Chapter 102 – The Back of that Silhouette
Although Deer City could not be counted as a large scale city, but the North, East, South and West four main districts each had different attributes and characteristics. The Northern district was a location with the highest numbers of poor and destitute people, with the buildings and structures being very varied and diverse. Streets and alleys of all sizes warped and weaved in deranged order. If a person who was unfamiliar with this area entered into the streets, it was alike to entering a labyrinth.
And the South district was the most prosperous business district of the city. Merchants and companies would gather here, along with different armed escort companies and factions. People from a thousand miles around Deer City would converge here, all for the sake of benefit and profit. It could be said that this district collected people from all trades, with all kinds of bad characters able to be seen at this location.
The split second Ye Qingyu entered into the Southern district, he was able to sense a dense odour of merchants that settled on him. The sensation of this district was completely different from the Northern district.
The time right now was the early hours of the morning. Fragmentary snowflakes were still drifting and the sun far off had not yet risen fully with the eastern skies slightly showing the marble white sky of the dawn. But even in the narrowest of streets, there were peddlers that had claimed their position, hawking all kinds of odd and strange wares.
The air of the early winter was already extremely chilly.
Ye Qingyu, wearing a large black garment and hat, travelling through the crowd.
He unhurriedly headed towards the direction of the [Mist Residence].
Originally, Ye Qingyu was worried that such an attire would be like drawing legs on a snake* and would needlessly attract the attention of people. But only upon coming here did he discover that people wearing all sorts of attire that mysteriously covered their faces could be seen everywhere.
And just like the Northern district, on the streets, there were quite a few patrolling platoons.
But what was different was that these squadrons rarely interrogated the people travelling on the streets.
After all, this area was the place with the most people from outside of Deer City. This was the place with the most complicated and diverse group of people. If they went and questioned every suspicious person on the streets, even if the entire standing army was sent to the streets, it wouldn’t be enough to complete such a workload.
Ye Qingyu went through the streets without any obstacles.
He did not hurry towards the [Mist Residence], and when he passed the different stalls he would eat several buns and a bowl of thin congee. Only after delaying for an hour of time, waiting until the sun had completely risen and the flow of people on the streets became greater and greater did he once again rejoin the crowd.
When he passed by some little stalls, Ye Qingyu would also stop and evaluate, admiring the wares.
And as he passed by these assorted stalls, Ye Qingyu suddenly felt that he could not see the little loli with empty hands**. Without knowing why, when he saw a white little bear hanging on one of the stalls, he felt that the little loli must like it. When he asked for the price, the peddler was a crafty fellow and asked for one gold right off the bat. Ye Qingyu was preoccupied, too lazy to haggle, buying it straight-out.
As he watched Ye Qingyu depart, the peddler was slightly regretful. Since the customer was so generous, he should have set the price slightly higher.
Such a situation was able to be seen everywhere in the Southern district.
After buying the little bear and carrying it in his hands, he was like a person observing flowers from horseback. After wandering in several circles, turning several times and walking backwards, he slowly neared the [Mist Residence]
The [Mist Residence] was slightly famous in the Southern district.
Because it was one of the ten gold residences in the Southern district.
What was called gold residence, was not a place where they sold jewelry or accessories. It was a place for your sensual pleasures, a money squandering establishment for you to indulge in luxury. Listening to songs and watching dances, a place where you spent time satisfying your desires. In a place like the Southern district where it was densely packed with commercial activity, such establishments were not in the few.
As he walked in the old streets, he passed by very many of the old small doors that looked simple on the outside. However, if you entered into it, you would discover an amazing and extravagant degree of luxury that was enough to make one staggered.
The reason that the [Mist Residence] was famous was because in the gold residences of the Southern district, it was ranked number ten.
Apart from making Ye Qingyu shocked, this also made him feel slightly strange.
Why would Wang Yan tell him to come to such a place to meet with her.
In the everyones subconscious, a woman— especially a proper woman, should not appear in a place like this. And Wang Yan was not only a proper woman, she was a person of the highest status in the entire Deer City, with a distinguished identity. She was one of the strongest women in the city. She should even more not appear at such a place.
And for a similar reason, the little loli Song Xiaojun was the illegitimate daughter of an important person within the Qingluo Merchant Company. Furthermore, she was a student of White Deer Academy, she should not appear in such a place.
Bringing with him many questions in his heart, Ye Qingyu arrived at the entrance of the [Mist Residence].
Ash grey bricks, black tiles. A little door to a little courtyard.
Beside the entrance were two stone guardian lions not even half a meter tall. The stonework was elaborate but was absolutely not the work of a renowned master, exceedingly average. The little elm door close up was crude and coarse, emitting a kind of sensation that it had undergone many years of wear and tear. The entrance did not have a sign and he was also not able to see the sign saying [Mist Residence] anywhere. They did not have a doorman of any sort outside. From the external appearance, it seemed like it was the little house of a normal middle class family.
Ye Qingyu hesitated, confirming that he did not go to the wrong place. Then, he pushed and entered.
The wooden door emitted light sounds of squeaking.
Inside the hall, there were around five warriors wearing black sturdy clothing. From their appearance, they seemed like guards of some sort and they were currently drinking wine and roasting chicken. They should be warriors on the duty for the morning shift. As they heard the sound of the door opening, one of them considered Ye Qingyu for several glances, then nodded his head. Without saying anything, he brought Ye Qingyu further inside.
