Suddenly, they found the source of that familiar feeling.
It was those people with their faces full of warmth and enthusiasm. Looking at them now, every one of them seemed excessively so, making it all appear false, as though they were deliberately putting on an act!
With that thought, the strange sights they had witnessed in the city finally had a reasonable explanation.
Yet this realization left the two of them even more shaken, with a faint sense of unease rising within them.
There had been at least hundreds, if not thousands, of people throughout the city. Just imagine it—what inconceivable force would be needed to make hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of people all perform the role of "a peaceful and tranquil paradise" together?
At the thought that everything they had seen and heard was merely a false performance, that they themselves were no more than spectators within a grand puppet show involving thousands upon thousands of participants, a chill ran through their entire bodies!
Who exactly was behind this?
Was it some evil art that manipulated hearts and bewildered minds, or some terrible scheme—threat and control lurking in the shadows?
One had to know that in the current age, the righteous path was flourishing!
If the demonic factions became too active and drew the attention of the three great orthodox sects, they would die very quickly indeed.
The two had long since lost every trace of goodwill toward this city.
Secretly, they made their way to a strange charity hall. By chance, they saw an old man with a smile that did not reach his eyes enter a tunnel. Through that tunnel, he swiftly left the city and arrived at a vast estate beyond its walls.
The estate contained pavilions, towers, artificial hills, and spring-fed pools, all