Ning Xiaochuan asked curiously, “What kind of place is the Dark Emperor City?”

Gousheng’s Cultivation was not high, but he was well-informed. “The Dark Emperor City is right beneath our feet, but most people can’t see or touch it. It’s a highly enigmatic place.”

Ning Xiaochuan still did not quite understand. Were they not in the Yulan Empire’s Imperial City? Could there be another city below the ground?

Yu Yan’s lips twitched slightly. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “This… I know something about this.”

Ning Xiaochuan and Gousheng turned to look at her.

Yu Yan said rather timidly, “In truth, the Imperial City that we can see is just the surface. This Imperial City has another side to it, which is its dark side. There are many unknown places and secret businesses, such as brothels, underground casinos, assassins’ guilds, underground auctions, underground fighting. The liars, thieves, robbers, prostitutes, criminals who walk along the streets…. And so on, all of them are more or less linked to a mysterious dark organization.

“It’s just like how the sun in the sky illuminates the earth. Places lit up by sunlight form the world that we can see. Places unlit by the sun are the dark world, the world we can’t see.

“This dark organization governs the entire underground of the Imperial City. It has centuries of history, and some Nobles’ mansions have deep connections to this dark organization. This massive dark organization is called – the Dark Emperor City.

“This means that the Dark Emperor City is not actually a city. Rather, it refers to a sprawling, enigmatic dark organization.

“The influence of the Dark Emperor City is so tremendous that they can even sway the will of the court through their hidden power. The court has always tried to annihilate them, but the Dark Emperor City has such deep and sturdy roots. They have centuries of history and were practically established right when the Yulan Empire was founded. Even the forces of the court have found it difficult to eradicate the problem completely.

“The court has even sent the army to wipe out industries under the banner of the Dark Emperor City, but after each major cleanup, the Dark Emperor City would come back stronger than before in a few years, becoming the ruler of the Imperial City’s dark underworld. You could even say that they rule the land jointly with the court. It’s just that their methods never see the light of day, and they’re thus unknown to most people.”

Ning Xiaochuan asked, “In that case, why doesn’t the court eliminate the lair of the Dark Emperor City directly and kill all their rulers? Wouldn’t the Dark Emperor City collapse by itself then?”

Yu Yan shook her head lightly. “That’s challenging! The headquarters of the Dark Emperor City is extremely hidden, and it changes location frequently. It’s likely that the big shots in the court don’t even know who the Phantom Mayor of the Dark Emperor City is, let alone being able to locate the headquarters of the Dark Emperor City.”

In particular, when Yu Yan mentioned the name of the Phantom Mayor, her eyes widened with dread and she lowered her voice. It was as if the Phantom Mayor would overhear her if she was too loud and bring misfortune down upon her.

Although this was the first time Ning Xiaochuan had come across the legend of the Dark Emperor City, he could still sense that the influence of that mysterious dark organization was massive. He looked in the direction where the army had gone and said, “This time, the court has mobilized the Dragon Elephant Divine Soldiers and the Divine Dragon Warriors. Who knows, they might have actually found the lair of the Dark Emperor City. It looks like an earth-shattering war will be inevitable.”

Three-finger Lin had been silently listening to what they were saying. Now, he snorted coldly. “I don’t think that’s certain. The Dragon Elephant Divine Soldiers and the Crimson-armored Camp made such a big fanfare just to trap and wipe out the lair of the Dark Emperor City. If I was the boss of the Dark Emperor City, I would have swiftly slipped away long ago.

“The army of the court is formidable, that’s true. It’s just a shame that after centuries of easy living, they’re thoroughly rotten. I guarantee you that someone from the Dark Emperor City is definitely part of the army that just went by. They want to ambush the Dark Emperor City with such a flashy parade? Ambush my foot!”

He described the Dragon Elephant Divine Soldiers and the Divine Dragon Warriors as a flashy parade. This blind diviner could talk big.

Gousheng said, “Pfft, pay him no mind. Three-finger Lin likes to talk big. Good sir, let’s go find the tree!”

In fact, Ning Xiaochuan did not think that Three-finger Lin had made any incorrect statements. Conversely, Ning Xiaochuan felt that the diviner had made a lot of sense. Who knew, he might be a marvel.

Nonetheless, his current focus was to locate the Blood-toad Wood, so he did not ask more questions. He followed behind Gousheng and headed out of the bazaar.

“Gousheng, where are all of you going? I see that your Yintang¹ is turning black, which is an ill omen. Don’t go charging into places you’re not supposed to, hmm?” Three-finger Lin shouted behind them.

“Ignore him. Other than shooting off his mouth, Three-finger Lin has no other ability. Yesterday he told me that my Yintang was turning black, but not a single bad thing has happened,” Gousheng said.

Ning Xiaochuan, Gousheng, and Yu Yan had walked out of the Southern Mountain Cluster.

Ning Xiaochuan asked, “It looks like you and this Master Lin are well acquainted. Who is he?”

“My neighbor. The old man knows my grandfather and often comes over to cheat us out of food and drink. I’ve heard that, many years ago, he got into a scuffle in the barracks and ended up suffering a huge defeat. He became blind, and seven of his fingers were broken. After that, he left the barracks to carry out his scams in the Southern Mountain Cluster. He says that he’s fortune-telling, but he’s actually just scamming people,” Gousheng said.

