Chapter 90: The Humble Alley Immortal Residence

  She saw Zixuan's figure like a purple cloud floating down the stairs, the wooden staircase creaking loudly as she disappeared into the distance. By the time Shen Bailian rushed downstairs, he just caught sight of her summoning a colorful mist to envelop herself and float up into the sky like the wind. When he ran out of the gate and looked up to search for her, the vast blue sky was already empty, with no sign of where she had gone.

  The pedestrians on the road and the idle guests in the wine house were frightened by this strange event, and when they saw Shen Bailian and the purple-clothed woman who seemed to be either a demon or an immortal, they couldn't help but whisper to each other and point fingers. When Shen Bailian withdrew his gaze from the sky, he saw that those people had unusual expressions on their faces, and he furrowed his brow, tossed a piece of silver to the shopkeeper, and hastily left.

  After walking through several streets, he slowed down his pace, and his worries grew. He thought that Zi Xuan had made some progress over the years, but unexpectedly, her temper hadn't changed at all - she would run out without a word whenever they disagreed, and her stubbornness was even more pronounced than when she was young! Now she had walked away with a flourish, leaving Shen Bai Lian worried in the city. He thought to himself that since Zi Xuan had a crush on that Mr. Gu, she probably wouldn't want to leave Jiangdu, but Jiangdu was such a big city - if she wanted to hide from him, it wouldn't be easy to find her, especially when he had important matters to attend to and didn't have the time to play hide-and-seek with her.

  With a worried and bitter face, Shen Bailian sighed heavily. Forget it, each person has their own destiny. Zi Xuan is determined to meet and be with Gu Gongzi, and I'm just an older brother who knew her since childhood. How can I persuade her? Even if this little girl was deceived, she's still a descendant of Nuwa, skilled in the poisonous arts of the southern border. That Gu Gongzi probably won't be able to do anything to her. At most, she'll feel uncomfortable for a few days, but it will pass with time. If I try to stop them now, it might have the opposite effect and push Zi Xuan to be even more devoted to Gu Gongzi, making it harder to separate them in the end.

  Thinking this way, Shen Bailian felt that she had already convinced herself and thought: Anyway, I still have to stay in Jiangdu for a few more days, so why not let go first and find that strange person later. While thinking about it, she raised her head to look around and only then discovered that she had unknowingly walked to the entrance of an alley. Just as an old woman carrying a vegetable basket came out from there, she quickly pulled her back and asked: "Old lady, please ask if there is a place called Xiuli Lane nearby?"

  The Xili Lane was the residence of the fortune teller in Jiangdu, as told by Kun Nine Heavens. The old woman smiled and pointed to the south of the small street: "Not far, not far. Go forward, there is a willow tree at the entrance of the lane."

  Shen Bailian bowed and thanked the old woman, then walked forward. Indeed, it was only a short while before he saw a small alley, at the entrance of which stood a green willow tree, its branches swaying gently in the breeze, with thousands of green silk threads dancing lightly, very moving. He immediately went around the willow tree and entered the alley, but inside, the path was winding and narrow, with rough brick walls on both sides, covered with moss and lichen, and the earth road underfoot was uneven and full of stagnant water, so that one misstep would result in a foot full of mud. Shen Bailian walked forward, his heart secretly wondering: Could it be that Master Kun had remembered the wrong place? How could someone live in such a dirty place?

  Before long, the alley came to an end, and behind a basin of withered roses was a small wooden door. Shen Bailian went forward and gently knocked on the door, but unexpectedly, the wooden board door slid open with a slight creak, revealing a lush greenery inside.

  Shen Bailian stood stupidly like a wooden chicken outside the door under that bright sunny sky, staring blankly at the faint silver light spilling from inside. All along the way, what she saw were clearly narrow alleys and poor dwellings, even if there were courtyards, they were exceptionally small. But this courtyard was actually hiding a forest of no less than tens of hectares, it was simply unbelievable. As she gazed at the pine forest like a wave, with layers of green, suddenly a cool breeze seeped out from the gap under the door, faintly carrying the soft rustling sound of swaying pine needles, filling her with an unreal sense of serenity.

  It's really here.

  Shen Bailian sighed quietly: Even if the master were still alive, it would be impossible for one person to exert such a grand illusion, wouldn't it? Thinking about it, she no longer hesitated and stepped across the threshold. With a soft creak, the wooden door closed gently behind her, and suddenly the sunlight was blocked out, leaving only this dreamy, illusory moonlit scene before her eyes.

  In the pine forest, the fine grass was lush and dense, and a small path could be seen winding its way forward. Shen Bailian turned her head to look back at the courtyard wall, but only saw the mottled brick wall stretching out in both directions, disappearing behind several old pines, and she couldn't help but feel that the immortal's magical powers were boundless. She turned her head and headed into the forest.

  Along the winding path, Shen Bailian suddenly felt a hardness under her feet. She looked down to see that she had stepped on a bluestone slab. After walking a few more steps, another bluestone slab appeared in the grass. Before long, a stone-paved path gradually emerged. Following the stone road, they walked for a while, and the pine forest became sparse, but the sound of water could be heard. As they turned around several tall green pines, the view suddenly opened up, and then a sparkling stream came into view, stretching from east to west in front of them.

