As they had promised, the young couple Wen Guoping and Jue Qishi headed down to the entrance even before the break of dawn, only to realise that their new acquaintances were long ready and waiting for them.
Zhao Yunxiao had woken up early but refrained from practising his techniques out here in the public eye, opting to only do some simple training in the privacy of his room. After he was done, he headed down to the dining area for a round of quick morning bites.
And that was where the other three came to join him one after another.
"Apologies for being late! We are ready now!" Wen Guoping's originally confident expression quickly turned into one of guilt.
"Don't worry, we haven't been waiting long. You definitely aren't late," Gu Qiansi assured. "Are you ready? If so, let's set off."
"Y-Yeah!"
After exiting the inn, the young couple were confronted with another awkward situation.
Their new companions rode horses while they travelled on foot. Just how were they supposed to travel together without being a burden?
"Why don't you ride with me?" Gu Qiansi tapped Jue Qishi on her shoulder, having seen through their thoughts.
"Rather than that, let's all walk instead," Zhao Yunxiao suggested without waiting for Jue Qishi to reply. "The horses are tired after a long journey, so it would be best not to push them any further. We still need them on our return trip."
After the experience with Honey, Zhao Yunxiao was still wary about riding with strangers. The young couple might appear to be ordinary mortals, but who would be able to know for sure?
Thankfully, they were already close enough to Demonfall City. Even if they travelled on foot, they would still be able to make it there before noon.
"Hmm? I guess that's fine as well," Gu Qiansi turned towards the young couple. "Shall we, then?"
Just like that, the party of six started their trek from the inn to Demonfall City.
It would appear to be the young couple's first time travelling leaving their hometown. As they moved along, the conversations mostly revolved around the beautiful summer sceneries that welcomed them wherever they went.
Beautiful lakes that created shimmering reflections resembling shining jewels.
Vibrant flowers that added colours and a floral scent to the seasonal breeze.
Lush greenery that eased the eyes and calmed the heart.
Small animals that filled the world with the tranquil music of nature.
One had to admit that the vicinity of Demonfall City provided quite an enchanting treat for the senses. The excited couple kept commenting on the scenes that unveiled before them one after another, asking questions about the rest of the world.
Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying humoured them quite well, telling them about what other places had to offer. From time to time, Zhao Yunxiao would also join in the conversation and ask a few questions about the couple's hometown.
As close as they were to a major city like Demonfall, they were naturally not the only ones on the road. There were plenty who shared their destination, as well as others who came from there.
Seeing the excitement on the young couple's faces, many of those who passed them by could not help but smile.
It was very common to see young people coming to visit Demonfall after hearing the story about its origin. Due to their inexperience, many of these youngsters had similar reactions to Wen Guoping and Jue Qishi when greeted with the beautiful sights surrounding the city.
At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao was satisfied to see how others were looking at them.
With the addition of the young couple, their group had indeed become much less conspicuous as a whole. This continued even as they passed the city guards, who actually seemed to be more focused on welcoming the young couple than checking on the four of them.
This clear lack of emphasis on the matter of safety within the city suggested three different possibilities.
The first possibility would naturally be simple lack of discipline and laziness by the city guards. That said, this would fundamentally indicate weak leadership from the city lord. The city lord either did not have sufficient control over the city guards, or had control over the city guards but could not care less about instituting proper governance.
The second possibility would be that the city prioritised trade and tourism way above the matter of security. Such an approach inevitably exposed the city to security issues in exchange for greater wealth and resource accumulation.
The third possibility would be that the city guards were simply certain that nobody would try anything funny within the city walls. This could be due to absolute confidence in the strength of their response, or perhaps mere naivety. If it were the former, then Zhao Yunxiao's group would definitely have to be extra wary about hidden eyes and ears within the city.
Regardless, one could not deny that the city's open approach towards visitors seemed to have greatly benefited its economy.
Even before stepping into the city, one would have an idea of just how wealthy the city was from its fifteen-metre-tall stone walls that were adorned with grand silk banners at regular intervals, each embossed with the city's unmistakeable emblem – three swords through a demon's skull.
The moment one stepped past the gate, they would be greeted with wide cobbled streets lined with neat rows of stores and colourfully painted buildings. Lively chatter could be heard as numerous people walked through the busy streets, with the majority being persistent peddling of goods by the various store owners.
Judging from the dressings of the locals, it was clear that the average wealth level was rather decent, to say the least.
"Accommodations first?" Gu Qiansi asked.
"Accommodations first," Zhao Yunxiao nodded.
