The empty city was destroyed (6)
"Thank you for your help in the illusion just now!" Zhao Huai Ren bowed to the young man beside him.
The young man was thin and pale. Although his appearance could be described as decent, his cheeks were sunken and his cheekbones were prominent. He seemed to be shrouded in a lingering gloom.
He was expressionless, his aura was subdued, and his eyes held a faint gloom. If he hadn't actually pulled the formation out of the way, Zhao Huai-ren would have suspected that this guy was trying to take advantage of his vulnerability and kill him.
But the young man was clearly not interested in his life, and simply asked in a deep voice, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh." Zhao Huai Ren hesitated slightly, but considering that this person had saved his life, he stopped hiding it and answered truthfully, "I came to Tianjin to find a magical artifact, which is said to be able to change a person's fate."
"I just didn't expect Jincheng to be even stranger than I anticipated. Luckily, I just ran into you, otherwise I'm afraid I would have been trapped and died in the formation."
The young man raised an eyebrow, looked Zhao Huai Ren up and down, and said with a sly look in his eyes, "You can't even get through the illusion array, how dare you venture deep into this place to search for magical artifacts?"
Zhao Huai Ren was somewhat ashamed by his blunt words, but still firmly said, "My daughter has been frail and sickly since childhood, and now she is seriously ill and bedridden, on the verge of death. I have traveled all over the continents but have not been able to find a way to cure her. Tianjin is my last hope, and I must try it no matter how difficult it is."
"...A reckless act," the young man commented, "but it's not necessarily a bad thing."
Zhao Huai Ren was slightly surprised. Although this person was very thin, he looked quite young. How could he speak so maturely?
He couldn't help but be curious about the man's identity, so he asked, "I was in such a hurry earlier that I didn't have time to mention it. May I ask your honorable name?"
The young man glanced at him sideways and uttered three words indifferently: "Duan Yougan—"
The scorching sun baked the earth. Ye Yingying stood still and looked around. Everywhere she looked, there were unfamiliar faces.
She walked into the bustling crowd on the street and found that her long dress looked out of place. But people were not surprised to see her like this; instead, they all smiled at her.
Ye Yingying felt a little strange. Although she knew it was an illusion, everything was so lifelike. Everyone's clothes, expressions, and actions were different, as if it were a living world.
If the snow and wind illusion array was meant to prevent outsiders from entering, then what is the purpose of this illusion array?
Just then, someone called out to her from behind: "Miss, are you also here for the birthday celebration?"
Ye Yingying turned around and saw a girl with long braids greeting her warmly. Judging from her clothes, she was a local in this illusion array.
Seeing that Ye Yingying was a little wary, the girl quickly explained, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean anything by it. I just saw that you were dressed like you were from out of town, so I was asking if you needed a place to stay? My family has an inn where you can stay for a few days."
"I guess you want to see the Imperial Preceptor's sacrificial ceremony, right? But you outsiders might not know that the ceremony was already completed early this morning."
"But it doesn't matter. The celebration lasts for three days. On the last day, the Imperial Preceptor will hold a sacrificial ceremony. We can see what happens then."
In an attempt to attract customers, the girl chattered on and on with Ye Yingying, giving her no chance to speak.
After finally calming down for a while, Ye Yingying quickly asked, "Is your Imperial Advisor Zhan Yan?"
“Who else could it be but him?” The girl nodded matter-of-factly. “However, it’s too disrespectful to call him by his first name. I won’t pursue it since you’re from out of town. Just be more careful next time.”
So, would you like to stay at our place?
Seeing her expectant eyes, Ye Yingying didn't agree, but continued to inquire, "Where are there people dressed similarly to me?"
"Dressed similarly?" The girl took a step back, looked Ye Yingying up and down, and stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, it seems there's a young man dressed similarly to you."
"Really?" Ye Yingying's eyes lit up. "Then lead the way."
She followed the girl to the inn, and as soon as she entered, she saw a man with his hair tied up sitting on a long bench in the lobby with his back to her.
The girl pointed at her, indicating that it was that person. Ye Yingying took a few steps closer, but found that the figure resembled neither Yun Yanqiu nor Zhao Yuxiao, and hesitated for a moment.
Could it be a mistake? But how could there be another "outsider" who has accidentally wandered into this illusion array besides the two of them? Ye Yingying suddenly remembered the strange feeling she had in the previous illusion array and worried that this person was related to that strange feeling. If so, meeting him now would undoubtedly put her in a more passive position.
Ye Yingying had second thoughts, wondering whether to leave like this or find an opportunity to probe his background from the sidelines.
Before she could think further, the man suddenly stood up and turned around. Their eyes met, and Ye Yingying finally saw his face clearly.
The man had delicate features and eyes that seemed to sparkle like stars. A few strands of soft black hair fell across his forehead, and his pale white, narrow-sleeved outfit made him look clean and refreshing.
His attire was somewhat similar to Zhao Yuxiao's, but compared to Zhao Yuxiao, this young man's demeanor appeared more composed and gentle.
