So say it is a poison that eats away at your insides, and once consud, you will lose your true self and beco deranged.
"Hmm... there is another person..."
Xie Xuanyi’s eyes narrowed.
At this mont, even though only one person stepped out of the carriage, he distinctly felt a hint of "danger."
There was still another person sitting inside the carriage.
That person remained hidden, never showing their face, just sitting silently in the vehicle.
Yet they made Xie Xuanyi feel uneasy.
"Yin God Realm... but only a tiny step away from Yang God..."
"Great Perfection?"
Xie Xuanyi furrowed his brow.
How can there be so many Great Perfections in this world?
Before the great tide of fate arrived, there were only three Great Perfections in Chu Country.
Fire Master, Zhou Ceng, Tang Fengshu.
Logically, Li Kingdom’s martial fate is slightly weaker, so they should have fewer Great Perfections.
But as it stands now...
Chen Chong, Han Li, plus the "one" in the carriage, the strong individuals within the Li Kingdom’s borders are unexpectedly formidable and not to be underestimated.
"Lord Chen."
Nalan Qiutong appeared and presented a decree to the chief inspector, then spoke in a soft voice, "The State Preceptor orders that for the next few days, the south gate of Xuanbei Pass will be cleared by the ’Hook and Clamp Master.’"
"...Understood."
Where would the inspector dare to raise objections?
Within Xuanbei Pass, it is not a matter of opinion... whether it is Han Li or Chen Chong, they must follow the orders of the Crown Prince and Nalan Xuance.
Once the decree was shown.
The inspector and the armored soldiers quickly left.
The power transition at Xuanbei Pass’s city gate took only a few brief monts.
"Xuanbei Pass has been taken over by the Hook and Clamp Master..."
Xie Xuanyi furrowed his brow.
What is happening, has Nalan Xuance captured sothing unusual through the [Iron Curtain]?
Will the upcoming inspections beco more stringent?
He instinctively squeezed the passage docunts in his palm, unsure how this sudden change might affect his entry into the pass.
"There’s no need for concern."
"To enter the city, there’s no need to linger. Just take out the docunts and hang them beside you."
After taking over Xuanbei Pass.
Nalan Qiutong stood at the city gate with hands behind back. Beside them, a Hook and Clamp Master took out a Magic Artifact, hanging it high. It was a small golden mirror, suspended above the gate, emitting a faint golden light... an unexpected event for Xie Xuanyi, these Hook and Clamp Masters did not check the carriages of those entering the city at all. They did not seem to care whether these city entrants carried "banned items" or smuggled in idle people who shouldn’t cross the border.
Three Hook and Clamp Masters stood to the left, right, and center at the city gate, like stone statues.
The carriages resud passage.
This inspection speed... is several tis faster than before!
"Such a pity."
Xie Xuanyi heard soone beside him sigh lightly, "If Old Feng had been a mont later... maybe he wouldn’t have died..."
He looked toward the headless corpse being dragged away by armored soldiers not far away.
Old Feng?
The deceased coachman should be Old Feng... given the current circumstances, this poor man indeed did not catch a good ti. Nalan Qiutong seed uninterested in the identity of the entrants, only that mirror caught Xie Xuanyi’s eye.
It doesn’t seem like it’s a specialized Magic Artifact of the Hook and Clamp Masters, nor is it a Treasure made by Xuanwei Island.
This golden mirror...
It seems to emit a faint Buddhist aura.
Approaching the Xuanbei Pass city gate, the pace of traffic was brisk, and soon it was Xie Xuanyi’s turn.
"Hold on."
And at that mont, Nalan Qiutong suddenly spoke.
This was the first ti she spoke, and the first ti she commanded a halt, after the Hook and Clamp Masters took over the Xuanbei Pass inspections.
Buzz!
The three Hook and Clamp Masters imdiately took action, an invisible Qi chanism was delivered, forming a barrier.
"..."
He was stopped.
Xie Xuanyi slightly frowned, pressed down his hat, and took the chance to glance upwards to confirm sothing.
The mirror showed no reaction.
Could the Xuanwei Technique have detected sothing unusual?
"You ca from the south?"
Nalan Qiutong looked at Xie Xuanyi.
The "passage docunt" prepared for Xie Xuanyi by the Fire Master was simple, a common trade docunt. Xie Xuanyi’s identity was a naless traveling rchant, traveling north from Xining City to Xuanbei Pass. The carriage was loaded with various curiosities, fine tea leaves, short-lived southern flora, and a mix of calligraphy and paintings of varying quality.
