Chapter 693: Connected Door Bridal Chamber

Zhao Xiaowan sat on the bed, her face grim, glaring at Hong Ying. "You rascal," she fumed, "every time you cause trouble, and I suffer for it! You deserve to be beaten to death with a plank!"

Hong Ying bowed her head in silence, while Lady Jiu sighed repeatedly.

Zhao Xiaowan had traveled from Qiqiu City to Yuezhou via Gourd Village, and this journey had gone exceptionally smoothly.

Upon arriving at the Dark Star Bureau, she infiltrated Li Banfeng's office and found the key to the Portable Residence. This step went relatively smoothly, though she couldn't avoid some surveillance midway.

Not avoiding surveillance wasn't a major concern; as the head of the Dark Star Bureau, Li Banfeng could surely handle such a minor issue.

At that time, Li Banfeng was still undergoing promotion in Neizhou. Unable to reach him, Zhao Xiaowan decided to go home to inquire about what had happened.

Things went wrong at this very step.

Zhao Xiaowan opened the door. Just as she reached the threshold, Hong Ying shouted at her, "Seventh Master is in trouble!"

At the same time, Lady Jiu shouted at Zhao Xiaowan, "Whatever you do, don't come in!"

Hong Ying, eager to explain the situation, stepped forward and pulled Zhao Xiaowan into the room.

When the main door closed with a thud, Lady Jiu was dumbfounded. "It's over," she mumbled, "we can't get out."

Initially, Zhao Xiaowan didn't take it seriously. She thought if she discussed it properly with the old master and asked him to be flexible, they would surely be able to leave.

To her surprise, the old master had fallen into a deep slumber and couldn't be reasoned with at all.

"You knew we couldn't get out, yet you insisted on dragging me in! Beating you to death wouldn't be too much!" Zhao Xiaowan snatched up a plank and violently beat Hong Ying.

Hong Ying gritted her teeth and argued, "I was really anxious at the time!"

"What good was your anxiety? Now look, we're all trapped here!"

Zhao Xiaowan grew even more anxious, frantic with worry. She knew the consequences of popularity backlash; if her husband couldn't get promoted, he would surely have no way out.

But now Li Banfeng couldn't even go home. How could he possibly get promoted?

They had already fallen into a desperate situation. Zhao Xiaowan's eyes were red with anxiety, and she couldn't think of any way for Li Banfeng to survive.

Pendulum, who had witnessed some things in Boundless City and was a smart woman herself, connected the dots and made some deductions. Seeing Zhao Xiaowan so anxious, she wanted to offer a hint: "Actually, our master is outside..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the Lady of the Fifth Chamber called out, "Madam, come and see quickly."

Zhao Xiaowan, thinking Li Banfeng had returned, rushed to the Fifth Chamber as fast as she could, only to see that it revealed the view outside.

Many people had entered Li Banfeng's office and were thoroughly inspecting it.

Zhao Xiaowan had failed to avoid the surveillance equipment, and Chen Changrui, upon learning of the intrusion, organized a search.

Hong Ying asked, "Xiaowan, did you hide the key properly before?"

Zhao Xiaowan replied, "I didn't hide it; I just left it in plain sight."

Hong Ying became anxious. "How could you be so careless?"

Lady Jiu, however, was not anxious. She felt Zhao Xiaowan had done nothing wrong. "If it were a knife, not hiding it would cause trouble," she said. "But if it's a key, not hiding it is actually fine."

Indeed, Chen Changrui saw the key under the monitor but paid no attention to it.

After a simple inspection, Chen Changrui left with his people. Zhao Xiaowan breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart remained unsettled.

Pendulum wanted to speak again, but Old Teapot suddenly called out, "Miss Luo, I've been learning Western painting these past two days and I don't know how to compose a picture. Could you teach me?"

Zhao Xiaowan said with a grim face, "You still have the heart to paint?"

Old Teapot gave a dry chuckle. "I just wanted to find something to pass the time."

Pendulum followed Old Teapot to the Tenth Chamber.

Old Teapot spread out the painting paper and lowered her voice. "Some things," she said, "there's no benefit in explaining them clearly, but if you don't, the harm can be great. So it's best not to say anything."

Pendulum saw that Old Teapot had also figured out the situation, so she decided to speak her mind. "I see Madam is so anxious," she said, "I really can't bear it."

