Half-Day Leisure

The night was deep.

A gray mist permeated the air.

Above Hun City, a colossal silhouette vaguely appeared.

As the morning sun rose, the silhouette that had lingered all night descended, silently vanishing into Hun City.

Jiang Wang woke up very early today.

It was because Zhao Si was wailing mournfully.

"Why?!" Zhao Si burst into Jiang Wang's courtyard, his face filled with grief. "Things were always settled so quickly before. Why is it that after I slept for a night, I still don't have a beautiful wife and concubines, nor vast wealth? Everything is still the same!"

Jiang Wang, with sleepy eyes, looked at Zhao Si howling before his door and said, "As a person, it's better to be practical. Don't always daydream or have wild fantasies. If you don't have the destiny for it, just honestly paint your paintings. I don't even have a beautiful wife and concubines yet, what are you thinking about?"

The door to the adjacent room opened, and Xiaoyu walked out.

Zhao Si was heartbroken, thinking that he had always said one thing and meant another, always clamoring that he only cared about painting, and heaven actually took him seriously?

Even if he didn't have beautiful wives and concubines, what about the vast wealth?

What about fame in history?

What about his identity as a great painter?

Jiang Wang had originally wanted to sleep until he woke up naturally, but now Zhao Si had completely ruined his sleepiness. He took Xiaoyu and left the Marquis Mansion. He couldn't go anywhere else, but Qixia Street was fine to wander around, even though there wasn't much to see.

Old Xu's tailor shop had opened early.

It was located at the intersection of Qixia Street and Pinglan Street, but the shop still belonged to Qixia Street.

There was only one shop assistant in the tailor shop. It was said that Old Xu had gone out of the city on business and wouldn't be back for several days.

Jiang Wang sat by the entrance of the tailor shop, idly watching the pedestrians on Pinglan Street opposite.

Xiaoyu looked at Jiang Wang, then at the long sword in her hand, thinking that she would have to postpone her sword practice today.

Having truly stepped onto the path of a Martial Artist, with Qi flowing endlessly through her limbs, she could now imbue her every sword swing with the sound of tigers and leopards. However, she still couldn't find a way to make the Qi linger and temper her body.

She had asked Shan Qiyu for advice.

Shan Qiyu was quite shocked by this.

Because in the second realm of a Martial Artist, one could only initially perceive the existence of Qi. Then, one could attach Qi to the surface of the skin. Being able to directly circulate Qi through the limbs was something only a third-realm Martial Artist could achieve.

He felt that Xiaoyu was not just a martial arts prodigy, but a monstrous talent.

In the initial realm, she could already unleash strikes with power comparable to the third realm. After entering the second realm, she had already reached a stage that only third-realm Martial Artists could cultivate. What would her true combat strength be?

Shan Qiyu had no intention of fighting Xiaoyu. He was worried that if he lost, he would have no face to see anyone. He simply taught Xiaoyu how to guide Qi.

But strangely, although Xiaoyu followed every step correctly and Qi was indeed guided, it couldn't attach to her skin.

She guessed that the stream of energy the young master had infused into her might be extraordinary, repelling all the Qi between heaven and earth.

So, she focused on guiding the energy given by her young master. Although Xiaoyu was standing beside Jiang Wang at that moment, her mind had long since wandered, oblivious to her surroundings.

Jiang Wang stretched, casually loosening his stiff body. Compared to the quiet Qixia Street, Pinglan Street was far too lively.

The shop assistant from the tailor shop handed Jiang Wang a cup of tea and said, "The City God Festival is in two days. I wonder if the shopkeeper will be able to make it back."

Jiang Wang was slightly taken aback.

The City God was the greatest proof of the existence of immortals in worldly legends.

Compared to the ethereal immortals, the records about the City God were the most detailed.

It was said that six hundred years ago, when monsters first descended upon the human world, it was thanks to the protection of the City God that ordinary people did not suffer great calamities. That was a war solely for monsters and cultivators.

It began with Emperor Gaozu of Sui issuing a decree that a City God Festival would be held every autumn. It was the grandest temple fair in the Sui Kingdom, lasting for ten full days.

The City God temples in all regions would be grand and magnificent, worshipped throughout Sui.

But in the second war, the City God did not appear, and there were no immortals in the world. As it was only a hundred years ago, compared to the sparse records of the first war, this war saw widespread devastation.

During that period, the kingdom also experienced internal strife. The fall of elder cultivators led to many gaps in old information, and various ancient texts were destroyed. Although only the legend of the City God saving the world remained, the temple fair had become a tradition.

The City God Temple in Hun City was built outside the city. Jiang Wang did not know the specific reason.

In previous years, he had never experienced the City God Festival due to illness, and this time it was clearly difficult for him to participate.

Looking at the busy commoners on Pinglan Street, Jiang Wang noticed a little girl standing in front of a steamed bun stall. Her head barely reached above the four-tiered steamer basket made of bamboo and wood, stacked on top of each other on a stool.

Judging by her height, she looked to be around the age of a hairpin.

The little girl stood on tiptoe, picked up two steamed buns, and stuffed them directly into her mouth, her eyes curving into crescents with a smile.

The owner of the steamed bun stall smiled and held out his hand, saying, "Three coins."

The little girl froze for a moment, then began searching herself. She directly pulled out a large scythe and placed it in front of the owner, scaring him pale.

