The atmosphere in the inn turned strange quickly. Everyone pretended to be minding their own businesses while repeatedly stealing glances at Fei Qing and his group of newly acquired female companions.
"Eat slowly. Nobody is going to snatch the food from you," Fei Qing reassured.
After the armed men had left, Fei Qing purchased food for the four tables of young ladies. The young ladies were stunned initially, but quickly started devouring the food like they had not eaten in days.
Just like everyone else, Zhao Yunxiao found the scene interesting and could not help paying attention to what was happening.
He had to admit that the armed men had good tastes – the young ladies were all beauties in their own rights. However, this only made him feel more curious about how Fei Qing intended to deal with them in the future.
Set them free? Could their beautiful selves survive alone out here in this harsh world?
Recruit them as servants? Would their frail selves be of much use to cultivators?
Send them home? Would he really go to all that trouble?
Or was it like the armed men had said, that Fei Qing was merely trying to put up a righteous front while trying to acquire them as his personal slaves?
Whatever it was going to be, Zhao Yunxiao had no intention of sticking around to find out. Seeing that the rain had lightened up a little, he quickly finished his food and went to pay.
"Thank you for your patronage, but are you sure you don't want to stay the night?" the waiter asked. "These are dangerous times to be travelling alone."
"Hmm? Is there something that I need to take note of?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.
The waiter had already shown a degree of surprise when Zhao Yunxiao arrived alone earlier, and now this. He could not help but feel that there was more to it than just regular concern.
"Ah, you must be new to these parts," the waiter realised. "It's not that I am trying to scare you into taking a room, but there have been many cases of kidnapping in the region over the past year. Be it men or women, adults or kids, traders or residents, the perpetrators do not seem to follow any patterns when selecting their victims. In fact, there are even rumours that the Scarlet Leaf Sect is behind all of this!"
"The Scarlet Leaf Sect?" Zhao Yunxiao furrowed his brows.
The common enemy of all orthodox factions!
"Don't quote me on that. It's just what I heard from others," the waiter gave a disclaimer. "So, are you interested in staying the night now?"
"Give me a room. Oh, and help me feed my horse."
He did not know if the waiter was speaking the truth, but he would rather err on the side of caution!
***
The rain had cleared by the next morning, allowing Zhao Yunxiao to resume his journey in relative comfort.
He was not the only one setting out from the inn either. Apart from him, many other lodgers were similarly departing in the direction of Thousand Autumn City.
No words were exchanged among the different groups, but that did not stop everyone from travelling at a similar pace. Just like that, they formed a loose entourage more than a hundred men strong, granting them safety in numbers.
Zhao Yunxiao rode in pace as well.
Not only did he not want to draw unwanted attention to himself, but he also wanted to take this opportunity to observe the others.
Many a time, one could learn the most about a place by observing others.
At the same time, he noticed Fei Qing and his companions – one male and over a dozen females – following along at the back of the entourage. Their two horses were now being used to carry bags of food as the two young men walked alongside the young ladies.
Not wanting to get entangled with them, Zhao Yunxiao chose to ride near the front instead.
The downside of travelling with the entourage was that Zhao Yunxiao could no longer make use of the breaks to cultivate or practise, but that much was worth giving up in exchange for more information.
Along the way, he posed as a martial artist who was wandering the lands in search of a better life, using this identity to casually strike up conversations with the other groups.
"If that's the case, then you really have nothing to worry about," a group of merchants laughed upon hearing his story. "I don't know about anything else. But if you can fight, then there will be no lack of jobs for you at Thousand Autumn City."
"You think so?" Zhao Yunxiao's expression lit up in a hopeful manner before being replaced by confusion. "But I heard that the city authorities are pretty influential. Why would there be a need to employ martial artists? Or do you mean that I can seek employment with the city authorities?"
"You are only half right there," one of the merchants replied before lowering his voice to a whisper. "The city lord's faction is influential indeed, but they have never been known for their interest in enforcing order. Just think about it – how many people are there in Thousand Autumn City? With so many people entering and leaving every day, it would be far too costly to really enforce law and order. Instead, they only choose to interfere wherever it benefits them. And without their active presence, all sorts of activities naturally flourished. In such an environment, businesses and factions definitely need their own enforcement force if they do not wish to be taken advantage of by others."
"You look like a good lad, so what do you think about receiving a few moves from me?" another member of the group said. "You might not know this, but I am the strongest among the guards of our merchant hall. If you perform well enough, I might just recommend you for a job."
"Thank you for the offer, but I'll pass for now," Zhao Yunxiao waved his hands with a polite smile. "If possible, I would like to join the city lord's faction instead. That sounds like the most rewarding job!"
"Haha, it's good for young men to have big dreams. All right, go try your luck there then!"
Zhao Yunxiao went around speaking to a few different groups, gathering up as much information as he could about the city. However, he made sure to stop after a few rounds of doing so, understanding that he would just end up looking suspicious if he overdid it.
After more than half a day of journey, the spectacular Thousand Autumn City finally came into sight.
From the looks of it, it was in no way inferior to Moonrise City – a huge deal considering how Moonrise City was unofficially ruled by the Black Tortoise Sect.
