Chapter 1989: Luck With Women

The place was even livelier than the proper towns Zu An had flew past on the way here. The streets were lined with bluestone, and there were all kinds of shops on either side, including a blacksmith and an alchemy shop, as well as tea and wine stores. There were even more stores that were tightly shut with people doing who knew what inside.

In the distance were some dazzling and splendid buildings. Compared to the simple and crude buildings nearby, they were clearly of an entirely different style. Zu An was startled. Could that be the Devil Sect’s general headquarters? But if that was the case, why was this place called the Lake of Hatred?

He examined his surroundings. There were people dressed in bizarre outfits everywhere in the small town, and each individual had a trace of toughness in their eyes. These were clearly people who normally lived bloody lives. There were also many people who wore cloaks or face covers, which was definitely to hide their identities.

Apart from that, rather than calling the place a small town, it was more like a market. There were stalls set up all overe, and many passersby often squatteddown to haggle with the sellers.

A black market?

That term suddenly appeared in Zu An’s mind. He was a bit confused. This place didn’t seem like the glorious Devil Sect's general headquarters. If he had known things would be like this, he would have asked for a bit more info from Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei.

After thinking about it, he took out a mask and put it on. His appearance quickly became that of an ordinary person on the street. When he thought of the paintings circulating throughout the capital, he was worried that he would be recognized instantly. Even though quite a few people in this town were masked and cloaked, there could be certain places where they’d be asked to remove those coverings. This way was still safer.

At any other time, with his current cultivation, there would be no need for him to hide himself. However, even someone like Yun Jianyue could be in danger, so if he strutted right in, it could make things worse. After all, he had come here to save people and not to show off.

After he changed his outfit, he quickly entered the marketplace. When he passed through the entrance, he clearly sensed that he had gone through a thin barrier. It was as if something had scanned his body. However, the formation disc in his pockets moved slightly to completely neutralize the scanning waves.

There were several individuals who seemed to be guards at the entrance. They gave him a glance, then returned to chewing on their roasted seeds and their conversations. Zu An sighed in relief. It seemed that everyone who could come here had a token-like object to pass the formation, so these guards weren’t so vigilant. After some hesitation, he decided against capturing them for interrogation. This was a town entrance, after all, so doing something here would immediately draw unwanted attention. He decided to scout out the situation a bit first.

He continued along the bluestone path and noticed that people maintained a set distance from each other. There was no chance of them brushing shoulders or anything like that. It seemed the Devil Sect was still the Devil Sect in the end. They were quite guarded against each other.

Along the way, he noticed that many booths were selling rare ores or other medicinal herbs. Many of them were things that were normally quite hard to find. At a glance, he noticed several impressive medicinal ingredients. If it weren’t because he was more concerned with Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei, he would likely spend some more time here fishing for treasure.

As he continued inside, Zu An noticed that many of the stalls even sold magic weapons. There were assorted treasures used for attack, defense, and support. His sharp eyes even noticed quite a few weapons had some black marks on them.

They were dried blood! It seemed the origins of these items weren’t that glorious.

He looked at the large and tall buildings, thinking,

Those are the only places that look like they could be the Devil Sect’s general headquarters.

However, he didn’t seem to have noticed many guards. Was the Devil Sect really just that careless? Combined with this place that was as noisy as a marketplace, it really didn’t seem to resemble the Devil Sect general headquarters he imagined.

Should I find someone to ask about things?

He looked around. Everyone present maintained a safe distance from each other. Even so, with his cultivation, it wasn’t a problem.

He was about to find some unlucky guy when he suddenly noticed something. He saw two people quickly approach him from either side.

“This is quite surprising. Everyone else seems to be avoiding each other, and yet the two of you seem to be enthusiastically coming to me,” Zu An remarked. His first reaction was to think he had been exposed, but he quickly realized that these two were likely just thieves. It seemed that one of them had been about to pretend to bump into him, while the other would rob him of his possessions.

In any event, he had just been looking for someone to question, so he’d start with these two.

Suddenly, a woman called out, “Be more careful! You almost bumped into someone!”

Zu An frowned.

Why is she here?

Even though he didn’t turn around, with his divine sense, he obviously immediately recognized her.

The two thieves who had already reached out their hands were frightened and quickly retracted their hands. They were furious and were just about to turn around to see who it was to teach them a lesson, but when they saw who it was, they both blew out a catcall.

“Who do we have here? You’re quite pretty, little lady.”

Not only was she pretty, her fair and long legs were incredibly alluring. The two wondered just how amazing it would feel if they could get between them.

Zu An turned around, pretending to be surprised as he looked at them. The two thieves had quite the forgettable faces, so he naturally overlooked them.

As the woman stood between them, she really resembled a crane among a flock of chickens. It was Zhang Zitong!

She was a silver token envoy who had previously been detained under house arrest. Why was she here? Could it be that the one backing her was none other than the Devil Sect? However, that couldn't be! If that were the case, how could Yun Jianyue and Qiu Honglei not have told him about it?

Bang!

Just like that, the two thieves were instantly kicked flying. Zhang Zitong’s mood was definitely not good, and she had no patience for the two’s wretched expressions.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The noisy street immediately became quiet, but a moment later, it returned to its usual liveliness. This kind of thing seemed to happen quite often in these parts, and it was something they were used to seeing. Many eyes did dart toward Zhang Zitong’s legs, however.

Just where did this long-legged beauty come from?

They really are freaking hot!

Even so, judging from how she fought, her cultivation seemed quite high. In the end, none of them dared to act rashly.

“You... Do you know who you’ve offended?” the two thieves called out as they climbed to their feet with reddened faces. They were shocked and furious as they pointed at Zhang Zitong.

“Was that not enough of a beating for you?” Zhang Zitong retorted. She was in a really bad mood. She had been under house arrest to begin with, waiting for Sir Eleven to eventually let her out, and yet she wasbroken out by that person and forced to make a trip here.

She just happened to have seen these two trying to commit robbery, and her occupational disease made her unable to help but instinctively act out. To be honest, she was feeling a bit of regret now. She was a newcomer to this place and shouldn’t have offended people just like that. Even so, with how things were, as well as her personality, she naturally couldn't just loosen up. After all, she had once been quite famous as a slayer of evildoers.

After experiencing her cultivation firsthand, the two thieves knew that they weren’t a match. They cried out before turning tail and running, “Just you wait!”

Zhang Zitong frowned. She was about to give chase when she suddenly noticed Zu An staring at her. She harrumphed and remarked, “Is that head on your shoulders good for nothing? Those things were about to steal from you, and yet you had no idea?”

“They didn’t steal anything in the end, right?” Zu An replied. He was actually a bit upset that she had ruined his plans.

Zhang Zitong was now getting even more upset. She was about to erupt when she suddenly remembered the current situation she was in and said, “Forget it, you’re in too much danger on your own. Are you interested in traveling with me as your companion?”

She needed a local to guide her, but the others here all gave off a feeling that made her uncomfortable. As someone who went after these kinds of criminals for a living, she was especially sensitive to their auras. Only this dumb-looking guy seemed a bit different, so staying with him was comparatively safer.

The surrounding people perked up their ears.

This stupid brat has quite the luck with women, doesn’t he? A long-legged beauty actually took the initiative to form a group with him.

However, that beauty probably doesn’t have pure motives either. Who knows what she’s after...

They lived in this kind of environment, so they subconsciously thought along their usual lines to guess her motives.

Zu An raised his brows and replied, “I’m not interested.” After saying that, he turned around to leave.

Zhang Zitong was stunned.