An armored soldier of the Heavenly Court walked up to the barrier and leaned closer to read the stone slab. Then a second came over, a third, a fourth. One after another, those with time to spare gathered around to look, until a whole crowd had formed.
To make it easier for them to read, Shi Chun pushed the inscribed slab right up to the barrier, wearing an ingratiating smile.
As he kept smiling, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. The soldiers' expressions did not seem quite normal.
Some glanced at the comrades beside them. Others looked from the two men to the writing on the slab, comparing them back and forth. Still others stared at the pair with peculiar expressions.
One soldier spoke up. "You know, these words casually carved into stone have quite a flair to them. Has he practiced this specifically?"
Bearded Chen said, "I heard they came from the Land of Exile. Paper and brushes aren't common there. Writing and drawing on the ground or on stones is perfectly normal."
"Oh, no wonder they're tanned so dark."
"Then why are they saying they're from Mystic Continent? Say, Old Chen, are you sure you haven't mistaken them for someone else?"
Bearded Chen said, "I'd like to think I got the wrong people, but do you think that's possible? Even if pairs of dark-skinned fellows were everywhere, even if I mistook that big fellow, I couldn't mistake that saber. Find me a second one like it in the entire Skyfall Meteor Assembly, and I'll swallow this saber!"
"Then what are these two jackasses up to?"
"Are they having us on, or are they trying to fool us?"
"What would they gain from fooling us?"
The soldiers could not make sense of it themselves, so they decided to ask.