Chapter 110

Chapter 110: So Called Lovers?

Xun Yin and Lu Qing Xuan arrived without disturbing anyone, yet a few people on the Xuan Tian Sect side spotted Xun Yin and their faces shifted several times before they forced themselves quiet.

Someone muttered: “Heavenly One Sect, huh…” The older cultivators showed a hint of fear when this sect was mentioned, but when others asked about it, they only smiled and said: “It used to be one of the Upper Three Sects.” Another person said with scorn: “If it’s all in the past, what’s there to be arrogant about?” The Xuan Tian Sect elders kept their mouths shut. [That’s because you haven’t been beaten by them.]

The crowd quickly changed the topic as more familiar sects arrived. People moved back and forth to greet each other, words full of flattery and faces eager to please. Around the Xuan Tian Sect elders in particular, the greetings never stopped for even a moment.

Wearing a bamboo hat, Xun Yin shook his head and said: “Events like this are a pain. No wonder Little Seven doesn’t like coming.”

Lu Qing Xuan handed him a small bag of seeds and said with a grin: “Senior brother, we’re just the mascots today. Let the kids perform.”

Xun Yin relaxed. He cracked seeds and watched the sword-lights flying in from the sky, eyes soft with fondness: “Kids really are the best.”

Lu Qing Xuan laughed and said: “Yeah.” Youthful energy filled the air and every future looked bright.

All over Mount Shouyang, streams of light from Sword Flight crossed the sky. Ye Wan Wan and her group were among them. When they landed, the noise of voices hit them from all sides. This place was far louder than the quiet of Zhou Town. As soon as they came in, hawkers shouted.

“The betting’s open, the betting’s open, anyone placing a wager?”

“What are the odds?”

“The Upper Three Sects are even odds, one to one. Primordial Mystic Sect pays only zero point six.”

“Primordial is really that low now?”

“Betting on Supreme Sect or Xuan Tian Sect?”

“Of course Supreme Sect. The junior sister of Azure Cloud Peak reached Golden Core at fifteen.”

“Wasn’t she badly hurt?”

“She recovered. I heard she’ll compete this time.”

“Wow, then this year will be exciting. Primordial Mystic Sect is sending two geniuses.”

“And Xuan Tian Sect has Bai Yi.”

“Hey, what is this Heavenly One Sect? Why is anyone betting on them?”

A bag of Spirit Stones hurled from the side drew everyone’s attention, including Ye Wan Wan’s group. The one who threw it was Shen Nan Zhou. He said in a flat voice: “Heavenly One Sect, first place.”

“Right away,” replied the attendant.

Taking a betting slip, Shen Nan Zhou turned and walked off.

Li Wan Zhi frowned and said: “Junior brother, why buy here? If these people run off later, you won’t even find them to pay out. If you’re going to bet, go to the Nine Provinces Wager House in the Spirit Market. That’s the biggest house.”

Lord Liu Li, who had been lounging on a recliner, almost sat up to argue. What running off? His book would never run off. But when he lifted his fan and saw Ye Wan Wan and the others, he put it back down. [Forget it. I can hold back.]

The stall keeper’s waiter answered at once: “Please be at ease, fellow daoist. We are also under the Nine Provinces Wager House. Even if you can’t find this stall, as long as you bring your slip to any shop under the Myriad Commerce Guild, you can redeem your winnings. We’ll be stationed here for the full three months of the grand competition. Please remember our stall number, eight eight eight. Only this one, no second.”

Hearing this, Li Wan Zhi went to check the placard: “What a lucky number. I like it.”

The stall keeper smiled and said: “Yes, our young master bought it on purpose.”

Lord Liu Li thought: [Can you stop pointing at me.]

Li Wan Zhi glanced at the rich young master covering his face on the recliner and said: “Your young master looks tired.” The place was this noisy, yet he could sleep.

The waiter smiled and said: “Yes, the young master is busy with official business.”

Li Wan Zhi let it go, pulled out Spirit Stones, and said: “Bet on Heavenly One Sect, and another on Supre…” Feeling four sharp gazes from beside him, Li Wan Zhi changed mid sentence: “Also on Heavenly One Sect.”

He lifted his chin and looked back at them: “We won’t lose!”

