still manageable for them.

However, they were merely ordinary people. At most, due to the convenience of their social status, they knew a little bit about practitioners. Therefore, upon learning that a group of ability users was targeting the painting, they could only give up, because their secular wealth and power meant absolutely nothing to practitioners.

Jiang Lin asked, “Aside from these, is there any other information you can provide?”

Tang Heng shook his head and said, “I’ve said everything I know. Our family lost the painting of the ladies for nearly a century. The current Tang family, as long as we don’t touch things we shouldn’t touch, will have no problem passing down for another three generations. We also don’t want to be dragged into such a complicated matter. We just thought the fact that the painting held a secret was known only to our Tang family, and we don’t know how it leaked out either. I only hope these matters won’t involve the Tang family in the future. Regardless of whether there really is a treasure inside, it’s not something we can afford to hold.”

Who wouldn’t be tempted by wealth, and who would complain about having too much money? But Tang Heng was very clear headed. When one lacked the capability, certain wealth would only become a death warrant.

Jiang Lin stood up to express his gratitude to Tang Heng, saying, “Thank you for your cooperation. No one else will know about today’s matter.”

Tang Heng quickly returned the gesture, saying, “You are too polite. It’s good as long as it can be of help to you. If those ability users cause trouble for our family in the future…”

Jiang Lin directly gave his promise, stating, “You can contact us at any time. If they cause trouble for the Tang family, the management bureau will definitely not sit idly by.”

With his words, Tang Heng felt a lot more at ease. No matter what, this could be considered directly striking up a connection with practitioners.

Jiang Lin had Lin Xiaoyang see the man out, then turned his head to look at the quiet Bai Zhizhi, asking, “What’s wrong?”

Bai Zhizhi asked, “If Herr suspects the Tang family ruined his painting and wants to deal with the Tang family, will you be able to rush over in time to save the day?”

Jiang Lin slightly raised an eyebrow and remarked, “So concerned about the Tang family?”

Meeting his gaze, Bai Zhizhi widened his eyes and shook his head, saying, “No, I just asked casually.”

Jiang Lin leaned a bit closer to him, asking, “What are you feeling guilty about?”

Bai Zhizhi pushed Jiang Lin away, exclaiming, “Who feels guilty! What do I have to feel guilty about! Don’t talk nonsense!”

Jiang Lin scrutinized Bai Zhizhi for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Could it be that you were the one who ruined the painting?”

Bai Zhizhi instantly fell completely silent.