He thought he had encountered someone who wouldn't pay for the buns, but soon the little girl handed over three taels of silver. She completely ignored the owner and began devouring the steamed buns in the steamer basket.

She finished all four tiers of steamed buns in no time at all.

With a large scythe in one hand and the remaining two buns in the other, she mumbled something to the owner with her mouth full and ran off with a smile.

Jiang Wang watched the scene with great astonishment.

The sickle in the little girl's hand wasn't the kind used for farming. It was larger and looked sharper. What surprised Jiang Wang even more was where she had pulled it from.

He recalled Miss Shu once conjuring a spear out of thin air. Could this be a Cultivator's Spiritual Power?

Was this little girl before him also a Cultivator?

He stared blankly as the little girl, who had just devoured four large baskets of steamed buns, turned and ran back into the eatery. In no time, she emerged chewing on a chicken leg, strolling casually towards the pastry shop.

She really can eat a lot.

Jiang Wang marveled inwardly.

As if discovering something incredibly interesting, he sat down by the tailor shop's entrance, his gaze fixed on the little girl, watching with great amusement.

But the little girl soon noticed his attention.

She stood in front of the pastry shop, cradling several boxes of pastries, her cheeks puffed out, pastry crumbs all over her face. She looked at Jiang Wang with a very wary expression.

The little girl wasn't captivated by Jiang Wang's handsome face. After a slight pause, she put on a fierce look, protectively hiding the pastry boxes behind her and hurrying out of Pinglan Street with great urgency.

Jiang Wang's lips unconsciously curved into a smile.

Looking at the lively scene on Pinglan Street again, he felt a sense of boredom. He called out to Xiaoyu and waved goodbye to the tailor shop's assistant before returning to the Marquis Mansion.

Unexpectedly, he saw Master Tao standing in front of the Marquis Mansion.

Perhaps he had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing Jiang Wang, Master Tao quickly pulled him aside.

"Something strange happened last night."

Master Tao lowered his voice. "The Wangliang in the bronze mirror was unusually quiet. No matter what I did, it wouldn't react. But just after midnight, the Wangliang seemed to be startled by something, and the bronze mirror directly cracked. I found an old artifact to temporarily store it, but it still appeared very frightened until dawn, when it finally returned to normal."

Jiang Wang asked suspiciously, "Did you do something strange?"

Master Tao said indignantly, "How can Young Marquis think of me like that? My task of hiding the Yao is a serious matter!"

Well, 'hiding a beauty in a golden house' and 'hiding a Yao in a golden house' are only one character apart.

"I suspect there's a great Yao lurking in Hun City, or perhaps a powerful Cultivator has arrived. The Wangliang is inherently low-level and timid, so it's normal for it to be frightened."

Master Tao continued in a low voice, "But I heard that the Yao Ao Yin once appeared on Pinglan Street in Hun City, and the Wangliang didn't seem this terrified. This shows that the great Yao or great Cultivator from last night was extraordinarily terrifying."

Jiang Wang's expression turned serious.

Ao Yin, the Yao, was dealt with by me. I won't mention that.

But Ao Yin's words before death resurfaced in his mind. Could it be that some great Yao had indeed come to Hun City?

"I will investigate this matter."

Jiang Wang felt both anticipation and a hint of dread.

What kind of Yao would be more powerful than Ao Yin?

He didn't even consider the possibility of a great Cultivator. Yao understand the terror of Yao better; only powerful Yao would frighten weaker ones.

After bidding farewell to Master Tao, Jiang Wang returned to the Marquis Mansion. Xiaoyu went off to practice her sword on her own.

He, however, continued to lounge in the rattan chair.

The exotic flowers and plants in the courtyard showed signs of wilting. Under normal circumstances, these plants would have already withered by this season, but since the old housekeeper managed them, it was unclear what methods he used.

He noticed a bird perched on the banyan tree by the wall.

After a brief glance, it looked like a crow, but much more beautiful. He assumed it was some unknown species. He didn't get up to drive it away, instead pondering how to find the Yao that might be appearing in Hun City.

If he had the power of a 'Mirage,' he could easily sense it. But now, he was blind, unable to even feel the Qi in the world.

Extremely powerful, yet extremely useless.

He wondered if Master Tao, who could capture Wangliang, had a method for finding Yao.

But Master Tao hadn't mentioned anything about it earlier, so he likely had no such method.

In fact, Master Tao assumed that the Young Marquis was so powerful that he wouldn't need his help, so why bother? Due to the Wangliang incident, he had already decided to stay home and not go out. How could he possibly help find Yao?

However, Jiang Wang thought seriously and found a potential lead.

He thought of Miss Shu.

True Cultivators naturally possessed the means to locate the aura of Yao.

Without the slightest hesitation, he assigned Zhao Si the task of finding Miss Shu.

Although Zhao Si was very reluctant.

Standing at the intersection of Qixia Street, Zhao Si lamented, "Is this truly my fate?"

He began to dawdle, inquiring about Miss Shu's whereabouts throughout Hun City.

It wasn't until dusk that he found her at the 'Half-Day Leisure' inn.

He slumped down dejectedly and said, "My young master has urgent matters to discuss with you, Miss. Please come to the mansion for a conversation."

Miss Shu's first reaction was extreme caution. Although she doubted Jiang Wang was a Yao, it was already dark, and he wanted to invite her to his mansion. What was his intention?!