The Portal of Wonderland

“Did you not realize that I came all the way here to bring you news about something that matters a lot to you? I mean, don’t you wanna know how Zhong Xiu went missing?” Leng Yue Tong’s words hit like liightning out of nowhere.

Shi Mu’s expression immediately changed as he bolted up from his seat.

Leng Yue Tong saw only a blur before her shoulders were clutched by a pair of hands as strong as steel pliers.

“So you knew who took Little Xiu away?” Shi Mu’s voice was dangerously aggressive.

“Ow, owwww! Let go… You’re hurting me!” Leng Yue Tong protested as a look of pain crossed her features.

Shi Mu froze for a while before he released his grip. “Sorry.”

The girl rolled her eyes as she glared at Shi Mu, yet deep down a flash of sorrow flitted before disappearing completely.

“Miss Leng, please tell me the identity of the whoever abducted Zhong Xiu. I’d be most grateful for any information,” Shi Mu respectfully cupped his hands before his chest.

“Well, you did help me a bunch back then, so I gotta help you out. The person behind Zhong Xiu’s disappearance was none other than the man who had come from the same continent as you—Liu An,”

“Liu An…?” Shi Mu’s eyebrows furrowed.

“That’s right. I got this intel by coordinating with every insider of the Dark Moon Cult in Rising Sun City, on top of a bit of personal investigation. I’m very confident about its veracity. In fact, the abductor may have very well been Liu An himself,” Leng Yue Tong continued, her voice brimming with conviction.

Shi Mu stared at the girl but did not say anything.

Seeing Shi Mu’s incredulous expression, Leng Yue Tong quickly added, “Shi Mu, if you want to save Zhong Xiu, you’ll have to get rid of Liu An. You know… we can even team up to expose Liu An’s evil deeds!”

“You claim that Liu An was the one behind Zhong Xiu’s abduction… Do you have any evidence?” Shi Mu asked after a few moments of silence.

“I… I only heard it as a rumor for now, but Liu An is a slick weasel. There hasn’t been much opportunity to obtain evidence,” Leng Yue Tong replied hesitantly.

“Miss Leng, you do realize that I cannot believe you unless you manage to produce some form of evidence, right? Otherwise your words are just hot air,” Shi Mu reminded.

He was sure that the abductor was not Liu An at all. He may not have gotten a clear view of that mysterious woman, but he knew that she was probably not one of Liu An’s underlings… or even one of the inhabitants of this world.

“You… You don’t care about Zhong Xiu’s predicament at all, do you? You’re a coward after all! You’re scared of that Liu An, aren’t you?” Leng Yue Tong cried as she stared at Shi Mu.

Shi Mu thought for a while and spoke, “Miss Leng, there’s no point in feigning outrage. You and I are both honest people, so why are you so desperate in taking down Liu An that you’d make false claims just to get my help?”

“What? What do you mean, I made false claims?” A flash of terror flitted in Leng Yue Tong’s eyes as she stammered.

“Please, I know who took Little Xiu away. I was there,” Shi Mu replied with a smirk.

The girl’s face alternated between pale and a flustered expression.

“A-alright. I… I confess. I lied to you. But it was because… it was because the only person who could stand up to Liu An would be you, okay?” Leng Yue Tong’s face was overcome with defeat. Her eyes were misty when she looked up at Shi Mu as if she was about to cry.

Shi Mu’s eyebrows creased. He was a man with an iron will, but even he had to admit that Leng Yue Tong looked so pitiful that he was starting to feel a little sympathetic.

Unfortunately, that did not last long. He quickly remembered how cunning the girl was and his sympathy died out.

“Save that sad face for some other time and come clean, would you? Why do you want to take Liu An down?” Shi Mu probed calmly.

He was always extra wary when it came to Liu An. Liu An had demonstrated himself to be a profoundly calculative individual possessing tremendous powers. Shi Mu knew better than to get entangled in any affair connected to this dangerous individual.

However, due to the news Yu Yi had delivered to him for the past three years, Shi Mu was tempted to goad some information on Liu An from Leng Yue Tong as well, especially since he needed to see if Liu An’s actions may ruin his own plans.

Leng Yue Tong shot a look of irritation at Shi Mu, but her tearful look immediately vanished.

“I’m sure you already know about the deal between our Western Dark Moon Cult and Liu An’s Eastern Dark Moon Cult, right? Over these three years, Liu An managed to contribute much victories to this cult, which somehow broke my father’s walls. In fact, my father even started to admire him.”

Shi Mu listened without giving much attention, nor did he bother to comment on it. Meanwhile, Hou Sai Lei had somehow returned to his seat next to the window and looked down, much ike a meditating monk.

“Then one year ago, Liu An managed to turn up some shady cultivation canon from god-knows-where, and my father was completely taken in by it! He even started to close himself off from the world to practice it, delegating the command of cult affairs to Liu An completely. Oh, but the worst part is this… that Liu An had the gall to propose a marriage between himself and me, and I can’t believe my father actually entertained the idea!” Leng Yue Tong’s face was burning bright red by this point, as if she was about to spit flames out of her eyes. “Of course I said no! And then I run away.”

“Long story short, you became a fugitive,” Shi Mu remarked as he sipped his tea.

“Ah, yes. I left a note to my father too, told him that I’ve already eloped with the only man I want to marry—that’s you, by the way. I bet Father has already dispatched his men to come looking for us now,” Leng Yue Tong replied flatly.

Shi Mu’s face immediately twitched as some of his tea went into his airway, causing him to have a coughing fit.

