The doors and windows of the Moon-Gazing Tower were shut tight, sealing out the clamor of the city.
Unlike the bustling streets and alleys, the restaurant seemed out of place, even a little sinister. Only a dozen or so people could be seen drinking together in the hall.
Figures sat around the tables. Though a night had passed, not one had risen.
"Instructor Ren, a toast to you! A mere martial artist, yet you dared bring your whole family to Badu to make your way!"
The burly, bearded man raised his cup with a laugh. "Where's your martial arts school? I'll pay you a visit another day."
"On Everjoy Street, beside the Market Ward."
Ren Shanshi raised his cup in reply, failing to notice the brief silence that fell over the others.
The Market Ward on Everjoy Street? Wasn't that the Death Ward?
It had earned that name because dying Rogue Cultivators gathered there to cling to life. Outsiders usually went out of their way to avoid it.
"Instructor Ren, I heard an elixir shop opened there?"
"I'm not too sure."
Ren Shanshi shook his head. As he recalled, it seemed to be a shop Yao'er had opened.
His gaze swept the room. Diagonally ahead sat a blind man whose eyes had remained half-lidded all night. He called himself Lu Yongwei, leader of the Mud Soup Society. Though he could not see, he always picked up his wine cup with perfect accuracy. He was in his forties or fifties, yet his skin was even finer than a baby's.
The woman to Lu Yongwei's left wore a blue robe. The others called her Madam Luo.
She was said to run Azure-Blue Street. She spoke softly and had a graceful figure, though she also had an Adam's apple.
Ren Shanshi had spent