The Portal of Wonderland

There was a glimmer of hesitation in Shi Mu’s eyes.

The sudden appearance of the girl surnamed Zhen, a secret meeting with Pang Yu, the involvement of the Wing Crane Tribe’s people, and the content of the conversation that had happened just now — the outline of the conspiracy gradually became vivid in his mind once all of these things were linked together.

Cai stuck out his head, and looked toward Shi Mu’s hands with curiosity. His eyes fell on some small and densely-packed letters on a page of the book that Shi Mu held, and he issued a groan.

“Hey, Shi Mu, don’t try to figure out everything on your own and keep your mouth zipped… I’m still confused,” Cai exclaimed in a discontented tone.

Shi Mu received the book, and gave him a brief recount of the conjecture that he had formed after linking all the crucial points.

“The Eastern Dark Moon Cult’s fellows are so daring!” Cai said in astonishment.

“This isn’t a trivial matter. This situation is equivalent to undertaking the task of exterminating both the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce and the barbarian race at the same time. It seems that Liu An is going overboard this time,” Shi Mu said.

A strange light gleamed in Shi Mu’s eyes. The fact was that it was just a temporary plan to follow those people. But, he had never imagined that his investigation would end up discovering such significant information.

“A secret plan is gradually taking shape under the name of this escort mission. So, are we still setting out with them?” Cai asked.

“It’s not a big issue. Whatever the Eastern Dark Moon Cult is scheming doesn’t concern us. We’ll borrow the power of the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce to get away from the Peaceful Sun City’s scope first. Afterwards, we’ll seize the opportunity to slip away from the team without them noticing,” Shi Mu said.

“That’s a good idea!” Cai nodded.

Shi Mu then shot a glance at Cai’s eyes. He already knew that Cai’s eyesight could see through objects. But, he hadn’t expected that his eyes could even penetrate through such a thick wall.

“A wall is not a big deal for me. I’m just waiting to make a breakthrough to the three feather realm. My eyesight will again make a tremendous progress at that point. After that, even seeing hundred-feet-deep into the ground won’t be a big issue. So, seeing through an insignificant wall like this one will be a piece of cake!” Cai’s voice was filled with pride as he said.

Shi Mu felt amazed on hearing these words. However, he knew that the stronger Cai’s ability would be, the better it would be for Cai’s master. So, he was obviously happy to see it happen.

“One thing is certain no matter what you say… this ability consumes a large amount of your energy. So, you must restore your strength first,” He took out a water-attribute spirit stone, and passed it to Cai.

Cai had been eating water-attribute spirit stones these days.

He stretched his neck, and held the spirit stone in his mouth. Then, he swallowed it down.

… …

Half-an-hour later… Shi Mu left the restaurant, and returned to his residence.

“Wait a moment! There’s someone inside,” he was not far from the courtyard when Cai suddenly spoke-up.

Shi Mu’s complexion changed. Meanwhile, Cai flapped his wings, and flew up in the air. His vision was linked with Shi Mu’s. Therefore, the courtyard’s situation appeared in Shi Mu’s eyes in a very vivid manner.

A green-robed young girl was walking in the courtyard; she was Leng Yue Tong from before.

“How could she possibly appear here?”

Shi Mu’s complexion changed again. But then, a thought streaked across his mind, and he decided that he shouldn’t reveal himself to her. So, he moved to one side, and hid there. He then observed the girl silently through Cai’s field of vision.

“Haha, l can see that this girl has taken a fancy to you… so much so that she has even found your residence,” Cai’s teasing voice resounded in Shi Mu’s mind.

“Shut up, and keep an eye on her. But, don’t get caught by her,” Shi Mu said.

They saw that Leng Yue Tong was walking back-and-forth in each room… It seemed as if she was looking for something. She stopped over for a moment in front of the ruins of a certain room that Shi Mu had smashed in the past while testing-out his cultivation art. She then spent the rest of the time in the stone room that had been properly closed up by Shi Mu beforehand.

However, Shi Mu was usually very responsible when it came to these matters.

Shi Mu would always carry everything on his body. He was unlikely to leave any trace behind in this kind of temporary residence. The basement’s exit happened to exist in that stone room. However, even that had been concealed by him with all kinds of camouflages. Therefore, this woman might not be able to find it.

Leng Yue Tong indeed looked around for a while in that stone room, but ended up empty-handed and eventually returned.

She then walked out, and stood in the courtyard for a moment; her brows were wrinkled as if she was contemplating something.

