Wait a minute, where is my master?

Jin Xu and his three companions headed downstairs, and when they passed the Yanyu Building's main hall, they found several cultivators clad in yellow robes, compasses in hand, muttering to themselves as they walked and paused intermittently.

They looked rather like little bees that couldn't find their way home.

Little White, curious, pulled over the servant who had brought them dishes earlier and asked, "Waiter, what's going on with your inn here?"

"Ah, dear guest, you might not know this, but these individuals are cultivators in the city who are well-versed in formations.

Today, for some reason, our Spirit Gathering Array in the inn is acting up. Spirit Stones are put in place but in no time they turn into waste stones; we've changed who knows how many batches of Spirit Stones this afternoon.

So, our shopkeeper suspects it might be due to the recent mischief of the Demon Sect affecting our Yanyu Building's Spirit Gathering Array, hence we invited these formation masters to come and inspect."

The waiter said with a look of amazement.

"Oh, then your shopkeeper is indeed quite unlucky."

Little White responded nonchalantly.

On the side, Jin Xu listened to this conversation, his expression inscrutable, lost in thought.

...

The group left the Yanyu Building and walked onto the streets above.

In the night, the lights of Shangjing City shone brightly, teeming with people, and the sounds of hawking and selling mingled together, surprisingly giving Jin Xu, who was once exposed to the modern urban atmosphere, a sense of myriad home lights.

"Miss Yunzhao, the Demon Sect's attack, has it not affected Shangjing City at all?"

After walking for a while, the little Taoist asked curiously.

He had seen the tragedy of Ling City, and although Gusu City had been timely saved by him, the mood of the residents was still gloomy. At any rate, when he left, Gusu City had not returned to its state before the attack.

Yet as the main target of the Demon Sect, why did the residents of Shangjing City seem unaffected, just like ordinary people?

"It might be because of Grandpa. I heard from my mother that ever since Great Xia established its capital in Shangjing, it has faced quite a few crises, but each time they have been successfully resolved by Grandpa. So as long as Grandpa is here, the citizens of Shangjing City are not afraid."

Xia Yunzhao, being born late even as the current Seventh Princess and once-a-millennium genius of the Imperial Family of Great Xia, had rarely met the stabilizer in the hearts of the Great Xia's citizens.

The last time they met was when she advanced to the Nascent Soul Realm, and she was summoned behind a curtain. So, much of what she knew about Xia Xuanmin was from what others had told her.

Hearing Xia Yunzhao's words, the little Taoist formed a rough impression of the Emperor: a strong and extremely charismatic monarch.

"Only, Grandpa..."

The Seventh Princess instinctively wanted to share her troubles with someone close to her but wisely stopped herself in time.

Although Jin Xu, the Taoist, had high cultivation and some secret and somewhat embarrassing magic, he was still not suitable to be involved in the current Royal conflict.

"What's the matter?"

Noticing her hesitation, Jin Xu casually handed her a candied haw stick, then handed another to Yu Yaoer.

The candied haws were bought by Little White from who knows where, and this time he had bought a whole skewer.

Indeed, along the way, the group had not been shy about purchasing a plethora of trinkets, with the husky and Yu Yaoer buying quite a lot.

"It's nothing, oh right, Jin Xu... master, mother is available tomorrow and can meet with you."

Xia Yunzhao was still not quite used to the new form of address that Yu Yaoer had taught her.

"Tomorrow? Hmm, that's good. This way we can return to Gusu City a bit sooner."

Seeing she didn't want to talk, the Taoist did not press further.

He wasn't in a particular hurry, but an earlier meeting was preferable. After all, there was still the Bronze Gate at home that concerned him.

After hearing what Jin Xu said, the Seventh Princess fell silent for a moment, then sampled a piece of the candied haw he had just passed to her—sour.

She actually quite wanted the young Taoist to stay for a few more days, but it seemed her mother also had many matters to attend to, so being able to spare a whole day was already quite difficult.

Actually, being born into the Imperial Family, she understood why, even though there were external enemies at the gate, there was still turmoil within the Capital. It was simply because rumors had been circulating that her Grandpa Emperor was dying, and her father's cultivation wasn't strong enough to stabilize the vast Great Xia Dynasty.

Anyway, it was all a bunch of nonsensical troubles.

If she had a choice, Xia Yunzhao actually quite wanted to persuade her father and mother to step down and move the family of three to Gusu City.

The scenery there was nice, and it was close to Jin Xu, life would be so much more enjoyable.

Unfortunately, she had no say in the matter. Despite being touted as a once-in-a-thousand-years genius of the Imperial Family, she was after all just at the Nascent Soul Realm.

A genius who had not yet matured had no real power.

And even if she really convinced her parents to step down, would her uncles and aunts truly let them go?

Xia Yunzhao was no child, and such matters were wishful thinking at best.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of her mind, the Seventh Princess smiled and quickened her pace with Jin Xu and the others towards the mysterious auction site.

To be happy for a day is still a day, to be unhappy is also a day; the Seventh Princess decided to spend tonight in joy.

On the way, the four of them had to buy masks halfway there and wore them on their faces.

This was really because, along the way, their appearances were too eye-catching, especially the young Taoist Jin Xu. And since Xia Yunzhao herself was quite a sensation in Shangjing City, they had no choice but to hide their features a bit.

After putting on the masks, the four of them dodged east and west, slipping through streets and alleys.

Finally, after taking seven wrong turns, Xia Yunzhao led the group to a deserted spot with a thick stone pillar.

"Sister Yunzhao, is this the place?"

Little White, wearing a Wolf King mask and being over two hundred years old, called out 'sister' to Xia Yunzhao.

"Mm-hm, this is it, just wait here for a moment."

Saying so, the Seventh Princess wearing a rabbit mask started to circle around the stone pillar.

Three circles to the left, three circles to the right. Then, a water screen wide enough for one person appeared in the middle of the pillar.

Through the water screen, two muscular cultivators came out, one after another.

The cultivator who came out first sized up Jin Xu and his group.

Noticing that all four were wearing common street-side masks and that the highest level of cultivation among them was only at the Nascent Soul, and the lowest was actually a mortal.

He transmitted a message to the brother behind him,

"Tell me, do you think these folks came for the auction, or did they just stumble upon the mechanism by mistake?"

"I'm betting ten mid-grade Spirit Stones that they're definitely here for the auction," the cultivator behind replied through transmission.

"Then I'll bet that they stumbled upon the mechanism by mistake. It's happened several times this month already; I don't know what the leader is thinking, not changing the activation method."

"Come on, it's still better than the previous method that required shouting 'let me in', right?"

"That's true."

Jin Xu, standing in front of the two, heard every word of their conversation without missing a single word, and then quietly took out his Token.

He had intended to use his Spiritual Sense to explore the water screen but unexpectedly gained this bit of information. The conversation had caused the young Taoist's interest in the auction to drop by several levels.

But since he was already here, and looking around didn't cost anything,

The first cultivator to come out saw the mortal with the faceless mask holding a Token and his expression turned bitter.

Ten mid-grade Spirit Stones, just like that, gone!