"The City Lord ordered the two of us to assist Commander Zhao, so naturally we will lend a hand." A calm, measured voice drifted from beyond the city gate, and with that a white-robed scholar and a monk wearing a green kasaya stepped out.
It was the scholar, roughly forty years of age, who had spoken.
Commander Zhao did not dare treat these two Cultivators carelessly. He quickly thanked them with a smile plastered across his face.
The scholar and the monk each produced a magical instrument — one a mirror, the other a copper bowl. Chanting incantations under their breath, they formed hand seals with one hand and simultaneously tossed their treasures into midair.
The two instruments immediately began spinning in place. A stream of azure radiance sprayed from the mirror and enveloped the foremost giant tortoise, while a wash of yellow light shot from the bowl and swept over the great wolf riders nearby.
Within moments, the azure glow and the yellow light detached from their targets and surged onward to the next.
In this manner, the two Cultivators worked their way through the caravan one tortoise-cart at a time, the azure and yellow lights flickering back and forth, leaving no one unchecked.
In the blink of an eye, all thirty-odd carts and more than two hundred people had been swept by the twin radiance. Nothing out of the ordinary had been found.
"Good. You may enter. Oh — one more thing. Madam Fang has already reserved the largest inn on the west side of the city, the Ruyun Inn. After you've delivered your goods, you can head straight there to rejoin her." Commander Zhao's expression relaxed, and he raised no further objections. With a casual wave of his hand, he ordered the gate opened.
The scar-faced man was momentarily taken aback, but he cupped his fists in thanks and led the caravan through the gate.
Only once they had passed inside could one appreciate just how vast the stone city truly was — far exceeding anything
Countless buildings of every description stretched out in every direction, extending so far that no end was visible. The city had clearly been planned in advance: though the structures varied wildly in style and were built from an assortment of materials — stone, timber, and the like — they were all arranged in neat rows, separated by flagstone streets several zhang wide.
At this moment the sprawling city was teeming with people. Every street was packed shoulder to shoulder, hopelessly congested.
Inside the carriage, the blue-robed girl caught sight of the crowded streets and murmured softly to herself, "It seems the beast tide is real after all. Otherwise, the people living in the villages outside the city wouldn't have all poured in like this. That's only going to put even more pressure on Anyuan City."
Only then did
With so many people packed into the streets, moving the caravan's tortoise-carts through was no easy matter. Fortunately, Commander Zhao had anticipated the difficulty and dispatched several soldiers to clear the path ahead, forcibly parting the crowd to carve out a narrow corridor for the procession.
Even so, the carts made sluggish progress. It took the better part of an hour before they finally crossed a dozen or so long streets and turned onto a far less populated avenue, where they came to a halt before a multi-storied ceremonial archway.
Behind the arch stood several warehouse-type buildings under heavy guard, with armed sentries stationed everywhere around them.
What came next was straightforward. The Tiendong Trading Company's people handed over the goods one shipment at a time to the warehouse officials in charge of inspection. Once Zhang Kui received the receipt, he let out a long breath of relief and led everyone directly toward the west side of the city, just as Commander Zhao had instructed.
Zhang Kui frowned at this. After a brief consideration, he agreed — but added a few words of caution:
"Brother Han, you haven't yet met Madam Fang, so you aren't officially part of the company. I can't very well keep too tight a rein on you. But as you've surely noticed, Anyuan City is a powder keg right now — all sorts of people mixed together, not the safest place. Besides, this is nothing more than a remote little town. There probably isn't all that much to see. If you have matters to attend to, I'd suggest wrapping them up quickly and getting to the inn."
Despite his fierce appearance, this caravan leader chose his words with surprising delicacy.
Zhang Kui watched the direction in which
"What is it, Benefactor Zhang? Worried young Han won't come back?" Nanqizi, who had been standing beside the scar-faced man, suddenly broke into a grin and asked the question aloud.