Chapter 58: Jizhou is extraordinary, the cloud boat is bustling...

On the 25th day of the ninth month of the 16th year of Tianchen, in Feifan City, Jizhou.

As the weather grew colder, the golden leaves turned into withered fertilizer, crushed into the mud by car wheels and pedestrians.

Following the official road, Qingyu sat in the driver's seat and drove the carriage, and the young people slowly entered the extraordinary city.

"That's quite an interesting name."

Qingyu read aloud, "Extraordinary City."

This place is truly blessed with abundant spiritual energy. At least, it's the place with the richest spiritual energy she's ever encountered, apart from Qishan. Even Shengjing pales in comparison.

"Ding-dong—"

The wind chimes rang, the car door opened, and Qin Tianshu said to Qingyu, "Keep going straight, then turn right after two blocks, there's a Yunzhou Inn there."

Qingyu tilted her head. "Have you been here before?"

Qin Tianshu smiled and said, "Although Feifan City is not as good as Jizhou City, it is still one of the main cities of Jizhou. It is also located on the way to Youzhou. It is a very interesting place. I lived here for quite a few days back then."

Wen Chuan sat on the long couch, drinking tea. He looked at Qin Tianshu and asked, "Why didn't you go to Youzhou back then?"

Qin Tianshu got out of the car and sat down opposite Wen Chuan. "I arrived in Jizhou in winter. I originally wanted to go to Youzhou, but Youzhou is too big and there are few main cities. It's basically all snowfields. Not to mention wild animals, the temperature is a problem. It's not suitable for me to go alone."

"Moreover, this Extraordinary City is quite interesting; there isn't a single cultivator in the Northern Lands who doesn't know about it."

As he spoke, the scholar looked inside again. Zhang Xuan was sitting on the daybed, looking at the star map. Doctor Lin was grinding medicinal herbs, saying that he wanted to make more medicine packets and also research some cold-preventing soups.

Upon hearing his words, Zhang Xuan noticed the young man covering his face with the star map. After a few helpless sighs, he seemed to remember something and spoke with interest.

"Extraordinary City, I seem to remember it... I've heard of that Cloud Boat Inn."

The scholar smiled and called out to Zhang Xuan, "I'll tell you all about it when we get to the cloud boat."

After saying that, the scholar turned to Wen Chuan and said, "Speaking of which, we should prepare more for this trip..."

As they chatted, Qingyu, worried about the strong wind, closed the other car door. The girl drove past, cracking her whip as she prepared to turn right—

"Woof woof!"

"Whoa—"

"Neigh—"

Qingyu grabbed the horse reins, and the two horses neighed and paced back and forth, clearly frightened. As for the little white dog in front of them, it went from trembling at the beginning to becoming arrogant.

Qingyu tilted her head slightly, "Where did this puppy come from?"

She looked pretty and delicate, but she was reckless and impulsive. If she hadn't noticed in time, the horse's hooves would have trampled the dog.

Before she could do anything else, a girl in yellow suddenly appeared out of nowhere, hurriedly picked up the little white dog, and said repeatedly, "Sorry, sorry, DouDou ran away..."

Qingyu smiled and leaned leisurely against the car door, watching the girl in yellow coax the dog. The dog stopped barking, but the girl kept repeating "sorry, sorry, DouDou, DouDou," and looked like she was about to cry.

Tears welled up in Shangguan Han'er's eyes, but no sound came from above. She looked up—

A bright and beautiful girl in red leaned lazily against the car door. Her features were striking, and her posture was relaxed. It was late autumn, and their clothes were all lined with fleece. But the girl held a riding crop in her hand, resting it on her bent knee, and casually swung it. She was beautiful and clean, yet also had a touch of spirit. She attracted attention with her leisurely demeanor.

How could it be... a girl...?

Seeing Shangguan Han'er staring at her with wide eyes, Qingyu raised an eyebrow. "It's one thing for a dog to be playful, but it's another for it to delay people."

"Woof woof woof!"

"Woof woof woof!"

DouDou seemed to see the blue fish above. It sensed that its master's body seemed a little stiff, and hurriedly wanted to seek justice for its master.

Shangguan Han'er was also acting strangely, not comforting Dou Dou, as if she hadn't come to her senses yet.

"Woof woof woof!"

"What a noisy dog," Qingyu said, her posture unchanged, only slightly narrowing her eyes.

"Woof...woof woof...woof..."