  The jade plate on the top of the head, whether it was an illusion or real, fell into the flowing creek water and shattered into a piece of silver light. In the sparkling ripples, you can still see the crystal-clear five-colored stones at the bottom of the water. Behind her, the pine forest swayed gently in the breeze, with the soft sound of pines rustling amidst the gentle gurgling of the water, exuding a sense of serenity. Shen Bailian's gaze leapt over the creek and landed on the corner of the flying eaves behind the pine trees, and she secretly felt a glimmer of expectation in her heart: to be able to open up such a beautiful scene in the midst of the bustling city, it seems that this person, apart from being skilled in Taoist magic and divination, is also a connoisseur who understands the meaning of life...

  He quickened his pace, lightly leaping over the brook, and in a few strides arrived at the front of the house. Behind the old pine tree stood three small cottages, with walls, doors, and windows all made of pine wood. The bark on the walls had not even been stripped off, and they were tightly packed together, revealing a rough yet rustic charm. The roof was covered with a thick layer of pine needles, with several pinecones embedded in them. In the moonlight, it looked as if a layer of frost had been laid on top, exuding an air of natural simplicity.

  Shen Bailian walked to the front door and knocked three times, paused for a moment, then knocked three more times, but still didn't see anyone open the door. He called out in a loud voice: "Junior Shen Bailian has an urgent matter to seek an audience with Senior Gao, if Senior is inside, please grant me an audience."

  Before long, there was still no response. Shen Baili's eyebrows furrowed, thinking to herself: Could it be that the senior had indeed abandoned this place and gone elsewhere? After a brief hesitation, she stepped forward and pushed the door with her hand, and to her surprise, it opened lightly, just like the gate at the entrance of the courtyard earlier.

  Inside the house was dark and murky, only vaguely visible were some shadows. Shen Bailian stepped inside and walked a few steps, in the darkness she touched a table, felt around on it with her hand, and indeed found a flint and a small candle holder. She lightly struck the flint to produce a few sparks that fell onto the wick of the candle, gradually a small flame slowly lit up, casting a soft, dim yellow glow throughout the room.

  At this time, Shen Bailian finally saw clearly that the wooden house was divided into two rooms inside and outside. The outer room he was in was not very spacious, but it was arranged very neatly. The floor made of bluestone bricks was swept clean, and all the tables, chairs, and beds were spotless. There were only a few pieces of furniture in the room, including a low couch under the window, a small table next to it with a white jade vase on it, and a few branches of red plum blossoms that had not yet bloomed inserted into the vase. On the other side, there was a wooden chair in front of the desk, with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk. On the wall opposite the square table hung several calligraphy and paintings. Shen Bailian walked over to take a closer look and felt that the calligraphy was bold and free, and the few strokes of the painting also revealed a bit of elegance. If he hadn't known that this place was the residence of a superior person, just by looking at this room, he would have thought that he had come to a scholar's study.

  The outer room was empty, and the inner room was quiet and silent. Shen Bailian wanted to take a look inside, but he felt that entering without permission would be somewhat impolite since the master was not present. As he hesitated, he suddenly heard a knocking sound coming from inside, like someone was knocking on the door. He found it amusing, thinking to himself that he had clearly entered from outside, so how could he hear the knocking sound coming from the inner room? Was there another door open inside? Before he knew it, someone loudly called out: "Old sir, old sir, are you at home?"

  Just now, she had walked through the forest and seen the dark hole in the house. At this moment, she suddenly heard a human voice, which made Shen Bailian extremely shocked. She hastily picked up the oil lamp and rushed into the inner room, only to be shocked again. It turned out that the interior decoration was no different from the outside, not only were the tables, chairs, and beds identical to what she had seen earlier, but also eerie was that there was a door open in this house, which was exactly the same as the one she had entered when she stepped into the outer room. The direction was completely opposite to the outside room, just like she had walked through a mirror from the outside world into an inner world.

  As his heartbeat slowly calmed down, Shen Bailian only then sensed that something was off. Just now when he was in the outer room, he had felt that the surroundings were quiet, and hadn't even heard the sound of birds chirping or insects buzzing. However, as soon as he stepped into the inner room, his ears were suddenly filled with many sounds, noisy and chaotic, just like being in a bustling market. Looking again at the doors and windows, his heart skipped another beat - originally when he was in the outer room, the moonlight had been shining outside the doors and windows, but the light seeping through the gaps in the doors and windows of the inner room was clearly sunlight!

  Just as he was in a state of suspense, he suddenly heard the person outside knock again. Shen Baiying tilted his head to listen carefully and only heard the person shouting: "Old master, old master, if you are inside, please open the door! I am Qingming, young master asked me to bring some food for you, there is your favorite raw fish sauce, and a bowl of broken golden rice, which was personally cooked by our house's Liu chef. You smell it, it smells good!" As he spoke, he reported several more dish names, all of which were famous dishes from Jiangdu. Finally, the person said: "Old master, this time the dishes are truly rich and varied, you can't pretend to be not there and not respond! Our young master is sincerely inviting you to go again to impart knowledge!"

  Shen Bailian couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. The person outside was actually quite interesting, and it seemed that the owner of the house had a habit of hiding inside and not letting people in unless they were lured with delicious food. But then she thought again, wasn't the person Kun described particularly fond of eating?

  Just as he was getting into the zone, he suddenly felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand. It turned out that the candle had burned down to the end and several drops of wax oil fell onto his hand in a string. He involuntarily jerked his fingers, and with a loud clang, the candle holder crashed to the floor.

  The person outside the door happened to hear it, and with a haha laugh, he knocked on the door again: "Old sir, you can't cheat me this time! I heard you inside, hurry up and do something good, please open the door!"