Yu Yan said, “Brother Gousheng, previously you said that you looked for him to divine the auspicious date for the sale, before you came to my master to sell the leaf. Since he’s running a scam, doesn’t that mean that you’re scamming us too?”

Gousheng’s expression immediately turned stiff, and he was very embarrassed. “This young maiden… Could you please don’t call me Gousheng. That’s just my nickname. My official name is ‘Murong Wushuang’. If you don’t mind, you can call me ‘Mister Wushuang’.”

Yu Yan glanced at Gousheng’s sloppy appearance and disheveled hair, and was unable to link this image of him to the name “Murong Wushuang”. (TN: The pun here is that the name “Wushuang” can also be literally translated as “incomparable”. Thus, “Murong Wushuang” sounds like “the incomparable Murong”, and “Mister Wushuang” sounds like “Mister Incomparable”.) Her pretty eyes observed him for a long moment before she burst out into a peal of laughter.

Ning Xiaochuan had known that Murong Wushuang was lying to him, but he did not take this to heart. If Murong Wushuang had not lied, why else would he obediently lead Ning Xiaochuan to the Blood-toad Wood?

“Where are we going now?” Ning Xiaochuan asked.

“Southpearl Mountain,” Murong Wushuang replied.

“I have a Green Deerhorse carriage. Take the reins. It should be much faster by carriage.”

Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Yan boarded the Green Deerhorse carriage and sat inside.

Murong Wushuang sat outside the carriage and picked up the driving whip. The whip cracked on the Green Deerhorse’s bottom and it sped forward like an arrow leaving the bow.

In the carriage, Ning Xiaochuan sat on the soft couch woven from chiffon silk, while Yu Yan knelt below, serving him warm tea. Her slim, white fingers held the ceramic teacup as she used a silk cloth to wipe it clean. She poured in the steaming water and waited for it to cool by three or four degrees before handing it to Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan clasped the fragrant calamus tea in his hands but did not drink it immediately. Instead, he said, “Yu Yan, you’re so familiar with the Dark Emperor City. Is it because Guanyu Tower is a business under the Dark Emperor City?”

Yu Yan was still very young, younger than Ning Xiaochuan by one or two years. Her skin was fine and smooth, and her figure appeared to be very slim. Although she was not as ethereal as Yu Ningsheng, she had a refreshing girl-next-door vibe.

She gently pursed her rosy lips and hesitated for a moment. “Guanyu Tower became established in the Imperial City, so naturally, it’s supported by an immense force. Whether or not this is the Dark Emperor City is hard to say, but it certainly has significant links to the Dark Emperor City. To be exact, all of the brothels in the Imperial City are definitely connected to the Dark Emperor City. Otherwise, they would be unable to survive in the Imperial City.”

Ning Xiaochuan nodded gently. At the moment, he would not dare to provoke a colossal organization like the Dark Emperor City. He was simply asking casually.

The Southern Mountain Cluster was called the Southern Mountain Cluster because the border here was next to Southpearl Mountain.

It was common to live off the land.

Southpearl Mountain was covered in a dense forest and had many perilous peaks and deep valleys. Therefore, it produced many rare Mystical Medicines.

The poor people who lived in the Southern Mountain Cluster would head to Southpearl Mountain in search of Mystical Medicines. If they could find one stalk of Mystical Medicine, it would be enough to feed them for a year.

Of course, Southpearl Mountain’s terrain was dangerous, and ferocious wild beasts and Mystical Beasts would often appear. Most people would not dare to go too deep into the mountain, to avoid risking their lives.

The Green Deerhorse carriage stopped at the foot of Southpearl Mountain. There was no road left, and they could only enter the mountain on foot. As for the carriage, it was parked in a village at the foot of the mountain.

“The path through Southpearl Mountain is challenging, and the place we’re heading to is near the heart of the mountain. The journey will take around two days. We’ll have to stay overnight in the mountain for today and tomorrow.” Murong Wushuang carried on his back a large bag of food he had just purchased in the village and held a machete in one hand. He walked into the thicket and hacked through the undergrowth, opening up a path for Ning Xiaochuan.

Ning Xiaochuan carried a bundle as well, following behind at a moderate pace.

As for Yu Yan, she remained in the village as Ning Xiaochuan was worried about encountering danger in Southpearl Mountain.

Because the woods in the mountain were too dense, Ning Xiaochuan did not know how far they had walked. He only knew that they went through a thicket, scaled a cliff, and passed by a lake. When it became dark, they had only traveled for about sixty miles.

They were this fast due to the fact that he and Murong Wushuang were physically fit. If they had brought Yu Yan along, they would have covered seven or eight miles at most.

A martial artist’s constitution was superior to an ordinary person’s many times over. Naturally, their speed was significantly higher too.

Throughout this journey, Ning Xiaochuan could tell that this youth named Murong Wushuang was actually a martial art expert in disguise whose Cultivation was not lower than his own.

Ning Xiaochuan started to become more cautious, knowing that there were sinister people in this world. If he was killed by Murong Wushuang in the depths of the mountain, the silver coins he had with him would certainly be swiped clean.