The tall city walls stretched into the distance, with guards keeping a lookout from watchtowers that were spaced out atop the walls at regular intervals. The huge gate was only opened partially, with two long lines of people queuing up to enter.
At the front of the queues, city guards were collecting entrance fees from each person before letting them in.
It was a fixed amount per person, but the guards did not bother searching carts and carriages for hidden people. It was unknown if they trusted the visitors, or simply could not be bothered.
Perhaps that was a good thing as well, or the already long lines would take even longer to clear.
Zhao Yunxiao obediently joined the others, queuing for close to an hour before finally paying to get past the gate.
As he took his first step into Thousand Autumn City, he could not help but feel impressed.
This was not because of the bustling streets, the beautiful architecture, or even the well-maintained infrastructure. Those were all nice and good, but they could hardly compare to the revelation that the world origin energy here was dense enough to almost rival that of a small cultivation faction.
Considering that, he would not be surprised if new cultivation factions were to end up being established here in the future.
Of course, it was still far too lacking in comparison to Purple Plum Mountain.
Now that he had arrived, Zhao Yunxiao did not immediately look for the mission requestor. While he was certain that free lodging would be provided if he did, he still decided to pay for a room at an inn instead.
Firstly, he wanted to gather a little more information about the city and the region at large before jumping into things. Knowledge was key. Only by familiarising himself with the city could he prepare himself for any unforeseen circumstances.
Secondly, he did not want his traces to be found too easily. After all, he was not just here to complete the sect mission. If others realised that he did not return to Purple Plum Mountain despite having already left the mission requestor's residence for a while, it would definitely raise some eyebrows. But if he chose to stay at separate inns, any investigation into his whereabouts, while still possible, would no longer be as simple a task.
After securing accommodations, he immediately went to acquire a detailed map of the area, getting the largest one available and comparing it to the information he had gotten through research.
Indeed, there was only one mountain to the east of the city. Or at the very least, it was the only one within reasonable distance.
Duyuan Empire, Thousand Autumn City, Blueflag Mountain to the East.
Snow-capped peak, Verdant trees, Point where all things meet.
That must be Blueflag Mountain.
With that, he was now one step closer to unravelling the message left behind by the Untethered Sage.
Zhao Yunxiao felt more assured after confirming the mountain's location. Putting the map away, he started his exploration of Thousand Autumn City.
It did not take long before he realised the presence of many other cultivators within the city. Unlike Zhao Yunxiao, many of them did not seem to care about hiding their identities, openly discussing matters of the cultivation world. Even the locals did not seem to be surprised, as though already used to the cultivators being around.
He had a guess or two on why there were so many cultivators present as well.
Since the Scarlet Leaf Sect had been rumoured to be responsible for the recent kidnappings, it would not be surprising for orthodox cultivators to gather, be it due to being hired or for a personal goal of meting out a righteous crusade.
This only gave Zhao Yunxiao more reason to maintain a low profile and avoid drawing attention to himself. He definitely did not want to be drawn into any unnecessary conflicts.
Zhao Yunxiao continued to walk along, and quickly found himself arriving at a huge slave market. The entire area comprised at least hundreds of different stores, all of them in the same line of business.
Not only were there beautiful young women put on display with their arms and feet chained, but there were also healthy young men in the same boat. Those were considered the premium goods, while others were priced significantly lower. In fact, there were even elderly and children being sold at much cheaper prices, catering to the buyers who either could not afford the premium goods, or actually preferred such niche products.
He let out a helpless sigh upon noticing the hollow look in their eyes.
With such proliferation of the trade, it was no wonder the slave traders were able to stand their ground with such confidence back at the inn.
In fact, the competition among slave traders was so intense that most of them even had to hire people to go around soliciting customers, trying to attract more footfall to their shops. Fortunately, Zhao Yunxiao's poor dressing acted as the best repellent, granting him a free and undisturbed passage through the slave market.
Suddenly, a huge commotion started among the slave traders and solicitors.
"Sir Ke is here!"
"What? Where is he? We need to go find him quick!"
"He's at the west entrance!"
"Let's go! Let's go!"
Many of the solicitors started rushing towards the west entrance of the slave market, akin to children rushing towards a candy shop.
"What's going on? Who is this Sir Ke, and why are they all rushing to find him?" Zhao Yunxiao casually asked another visitor at the slave market.
"You must be new here," the man answered with a sigh. "Sir Ke Huofen is someone who has ties to many people in influential positions. Ever since he came to the city about a year ago, he has been purchasing slaves on a regular basis to supply his connections. Because of that, he would almost always spend big whenever he comes to the slave market. So, tell me. If you were a slave trader, would you not fight for his attention when you see him appearing? Regular people like us can only wait till he is done before picking up the scraps."
"So, that's why," Zhao Yunxiao nodded in understanding. "Thank you for the enlightenment."
Before long, this Ke Huofen appeared before Zhao Yunxiao's eyes.
It was not difficult to identify him either, despite having close to zero information about his appearance. After all, there was only one person casually strolling through the slave market while solicitors crowded around him, trying to convince him to visit their stores.