The Hidden Corner

The phantom that walked out of Yang Xiao's body had an extremely indistinct face and was terribly unstable, as if a single gust of wind would make it scatter.

After "he" appeared, he seemed to be drawn by something. His whole body walked toward the wine table involuntarily, a chilling black wind swirling around him.

Where the black wind swept past, a whole plate of big pork trotters vanished in an instant, leaving only an empty plate behind.

At the same time, Yang Xiao keenly sensed that his skin had become noticeably tougher than before.

Though the change was extremely subtle, it truly existed!

And after devouring the big pork trotters, the phantom also began to grow more solid. Though its face remained blurred, it was clearly a little sharper than before.

"No wonder the Peace Sect was hated by emperors through the ages and called monsters—what overbearing evil art!"

Seeing the black shadow constantly devour meat while refusing to eat a single vegetarian dish, like locusts sweeping through a field, Yang Xiao could not help feeling a chill rise in his heart.

The body-tempering art recorded in the Yellow Heaven Body Casting Scripture: Warrior Chapter actually had no cultivation bottleneck at all!

As long as he fed it enough flesh and blood, Yang Xiao's physical body could be strengthened without end, growing all the way into a "Yellow Turban Warrior" impervious to blades and spears.

"According to the records in the Yellow Heaven Body Casting Scripture, only when this phantom condenses clearly and turns into a true 'human form' can the Warrior Chapter truly be considered—entered."

"After entry, one's skin is like cowhide. Even when facing an ordinary five or six grown strong men, without any martial techniques or weapons, relying only on brute force and bare fists, one can still handle them with ease."

"Going one step further, when the phantom's five senses have condensed and are faintly visible, it can be considered—'minor accomplishment.' At this point, one's skin is like bronze hide and fears no clubs or staves. Even if ambushed by blades or swords, though one will still be injured, it will be very difficult to be instantly killed..."

Recalling the twenty years of martial experience he had stolen from Uncle Mute, Yang Xiao forcefully endured the impulse to devour every last bit of flesh and blood, and ordered the phantom to stop.

With various medicines as supplements and specific flesh and blood as ingredients, the "talisman water" concocted from them was dozens of times better than controlling the phantom to devour flesh and blood, whether in cultivation efficiency or value for money.

But Yang Xiao had no money!

Moreover, purchasing and making talisman water would also very easily draw the attention of those with ulterior motives. For Yang Xiao, who only wanted to stay hidden, keep a low profile, and develop quietly, there was not the slightest need to consider it.

"As a waiter, I can come into contact with the wine and meat left over by honored guests every day. Combined with the many years of cultivation insights I stole from Uncle Mute, my cultivation speed may not necessarily be slow. The key advantage is safety. There will be plenty of time in the future, so there's no need to rush this matter."

Once his thoughts cleared, Yang Xiao got up and simply tidied the wine table, then headed all the way toward the top floor.

The top floors of the Vermilion Bird Tower's four great pavilions—A, B, C, and D—were all very spacious, and were used only for internal staff to trade, play, and relax.

On the top floor of the D-rank pavilion, there were not only storytellers, actors, dancing girls, craftsmen performing acrobatics, and all kinds of street stalls.

At the four corners of the top floor, there were also buildings such as martial arts schools, the Hundred Plays Gallery, the Cloud Hot Spring, and pawnshops.

This place seemed like a miniature marketplace. One needed to hold a Vermilion Bird Tower token and take a specific passage to go up, and it did not conflict in the slightest with receiving honored guests. The two even had no overlap at all.

Yang Xiao first walked to the rear courtyard on the first floor, arrived at an inconspicuous room, and gently pushed the door open to enter.

Two burly men with faint gray mist over their heads stood ramrod straight like javelins, sabers hanging at their waists.

When Yang Xiao walked in, the two looked toward him in unison, their gazes sharp, and at the same time placed their hands on their saber hilts.

But after Yang Xiao took off the token at his waist that represented his status as a waiter—

The two burly men immediately made way for him, not saying a word and no longer paying Yang Xiao the slightest attention.

"The guards watching the entrance to the top-floor passage are actually two martial experts who have undergone one blood exchange?"

Yang Xiao could not help clicking his tongue.

This was only the top floor of the D-rank pavilion. Then how terrifying would the guards of the top floors of the three great pavilions A, B, and C be?

After getting a preliminary glimpse of the terrifying strength hidden by the Vermilion Bird Tower, Yang Xiao felt even less optimistic about the Peace Sect's operation six days later.

But speaking of which, what did this have to do with me?

Putting away the token, Yang Xiao stopped thinking about it. He walked to the end of the wall and lightly pressed the token against it.

