Chapter 4239 — Adventure in the Rufeng Forest
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"The heart of man lies hidden behind the flesh; who can say?" Wei Zhao shook his head, then went on, "Actually, what I find stranger is something else. Those four masters at the peak of late-stage Golden Core clearly came prepared, with a plan already laid. Yet out in that vast sea fog, they had no way of knowing our escort route—so how could they possibly have done it? Unless..."
"Unless what?" Huang Xiaotao blinked and asked.
"Unless there's more to this than meets the eye." It was only a bold conjecture on Wei Zhao's part, and he had no solid evidence as yet, so he did not elaborate. Instead he said, "Never mind. If we're to stay here a month, we'd best go find an inn to put up in first."
"All right." Huang Xiaotao nodded. Suddenly she felt a little heavier, and realized Wei Zhao had taken off his own outer coat and draped it over her shoulders, and her heart warmed at once.
Wei Zhao had done so because of the lesson learned before. Though Huang Xiaotao wore a veil, so that others could not make out her features, her shapely, well-turned figure could not be hidden, and it still drew glances easily enough.
Should they run into another piece of goods like Cheng Qitian, it might well mean fresh trouble. But now, with the coat draped over her, her figure was covered as well, and no one would pay her any further mind.
The two of them straightway left the docks and headed for the town not far off. Like Wei Arc City, this place too was the heart of the Zhenduan sea region, and its name was cut from the same cloth: Zhenduan City.
Rumor had it that the Zhenduan sea region was far more chaotic even than the Wei Arc sea region, though one could feel it plainly enough from the scene back at the docks—there were far, far more people here than in Wei Arc City.
Once the two entered Zhenduan City, this became all the more evident. The main streets were thronged and bustling, a sea of bobbing heads, packed to the brim with people—a scene of glittering prosperity and lively clamor. That long-absent feeling even made Wei Zhao think involuntarily of the mortal world.
Only on the commercial streets of the great cities of the mortal world—and only during holiday sales, at that—could one hope to see such a packed crowd. As for the rest of Cloud Ladder Island, even the Central Island market could not boast such congestion.
Wei Zhao was secretly alarmed. Pulling Huang Xiaotao along, he squeezed into the crowd and drifted with the current; yet after walking a full half-hour, he discovered to his astonishment that finding a ship to Wei Arc City was the least of their troubles—even finding an inn was a fond hope.
They had already wandered three streets and passed at least seven or eight inns, but every single one had a "No Vacancy" sign hung out plainly for all to see.
"What on earth is going on with this place?" Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao exchanged looks, both of them baffled. Even on their first visit to Zhenduan City, they could plainly feel that something was odd about the place.
Just as the two were puzzling over it, the flow of people carried them to a plaza, where they heard many voices crying out, one rising as another fell. Every one of them was full of vigor, but the crowd was so vast that the din of the throng soon drowned them out again.
Still, with Wei Zhao's keen hearing, so long as he put his mind to it and drew a little closer, he could make out what these people were calling.
"Adventure in the Rufeng Forest—forming a party! Two spots left, setting off any moment now—cultivators at Golden Core and above, don't miss out!" This was the cry nearest to Wei Zhao and his companion; it carried with real force, cutting clear through the crowd even where they stood. (To be continued...)