Chapter 784: Materials for Making Red Lotus

He Jiaqing followed the old train out of the city and arrived next to the railway tracks. The surroundings were a uniform grey, except for the two railway tracks, which gleamed like new silver, a little dazzling to the eye.

After a moment's wait, a whistle blew, and a train approached from a distance. The old train leaped onto a carriage, and He Jiaqing quickly followed. The two crouched on the train roof. They hadn't gone far when the old train said to He Jiaqing, "See that big bridge ahead? As soon as the carriage gets onto the bridge, jump off. Don't use any techniques. At this train's speed, by the time you land under the bridge, you'll be in the middle of the river. Just float downstream, and you'll reach the exit. Got all that?"

He Jiaqing nodded.

The old train asked again, "I mentioned before that you should divide the item into three parts; you can't keep it all to yourself. Do you remember that as well?"

"I remember," He Jiaqing replied.

"Get ready to jump."

He Jiaqing disliked being manipulated, but he knew too little about Dream Weaver Tower. A few days' experience certainly couldn't compare to the old train's. Whatever the old train said, He Jiaqing had to listen.

Upon reaching the bridgehead, He Jiaqing leaped from the train and fell into the middle of the river. The water had no buoyancy at all, clinging to him, wet and sticky. He Jiaqing hadn't floated far before he sank into the riverbed. Given his cultivation level, there was no need to panic in such a situation. When he climbed out of the riverbed, the train was gone, the bridge was gone, and even the river itself had vanished.

He Jiaqing emerged from a patch of mud. He looked around and recognized the place: Red Mud Ridge. Red Mud Ridge was a famous new territory outside Green Water Bay, known for its extensive swamps and deep mud pits where many new territory hunters had lost their lives. Escaping from Dream Weaver Tower directly to the vicinity of Green Water Bay was, for He Jiaqing, a stroke of luck.

After quickly dealing with the mud and water on his clothes, He Jiaqing was about to continue his journey when an honest-looking new territory hunter caught his attention. The new territory hunter was observing his surroundings in the swamp, seemingly hunting, yet also as if searching for something. The hunter hadn't noticed He Jiaqing yet, but He Jiaqing wasn't careless. He burrowed back into the mud, occasionally peeking out. He was so cautious because the hunter's behavior was unusual.

New territory hunters typically didn't come to Red Mud Ridge to hunt; the exotic monsters in the swamp were too fierce, and most prey didn't fetch good prices, making it not worth the risk. As for searching for items in the swamp, that was even more absurd. For ordinary people, losing something in a muddy swamp like Red Mud Ridge meant it was virtually impossible to recover. There was a type of hunter who specialized in finding sticky clay in swamps, but they were very rare and used highly specialized tools. The hunter before him was clearly not one of them.

He wasn't looking for something; he was looking for a place—a place to hide something. He wandered around the swamp for a while and finally found a suitable spot. He dug a pit in the mud and buried a wooden box. After burying it, the man stuck two branches into the mud. In a flash, the branches vanished, and all traces of digging on the mud disappeared as well.

The "Confusing Floral Illusion Array" of the Foolish Cultivator. He Jiaqing was truly discerning; he recognized the origin of this array.

Once the honest-looking new territory hunter had left, He Jiaqing emerged from the mud and went to where the hunter had buried the item. He wasn't in a hurry to break the array. After circling it twice and observing for a moment, He Jiaqing took out a piece of wire and probed it into the mud. A Thief Cultivator technique: "Golden Thread Suspended Vein." This technique sounded like a Medical Cultivator skill, but it was actually an advanced technique of the Thief Cultivator. Using this wire, He Jiaqing could ascertain what was buried in the mud without damaging the array, mechanisms, or the item itself.

The wire went down over three feet deep, and He Jiaqing's hand felt something. This wasn't just because of his exquisite technique, but also because he was very familiar with the shape of the object. The Profound-Life Red Lotus. He Jiaqing's expression was serious. He twirled the wire between his fingers and lightly poked the Red Lotus twice. After waiting for a long time without a response, He Jiaqing withdrew the wire. He waited by the swamp for a moment, then stood up and left. All his footprints on the swamp ground were meticulously erased, and even the hole where he inserted the wire was smoothed over.

As He Jiaqing's figure faded into the distance, two figures appeared on the swamp: one was the old train, and the other was Meng Qian. The old train asked Meng Qian, "Did he see through it?"

