Han Li was perfectly willing to stay away from Dong Xuan'er, and Senior Brother Feng and Yan Yu were naturally only too happy about it!
So not only did they make no attempt to stop him, but Yan Yu even enthusiastically handed him a jade slip. It contained a topographical map of Yanling Fortress, which would save Han Li some time by letting him head straight to his destination instead of wandering around like a confused fly.
As for Dong Xuan'er herself, although she was quite surprised that Han Li had suddenly let her go and stopped keeping tabs on her, being free to mingle with all those male cultivators filled her with delight. Of course, she still gave Han Li several bewildered glances, unable for the life of her to figure out his intentions.
"Intentions? Hmph, I just don't want to carry around deadweight, and being on my own is a lot more freeing!" Han Li thought to himself as he strolled along the bluestone path of Yanling Fortress, hands clasped behind his back in a leisurely manner, casting occasional glances at the shops lining both sides of the street.
They sold talismans, materials for artifact refining and pill concocting, and a handful even offered low-grade magical tools for sale — though most of the shopkeepers were ordinary mortals without any magical power at all.
This was hardly unusual. Yanling Fortress was enormous in area, home to over a hundred thousand people. But those who possessed a spirit root and could cultivate magical arts were only a tiny fraction; the vast majority were just ordinary mortals.
These mortals, who in theory should have been living in the mundane world, came in two types. Some had no spirit root but were still blood relatives of the Yan family. Others were spouses or kin of Yan family disciples — after all, marrying only within the Yan bloodline was far from ideal, and bringing in some fresh blood was necessary for the family to continue thriving.
Naturally, for the sake of secrecy, any mortal who entered Yanling Fortress was forbidden from ever leaving the city for the rest of their lives. They could only live, grow old, and die within its walls. Though they never had to worry about food or clothing again, it was still an extremely sad fate.
The newcomers from the outside world could at least say they had seen what lay beyond the walls. But those who had been born inside the fortress and never possessed a spirit root would never even get a glimpse of the outside world.
That said, when the mortals had first entered the fortress, none of them had been forced. They had all either reached a dead end or felt profoundly indebted to the Yan family, and had volunteered of their own accord. On top of that, Yanling Fortress was heavily guarded, shrouded in protective formations, and any mortal caught trying to leave was executed on the spot. To this day, no one had ever heard of a mortal successfully escaping.
This information, of course, was not something Han Li had pieced together on his own. It was all contained in the small notes accompanying the map jade slip. Thanks to it, Han Li now had a rough impression of Yanling Fortress in his mind.
Right now, he was heading toward a teahouse inside the fortress. From what Han Li understood, cultivators were generally quite fond of fine tea, and teahouses were practically a must-visit for all of them. Han Li felt that perhaps he could run into other cultivators there and join some small groups — that was a rare opportunity for socializing. After all, locking yourself away and working in isolation was never a good approach.
At the end of this stone street, at a three-way intersection, he should be able to spot the teahouse's signboard. Thinking this, Han Li quickened his pace.
But then, from one of the shops to his side, several heated voices suddenly rang out — a man and a woman in a heated argument, followed by a man's furious roar. A young woman dressed in the attire of a married lady stormed out of the shop in a fury, charging straight onto the stone street — and collided head-on with a somewhat startled Han Li.
The young woman appeared to be quite lovely, and so, with the typical absent-mindedness of a man, Han Li gave her a casual glance. But the moment he took in her features, his body went rigid, and he froze in place.
The young woman, seeing Han Li staring at her so brazenly, was furious.
But she had lived in the fortress for quite some time now, and though she possessed no magical power whatsoever, she could tell from his attire right away that Han Li was a cultivator. In her embarrassment and anger, she didn't pay much attention to his face — he seemed vaguely familiar — but she suppressed her fury, bowed her head slightly, and said stiffly:
"Lord Cultivator, would you please let this humble woman pass? I am a married woman. Isn't it unseemly for a lord to stare at a common woman like this?"
Having said this, the young woman was not particularly worried. The rules inside Yanling Fortress were extremely strict, and cultivators were absolutely forbidden from harassing the lives of ordinary people. Violators were punished severely. Of course, ordinary people also had to show absolute respect toward cultivators, and any who showed negligence could be dealt with freely by the cultivators.
Moreover, standing here on a street full of onlookers, she was not afraid that the cultivator would try anything improper.
But after keeping her head lowered for a long while, she noticed that the cultivator before her still hadn't moved. He neither made way nor opened his mouth to scold her. This piqued her curiosity, and she couldn't help but raise her delicate head to take a look.
Before her appeared a face caught somewhere between a smirk and a frown — a face that practically begged to be punched. The familiarity of it instantly transported the young woman back ten years, to a moonlit night on a narrow path behind a courtyard, where a pettifogging senior brother and a sharp-tongued, mischievous young girl had been bickering with each other — every detail crystal clear before her eyes!
"Senior Brother?"
"Junior Sister!"