Wang Xian froze. "You look like newcomers too. When did you get here?"
He had originally meant to say, When I got here last night, this place was still a dead city... But the words were on the tip of his tongue when he changed his mind.
In his view, perhaps what had happened yesterday was something he couldn't talk about.
It was a secret hidden between heaven and earth.
Hearing this, the white-robed man laughed heartily. "You really are new here... I'm Dongfang Jian of Phoenix Academy. We came all the way from Phoenix City, and we've been wandering around this city for a whole seven days already..."
Wang Xian's heart gave a thump.
Good heavens, he exclaimed inwardly. I only slept for one night, and you've already been here for seven days...
In a flash, he truly wanted to wake Wuyue and ask her.
Had he traveled through time in a dream yesterday?
Or had he traveled through time again after sleeping in that stone house?
Looking at the scene before him, he was utterly confused.
Just then, the shopkeeper returned from the back, setting the cooked lamb down on three tables one dish at a time.
He also brought Wang Xian a basin.
Wang Xian patted the stool beside him. "Shopkeeper, it's lonely drinking alone. Why not sit down and have a drink with us?"
The shopkeeper hesitated briefly, then sat down. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Wang Xian poured a cup of wine and set it in front of the shopkeeper.
After a moment's thought, he asked, "Shopkeeper, why is this place called Silent Gloom City?"
The shopkeeper froze.
Dongfang Jian lifted the cup in front of him and took a sip, answering first. "Deep in the silent gloom lies death... A hundred li ahead