The pot-bellied man, finding nothing worthwhile to buy, turned to leave. Before he walked away, he offered a casual remark:
"That blade isn't worth the price."
The boy, startled, quickly asked what he meant.
"Not my business," the man replied. "But that sword is on the verge of breaking. Try bending it—since you're just a 'measly Advance Realm cultivator' you shouldn't be able to. If it bends, you'll know its true worth." He spoke as he walked off, not caring whether his advice was taken or not.
The boy took the sword wanting to see if the fat man was right or not.
"Any damage to the goods before purchase will make you pay the full price!" the merchant snapped back. "And why are you even listening to some old man?"
"How could I possibly damage a 'good' that's supposedly capable of killing a Master Realm expert?" the boy barked. "Are you trying to scam me?, I will not let it go."
Frustrated, he let his aura leak out, but was immediately suppressed by the merchant's stronger aura. Feeling cornered, the boy resorted to threats.
"Why don't we let the Azure Guards help settle the matter?" he said darkly, pointing at three men in red-and-black some distance away.
The merchant, unwilling to escalate matters and knowing the boy was fishing for compensation, begrudgingly handed him a few silver coins. He couldn't risk the Azure Guards being involved—it would only spell greater trouble.
'So that's what they are called,' the pot bellied man thought, as he had heard the conversation between the merchant and the customer though he was a bit far away. He was wondering who the people that had been following him were.
That was another reason he waited at the weapon stall: to be sure whether they were following him or if he had just been overthinking it when they did not follow him from the last stall.
'She probably sent them,' he concluded. Having figured out he was being followed, he decided it was time to move along to another village.
---
"Where is he?" Jing Tu asked as he rushed over as soon as he could. Looking at the three dumbstruck men staring at the empty street, he knew something had happened that shouldn't have.
"He… he disappeared," the first stammered.
The second saw this as a cue to explain. "We followed him as you told us to. We didn't engage and kept a distance. In fact, he didn't look our way once—we made sure we could intercept if he tried any alley." He hurriedly explained. "While he was going to—maybe get more food—he turned here. We didn't think much of it, but when we turned at a safe distance, the place was empty."
Jing Tu and the surrounding officers, drawn by curiosity, were all stupefied. For those who knew, this was eerily identical to Chi Xianyan's story—except that nobody believed that was a story anymore.
"And you're sure he didn't enter any of these buildings?" an officer asked.
Shaking his head, the first explained how they had searched every non-residential building and even asked residents if they had seen anyone who fit his description.
It must be said that they'd gone as far as using wind techniques to survey the surroundings from the sky, but they saw nothing. They had been so afraid of what the commander would do to them that they'd even considered searching residents' homes—but ultimately stopped themselves.
As they were discussing, a burly man in an Azure Guards uniform joined them. The embroideries on his clothes matched Jing Tu's. As soon as the officers saw him, they began saluting and bowing slightly—especially the soldiers from this district. Only Jing Tu remained unmoved.
Brows creased, the newcomer seemed annoyed; he answered only with a nod as he walked toward Jing Tu.
"Jing Tu! I gave you enough face by allowing you to do what you want in my territory. But this… you've gone too far," Tang Lei shouted.
From the moment Tang Lei arrived, the soldiers were utterly silent. Only Tang Lei's voice and Jing Tu's could be heard.
"Good day to you too," Jing Tu answered before asking what the problem was.
"Jing Tu, I respect you—always have. That is why when you sent a letter asking to take someone in my territory, I let you. But this is too much." Tang Lei's anger was clear. "Suddenly I'm receiving complaints that Azure Guards are interrogating residents, entering people's places of business, and all sorts of things."
Tang Lei continued, "Now you're here with this large number of officers. Do you know what people think when they see a commander? They think something big must be happening, because that's the only thing that will make a commander move. They're panicking. When this is all over, I'll be the one who takes the blame."
"We were just about to leave," Jing Tu said, turning to walk away. He stopped and added apologetically, "I'm sorry for the trouble I have caused. I guess I got too excited."
He left with the officers who had accompanied him, while Tang Lei went to deliver a public statement to calm the people. He attributed Jing Tu's presence to a reported master's appearance to soothe the crowd. Since there had been no fight or death, people believed it.
---
A few hundred kilometers away in a neighboring village, the man who was causing them so much headache was having his own problems as he stood there dumbstruck by the number of people in front of him.
He was in a queue to enter the silvercrane village and more than two hundred people waited ahead. The village had raised the gate fee to reduce the crowd, but it barely helped. People fought for space, tried to cut in, and left only to find their spots taken when they came back.
Some cultivators showed a little strength and the queue would part for them. He could have done the same, but that would draw attention—what had happened at the previous gate had made him too memorable.
When he entered the village, he noticed it was larger than the last two he had been, but he was in no mood to explore. He was angry about standing in line for over an hour and the fact that there were people everywhere. He just wanted to find an inn to get away, but most inns were full. With great difficulty he finally found one with a room.
"Please tell me you have a room left," he said as he entered.
"Just one, and that will be eighty silver coins per night," the innkeeper replied.
Bringing the money out, he asked, "Why are there so many people in this village?" while she lodged him in.
"It's a festival. We celebrate the Grand Commander of the Azure Guard. This is his hometown and we've celebrated him every year since he broke through to Heavenly Origin—and he's now in the early Heavenly Core realm. He could have gone to the Azure Sky Kingdom, but he didn't," the innkeeper said, smiling.
They dedicate an entire festival to him, he thought, perplexed. People will find any excuse to drink and party.
After registering, the innkeeper stretched out the key. As he reached to take it, a voice called from behind.
"Old boy, give me the room and I'll give you some silver."
Ignoring the voice, he took the key and started toward the room.
"Are you deaf? How about gold?" the voice mocked. A young man in his twenties came into view—expensively dressed, slightly intoxicated, with two lesser-dressed friends and two girls on their arms.
"Here—two gold coins. Turn around now and it's yours," one of the boys taunted. "I know you've never seen a gold coin before," he added smugly.
As the pot-bellied man was about to head toward the hall leading to his room, he stopped and turned.
"Answer this question and maybe I'll consider leaving the room. How are three of you going to share one room? Or are the girls just for show and you boys pick soap?" he said, shaking his head with a contemptuous expression that said, children of nowadays.
This completely infuriated the young man in the middle. He charged forward. "YOU DARE—!!!"