Luoshi City

The entire hall fell silent at once. Those who had just tried to persuade Zhou Yi now wore expressions of utter shame, and could only turn their heads away sulkily, no longer paying attention to this side.

Clap~ clap~ clap~

The sound of applause came from above. Zhou Yi looked toward the second-floor stairs, where a middle-aged man in purple brocade robes was clapping unhurriedly as he descended step by step. Two guards followed behind him. Zhou Yi sensed them out and found that both guards were actually in the Vitality Realm.

It seemed this man was either rich or noble, Zhou Yi thought to himself.

The middle-aged man waved a hand and said to the person beside him, "Someone, give up one of our rooms for this young hero."

The person beside him immediately took out a key and handed it to Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi shook his head and said to the middle-aged man, "Thank you for your kindness, but I cannot accept a reward without merit."

Seeing Zhou Yi refuse his goodwill, the middle-aged man did not get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "How about this? Consider this key something I'm selling to you."

Zhou Yi glanced at them and sensed no malice from them. Then he looked around the hall. Everyone whose eyes met his quickly looked away. Zhou Yi also found it somewhat uncomfortable to remain in the hall, so he turned to the middle-aged man and said, "Fine. I'll owe you a favor."

The middle-aged man beamed and said to Zhou Yi, "No need, no need. Seeing that you have reached the Vitality Realm at such a young age, I felt like making your acquaintance. I am Guan Tong, the chief steward of the Ning Family in Luoshi City. May I know your name?"

Zhou Yi answered Steward Guan with an indifferent expression, "Zhou Yi."

Seeing no change in Zhou Yi's expression, Steward Guan did not know whether Zhou Yi had never heard of the Ning Family of Luoshi City, or whether Zhou Yi himself had some immense backing. Steward Guan leaned more toward the latter. After all, he did not believe a youth of this age could possess such strength without some force supporting him from behind.

Whichever it was, he only needed to leave a good impression. But this time, Steward Guan had guessed wrong. Zhou Yi's expression had remained calm because he had never even heard of the Ning Family.

Steward Guan took the key from the guard beside him and personally handed it to Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi accepted the key, then took out a pouch of money and placed it in Steward Guan's hand.

After accepting the money, Steward Guan stepped aside. Zhou Yi nodded to him, then went up to the second floor. Matching the room number on the key, he found the room. After entering and closing the door, Zhou Yi began setting up the Three Talents Formation inside.

After watching Zhou Yi enter the room, Steward Guan returned to his own room with the two guards.

Only after Zhou Yi and Steward Wu had entered their rooms did the people downstairs begin speaking quietly among themselves.

"I never expected we would run into people from the Ning Family!"

"Those three brutes are done for. They kicked an iron plate this time, didn't they?" someone mocked the three men on the ground, but the person beside him quickly pulled him back.

"Be careful. If those brutes wake up and hear what you said, we'll be in for a hard time. We're not that young man—we can't afford to provoke Vitality Realm martial artists."

After hearing the warning, the man who had mocked them fell silent and sulkily turned his head back.

Then they began discussing the youth's strength. Some said he was a descendant of one of Luoshi City's great families, while others said he belonged to the authorities. Every one of them spoke with absolute conviction, as though they truly knew Zhou Yi's identity. Those with differing opinions even argued until their faces turned red.

The sun finally set, and the last trace of light disappeared from the relay station. The people who had just been arguing fervently all shut their mouths, not daring to make the slightest sound. It was as if someone had pressed the mute button on the entire relay station, and everyone carefully began preparing to rest.

Even when walking through the hall, they moved lightly and quietly, afraid that the slightest sound would draw some unknown horror.

By then, Zhou Yi had already finished setting up the Three Talents Formation in his room. Watching the sun disappear beyond the window, he gently shut it. Only after checking the formation one final time did Zhou Yi lie down on the bed in peace and fall asleep.

Early the next morning, Zhou Yi rose before dawn. According to his calculations, after riding for one more day, he would be able to reach Black Stone City.

When he walked out of his room, the door beside his also opened. The person who emerged was none other than Steward Wu from the previous night. The two looked at each other. Zhou Yi nodded to Steward Wu and continued downstairs, but Steward Wu suddenly called out to stop him.

"Young man, are you heading to Luoshi City?"

Zhou Yi turned around and answered Steward Wu, "Yes. Is there something?"

Steward Wu smiled from above and said to Zhou Yi, "I see that you are traveling alone, young hero. That must be quite inconvenient. Why not travel together? We can look after each other as well."

Zhou Yi waved a hand. "Sorry, I'm used to traveling alone."

A helpless smile appeared on Steward Wu's face. He cupped his fists toward Zhou Yi and said, "Very well, then. I wish you a smooth journey, young hero."

Zhou Yi turned around and returned the salute, then continued down the stairs.

