Touring Shrek City

Mu Yunshan opened his mouth as if he still wanted to say something, but Su Qian gently tugged at his sleeve from beside him. In the end, he did not argue further.

Chen Xuan found their little gesture amusing and added, "Besides, even if you wanted to go out now, you couldn't.

I've already recalled everyone in the Inquisitorial Legion. There won't be any field assignments for the next year or two."

Mu Yunshan frowned slightly at that. "Elder Xuan, our Inquisitorial Legion has always taken protecting the peace of the continent as its duty.

If we don't take assignments for a year or two, then the evil Soul Masters and beast tides across the continent..."

"Let them figure out how to deal with it themselves." Chen Xuan cut him off, his tone utterly indifferent.

"To put it bluntly, whenever the Inquisitorial Legion took on a mission these past years, wasn't Shrek the one pouring in money and manpower?

What good looks did the original three kingdoms ever give us? They don't mind us interfering with their authority, yet I'm already tired on their behalf.

Since they dislike it so much, then let's leave them alone for two years.

They have their own Worship Halls. It's not as if they lack experts. Let them handle it themselves."

Mu Yunshan opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could not find anything to say.

He felt somewhat dazed.

Having grown up in Shrek since childhood, he had naturally regarded himself as a guardian of the continent.

The Inquisitorial Legion patrolling the lands and slaying evil was as natural as breathing in the hearts of Shrek's people.

Yet all of a sudden, even a veteran member of his rank had been kept at home, with every field assignment canceled.

For a moment, he truly found it difficult to accept such a change.

But once he calmed down, he had no choice but to admit that Elder Xuan was telling the truth.

Over the years, how many people had Shrek sent out? How many resources had it invested? How many promising youths had it lost?

But when had those empires and kingdoms outside ever shown gratitude?

They took every benefit they could get, then turned around and accused Shrek of overstepping its authority. He had heard plenty of such things while carrying out missions.

Now that everyone had been recalled, even if he wanted to go out alone, he had no way to do so.

"Then... I'll listen to Elder Xuan," he finally said quietly.

Seeing his expression, Chen Xuan knew the boy still had a knot in his heart, but he did not press him further.

Seeing that it was about time, he stood up and took several chicken legs from the oil-paper bundle, placing them on the small table beneath the corridor. "Take them and eat. They're not worth much, but they're tasty."

The two hurriedly rose to thank him.

Chen Xuan waved them off and headed out of the courtyard. When he reached the gate, he turned back and glanced at Su Qian.

"Take good care of yourself. When the child is born, I'll come hold the baby."

Su Qian froze for a moment, then smiled, her eyes reddening slightly. "Thank you, Elder Xuan."

Chen Xuan said nothing more and stepped out through the courtyard gate.

He followed the lakeside path back, his steps lighter than when he had come.

The lake shimmered in the sunlight, and the breeze was just right. He took out his wine gourd and had another sip of fruit wine. It was sweet as it slid down his throat.

Nothing should happen on this side either. For a Soul Master to die from heavy bleeding—Third Young Master was still far too authoritative.

Chen Xuan returned to Sea God Pavilion and slowly walked along the path beside Sea God Lake for a while before suddenly stopping.

A faint fragrance drifted on the wind, like baked pastries mixed with the scent of meat, along with the sweetness of fruit wine.

Faint voices carried from afar. They lacked the orderliness of the academy and instead resembled the liveliness of a bustling market street.

Only then did he remember that, since arriving in this world, he had not properly explored Shrek City even once.

"Nothing should happen on this side either," he muttered under his breath.

Beibei's mother had only just become pregnant, and the pregnancy was stable. No matter how much that kid Mu Yunshan failed to understand, he would not be stupid enough to abandon his pregnant wife and run off to accept a mission.

He had already sent word to Elder Zhuang's side. Before the delivery, they would go pin the man down.

From here on out, even if he did not keep watch for the time being, this family would not be able to stir up any trouble.

Suddenly, he felt like taking a stroll.

When he had read the original novel in his previous life, his impression of Shrek City could be summed up in one word: huge.

This city had prospered because of Shrek Academy, and its level of prosperity even surpassed that of many imperial capitals.

The book had repeatedly described the city's shops, Soul Tool stores, auction houses, restaurants, and teahouses. It was so lively that it hardly seemed like a city attached to an academy.

Now that he was truly here, it would be hard to justify not taking a look around.

With that thought, he stopped hesitating. With a light tap of his toe, his entire body shot forward.

There was no earthshaking surge of Soul Power, nor did he ostentatiously fly through the air. He merely skimmed over the lake for a stretch before descending into the streets of Shrek City's outer district.

The moment he landed, the clamor of the streets rushed toward him.

It was afternoon, and the streets were packed with people and endless traffic.

Shops lined both sides of the road, their banners fluttering, selling all manner of goods.

There were vendors hawking grilled meat, street stalls displaying small Soul Tools, storytellers' voices drifting from teahouses, and the clanging of hammers from blacksmith shops.

The air was filled with all kinds of scents: cooking smoke, spices, fruit wine, and the honeyed sweetness drifting from some unknown shop.

Chen Xuan took a deep breath and felt his whole body relax.

"Now this is more like it." He grinned and pulled his Elder's robe closer around himself so as not to stand out too much, then swaggered into the crowd.

He was already old and built tall and broad. Even with his Soul Power restrained, he still stood out among the crowd.

But he did not notice it himself. One moment he was examining a stall, the next he was wandering through a shop, looking every bit like an old man with far too much time on his hands.

He first stopped at a grilled meat stall, bought ten skewers of venison, and had the vendor sprinkle on an extra handful of cumin.

Seeing that his clothes were old but his bearing extraordinary, and that he was willing to spend, the vendor smilingly gave him an extra skewer.

Chen Xuan ate as he wandered. When he came to a shop selling fruit wine, he stopped again.

Several large wooden barrels stood outside the shop, each bearing a red paper label reading "Purple Jade Brew," "Green Plum Ferment," and "Honey Peach Nectar."

The owner was a woman in her forties who was ladling wine for customers. Seeing him stop, she promptly asked with a smile, "Sir, would you like some fruit wine?"

Chen Xuan handed over his wine gourd. "Fill it up. I'll have the Honey Peach Nectar."

"Coming right up." The woman took the gourd and quickly filled it, then added with praise, "That's a fine gourd, sir. Smooth and glossy. You can tell it's an old piece."

Chen Xuan laughed heartily, paid without haggling, took back the gourd, and drank a mouthful.

It was sweet, carrying the delicate fragrance of peaches, even better than the wine he had filled it with before.

He let out a satisfied breath and continued onward.

The farther in he went, the livelier it became. He saw an acrobat troupe performing on a street corner, where a youth was breathing fire and making a crowd of children shriek in excitement.

He also saw Soul Masters setting up stalls in the street, telling people the auspicious hour for their martial soul awakenings with great confidence, though who knew whether any of it was true.

After walking a little farther, he suddenly slowed his pace.