The man initially turned around with a smile in his eyes, but when he met Ye Yingying's gaze, he was clearly taken aback, as if he was surprised by the newcomer.
But he quickly recovered and stepped forward to greet Ye Yingying with clasped hands, saying, "Greetings, young lady. May I ask if you also 'stumbled' in here?"
"How did you know?" Ye Yingying asked in surprise, as she had never seen the man before. "Who are you?"
The man calmly introduced himself: "My name is Shaoling. I was accidentally caught up in this illusion and got separated from my companions. I was recruited by the young waiter of this inn on the way, thinking that I might be able to meet my companions here."
"Did the girl also get separated from her companions?"
Shao Ling blinked, his gaze sincere, leaving no room for suspicion. He explained his situation in detail, and Ye Yingying found it quite similar to her own predicament.
Ye Yingying nodded and said, "That's right. It's fate that we met here. I am Ye Yingying."
"Miss Ye... It's a pleasure to meet you." Shaoling confirmed the way to address her, then said, "Since we're destined to meet, why don't we travel together for now, so we can look after each other in this illusion?"
This was indeed a temporary measure, and Ye Yingying agreed, sitting down with Shaoling to discuss it.
As soon as he sat down, Shaoling told him what he had observed when he arrived: "Before I entered this illusion, I was in a dark, snowy place, but as soon as I came in, I saw the sun shining brightly overhead. It's really strange."
Ye Yingying's heart stirred. It seemed that the fleeting spiritual power she had sensed in the wind and snow earlier came from the person in front of her and his companion.
Shaoling continued, "Moreover, I inquired around the inn for a while, and the people here don't seem to be hostile to us outsiders. However, when I mentioned the snow and wind outside, they all thought I was joking."
“It’s not surprising that there’s such a reaction in the illusion.” Ye Yingying folded her hands in front of her chest, her face calm. “This illusion seems to be a reenactment of their king’s birthday celebration, and their royal advisor will hold a sacrificial ceremony on the last day.”
“The Imperial Advisor…” Shaoling murmured, “The Imperial Advisor here can only be Zhan Yan.”
"It seems you know a bit about this place?" Ye Yingying raised an eyebrow and probed, "Would you like to tell me more about it?"
Shaoling scratched her head sheepishly: "I don't know much either. I only heard some things from my companions, like that this place is called Yue Li, and their national advisor is a very famous cultivator..."
As they talked, Shaoling asked Ye Yingying, "Miss Ye, don't you know these things? I thought that the people who came here were more or less after that magical artifact."
"Me? I just thought it would be fun, so I came here with a friend to explore. Who knew this place would be so eerie? I should have known better than to agree to her request." Ye Yingying lied without batting an eye. "But what is that magical artifact you mentioned?"
"There's a magical artifact here that's said to be able to defy fate," Shaoling answered truthfully. "I suppose Miss Ye's friend came here for that reason too."
"What you say is quite possible." Ye Yingying rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "But is there really such a treasure in this city?"
“There should be,” Shaoling replied without hesitation. “Otherwise, what would be the point of setting up these strange and unusual formations here?”
Indeed, the formations they've encountered so far are preventing them from seeing the city in its original state. There must be a reason behind this, and protecting the magical artifacts is a plausible explanation.
"But why go to all that trouble to create such an illusion..."
Ye Yingying was puzzled. Even for someone as extraordinary as Zhan Yan, creating such a detailed illusion array that brought each character to life would consume a tremendous amount of spiritual energy. It would be better to set up the arrays that conjured up wind and snow, which would be both effective and convenient.
"Perhaps this great being has his own reasons. How could we mere foot soldiers possibly fathom the thoughts of those at such a level?"
Shao Ling is right. Those who can gain the approval of Heaven and ascend to the Upper Realm must have something unique about them.
Ye Yingying stopped dwelling on the matter and asked, "Do you have a direction for breaking the formation?"
“I don’t know.” Shao Ling shook her head. “I know very little about illusion arrays. I was completely confused when I entered this place, let alone how to break the array.”
Seeing that the boy's eyes were somewhat dim, Ye Yingying didn't ask any more questions and said to herself, "Since this matter is related to Zhan Yan, why don't we just ask him directly?"
"You mean, go see him in this illusion?"
"Exactly."
Shaoling paused for a moment, then lowered her eyes: "That is indeed a solution..."
"But he's the Imperial Advisor; can he be seen so casually?"
"I don't know," Ye Yingying answered without hesitation.
"Then what should we do?"
"In short, let's use this place as our base for now, and then go out and look for clues."
After saying that, Ye Yingying got up to book a room with the innkeeper. She had just stood up when she suddenly paused and asked Shaoling, "Do you have the money here?"
Shaoling honestly replied, "No."
"Then you are..."
"The innkeeper here is kind-hearted. If you just ask him for a room, he won't charge you and will give you the key without charging you."
"..." Is this even possible?
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