Chang'an City bustled in the evening. Many lights had already been lit along the streets, and as the evening breeze blew, the tavern banners and colorful flags hanging outside fluttered in the wind, carrying the aromas of food and wine in every direction.
Within the city's wards and markets, smaller taverns and food stalls were more common. Foods from all corners of the land gathered there, and steam from bamboo steamers and soup pots wreathed the air everywhere.
Shen Luo threaded his way through the bustling crowds, soaking in the rich atmosphere of everyday life. Without his realizing it, the restlessness that had plagued him lately settled down.
This Harmony-Evolving Conference was different from the previous one. Only a handful of major sects would participate. Never mind ordinary people-even the leaders of lower-ranking sects were unqualified to attend, and most might not even know about it.
Thus, the conference's effect on the people of Chang'an was nowhere near as noticeable as the rising prices of house rentals and sales in the city.
The Heavenly Mechanism Guildhall stood in Juehua Ward in the eastern part of the city. The area had originally been a sizable garden, but after several expansions, the guildhall had absorbed almost all of it.
When Shen Luo arrived at the Heavenly Mechanism Guildhall's entrance, he found that its gate was merely an unassuming, carved hanging-flower gate. Its two black doors were shut, inset with two bronze beast heads holding rings in their mouths and studded with eighty-one brass bosses.
He stepped forward and knocked lightly on the doors several times, but no one answered from within. After he had waited quite a while, a bronze beast head on the gate suddenly opened its mouth and spoke in a human voice. "Who seeks an audience?"
As the