Amid the tense, sabers-drawn atmosphere, the loft door opened once more.
Every eye turned, and they saw a tall, slender young man in an ink-black robe stroll out.
He handed the jade box back to Lin Jingyi with an idle gesture and swept a calm gaze across the crowd of ugly faces. Then, without a word, he called out Red Cloud. His figure rose slowly into the air and, in no particular hurry, flew off toward the borders of Great Qian.
“…”
Hou Wanshan was briefly stunned, not quite understanding what Commander Shen was thinking.
He’d taken the treasure and, rather than hurrying back to the War Temple or staying in Lizhou a while longer, was drifting off in plain sight of this whole crowd… straight out of Great Qian? Wasn’t this simply inviting people to rob him?!
Sure enough, once those few Mixed Origin Grandmasters had shaken off their surprise, they all instinctively reined in their expressions — like beasts before a hunt, doing their utmost to mask the greed in their eyes.
“Uh.”
For no clear reason, Lin Jingyi found the scene oddly familiar. Then he shot the few Grandmasters a sympathetic glance.
The Red Cloud in the heavens seemed to be out for a stroll, terrified the others might not keep up — it even paused a moment in the sky, so the crowd could see clearly which way it had gone.
“I’ve matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave first.”
One short man, of an impatient temperament, turned to walk out of the crowd, only to be yanked back by the companion beside him, who murmured, “Can you use your head for once?”
Nothing else needed saying — the Lizhou General up in the sky hadn’t so much as moved. It was plainly a trap, and paired with the ink-robed youth’s clumsy playacting, did they really take everyone here for fools?
Beyond Great Qian.
Shen Yi stood on the Red Cloud, hands at his sides, Lady Qinghua beside him. He waited quietly for a while, then looked back and found the horizon still utterly empty.
He’d meant to earn a little on the side. It seemed there’d be no chance for that.
“They’re likely still looking into your background.” Lady Qinghua, who seemed to understand these cultivators well, said softly, “Out in the world, an opening this obvious is one that few ever dare to try.”
Everyone wanted an easy score, but everyone prized their own life just as much.
Shen Yi withdrew his gaze and raised both palms. His slender ten fingers looked to hold nothing at all, but on closer study one could make out threads of cold light flowing across them.
The Cold Jade Mysterious Silk Hand.
So this was a true treasure?
Shen Yi flexed his hands; he could scarcely feel its presence there. He’d never laid eyes on anything fine, but judging from everyone else’s reactions, it had to be an exceedingly precious thing.
“Never mind. No more waiting.”
Shen Yi lowered his hands and let Qinghua lead the way ahead.
Once fully clear of Great Qian’s bounds, the environment outside was another world entirely. Not a soul in sight, and no roads to speak of. Stray even a little off course, and your destination might end up ten thousand li away.
By the travelogues he’d read earlier, the Eight-Direction Dining Hall lay west of Great Qian, within a valley that wasn’t especially large. The valley was overgrown with all manner of rare treasures, which they gathered to make into various medicinal dishes. Called a dining hall, but in the eyes of other powers it was closer to an alchemy sect. A single medicinal dish rivaled a top-grade treasure pill, and so it enjoyed great favor among many powerhouses.
“If that cultivator’s cave estate truly lies in Eight-Direction Valley, Qinghua expects… a fair number of people know of it.”
Lady Qinghua had been there once before, and what she knew was certainly far more detailed than the books. “They won’t provide their fare to just anyone, but neither do they make a habit of turning others away. Calling themselves a dining hall, they never take part in cultivators’ disputes.”
“And precisely because of that, the Dining Hall has friends far and wide, no few of them formidable cultivators like the Mysterious Sword Perfected Master, Nie Jun. So people generally don’t dare cause trouble inside.”
At this she looked to Shen Yi. “Even without revealing the golden body, with your cultivation you’ll be an honored guest.”
“I understand.”