At once, the wall trembled faintly, revealing a long, narrow, pitch-black tunnel behind it.

Yang Xiao walked into the tunnel. Seeing that every few steps, on both sides of the tunnel, there were actually night-luminescent pearls blooming with green light, he could not help clicking his tongue.

"Other than the top floor, the D-rank pavilion has nine floors in all. Aside from the first floor being the main hall, from the second floor onward they are all private rooms. Each floor has hundreds of private rooms, and almost every day, those rooms are packed with guests like clouds..."

Yang Xiao grew even more emotional.

Now was a chaotic age. Outside the city, he heard that bones of the frozen dead lay by the road, yet inside the Vermilion Bird Tower, music and song filled every night, with pools of wine and forests of meat, its luxury carried to the extreme.

How could such a dynasty not perish?

But it was still the same sentence: what did it have to do with me?

Before he knew it, Yang Xiao had reached the end of the tunnel and stepped into a room resembling an iron cage. The great door instantly turned pitch-black.

Then Yang Xiao felt the iron cage rising, and rising extremely fast at that, but inside the cage he could not feel the slightest vibration.

Very quickly, the iron cage's great door opened automatically, and an entirely new world immediately appeared before Yang Xiao's eyes.

Pedestrians wove to and fro, and peddlers with stalls lined the streets everywhere. In the distance, shops were as numerous as clouds, and hundreds upon thousands of big red lanterns hung high.

"Flatcakes! Fresh flatcakes, tasty and cheap..."

"Candied hawthorns, candied hawthorns!"

"Honored guests, would you like to watch some acrobatics? This humble one's face-changing is one of a kind!"

Strolling through the stall area, listening to the bustle all around and seeing prosperity everywhere he looked, Yang Xiao could not help but stare, dumbfounded.

"Brother Yang, want to go visit Moon Listening Pavilion? A few new young girls arrived recently, tender as fresh water, and staying the night isn't expensive!"

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu came around the corner. The moment they saw Yang Xiao, they immediately broke into sly chuckles.

"Brothers, aren't the people doing business on this top floor all family members of our Vermilion Bird Tower, or off-duty waiters and odd-job workers? How is there even a—brothel here?"

Yang Xiao looked utterly stunned.

"Why couldn't there be a brothel?"

Zhao Hu looked at Yang Xiao as if he were looking at some country bumpkin. "This top floor has everything you could want. As long as you have money, you can enjoy anything!"

As it turned out, Vermilion Bird Tower was a vast enterprise with thousands upon thousands of low-level personnel under it. Many waiters had grown old, and with no one to take over after them, their families had become used to a life of wealth and were unwilling to go outside for cheap work, so they simply worked on the top floor—even going to brothels to make quick money.

"The top floor is extremely safe. The people who can come up here may not be fabulously rich or noble, but they're all known down to their roots, and they don't lack those few bits of silver. Over time, this place naturally became prosperous."

Zhang Long patted Yang Xiao on the shoulder. "Tonight's on me. Brother Yang, are you going or not? Just say the word."

"Brothers, it isn't that I don't want to go. It's just that my body is too weak. Tonight I have to return to the residence to decoct medicine and drink it. My apologies, my apologies."

Yang Xiao wore an apologetic expression, casually found an excuse to slip away, and soon walked far off.

"We were planning to slaughter a fat sheep tonight. Didn't expect this bumpkin not to take the bait!"

Watching Yang Xiao's departing figure, Zhao Hu's face was dark and gloomy.

"No matter."

"Yang Xiao is a hereditary house slave of the princess's estate. Though he has declined now, he could still afford to buy a residence in the inner city. His family must be hiding good things."

"Six days from now, when my Holy Sect rises up, we'll take advantage of the chaos to butcher that brat. Won't that inner-city house of his and all his wealth belong to the two of us brothers?"

Zhang Long's smile was extremely cruel.

"Big Brother Zhang, your idea is the better one after all!"

Zhao Hu's eyes lit up.

The two spoke in low murmurs.

Yet they had no idea whatsoever that every word of their conversation had been heard, without a single thing missed, by Yang Xiao, who had already walked far away.

"Six days from now, my Yellow Heaven Body Casting Scripture: Warrior Chapter should at least reach minor accomplishment. At the very least, it'll make my skin comparable to oxhide."

"When the time comes, as for who kills whom, and who seizes whose property, we'll ride the donkey while reading the opera script—wait and see!"

Killing intent flashed through Yang Xiao's eyes and vanished in an instant. Not the slightest ripple of emotion showed on his face as he soon arrived at the martial hall in the corner of the top floor.

Boom!

The moment he stepped into the martial hall, Yang Xiao's vision blurred, and he instantly saw a beam of golden light soar up, piercing straight into the clouds!