Meng Qian waved her hand, and the swamp suddenly solidified, the mud transforming into green bricks. A path paved with green bricks extended in both directions within a pitch-black space. This was the true location. The swamp, the Red Lotus, and the honest-looking new territory hunter He Jiaqing had seen were all derived from dreams: some from He Jiaqing's own dream, some created by Meng Qian, and some inherent to Dream Weaver Tower itself.

Meng Qian was confident in her abilities: "In Dream Weaver Tower, if he woke up from the dream, I would immediately detect it."

The old train didn't think so: "He Jiaqing is a top-tier Thief Cultivator. Some of the things he does can evade even the eyes of Old Man Xiao Qian, so it's not certain he couldn't evade you."

Meng Qian shook her head, "People know too little about Dream Cultivators. They think our Daoist sect has no combat strength, but they don't realize our combat strength is calculated differently from ordinary people's. In a dream, a person is in a completely different state than in reality. In Dream Weaver Tower, I am in charge. Let alone He Jiaqing, even you, if you were to wake from a dream, I would certainly know. But whether I could contend with you is another matter."

The old train said, "You don't need to be humble. After the disappearance of the Dream Cultivator Ancestor, aren't you the one with the highest achievements in the entire Daoist sect?"

Meng Qian replied, "It depends on what kind of achievement you mean. If it's just about cultivation, I wasn't the highest achiever before, nor after; I took a wrong path."

The old train didn't quite understand, "You've managed Dream Weaver Tower to this extent, why do you still say you took a wrong path?"

Meng Qian sighed, "Zhao Lanmeng's path was the correct one, and someone walked it even earlier than him."

The old train pondered Meng Qian's words and then considered the tunnel Zhao Lanmeng had dug into Dream Weaver Tower. Meng Qian's reason for not filling the tunnel might involve other intentions.

Meng Qian interrupted the old train's thoughts, "I've done what I promised you. Now you should uphold your word: leave Dream Weaver Tower immediately and take your friend with you."

The old train thought for a moment, "I still don't understand why He Jiaqing didn't take the Red Lotus."

Meng Qian replied, "I think it's reasonable. He didn't take the Red Lotus back to Puro State initially. By playing this good move, he avoided many troubles."

The old train shook his head, "At that time, he was under public scrutiny. But now, with such a good opportunity, I don't believe he wouldn't be greedy."

Meng Qian didn't want to speculate further. She just hoped Eighteen Wheels would leave quickly; no one could tell when he might go mad.

The old train also kept his word: "If you deliver this dream sequence to Li Qi, I'll immediately take Not-So-Big Face and leave Dream Weaver Tower."

Meng Qian frowned, "I don't even know where Li Qi is."

"He's in Boundless City. You definitely have a way to find him." The old train prepared to look for Not-So-Big Face.

Meng Qian thought it was unnecessary: "You could just tell Li Qi about the dream yourself. Why do you insist that I go find him?"

The old train turned back and said, "I don't want to see him. I don't want to harm him."

He Jiaqing walked out of Red Mud Ridge. A gentle breeze brushed his face, and he suddenly felt a peculiar coolness—a familiar yet real chill as the wind touched his skin. He couldn't seem to perceive such coolness within Dream Weaver Tower, and yet he had been out of it for some time. Why was this chill arriving so late? Had he just left Dream Weaver Tower? Was everything before this still a dream?

He Jiaqing felt a little nervous. He looked back at Red Mud Ridge behind him, still hesitant about whether to go back and verify, to see if the Red Lotus was truly in the same spot. But then he reconsidered: regardless of whether the Red Lotus was there or not, and whether it was a dream or reality, his previous handling of the situation had been correct.

He Jiaqing walked towards Green Water Bay, sighing to himself that even with his cultivation at this level, he still lived with such trepidation.

Li Banfeng was sleeping in Jadeite Tower. These days, he was always sleepy, and even when he wasn't, he refused to go out. In his dream, he was holding his wife, riding a train, and watching the sunset over the Arid Plains. A cold wind blew, and the wife in his arms suddenly transformed into another beauty: a peerless woman in white, with delicate features and a languid expression.

If this were in Dream Weaver Tower, Li Banfeng would find everything perfectly natural. Thoughts in dreams aren't continuous, and dreamers usually accept leaps in scenarios. But this wasn't Dream Weaver Tower; this was Jadeite Tower, Li Banfeng's residence. "Know your wife in bed, know your shoes on the floor." Li Banfeng pushed Meng Qian away. He realized this woman had invaded his dream.

