Could it be those foolish old fogies who are working against him? Otherwise, how could that human and that mermaid have simply vanished into thin air?
Qingnuo kicked the stone sculpture several times to vent her anger.
Feeling better, Qingnuo straightened her clothes, put on a gentle mask, and walked gracefully back to the restaurant.
Ruan Mingchu, who had witnessed everything, was not surprised at all. In fact, he felt that the hideous and grotesque appearance was Qing Nuo's true face, the appearance of his soul.
After the meal, Qingnuo asked Ruan Mingchu about his plans. Regardless of Ruan Mingchu's answer, Qingnuo was determined to keep him there. If Ruan Mingchu didn't respond to reason, he would have no choice but to resort to force.
Unexpectedly, Ruan Mingchu took the initiative to ask to stay.
“Shouldn’t the temple have a special place to store the scriptures?” Ruan Minh Thu said. “I want to go and see if there is a way back.”
"What a homebody," Qingnuo thought to himself with amusement, but he felt even more at ease. He would only question Ruan Mingchu's motives if she said she was going to find a way to awaken Qingyao.
Qingnuo said, "Okay, Uncle has arranged everything for you. How about staying in the bedroom next to mine?"
Ruan Mingchu had no objection, only saying, "If possible, I hope you can allow my companion to stay here with me."
Qingnuo: "Okay, I'll send someone to invite them right away."
He had a servant take Ruan Mingchu to see the bedroom where he would be staying temporarily. As soon as the servant left, Qing Nuo's face darkened.
Ruan Mingchu did not know the whereabouts of his companions. It seemed that it was not a conspiracy between them, so it could only be those old fogies.
That damned old bastard, he's already refused to acknowledge me, and now he's interfering with me. I'll get rid of them one day!
Qingnuo clenched her fist and strode outside.
I don't know where to vent my anger.
The technology of the Mermaid Continent is not advanced, lagging far behind that of humans. Upon entering the bedchamber, Ruan Mingchu discovered dozens of cameras and listening devices that he thought were well hidden.
There was even a toilet. Ruan Mingchu even found a listening device on the toilet, which amused him. He didn't know if it was prepared specifically for him or for all the mermaids who might live here.
Ruan Mingchu pretended not to have noticed anything, walked around the room for about ten minutes to digest his food, and then lay down on the bed.
He looked like he had exhausted a lot of mental energy and needed to recuperate.
The person responsible for monitoring Ruan Mingchu saw that his face turned pale as soon as he was alone, clearly trying to save face in public, and immediately laughed disdainfully. He's just a little kid, why bother watching him so much?
He called his companions to play mahjong. At first, he would occasionally look up at the monitor, but later he got so drunk that he lost his senses.
Ruan Mingchu estimated the time and got up three hours later. As soon as he went out, he saw Qing Nuo walking towards him.
“It’s good that you’re awake. I wouldn’t know what to do if you weren’t,” Qingnuo said. “I sent people to say they couldn’t find your companions at the hotel. They asked around and no one said they’d seen them anywhere. They’ve been waiting there for so long and haven’t come back.”
Qingnuo had been observing Ruan Mingchu, and only withdrew her gaze when she saw his expected look of shock.
Ruan Mingchu frowned and said, "That shouldn't be the case. I told them I was staying at the hotel today. Did they go to work again?"
"Could you please send someone to check on Yu Yang Tavern? He used to work odd jobs there."
"Okay, don't worry," Qingnuo reassured her. "A living person can't just disappear. Uncle will send someone over to check right away."
Ruan Mingchu hummed in agreement, then paused and asked, "When are we having dinner? I'm a little hungry after a nap. The dishes from last meal were quite good."
Qingnuo: ...
Damn it, your companions are missing and you're not even worried? You still have the nerve to eat dinner, eat, eat, have you not eaten in ages?
Although he was internally complaining, Qingnuo was still proud that only here could he eat such a complete selection of delicious delicacies.