The little white dog seemed a bit scared, and for some reason it suddenly started trembling and burrowed into Shangguan Han'er's arms, desperately trying to get in.

Startled by the dog, Shangguan Han'er seemed to finally come to her senses. The girl forced a smile and said, "You're right, Miss."

"What's wrong?"

A gentle, clear voice came from inside the car. Wen Chuan opened the car door, and the boy looked at Qing Yu. "Are you alright?"

Qingyu smiled and shook her head at him, then turned to Shangguan Han'er and said, "Just be more careful next time. Please make way, miss, we're leaving now."

She spoke calmly, seemingly unconcerned about the people and the dog, while the man beside her was handsome and gentle, speaking with tender concern.

For some reason, Shangguan Han'er felt a pang of sadness. The dog in her arms kept nuzzling against her, and passersby were giving her strange looks, which made her feel extremely agitated.

Qingyu glanced at her. What was wrong with this girl? She was speaking quite fluently at first, so why wasn't she crying anymore? She was just standing in the middle of the road, lost in thought.

It was fine for her to be in a daze, and it was fine for Qingyu and the others to stay for a while, but the dog couldn't stand it.

The aura of a mountain lord emanating from Qingyu was too strong; DouDou was going crazy. The aura was suffocating it, and it didn't know what its owner was doing! Ah, its tail hurts so much!

"Woof woof!"

Finally, Dou Dou jumped quickly off Shangguan Han'er's arms. The horse was so startled that it neighed a few times and paced back and forth. Dou Dou's white fur disappeared completely.

"Hey! DouDou!"

Shangguan Han'er hurriedly chased after it, as if she had finally found a reason to leave. In the blink of an eye, she and the dog were gone.

baffling.

Qingyu and Wenchuan thought so, and the girl turned her head to Wenchuan and said, "It's just a minor accident, we should be at the inn soon."

"Um."

Wen Chuan responded to her, then returned to the carriage to tell everyone to get ready, as they were about to disembark.

The sound of horses' hooves pounded, and the carriage disappeared around the street corner amidst the rising dust.

Not far away, Shangguan Han'er watched Dou Dou whimpering on the ground.

It's not her fault; the dog insisted on running around and crashed into a sharp rock. Now it's lying on the ground, its white fur all black and it's filthy.

The woman in yellow stood there coldly watching the puppy whimper. Soon after, two teenagers ran over. Shangguan Han'er realized what was happening, squatted down, and looked at Dou Dou with tears in her eyes.

It's all that woman's fault. I had already apologized and was almost crying, but she was so unhurried and scared DouDou. If it weren't for her, DouDou wouldn't have run around like that and ended up scratching her leg!

Shangguan Nan anxiously helped his older sister up. "Second sister, what happened?"

Shangguan Han'er was so aggrieved that she couldn't speak. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. It was all that woman's fault. As she thought about it, the girl choked up and sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

The boy holding the sword beside him darkened his eyes. "Did someone bully you?"

...

Yunzhou Inn.

Qingyu nimbly jumped off the carriage, and Wen Chuan and the others followed suit. Qin Tianshu went in first to book rooms and order food, then called someone to take the carriage away. Zhang Xuan, carrying Cai Cai, ran to the front of the carriage to chat with Wen Chuan, and quietly asked the horse if it could see the stars at night—this kid had been looking at a star chart for a month and was obsessed with it.

Finally, Fan Xiang quietly stepped out of the car, and Qing Yu reached out to her from below.

They smiled at each other. Fan Xiang was a medical cultivator, and her body was not as strong as that of ordinary cultivators. As the autumn wind blew, she wore a light blue dress with a moon-white jacket over it, which made her look even more beautiful and charming.

Qingyu took her arm, and they stepped into the inn together. The young girl's pink dress swayed in the wind. Qingyu's eyes were smiling, and her expression was lively when she whispered to Fanxiang. When the corners of her lips curled up, she also had a touch of coquettishness.

Two rare beauties, bright and aloof.

Zhang Xuan walked behind them and shook his head. "Brother Wen Chuan, tell me, they're just having a meal, and then they go to sleep. Why do they have to dress up so specially?"

It's cold today, and Sister Fanxiang said it would rain. They agreed early this morning to eat first, then rest at the inn before heading out tomorrow.

Wen Chuan looked him up and down. "Perhaps it's because they're good-looking."

