April 20, 2018

Many people have a misconception about Golden Jade City, believing that this leading place of wealth should be literally paved with gold everywhere. The streets are thought to be paved with top-quality Feiyan White Jade, while buildings on either side are imagined to have walls made of gold bricks and silver mud. Windows are said to be crafted from crystal and gemstones, the kind of crystal-clear glass, fired from sand without any impurities or bubbles, available only for the low-end population of Golden Jade City.

In reality, however, such boundless luxury is, of course, impossible. Golden Jade City, compared to first-tier cities like QingCyan Cloud yun City and Shen City, while more advanced, has not yet shown a fundamental difference. There are still bright lights and dark corners, rich people and poor souls. The vast majority of ordinary residents live relatively well-off lives, but definitely do not have the capital for extravagance.

So even in Golden Jade City, hawker stalls where a few tens of coins can get you a feast remain the most popular dining places, and the skill of this humble cuisine is most easily tested—because if the quality slips, it will immediately be voted out by diners. The affluent environment makes any industry susceptible to competitors and replacements.

Therefore, the more developed and prosperous a city is, the more likely it is to encounter surprises in such low-end dining.

For example, in the east Xiangyang District of Golden Jade City, the most popular Sea and Sky Hawker Stall always surprises visitors. The high standard of their pig head meat and pork chop noodles far exceeds the modest price of those hundreds of coins on the menu. Many people feel indignant—how can Golden Jade City’s income be so high, while the prices remain so low?! Does this world still make any sense?!

Sea and Sky Hawker Stall follows a business model of small profits but quick turnover, with excellent quality at low prices. As a natural result, it’s always crowded at any time, and on the already quite spacious open ground, as long as mealtime arrives, hundreds of tables are filled with enthusiastic diners, tapping the tableware, urging the kitchen owner to work even harder, sweating out a storm. And because it’s always crowded, the space becomes even more cramped, diners are practically elbow to elbow, cheek to cheek. From above, one can see hundreds of heads bobbing up and down, sometimes bowing to eat, sometimes looking up with a satisfied sigh. The whole scene resembles an over-expired meat can, with thousands of maggots reveling inside.

Such crowded scenes, of course, easily lead to friction between diners. Someone might accidentally step on someone’s foot, someone might unwittingly spill soup on another’s clothes. Most times, diners exchange awkward smiles, quietly cursing the other’s eighteen generations of ancestors in their hearts.

However, there are also rare occasions where some people go too far, inevitably angering others into a towering rage and shouting, like...

When Wang Jiu appeared at the entrance of the hawker stall, the one facing the door, Shen Qingming, without hesitation, expelled the most heartfelt liquid within a young girl’s body—a mouthful of rich pork chop noodle soup.

"Puh Jiu!"

Before she even finished yelling, the diner beside her let out a scream.

"Damn! Who was that?!"

As it turned out, Shen Qingming, being a cultivator, reacted quickly. Seeing the mouthful of noodle soup about to splash onto Li Wanqing across from her, she urgently turned her head to the side, spraying the high-value original flavor noodle soup onto a bald, chubby middle-aged diner.

However, after the fat baldy stood up in anger, as soon as he turned around and saw Shen Qingming’s table, his hostility instantly faded, replaced by a gentle smile.

"Oh oh, it’s you young people, no problem, no worries."

As he spoke, the fat baldy took out a handkerchief to wipe the youthful original flavor noodle soup from the back of his neck, his demeanor appearing particularly calm and carefree.

This made Shen Qingming feel particularly embarrassed: "I’m really sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose, I just saw someone unbelievable, so I couldn’t hold back..."

"No problem, no problem, you guys are all young, full of blood and energy, it’s normal to fail holding back at times."

These words sounded very awkward, especially in comparison to his previous exclamation of ’Damn!’ when sprayed with noodle soup, and his immediate 180-degree change in attitude afterward. Clearly, he was another greasy middle-aged man swayed by the girls’ looks and ready to abandon principles. Any other time, even in Shen Qingming’s most impoverished days, she would absolutely not give this kind of person the time of day. But today, she was the one at fault first, she couldn’t just leave like this.

Shen Qingming suppressed her inner disgust, about to continue apologizing, yet found the other’s gaze wasn’t focused on her.

Likewise, it wasn’t on the voluptuous Li Chaolu, nor the dashing Li Wanqing, but rather... directly fixed on the slightly peculiar mental state of Li Xinyu, with a look of delight as if spotting a treasure.

In that instant, Shen Qingming felt as if her Divine Sense was struck by a divine calamity lightning bolt, that five-thunder-shocked feeling left her dazed for a good while.