A long time passed like this. She then swept her gaze around once. Then, she turned around, and jumped out of the courtyard in a vertical position. She then walked away, and soon disappeared into the distance.

Shi Mu came out of his hiding place when he saw Leng Yue Tong leaving. He gazed at her moving far away, and his brow slightly wrinkled.

He couldn’t help but recall some of the magic techniques that this woman had previously displayed in the ring. It seemed that those techniques had stemmed from the Dark Moon Cult; he revealed a thoughtful look on his face as this thought crossed his mind.

… …

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Shi Mu walked out of the room’s door at this moment; he was dressed in a barbarian cloth from top to bottom. He had also put on a scarf on his head, and this had covered most of his face.

“Shi Tou, why are you dressed like this today?” Cai asked.

“Idiot, don’t forget that those people will have their attention fixated on the escorting team of the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce. So, we’ll obviously need to take precautions,” Shi Mu replied.

Cai was dumbfounded to hear his reply. He then said “Oh” as if he had grasped the situation.

“All those people in Pang Yu’s group must have seen you. So, I think you shouldn’t follow me,” Shi Mu thought something for a moment. He then said again.

Cai understood, and gave him a nod. He then fluttered his wings, and flew away.

Shi Mu locked the door of his house. He then looked toward the courtyard, and let out a sigh inwardly.

Shi Mu had been constantly wandering around various parts of the world due to all sort of reasons ever since he had set his foot out of the small fishing village. He had even travelled such a long distance from his Motherland — the Eastern Continent — to the Western continent. He had also gone through the hardships of living in the wilderness over this period of time. But, it was probably the first time that he had been able to stay at one place for a long time. It was indeed rare for him to have such an auspicious opportunity… to stay in a city peacefully for so long.

The time to leave this city had finally arrived. But, he was somewhat reluctant to part with it.

Moreover, he hadn’t even taken down the Fire-Filled Magic Array that was arranged in the underground cavern. He had only sealed the entrance to the cavern in a proper way since he figured that he might possibly get an opportunity to return to this place someday.

A string of such thoughts rolled in his mind for a moment. After that, he took a look at the courtyard, and walked towards the Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion.

A while later… at the entrance of the Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion…

Several people had already gathered here. Thirty Xian Tian martial warriors and ten Star-ranked magicians had been selected on that day. And, most of them had already converged here by now; Leng Yue Tong could also be seen in the crowd.

In addition, some other people could also be seen here apart from the finalists. They had to be the employees of the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce.

“Brother Mu,” Leng Yue Tong saw that Shi Mu had finally showed up here. So, she walked over to him with a smile on her face.

“Miss Leng, you’ve arrived so soon,” a strange gleam flashed through the depths of Shi Mu’s eyes as he said.

“It’s too boring to stay idle. So, I came over a bit early,” Leng Yue Tong cracked into a chuckle.

“Can it be that Miss Leng doesn’t belong to the Peaceful Sun City? Have you also come from outside?” Shi Mu asked.

“Yes. I had initially planned to stay over in this city for a while. However, I hadn’t thought that I would get trapped here for so long,” Leng Yue Tong replied.

The two people stood to one side, and were absorbed in a casual conversation. But, this was strange enough to attract the attention of the surrounding people toward them. The young barbarian men were especially looking at them again and again. Moreover, there were many people who were casting evil looks at Shi Mu out of jealousy.

However, these people didn’t dare to step forward and provoke Shi Mu. And, that was because they had already witnessed his astonishing strength in the ring some days ago.

A dozen or more people arrived at the venue one by one with the passage of time. Eventually, almost all forty selected escorts had reached the meeting place.

A sound of footsteps was heard at this time. Then, a group of green-robed people walked over from afar; the man who was walking in the forefront seemed to be in his thirties. He was sending forth a formidable aura. He was apparently an Earth-ranked powerhouse.

This person had a thin stature, but he still gave off a sense of inexhaustible strength.

The pedestrians were far into the distance. But, they pulled the attention of Shi Mu and other surrounding people. And, the people turned to look in their direction one after another.

Shi Mu’s complexion slightly changed as his eyes drew towards the attires of these people.

“Ling Chu!” Leng Yue Tong exclaimed in a soft voice; she stood beside Shi Mu at the moment.

“Do you know this person?” Shi Mu stared at her.

“Yes, his name is Ling Chu. He is the top high-ranked military officer of the City Lord You Can. He’s an Earth-ranked warrior. I’ve also heard that this batch of goods the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce is sending out has been entrusted by the City Lord You Can. I was initially doubtful about this information. But, it seems true since Ling Chu has also shown up here,” Leng Yue Tong explained.