After saying that, Wen Chuan smiled and walked forward. Zhang Xuan blinked, and Cai Cai in his arms moved impatiently a few times. He didn't know what he was thinking, but the boy muttered to himself quite seriously, "Hey, I'm good-looking too, and Cai Cai is good-looking too."

"Hey, wait for me—"

...

Qin Tianshu gestured for the servant to take away the carriage. When he came back in, Qingyu and her group had already found a place to sit. Qingyu and Fanxiang sat at the innermost side, facing outwards. Zhang Xuan sat with Cai Cai, and a seat was reserved for the scholar next to Wen Chuan.

Qingyu saw him, and the girl waved to him, "Here."

The scholar smiled and was about to take a step towards it when suddenly he felt a malevolent sword aura rushing straight towards Qingyu!

The young man in the blue robes waved his sleeve lightly, and a chilling aura spread rapidly. Sword energy rebounded, and killing intent flew out in an instant. The entire inn fell into a terrifying silence in an instant!

The three-story, exquisitely crafted building still held the aroma of food, yet everyone present felt a chill run down their spines. Mortals might only experience a momentary unease, but cultivators with higher levels of cultivation instantly became alert, their gazes fixed on the terrifying source of spiritual energy—

The sound of water being poured into a cup rang out softly. With a calm expression, Wen Chuan placed the teacup in front of Qing Yu, his voice gentle.

"Aren't you thirsty? Have some water first."

Qingyu raised an eyebrow, and the girl smiled and nodded, watching Wen Chuan slowly pour her water.

Zhang Xuan slowly released his grip on the hilt of the sword. As his mind gradually relaxed, he looked at the sword-wielding youth on the second floor who was clutching his chest and about to vomit blood. He couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He also poured a glass of water for Fan Xiang, laughing loudly as he did so.

"A person who can't even hold a sword steady should learn how to serve tea and water."

"Oh well, I'm afraid the water wasn't poured properly and I'll vomit blood first."

"It's no use, it's no use."

Extraordinary City is one of the main cities of Ji Province and connects to You Province. The Cloud Boat Inn is a renowned place throughout the Nine Provinces, and it's currently being auctioned off—

The cultivators from all over the land were present. Some understood Zhang Xuan's words and laughed heartily, showing no respect to the sword cultivator who had vomited blood. Others recognized the sword cultivator who had launched the sneak attack and watched quietly, somewhat enjoying the spectacle.

The scholar didn't even look up at the second floor. He sat down next to Wen Chuan, opened his fan with a "snap," and with a slight smile, the young man looked quite dashing and handsome.

Using a fan to conceal himself, Qin Tianshu whispered in Wen Chuan's ear

"Hahaha, you're really ruthless, you almost killed someone."

The scholar dared to guarantee that if they were in the suburbs, Wen Chuan could probably kill that boy with a single flick of his sleeve.

Wen Chuan couldn't help but glance at him, still fanning himself with schadenfreude.

"The wind is so strong today, aren't you afraid the fan will fly away?"

Qin Tianshu clicked his tongue, about to retort, when a girl's sweet shout came from the second-floor railing—

"You've gone too far! How could you hurt someone like this!"

The shout caused almost everyone to look up at the second floor. There were two men and a woman. One of the men was coughing up blood, and the other was supporting him. There was also a young girl wearing a bright yellow dress with a beautiful face. At her feet was a whimpering little gray dog.

How could you bully people like this!

The woman in yellow shouted with righteous indignation, yet with a hint of spoiled discontent, giving her a strange sense of justice.

The inn fell silent for a moment, as if everyone was waiting for the boys on the first floor to reply. Zhang Xuan was about to get up when Lin Fanxiang pressed him down. Qin Tianshu stopped fanning himself and continued talking to Wen Chuan with his head turned to the side. Even Cai Cai nestled obediently next to Zhang Xuan, her eyes darting around but not turning to the second floor.

The girl in red, who was in the very center and the one most intriguing, was also the one to whom the sword energy was initially directed, yet she had her eyes lowered and lips curled into a smile.

The girl lightly touched the rim of the cup with her fingertips, the reflection in the water rippled, but her eyes held a faint emotion that made one want to investigate.

"This sword energy is too weak, but it's interesting."

Under everyone's gaze, she finally raised her eyes and looked at the white-clad youth on the second floor, whose mouth was bloody and whose eyes were filled with anger. Her tone was calm but carried a sense of pressure, not murderous but more so than murderous intent.

"You are a person from Wengu?"