After All, She Was Someone Else's Wife; He Couldn't Make Her Stay Too Late

Lin Heng followed the attendant inside.

The moment he stepped in, his gaze swept around the room.

The room was very spacious. The walls were all built from blue bricks, and a desk had been placed in the center. Beside it sat a thin-faced Middle-aged Man.

Opposite him was another man dressed in black fitted martial attire. He was burly, with rugged features, a giant axe hanging on his back, and a ferocious tiger head tattooed on his right arm.

Beside him stood a hunched old man.

Several bamboo slips had been placed by each of the three men's hands, as though they were discussing something.

Seeing Lin Heng approach, the thin Middle-aged Man stood up and smiled. "Are you here to sell something to our Moonview Tower?"

"Mm." Lin Heng nodded, then took the bronze armor out of System Space and placed it before the three of them.

"A set of Seventh-Order Armor. Take a look."

"Seventh order!?"

The thin Middle-aged Man's pupils shrank abruptly, and he hurriedly picked up the armor to inspect it.

The burly man and the hunched old man beside him also leaned in.

A moment later, the three looked at one another.

"Seventh-Order Armor, high grade! For you to possess such a thing, you are clearly no ordinary person. Forgive my boldness, but why are you willing to part with it?"

"With Seventh-Order Armor protecting the body, even Golden Core Realm cultivators would find it difficult to shatter. It could hardly be better for self-defense."

The shopkeeper asked in puzzlement.

"Heh! Shopkeeper, you're muddleheaded too!" The burly man beside him took over and continued, "The armor's overall outline was specially forged. This armor was definitely not tailor-made for him. Even if he wore it, it would be quite inconvenient."

"Indeed. This item should not belong to this young friend."

The old man echoed him as well.

"It really isn't mine. You're quite right. I can't use it myself, and if I keep it, it'll only gather dust. I might as well sell it for money."

"How much do you wish to sell it for?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Seven thousand Spirit Stones," Lin Heng replied.

"You won't lose out at seven thousand Spirit Stones. This is a seventh-order magical artifact... For many cultivators, it is a flower added upon brocade. You can easily use Treasure Pavilion's upcoming Auction to auction it off."

"There's no need to question its origins. I know its value is far more than seven thousand. I just want to get rid of this thing quickly. Also, if someone comes tracing it in the future, don't reveal my information."

"Very well, seven thousand Spirit Stones it is." The shopkeeper looked at the old man beside him and continued, "Steward Wang, take this young friend to collect the Spirit Stones!"

"Very well. Young friend, please follow me."

After the two left, the silent burly man finally said, "That kid was a bit too impatient. I thought he would name a high price of twenty thousand Spirit Stones. I still feel he doesn't understand the value of a seventh-order magical artifact."

"Not so. I know a little about reading physiognomy. Though this child's cultivation is low, his bearing is extraordinary. If he wanted to sell it for a high price, he could have gone straight to Treasure Pavilion, but he just had to choose Moonview Tower instead."

"Why is that?" The burly man did not understand.

"I guess he's afraid of trouble. Treasure Pavilion is the biggest auction house in Swallow Cloud City and is inseparably tied to the Dynasty. I fear this armor's origins cannot be separated from the Dynasty.

"This is simply how this kind of business works. If you want the buyer to keep a secret, you must yield some profit. This kid is far more worldly than most people."

"Dynasty? Perhaps... Let's get back to our proper business. You must help me obtain that Golden Flood Dragon Twin Axes at the Auction. I'll make up the money afterward."

"Rest assured. You have worked with Moonview Tower for several decades. This old man can still manage such a small request."

Lin Heng followed the old man to a compartment on the third floor. After briefly counting the amount, he left the place at once.

It was not that he did not understand the value. He simply did not want to draw too much attention. Everything in the Granary was recorded in the books, and the Dynasty's side would certainly know it all like the back of their hand.

If they wanted to investigate the flow of the goods, they could infer it through the difference in Spirit Stone transactions.

He did not want the Dynasty to come looking for trouble.

Now that seven thousand Spirit Stones had been credited to his account, he had to indulge properly no matter what.

With nothing to do today, affection rose with the chime of the bell.

He listened to noble young ladies play the qin and blow the xiao.

He watched scholars and poets recite verses and compose couplets.

He admired a talented lady of the spring night perform a dance that startled the swan in flight.

Lying in a chair, he could even enjoy a massage service from someone else's wife.

This was the secular world, and it could be called the mortal realm.

"Young master, wake up. The sun is about to set!"

The woman pushed Lin Heng's shoulder and woke him.