Even though some mission requestors were willing to provide free accommodations, he had always preferred to rent a room himself whenever possible. While the extra cost was somewhat of an eyesore, Zhao Yunxiao believed that it was usually still worth trading that for the freedom and privacy that came from securing his own accommodations.
After all, the currency used by ordinary mortals was not too meaningful to cultivators, so Zhao Yunxiao did not mind spending a little.
It was not difficult at all to find a good inn in Demonfall City. In fact, there were plenty of great inns here to cater to the bustling tourism business. The only problem was having to choose one among the many inns available.
Gu Qiansi did not interfere too much in that aspect.
Who knew how many considerations Zhao Yunxiao would have on just this one small matter?
Rather than getting caught up in his endless explanations, she decided to just leave it to him to select the most appropriate lodging as long as it was comfortable enough.
Nie Hanchang and Lu Zhiying had no comments as well, their hearts completely at ease as they nonchalantly followed Zhao Yunxiao's lead.
"You guys are intending to stay here...?" Wen Guoping hesitated in front of the inn that Zhao Yunxiao had finally decided on.
"That's right," Gu Qiansi replied. "What about the two of you?"
Wen Guoping took another glance at the grand inn before him and let out a long sigh. "We would have to look for another place to stay instead..."
In fact, not to mention this grand inn, his reaction would have been the same even if Zhao Yunxiao's group had led them to any other inn in the city.
The young couple did not even have the money to afford food and lodgings at the inn located out in the wilderness last night, so how could they possibly be able to afford staying at a proper inn now that they had entered the city?
"If it is about the cost, I could-"
"No, no! You have already done enough for us!" Wen Guoping hurriedly rejected. "Thank you for the offer, but we are here to build a new life with our own hands. So, we can't possibly keep relying on you for help. That would just undermine the sense of accomplishment that we would get after succeeding here. Am I right, Qishi?"
"That's right," Jue Qishi held Wen Guoping's hand tightly. "We will figure things out ourselves."
"I understand..." Gu Qiansi nodded. "We will probably be here for a few days, so feel free to come look for us if you encounter any problems during this time."
By the time the young couple left, Zhao Yunxiao had already completed the transaction to rent four rooms at the inn. After taking a quick look at their rooms, the group left to explore the city.
One had to admit that the building architecture within the city was rather amazing. Not just that, but numerous small canals ran through the city, giving birth to beautiful shimmers and the serene sound of water that added an additional layer of depth to the city's design.
Even the world origin energy here was much denser than ordinary mortal cities, improving the vitality of not just the residents, but also the plants and animals within.
It was truly a beautiful city.
Zhao Yunxiao's group did not walk with a specific destination in mind. Whenever either Gu Qiansi or Lu Zhiying showed even the slightest interest in any items being sold along the streets, Zhao Yunxiao would bring them in to take a look.
The emphasis was on the word 'look'.
If they wanted to buy something, Zhao Yunxiao would not be paying for them. He did agree to bring them along on this mission, but he never mentioned anything about buying them random toys.
Nevertheless, two young ladies still took their time looking through the items on sale.
In the meantime, Zhao Yunxiao would casually strike up conversations with the store owners or other customers present. He would always mention that they were new to the city, asking about the things that they should be taking note of.
While there were still a few incidences when the other party seemed to be too busy to entertain him, most people were warm and hospitable in their responses. Incidentally, most of them started with the story of the origin of Demonfall City – the same story about the three heroes who had taken down the powerful Night Emperor to secure the safety of the city.
By the fifth store, he had already heard the same story more than five times. It was only then that he finally learnt of something different.
According to a store owner, the descendents of Lady Qian and Sir Lan continued to live on in the city today in the form of the Lan Clan. For at least centuries now, the Lan Clan had remained firmly in control of Demonfall City, with the current city lord also being the current head of the Lan Clan.
This alone proved that there were definitely some truths to the story. At the very least, it was enough to prove that Lady Qian and Sir Lan did exist in the past.
As evening arrived and the setting sun cast bright orange rays across the sky, the group finally arrived at an open plaza located right in the middle of the city.
By now, a large crowd had gathered in front of a large wooden stage located at one end of the open plaza. There were hundreds of them, if not thousands. Many sat directly in front of the stage, while others stood along the fringe of the open plaza.
Regardless, all eyes were on the stage as they keenly awaited the show that was about to begin.
That's right.
This was the exact location where the cursed play mentioned in the sect mission would be playing out in just a few moments' time. Before meeting the mission requestor and going to the step of providing solutions, Zhao Yunxiao had decided to come observe the performance in its entirety – from the very start till the very end.