Huizi Market was very small, with only a short, narrow street.
After making a circuit around the market and greeting the neighbors along the way, Zheng Qing returned to Sanyou Bookstore in barely half an hour.
"This street is so short." Zheng Qing sighed. "Why did it seem so long when I was little? I'd run back and forth, like there was no end to it."
"Long and short, big and small, are all relative." Deng Xiaoxian spoke thoughtfully. "Besides, most wizards are more spiritually perceptive as children than they are as adults. They can see the truth behind the mist more clearly."
"Mist? Truth?" Zheng Qing was immediately intrigued. "Is there some story behind this street?"
As he spoke, he looked around, his gaze passing over the ancient signboards.
Rather than answer directly, Deng Xiaoxian prompted him with a question. "What do you think Huizi Market looks like?"
"Like the character hui." Zheng Qing replied with the sort of answer that passed for a bad joke.
Deng Xiaoxian's face immediately fell.
"Just kidding, just kidding." Zheng Qing waved his hand, smiling as he guessed again. "Like the lakeside corridor at school? Or a horseshoe? ...Got any hints?"
"Like some kind of animal." Deng Xiaoxian gave him another hint.
Zheng Qing frowned.
He held out a finger, traced several loops in the air, then hesitated before answering quietly, "An Ouroboros?"
"Bingo!" Deng Xiaoxian snapped his fingers and continued prompting him. "What does the Ouroboros represent?"
"Immortality, cycles, infinity." Zheng Qing answered at once.
Because Sephrano's club used the Ouroboros as its emblem, Zheng Qing had specifically looked into this mysterious magical creature before. So he did not hesitate at all over Deng Xiaoxian's question.
"Huh." The young master of Huichun Hall raised his brows. "Looks like I underestimated you a