Shen Yi knew she was reminding him. Out in the world, what should be hidden must be hidden, and what should be shown must be shown. Only with high enough strength could one truly take part in certain matters — and save a great deal of trouble besides.
As the words fell, red light surged across Shen Yi’s skin. He’d broken through to Mixed Origin so long ago, and only now, having left Great Qian, could he at last stop concealing his cultivation.
His figure abruptly accelerated, streaking across the heavens.
Within a resplendent valley stood a nine-story building shaped like a vivid red pagoda. Not exactly opulent, but festive enough.
Outside was nothing like Great Qian, where the court and War Temple held the situation in hand — this was a land wholly without order. To go so ostentatiously, needing no formation to hide itself, was proof enough of the Eight-Direction Dining Hall’s depth.
At present the din of voices rose everywhere; it looked lively indeed.
A Red Cloud swept across the sky, and then an ink-robed figure alighted at the building’s entrance and put away his path infant.
The two young attendants lifted their eyelids. A Mixed Origin Grandmaster arriving was something that could never be slighted, wherever it happened. And yet their manner just now could in no way be called warm. Listlessly, they said, “If you’ve come to dine, please head up to the third floor and find Miss Mei. If you’ve come for other matters… please have a seat on the first floor.”
“…”
Lady Qinghua drifted in the air, glancing anxiously at her master. It had never once occurred to her that the Eight-Direction Dining Hall would now hold even Grandmasters in such low regard.
“Mm.”
Shen Yi nodded slightly, betraying nothing unusual, and stepped inside.
Within, it proved to be another world altogether — an immensely spacious hall, scattered with more than two or three hundred small tables.
Qinghua was taken aback. At last she understood why the two attendants had worn such attitudes.
Those two-hundred-odd tables were very nearly full, yet not a single one had food set out on it. Everyone had subtly formed into several factions, eyeing one another coldly. The cultivators giving off a Mixed Origin aura alone were more than two hands could count.
A perfectly good dining hall, now thick with the smell of gunpowder. This was far more than “a fair number of people know of it”… it was nearly packed.
Shen Yi raised an eyebrow, found an out-of-the-way corner table at random, and sat down. Those who had been watching him, discovering he was on his own, quickly withdrew their gazes.
That is, until another party of five strode in.
Every face changed slightly, and then they all rose together. “We greet Senior Zhang.”
The one in the lead wore a black robe, in the prime of life by his looks, a black beard about his jaw. Three others behind him were likewise draped in black, save for a single old man in short gray work-clothes, who looked rather out of place.
“Xuanguang Cave,” Qinghua reminded him softly.
Shen Yi sat in his corner, and having not risen, went unnoticed by anyone. He calmly glanced at the old man in gray. A gold-wolf jade token hung at the man’s waist.
Great Qian’s Mixed Origin Grandmasters, dispatched to fend off demons — resisting them all the way to the Eight-Direction Dining Hall.
Everyone loudly worked to claim some connection, more than ten Grandmasters among them, yet Perfected Master Zhang looked neither left nor right, wearing an air of placid composure.
Just then, a lovely figure in a red skirt appeared slowly at the top of the stairs.
She frowned at the Xuanguang Cave party and said softly, “Perfected Master Nie is dining upstairs. I’ll ask you all to keep it down.”
Those words seemed to carry some divine power. In an instant, the whole hall went so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
“…”
The corner of Perfected Master Zhang’s eye twitched. He no longer stood where he was, but led his few people quickly up the stairs. Then he turned back and said coldly, “Guard this spot. Don’t let anyone disturb me… at my meal with Brother Nie.”
At that, the old man in gray only nodded silently, and took up a position at the mouth of the stairs.
“Setting a Mixed Origin Grandmaster to watch the door…”
“What grand style.”
Barred below though they were, the many cultivators showed no dissatisfaction. On the contrary, they looked on with faces full of awe, the shock in their hearts beyond words.
Truly worthy of Xuanguang Cave. What an extravagant gesture.
(End of Chapter 253)