111: The Vanke Era: First Encounter with Situ

At noon the next day, Lin Xuan and Qu Feiyan arrived on time at the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower, located in the most prosperous area in the center of Tianshu City.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Tower was magnificent, consisting of nine stories with flying eaves and upturned corners, its glazed tiles shimmering with dazzling brilliance under the sunlight. The entrance was bustling with traffic; those entering and leaving were all rich or noble, with extraordinary Auras. After showing Yun Qianqian's invitation Jade Slip, a beautiful maidservant respectfully led the two to an elegant private room on the third floor.

There were already several people in the private room, all young Cultivators, both male and female, with cultivation levels mostly between the Late Foundation Establishment Stage and the False Core realm. They were luxuriously dressed with reserved bearings, clearly children of aristocratic families in Tianshu City or elites from major Sects. As the host, Yun Qianqian was moving among them, chatting and laughing, smooth and sophisticated.

Seeing Lin Xuan and his companion enter, Yun Qianqian's eyes lit up, and she immediately greeted them. Today, she had changed into an even brighter goose-yellow brocade dress, which made her small Face appear even more charming: "Young Master Lin, Sister Qu, you've arrived! Please, take a seat." She greeted them warmly, her gaze lingering on Lin Xuan for a moment longer than necessary.

Qu Feiyan had also dressed up deliberately today, wearing a crimson long dress that outlined her perfect figure. Her makeup was exquisite, and her charming eyes were full of allure, forming a sharp contrast with Yun Qianqian's charming brightness. She naturally took Lin Xuan's arm and offered Yun Qianqian an impeccable but distant smile: "Sister Yun, this Ten Thousand Treasures Tower is truly magnificent."

The two women, with vastly different styles yet equally outstanding, surrounded Lin Xuan on the left and right, immediately attracting the gazes of everyone in the private room. There was no lack of amazement and envy in the eyes of the young male Cultivators, while the several female Cultivators showed more or less signs of scrutiny and comparison.

Feeling the focused gazes around him, as well as the warning pressure coming from Qu Feiyan's hand on his arm, Lin Xuan felt helpless, but his expression remained calm. He nodded slightly to Yun Qianqian: "You are too kind, Miss Yun."

The three took their seats, and the treasure appraisal meeting officially began. An old shopkeeper from the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower walked onto the central display platform and began to introduce several treasures prepared for trade today, including ancient artifact fragments, rare spiritual materials, high-grade Talismans, and so on, which caused everyone present to bid one after another, and the atmosphere gradually became heated.

Lin Xuan was not very interested in these things. With the assistance of the System, his Divine Sense quietly swept across the entire private room, collecting conversation information from the crowd, focusing on Yun Qianqian and the as-yet-unseen Deputy Commander Situ Yue.

"...I heard that another murder case occurred on the west side of the city a few days ago. The death was miserable; the essence blood and soul were both drained, just like the previous few cases..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down, the City Lord's Mansion has ordered strict prohibition on discussing this matter..."

"What are you afraid of? My uncle is in the City Guard. I heard that Deputy Commander Situ has already argued with the higher-ups several times because of this, suspecting that it was not done by an ordinary demonic Cultivator..."

"Situ Yue? That woman is stubborn and difficult; relying on her talent and background, she doesn't give anyone Face..."

Fragmented information flowed into Lin Xuan's ears, confirming the existence of Situ Yue and the possible divergence within the City Lord's Mansion.

Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open again, and a tall, upright figure walked in.

The person who entered was a woman wearing light silver-white armor with a long sword at her waist, standing as straight as a pine. Her appearance was not stunning, but there was an inherent awe-inspiring heroic spirit between her brows, her eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and her body exuded the cultivation fluctuation of a Mid-stage Golden Core, as well as the iron-blooded Aura of someone who had been on the battlefield for a long time. As soon as she entered, the somewhat noisy private room suddenly quieted down, and many aristocratic children showed a hint of awe or fear on their Faces.

It was none other than the Deputy Commander of the Tianshu City Guard, Deputy Commander Situ Yue!

"Sister Situ! You're finally here!" Yun Qianqian immediately stood up with a smile to welcome her.

Deputy Commander Situ Yue nodded to Yun Qianqian, considering it a greeting. Her gaze swept across everyone in the private room like a searchlight. When she saw Lin Xuan and Qu Feiyan, her gaze paused slightly. Especially when she felt Lin Xuan's restrained yet unfathomable Aura and the faint Demonic Path Dao Rhyme on Qu Feiyan, her heroic eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly.