Leaving the relay station, Zhou Yi took the reins handed over by the attendant, swung onto his horse, and galloped down the official road.

It did not snow that day. Sunlight shone upon Zhou Yi, bringing a wave of warmth.

As he drew closer to Luoshi City, more and more people appeared on the official road. Before the sun had set, Zhou Yi caught sight of Luoshi City's outline. As a new-era youth who had transmigrated from the twenty-first century, Zhou Yi had always felt rather unimpressed by the architecture of this world.

But when the entirety of Luoshi City appeared before his eyes, he looked at its towering walls and could not imagine what kind of manpower and resources it must have taken to construct such a magnificent structure in this world.

Looking at the buildings before him, which did not pale in comparison to those of his previous world, an indescribable feeling welled up in Zhou Yi's heart.

Leading his horse, Zhou Yi arrived beneath Luoshi City and looked up. Even with his eyesight, he could not see the top of the city walls.

"One tael of silver for entry!"

The soldier guarding the city gate spoke to Zhou Yi and stretched out his right hand. Zhou Yi took out one tael of silver and gave it to the guard before entering Luoshi City.

Zhou Yi was not in a hurry to visit the Provincial Governor's Office and seek out his master's old friend. He planned to first make an offering to his temple of five viscera. After traveling for so many days, he had been eating nothing but the dry rations he carried with him, and his mouth had practically faded enough to grow birds.

Walking straight along a road, Zhou Yi looked at the rows upon rows of houses lining both sides and could not help thinking of some ancient towns from his previous life. Most of the buildings were made of brick and stone, their outer walls painted white with some unknown coating.

The streets on both sides were packed with stalls selling all sorts of trinkets, food, and toys.

Scattered groups of people gathered around the stalls, and the sounds of bargaining never ceased. Since the streets were wide enough, even two carriages traveling in opposite directions did not need to give way to each other.

The pedestrians nearby did not feel crowded either. Looking at the bustling scene before him, Zhou Yi almost forgot that this was a world filled with horrors, and instead felt as though he had transmigrated into an ordinary ancient world.

With a sigh, Zhou Yi would not forget the dangers of the world he lived in merely because of the lively mortal atmosphere before his eyes.

Shaking his head, Zhou Yi led his horse onward. Before long, he spotted a three-story restaurant standing by the street, and immediately led his horse toward it.

"Yingfeng Restaurant."

Zhou Yi looked at the restaurant's signboard. The waiter beside it noticed Zhou Yi's arrival and hurried over. Once he drew close, the waiter asked, "Customer, are you here to eat?"

"Yes." Zhou Yi spoke as he handed the reins in his hand to the waiter.

The waiter quickly took the reins and called over a groom, who tied Zhou Yi's horse beside the inn.

"Customer, don't worry. Your horse won't be lost."

Seeing Zhou Yi look toward his horse, the waiter thought Zhou Yi was worried about it being stolen and turned to reassure him.

"It's fine. Let's go." Zhou Yi said to the waiter. He had only looked over because he had spotted Steward Wu again. Steward Wu was currently talking with someone and had not noticed Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi did not go over to greet him. After looking twice, he entered the restaurant.

After entering the restaurant, the waiter began enthusiastically recommending all sorts of dishes by Zhou Yi's ear. Listening to his sales pitch only made Zhou Yi's hunger more unbearable. After sitting by a window on the third floor, Zhou Yi turned to the waiter and said,

"Bring me one of every dish you just named."

The waiter was somewhat stunned by Zhou Yi's appetite and asked, "Customer, can you finish all that?"

"Just bring it up. I won't short you on silver." As Zhou Yi spoke, he took a pouch of silver from his pocket and placed it on the table.

The waiter was not worried that Zhou Yi would skip out on the bill. After all, Luoshi City's authorities were no pushovers. He was merely worried about whether Zhou Yi could finish the food. After receiving Zhou Yi's certain answer, he did not try to persuade him further and instead turned to head downstairs toward the kitchen.

Zhou Yi waited a little while before the waiter from earlier came up carrying dishes. Plate after plate was stacked onto Zhou Yi's table, and before long, the entire table was filled.

Just as the waiter finished serving the dishes and was about to leave, Zhou Yi called him back.

"Bring a pot of wine."

"Customer, which kind would you like? We have Huadiao wine, yellow wine..."

"Enough. Huadiao will do."

The waiter answered, then brought Zhou Yi a pot of wine. After tasting it, Zhou Yi found that its alcohol content was not high, so he drank it like tea.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhou Yi rubbed his stomach and looked out the window. Though he was only on the third floor, he could still see many towering buildings, and could not help sighing at how ingenious the people of this world truly were.

With some pain in his heart, Zhou Yi paid the bill. Looking at the sky, he realized that night had fallen. Luoshi City's treasured image began to give off light; unlike Green Bamboo Village's, the glow radiating from Luoshi City's treasured image was pale cyan.