Arrival! A Few Things About Wutan City

Watching Nalan Yanran lost in thought, Yun Congxin smiled silently and swallowed the violent remarks that kept bubbling up in his mind.

He did not disturb her. With a gentle flick of his finger, a soft breeze silently carried a cup of tea to her side.

Yun Congxin looked out the window again. Beside the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a tiny black dot was faintly visible.

Wutan City was almost within reach.

"Stop thinking about it. You'll have plenty of time to mull it over later. We're here." Yun Congxin lightly tapped Nalan Yanran on the head.

"Huh? Oh..." Nalan Yanran, who had seemed deep in meditation, gave a little shudder. Only then did she realize that the Flying Magical Beast had already landed in a clearing in the forest. She hurried to her feet, knocking over the tea Yun Congxin had prepared for her in her fluster.

"Grandmaster." Ignoring her tea-soaked clothes, Nalan Yanran looked at Yun Congxin's retreating back and suddenly called out.

"What is it?" Yun Congxin asked, turning back as he pushed the door open.

"Thank you." Nalan Yanran bowed with heartfelt sincerity.

Yun Congxin smiled smugly and left the little cabin on the Flying Magical Beast's back.

"Grandmaster, why didn't we land directly in Wutan City?" A little later, Nalan Yanran jumped down from the Flying Magical Beast's back in a fresh set of clothes. Looking at the unfamiliar forest before her, she asked the question.

"Remember what I just said? We won't be the only two people from the Misty Cloud Sect coming to Wutan City around this time. If we land there with great fanfare, how would they dare show themselves?" Yun Congxin said with a smile. "Walk a little farther. You've only just become a Da Dou Shi. Using your Dou Qi more will do you good."

"I'll go on ahead, then. Hurry along!"

Before his words had faded, Yun Congxin vanished without a trace, as though he had never existed. He had not even stirred the loose dirt beneath his feet.

As the saying went, a mountain in sight could still run a horse to death. Though Wutan City had looked close from the sky, there was still quite a distance to cover. Even with her Da Dou Shi strength and the Movement Dou Technique Yun Yun had personally taught her, Nalan Yanran nearly ran her legs off. She only reached the outskirts of Wutan City after dark.

Drenched in fragrant sweat, Nalan Yanran was so exhausted that she wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep. But since she had yet to meet up with Yun Congxin, she could only force herself to stay alert and enter Wutan City to search for him.

"Hmm?"

At the city gates, a group of black-robed people stood out conspicuously.

There were four of them, lined up from shortest to tallest, each wearing a black robe. From a distance, they looked like a full set of signal bars.

Dressing like that in a city, with their figures and faces covered so tightly—they clearly weren't brewing anything good.

Could they be... Misty Cloud Sect disciples here for revenge? Recalling Yun Congxin's certainty, Nalan Yanran's heart tightened. She concealed her aura and softened her footsteps, intending to follow them and find out who they were.

They were too far apart for Nalan Yanran to sense their strength, so this was a rather rash move.

That was why Yun Congxin stopped her in time.

In the darkness, a hand seemed to appear from nowhere and settle on Nalan Yanran's shoulder. Yun Congxin's voice sounded beside her ear. "Don't beat the grass and startle the snake. There's something strange about this group's arrival. Let's observe them first."

"Then what should we do?" Nalan Yanran asked as the last black-robed figure disappeared from sight.

"Us? We'll find somewhere to stay first," Yun Congxin said with a chuckle. "The strongest among them already has one foot in the Dou Wang realm. Judging by their auras, the cultivation methods they practice are rather peculiar. If they aren't from outside the Jia Ma Empire, they're probably death warriors someone has been secretly raising."

"Let's see what they intend to do first. There shouldn't be anything in this little city that would catch the eye of someone at Peak Dou Ling."

Then what had they come here for? Deep down, Yun Congxin had a few guesses, but they were not something he could share with Nalan Yanran.

If there was anything in this little border town capable of attracting an expert with one foot in the Dou Wang realm, it could only be the Xiao Clan's Ancient Jade.

But they probably aren't Hall of Souls members. Surely Hall of Souls members wouldn't be this weak... Yun Congxin was a little uncertain as he muttered inwardly.

Then what are they here for? Surely they haven't come sightseeing...

Let's observe them first. The enemy is in the open while I'm in the shadows. There's no way this group can escape my watch.

"Here. Put this on." With a turn of his hand, Yun Congxin took an object from his Storage Ring and handed it to Nalan Yanran.

Nalan Yanran accepted it curiously. It felt soft and wonderfully elastic. "What is this...?"

"An Ice Silk Silkworm Mask. Put it on and use it as a false face." Yun Congxin paused, then teased her. "You're quite a celebrity in Wutan City. If you swagger in looking like that, I'm afraid our friends here might get a little too enthusiastic."

Nalan Yanran's pretty face reddened. She placed the Ice Silk Silkworm Mask over her face as though applying a facial mask. Her skin immediately felt cool and slightly numb, even giving her the illusion that her features were wriggling.

"Ah, why is it so... garishly seductive...?"

Yun Congxin was somewhat surprised by the Ice Silk Silkworm Mask's effect.

He remembered Xiao Yan wearing this thing in the book. After the Ice Silk Silkworm Mask covered his rather handsome face, it had transformed it into the face of an ordinary passerby.

Why, when Nalan Yanran wore it, did the Ice Silk Silkworm Mask produce such a sultry face, completely different from her usual look?

This thing even plays favorites!

"How is it, Grandmaster? Does it suit me?" Without a mirror, Nalan Yanran felt the Ice Silk Silkworm Mask on her face and asked a little nervously.

"...It'll do, I suppose. At least you look completely different from before." Yun Congxin scratched his cheek. He had originally hoped that the Ice Silk Silkworm Mask would give Nalan Yanran an ordinary face too. That way, he would not have to worry about her standing out too much and causing trouble that might scare off the people who had come to stir things up.

Wutan City had no shortage of rough mercenaries who licked blood from knife edges. These men kept their heads tucked into their waistbands, which not only made those waistbands especially loose, but also meant their heads might change addresses at any moment.

If they were blind enough to provoke the two of them while they were together, Yun Congxin would not mind lending them a hand and speeding their lives along.

What worried him was that they might spew filthy remarks when Nalan Yanran was acting alone, upsetting her until she saw red and started beating them up. At that point, killing a few lawless mercenaries would be a minor matter. Exposing their whereabouts and beating the grass to startle the snake would be the real problem!

That meant they could not simply pick any inn to stay in. Yun Congxin pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of a name.

Mittel!

That's right! Wutan City has a Mittel Branch. Why not just stay at the Mittel Auction House?

With Yun Shan's memories, Yun Congxin knew that although the Mittel Auction House's main business on the surface was holding auctions, its real business behind the scenes was investment. Opening every door for honored guests was standard practice.

Building good relationships with experts or Alchemists was nothing to be ashamed of.