Everyone had secrets.

Whether they were ordinary folk or big shots, they were all the same. However, what differed was… the value of their secrets.

…

Gu Shen stood quietly in Madam’s dream.

There was nothing here—no pain, no joy, no fantasies, no memories. There was only a long, deep corridor and a series of iron doors.

Gu Shen suddenly understood why Lu Nanzhi could let her guard down and remove her earrings without hesitation… Because even if he entered her dream, he wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Every door was locked.

The secrets of big shots were always locked away.

The thin line that had drilled deep into the dream tried to crash into an iron door, but it was ruthlessly bounced back. It tried several times, but it was futile. When it drilled into Madam’s dream, it didn’t expect it to be a dead end.

Madam’s dream is as solid as a rock. Gu Shen didn’t know what this method was, but he was certain that with these ‘mental locks’ in place, no one could hypnotize Lu Nanzhi and extract information from her dream.

“This is the end.”

He slowly walked deeper into the corridor. The thin line had nowhere to go and fled desperately to the very end.

The last iron door in Madam’s dream was different from the others. This door seemed to be unlocked, but it was blood-red, and even the surrounding walls were dyed red.

Something strange happened.

After fleeing here, the thin line suddenly stopped. It was evident that this residual mental imprint was struggling. The only escape route was to jump through the blood-red door, but it was frantically resisting moving forward… It would rather be caught up by Gu Shen than touch the blood-red door.

Thus, Gu Shen… easily caught it.

The Blazing Fire instantly rushed out, not giving the line any chance to maneuver.

Swish.

In an instant, the thin line was utterly incinerated!

Gu Shen heaved a sigh of relief. He completed the mission successfully… However, he didn’t immediately withdraw his mental power. Instead, he frowned and carefully observed Lu Nanzhi’s dream.

He had no intention of prying.

In fact, there was nothing to pry into.

But the blood-red door in front of him made him curious. He felt puzzled. The thin line had fled so desperately and had already escaped to this place. Was there anything more terrifying than being burned by him?

Why was it so afraid?

Standing close, Gu Shen observed the door carefully. There seemed to be ancient characters floating on the blood-red surface of this iron door. He didn’t know what era these characters were from, and he couldn’t decipher the meaning, but he vaguely felt attracted to them.

Should I… touch it? This thought surfaced in Gu Shen’s mind. No!

The thought shocked Gu Shen. By the time he regained his senses, his hand was already halfway in the air. He quickly took two steps back and distanced himself from the blood-red door covered in ancient characters…

What’s going on?

This gate… is a bit eerie.

Gu Shen looked at the red door with some apprehension and suppressed the urge to touch it.

Fortunately, his willpower was strong enough. He had almost been tempted. Had he really touched, who knew what would happen.

He quickly dissipated his mental power.

…

Song Ci quietly stood guard at the door.

He stared at the clock on the wall. Every second felt like a year.

Perhaps because they had just met, his impression of Gu Shen was still stuck at the two of them running like ostriches with their heads down through Old Town.

However, this impression was really unreliable… Song Ci had put in a lot of effort, but he still couldn’t reconcile the Gu Shen he knew with the genius youth that Cui Zhongcheng had described.

This kid won’t screw up, will he?

Nothing must happen to Madam!

He waited and waited and waited anxiously…

Finally, there was a creak.

The door opened.

Song Ci looked at Gu Shen’s calm face and held his breath, not daring to breathe loudly.

“It’s been resolved.” Gu Shen looked at Crow’s hesitant expression and smiled. “What’s wrong? Don’t you believe me?

“Madam is sleeping inside… See for yourself.”

Something that even a mental-type transcendent at the Tenth Level of Deep Sea couldn’t do, this kid did it?

With a face full of doubts, Song C poked his head through the gap of the door and looked inside carefully. After seeing Madam’s peaceful sleeping profile, he let out a sigh of relief.

Crow closed the door gently. He dragged Gu Shen downstairs, lit a cigarette, and offered it to him respectfully.

Gu Shen laughed and shook his head.

Of course, Crow was just putting on an act. Full of complicated emotions, he took a deep breath and exhaled. Finally, he said, “Kid… not bad.”

He didn’t know whether he should admire Gu Shen or Cui Zhongcheng.

In any case, this kid did have some skills.

He was indeed a genius.

Gu Shen didn’t take credit and said calmly, “It’s not that I’m impressive. It’s just that my essence is special. It’s also fortunate that Madam found the right person.”

Removing the mental imprint this time, Gu Shen felt the specialness of his Blazing Fire.

It gave incomparably exquisite perception.

The thin line could hide even from the mental-type transcendent at the Tenth Level of Deep Sea, but it couldn’t hide from him!