"Mm?" Lin Heng lay on the chair, his gaze languid. "Add more time, add more time. Miss, your handiwork is truly excellent. The pressure is neither too light nor too heavy. It's extremely comfortable."

"You flatter me, young master. It's all just some superficial branch knowledge of the Medical Path. The fact that you feel comfortable means your physical condition is especially good. Those young masters from before started howling in pain before I had even begun pressing their acupoints."

"Unlike you, young master. You didn't make a sound... You even fell asleep."

The corner of Lin Heng's mouth twitched, and he gave a dry cough.

"But Daughter truly must go back now. There are still a father and son at home who need help lighting the fire and cooking."

"All right."

Lin Heng nodded. After all, she was someone else's wife; he couldn't make her stay too late. It would be bad if it caused a misunderstanding.

Tsk, tsk~

He really had to say, the service attitude at this Medical Hall for massage and tuina was indeed quite good.

Proper and regular, and the experience time was long too.

The boss was also a mature beauty. Even though she had borne a son, she maintained herself like a young maiden in the flower of youth.

Night fell.

Swallow Cloud City was brightly lit.

Its prosperity remained unchanged. On the streets, the stream of people flowed without end, incomparably lively.

Inside a certain tea stall, two figures sat around a table.

"Hao'er, your father needs to make a trip to the City Lord's Mansion. You must not stir up trouble in the city. This place is not Golden Horse City, and there are many rules. On top of that, the Dynasty has sent an envoy. There are too many people in the city we cannot afford to provoke," Sun Daoya instructed.

"Mm, Father, rest assured. This child knows his limits. I wonder when Father will be able to return?"

"That's still unclear. Since the City Lord's Mansion has invited me, I must deal with it. Once you reach the Golden Core Realm, you will know how sought-after this identity is in the secular world."

No matter how time changed and the world shifted, in any era, the number of immortal cultivators was far, far lower than the number of ordinary people.

A Golden Core Realm cultivator, placed on some barren planets, could by no means be unqualified to proclaim himself king and hegemon.

The Dynasty governed more than eighty percent of the Heavenly Profound Continent's land and formulated many laws to restrain it. The enforcement of rules required many people, and many presentable cultivators like him.

There were still five days until the Auction Feast began.

During the day, Lin Heng cultivated quietly in the inn. At night, he wandered around everywhere looking for amusement.

Now, he had completely grasped how to use the Dream-Making Mirror. With the Mirror Person continuously opening up Spirit Wheels for him, he could shift his focus elsewhere.

North King Street was located in the central-northern part of Swallow Cloud City.

The entire street had no secular goods and was fully open to passing cultivators.

There were more than ten tower shops similar to Treasure Pavilion alone. Pill shops, spirit herb pavilions, martial trade associations, and treasure exchange pavilions could be seen everywhere.

Lin Heng strolled around. He looked for a long time at many scattered stalls but did not see anything especially good.

"How interesting. Weapons aren't allowed to be carried in the city, but they can be bought inside the city. So the rule outside the city was actually for the sake of doing business."

Lin Heng clicked his tongue, somewhat left speechless.

He had originally thought Swallow Cloud City had forbidden everyone from carrying weapons to maintain public order inside the city. In the end, it was to make it convenient for them to buy weapons themselves.

With the Auction Feast coming, there were many people traveling through the Thirteen Cities of the Western Continent, so it was inevitable that some unrighteous figures would slip in.

If ordinary people wanted to ensure their safety, rather than placing their hopes on the City Lord's Mansion, they might as well rely on themselves.

It was not without reason that Lin Heng thought so much. The lessons of those before him were vivid before his eyes.

In Heran City of the Southern Continent, there had once been an event of quite broad influence. The local City Lord's Mansion publicly used the pretext of recruiting merchant associations to settle there, deceiving quite a few merchant association magnates into entering the city.

In the end, after both sides reached a mutually beneficial transaction, those merchant association magnates, bringing their families along on the road back and forth, encountered bandits who intercepted and killed them.

Such incidents happened three times in total. By the fourth time, the local area held an Auction, attracting many people to come. In the end, those who had won valuable treasures either inexplicably died outside the city or vanished without a trace.

The commotion at the time was enormous. Only after the Dynasty sent a Special Envoy to investigate did they discover it had all been the City Lord's Mansion guarding the storehouse while robbing it themselves, colluding with bandits to harvest ordinary people's wealth.

From then on, whenever it came to trade activities related to a City Lord's Mansion, everyone had no choice but to keep an extra eye open.

The original work's description of the Thirteen Cities of the Western Continent was not that of some friendly land of honored guests. Golden Horse City alone was enough to reflect what level the other city-states were at.