A mountain piled with chaotic rocks, containing countless spaces of various sizes and bizarre shapes inside, where many people toss and turn or temporarily reside.
Generally speaking, this place is unsuitable for survival, yet it is a divine miracle left behind in the human world, possessing aspects that draw people’s yearning.
The few fellow disciples wandering around the city walked and asked, also confirming the rumours of the Qilin Ginseng from the mouths of others.
Walking back and forth, the only unchanging scene was that scattered individuals sat on the ground in corners everywhere. These people, without a doubt, were cultivators, giving a feeling of drifting here, with various expressions, some bewildered, some numb.
After asking along the way, the few fellow disciples finally found the most bustling place in Kulei City, the Hundred Zhang Courtyard.
True to its name, it was a space reaching a hundred zhang in height within Kulei City. People travelling to and from Tianji Mountain, if they found anything valuable, mostly sold it here.
The sellers were all those travelling to and from Tianji Mountain, and while there were quite a few buyers, all the major shops had only one owner.
At least this was the case on the surface. As for whether anyone conducted private transactions, it was difficult to control.
The best way to eliminate private transactions as much as possible was the fairness and impartiality of the owner during trades. As long as customers felt the transaction was fair, they naturally would not risk engaging in any private dealings. In fact, the operators of Kulei City indeed did exactly this.
Within the massive internal space, there were taverns, teahouses, inns, gambling dens, brothels, auction houses, and the like. All kinds of venues for eating, drinking, playing, having fun, clothing, food, shelter, and transportation were complete. It was colourful, extraordinarily lively, exuding an atmosphere of extravagance, and could be called the most bustling place in the entire desert region.
While Yu Qing and the others were broadening their horizons, they all stopped in front of an inn and looked up. The signboard of the inn bore the three characters “Shi Xin Ju”.
This inn was carved out of a stone wall reaching a hundred zhang in height. Every guest room had an exquisite carved balustrade terrace. The arrangement of the guest rooms was not dense, but rather sparse, which could be seen from the number of windowsills and terraces. However, the meticulousness and exquisiteness of the layout could be felt even from the outside, and the building stretched all the way to the top, over a hundred zhang high.
A single inn occupied this entire massive area.
They were not the only fellow disciples newly arrived and looking up. There were also a few bystanders looking up and discussing.
“I heard this Stone Heart Residence is different from ordinary inns. Inside, they are all suites with two levels. I heard that in such a large place, fewer than a hundred guest rooms were carved out.”
“The floors of this inn are built truly high. I am afraid it would not be an exaggeration to call it the inn with the highest floors in the world.”
“I do not know if the floors are the highest, but it is definitely the most expensive. I heard staying for a day costs at least a hundred thousand taels.”
“A hundred thousand taels? Can staying there increase one’s cultivation or prolong life? What kind of fool would spend such a huge sum of money to stay for a day?”
“In the eyes of ordinary worldly people, a hundred taels of silver is a large sum of money. Would you take a hundred taels of silver seriously? For those who can stay here, spending millions or tens of millions casually is nothing. For someone with such strength, we actually consider them foolish. Who is truly foolish, them or us?”
“Hehe, that is true enough.”
“Some people who made a fortune at Tianji Mountain will also come in to stay and experience it.”
“Do you see? Most of the inn rooms above have lights on. It seems there are quite a few wealthy people in this world.”
“I heard that a dining table can be placed on the terrace outside every guest room, allowing one to drink wine on the terrace while looking down at the colourful scene below.”
Yu Qing and the others knew nothing about these circumstances and listened intently.
Just then, a burst of noise came from behind, and someone shouted, “What are you doing blocking the inn entrance? Make way!”
Yu Qing and the others turned around at the sound, only to see a group of people carrying a light gauze sedan chair approaching.
Realising they were blocking someone’s path, the few of them were not unreasonable, nor did they dare to be rude here, so they quickly moved aside to make way.
As the light gauze sedan chair passed, the few of them saw the person behind the swaying gauze. Sitting on the sedan chair was a charming woman in a pale green dress, lounging lazily with her legs crossed, a red pompon on the tip of her shoe. Her faint gaze from her half open, half closed eyes briefly swept over the few people blocking the way. Her features were picturesque, very beautiful.
The person passed like a fleeting glimpse of a startled goose, and the swaying gauze also obscured the view. Nevertheless, even though the person on the sedan chair was sitting, the fellow disciples could still sense her excellent figure.
There was also that fair skin, exuding a delicate and distinctive charm. She was a great beauty, and at first glance, quite refreshing to the eyes.
Unexpectedly, in this desert, there could be such a delicate great beauty. Nan Zhu’s mouth corners subconsciously curled up a bit. He originally wanted to ask the junior brothers beside him what they thought of this woman, but his glance caught Baili Xin, so he immediately shut his mouth and looked away, as if he had seen nothing just now.
Yu Qing’s heart also fluttered slightly at that beauty, but his gaze was quickly attracted by the attendant beside the sedan chair. She was a half demon, female, with short multicoloured hair reaching the nape of her neck, and a long tail sticking out behind her. It was a tiger tail, a tiger demon.
The reason he was attracted to this tiger demon was that she turned her head and took a look, seemingly staring right at him.
The sedan chair party passed by, entered the inn, and disappeared.
