The milk tea shop played loud Douyin hit songs, which weren't pleasant to the ear at all. Zhou Li couldn't understand why they wouldn't just play some light music.

But when he glanced at Yin Le, he seemed to have an epiphany—Indeed, some people actually enjoyed these songs.

Yin Le took a big gulp of milk tea, making a dull gulping noise as he swallowed. He smacked his lips and said, puzzled, "It's tasteless! What's so good about this stuff? Why are those girls so addicted to it!"

Zhou Li turned to look beside him.

Huai Xu ignored Yin Le's remarks. Four cups of milk tea were lined up in front of her, and she sipped each one in turn from left to right, like rain showering evenly on all plants.

Zhou Li paused. "Shall we talk business?"

Yin Le immediately put down his milk tea and got straight to the point. "If you knew, you would definitely want to release the Demon King."

Zhou Li was stunned.

Not just him; Huai Xu also froze for a moment, pausing for two seconds before continuing her round of favoritism among the milk teas.

That statement was loaded with too much information! It was too heavy!

Zhou Li involuntarily looked around.

Huai Xu, her head bowed, said, "It's safe."

Only then did Zhou Li feel at ease.

He was somewhat relieved that, half an hour earlier, Brother Nan had forcefully dragged Tuanzi back home at his request. In fact, if any demon other than Huai Xu and Master Ming had heard that phrase, it would have triggered a world-sweeping storm. This incident was far more serious than the assassination of the Middle Eastern General. One might try to analogize it: imagine if this were ancient times and a highly popular emperor was kidnapped by an enemy country. What would the consequences be? The demons would probably go insane. By then, the Hawk Faction of Yu Country wouldn't consist of just Lin Zhong; even someone as gentle as Hong Ran would go on a rampage.

Zhou Li and Yin Le locked eyes, both silent.

Clearly, Yin Le also understood the gravity of the situation. He too was inclined to free the Elm King; otherwise, he wouldn't have brought it up with Zhou Li.

The slurping sound of Huai Xu finishing a milk tea cup resonated nearby.

Zhou Li's mind was still in chaos. Such a significant matter shouldn't be known by a 'salted fish' like him. If he had known earlier, he definitely wouldn't have been curious. But now, all he could do was break the silence with a seemingly meaningless remark: "I never expected those rumors to be true—that the Demon King was really sealed."

"Yes."

Yin Le felt parched. Despite not liking milk tea, he took a sip. But after drinking, he felt even thirstier.

He wasn't in the mood to complain and started to explain the situation to Zhou Li.

Perhaps the information passed down in his family was scarce, or maybe parts of it were lost to history. He wasn't very clear on why the Demon King was sealed or the specific details of the process. All he knew was that the Central Dynasty had sealed the Demon King in an unknown location. However, his family was very familiar with the mechanisms of the Sealed Land, likely because they served as its final line of defense.

"The mechanism to seal the Demon King is complex," Yin Le began. "It's said to have many safeguards, with multiple sets of backup energy sources and arrays. These ensure a continuous energy supply, prevent the seal from decaying over time, and safeguard against any internal or external damage. I suspect it even has a self-destruct mechanism."

"But what if its energy eventually runs out and needs replenishing? Or what if a problem arises that requires fixing? Perhaps later generations might need to analyze current events and decide to open the Sealed Land to release the Demon King. Or maybe a future generation will gain the power to kill the Demon King and choose to do so. In any of those cases... we can unlock it."

"This is one of the keys to opening the Demon King's Tomb."

Yin Le took out the small object, placed it on the table, and slid it towards Zhou Li. "But opening the Demon King's Tomb is a very serious matter, so the emperor divided this key into six parts. Only by gathering all six parts can it be effective."

Zhou Li took the small object and examined it, frowning.

Huai Xu, looking completely bewildered, asked, "Was this emperor out of his mind? So many years have passed. What if you all forgot about this?"

Zhou Li listened quietly; this was his doubt too.

The bloodlines of the Six Imperial Families are difficult to extinguish. They were all great Heavenly Master clans of their time, with widely spread bloodlines. The emergence of a Heavenly Master is inherently mysterious, as are these six inheritable Heavenly Master families. The principles behind it are hard to fully grasp. But the fact remains: as long as the bloodlines of those original six families exist in this world, no matter how diluted, someone will eventually awaken as a Heavenly Master.

