Yan Qing was surprised that this valiant woman was the City Lord of Sky Reach City.
He had thought the City Lord must be some buff old guy or something like that.
"What? Surprised that the City Lord is a woman?" Mu Yaojin said, seeing Yan Qing's expression.
"Yes, I am—just the appearance though, not the power that commands itself," Yan Qing explained.
"I get that a lot, but that doesn't matter. I'll take it as a compliment, little brother."
"It is a compliment. A being that can protect a city this big is very impressive."
"Our little brother—not only is his face sweet, but his tongue as well," Mu Yaojin chuckled.
"So, you will keep me and my subordinates stranded outside like this? It's rude, you know."
"Well, it's not my subordinates who suddenly tried to break my front gate. That's also rude," Yan Qing said with a smile.
Mu Yaojin took a closer look at Yan Qing's appearance.
"What about you come to my office at the City Lord Mansion? After all, this mansion has been sealed for so long. Now a handsome guy suddenly can open the array—let's say… I'm curious," Mu Yaojin continued.
"It's getting late already, and I have guests still eating dinner inside," Yan Qing said.
"Oh? Do you mean the small slave convoy?"
"Former slaves. Now they are free people," Yan Qing emphasized.
"That's exactly what makes me curious, little brother. A handsome young cultivator entering the gate through the mortal gate, and even saving and buying slaves directly from slavers with an astronomical price. Also, my report stated that the young handsome cultivator is very proficient in arrays."
Of course the City Lord would know about the little incident at the city gate, Yan Qing thought.
"Well, I do have some skill in arrays and formations. My Nascent Soul has decent affinity with arrays and formations," Yan Qing explained.
Suddenly, Mu Yaojin laughed, as if she had heard something ridiculous.
"You? A Nascent?" She kept laughing.
Both Zhou Wenhai and the three subordinates—even Yan Qing—were puzzled.
"I really am Nascent."
She laughed even more hilariously.
"Alright then, Nascent little brother."
System, why is she laughing at me? Does she underestimate my Nascent Soul?
[Affir…]
System?
[Affirm…]
Hey, System, are you okay?
[£π¢×{%®€]
What the hell…
"I'm Mu Yaojin, but I'm sure you already know that, right, little brother?"
What?
"I don't understand what you're talking about, City Lord, and I'm Yan Qing. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I am not pleased at all. What do you mean you let a fragile, beautiful woman like me hang in front of your door?" She acted coquettishly.
He shivered.
"Please, City Lord Mu, I'm merely a Nascent, and I'm sure as City Lord your cultivation is far superior to mine."
She smiled knowingly.
"Sure, sure, sure… What little brother said is correct. Me, an Immortal Ascension monster—of course you Nascent should be wary of me. Am I right?"
"Honestly, yes, because this is my first day in your city, City Lord. So I'm sorry if I cannot treat you properly yet."
"Fine. But tomorrow at lunch, you must come to my office at the City Lord Mansion, okay, little brother?"
"Tomorrow… I—"
Before Yan Qing finished his sentence, Mu Yaojin moved her index finger left and right.
"No, no, no… little brother, you must come to the City Lord Mansion. You did break my San Guang Talisman. You know how much it costs? That's twenty thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones per piece."
"Lord Yan, the City Lord is lying," Zhou Wenhai whispered in Yan Qing's ear.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. A Core Formation dantian was broken, and now the meridians have been renewed…" Her gaze turned to Zhou Wenhai.
"Little brother sure does have some tricks, making me even more curious. How about I waive the talisman cost, as long as you come to my office tomorrow at lunch?" She shifted her gaze back to Yan Qing.
"What if I just pay you now, and I don't go to your office tomorrow?"
"My, my… our little brother is rich. But sooner or later you will come out from your mansion, right? You can't possibly stay inside and become a hermit. That won't do justice to your face."
Why is this City Lord—this woman—very slippery?
System, am I safe to go to the City Lord Mansion?
[Assessing Risk Parameter]
[Affirmative]
[Host hasn't received beginner gift]
[Among the beginner gifts there is a beginner shield that can deflect any kind of malicious intent from hostile forces]
Eh… you're okay now? What happened earlier?
[Running self-diagnostic. Now repaired.]
Good.
"City Lord Mu is very persuasive," Yan Qing said with a smile.
"I'll go to your office tomorrow."
"That's the right thing to do, little brother. Since my business is done here, I'll take my leave now with my subordinates. On their behalf, forgive their intrusion, okay?"
She then struck her red, glimmering halberd against the earth.
A slight crack tearing through the void materialized beside her. It widened constantly until it was enough for an adult human to enter.
"See you tomorrow, little brother." She winked at Yan Qing before she and her faithful subordinates vanished into the void.
It closed rapidly as soon as the last person disappeared inside.
"That is so cool," Yan Qing said, looking at the void opening and closing as if it were a usual occurrence—just another Monday or something.
"That is a Void-Breaking Gate, Lord Yan. Ascension cultivators like City Lord Mu understand a small portion of law and space. They can command space laws according to their will," Zhou Wenhai explained.
"I see. That is so awesome, right, Wenhai? We can be like her too someday."
Zhou Wenhai chuckled.
"For me, my lord? I'm just Core Formation—a Golden Core cultivator. There is still heaven and hell before I can reach what City Lord Mu has achieved."
"Aiya, be optimistic!" Yan Qing patted Wenhai's shoulder.
"Let's go—back to dinner."
Both returned to the inner side of the mansion, one flying and one jumping rapidly between treetops and rooftops.
