When the meal was finished, Feng Yongrui wanted to talk to his disciples. He asked them what they thought about the day's events.
"What did you think of the Intoxicating Fragrance House?" He asked.
Ma Bo, who had been teasing and rubbing the puppy, looked up and frowned. Actually, he didn't see anything wrong with that place at first, but because Master said he wanted to investigate, that meant something was definitely wrong there.
Hou Renshu was frowning when he suddenly looked up.
"Master, I remember something," He began. "But, what I heard was... anyway, it might not be true..."
"Go on," Feng Yongrui nodded.
"At that time, after Master left, the two of us continued eating. Several tables away, I heard a man talking to one of the ladies..."
Hou Renshu hadn't thought much about it at the time. That place was a brothel, after all. The lady and the man were talking animatedly. The woman, however, kept asking weird questions, and the more he listened, the more he felt that the woman was trying to extract information from the man.
The man gradually grew annoyed at the woman's incessant and "irrelevant" questions, and he began to complain. The man had said that the woman should be grateful he chose to go to this place, after all, it had a bad reputation.
As Hou Renshu recounted this to Feng Yongrui, his frown grew deeper and deeper. Ma Bo also fell into thought, racking his brains for any details he might have missed.
"A bad reputation?" Feng Yongrui muttered.
"Ah! I remember now! Someone mentioned that several people have gone missing near the Intoxicating Fragrance House!" Ma Bo cried, startling everyone.
Feng Yongrui felt a headache coming in.
"So there were rumors that people were missing from the Intoxicating Fragrance House? Who are the missing people? Customers, or random people?" Feng Yongrui asked.
"...I don't know about that, Master." Ma Bo hung his head shamefully.
At that time, Ma Bo had felt embarrassed going to a brothel and tried to ignore his surroundings by focusing on his food. Alas, now he couldn't give his Master any relevant information.
"Master, did you find anything?" Ma Bo asked.
Feng Yongrui deliberated on this; should he tell his disciples what he had discovered? He didn't want to pull them inside a conspiracy and he didn't want them to start investigating things recklessly. However, he also didn't want to lie to them or hide things from them.
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. However, in a critical moment, knowledge can save you.
After some hesitation, Feng Yongrui decided to tell them everything. He did not know what would happen to them in the future, since he didn't have any information from the System. Therefore, the more they know, the more they can protect themselves... At least, that was his thoughts.
Feng Yongrui told them about the secret passage, about the lady opening the wall with an array, and the fact that the lady was a Demonic Cultivator.
"It was really strange. That array was probably made by a Nascent Soul Cultivator, and the lady is a Demonic Cultivator... just what is going on?" He muttered.
Ma Bo's face turned slightly pale and he opened his mouth a few times, but then closed it again reluctantly. Hou Renshu pursed his lips but spoke, with a slight tremor in his voice that he didn't realize.
"Master," his young, boyish voice rang in Feng Yongrui's ears.
"Do you... hate Demonic Cultivators?" Hou Renshu asked.
Feng Yongrui looked at him and cocked an eyebrow.
"Why did you ask this suddenly? Well, I don't hate them. I don't exactly like them either. I think I'm pretty neutral... But, if you're talking about that Demonic Cultivator from the Intoxicating Fragrance House, then well, I don't hate her."
Ma Bo's tense face gradually loosened and Hou Renshu also gave an inaudible sigh.
Feng Yongrui paused and then continued. "I do feel suspicious and wary of her though. You know, inside that secret room, I saw a young man there..."
Feng Yongrui began talking about his encounter with Hu Zemin, his cold character, and his subordinate, Little Nine. He explained Hu Zemin's strange behavior and illness, and told them about the clump of darkness that was attacking his light spirit root.
Feng Yongrui hesitated for a moment before telling them about the Mystic Stone.
"I once read about the Mystic Stone in a book, but I forgot which one," he explained, "People say the Mystic Stone is a Demonic Artifact that has been lost for thousands of years, but I didn't think I would find it inside Hu Zemin's body..."
Ma Bo was shocked. "Master, didn't you say that the Mystic Stone is a Demonic Artifact? But... that Hu Zemin's spirit root is the light attribute... Master, how is this possible?"
Feng Yongrui sighed. "I also don't know. Everything was so strange... Do you both have any thoughts on this?"