"What do you want?"

Meng Qian shook her head slightly. "I have no ill intentions. I just came to deliver a dream sequence to you." She presented He Jiaqing's dream from Red Mud Ridge to Li Banfeng: "Eighteen Wheels asked me to show you this. I expended a lot of effort to find you."

Li Banfeng bowed deeply, and to show his gratitude, he set Meng Qian's clothes on fire.

Meng Qian looked down at her burning clothes. "Why are you burning my clothes again?"

Li Banfeng replied, "I told you last time we met, don't scare me!"

Meng Qian nodded slightly and walked away, trailing smoke and a faint aura of fear.

Li Banfeng woke from his dream, sat in silence for a moment, then took Zhao Xiaowan back to Portable Dwelling. Li Banfeng also couldn't understand why He Jiaqing didn't take the Red Lotus. Unable to figure it out, he decided to just ask directly.

Li Banfeng moved both the Red Lotus and the television to the Fifth Room. He first asked the Red Lotus, "Why did He Jiaqing leave you in the campus supermarket back then? Why didn't he take you back to Puro State?"

The Red Lotus replied, "How would I know that? I refined many elixirs for him before, and then the next day, he just put me in that cabinet. I haven't seen him since."

"When did you fall into his hands?"

The Red Lotus said, "When he first started university, it was all thanks to Yuan Miaoping's help."

The television lit up. Yuan Miaoping still had her sharply cut bangs and was chewing bubblegum. "I don't remember the time. When I left the room, I suddenly had a box in my hand. I accidentally glanced inside and discovered it was the Profound-Life Red Lotus. At the time, I also had to do something for someone else—the person surnamed Du you mentioned. I didn't dare to make a fuss. I was trying to figure out how to get rid of the Red Lotus when Song Shu contacted me and told me to just leave it in the hallway."

Li Banfeng thought about the process; it seemed highly illogical. At the time, Yuan Miaoping was teaching Du Wenming about electromagnetism. A Yu and Tian Nü somehow gave the Red Lotus to Yuan Miaoping, and Song Shu told Yuan Miaoping to leave the Red Lotus in the hallway. Du Wenming wasn't blind. Couldn't he see such a large Red Lotus? But then he considered, Du Wenming might indeed not have seen it. The Red Lotus left in the hallway might not have actually been in the hallway. Li Banfeng thought of the snake in the campus supermarket's locker—that was Mu Yuejuan's snake.

Li Banfeng looked at Yuan Miaoping. "Do you know the connection between the Dark Star Bureau and the lockers?"

Yuan Miaoping shook her head. "I don't know what lockers you're talking about. When I was locked up, I was always in a glass display case. Are you referring to that?" As she spoke, Yuan Miaoping blew a bubble. Seeing her demeanor, one always felt Yuan was guileless, always felt that she was telling the truth.

Zhao Xiaowan squeezed Li Banfeng's wrist. This matter couldn't be investigated here; it had to be looked into by the Second Room.

Li Banfeng then asked the Red Lotus, "Once you were in He Jiaqing's hands, what did you do for those four years?"

"What else could I do? I asked him to refine elixirs! I've been with you for almost four years too. Don't you know my alchemy skills?" The Red Lotus stroked Li Banfeng's cheek with a lotus leaf. Zhao Xiaowan wasn't angry; she also touched the Red Lotus's core.

Li Banfeng asked, "Where did He Jiaqing get the materials for refining elixirs?"

The Red Lotus sighed, "I wouldn't know that. He Jiaqing was very cautious in his work. The corpses he brought back were all cleanly disposed of; some were headless, and those with heads couldn't be identified. Not like you, who just throws them anywhere in the house and leaves the rest for us to clean up."

Zhao Xiaowan asked, "How many elixirs did you refine for He Jiaqing?"

"I can't recall precisely, but He Jiaqing's cultivation grew so quickly; you can roughly estimate how many elixirs he consumed."

Zhao Xiaowan nodded. "You refined so many elixirs for him; you must have taken plenty of kickbacks. Even if you had previous injuries, you should have recovered within four years. But when I first saw you at home, your condition wasn't great. You didn't even let go of the remaining half of Yu Ni's pendulum; you looked like a starving ghost."