In the Azure Dine Pavilion, the small group was a little restless, waiting for the two to come back.
When Zhou Wenhai leapt from the lake to the pavilion—
Zhou Xiyu, Yu'er, jumped from her seat, her tiny body running cutely toward her father.
The others also watched Zhou Wenhai skillfully leap across the spiritual lake.
"Dad!!"
Wenhai embraced his daughter lovingly, then chuckled.
"What's wrong?"
"Yu'er worried about Dad."
"Dad is fine. I just accompanied Lord Yan."
"Who were the people trying to breach the front gate?" Zhang Liang, the carriage driver, asked worriedly.
"It was the City Lord and her subordinates."
Yan Qing descended slowly, hovering mid-air above the lake at the edge of the pavilion.
"Lord Yan," they said in unison.
"You mean City Lord Mu came personally?" asked one of the carriage drivers.
"Well…" Remembering how Mu Yaojin concealed herself in the air, Yan Qing paused.
"Yes."
"Wow! City Lord Mu almost never shows her face publicly. Even when distinguished guests have an audience, I heard she always stays behind a veil."
"You mean you've never seen her?" Yan Qing asked.
"Not like that, Lord Yan. City Lord Mu is valiant and always becomes the vanguard on the front line when something threatens this city—like the sudden beast tide years ago."
"This city is on the line of beast migration?" Yan Qing asked.
"Not exactly. Years ago, a few Ascension cultivators fought near the Ten Thousand Beasts Wood."
"They scared the beasts inside, and a massive beast tide ran havoc toward the city."
"Where is this Ten Thousand Beasts Wood?" Yan Qing asked.
"One hundred li south of this city, Lord Yan."
"That's practically in my backyard."
"Well, at that time the beasts ignored this mansion and rushed straight to the city. Thanks to Heaven, City Lord Mu subdued the thousands of beasts."
That woman… inviting me to her office tomorrow. She is powerful enough to subdue thousands of beasts… I'm just Nascent…
System, are you sure your beginner shield can handle Mu Yaojin's power?
[Affirmative]
Oh well…
"Then what happened to the two Ascension cultivators?" someone asked the carriage driver.
"City Lord Mu gave them a lesson and banned them from ever entering the city again," he said with pride, as if he himself had taught those Ascension cultivators.
"Isn't Mu Yaojin also at the Ascension level?" Yan Qing asked.
"Yes, Lord Yan. But you saw her halberd, right? She always carries it wherever she goes. That is her natal weapon—Heaven Radiant Piercing. They say her natal weapon is among the top five weapons across the continent."
Yan Qing had several thoughts about this, but his immediate problem was settling the former slaves first.
"Old He, you and Auntie Sun will be responsible for the adults. You can settle temporarily at Azure Dragon Hall."
He Shouceng and Sun Yualan were called and given responsibility by Yan Qing, visibly surprised.
"Lord Yan, do you mean we can stay here tonight?" Sun Yualan asked.
"Not just tonight. If you don't mind, I need help maintaining this mansion. After all, I will settle here for a while."
The adults among the former slaves burst into tears.
"Now, Zhou Wenhai and Zhou Xiyu will go to my courtyard. There is a small pavilion there. The children can rest there. Wenhai, are you willing to be my courtyard's temporary guard? You can stay in front of that small pavilion if you worry about your daughter."
"This humble one agrees to whatever Lord Yan arranges," Zhou Wenhai said, cupping his fists and bowing ninety degrees fervently.
"And the carriage drivers—thank you for your work today."
Yan Qing threw twelve small bags onto the table.
"This is your wage for today. I'll add a few more spirit stones as your bonus."
The twelve carriage driver's eyes sparkled.
"Thank you, Lord Yan," they said in unison.
"Alright then, the night is late now. I think I'll go rest a little. Tomorrow we'll figure out accommodation."
The former slaves felt they must have saved lives in their previous lives to meet such a good cultivator. This was an incomparable fortune.
With his command, they began to disperse according to Yan Qing's arrangements.
Meanwhile, at the City Lord Mansion, after the spatial rift faded, four people walked slowly along the ninth floor of the nine-story pagoda.
Mu Yaojin's expression turned calm and stoic, unlike what she had shown Yan Qing earlier.
"City Lord," her three trusted subordinates bowed respectfully.
"What did you find about the array, Yuan?" Mu Yaojin asked.
"Reporting to City Lord, this one found that the array configuration used to open the sealed area doesn't make sense."
"Oh?" She glanced toward Lu Jingyuan.
He reported his findings to Mu Yaojin.
"As I expected. Did you also feel that nothingness—like a blank void—in that young boy's aura?"
"Yes, City Lord," they answered in unison.
"He traced my San Guang Talisman even after destroying it. He knows about your Tianji Configuration, and besides that Nascent-looking aura, he even said the mansion was his inheritance."
"Did you see how he reacted to my Ascension qi?"
The three of them froze, almost forgetting that anyone below the City Lord's cultivation should instantly bow under her aura.
They carried talismans to restrict Mu Yaojin's aura, hidden within their robes.
But that young boy—even with arrays—should have been afraid if the City Lord so much as moved her Heaven Radiant Piercing.
Seeing her subordinates' blank expressions, she smiled.
"He acted like a normal person, which means he is anything but normal."
"City Lord, do you mean…?" Lu Jingyuan asked cautiously.
"Brace yourselves, Lu Jingyuan. An old monster has awakened from his slumber, and he is now residing in our city.