The Mysterious Card Maker: Starting with Zhang Jiao's Deification

"Did you hear me clearly?" Su Wanqing looked at Xiao He with a serious expression. Only after receiving Xiao He's affirmative answer did she feel relieved.

After hearing Su Wanqing's words, Xiao He's eyes became noticeably more serious, and he turned and walked towards those people.

"Gentlemen," Xiao He said politely, "we have some things to take care of outside, so we're afraid we can't go in together. Why don't you go in first?"

The injured, burly man was squatting on the ground bandaging his wounds. Hearing this, he looked up, glanced at Xiao He, and then looked at Su Wanqing not far away.

He paused for two seconds, then nodded, his tone quite straightforward: "Okay. That was our original plan anyway. If we're all together, it'll be troublesome to divide up anything good."

He turned to Xiang Qian, who hadn't said much, and said, "Hey, want to come along? I see you're all alone."

Xiang Qian was leaning against a tree with his hands in his pockets and his face expressionless. When he heard the burly man's words, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly and a smile appeared.

Before he could even ask for money, Lin Fan spoke first:

"Since Master Xiang came here alone, he must have been prepared to go in alone! Otherwise, why didn't he bring a companion with him?"

Xiang Qian turned his gaze to Lin Fan, a barely perceptible hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

He stared at Lin Fan for two seconds, then smiled and said, "Lin Fan is right. I'm used to being alone and not comfortable teaming up with others."

The burly man didn't force him; his companion behind him helped him up, and the four of them headed towards the gray rift, disappearing into the light shortly afterward.

"Master Xiang, are you alright all by yourself?" Lin Fan asked.

"No problem." Xiang Qian withdrew his gaze, straightened his clothes, and stepped towards the gray crack.

Lin Fan watched his retreating figure, his mind racing. What was he looking for? Or did he have some connection with that strange figure carrying a coffin?

Seeing Xiang Qian walk inside, Su Wanqing said to Xiao He behind her, "You can go in now. Remember, hold hands as you go in, don't get lost!"

Xiao He responded, and the group quickly formed a circle, grabbing the wrists of the people next to them. Xiao He walked in front, took a deep breath, and stepped into the crevice.

The light flickered a few times, then fell completely silent.

Only Su Wanqing and Lin Fan remained in the open space. Su Wanqing turned around and looked at Lin Fan: "Let's go too."

"I thought you'd go in too?" Lin Fan said with a smile.

"This secret realm isn't our destination," Su Wanqing said calmly. "Puling is in another direction. Let's go back early, get some rest tonight, and set off again early tomorrow morning."

Lin Fan summoned the spirit of Red Hare and galloped back to the inn with her.

When we returned to the guesthouse, the landlady and the owner were sitting on the doorstep eating sunflower seeds. When they saw us return, they were taken aback for a moment, then got up and went over to ask what was wrong.

"You're back. Did you rescue those three people? And what about that strange thing? Did you deal with it?"

"We couldn't catch them; they all ran into the secret realm." Su Wanqing walked past her, her tone calm. "Besides, those three are card masters; they shouldn't have any major problems."

Hearing the commotion, Da Niu came out of the kitchen, holding a cup of instant noodles. He glanced at the two women and asked, "Miss Su? Mr. Lin? Are you alright?"

He swallowed the noodles in his mouth, pointed to the door with his chopsticks, and asked, "Are Xiao He and the others... in the back?"

She picked up an unopened bottle of mineral water, took a sip, and then slowly said, "Xiao He and the others went in ahead of time. We'll also set off earlier tomorrow."

Da Niu nodded, picked up the instant noodles in his hand and slurped up a big mouthful before finally putting the paper cup down with satisfaction.

"Mr. Lin, would you like a cup? I'll make it for you now." Da Niu noticed that Lin Fan was looking at him. He wiped the grease from his mouth and said with a simple smile.

"No need, you should get some rest." Lin Fan quickly waved his hand. He noticed that the trash can next to Da Niu was piled high with leftover instant noodle cups.

"Okay, Miss Su, you should get some rest too." With that, Da Niu stretched and went back to his room.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the aroma of rice porridge wafted from the guesthouse's kitchen.

Lin Fan got up at the smell of the aroma, quickly washed up, and slowly walked towards the restaurant.

When we entered the restaurant, we saw that Da Niu was already sitting at the table with a bowl of porridge and an empty plate in front of him, along with a dish of pickled vegetables. He was eating noisily.

When Lin Fan arrived, the proprietress quickly invited him to sit down and brought him the same breakfast, saying, "Your breakfast."

He had just picked up the spoon when footsteps came from the stairwell. Su Wanqing was wearing a black leather jacket, and her black stockings had been replaced with leather pants. It seemed that she couldn't stand the chill in the mountains either.

"Good morning." She pulled out a chair and sat down, saying to the proprietress, "One bowl of porridge and one egg will do."

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute."

Su Wanqing looked at the two people at the table, drinking porridge from their bowls, and asked, "Did you two sleep well last night?"

"Thank you for your concern, Miss Su. I slept quite well." Da Niu picked up the bowl of porridge and slurped it down in one gulp. He then called out to the proprietress, "Proprietress, another bowl, and a bigger one."

"Aside from being a little cold, it's fine." Lin Fan picked up the steamed bun in front of him and handed it over. "Have some!"

"No need!" Su Wanqing waved her hand and continued, "You've noticed it too, haven't you? It shouldn't be this cold this time of year. I was still a little cold yesterday even though I was wrapped in a blanket."

"It's always been like this here, especially on the fifteenth of each month, when it gets even colder. We're used to it."

"It would be nice to come here to escape the summer heat!" Lin Fan said with a smile.

"You know what, business here is actually quite brisk in the summer. A lot of tourists go to the 'Naihe Pond' in Puling to play. It's always cool there no matter when you go!"

"The Pool of Helplessness?" he repeated.

"Yes, Naihe Pond." The proprietress nodded. "It's not far from here, only a half-hour drive away."

"The Pool of Helplessness?" Upon hearing this name, Lin Fan put down his spoon and glanced at Su Wanqing: "Is the place we're going to the Pool of Helplessness?"

Su Wanqing took the egg handed to her by the proprietress, mashed the yolk into the porridge, and took a sip: "It does seem to be called Naihe Pool."

"What, where are you going? If you want to go, it's fine during the day, but remember, you must come down before sunset. That place... is not clean."

"Thanks for reminding me, boss lady!" Lin Fan said with a smile.

After breakfast, the group set off for that place.