“What the… did you really do that?!” Shi Mu glowered as soon as he managed to stop himself from coughing.

“Haha, I’m just pulling your leg! If you think it’d be that easy to get this fair maiden here,cute dream you got there! I would never dare abuse my position so irresponsibly,” Leng Yue Tong replied with a mischievous grin.

Shi Mu instantly let out a sigh of relief. He was not keen on the idea of being hunted by this megalithic organization known as the Dark Moon Cult.

The girl was still giggling as she watched Shi Mu’s reaction, yet her hands resting on each of her sides were clenching so hard her nails dug into her skin.

“Alright, no more jokes. Let’s get back to Liu An,” Leng Yue Tong’s visage became grim in a split second.

“The last time we shared a meal together in Rising Sun City, I noticed that despite sharing the same continent of origin, the two of you weren’t exactly buddies. In fact, my instincts tell me that the only person capable of going toe-to-toe with Liu An is you,” she continued with her eyes fixed on Shi Mu.

Shi Mu looked down and lapsed into silent thought before he shook his head and gave his answer, “My apologies, but I’ve got some important matters to attend to. I can’t help you with this so please find someone else.”

Leng Yue Tong looked at him quietly, her expression unchanged despite his refusal.

She eyed Hou Sai Lei sitting at a distance and started, “Hmm, you know… It took a bit of effort securing the whereabouts of this particular lackey of yours. The two of you pulled off quite a show during the auction back in Rising Sun City, didn’t you? Fooling everyone in the audience like that. In fact, it took a fair amount of research to glimpse the truth.”

Hou Sai Lei’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing her, but he did not lift his head. At the same time, Shi Mu remained silent.

“So I tailed your lackey for a while and watched him secretly. Unfortunately, I’d been observing your contact with him this whole time. Also, judging from the materials he purchased a few days ago, I surmised that it’s for disguising purposes—or more specifically, for the purpose of disguising as one of the Demon Race. So, am I right when I say that whatever Brother Shi Mu is looking for… it’s something that would require you to sneak in as one of them?” Leng Yue Tong finished, her lips curled in a half-smile as she shifted her gaze back to Shi Mu.

Shi Mu’s eyebrows furrowed.

Admittedly, he did consider this. After all, it would be a bit too risky to sneak into Heaven Ascension Peak directly, so sneaking in a disguise would be much safer. Although he was indeed preparing for this over these past few days, he did not expect Leng Yue Tong to see through him so easily.

“Oh, save that hostile face for another time, would you? I’m not planning to skip around town telling everyone about your plan. It brings me no benefit to ruin it,” She said.

“Go on.”

“Your lackey’s disguising technique is pretty impressive, but the best he could do is change your appearance. He cannot do anything about your scent, which would be a dead giveaway for the powerhouses among the Demon Race,” Leng Yue Tong said. “Now, I happen to know a secret technique that could make your scent similar to them.”

“Really?” Any misgivings in Shi Mu’s eyes vanished as soon as he heard this. He was indeed aware of the quandary involving his scent, yet he had not been able to come up with any solution.

If he could indeed achieve the effect Leng Yue Tong mentioned, then his plan would finally be completely foolproof.

“Oh, you bet. A few of us in the Dark Moon Cult infiltrated the Demon Race’s territory with this secret technique before, and guess what? The average Earth-rank Demons suspected nothing,” she replied proudly.

“Alright, if this secret technique works as well as you claim, then perhaps I could consider helping you out after I deal with my business.” Shi Mu raised his head and replied.

“We have a deal then!” Leng Yue Tong’s face lit up with jubilance.

They did not remain in the restaurant for long. Shi Mu brought the two to where Yu Yi was staying.

Yu Yi had renovated the place, expanding his home and yard such that he had more than enough rooms for three or four more housemates.

As Yu Yi and Hou Sai Lei knew each other from before, they had a small chat when they met.

“This place is a little spartan for a fair lady like you, Miss Leng. Hopefully it doesn’t bother you,” Shi Mu said.

“I’m happy just for having a place to stay,” the girl replied with a faint smile, apparently unperturbed by her living conditions.

“Now about that secret technique… Would you mind letting this lowly one sneak a peek? Surely it requires some preparation,” he requested.

Not one to be difficult, Leng Yue Tong immediately took out a jade token and handed it to him.

He accepted, placing the token on his forehead and extending his Spirit Sense into it. As he read, his expression shifted slightly.

It was fifteen minutes later when he finally opened his eyes.

The technique recorded in the jade token was quite a bizarre one. Using a special method, a particular demon pill would be inserted into the body, masking the human scent with a demonic scent.

“This secret technique is remarkable in its creativity… but wouldn’t it be harmful to the body, or cause any side effects?” Shi Mu asked after some thought.

“As long as you remove the demon pill within a year, it wouldn’t cause any harmful effect… Don’t you worry about that,” she answered.

Shi Mu nodded slowly.

“Oh, and another thing: the fresher the demon pill, the better its effect. That’s not all, you need to find a demon who has more or less the same power level as the disguise you’re going for. In fact, it would be best if you just get the demon pill of the very same Demon Race individual you had planned to assume identity of,” She added.

“Sure. No problem,” Shi Mu replied as his eyes turned cold briefly. “You stay here for a few days while I gather what’s needed. After that, I’ll need your help in casting the spell.”

Catching the frigid glint in Shi Mu’s gaze, Leng Yue Tong found herself a little scared, but she managed an affirmative answer.

Shi Mu and Leng Yue Tong proceeded to chat a little while longer before he left Yu Yi’s residency.