Qian Xuelang’s method could not exactly be called unworkable.
Once someone’s strength reached a certain level, forget a small place like Dongxun City. In all the vast world, what place could truly keep them out?
Even if Qian Xuelang really stormed into the city lord’s residence and seized Cui Xuanchan to say whatever he pleased, as long as his strength was sufficient, Cui Xuanchan could only listen politely.
The principles of the world became complicated when explained at length, but they could also be very simple.
It merely depended on who was involved.
Seeing Ren Yijue hesitate, Qian Xuelang asked, “What is it? Is this not the fastest method?”
“It… certainly is fast. Nor can I say it is bad. It is extremely direct and efficient.” Ren Yijue smiled bitterly. “I only fear the disturbance would be far greater than anything the Blood Demon has caused. The moment he senses something is wrong, he will quietly slip away. The Jade Beauty may only mean to warn City Lord Cui, but City Lord Cui might misunderstand and think you have some other intention.”
Besides, humiliating Cui Xuanchan so openly would damage his standing. The world already had enough storms. There was no need to make enemies for no reason.
The Zhaoying Sword Sect…
Ren Yijue could not help feeling deeply moved.
So when the Jade Beauty wanted to spar with someone, he simply fought his way inside? It seemed his pride was no less than that of his master, He Tianjun.
“Mm.” Qian Xuelang did not become angry when Ren Yijue gently rejected the suggestion. “Your thinking is much more thorough than mine. Then what do you think we should do?”
Qian Xuelang rarely involved himself in the mortal world, but he was neither unreasonable nor willfully domineering. Twenty years ago, his battle with Xiao Beisheng had been an ordinary spar in his own eyes, yet even he could see that his behavior had provoked hostility from the Zhaoying Sword Sect.
He had been born into a prestigious great clan and naturally understood that immortal sects surrounded themselves with countless irritating rules. He could refuse to let those rules bind him, but deliberately tearing apart someone else’s rules would simply be rude.
If the matter of the Blood Demon had not been urgent, Qian Xuelang would never have suggested such a method.
Ren Yijue looked surprised. “The Jade Beauty is remarkably reasonable. Ren will naturally do his best. I had no plan before, but now I have half of one. Why do we not first find somewhere to stay?”
He relaxed inwardly. If Qian Xuelang acted solely according to personal likes and dislikes, Ren Yijue truly would not know what to do with him.
“Very well.” Qian Xuelang did not ask what half a plan meant. He stood. “We will do as you say.”
After they had walked through two alleys, Qian Xuelang suddenly said, “You asked me for an idea, yet in the end you still have to think of one yourself.”
Ren Yijue was preoccupied. Hearing this without warning, he looked confused. “Hm? What?”
“It is nothing,” Qian Xuelang said calmly. “I simply did not help at all. It seems this matter will still require you to trouble yourself.”
The words were extraordinarily thoughtful and proper, almost the height of consideration and courtesy. If anyone else had said them, Ren Yijue would certainly have praised his refined manners and gentlemanly bearing.
But coming from Qian Xuelang, they sent an involuntary chill through Ren Yijue. Some nameless terror seemed to grip his mind, as though he had returned to the moment of their first meeting and was not speaking with a real living person at all.
There were other problems to worry about now, however, so he did not need to dwell on that one.
Ren Yijue was injured and the demonic qi in his body had not yet been completely removed. He absolutely could not stay in a crowded inn, where he might cause trouble. Qian Xuelang had no particular preference for peace or bustle, but not having to listen to people shouting around them would at least be more comfortable.
The two therefore decided to rent a secluded little courtyard first.
They were strangers in Dongxun City and knew nothing of the area, so naturally they went to a brokerage to find someone who could arrange a rental.
Ren Yijue spent generously and never bargained. The broker earned a handsome commission and immediately beamed, thumping his chest as he promised, “If there is anything else you need, just come find me.”
“There actually is something I would like to ask the head broker about,” Ren Yijue said. “I came from out of town. Earlier, at a street stall, I saw a dozen or so young men riding fine horses. Quite intimidating. May I ask who they were?”
In other lines of business, only the person in charge would be called the headman or elder of the trade. A brokerage, however, was often run by a single person, making the same man both proprietor and worker.
“Ha, you asked the right person.” Having just closed such a profitable deal, the broker was in no hurry. He sat beside Ren Yijue on a long bench and clicked his tongue. “Maybe you do not know, but our Dongxun City is ruled by City Lord Cui. City Lord Cui is a famous immortal, you know. I have heard he is already two or three thousand years old…”
Ren Yijue laughed inwardly. Two or three thousand years? What an impressive age. Back then, who knows whether the land beneath Dongxun City even belonged to the Cui Clan.
A broker served both buyers and sellers and therefore heard news from every direction. He knew nothing about the path of immortality and naturally exaggerated when speaking of it, but when it came to affairs inside Dongxun City, he knew far more than either of them.
“Those dozen or so riders you saw during the day are one of the patrol groups under our Young City Lord. They are responsible for scouting. If they find anything unusual inside or outside the city, they either deal with it themselves or send someone to notify the city guards. No need to be afraid.”
The broker was an ordinary mortal, but he lived in Dongxun City. When he spoke of the Cui Clan, he could not help sounding proud by association.
“Then if your Young City Lord is constantly coming and going like that, does that mean Dongxun City is not very safe?” Ren Yijue deliberately hesitated. “In that case, I would not dare stay.”
The broker was certainly not willing to return the gleaming silver already in his pocket. He hurriedly said, “No need to worry, no need to worry. I will not lie to you. A few months ago, some little yao and strange creatures did come cause trouble and killed several people, but the Young City Lord killed them all. These days, nothing blind enough to court death dares come near. The Young City Lord is merely idle and goes out spring hunting. Immortals like them, heh, naturally hunt something different from the likes of us.”
Only then did Ren Yijue say, “Very well. There has been nothing strange or unusual nearby?”
“Of course not,” the broker said. “I make my living through business. Why would I smash my own signboard? Just stay here without worry. With the city lord protecting us, absolutely nothing will happen.”
It seemed nothing serious had happened inside the city yet.
Ren Yijue saw the enthusiastic broker out, then returned to find Qian Xuelang standing beneath a flowering begonia tree, tall and long-legged. He was reaching toward a branch, drawing a spray of blossoms down beneath the veil of his hat so he could smell them.
A night breeze drifted through. Blossoms fell in waves, fragrance everywhere, scattering across Qian Xuelang’s robes.
Ren Yijue stared, momentarily entranced.
“If the Young City Lord Cui still has leisure to go spring hunting, then presumably the Blood Demon is not in the city,” Qian Xuelang said calmly. “Do you still intend to waste time here?”
“That is precisely why we must stay.”
Ren Yijue walked beneath the tree and met Qian Xuelang’s gaze. Begonia petals drifted against the veil, fragrant wind winding around his sleeves. Through the haze, he did not look like some elegant figure of the mortal world, but the moon at the edge of heaven, snow among the clouds.
“The Blood Demon is absolutely not an enemy Young City Lord Cui can handle,” Ren Yijue said slowly. “There is nowhere nearby with a greater population than Dongxun City. If the Blood Demon is hiding and refusing to emerge, then I fear ordinary mortals are no longer enough for him. He is greedier than that…”
Qian Xuelang said, “You mean he wants the disciples of the Cui Clan.”