Old Teapot poured some tea and mixed the paints. "If you say it," she asked, "will she stop being anxious? If you're wrong, won't Seventh Master be wronged? Even if you're right, and Seventh Master doesn't want to say it this way, won't you mess things up? Will there be any benefit if you say it out loud?"

Pendulum was a little scared. "When Madam finds out," she wondered, "will she accuse me of withholding information?"

Teapot sighed. "Even if you withhold information, what then? Seventh Master has returned safe and sound. Will his wife still be angry?"

Pendulum nodded slightly. "You're right," she said. "I don't know where Master Seven is now, but I just hope he's alright."

Li Banfeng was in Qiqiu City, opening the laboratory door with Glove.

They waited at the laboratory door for two days, with Glove attempting to open it for the entire two days.

Rogue cultivators have the ability to open dark dimension spaces, and He Jiaqing was especially good at this. However, this was not Glove's specialty, and moreover, this dark dimension space had several heavy locks.

By the evening of the second day, Glove still hadn't succeeded. Luo Zhengnan called and reminded Li Banfeng, "Could Madam have already returned home?"

Is that possible?

If his wife really went home, shouldn't she have told Luo Zhengnan beforehand?

Not necessarily, because his wife might not trust Luo Zhengnan.

The lock clicked!

The family looked towards the door.

Hong Ying hoped it was Seventh Master.

Lady Jiu prepared for the worst, worrying that the little train had already changed hands.

Red Lotus watched quietly, thinking it was impossible for Li Banfeng to return.

Zhao Xiaowan rushed directly to the door.

She recognized the sound of the door opening. She had also opened the Portable Residence's door herself with a key, and she remembered her husband's distinct sound, speed, and force clearly.

Li Banfeng pushed open the door. Zhao Xiaowan gently caressed his cheek, and they gazed at each other for a long moment, their suspended hearts finally settling.

"You crazy man, why do you run around like that? You've scared your little servant to death!" Zhao Xiaowan complained, then nestled into Li Banfeng's arms.

Li Banfeng laughed, "What's there to be afraid of? Don't I usually run around everywhere?"

"Is this time the same? They said you had accumulated too much popularity and were on the verge of death, yet we didn't even know where you went."

As she spoke, everyone looked at Li Banfeng.

Now everyone had a doubt in their hearts: How did Li Banfeng return?

Zhao Xiaowan asked, "Husband, how did you dissipate the popularity?"

Hong Ying, Lady Jiu, and Red Lotus all watched carefully, and the spirits residing in each chamber also listened intently.

Pendulum felt dizzy and retreated to the Third Chamber; Dreamer also felt dizzy and went with her.

Old Teapot sighed, "I'm old, and I can't bear to watch this."

Li Banfeng said calmly, "I have another residence outside, and that residence is in—"

"Husband," Zhao Xiaowan gently interrupted, "you said you have a residence outside, which just means you have a place to live, right?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "Yes, it is indeed a place to live."

Hong Ying said, "Seventh Master, you found a place to live, and that dissipated the popularity?"

Li Banfeng shook his head. "That's definitely not it. The reason I could dissipate the popularity is because I got promoted."

Zhao Xiaowan smiled. "Getting promoted is good news. Husband has so many businesses; as long as the popularity is dissipated, that's what matters."

Hong Ying said, "Seventh Master, which business did you get promoted in?"

Jiu'er glared at Hong Ying. Hong Ying didn't know if she was confused or just curious, but she insisted on getting to the bottom of it.

Red Lotus just watched without speaking.

Li Banfeng said calmly, "It's House Cultivation."

The Portable Residence fell silent; Jiu'er had already sensed waves of killing intent.

Li Banfeng continued, "I have a residence outside, and I've recognized a house spirit."

Now Hong Ying didn't dare to ask anymore; the chilling instinct to avoid misfortune warned her not to speak too much.

Zhao Xiaowan controlled her tone and asked, "That house spirit is your good brother, right?"

"We can't be brothers anymore," Li Banfeng said, shaking his head. "That house spirit is a woman."

Red Lotus turned and went to the Second Chamber. "I'm old," she declared, "and I can't bear to watch this."

Hong Ying didn't know what to say.

Glove offered a word of advice: "Madam, the master had no other way at the time, so you can't blame him for this."

Tang Dao testified, "Glove is right. The situation was critical then, and the house spirit the master found outside is also exceptionally beautiful!"

Projector said, "I still have the photos—"

Glove punched Tang Dao, then turned to hold down Projector.

Lady Jiu said softly, "General Zhao