Bai Zixi directly said, "You're not allowed to go."
Mo Hua muttered softly, "I didn't say I was going to..."
Bai Zisheng frowned, "But if we don't go, how will we investigate that grey-clothed cultivator?"
"That's true..."
Mo Hua looked at Bai Zixi, and Bai Zisheng also looked at her.
The autumn-water-like shine in Bai Zixi's eyes flickered, "It's fine to go, but I must go with you."
Bai Zisheng quickly shook his head.
Mo Hua also said, "Junior Sister, it's not appropriate for you to go."
Bai Zixi said, "If you can go, I can go too. We'll just be invisible when we enter."
"This..."
Mo Hua hesitated, about to say something, but caught by Bai Zixi's crystal-clear gaze, she could only sigh.
"Alright..."
So, it came to pass that night, at 22 p.m.
As night fell and lanterns were hung, the bustling noise of carriages and horses filled Jinhua Street at its most lively.
Wrapped in cloaks, the three of them climbed to the opposite side of Hundred Flower Tower.
Hundred Flower Tower was a brothel, also the place confessed by Wang Lai, where, after hiding the body of the killed person, a rendezvous with the grey-clothed cultivator took place.
The Hundred Flower Tower was extravagantly decorated.
Flower clusters bloomed brightly at its entrance, yet no one solicited customers outside.
But those who came to this place knew exactly why they were there.
Bai Zisheng quietly asked Mo Hua, "How are we going to get in?"
Mo Hua released her Divine Sense, probed for a while, and frowned, "A brothel has actually set up an Expose Dust Formation..."
"Expose Shadow Formation?" Bai Zisheng was slightly taken aback.
"Expose Dust Formation," Mo Hua corrected.
Bai Zisheng puzzled, "Is there a difference?"
"The principle behind the formation is different."
Bai Zisheng was somewhat bewildered.
Mo Hua then explained, "The Expose Shadow Formation reveals the true form of objects, rendering any Concealment Formation and Concealment Techniques within its range ineffective."
"The Expose Shadow Formation is more effective, but it's an upper-level nine-pattern formation from the first series. It requires high Divine Sense, is difficult to learn, uses peculiar ink, and is also very costly to set up."
"The Expose Dust Formation is an Earth Series formation, a seven-pattern from the first series, easy to set up, and relatively low-cost."
"Unlike the Expose Shadow Formation, the Expose Dust Formation does not render concealment ineffective. Instead, it creates fine dust particles within the formation which adhere to any cultivator passing through it, thereby revealing their tracks."
"The Expose Shadow Formation negates concealment at a fundamental level;"
"Whereas the Expose Dust Formation indirectly reveals the form of a cultivator through an external substance."
Bai Zisheng appeared taken aback, "You've researched this so thoroughly?"
"Mhm." Mo Hua nodded proudly, "The way of formations is vast and profound; naturally, one must study it in detail."
Bai Zisheng opened his mouth, then asked, "But isn't it bad for the brothel welcoming guests to let guests be covered in dust by the Expose Dust Formation?"
"Hmm..." Mo Hua observed the formation carefully again and said,
"This dust is a kind of cheap fragrance. Ordinary cultivators who do not understand formations would only think they have been dusted with rouge and powder, unaware that it's the effect of a formation."
"Moreover, the Expose Dust Formation's potency is limited. This dust only lasts the length of a cup of tea before it gradually fades away..."
"The duration of a cup of tea..." Bai Zisheng furrowed his brows, "So it's meant to prevent someone from invisibly entering the brothel to peek?"
"It seems so..." Mo Hua then seemed puzzled, "Who would bother peeking in a brothel for no reason..."
Bai Zisheng glanced at Mo Hua, Bai Zixi, and then down at himself, saying weakly,
"Aren't the three of us trying to sneak in to peek, though..."
Mo Hua was stunned for a moment, furrowing her brows in thought, then said earnestly,
"We're looking for clues; it's legitimate business, not just peeking."
Bai Zisheng nodded, "That makes sense!"
Bai Zixi watched the two of them, her gaze tinged with helplessness.
"Since there's an Expose Dust Formation, how are we going to get in?"
Bai Zisheng asked again.
Mo Hua was also a bit stumped, "I could solve the formation, but to do it without attracting attention, that's a bit more difficult..."
"So what now, should we go back first?"