Chapter 190 Qinglong Beach

Yue Shan hosted the dinner at an old restaurant called Juxianlou on East Street in the county town.

The restaurant has been open for several years; the storefront is small, but the interior is surprisingly spacious and charming.

Passing through the porch, there is a square courtyard with an old pomegranate tree growing in it. Under the tree, there are several square tables where a few old men sit together, drinking tea and playing chess, looking very relaxed.

He booked a private room on the second floor, by the window, with a view of the street.

When Chen Mo arrived, there were already three people sitting in the private room.

It was the same old man and two young men I had met that morning at the big mound: the old Taoist priest, Abbot Wang, and his two disciples.

Abbot Wang sat by the window, having changed into a clean gray Taoist robe. His hair was tied back up, and the wooden hairpin was polished to a shine.

He had a cup of tea in front of him and was slowly blowing on the tea foam. When he saw Yue Shan and his group enter, he put down the teacup and gave a slight bow.

"Captain Yue, thank you for the expense."

"Master Wang is too kind."

Yue Shan pulled out a chair and sat down, his tone much gentler than when they were at the cemetery that morning. "You came all this way and didn't even get a hot meal. It's my fault."

"Not at all." Abbot Wang waved his hand, his gaze passing over Yue Shan and landing on Chen Mo, who had followed in behind.

Chen Mo sat down across the table and looked up to meet Abbot Wang's gaze.

He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"Abbot Wang, please forgive my offense this morning."

Before Abbot Wang could speak, his male disciple sitting to his left snorted and looked at Chen Mo with a hint of hostility.

He seemed to want to say something, but was silenced by a look from Abbot Wang.

The female disciple sitting to the right of Abbot Wang was much quieter. She glanced at Chen Mo with a calm gaze, showing no particular emotion.

"You're too kind, young friend." Abbot Wang smiled slightly, picked up his teacup and took a sip. "I didn't take what happened this morning to heart."

"That's good, that's good."

Chen Mo chuckled and picked up the teapot on the table to pour himself a cup of tea.

The dishes were served quickly.

Xianlou's dishes are authentic, all with the old flavors of Tianjin, such as braised carp, braised beef shank, stir-fried magnolia petals, and a bowl of hot and sour cuttlefish egg soup.

There were also several plates of seasonal drunken crab and eight-treasure sauce, filling the entire table.

Yue Shan also specially asked the owner to serve two jugs of Shaoxing wine.

The missing person case has been solved, and the atmosphere at the dinner table is very relaxed.

Yue Shan poured a cup of wine for Abbot Wang, and the two chatted about everyday things.

Chen Mo didn't say much, focusing on the food on the table. When he was almost done eating, he put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a tissue.

"Abbot Wang, may I ask you something?"

Abbot Wang was drinking tea when he heard this and looked up at him. "Please speak, young friend."

Do you know if there are any inauspicious __cpLocations around here that are associated with water or yin energy?

Chen Mo spoke casually, as if asking where to buy good food, "The quality has to be top-notch."

These words elicited varying reactions from the people at the table.

Yue Shan paused, holding his wine glass, and turned to look at Chen Mo with a scrutinizing gaze.

Abbot Wang put down his teacup, stroked his beard, and did not answer immediately.

Yue Shan spoke first, "What do you need this for?"

"Practice a martial art."

Chen Mo answered quickly, "I hadn't found a suitable place for a long time, and it had been dragging on for quite a while. Today I happened to run into Abbot Wang, and thinking that the old man was very knowledgeable, I just asked him casually."

"A cultivation method?" Yue Shan was clearly skeptical. "What kind of cultivation method do you need that requires superior malevolent energy?"

"Well—" Chen Mo scratched his head, giving a look that said, "It's a long story, so I won't go into details. You know what I mean."

Yue Shan stared at him for two seconds, his gaze sharp.

Nine out of ten cultivation techniques that require the use of malevolent energy are forbidden arts.

Abbot Wang didn't care about any of that. The popular fantasy novel ranking list is updated weekly. Click here.

"Young friend, I can answer your question."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and moistened his throat.

"Superior malevolent energy, especially superior malevolent energy of the water element, is now extremely rare."

"This kind of thing can't be formed just anywhere; it requires the right timing and location, and neither can be lacking. Only when both come together can it condense into that kind of high-quality evil energy."

He paused for a moment, his tone tinged with emotion.

"When I was young, I saw a place in western Hunan."

"It's a cave with an underground river inside. The river never freezes, and the cave walls are covered with a layer of white frost that feels cool to the touch. But a layer of black mist will remain on your fingers, and that's the water evil."

"The quality is indeed top-notch; it's a first-class product for refining weapons and nurturing talismans."

"And then?" Chen Mo asked.

"Later, the underground river changed course, and the earth's veins changed as well, so the evil energy dissipated."

Abbot Wang shook his head. "I visited the cave a few years ago, and it's no different from an ordinary cave now. You can't even keep a yin worm alive."

"And now?" Chen Mo's face remained expressionless after hearing this. "Are there any similar places around here?"

"But as you know, these things are often quite different on paper than in reality."

He glanced at Yue Shan, then looked back at Chen Mo.

"I happen to be taking a stroll around the area these next few days, checking out the crime scenes of those missing persons cases. If I come across anything interesting, I can let you know."

"That would be wonderful." Chen Mo smiled, picked up his teacup, and said, "Then I'll thank Abbot Wang in advance."

"You're welcome." Abbot Wang also picked up his teacup and clinked it with his.

While the two were drinking tea, Yue Shan's gaze remained fixed on Chen Mo.

He always felt that the boy's question about the location of the evil aura was not so simple, but he couldn't press him for details in front of Abbot Wang.

The dinner lasted for about half an hour, during which Yue Shan was said to be discussing the case with Abbot Wang.

Chen Mo was quite quiet in the latter half of the journey, leaning back in his chair, sipping his tea casually, his gaze occasionally drifting to the window, seemingly looking at something.

When the banquet ended, Abbot Wang left first with his two disciples.

Only Yue Shan, Chen Mo, and Zhou Ling remained in the private room.

Yue Shan leaned back in his chair, holding an unlit cigarette in his hand, twirling it between his fingers twice before finally tucking it behind his ear.

"Chen Mo," he said.

"exist."

"Why are you looking for a location with malevolent water-related energy?"

Chen Mo was silent for two seconds.

"Alright."

He sighed, leaned back in his chair, and adopted a conciliatory demeanor. "I found this cultivation manual at the ghost market before. It contained a body-refining method that required using malevolent energy to temper the muscles and bones. I've tried it a few times, and it does work, but I haven't been able to find a suitable malevolent land, so it's been delayed until now."

"A body-refining method?" Yue Shan narrowed his eyes. "What's its origin?"

"I don't know, it seems to be from the Criminal Investigation Department."

Chen Mo shrugged. "I had an expert examine it, and they said it's orthodox, not some kind of evil magic. But you know, it's hard to find genuine malevolent energy these days, so I've just been trying my luck."

He was only telling the truth.

That body-refining method does exist, and it does require malevolent energy, but it's far from being so essential that only superior malevolent energy is needed.

Yue Shan stared at him for a long time, his gaze sweeping back and forth across his face several times.

Chen Mo looked back calmly, even blinking.

After a while, he looked away and took the cigarette off his ear.

"A superior Yin energy," he suddenly spoke, his voice lowered, "I do know of one."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.

"Azure Dragon Beach, Evil Dragon Pool..."