Fang He An patted his shoulder and said with meaning: “Of course not!” Each pat landed harder than the last.

Li Wan Zhi bared his teeth and said: “I was just joking.”

“Hmph,” Fang He An snorted. He put down his own Spirit Stones too. Anyway, their three senior uncles had tricked these stones out of the Xuan Tian Sect. If they won, it was a profit. If they lost… that was impossible.

Fang He An drew himself up straight. He absolutely could not let Li Wan Zhi bring down morale.

Someone nearby said: “The Myriad Commerce Guild is the biggest guild in the Nine Provinces, right? If they’re running the wagers, then it’s safe to buy.”

In a flash, a lot of people crowded around. Fang He An and Li Wan Zhi grabbed their slips and squeezed back out. “That was close,” they said, “we almost couldn’t get out.”

Li Yan smiled and said: “The main arena isn’t open yet. Let’s find a place to sit.”

“Okay,” they answered.

Although Li Yan said that, he stopped to wait whenever his juniors saw something interesting. The street from the landing platform to the main arena was lined on both sides with stalls. All kinds of strange goods filled the tables. Someone was even selling third grade spirit herbs. Even Ye Wan Wan couldn’t help stopping to take a look.

Li Yan was in no rush. He stood with Bai Jian to the side, now and then pulling a snack from his pocket and handing it to her. One pulled out, one ate. They were in perfect step.

Ye Wan Wan looked back at how Bai Jian and Li Yan moved together. [With how they act, could Senior Sister Bai really have some other lover?] Something about this did not feel right to her. With Bai Jian’s nature, unless it was someone she approved of, she wouldn’t trust easily. The sect master’s senior uncle had said her senior sister had an Exquisite Heart and an animal’s sharpest instincts. She could sense danger.

So who harmed her? And how did that person win her trust?

Thinking of this, Ye Wan Wan couldn’t help staring at Shen Nan Zhou for a second. [Brat, you should have stuck closer to senior sister back then.]

Suddenly, the Mist Veil Dark Sigil on her wrist lit up. Ye Wan Wan pressed it back without moving her face and asked by Spirit Sense Transmission: “What is it?”

Dream Spirit answered: “I smell one of my kind.”

“A Companion Spirit?”

“No,” said the little stone as it crawled from her arms. “Master, it’s the aura of an Illusory Dream Stone.”

Back in the valley, Star Marsh had said Sun Qu carried a similar aura and told Ye Wan Wan to fish him out, but it turned out it wasn’t Sun Qu. It was the Illusory Dream Stone. Later, Ye Wan Wan went to Cloud Mountain Cave to reclaim the rest of the Illusory Dream Stones, only to find none left. Dream Spirit had said it woke early because the stones had been stolen. The theft happened even earlier than when Shen Nan Zhou broke in. Someone else took them first.

Ye Wan Wan looked around. With so many people, she couldn’t pick out who it was. She sent to her two spirits: “Can you feel who has it?”

“There are too many people, I can’t tell. But that flare just now, I won’t mistake it,” Dream Spirit said, tiny fists clenched. That was the thing it had once lived in. If it could get the Illusory Dream Array Stone back, its power would grow even stronger, and the Dreamweaving Ye Wan Wan commanded would also rise.

Ye Wan Wan lowered her eyes and said: “No rush.” There were still three months. They would find it slowly.

As she steadied herself, a strange scent slipped into her nose. In a blink, her mind went hazy, and the scene before her seemed to waver. [Something is wrong.] She bit the tip of her tongue and forced herself awake.

Before Li Yan and Bai Jian could react, a Daoist figure walked up the path at an easy pace. He carried a cultured air and called out with a smile: “Daoist Brother Li, I knew I’d see you here.”

At that sentence, Ye Wan Wan snapped her gaze to him. Dream Spirit and Star Marsh went on full guard. Ye Wan Wan stepped in front of Bai Jian, blocking the man’s eyes from landing on her. Her own eyes met his, ice cold.

Li Wan Zhi and Fang He An felt Ye Wan Wan’s extreme alertness and looked too. Shen Nan Zhou’s eyes turned hard. Even Lord Liu Li, on his recliner, frowned.

Li Yan drew his brows together and asked: “Who are you?”