Paraj (2)

During the few seconds that the youth looked at her, Shui quietly prepared to take action but luckily nothing happened. However, as the youth was turning away, an adorable young lady poked her head out. Her fair skin seemed unaccustomed to hardship while her eyes shined with an innocent guile.

"What is it, brother?"

"It's nothing."

"Liar, then why were you staring outside for so long?"

Curious as to why her sibling had been looking out the carriage for so long, the girl swept her eyes over the group before also stopping on someone, this time on Shui. No one else thought more of him other than that he was a little odd and had attractive delicate features, however, the girl felt something when she spotted him. It wasn't that she could see Shui's true power or read his mind, the only thing that was revealed to her was that he was special, and the only thing that backed that thought was her instinct, but that was enough.

Shui was surprised that she focused on him, but he tried not to notice. Unfortunately, this young lady wasn't the type to act bashful and wait without taking action. She waved her hand at one of the guards and gave him something. The guard then went to Shui and handed him a shiny, silver bracelet cuff with a blue crystal.

"The lady says to contact her with this when you're free."

As the guard said those words, it was not just him or Shui that looked awkward. Even the girl's brother facepalmed, especially when she joyfully waved at Shui. Shui had no reason to embarrass her so he returned her wave, which made her brush and fidget excitedly. Thanks to that, even after the carriage entered the city, there was strange atmosphere present in front of the gate.

In an attempt to change this mood, Adrian cleared his throat and said to Shui, "Well, um, good luck?"

"Haha,ha..."

After Shui forced a laugh in response, the guards continued with their jobs. Eventually, they made it past the guards and into the city itself, and the sight made them speechless once more. As if what they had seen outside the wall was just a preview, the group was made to gasp at the lavish scenery. Inside of Paraj had a bustling atmosphere that wouldn't lose to any other city, and just a little bit away from the gate was a group of stalls selling things like guidebooks, quirky artifacts, starter kits and other goods the tourists might be interested in.

Shui was impressed by their business-focused thinking, but his eyes couldn't help but be attracted by the glowing posters, known as 'billboards' that were placed on top of buildings. Especially the one that advertised the concert for a very popular idol group.

'I should make time to go see that.'

However, it wasn't only sunshine and rainbows. The moment he entered the city, Shui could also sense that his underground guild ID vibrated. It didn't look like it was broadcasting his location, but it was likely that the other assassins knew that he was now in the city.

Even so, temporarily forgetting his true reasons for coming to the city, Shui earnestly admired Paraj.

A few minutes later, the group split up and Emily went with her senior brother down a certain street while Shui coincidentally went in the same direction. Naturally they didn't want to overreact, so they tried changing their route several times, but it was futile. After many failed attempts of getting him off their tails, Adrian finally confronted him and asked.

"Um, Sir Shui, may I ask where you're headed?"

"Nowhere in particular. I just thought I would check out the nearby streets."

It reeked of falsehood, but Adrian kept his expression stable and followed up with, "Is that so, well then I hope you don't mind but Emily and I-"

He tried to secure his escape route but Shui wouldn't permit that.

"Oh, by the way, what inn would you say is the best here?"

Adrian couldn't wait to leave Shui here, but all he could do was hide his grimace. In his place, Emily answered.

"There are many great inns in Paraj but the most famous would have to be the Myriad Flower Pavilion."

"Oh? What's so special about it?"

"In addition to being the most expensive inn in the city, only those who pass a certain test pertaining to arrays are allowed to enter. It's basically a place where only the elite of array masters can stay."

Shui had no need to worry about money so he was very interested in this Myriad Flower Pavilion.

"Nice. Let's go then."

"Huh?"

"I have a bit of knowledge in arrays, and that's obvious for you, so let's go. Doesn't it sound fun?"

As the conversation went in the direction of all three of them visiting Myriad Flower Pavilion, Adrian tried to interfere but Shui had already managed to persuade Emily.

"Wait-"

"It does," said Emily with a mischievous smile.

It was an expression that was nostalgic to Shui but it reminded Adrian of the headaches he had from taking care of his junior sister. Since the two of them had made up their minds, the group of three headed to Myriad Flower Pavilion. It was near the centre of the city so it was a bit of a walk, but nothing too strenuous for cultivators like them.

The inn they stopped in front of was like a small palace decorated with splendid statues and fine gems that glistened in the sunlight. Even in this shiny city, it stood out as a place of prestige that even robbers had to look away from. Usually a high-class place like this would have guards at the front door for an added effect of intimidation and to welcome guests, but this inn had a special way of staying exclusive.

After being impressed by the artistic grandeur of the inn, one would then notice the oddest thing about the building; there was no door. However, the cultivators squatting in the vicinity of the inn knew the way to enter. As long as you used your spiritual sense to examine the location where the door should be, you would find a randomly changing puzzle based on array knowledge and techniques. Only by solving this puzzle would you gain the key to enter the inn.

Everyone could challenge the quiz at the same time so once the group of three arrived there was no need to wait.

By saying, "You go first, I'll watch," Shui convinced Emily to make the first attempt. The puzzle that appeared in her mind was quite difficult, but she was confident that she could solve it with enough time. Sadly, the puzzle changed every five minutes so you would have to be both quick and knowledgeable to solve it. There was no requirement to solve the puzzle besides knowing the basics of arrays, but only a tier 5 array grandmaster would be able to solve it with pure experience, otherwise one would have to also rely on their talent and luck. Fortunately, Emily had the perfect talent to solve the puzzle.

Once she closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, both Adrian and Shui were sure that she could complete the puzzle.