"Wu Zhitian, can I ask you something? Do you know where my staff went?"
Wu Zhitian pondered before giving a nod.
"Um, did it get burned down during the incident eight years ago, or is it sealed up somewhere?" Yu Xuelan asked.
She was always quite hesitant about whether she should bring up anything about the past or not seeing how it was a horrible time for both her and others.
"It's... In the Black Heron's Tower."
Yu Xuelan widened her eyes and her lips slightly parted from shock, laughing in confusion, "Well, I guess people would see it as some kind of keepsake. Seems like I will just find a branch or something that I could use. I can't be walking around without a weapon. Um, can I ask you something else?"
"Mn."
She hesitated and asked, "Do you know where my sword is?"
"In the Black Heron's Tower..."
Yu Xuelan, "...."
"They must be a devotee of mine. I'll be sure to give them my signature..."
…
They arrive at the bar and see Lin Changying sitting at the table located on the upper level. At this very hour, in every corner of the teahouse and bustling streets, sounded the fife and lute, while the people of Hufeng indulged in music and singing. The radiant moon shone with an all-pervading splendour, and with a steady lustrous light.
"Yuhe! Sect Master Wu! Over here!" Lin Changying called, waving her arm to notify the two as Yu Xuelan and Wu Zhitian walked up the stairs and to the table, sitting themselves down.
However, Yu Xuelan noticed her smile seemed quite ludicrous, producing a clear impression that Lin Changying's expressions were quite forced.
The cups and dishes had been laid from an early hour, and needless to say, the freshly boiled tea had already become lukewarm.
Long Wen had just treated her to food and now Lin Changying was treating them to a meal. Yu Xuelan knew her debt was slowly rising by the minute because how could she forget about all the coins she borrowed from Wu Zhitian as well?
"I already ordered food. Luckily you guys came in time so the food isn't that cold yet!" Lin Changying smiled happily.
Yu Xuelan returned the smile, "Thank you for your patience. You even went in the way to treat us to food. I shall definitely treat you back sometime."
Lin Changying's lips slightly twitched, "I am forever indebted to you Yuhe. Please dig in."
The black-robed girl picked up the chopsticks and Lin Changying looked at Xuelan's sleeves, noticing there was a rip.
"Yuhe, what happened to your outer robe?" Lin Changying said and pointed to the corner of her sleeves.
"Ah, it must have gotten caught in something," Yu Xuelan said and held her arm up to look at the cut.
"Here, give it to me. I'll help you sew it back!"
"It's alright, I wouldn't want to bother sister with such a small issue," Yu Xuelan said and pulled her sleeves back.
"Ay, no need to be modest! Please, I want to do something for you. I promise I'll even make your outer robe look as new as possible!" Lin Changying insisted and waved her palm out.
Yu Xuelan let out a slight chuckle and took off her outer robe, "Alright if you insist."
Lin Changying's eyes lit up as she eagerly received Yu Xuelan's robe. She hung the robe next to her and noticed a small piece of paper fall out of the sleeves of the clothing.
"Yuhe you have a lot of rubbish in your sleeves! You should throw them out immediately!"
Without paying much attention to the girl, Yu Xuelan laughed guiltily, thinking it must have just been food wrappings.
"It's alright, I'll throw them out for you later," Lin Changying offered. Thinking the small note was just rubbish, Lin Changying picked it up and put it away.
"Waiter!" Lin Changying called and a man hurriedly walked over to their table.
"Masters, is there anything I can do for you?"
"Master Wu, Yuhe, what would you like to drink?"
"Sect Master Wu?" The waiter glanced at the white-robed boy who sat there silently and gasped, almost falling back.
"Greetings Sect Master Wu!" He bowed to Wu Zhitian to which the boy returned with a slight nod.
"Sect Master Wu?"
An old man from the kitchen came walking out.
His eyes widened open and immediately rushed over to their table, exclaiming, "It's such a pleasure to have you here in our teahouse!"
Lin Changying stared in awe at the workers that crowded around Wu Zhitian. Despite the praises and idolization, Yu Xuelan noticed he had become quite uncomfortable with the atmosphere once again.
"Ay! If I knew it was you ordering all this food I would've given you more! Everything here is on the house!" The man said and turned to the waiter, "What are you doing? Hurry and prepare our special dish."
"It's alright, we'll pay," Lin Changying insisted.
"No! You've done so much for our city, this can't even be considered as a repayment!" The man exclaimed and waved his hands in rejection.
"It's fine!" The girl repeated.
Yu Xuelan, "..."
"No, everything is on the house!" The man laughed. "Are you cultivators here on patrol tonight? All the citizens were actually quite hesitant on whether the festival should go on or not."
Lin Changying asked in worry, "Did something happen to the city?"
"Ay! Let me tell you," The man said and sat down, leaning in, "That Bo Fan has been kidnapping women all over our city and taking them back to his lair for two years now!"
His voice trailed off and soon became a whisper, almost as though he was afraid someone would hear him.
"And every time a man would head to search for their missing wife or daughter, the man's head would appear to be buried underneath the ground!"
Yu Xuelan continued sipping her tea and thought that this story was indeed interesting. However, she was still extremely concerned about Wu Zhitian. Even though he kept a straight face, she knew he felt uneasy being close to the man.
"It wasn't exactly buried, but the head was growing under dirt! There were roots and everything attached to the back of the man's head!"
Growing under the dirt...?
"What did you guys do to the head?" Lin Changying asked curiously.
"Well, of course, we were all frightened! So we burned all the heads that randomly started growing with our crops."
"Thankfully, cultivators from Zheng Long are here to ensure nothing happens tonight!" Yu Xuelan assured calmly, trying to end their conversation.
"Zheng Long? So two of the prominent sects are here tonight? Wow, we are so grateful for this!" He bowed.
"Um, I'm sorry boss, but I've come here to fool around... I do feel quite guilty for thinking like this though," she thought to herself.
Wu Zhitian nodded in thanks.
"It would've been easier if it was just a Mercenary or Counter ranked demon because the cultivators from Zheng Long could just dispel them. But since it's a demon god, they can't do much about it," she thought.
A/N: Counter < Mercenary < Fallen < Demon God
"No problem, no problem! I'll go serve my customers now, thank you so much for helping our city," he bowed and returned to serve another table.
"Wow! How interesting. What would you do if you met a demon god?" Lin Changying asked.
"I don't know, be friends?"
Yu Xuelan wasn't particularly interested in knowing about the troubles of Hufeng City but rather, she was quite concerned about the troubling reactions from Wu Zhitian when they were buying lanterns and now.
She couldn't find anything wrong with the lantern and teahouse owner so why was he so uncomfortable around them?
The girl glanced over to the white-clad cultivator to make sure he looked comfortable. Even though his face was like a stone as always, he seemed to be in a better state than before.
Back onto the topic of the Earth Demon God, as long as she didn't get involved with him then her life was guaranteed to be peaceful.