The Red Lotus chuckled, "Who are you calling a starving ghost? Wasn't my condition okay then? I didn't shout 'I'm hungry' at Li Jue like you did, did I? As for kickbacks, you're wronging me. I've always refined elixirs for you all with utmost dedication and never kept any kickbacks."

Zhao Xiaowan smiled, "That's not exactly true."

Li Banfeng suddenly asked the Red Lotus, "Why can you refine elixirs?"

The Red Lotus was stunned. "Is that even a question? I was born knowing how to refine elixirs. Ding Nü created me for the purpose of refining elixirs."

Everyone assumed the Red Lotus naturally knew how to refine elixirs, but Li Banfeng was determined to find the reason today.

"Alchemy is clearly her technique, called 'Hundred Flower Kill'," Li Banfeng said, looking at the wall of the Fifth Room. He decided to lay everything out. The figure of the Fifth Room's Helper-Lady appeared on the wall. She was still wearing a blue school uniform, holding a bouquet of fresh flowers in her right hand. The blooms had already withered, their petals scattering in the wind. Her short, ear-length hair was disheveled, strands covering her face, faintly revealing her blood-red eyes. She stared at Li Banfeng with eyes full of resentment. The temperature in the Fifth Room seemed to drop considerably.

Li Banfeng shivered. He took a book from the bookshelf and slapped it onto the Fifth Room's Helper-Lady's face. "I told you not to scare me! When I ask you something, answer properly!"

The Fifth Room's Helper-Lady removed the book from her face, tidied her hair and makeup, then resumed her resentful expression, gnashing her teeth as she said, "The Red Lotus came from me!"

Li Banfeng looked at the Red Lotus, then back at the Fifth Room's Helper-Lady. "Do you mean you made the Red Lotus?"

The Fifth Room Girl shook her head. "The Red Lotus is my flesh and blood."

Li Banfeng was startled again. "Do you mean the Red Lotus was born from you?"

The Fifth Room's Helper-Lady looked at Li Banfeng helplessly. She tried her best to project an image of resentment, anger, and even a hint of horror, but it seemed to have no effect on Li Banfeng. She tidied her hair and stated in a plain tone, "What I mean is, the materials used to refine the Red Lotus were my flesh and blood."

Zhao Xiaowan raised an eyebrow and looked at the Red Lotus and Yuan Miaoping.

Yuan Miaoping waved her hands repeatedly. "I don't know anything about this!"

The Red Lotus waved its lotus leaves. "I don't know about this either."

The Fifth Room's Helper-Lady sobbed. "I was killed by the peddler back then. My soul was handed over to Eighteen Wheels by him, and my physical body was given to Ding Nü by him. Ding Nü used my physical body to refine the Profound-Life Red Lotus, and Eighteen Wheels sealed my soul inside the small train. After going through the trial of life and death, I lost most of my memories, but I will never forget this blood debt, not for all eternity."

"Blood debt?" Zhao Xiaowan tilted her head, surprised. "When A Yu brought Ding Nü into our home, you even invited the Red Lotus to escape. I didn't see any deep hatred between you and Ding Nü."

"What are you talking about?" The Fifth Room's Helper-Lady swept her hair back. "At that time, I was constantly picking flowers. I was continuously deceiving the Red Lotus. I was inviting our family to come. The little train can testify for me about this matter!"

Portable Dwelling coughed twice. He didn't agree with the Fifth Room's statement. He didn't remember the old train sealing Lai Wuju's soul into himself. However, Portable Dwelling had lost many memories, and logically, he couldn't find any fault with the Fifth Room's account.

Li Banfeng decided not to ask further. He took Zhao Xiaowan and left Portable Dwelling. Upon reaching Jadeite Tower, Zhao Xiaowan asked Li Banfeng, "Darling husband, how much truth do you think they spoke?"

"A lot," Li Banfeng rubbed his temples. "But the more truth there is, the more trouble it seems to cause."

Zhao Xiaowan also found the matter troublesome: "My husband is right. Sometimes the truth can be more deceiving than lies."

Li Banfeng stretched and walked to the entrance of Jadeite Tower. Zhao Xiaowan came outside and said to Li Banfeng, "Husband, your humble servant knows you don't like going out, but we should return to Outer State one last time to thoroughly investigate the connection between Ding Nü and the Red Lotus. It's certainly not that simple. Now that she's in your residence, if she were to use some means to meet the Red Lotus, I can't say what consequences that might bring."

