Yun City

Early the next morning, I got up, washed up, then went downstairs to the bun shop and bought two buns for breakfast.

After wolfing them down, I returned to my room, grabbed my backpack, and went downstairs to check out.

"Young man, you're leaving so early? You can stay here until noon before checking out," the elderly landlord said.

"No, sir. I still have some things to do, so I'll be going first."

"Fine, fine. Fifty-six yuan—but there are still several hours until noon, so just give me fifty."

I took out a fifty-yuan note and handed it to him. Then I asked:

"By the way, sir, do you know where I can find a shop that deals in antiques?"

"Antiques? Hmm... there's one over by Garden Community.

But it's a little far from here, around seven or eight kilometers."

He then told me to just take a taxi, and the driver would take me there. I thanked him.

Then I hailed a taxi and asked the driver if he knew the way to Garden Community. He said he did, and we set off.

Once I arrived, I got out and continued on foot. As I walked, I checked the street numbers, and before long, I spotted one marked Number Nine.

I looked up and saw a rather old storefront, then strode inside.

"Looking to buy, or looking to sell?" an old man wearing reading glasses asked from where he reclined in a chair.

"Hello, sir. My name is Li Yutong. I'm here to find someone."

The old man froze for a moment, then asked who I was looking for.

"I'm looking for Yun Hong. He's an old friend of my father's. Do you know where he lives?"

After hearing that, the old man sprang up from his recliner.

Then he eyed me warily and said, "Why are you looking for Yun Hong? And who is your father?"

"My father is Li Daorong. He and Yun Hong are old friends. My father told me to come here and find him."

I replied, then asked whether this was Garden Community Number Nine.

The old man said it was, then looked me up and down twice.

Then he told me to wait while he went to make a phone call and ask. With that, he headed into the back room.

I waited inside the shop. With nothing better to do, I casually looked over the items in the display cases.

There were all sorts of things inside—ancient coins, jade pendants, teacups...

Many of them looked quite beautiful, but unfortunately, I knew nothing about antiques.

There was one thing I could judge, though: these things did look nice.

But compared to the jade pendants hanging from that man's waist inside my Yin gathering token...

They fell far short. Just in terms of sheer splendor, none of the antiques in this shop could compare.

Before long, the old man came out and told me to sit and wait. A car would come to pick me up soon.

Hearing that, I found a place to sit and began chatting with the old man.

The old man said his surname was Liao and that he was nearly sixty. Because he knew antiques extremely well,

he had been helping the Yun family watch over this shop for many years.

Then he went on about how profound his attainments in antiques were, how he had entered the antique trade when he was barely ten, and how he had seen more antiques in his life than I had eaten salt.

I figured the old man had probably been here too long and had no one to talk to.

That was why he latched onto anyone he found and chattered away without stopping. I kept a smile on my face and nodded along as he spoke.

About half an hour passed. Just as I was beginning to grow impatient, a burst of car horns sounded outside the shop.

Beep~ Beep~ Beep.

I looked up and saw a Land Rover parked outside. A moment later, a girl dressed in a very pure and fresh style stepped out of the car.

She wore a white T-shirt with a little bear printed on it and a white skirt.

On her feet were white leather shoes. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and her cheeks still had a touch of baby fat.

She wore light makeup, and the sight of those long, slender legs made my head spin.

"Uncle Liao, I heard someone is looking for my father. Where is he?" the girl asked as she entered.

"The eldest young miss is here! It's this one," the old man said, getting to his feet and pointing at me.

Hearing that, I stood as well and said to the girl, "Hello, my name is Li Yutong. I'm the one looking for Uncle Yun."

The girl stared at me with her watery eyes until my face turned red. For a moment, the entire shop fell silent.

"Hello, I'm Yun Yao. You're the one looking for my father?" the girl asked.

I said yes, then explained how my father had sent me to find Yun Hong.

"Mhm, got it. Then come with me," the girl said.

I asked her in confusion, "Go? Where?"

"Obviously, we're going to my house first, then we'll see what my grandfather says. We can't exactly leave you living here, can we?" she said with a smile.

When she smiled, two dimples appeared on her cheeks, and her eyes curved into crescents. Together with her skin that looked soft enough to burst with a breath, she was truly beautiful.

No wonder she's a girl from a big city. A country bumpkin from some tiny mountain hollow like me can't compare.

"Uncle Liao, we'll be going now."

"Alright. Drive slowly on the road," Uncle Liao replied.

The girl smiled and nodded. I also thanked Uncle Liao, then followed the girl into the car.

Since I was unfamiliar with this place, I had no idea where the car was headed.

I felt a little uneasy along the way, so I asked the girl where her home was and how much farther it was.

"Secret. You'll know when we get there," the girl replied with a smile.

I had no choice but to watch the scenery outside and guess where our destination might be.

The car drove out of the city and into the suburbs, then headed toward the mountains, winding through twists and turns before entering a forest.

Suddenly, the girl sharply spun the steering wheel, and the car charged straight toward a huge boulder.

My pupils contracted violently, and I cried out, "Ah..."

Terrified, I instinctively shut my eyes and gripped the seat belt with both hands.

It's over, it's over. Female drivers really are unreliable.

She said we were going to crash, and we crashed—but after a long while, no sound of impact came.

I opened my eyes and saw that the car had already stopped. Still shaken, I looked at the girl.

The girl burst out laughing, then hugged the steering wheel and howled with laughter.

"Hahahaha..."

I was completely bewildered. "What happened? Weren't we about to crash into that rock?"

The girl laughed for quite a while before telling me, "That huge rock just now was an illusion array.

Because they're afraid ordinary people might find this place, they set up an illusion array at the entrance."

Upon hearing that, I let out a sigh of relief. Once I knew the truth, I was no longer as scared as before.

The Maoshan talismans also had talismans similar to this kind of illusion array.

I just thought they were useless, so I had never made any. Before long, I had calmed down.

"How did you calm down so quickly?" the girl asked.

My face reddened. Remembering how embarrassing I had looked just now, I answered without much conviction,

"It was nothing, really. It just gave me a fright when I suddenly saw it."

"Oh... is that so?" The girl looked at me with a teasing expression. I nodded, pretending to be calm.

I got out of the car and lit a cigarette, only to realize my hands were trembling a little.

It took several attempts with the lighter before I finally lit it. After taking a puff, I looked up...

The smoke I had just inhaled nearly made me choke to death. Before me stood an enormous city.

Buildings were everywhere, stretching beyond the limits of sight...

Not far from us was a long street lined with shops and stalls selling all kinds of things.

Some merchants displayed their goods on tables, while others simply spread a piece of cloth on the ground.

It was covered with a dazzling array of items, while stall owners and hawkers shouted out their wares.

The cigarette fell from my hand. I stared at the sight before me, dumbfounded.

"Welcome to Yun City," the girl said with a smile as she walked up to me.