Between Rénmín Road and Tàiyáng Road, the city's eastern main avenue, lay three parallel streets: Huāduǒ Road, followed by Fèiyòng Road, and finally Tiě Road. They were merely three of the many roads connecting the city's two major arteries, yet the residential districts nestled between them were known throughout Yanmen by a single name...The city's underworld.
If you took the fifth alley connecting Huāduǒ Road and Fèiyòng Road, you would find yourself entering an area that looked as though it had grown chaotically over the course of decades.
The buildings had originally been ordinary structures, but they had been repurposed, expanded, and altered time and time again until any trace of orderly architecture had long since disappeared. Here, an oddly shaped room protruded from the side of a house. There, a crude wooden floor had been built atop a crumbling rooftop. Elsewhere, a narrow passage linked two neighboring buildings so seamlessly that it looked as though they had always been one.
Wooden balconies and bridges stretched across the alleys, connecting buildings from one side of the street to the other. In some places, anyone walking below could see only a thin strip of sky peeking through the maze of rooftops overhead.
Even the old sewer system had not been left to serve its original purpose alone. The inhabitants of the underworld had taken advantage of it, and over the years they had carved out hidden tunnels and secret passageways branching from it—routes whose complete layout was known only to a select few.
On the right side, tucked away among the tightly packed buildings, stood a structure that appeared to have once been a theater, though it was difficult to recognize it as such now.
Time had distorted its appearance, while countless renovations had erased most of its original features. Even its entrance had gradually sunk until it lay nearly half a meter below street level, forcing people to build a short stone staircase connecting the doorway to the road above.
This was the place Zhou Quan and Jian Long headed to immediately after concluding their deal.
Stepping forward, Zhou Quan pushed open the heavy wooden door.
As it swung open, a beam of sunlight streamed inside, breaking the dimness that had long enveloped the building.
The sudden light caught the attention of an old woman seated on a wooden couch near the entrance.
She slowly raised her head and cast a calm glance toward the two of them.
Her gaunt face was covered with deep wrinkles carved by countless years. Her narrow eyes remained surprisingly sharp despite her age, while her nose protruded slightly. Her thin lips were wrapped around the stem of a smoking pipe, from which wisps of smoke drifted lazily into the air.
A finely engraved silver circlet rested upon her forehead, holding her unruly gray hair away from her face. Hanging from her ears were a pair of enormous silver earrings, so large that Jian Long felt a dull ache in his own ears just from looking at them.
"Greetings, Lady Nian. Does Mǐ Yuè still live here?"
Zhou Quan was the first to break the silence.
The old woman opened her mouth to answer, but suddenly stopped. She raised her index finger to her forehead, as if digging through her old memories.
"You... you are..."
A faint smile appeared on Zhou Quan's face.
"I'm Zhou Quan. I lived here about three years ago. I used to make breakfast for you every morning, if you remember. As for Mǐ Yuè... she was my former lover."
The old woman's eyes suddenly lit up, as though she had remembered something important.
"Oh! So it's you, little Zhou Quan."
Then she added confidently,
"If I remember correctly, you still owe me five primeval stones."
The corner of Zhou Quan's eye twitched.
"Is that really the only thing you remember about me?"
Suppressing his annoyance, he replied patiently,
"I paid that debt off a long time ago. And if you're talking about the interest, we agreed back then that you wouldn't charge me any as long as I kept making breakfast for you."
The old woman placed the pipe back between her lips and took a long puff before slowly exhaling the smoke.
"Really? Hmm..."
She fell silent for a moment, trying to recall the matter.
"I suppose... that's how it was."
Zhou Quan let out a quiet sigh of relief before asking once more,
"So... does Mǐ Yuè still live here?"
"Oh, yes. If my memory hasn't failed me, you'll find her in the kitchen."
The moment Zhou Quan learned where she was, he quickly headed off, eager to put some distance between himself and Lady Nian before she remembered yet another debt from decades ago.
As they walked, Jian Long looked around in astonishment.
The hall, which had once been a spacious theater, had been transformed into a miniature neighborhood bustling with life. Wooden shacks and tents filled every corner. Some people had laid their bedding directly in the corridors, while others had opened small shops inside the hall itself. Not a single inch of space had been left unused. The narrow passageways were crowded with people, and the air felt somewhat suffocating, thick with the mingled smells of cooking, smoke, and countless bodies.
The two continued forward until they reached one of the largest wooden buildings in the area. Compared to the surrounding structures, it was relatively spacious, although its right wall was missing, having been replaced by a thick cloth curtain.
Zhou Quan stepped inside first, with Jian Long following close behind.
"Hello, Mǐ Yuè. How have you been? What are you cooking for lunch today?"
Zhou Quan called out to the woman busy preparing a meal.
She slowly turned toward the source of the voice.
Her face was softly oval, with a faint blush coloring her cheeks. Her warm brown eyes held a calm, steady gaze, while her slightly full lips were closed in an expression of quiet dignity.
Her thick, dark, curly hair framed her face in natural waves, giving her a gentle sense of vitality. She wore a peach-colored dress adorned with delicate embroidered patterns that flowed gracefully around her figure. A wide, ornate golden belt encircled her waist, while a broad golden bracelet extended from her wrist to the middle of her forearm.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to make out the visitors through the dim light.
Then her eyes suddenly widened.
"Is that you, Zhou Quan, you bastard?!"
The very next instant, she grabbed the pot of steaming hot food and hurled it at the two of them without the slightest hesitation.