Objectively speaking, Li Xinyu at this moment was far from the despicable fatso reminiscent of a meatball from before. Having lost weight, the young man looked dignified, extraordinarily elegant, especially with a face that, though still somewhat sly, appeared numbly cold due to the numbness of his mental world, further enhancing a kind of holy snow lotus-like aura, indeed deserving the label ’handsome youth’.

Meanwhile, Golden Jade City is renowned for its avant-garde culture, where love between the same-sex is not taboo but a trendy culture—in Golden Jade City, individuals like Li Wanqing, who appear unique in QingCyan Cloud City, are undoubtedly trendsetters here.

But no matter what, just thinking about a fat bald middle-aged man falling in love at first sight with someone like Li Xinyu made one... feel nauseated, with a wave of pure maiden’s vomit about to make its appearance!

Meanwhile, the greasy fat bald man very familiarly started the conversation.

"You all don’t look like locals, here as tourists from elsewhere? So young yet traveling to Golden Jade City together, you must come from wealthy and distinguished families. Indeed, Golden Jade City is worth visiting for prosperous families, but without local guidance, it’s easy to be deceived by some unscrupulous merchants... As it happens, I’ve lived here for over twenty years and know the ins and outs of the city. Since we’ve met by fate, if you trust me, how about I guide you around Golden Jade City for a few days? I’m Zheng Liming, and I’m somewhat known in the East City Xiangyang District. If you’re unsure, feel free to ask the locals about me."

The fat bald man was going on endlessly, and Shen Qingming felt a chill all over, wanting to punch and flatten that greasy face. Instinctively, he turned to Li Wanqing for help.

Li Wanqing also frowned, whispering, "After all, this isn’t our territory, and it’s a sensitive time due to the political upheaval. As outsiders, it’s better not to stir up trouble, especially with a local tyrant like this. Although merely mortal, he probably knows many cultivators. There’s no need to get entangled with him—better to shake him off as soon as possible."

"But with him acting like this, how can we easily shake him off?"

Li Wanqing glanced at Li Chaolu, then at Shen Qingming, and said gravely, "War inevitably involves sacrifice, we have no choice now but to leave Xinyu behind to cover our retreat!"

Shen Qingming was shocked, hesitated for a second, then nodded, "Okay."

——

After making a great sacrifice to deal with the persistent fat bald visitor Zheng Liming, Shen Qingming felt that his delight at finally seeing Wang Jiu again had completely vanished. The sincere words he had been preparing to say were unspeakable, leaving only a bland, "Where have you been?"

Wang Jiu thought for a moment and summarized his experiences of the past two days in a way Shen Qingming could understand, "I went to read books, what about you all?"

"Reading books?! You can’t be seen for two whole days just because you’re reading? Do you know how badly Zhao Chenlu bullied us? She had that maid leave us in a neglected courtyard of the City Lord’s Mansion, saying to be patient and that someone would soon entertain us, but all we got was a fruit platter and a few bottles of water. By nighttime, they sent a servant saying there was some upheaval in the City Lord’s Mansion and couldn’t entertain guests, and unceremoniously kicked us out to the streets!"

Wang Jiu listened in amazement, unexpectedly finding that Shen Qingming managed to vividly describe their experiences over the past two days. However, he still tried to explain for his old friend.

"She was overthrown and placed under house arrest."

Shen Qingming stated firmly, "Deserved it! Couldn’t even host distant guests properly, serves her right to be ousted!"

Pausing for a moment, Shen Qingming softened his tone, "Anyway, since there’s a coup in Golden Jade City, we should hurry back."

Wang Jiu was startled, "Go back?"

Shen Qingming explained, "Yes, she was betrayed by her trusted subordinates, with her regime overthrown. She must be feeling down, and being the proud person she is, wouldn’t want you to see her like that. So for her sake, we should quietly leave Golden Jade City and let her lick her wounds alone."

Wang Jiu replied, "In ordinary circumstances, your suggestion surprisingly makes sense, but Zhao Chenlu is really in a bad spot and probably needs our help."

Shen Qingming replied, "Help? What can mere Cloud Surge Realm and Cloud Flipping Realm youngsters like us do for a City Lord of Golden Jade with real strength surpassing the Sea Overturning Realm? We aren’t qualified to get involved in such a coup. To truly help her, we should seek our family’s support as soon as possible."

Wang Jiu nodded, "That’s reasonable, you all head back first, I’ll figure out a way."

Shen Qingming immediately grew anxious, "What can you do alone in an unfamiliar place?"

Wang Jiu thought, "Well, at the moment, the biggest issue is the lack of information. It would be best to find a local... oh, that Zheng Liming from earlier might actually be a good choice, I’ll go ask him."

"Hey, you’d better stop right there!"