The Portal of Wonderland
chapter-498-30041322

"Tell Cui Huan to meet me at the secret chamber."

Shi Mu walked straight in front of the crowd, leaving behind such a sentence. Enthusiastic thoughts were running in his mind back and forth.

"Yes!" Qi Fei said without hesitation.

Shi Mu returned to the secret chamber that was located in the middle of the hill. He sat cross-legged in the chamber waiting.

He rolled up his sleeves and looked at his left arm. His heart was silent, and the fiery glow on his arm burned. After a while, the previously shady and cold cave became hot.

Shi Mu smiled with satisfaction and lifted the flame on his arm.

Knock...

At that moment, a few slams sounded outside the stone door.

"Come in."

Shi Mu put down his sleeves, got up, and sat down on a stone chair.

As soon as the voice fell, Cui Huan pushed the door open and entered the chamber wearing a green maid outfit.

"Young master," Cui Huan bowed slightly and greeted Shi Mu in a respectable tone.

"Is what those men said true?" Shi Mu did not turn around and asked directly without looking at Cui Huan.

Cui Huan's brow squinted slightly as her lips opened. After some hesitation, she closed her mouth from saying anything further. Eventually, she said nothing at all.

"I don't have time to waste on you. If you don't want to say anything, I will have no reason to continue to make you stay when Zhao Shanlei and his men arrive again. When they arrive, you'll deal with it yourself," Shi Mu said in a frustrated tone after glancing at Cui Huan for a moment.

Hearing this, Cui Huan's cold face immediately changed color and her expression was flustered. She bit her lower lip and the light in her eyes became a little dim. However, she still did not say anything.

"I've not met Zhao Shanlei but I'm sure he is not the type who would take pity on someone like you. It's best if you think this through," Shi Mu said as he gently tapped the stone chair with his finger.

Cui Huan remained silent for a while. After a while, she sighed and began to loosen up her lips.

"Young master has done so much for me and I, as a servant to my master, am truly grateful. I could not say much as I was afraid it might affect the young master."

"Talk to me about it. I'll be the one to decide what to do with the decision," Shi Mu said faintly.

"In fact, as early as a few decades ago, my grandfather was once a centennial disciple in the Holy Land of Qinglan. Sadly, he was later defeated and he fell to the bottom of the ranks. Hence, he was expelled from the Holy Land…" Cui Huan gritted her teeth and began to tell the truth.

Shi Mu adjusted his body upright and listened to Cui Huan calmly.

"Before my grandfather was expelled from the Holy Land, he had been a disciple for almost 30 years. In the last few years, he had used all rare materials and points he had accumulated for many years as an exchange to request a famous master to refine the best weapon in Qinglan. The original intention of creating this top-quality weapon was to help him succeed in trials and missions. However, the weapon was never finished and my grandfather had to leave with regrets. In the end, when he left, he had a token for an exchange of the top-quality weapon," Cui Huan said and paused for a little.

"Top quality spirit weapon! Then what happened?"

Shi Mu was surprised at her words.

"Later, my grandfather died of illness and passed down this token before his death. For various reasons, my family had not been able to retrieve it before his death, and it was destroyed by the enemy. However, due to this token, my family died protecting it. My parents were killed in the process and I was left alone to escape and fend for myself," Cui Huan bit her lips and said.

"Oh. How did you come to Qinglan and become a servant?"

"Once I escaped, I was alone and had nowhere to go. After drifting for a long time, I went through a rough time and finally borrowed a huge amount of money from others with help from some relations, I managed to enter Qinglan. In between my days here, I worked hard and finally became a servant."

"You would also like to take the opportunity to exchange the top-quality weapon?" Shi Mu looked at her and asked.

"Yes! My family died for it. If I don't retrieve it, what was the point of their deaths? How can I live up to my parents' and grandfather's wish?" Cui Huan said. Her emotions were unstable.

"... But soon I realized, even if I tried my best to join the Holy Land as a negligible servant, it felt meaningless. I did not possess the qualifications to enter the Xuanling Tower. How can I ever contact the refining master and get the weapon then? I can't share my worries with anyone because what if someone spilled my secrets?" Cui Huan said worriedly.