He was now very confident that he could pass the first level of the Transcendent Trials in Deep Sea.

…

“About what happened at noon, sorry.”

Crow leaned against the wall of the alley with one hand in his pocket, his angular face shrouded in smoke. His tone was subdued. “I owe you a meal… and a favor. I mean it this time.”

“What does treating Madam have to do with you? You don’t owe me anything for this.” Gu Shen shrugged. “The Dream Whisperer is here to treat illnesses… Even if it wasn’t Madam who came today, I would still treat them. Besides, she paid.”

Crow narrowed his eyes in surprise.

“But you still owe me a meal.” Gu Shen chuckled. “Isn’t it too immoral to run away halfway through a meal? I heard later that the name Crow is notorious in Old Town.”

Song Ci looked a little embarrassed.

“I promise I won’t do it next time!” He patted his chest and promised solemnly. “You’re now acquainted with the Sincere Society’s Crow. My reputation in the underworld is well-known and worth its weight in gold! I owe you a meal, and I’ll pay you back ten times, a hundred times!”

“Okay, okay…” Gu Shen waved his hand, smiling. “You’re making it sound like I saved your life.”

Song Ci didn’t look like he was joking at all. He said sincerely, “Madam means a lot to me… Saving her is even more important than saving me.”

“…” Gu Shen sighed and shook his head. “There’s another important matter I think I should tell you.”

Song Ci narrowed his eyes.

“A mental imprint was planted between Madam’s eyebrows,” Gu Shen said straightforwardly. “You should pay more attention to who approaches her… The only chance to plant this mental imprint is when she removes her earrings.”

“The only chance to plant this mental imprint is when she removes her earrings…” Crow frowned coldly. “Who else could do that?”

Almost instantly, a person appeared in his mind.

Zhao Qi.

This nominal ‘heir’ of the Zhao family was nothing but a useless wastrel who indulged in feasting and revelry all day long, squandering the family fortune. But this heir, who was ridiculed by many in Dadu, was lucky enough to marry the woman who was almost perfect in everyone’s eyes—Lu Nanzhi. While some people in Dadu teased that this was a case of a beauty marrying wealth, Crow knew better. Madam possessed more than just beauty.

As for a certain MP Zhao, whose days were numbered, even the most precious Salvation Relics could only help him hang on to his last breath… The vast Zhao empire was like a setting sun, and everyone could foresee its eventual decline. But for now, half of the reason it could still hold was because of Mr. Cui, who fancied himself as the ‘keeper of the mountain of gold’.

The other half relied on Lu Nanzhi, whom outsiders said had ‘climbed onto the Zhao family’.

This woman had not just flawless looks but cool intellect, iron-blooded skills, and courage surpassing most… In Crow’s heart, this benefactor who had pulled him out of the quagmire of fate was an existence that could not be profaned.

If he didn’t know that their marriage was only a nominal marriage and a show for the public, he might have put a bullet through Zhao Qi during the wedding.

After the marriage, Lu Nanzhi and Zhao Qi, apart from appearing together in public, hardly ever saw each other. The two of them lived in two completely different worlds. One drowned himself in debauchery day and night, while the other walked on thin ice and waded through thorns and mud, surrounded by wolves.

But if he wanted to find someone who had the opportunity to plant a mental imprint on Madam when she took off her earrings, the person with the greatest chance was Zhao Qi.

Knowing that Madam’s sleeplessness was due to ‘someone around her’… Veins bulged on Crow’s forehead, but when he recalled Madam’s instructions on the rooftop, the bulging veins relaxed.

He clenched his fists silently and asked in a low voice, “Do you know who it is?”

“I don’t know.” Gu Shen shook his head calmly. “From that mental imprint, I couldn’t see any other information. I’m just reminding you as a friend. This time, it was just a test. It’s hard to say what will happen next time.”

“I understand… I’ll pay attention.” Song Ci sighed softly.

After all, it was just suspicion without evidence.

Acting rashly would only bring trouble to Madam.

However, with Madam’s wisdom, she likely already had a suspect in mind. Suddenly, he paused as Gu Shen’s words echoed in his mind.

In that sentence just now, one word struck him.

Friend.

Perhaps it was just a casual remark by Gu Shen, but this unfamiliar word… made Crow feel as though he were in another world.

“Hey…” The man’s face was shrouded in smoke. Song Ci, Song Yingji, Crow threw away his cigarette butt, stepped on it, and said softly, “Since we’re friends, just tell me if you need any help in the future.”

When the young man heard these words, the figure walking deeper into the alley waved his hand and curled his thumb and index finger into a circle.