Among those who had been chattering and discussing earlier, someone curiously asked, “Given the winding and twisting entry and exit environment of this Kulei City, to actually ride in a sedan chair, she seems to put on quite an air. Who is this person?”
A passerby who had similarly made way, while continuing on his path, turned his head and cheerfully replied offhandedly, “The proprietress of Stone Heart Residence.”
The curious questioner paused, looked at the inn main gate, and clicked his tongue. “What does this have to do with whether she is the proprietress or not? Riding a sedan chair in and out of this place is simply inconvenient.”
Other passersby who heard this could not help but glance at him a few more times, and some even revealed an eerie smile.
Yu Qing and the others noticed this, exchanged glances, and all realised that there seemed to be some mystery in this matter.
After walking away from the inn entrance, they specifically asked a passerby about it. The result was not some great mystery. It was almost common knowledge in Kulei City, it was just not very pleasant to say out loud, plus her identity and background were not something to be spoken of carelessly.
The proprietress of Stone Heart Residence was named Lian Yu. There was nothing unpleasant about that. The unpleasant part was that she was simultaneously the mistress of Nie Rifu, the city lord of Kulei City.
There were not many venues in Kulei City specially permitted for outsiders to operate, and the Stone Heart Residence in Lian Yu’s hands was one of them, let alone being such a large venue.
That was right, Lian Yu was considered an outsider in Kulei City.
It was said that Lian Yu actually wanted to become a person of Kulei City, and even wanted to become the mistress of Kulei City, but Nie Rifu simply refused to marry her.
Nie Rifu had no wife or children. It was said that Lian Yu had even caused a huge scene in Kulei City over this, but it was useless. Nie Rifu would not marry her, plain and simple, and publicly declared that he would not marry any woman, only keeping her as a lover, and if she was unwilling, she could get out.
The fact that Nie Rifu could guard this place meant his strength was imaginable. He had cultivation at the Gaoxuan realm, and his strength was among the higher tier. Lian Yu could do nothing about him.
That scene at the time could be said to have caused Lian Yu to lose all face, which was very embarrassing.
Many people laughed at her, saying that if she truly left Nie Rifu, she would never find another man with conditions as good as his, so she could only obediently accept it.
They thought it was something else, but it turned out to be such a trivial matter. The few fellow disciples immediately lost interest and continued their own wandering.
Of course, there was also some sighing that such a beautiful woman had actually become someone else’s mistress.
Joking aside, if she were not very beautiful, how could a figure like Nie Rifu possibly take a fancy to her.
In the luxurious boudoir at the highest point of Stone Heart Residence, Lian Yu removed her hair ornaments in front of the dressing table, stood up and tossed her hair. Her bouncing long hair draped over her shoulders. Barefoot on the fluffy carpet, her stunning figure walked gracefully out of the room and approached the terrace railing.
There was a high chair by the railing. She smoothed the skirt behind her hips and sat down. Sitting was about the same height as standing. Leaning against the carved railing, she propped her head up with one arm, gazing down at the colourful scene below. Her breath was as fragrant as orchids, and the occasional whistling evening wind blowing through the gaps in the giant rocks stirred her long hair.
The female tiger demon brought over a tray, poured a cup of wine, and handed it to her.
Lian Yu took the gorgeous crystal wine glass into her hand and glanced sideways. “Where did you go sneaking around?”
The female tiger demon pondered and said, “Proprietress, I think I recognise the people who were blocking the way at the inn entrance just now.”
Her name was Hu Niu. She was originally Lian Yu’s spiritual pet mount, and now naturally was her most trusted confidante.
Lian Yu raised her cup, took a sip of wine, and said “Oh”, then thought for a moment and asked, “A few people who look foolish, is there anything special about them?”
Hu Niu said, “Proprietress, last time the city lord refused to give you manpower, did you not ask me to go to the Chaoyang Assembly to see if I could find some suitable and reliable hands? If I remember correctly, that man with the small moustache should be the champion of this Chaoyang Assembly, Zhang Zhichen.”
Lian Yu was somewhat surprised. “That wretched little moustache could be the number one person at the Chaoyang Assembly? He looks like a fool, not someone smart. Did you see wrong?”
Hu Niu said, “In his final battle, when he and his female opponent both crashed to the ground from high up, the blindfolds on both their faces were shaken off. The crash site happened to be not far from me, and I saw his appearance. It is just that he had his hair dishevelled at the time, so I dare not be certain seeing him now. However, back then, because someone on the woman’s side violated the rules, a fat man jumped out from his side to shout, along with a large burly fellow.”
Lian Yu blinked her bright eyes, recalled the appearances of the few people she saw when entering the inn earlier, and instantly understood what Hu Niu meant.
Hu Niu knew she understood. “Proprietress, I think there should be no mistake. It should be Zhang Zhichen.”
Lian Yu took a sip of wine and muttered to herself, “This fool really does not look the part.”
She then asked strangely, “The number one person at the Chaoyang Assembly has no worries about his future. Could he also have run here to seek adventure and wealth? Arrange for someone to follow and see what is going on. If he truly came to seek adventure and fortune, and if it is suitable, perhaps we can try to recruit him.”
Hu Niu said, “I have already arranged for someone to follow them.”