"Zhao Shanlei wants to take you away in order to get a hold of the token for the weapon?"

"Yes. After Zhao Shanlei got the news, he sent people to pack all my debts. Ever since, he's been sending people to threaten me into handing over the token. Recently, they've taken the matter to a higher extent. I didn't dare to leave the residence for fear of being kidnapped and forced to go with them."

"The weapons are precious but your life means so much more. Why were you so reluctant to tell me?" Shi Mu's heart sank a little and said slowly.

"In fact, I have repeatedly tried to find the master of the refiner multiple times. I already gave up all hopes of getting back the weapon. I originally planned to hand over the token to avoid any more problems. However, after knowing Zhao Shanlei has been greatly implicated in destroying my family, I can't let this go. He only wanted my weapon in order to use it for cultivation," Cui Huan said angrily.

"Ah, I see. Nevertheless, it turned out this way. What are your plans? Are you planning to have me shelter you for a lifetime?" Shi Mu's brows slightly and said in a cold tone.

Cui Huan did not immediately answer. She held her hands tight together, as if she was caught in the middle of trying to make a difficult choice. She hesitated for a moment.

Shi Mu saw this and did not urge her but waited patiently.

After a quarter of an hour, Cui Huan looked up and gritted her teeth.

"If young master is willing to help me, I am willing to gift the weapon as an exchange."

"Oh… And how do you want me to help you then?" Shi Mu questioned.

"Zhao Shanlei first entered Qinglan through the first two trials. He was well-known and strong, hence I would not burden someone else to fight him. However, I hope young master can provide me with shelter so I would not be taken away by them."

"That's all?" Shi Mu's eyes looked stunned.

"Only for a period of ten years. After ten years, I hope young master could be my guarantor and allow me to participate in the section trials of becoming a disciple of Qinglan. By then, I will be responsible for my life or death and it would not have anything to do with young master anymore." Cui Huan's tone was firm and said.

"It turns out that you want to become a disciple of Qinglan yourself. Well, let me ask you something first. Do you know what is the top-quality weapon that your grandfather forged in the past?"

"This... I am unsure," Cui Huan said in a sad manner.

"Your grandfather did not tell anyone in the family?" Shi Mu said in disbelief.

"Young master, please do not misunderstand. Even my grandfather did not know what the weapon would look like. It is said that the master of the refiner felt that the material provided by my grandfather was very special and a new type of casting could be adopted. The method of refining in order to make the most powerful effect of the weapon was not fixed at that time. It was just that the casting time of the weapon had been greatly extended, hence my grandfather was not able to have a look at it himself. In the end, he could not see the final weapon after he died," Cui Huan's expression was slightly bleak whenever she mentioned her grandfather.

"The value of a top-grade weapon is more than enough for me to keep you safe. It's a deal. I have agreed to your conditions," Shi Mu's said as his eyes flashed a few times.

"Young master, you... Do you really agree?" Cui Huan looked into Shi Mu's eyes with some inconsistency and her voice trembled, as if she could not believe what she just heard.

Shi Mu looked at her calmly and nodded.

His strength had improved, and it would enable him to reduce the number of times where he had to use the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art to prolong his lifeline.

"Not only that, you can also used the resources produced in the residence for the next ten years. If you have any special needs, you can also exchange them with the Spirit Stones. I will not interfere too much." Shi Mu said.

"Is this real…?" Cui Huan heard Shi Mu's remarks and could not believe her ears.

"What's wrong? Are you not willing?" Shi Mu's brows arched.

"No... Cui Huan is in debt of young master's good grace," Cui Huan hurriedly bowed and thanked him in gratitude.

"That's good. You can hand me the token."

Cui Huan heard this and suddenly, a shy expression appeared on her face.

This girl was quite beautiful. Her cold cheeks became slightly reddish, which gave off a different kind of feeling and style.

When Shi Mu saw this situation, he felt strange in his heart. This woman began to reach out and unbuttoned, her clothes, exposing her right side.

A piece of emerald exposed, revealing rich white skin underneath. A slender hand from the top reached down and took the item out.

Shi Mu initially wanted to look away but he was immediately attracted to the item.