But so many years have passed... What if those bloodlines have become so diluted and estranged that people have forgotten their ancestors? What if some information was lost during transmission through generations? What if descendants dismiss it as a joke? What if a descendant turns out to be a 'salted fish'? There were too many uncertainties.

Yin Le nodded. "That's a valid point, but it's not impossible. Ancient emperors committed countless foolish acts. According to my research, the era when the Demon King was sealed wasn't under the rule of a wise sovereign."

He paused before adding, "And the doubts don't end there; there are many more. For example, during that time, humans and demons basically coexisted peacefully. In such an environment, was there really a necessity for humans to seal the Demon King? And it was the end of an era; not only were the demons weak, but humans were too. Did humanity really possess the strength to seal the Demon King?"

"You mean…" Zhou Li furrowed his brow. "It doesn't really make sense either."

"Who knows? It's all so long ago, and history itself is full of contradictions," Yin Le said. "Anyway, if the Sealed Land causes some extraordinary phenomenon, I'll go to the rumored gathering place."

"That place..."

"I've checked it out already." Yin Le smiled broadly. "Fortunately, it's still there."

"I see…"

After finishing their milk tea, they sat for a while longer. Zhou Li gave Yin Le Mr. Jiang's contact information, then they parted ways.

All the way home, Zhou Li was still weighed down with heavy thoughts. He felt that there was a real problem with this mechanism. Over the centuries, with massive changes like the Qing Army breaching the pass and two World Wars, how could the Six Imperial Families possibly have preserved themselves intact? Even if they all were preserved, accidents were highly probable. It was impossible for the descendants of each of the Six Families to awaken at the forefront of the era like Yin Le. For instance, if the Sealed Land had encountered a problem six months earlier, the Jiang Family, at least, would not have been able to step forward. Could it really have been an oversight by the ancient rulers?

Zhou Li returned home.

Brother Nan was sitting cross-legged on the sofa in a pair of shorts, watching an LoL tournament on TV. She held a bag of chips, occasionally popping one into her mouth. A tuft of hair on top of her head stuck up like an antenna pointing at the ceiling, and her long, snow-white, tender legs were quite eye-catching.

Zhou Li, carrying a cup of milk tea, looked around. "Where's Tuanzi?"

"In the trash can," Brother Nan gestured with her mouth toward the side.

"Why did you throw her in the trash can?" Zhou Li felt a pang of pity and quickly checked the trash can. "Lord Dumpling is not trash."

"I didn't throw her! She climbed in there herself, and I can't understand what she's saying," Brother Nan replied, somewhat displeased.

"...Got it."

Tuanzi was indeed in the trash can, her face hidden. She must have heard Zhou Li's voice and was hiding from him this way, perhaps thinking that if she couldn't see Zhou Li, there was less chance of him finding her.

Zhou Li reached out his hand. POKE. POKE.

Tuanzi turned her head, her eyes round and staring at him, pretending to have just noticed him. "Zhou Li, you're back!"

"Why did Lord Dumpling go into the trash can?"

"Lord Dumpling likes the trash can."

"..."

Zhou Li felt like slapping himself, but he was afraid of the pain. So he just picked up Tuanzi and said, "Lord Dumpling has become a little messy."

"Lord Dumpling is not!"

"Then you can't go into the trash can anymore."

"No!"

"..."

"You brought milk tea for Lord Dumpling!"

"I brought it for Nan... Right, but Lord Dumpling can't drink such a big cup," Zhou Li corrected himself quickly. "How about sharing just a little bit with Brother Nan? That way, Lord Dumpling would be a very generous Lord Dumpling."

"But she's mean to Lord Dumpling."

"That's the point! If Lord Dumpling doesn't hold grudges, it shows even greater generosity!" Zhou Li coaxed her.

"Hmm... okay..."

Brother Nan was glancing at them from the corner of her eyes.

Zhou Li took the milk tea and poured a small amount for Tuanzi. Then, he said he was giving the unwanted leftovers to Brother Nan, which made Brother Nan somewhat bemused. However, when Zhou Li handed the rest of the milk tea to her, she still accepted it.

Zhou Li frantically signaled Brother Nan with his eyes.

So Brother Nan also put on a reluctant expression, deliberately roughened her voice, and said, "Thanks! Thanks! Lord! Dumpling!"

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