Behind the hall was a brick and tile passageway.
The corridor was exceedingly serene and quiet, not a sight to be seen.
After walking a hundred meters, on both sides of the corridor there were two other paths, as if it was the web of a spider, heading to different courtyards. With Ye Qingyu’s eyesight, he was able to see the name of the different courtyards far away, and the names were particularly unique. They were the Orchid garden, Observing Snow garden, Plum Shadow garden and so on and so forth. But the doors to these courtyards were round, the black doors covering the inside, without any way knowing what it was like beyond.
On the way, there were not any other people to be seen.
The surrounding environment was quiet and indifferent.
From the bustling and active streets from the outside, this environment was completely different. And from Ye Qingyu’s imagination of a gold residence, where sensual pleasure was everywhere, dancing and music everywhere, this [Mist Residence] was also largely different.
The leading black warrior always remained silent. His footsteps were neither fast nor slow, only after walking for around five minutes did he go in a passageway, reaching the ends of this corridor. They were in front of a scarlet red door.
“We have arrived.”
The black-clothed warrior stopped his footsteps.
Ye Qingyu looked at the scarlet red door.
But the black-clothed warrior did not push open the door to enter. He took a seal from somewhere on his clothing and pressed it light on the left of the grey wall of the door. In the flickering glimmer, a ripple-like pattern began vibrating, and there was a silver formation like that of a silver dragon activating. Light covering the entrance.
The wall was a formation.
“Young lord Ye, please.” The warrior did not enter, but greeted Ye Qingyu instead.
Ye Qingyu was taken aback, then immediately said in surprise, “So you’ve long recognized me?”
“Your formation image, I have at least seen over a hundred times. So even if in the moment you entered you wore garments that covered your face, but from your atmosphere and the figure of your body, I was able to recognize your identity.” The tone of the warrior with black clothing was exceeding respectful. “Young lord Ye, please enter. Superior Wang has already been waiting for you.”
Ye Qingyu’s heart became even more shocked.
However, he did not ask too much. He took one step into the rippling wall, as if it was just like a water screen, passing straight through. A cool and refreshing feeling directly hit his face, as if he was washing in the midst of water. His body became slightly weightless, just like his first time entering the formation teleportation in the practical battle training.
After a breath of time, Ye Qingyu felt his eyes blurring. The scenery had completely changed.
As if it was another world entirely.
Pools.
Fake mountain.
Fountains.
Fragments of snow were floating in the air, and the pool and springs had already frozen.
At the end of the corridor and under the pavilion, a person wearing a white imperial dress was there. She silently stood with her back facing Ye Qingyu. A cold icy wind blew past, her blue green hair lightly swaying. As if it was a figure independent from the world. Ye Qingyu vaguely felt, that this silhouette was familiar. As if he had seen her somewhere before.
“So you’ve come.”
A familiar voice was heard.
It was the voice of Wang Yan.
Ye Qingyu let out a breath of relief, about to say something…
But the figure with imperial clothing turned around. Ye Qingyu was taken aback, then his mouth widened in stunned disbelief.
Because her face was absolutely not the ordinary appearance of Wang Yan.
It was a peerless and unmatched face, an exceptional beauty.
Ye Qingyu did not know how to describe the woman in front of him. She was around twenty years of age, and was namely in the period that a woman was most gorgeous. Her skin was like white jade, without the slightest hint of imperfection. Her hair was like the clouds, her skin like jade. As if she was the creator’s favourite. Every part of her face, every curve of her figure, was as if it was sculpted from the most perfect and most astounding ratio. Without exaggerating in the slightest, the woman in front of her was absolutely the most beautiful woman Ye Qingyu had ever seen.
“What, you don’t recognize me?” A trace of mischievousness flashed in the eyes of this imperial-clothed beauty.
A very familiar voice.
It was the voice of Wang Yan.
But that face… just what was happening?
The questions in Ye Qingyu’s eyes became even more.
“What? Not long ago, we had just met?” the peerless beauty said laughingly.
Ye Qingyu became even more confused.
Where had they seen before?
That’s right, that figure…
Immediately, a bolt of lightning flashed by in his mind.
Ye Qingyu suddenly realized, the reason for the shocking sensation of familiarity when he saw the silhouette of this woman. Because this atmosphere and figure was evidently the unmatched expert, Wang Jianru that sliced apart the sky high above in Deer City.
That day, the cold light of the sword tore apart space and split apart the gloomy clouds. The peerless sword immortal stood alone, shocking countless lifeforms within Deer City. At the last moment, when the sky cleared, it was as if a fairy descended to the mortal realm. She was deeply imprinted within the hearts and souls of countless martial artists.
Ye Qingyu at that time was gazing into the sky, deeply storing away such a moment.
And at the time when he saw the back of this figure, his heart was as if fiercely struck by something. He subconsciously thought he recognized that figure. And at the time when he slightly recovered, he realized that the peerless beauty in front of him— was she not the person standing above all life in the sky on that day, the unmatched sword immortal?
But why was her voice exactly the same as Wang Yan?
Could it be?
Ye Qingyu’s heart could not help but begin beating madly.
*attract attention by doing something superfluous **without any gifts and presents