The reason for this identity.
On the one hand, trade docunts are the least likely to arouse suspicion.
On the other hand, the goods of these traveling rchants are very easy to prepare. With just a single communication order... the branches of Fangyuan Square spread across the world can quickly prepare a cart of "goods."
"...Yes, sir."
Xie Xuanyi did not raise his head. He chose to play the role of a trembling honest man, his voice shaking as he spoke.
No eye contact was made.
The straw hat obscured his sight.
"... ..."
Nalan Qiutong was silent for a mont, then said expressionlessly, "Raise your head, let see your face."
Xie Xuanyi pretended to hesitate, then complied.
He slowly raised his head and removed the straw hat.
A face that was fairly young, fairly handso, but not clean appeared before everyone.
A young traveling rchant, dust-laden, as one would expect.
Xie Xuanyi did not fabricate a plain and unremarkable face using the "All Living Beings", perhaps due to a sense of caution that had arisen in his heart, he deliberately pinched out such a sowhat attractive face that caught attention.
After making eye contact.
The coldness in Nalan Qiutong’s eyes dissipated slightly.
"You’ve got so ’looks’, no wonder you wear a straw hat."
She took a step forward, reached out her hand, and placed it on Xie Xuanyi’s chin, pinching it slightly.
"All Living Beings" is a top-level Treasure crafted by Qin Baihuang.
Now reinforced by Xie Xuanyi’s Divine Thought.
Even a Yang God wouldn’t easily see through it without a careful look.
This Nalan Qiutong... naturally had no ability to see any difference, no matter how she pinched it, nothing would happen.
After playing with it for a mont, Nalan Qiutong withdrew her hand and chuckled softly, teasingly saying, "You, you have so cleverness, you’re good material for doing business..."
"You’re joking, sir..."
Xie Xuanyi laughed sheepishly, shrinking his shoulders to flatter.
"These flowers are nice."
Nalan Qiutong looked towards the carriage and said indifferently, "No matter the price in silver, I’ll take them all."
"Sir..."
Xie Xuanyi quickly said, "If you like them, take them all, how dare I take your money?"
"Hehe..."
Nalan Qiutong responded with a non-genuine smile, took out a gold ingot from her sleeve, and tossed it to Xie Xuanyi.
"Go."
She made a hand gesture.
A Hook and Clamp Master imdiately ca forward, took out a Hundred Treasure Bag, and packed away all the rare and interesting items in the carriage.
"Thank you for your generosity, sir!"
Xie Xuanyi received the gold ingot with both hands, full of joy.
"Go ahead."
Nalan Qiutong nodded, indicating that Xie Xuanyi could leave.
"... ..."
Xie Xuanyi put the straw hat back on, feeling complicated.
Could it be such a coincidence?
This Nalan Qiutong specifically stopped him, just because she fancied the flowers in his carriage?
"Wait a mont..."
Nalan Qiutong hesitated for a mont, then instructed, "Geng Jiu, go see him off."
"Yes!"
The Hook and Clamp Master in the carriage imdiately responded; he had originally been bent over with the intention to leave, but upon hearing this command, he sat straight up, as if the task of "inspecting the city gate" was no longer important to him, irrelevant. This Hook and Clamp Master, like an old monk in ditation, sat there like a stone statue, unmoving.
This fellow had no intention of leaving.
This was Nalan Qiutong’s idea of seeing him off?
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir..."
Xie Xuanyi’s expression was peculiar, but he still offered his full gratitude, driving towards Xuanbei Pass, and at the mont of entering the city gate, he slightly turned his head.
Xie Xuanyi looked towards the section of the carriage where Nalan Qiutong was stationed in front of the city.
The breeze blew through.
The curtains of the carriage fluttered.
A woman clad in a bright red robe, her skin white as snow, sitting in the carriage like a betrothed bride, looked at him.
In the fleeting mont as they passed by each other, their gazes crossed.
Xie Xuanyi saw clearly the "face" of the other person.
It was a mask adorned with blood-red petal patterns.
At that mont, he realized the identity of the person sitting in Nalan Qiutong’s carriage.
The four Little Workshop Masters of Fangyuan Square, all top-level Yin God Realm experts.
Snow Master, Fire Master, Wood Master...
And one he’d never encountered.
This fourth Little Workshop Master was nad "Flower Master."
User Comments
0 comments from readers