"Qianqian, you called me here today, what is the matter?" Deputy Commander Situ Yue's voice was crisp and powerful, carrying the crispness and decisiveness unique to a soldier. She did not seem to like this kind of occasion.

Yun Qianqian pulled her to sit down with a giggle: "It's nothing major, I just got a strange thing and wanted to ask Sister Situ to help take a look." As she spoke, she gestured for the old shopkeeper to present a jade box.

The jade box was opened, and inside was a palm-sized, pitch-black metal fragment covered with irregular holes, with extremely weak and uncomfortable energy fluctuations remaining on it.

"This item was collected from the black market by my people a few days ago. The source is unknown, it is extremely hard, impenetrable by Divine Sense, and the Aura on it... makes people feel very uncomfortable," Yun Qianqian explained.

Deputy Commander Situ Yue took the fragment and sensed it carefully, her expression gradually becoming serious: "This Aura... is 70% similar to the weak fluctuations left at the scene of the recent murder cases!" She looked up at Yun Qianqian abruptly, "Where did this thing come from?"

Yun Qianqian shrugged helplessly: "It circulated through the black market, the clues were cut off long ago."

When Lin Xuan heard Deputy Commander Situ Yue's words, his heart moved. The System immediately scanned the black fragment.

【Target detected: Unknown metal fragment. Material analysis: Contains 'Nether Abyss Black Gold' components (produced in the Nether Abyss). Energy residue: 65% homology with the mine infection source, 78% homology with the Guixu Cult's Devilish Qi. Judgment: A fragment of a Guixu Cult standard Magical Artifact or some kind of device.】

Sure enough, it was something from the Guixu Cult! And it was related to both the mine and the murder cases!

Lin Xuan looked at Deputy Commander Situ Yue. This woman was sharp and upright; perhaps he could try to make contact.

Just then, Deputy Commander Situ Yue seemed to have noticed Lin Xuan's focused gaze. She turned her head, her sharp eyes meeting Lin Xuan's, carrying scrutiny: "This Fellow Daoist is very unfamiliar; I wonder how to address you? You seem very interested in this object?"

Feeling the oppressive force in Deputy Commander Situ Yue's gaze, Qu Feiyan subconsciously wanted to assert her sovereignty again, but was stopped by Lin Xuan's look.

Lin Xuan stood up, bowed to Deputy Commander Situ Yue, neither servile nor overbearing: "I am Lin Xuan, a Loose Cultivator. I am indeed curious about this object because the Aura on it is quite similar to a group of evil Cultivators I encountered in a dangerous place before."

"Oh? What dangerous place?" Deputy Commander Situ Yue asked, her eyes becoming sharper.

Lin Xuan smiled slightly, not answering directly, but transmitted his voice: "That place had unstable space, filled with Death Qi, and even had remnants of blood sacrifice Formations. I wonder if Commander Situ has ever heard of it?"

Deputy Commander Situ Yue's pupils shrank, and the hand holding the fragment tightened. She replied via voice transmission: "What do you know?" She had been overwhelmed recently by the investigation of several weird murder cases and certain abnormal spatial fluctuations, but the City Lord's Mansion had an ambiguous attitude toward this, and even deliberately suppressed her investigation. Lin Xuan's words instantly aroused her high vigilance.

"This is not the place to talk." Lin Xuan glanced at the people around him who were pricking up their ears, implying something.

Deputy Commander Situ Yue understood instantly. She took a deep breath, suppressed the shock in her heart, and nodded to Lin Xuan, asking no more questions. But the look she gave him now had less scrutiny, and more exploration and a trace of imperceptible expectation.

Yun Qianqian watched the silent communication between Lin Xuan and Deputy Commander Situ Yue, blinked her big eyes, flashed a trace of cunning, and then raised a smiling Face to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, the treasure appraisal continues! The next item is a good thing..."

The treasure appraisal meeting continued, but Lin Xuan knew that the connection with Deputy Commander Situ Yue had been initially established. As for Qu Feiyan on the side, watching Lin Xuan and Deputy Commander Situ Yue "flirting" (in her view), although she knew it was serious business, she still couldn't help feeling sour in her heart and secretly pinched Lin Xuan again.

Lin Xuan: "..." This Ten Thousand Treasures Tower was indeed a gathering of turmoil, hiding... waves of jealousy.