Seeing the silent demeanor of Li Yan and his companion, Su Hong suddenly realized. She waved her hand at her side.
"Mi'er, you may go out!"
"Young Mistress..."
A look of reluctance immediately appeared on Mi'er's face. The young mistress had always shared her thoughts with her. Apart from when she spoke with the clan head, she rarely asked her to leave her side.
"Alright, you may go out. It's not good for you to hear some things. If things go wrong, you might be silenced without even knowing why. Just go and guard the door!"
As she said this, she glanced askance at Li Yan, and Li Yan suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, Mi'er's small face tensed, and she glared fiercely at Li Yan before walking resentfully towards the door.
Mi'er was constantly grumbling about Li Yan in her heart. In her view, it was Li Yan's punchable face that had made the young mistress make such a decision.
At the same time, she was also extremely surprised. Apart from the clan head and a few trusted deacons, when had her young mistress ever been alone with another man?
In fact, this was not being alone; Zhao Min was also there. It was just that in Mi'er's heart, she had categorized all beautiful women as being on the same level as her own young mistress and had automatically ignored Zhao Min's existence.
She even felt that to be able to be in the same room with two such people at the same time, Li Yan should be kneeling before a Buddha every day, burning incense and chanting scriptures.
After the door was closed again, Su Hong put down her teacup.
"You two can now resolve the doubts in this little lady's heart, right?"
Li Yan still did not speak immediately. He looked around.
"Fellow Daoist Li is truly cautious. Rest assured, the soundproofing restriction here has already been activated. If Fellow Daoist Li doesn't believe me, you can set up another barrier."
Su Hong said with a hint of reproach. That expression would make any man instinctively feel a sense of trust and pity.
Li Yan, however, looked completely unmoved. He had been waiting for these words. With a wave of his large hand, he actually did set up another barrier in the room to prevent Divine Sense probes.
"I can only ask for Miss Su's forbearance. We really do have some formidable enemies, so we have to be extra careful."
As Li Yan set up the barrier, he gave Su Hong an apologetic smile.
Su Hong shook her head with some helplessness, but being in the shop, she was not worried about what Li Yan and his companion would do to her.
Since the last incident, she had come out with several life-saving trump cards on her this time. Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator wanted to kill her in a short period of time, it would be extremely difficult.
"Hehe, I must still congratulate Miss Su on her successful Core Formation."
Li Yan did not answer Su Hong's previous question but instead shifted the topic to her. Su Hong, upon hearing this, raised her fair, jade-like hand, covered her mouth, and let out a light chuckle.
"Hasn't Fellow Daoist Li also advanced to the Golden Core stage? But, Miss Zhao's cultivation is truly astonishing."
"I remember the last time we met, you had just advanced to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment and had not even reached the Pseudo-Core."
"In just sixty or seventy short years, Miss Zhao is already at the Late-stage Golden Core. This is true heaven-defying talent!"
Su Hong was truly shocked by Zhao Min's cultivation. Her own cultivation had been piled up with countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and even then, she had only barely reached the peak of the Initial-stage Golden Core.
Even with the support of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, it would be good if Zhao Min could be on par with her.
She still didn't know that Li Yan and Zhao Min had long since left the sect. The news she had inquired about concerning the Desolate Moon Continent had not yet arrived from the main headquarters.
It was not that the power behind them was inefficient, but that the main headquarters was also not on the Verdant Continent. She had to wait for the merchant guild to transport goods to bring the news here.
The cost of each transport of goods was enough to make even a wealthy Nascent Soul cultivator go bankrupt.
Under such circumstances, how could Su Hong be willing to spend such a high price for a single "small matter"?
"In comparison, Fellow Daoist Li will have to cultivate even harder. Otherwise, you might not be a 'good match' for Miss Zhao. Am I right or am I wrong? But Miss Zhao, we women still need to have our own strength. Otherwise, at certain times, we might not be able to rely on those we are familiar with, hehehe..."
At this point, Su Hong couldn't help but giggle, and instantly, the whole room was filled with a spring-like atmosphere.
She had already seen the difference from the distance they were sitting from each other. They were almost pressed tightly together.
During this time, Li Yan and Zhao Min had been almost inseparable. The layer of affection between the two went without saying. Although neither had ever stated it plainly, their hearts had invisibly grown closer.
They had gone through several life-and-death situations together on their journey and had long since regarded each other as life-and-death companions.
Putting aside the layer of affection, every time they went out, they would subconsciously stay very close. It was a psychological state of being ready to stand in front of the other at any time.
Although Su Hong herself was also an unmarried maiden, she had to navigate the storms of the business world, and her mother had long since told her about the matters of the bedroom.
She could tell from the way Zhao Min sat with her legs that she was still a virgin. She guessed that Li Yan and the other had not truly become Dao companions, which was why she had said "good match."
Li Yan couldn't help but reach up and rub his nose again. With his eyesight, he had long since seen Su Hong's true realm, which appeared to be a bit higher than his own on the surface.
'She's still holding a grudge. This is revenge for the time I didn't give her face even after she revealed her origins with the Malevolent Spirit Sect.'
Li Yan understood that Su Hong was using his senior sister's cultivation to imply that his own strength was already inferior to hers, showing a bit of smugness.
"Is Shopkeeper Su referring to the matter of the snowy night?"
Zhao Min, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Moreover, after hearing Su Hong so directly point out her relationship with Li Yan, she no longer had the appearance of blushing like a fiery sunset at every turn.
She and Li Yan had traveled all this way together, braving multiple life-and-death crises together. They even had the "Heart-Entangling Twin Gu" as companions in their bodies.
To this, Zhao Min no longer had the sense of loss and hesitation she once had.