Shi Mu’s eyes flashed. He couldn’t help but think of the conspiracy that he had discovered a few days ago. That girl surnamed Zhen and the other people were probably aiming at You Can’s batch of goods.

“Hehe, Brother Ling Chu, please come in,” Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion’s Manager Shi walked out, and gave him a warm welcome.

However, Ling Chu’s face revealed a cold and detached attitude toward him. He simply clasped his hands in a casual manner in response to Manager Shi’s warm and passionate welcome.

But, Manager Shi didn’t seem to care much about it. Instead, he ushered this group of people into the store.

The emergence of Ling Chu filled the hearts of many surrounding people with a sense of relief.

After all, they had seen that an Earth-ranked powerhouse was going travel with them. And, this indicated that their security was even more assured. Also, their faces got suffused with a hint of blissful look when they thought of the reward they would be offered for undertaking this task. So, they started to discuss some random matters in a relaxed manner.

But, Leng Yue Tong didn’t look as relaxed as other people. On the contrary, her brows looked slightly creased.

“Miss Leng, what’s the matter?” Shi Mu asked.

“Nothing; I just feel that this mission isn’t as simple as it seems to be,” she replied.

“Why does Miss Leng think so?” Shi Mu’s brows snapped into a frown when he heard her reply. In fact, a gleam of surprised look flashed through his eyes as he asked.

“I’ve heard that the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce has transferred a Moon-ranked magician from some other place to take charge of this escorting mission. But, why would the Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce do so if there isn’t any special danger lingering outside?” Leng Yue Tong said.

Shi Mu’s eyes flickered. This woman — Leng Yue Tong — seemed like a carefree kind of a person. But, the fact was that she was rather very refined in her rough way.

As for why Heavenly Wu Chamber of Commerce had also summoned a Moon-ranked magician from elsewhere… it was clear that they had done so to be fully prepared beforehand. Could it be that they had also received the intelligence of lurking danger on the way?

“By the way, Brother Mu may come to protect this weak girl if we come across any dangerous situation en route,” Leng Yue Tong received her previously cautious look, and said to Shi Mu with her sparkling eyes.

“It seems that Miss Leng is cracking jokes. You’re no damsel in distress! Perhaps, I would instead need you to protect me when the time comes,” Shi Mu burst out laughing as he responded.

Leng Yue Tong pursed up her lips and cast a glance at Shi Mu. Her expressions gave off a different kind of flirtatious vibe. A few people were still gazing at her. Her expressions suddenly set their hearts on fire, and made their heartbeats become a lot faster.

Suddenly, a “Wu Wu” like buzzing sound spread from the Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion. Then, a large vehicle galloped out of the store. It was twenty-or-thirty feet in width and a hundred or more feet in length.

The vehicle was piled up with lots of things. And, all those bulging things were covered with a layer of black cloth so that no one could see inside.

An idea dawned upon Shi Mu as he saw the covered goods. And, he immediately released a wisp of his spirit sense to explore them. However, his spirit sense was flicked-off as soon as it came in contact with the black cloth. Shi Mu’s eyes slightly narrowed as he noticed this.

This vehicle was followed by another vehicle. This one had also floated out of the Heavenly Wu Gems Pavilion. Soon, there were altogether eight such vehicles at the entrance to the store.

Shi Mu looked at these large vehicles with a gleam of amazement in his eyes.

The wheels of these vehicles were half-a-foot above the ground… The vehicle was floating in the air! In addition, the wheels as well as the surface of these vehicles were engraved with a large array of patterns and formulas.

“Can it be that Brother Mu hasn’t seen such a ‘Floating Clouds Vehicle’ before?” Leng Yue Tong asked.

“No, this Mu has always lived in the tribe before arriving here. So, I haven’t become familiar with various aspects of the world. Therefore, I request Miss Leng to enlighten me in this regard. I wonder what principle has been used that has allowed this big vehicle to float in midair. Can it be that those magic charms are somehow related to this?” Shi Mu fired a couple of question.

“Brother Mu’s eyes are pretty sharp. Yes, you’ve made a correct guess. Those magic formulas are engraved on the surface of the vehicle so that they can absorb the air and form a kind of buoyancy. This allows this big vehicle to float in the air with great ease. Nothing can affect this big vehicle’s movement… whether it’s craggy and uneven ground… or having to pass over mountain ranges,” Leng Yue Tong explained.