Li Banfeng nodded. "We definitely need to investigate this thoroughly, but first, I need to go to Chaos Capital to collect some vital energy so I can quickly catch up to the House Cultivator."

Zhao Xiaowan felt it was unwise: "Husband, going to Chaos Capital at this time might fall into Qiao Yi's schemes."

Li Banfeng didn't think so: "Qiao Yi probably doesn't have time for me right now."

Yuan Youshang walked along the roads of Chaoge's Fourth City, cautiously observing his surroundings. The Fourth City was home to a large number of 'Kuis'. Their residences weren't large, but they were very particular about etiquette and porcelain. In Yuan Youshang's memory, entering any Kuis' home meant facing numerous rules. Some paths and some doors were not for ordinary people to use.

However, the situation today was unusual. The gates of every house were open, and servants were constantly moving in and out. These servants were all doing the same thing: carrying out corpses. Many corpses lay on both sides of the road; some were in coffins, others simply covered with a cloth. Perhaps there were too many dead for their funerals to be properly managed. The most tragic sight was a three-headed creature infected with the plague. Its middle head, which controlled its actions, was dead. The remaining two heads couldn't control the body, couldn't move, and couldn't speak, so they just lay by the roadside, waiting to die together.

A Medical Cultivator ghost servant warned Yuan Youshang, "This is a plague! You must be extremely careful!"

A Traveling Cultivator ghost servant whispered in his ear, "We shouldn't have come back. I told you there would be danger, but you wouldn't listen!"

Yuan Youshang had suffered much bullying at home since childhood, but he never bullied his ghost servants. They spoke to him directly and had been urging him to return the entire way. He had previously fallen out with Nian Shangyou, who even sent people to kill him. Logically, Yuan Youshang really shouldn't have returned to Inner State. But Qiao Yi found him and personally wrote a letter to Yuan Youshang, stating that all past issues were misunderstandings, everything was forgiven, and promised to confer the title of Viscount upon Yuan Youshang. Yuan Youshang weighed the options carefully and decided to return to Chaoge.

Qiao Yi genuinely wanted Yuan Youshang to return. He didn't have many impressions of Yuan Youshang, but he knew he was capable and that now was the time to use him. As for the conflict between Yuan Youshang and Nian Shangyou, Qiao Yi also had a way to resolve it. Yuan Youshang also trusted Qiao Yi, but his Traveling Cultivator ghost servants believed the dangers were abundant. Now, it seemed the source of the danger was this plague.

With Yuan Youshang's cultivation and physique, he was confident he could withstand the plague's invasion. About two streets away from Qiao Yi's mansion, a man resembling a hedgehog suddenly collapsed to the ground, less than ten paces from Yuan Youshang. Ever since he arrived in Chaoge this time, such collapses in the streets had been common.

Yuan Youshang initially paid no mind, but then he saw a letter tube beside the person. The person who collapsed was a courier. Judging by the style of the letter tube, it seemed to be a confidential letter unique to the Imperial Cabinet. Qiao Yi was the Cabinet Grand Secretary, and Yuan Youshang was Qiao Yi's subordinate. Should he lend a hand in this matter?

After a moment of consideration, Yuan Youshang stepped forward and helped the courier up. The courier's body was burning hot, and he was constantly shivering. The Medical Cultivator ghost servant took out an elixir, and Yuan Youshang put the elixir into the courier's mouth. After taking the elixir, the courier's condition slightly improved. He kept staring at the letter tube; this letter was extremely important to him.

Yuan Youshang let him pick up the letter tube. As he picked it up, Yuan Youshang realized something was wrong. The lid of the letter tube had fallen off, and the letter paper inside was exposed. Yuan Youshang quickly picked up the lid of the letter tube and handed it to the courier along with the tube. The courier thanked him repeatedly. He had originally planned to go to Qiao Yi's residence with the courier, but after much thought, Yuan Youshang decided to let the courier go first. The confidential letter's tube had opened; Yuan Youshang couldn't explain why. If something couldn't be explained clearly, it shouldn't be mentioned. One could forgo credit, but absolutely not take the blame.

After the courier had walked far away, a Peeking Cultivator ghost servant said to Yuan Youshang, "I saw a few words."

"What words?"

The ghost servant said, "On that letter, I saw 'Great Totem' and also 'Restore Juecheng'."