Mu Yuejuan was silent for a moment, then smiled sweetly: "I’d like to take on this deal myself. You wouldn’t compete with me for it, would you?"

Zhang Gunli unfolded the scroll again and took a look: "Just judging by this painting alone, the quality is rather lacking."

Mu Yuejuan lit a cigarette, took a puff, and as the smoke swirled in her hand, it transformed into a paintbrush: "Name your price. Once we’ve settled things here, you cannot interfere with the business in Greenwater City, nor can you sell He Jiaqing’s information to others."

...

The phonograph made some improvements to the Greenwater Beggar’s begging bowl and handed it to Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng stared at the bowl for a long time.

The bowl was still filthy, stained and speckled, hard to discern if it was mud or grease, with a spoon lying flat at the bottom.

Li Banfeng looked at the direction of the spoon handle and asked his wife, "This should be a compass, right?"

The phonograph praised, "Husband, you have keen eyes. This indeed looks like a Sinan, but it points not to the south but to the entrance of the Unnameable Place."

Li Banfeng turned the bowl, and the spoon inside turned with it: "Wife, how do we use it to guide us?"

"Naturally, it won’t guide you here. Only within a hundred feet of the entrance will it respond. Once you find the entrance, the spoon will rotate around, and then husband, you push the spoon handle to continue the motion, first slowly, then faster, until you reach the right speed, and you’ll enter the Unnameable Place."

Having explained thoroughly, his wife handed the bowl to Li Banfeng, who then prepared to head to Longmen Road. But he realized, as a common person holding a begging bowl wandering the streets, he would easily arouse suspicion.

The Clock Pendulum was sensible and brought out the paintbrush: "Master, let me disguise you a bit."

With a few strokes, Li Banfeng’s face was full of dirt, bearing the air of a beggar.

His wife exhaled a cloud of steam, which circled around Li Banfeng’s head, making his hair sticky and disheveled, and when dust was scattered on top, a dreadlock hairstyle was formed.

"Husband, now fetch a set of tattered clothes and let the Little Servant fix you up. With this disguise, you won’t arouse suspicion when you go out."

Li Banfeng looked at himself in the mirror, then retrieved the projector: "If we’re acting, let’s do it thoroughly. Since I’m pretending to be a beggar, I might as well be a Green Flower!"

The projector cast the image of the Greenwater Beggar onto the wall. After a moment’s consideration, his wife said, "This is quite tricky. The Green Flower’s face is too long; we’ll need to extend your husband’s face and make the pustules more detailed."

The phonograph and the Clock Pendulum worked for over an hour before allowing Li Banfeng to leave.

Li Banfeng, carrying the bowl, walked straight to Longmen Road, where the spoon inside began to move.

The spoon handle pointed to the east, and Li Banfeng walked eastward along the edge of the road. The handle quivered back and forth, the direction somewhat unstable.

As Li Banfeng carefully observed the trend of the spoon handle, a surge of malevolence suddenly approached.

Looking up, Li Banfeng saw an acquaintance.

He Jiaqing was standing under a streetlamp, rubbing the pole with his right hand.

He had spent the entire day searching and finally found the entrance to the Unnameable Place, but opening it wasn’t so easy. He had been trying for an hour with no progress.

Now, the two unexpectedly met, and He Jiaqing was shocked, while Li Banfeng felt a bit tense.

What’s going on?

How did I run into him?

Is he also here to visit the Green Flower’s house?

Should I greet him or fight him?

Li Banfeng mustered a slight smile, shaking the bowl in his hand, silently looking at He Jiaqing.

He Jiaqing saw the face full of pustules of the Green Flower and shook the bowl at him.

In about a second, their eyes met.

The next second, He Jiaqing sprinted away, vanishing without a trace.

He Jiaqing ran straight to Peace Mansion, entered his chamber, stripped off his clothes, and began examining his body, afraid of catching a rash or developing pustules.

Li Banfeng was stunned for a moment; he didn’t expect He Jiaqing to run so fast.

Could he have been up to something unsavory just now?

Li Banfeng walked over to the streetlamp and observed for a while, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Something seemed to stir inside the bowl. Li Banfeng glanced down at it, watching as the spoon slowly rotated in a circle.

Have I found the entrance to the Unnameable Place? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Was it so straightforward?

Li Banfeng spun the spoon, first slowly, then faster, reaching over five hundred revolutions per minute, but still felt no change.

However, the earrings sensed the change: "Master, the surrounding noise has diminished."

Li Banfeng looked around; there were many pedestrians on Longmen Road — walking, riding, chatting, talking as they walked.

Previously, they had been on this road, but now they seemed to be much further away.

Li Banfeng tapped the projector: "Shine a light."

The projector asked, "Where do you want it projected?"

Li Banfeng pointed to a man at the roadside who was hailing a rickshaw.

The projector shone a beam onto the man, but no light spot appeared on him.

Li Banfeng moved closer, waving his hand in front of the man’s face.

The man had no reaction.

Li Banfeng directly reached out and touched the man, and his hand passed through the man’s body.

This was a different dimension.

Li Banfeng had walked countless times in Greenwater City and was very familiar with Longmen Road, with Peace Mansion across from him, Muyuan Teahouse behind him, Tongde Pharmacy to the left, and Rongfa Cloth Shop to the right — he knew these buildings well, even the number of lampposts by the roadside.