"You can eat whenever you want, Uncle will arrange it for you right away," Qingnuo said as if he had just thought of something. "Uncle will arrange a servant for you, you can just tell him if you need anything."
Ruan Mingchu nodded, clearly wanting someone to keep a close watch on him, and urged, "Then I'll go to the restaurant first."
Qingnuo nodded, her lips twitching uncontrollably.
They're so heartless, I don't know who they inherited it from.
After a hearty meal, Ruan Minh Thu suggested taking a stroll through Hao Hai Pavilion. Hao Hai Pavilion was the place in the temple where various books were stored.
Qingnuo readily agreed, since there was nothing shady going on inside anyway.
"Let Xiao Nian lead the way for you."
Xiao Nian was the maid that Qing Nuo arranged for Ruan Mingchu.
Xiao Nian was like a mute; after meeting Ruan Mingchu, he didn't say a word, only nodding or shaking his head.
Ruan Mingchu tentatively asked a question, but when he received no response, he said nothing more.
It took them forty or fifty minutes to reach Haohai Pavilion, which shows how little the merman liked reading. This must be the most remote place in the temple, where even guards were not bothered to be stationed.
Xiao Nian struggled to push open the heavy door, turned on the light inside, and invited Ruan Mingchu in.
Although few people visit, it is at least very clean inside, without a speck of dust, and the mermaids are arranged to clean it every once in a while.
The Vast Ocean Pavilion has seven floors, and the mermaids don't really have any sense of categorization; all the books are just randomly placed. If you had to put a pattern in them, the books on the upper floors would be younger.
Originally, Haohai Pavilion only had three floors. When the three floors were no longer enough, a fourth floor was built, and that's how the four floors came about.
Ruan Mingchu released his spiritual power, implanted specific consciousness, and searched for the keywords of what he needed in the vast sea of books.
Ruan Mingchu was found very quickly.
On the surface, however, he merely strolled around, casually picking up a book and starting to read. He wasn't actually reading a book containing what he needed; he was just putting on an act, secretly using his mental power to carefully read it.
The best course of action now is to find Qingyao's Soul Bead.
However, Ruan Mingchu did not know what a Soul Bead was. He examined his body over and over again countless times, but could not find anything that looked like a bead.
He thought of the round bead that had rushed towards his body from inside the fusion monster, but it was clearly something that appeared after the mermaid died.
He then thought of the spirit pearl that Meng Shuo had asked for, but that wasn't something the mermaids themselves possessed. There were still some in the treasure vault that Men Hao connected to, so he could try to get them next time he saw Qing Yao.
After giving Menhao, who was lying motionless on his shoulder as a shoulder ornament, a stroke of his hand, Ruan Mingchu began to carefully read the contents of the book about Soul Beads.
Soul beads aren't necessarily round beads; that's just a common name. In reality, they are solidified forms of spiritual energy that condense after reaching a certain level, and they can take various shapes. They are essentially spiritual energy reservoirs, with the effect of refining and condensing spiritual energy.
It can be kept inside the body or taken out. But taking it out is equivalent to losing one's spiritual power; one can only use the power remaining inside the body.
Those who possess a Soul Pearl usually pass it on to their descendants before they die, as it is essentially a readily available treasure trove.
As for why the Soul Bead isn't called the Spirit Bead, it's because it's connected to the mermaid's soul.
When a person dies, the Soul Pearl remains intact.
But once the Soul Pearl shatters, the soul is destroyed, and the person ceases to exist.
The book says that precious items like Soul Pearls are usually stored in the Hall of Gathering Heroes, jointly managed by five priests. Each priest has a key, and the hall door can only be opened when all five keys are collected.
Having seen what he wanted, Ruan Mingchu yawned, as if he had just looked at something boring.
He casually put the book back, said "Going back to sleep," and left.
Xiao Nian quickly picked up the book that Ruan Mingchu had read, glanced at the cover, blushed, put it back, and hurriedly chased after Ruan Mingchu.