Hou Renshu rested his chin on his hands and fell into deep thought. A young master with a light spirit root. A Demonic Cultivator in a brothel. A secret room, and a Demonic Artifact inside a person...
"Master, I have an idea," Hou Renshu spoke.
Intrigued, Feng Yongrui raised an eyebrow and nodded for him to go on. Ma Bo also turned his head to gaze at Hou Renshu in interest.
"I think Hu Zemin's light spirit root isn't his to begin with," Hou Renshu said. "His spirit root must've been something else, say, a common low grade earth spirit root. However, he didn't like his spirit root and wanted something else."
Feng Yongrui gave a small frown, and Hou Renshu continued.
"Since he is the young master of a possibly wealthy family, with subordinates like Little Nine and that Demonic Cultivator lady, then he simply ordered them to find a nice spirit root for him. His subordinates found someone with a light spirit root and used terrible means to extract the spirit root from that person and put it inside Hu Zemin."
Hou Renshu paused to catch his breath, and Ma Bo interjected.
"But what about the... the Mystic Stone? If he got the light spirit root already, why does he have the Mystic Stone in his body? Wouldn't that be detrimental to himself? I mean, Demonic Energy and a light spirit root obviously don't go well together."
Hou Renshu frowned, because he was getting confused too. He scratched his head and his cheeks began turning slightly pinkish.
"W-well, maybe the Mystic Stone isn't actually hurting him?" He finally blurted out.
"Huh, are you saying Master was wrong about the Mystic Stone?" Ma Bo cried, incredulous.
"No, no... what I mean is, maybe the Mystic Stone has other uses that we don't know about...?" Hou Renshu's face was etched with doubt.
"Hmm... that could be true," Feng Yongrui nodded.
Hou Renshu's imagination was really big, how could he imagine something like this? Feng Yongrui hadn't even thought of it!
"Master," Ma Bo turned to Feng Yongrui. "Will you investigate the Intoxicating Fragrance House and do something about it?"
Feng Yongrui pursed his lips. "I haven't thought about it yet. Even though everything is suspicious, but it doesn't seem like innocent people are getting involved...?"
"At the moment, you both shouldn't do anything. We should just lay low. Master will keep an eye out for the Intoxicating Fragrance House, but for now, I don't think we should do anything," Feng Yongrui decided.
"Understood, Master," The two disciples agreed.
Seeing that it was getting late, Feng Yongrui sent them to bed. As for the puppy, Ma Bo seemed to really like him, so Feng Yongrui had decided to give him the puppy next year, as Ma Bo's birthday present.
Eh? Feng Yongrui paused. That's right, he didn't know their birthdays...
Forget it, he could ask them tomorrow. For now, the puppy would stay with him. Feng Yongrui retired to his room and had a good hearty sleep.
In the morning, the darkness was pushed away and the horizon was gradually tinted with a blazing orange hue. The sun rose into the sky, breaking through the darkness and bringing in a new day.
Feng Yongrui began his daily routine. Eating with his disciples, cultivating, taking care of the puppy, eating, cultivating, teaching, and sleeping.
Well, he also did his Daily Tasks from time to time, but when the tasks became too... ridiculous or dangerous, Feng Yongrui would choose not to do them at all. He had also asked Hou Renshu and Ma Bo about their birthday.
At that time, the two of them had been embarrassed and finally admitted that they didn't know when their birthday was. Feng Yongrui was surprised but didn't ask them about it. He simply told them that from now on, they would celebrate their birthday on the day they became his disciples.
Time passed like flowing water, and the seasons changed fluidly -- it had almost been a year since Feng Yongrui arrived here. Feng Yongrui had proudly accumulated 500 points over the course of the year. Of course, he actually had more points than that, but he sometimes spent his points on items.
He had persevered for a long time, not daring to use 100 points to see the System's rewards. Now, he could finally use his points. He couldn't help feeling excited.
***
Feng Yongrui: Ignorance is bliss, but, I decided to tell my disciples the truth... Did I do the right thing?
System: Ignorance is bliss~ Host, it would be better if you don't know that the system is actually unreliable~
***
Hou Renshu is good at making conspiracy theories, right? What do you think of Hu Zemin and the Mystic Stone?
Comment below~