The smile on Su Hong's face, which had been full, suddenly froze. She couldn't help but look at Li Yan in annoyance. She didn't want a fourth person to know about that incident.
Especially since the beautiful woman in the gauze had spoken such blush-inducing filth back then, wanting to copulate with her using the "Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art."
How could Li Yan speak of such things to others? According to the information she had gathered on Li Yan, this person had always been taciturn and was not the type to gossip.
Although his heart was dark, he also knew his limits. His reputation in the Malevolent Spirit Sect had always been good, which was why she was willing to associate with him.
Li Yan's somewhat anxious voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
"Miss Su, I only said that I happened to save your life that day. I didn't mention anything else..."
Before Li Yan's voice transmission could finish, Zhao Min suddenly turned her face to look at Li Yan with a half-smile.
"Are you using voice transmission, saying you didn't tell me the details of the snowy night incident!"
As Li Yan was left somewhat dumbfounded, she turned her face back to Su Hong.
"I indeed only know that he once saved you. From what Shopkeeper Su said, it seems that incident has been bothering you all this time."
In his shock, Li Yan had ten thousand questions in his heart.
'Isn't Senior Sister usually introverted and taciturn? How did she suddenly become so sharp-tongued today? This... I've never seen this... never seen this...'
A trace of inexplicable panic suddenly arose in Su Hong's heart. Li Yan's words had put her slightly at ease, but Zhao Min's words made her feel an unease of being seen through.
In her impression, including this time, Zhao Min should have met her a total of five times, but the total number of sentences spoken between them did not exceed thirty.
Usually, she would ask, and the other would answer, and most of the time, she would just nod or shake her head in reply.
And in the information she had gathered, Zhao Min originally had an extremely aloof character.
But today's Zhao Min, since entering the door, had revealed her true appearance with just a single sentence from her. The calmness in her eyes gave Su Hong a feeling of facing a surging undercurrent.
Su Hong reached up and tidied the hair by her ear. Her body, which had been leaning against the table, moved slightly, her face still maintaining a smile.
"Miss Zhao is absolutely right. In any case, I must still thank Fellow Daoist Li for saving my life on that snowy night when I was in danger. Otherwise, I would not be able to be here today to reminisce with you two!
"This time, you two have sought out my humble shop. I wonder how I can help?"
"Oh, it's like this. This matter is very simple. We just want to return to the Desolate Moon Continent as soon as possible."
"A few days ago, we also looked for your esteemed shop in Yunguan City, but we were unable to obtain the news we wanted."
"This kind of cross-realm matter is very important to begin with, especially if it involves a secret passage. It is even more of the utmost importance and will naturally not be sold as ordinary news."
"So, when I saw the name of the shop at that time, I guessed whether it was owned by the same power as the 'Gui Qu Lai Xi' on the Desolate Moon Continent, and thus thought of Miss Su."
"It was just a guess at that time. I didn't expect Miss Su to really be on the Verdant Continent as well. It's truly a pleasant and moving surprise."
"I imagine Miss Su will definitely give me a real answer. Of course, for all of this, I will pay the corresponding price."
"If spirit stones are not enough, I, Li, still have a few magical treasures on me. I estimate they should be able to cover the cost of this piece of news!"
Li Yan immediately took up the topic and quickly stated his intentions. He spoke almost without any pause.
Su Hong blinked her beautiful eyes, a hint of cunning flashing in their depths.
"Answering Fellow Daoist Li's question is of course possible. Let's put the price aside for now. I have a question in my heart."
"If you can answer it first, I think that with the friendship between the Malevolent Spirit Sect of the Desolate Moon Continent and us, this piece of news can be given for free!"
"Oh? What question does Miss Su have?"
"I am very curious. Since you two were able to come here, you can naturally go back. How did you two fellow daoists come to the Verdant Continent in the first place?"
The two exchanged words softly. And at this time, Zhao Min seemed to not exist again, just sitting quietly.
A flawless jade-like palm rested on the table, gently turning the teacup, as if listening to the conversation between the two, or as if lost in her own thoughts.
Upon hearing Su Hong's question, a thought suddenly struck Li Yan. He looked at Su Hong with a smile on his face, which made Su Hong a little baffled.
"What's wrong? Is the condition I proposed not suitable? If you feel it's not suitable, you can pretend I didn't ask, but my answer next will have to be clearly priced first!"
"Miss Su's question is actually not worth much. If you let me answer it, Miss Su will be at a loss! Before answering this question, I have confirmed one thing..."
"What thing?"
Su Hong felt a little uncomfortable. In her several meetings with Li Yan, she had a feeling of being led by the nose. She had always been very confident, but with Li Yan, she had a feeling of being unable to exert her strength.
Li Yan's actions and words did not follow her rhythm at all but would constantly shift the target. These targets or topics were often things that Su Hong herself was curious about.
"I have confirmed that 'Gui Qu Lai Xi' should have withdrawn from the Desolate Moon Continent before the war between the two realms, or rather, Miss Su had already left by then."
"To be able to leave a continent at will... hehehe..."
"Otherwise, with Miss Su's well-informed sources, you would have long known, or guessed, the reason why my senior sister and I came to the Verdant Continent, and would not have used this piece of news to give me a discount!"
In a flash, Li Yan had already thought of many things.
First of all, Su Hong had said back then that "Gui Qu Lai Xi" cooperated with the Malevolent Spirit Sect, so she wouldn't not know about him and Zhao Min falling into the Devil's Cliff Crevice.
Whether he was dead or not might not matter, but Zhao Min was the daughter of a peak master of the Four Great Sects.
If they couldn't even get this piece of news, then "Gui Qu Lai Xi" was not qualified to cooperate with the Malevolent Spirit Sect at all!