Xiao Nian: Damn it, why do I get sleepy even when I'm looking at erotic pictures? Are you impotent?
Ruan Mingchu, who hadn't even read the book he picked up: ...
Ruan Mingchu was unaware that his image in Xiao Nian's mind was becoming increasingly tarnished.
After returning to his bedchamber, he washed up and prepared for bed. He changed into his pajamas, lay down on the bed, and was just waiting to cover himself with the blanket.
Qingnuo: ...
Damn it, this is the most he's ever swore in a day! How can someone be so heartless? At least show some concern for your partner before going to sleep!
Qingnuo said, "I'm here to tell you that your colleague doesn't work in Yuyang anymore. The boss said he has already resigned."
Ruan Mingchu's expression was not very friendly, as if he was blaming Qing Nuo for disturbing his sleep.
Hearing this, he yawned and said, "A living person can never simply disappear."
Qingnuo: This sounds so familiar, it's like what he used to persuade Ruan Mingchu.
Ruan Mingchu said, "Let's look for it tomorrow. Maybe they went somewhere to play." Both his words and expression were perfunctory.
Qingnuo nodded with difficulty: "Okay, Uncle will continue to send people to look for it."
Following Nguyen Minh Thu was truly difficult, and Thanh Ngoc shed a crocodile tear for Nguyen Minh Thu's companions.
In the stillness of the night, the bedroom, with its heavy curtains drawn, was completely dark.
Ruan Mingchu tried to use the "Small Space" technique to put a single hair in his hand, but his skill, which had never failed before, suffered a major setback.
It seems that Qingnuo is not without merit; at least its research in the space system is quite good. Ruan Mingchu, who was unaware of things like anti-air arrays and space teleportation talismans, praised Qingnuo.
However, this would make his actions at night even more difficult. Ruan Mingchu was unusually excited, so he decided to let him try out the mermaid's highest power center.
The mental waves disrupted the camera, and Ruan Mingchu used his mental power to stretch the blanket into a human shape, thus nimbly and silently leaving the place.
Let's explore the Juying Hall tonight.
Having already mastered the layout of the various palaces during his last visit to the temple to receive the blessing of holy water, Nguyen Minh Thu is now quite adept at it.
The treatment received by Juying Hall was on a completely different level from that of Haohai Pavilion, even several times better. Layers of mermaid guards patrolled constantly, and even trained eagles flew overhead on patrol.
If they wanted to get in, Mu Yu's [Spatial Gate] would be exceptionally convenient. But right now, even if Mu Yu were here, he might not be able to break through Qing Nuo's spatial blockade.
Ruan Mingchu frowned, pondering a solution.
Sensing a mermaid approaching from behind, Ruan Mingchu pretended not to notice. When the person got very close, he suddenly attacked and fiercely grabbed the person's neck.
The mermaid clearly hadn't anticipated Ruan Mingchu's reaction, and could only helplessly grasp Ruan Mingchu's wrist, trying to pry open the hand that was restraining her neck.
Ruan Mingchu looked him over and found that he was an old man wearing a black robe and was covered in dirt.
Seeing that his eyes were almost rolling back, Ruan Mingchu exerted force again, causing him to faint.
Dragging him to a secluded toilet, Ruan Mingchu woke him up again.
Qiu Fang sat on the cold floor coughing; his heart was as cold as his backside.
Ruan Mingchu squatted down in front of him, scrutinizing him with cold eyes.
Qiu Fang could sense that if he couldn't give Ruan Mingchu a satisfactory explanation, Ruan Mingchu might really kill him.
When the mermaid gets anxious, her mouth goes lisp.
"I am the boss's mermaid!"
Ruan Mingchu suddenly felt that the art style was somewhat familiar.
“I served him diligently for over a hundred years. Even when he abandoned us to enjoy a wife, children, and a warm bed, we never complained. Even when he was in a coma for twenty-eight years, we never betrayed him. Instead, we were busy trying to find a way to save him!”