Golem City

"Wake up, we have arrived," Wu Meng called out while bringing the horse to a slow stop.

"I'm awake," Zhang Wanqing answered softly as she climbed out of the horse wagon.

It had already been a few days since they left Green Seed Village, and Zhang Wanqing could not help but feel a little melancholic.

After everything that had happened, she was sure that Luo Quan's parents must be worried sick by now.

That was why, even though she had already agreed to follow Wu Meng, Zhang Wanqing had initially thought about asking if she could return to the village one last time, just so she could bid them farewell and let them know that she and Luo Quan were both fine.

However, Zhang Wanqing decided against it in the end.

She had not only gone against the villagers' decision to capture Luo Quan, but even stood up to the cultivators back then. If she were to show up at the village now, it might just end up bringing more trouble to Luo Quan's parents.

Who knows what the villagers would do when they see her, especially the village chief who had essentially lost his daughter?

Rather than that, Zhang Wanqing decided that she would return only after some time had passed.

Hopefully the villagers' anger would have subsided by then, and the cultivators would be gone. At that point, she would finally be able to return and give Luo Quan's parents peace of mind.

Still, Zhang Wanqing being worried about Luo Quan's parents did not stop her from gasping in awe upon witnessing the sight that awaited her the moment she exited the horse wagon.

The establishment before her was incomparably grand, with sturdy walls reaching up to more than ten metres in height. There was even enough space at the top for numerous guards to walk, patrolling the top of the walls with an air of solemnness.

Beneath it was a huge wooden gate at least four metres tall and five metres wide. There were guards standing by the gate as well, checking on each person who was trying to either leave or enter.

Through the open gate, Zhang Wanqing could see the bustling streets within, with buildings constructed in neat rows that lined the sides of the streets. It was organised and well-planned, completely unlike their Green Seed Village.

When she saw the sheer magnitude and grandeur of this establishment, Zhang Wanqing immediately understood.

This was something that she had only heard stories of from the elders in the village – a city!

As though confirming her thoughts, her attention immediately fell upon a huge sign above the open gate.

"Golem City..." Zhang Wanqing muttered under her breath.

She could not help but feel moved at this moment.

Throughout all seventeen years of her life, Zhang Wanqing had never left the vicinity of Green Seed Village. Not to mention a city, she had never even seen a regular town before.

The people in the city might have already gotten used to the sight of Golem City, treating it as nothing special. But for Zhang Wanqing, this was an exceptionally spectacular sight that she could never have imagined in the past!

Since she was young, Zhang Wanqing had always wanted to leave the village at least once to go check out what the world outside looked like. Now that she was standing before a real city, her heart could not help but start beating faster in excitement.

She could not wait to enter and see just what this Golem City was really like!

Wu Meng smiled when he saw the young girl's eyes light up, but did not tease her about it. Instead, he silently got off the horse wagon as well and led the way forward on foot.

As though it understood what to do, the horse immediately followed, walking beside Wu Meng while pulling the horse wagon along.

The gate was busy with many people queuing to enter, but the queue cleared fast enough for it to not pose a problem. Before long, it was already their turn to be inspected by the guards.

Then again, rather than an inspection, it was more like a simple taxation.

After paying the entry fare for two merchants, the guards allowed them into the city.

"Stop getting so distracted and follow me. Otherwise, don't blame me if you get lost," Wu Meng cautioned.

"Wait for me!" the straying Zhang Wanqing hurriedly returned to his side.

If she got lost in this sea of people, it would be almost impossible for her to find Wu Meng again!

Even so, Zhang Wanqing could not help but keep looking around even while she remained by Wu Meng's side.

Be it the streets that were paved with stones, the beautiful two to three-storey buildings that had been arranged into neat rows, or even the loud haggling and clamouring of people along the streets, all of them were new and fascinating to the young lady who was visiting a city for the very first time.

Wu Meng, on the other hand, did not take a second glance at the sights around them. He led the way through the streets with impeccable familiarity, as though he had been here countless times in the past.

With that, they quickly arrived at their destination.

"Grand Sky Square..." Zhang Wanqing read the words on a sign before looking around her. "Is this a marketplace? Shouldn't we be securing accommodations first?"

Even though Zhang Wanqing had never left the village, she had still received teachings about the basics of travelling from the elders.

No matter where they went, the first thing to do was always to secure accommodations.

Otherwise, if the places they wanted were all filled up by the time they were done with other matters, then they might end up having to sleep in the streets!

That was especially the case for the villagers.

Because they were poor, the options they had were severely limited. If they failed to reserve the cheap rooms fast, there would be no way for them to afford the more expensive ones if they were the only vacancies left at the end of the day.

"I'm a merchant," Wu Meng said with a smile. "A merchant always puts profits before anything else, so of course I will visit the marketplace first. Moreover, who said that we will be securing accommodations? Accommodations are expensive. Are you going to pay for that?"

"We are not going to secure accommodations? Does that mean we will be leaving before dusk?" Zhang Wanqing asked in surprise.

Surely they would not be sleeping on the streets?

"Don't we have a horse wagon? We can just sleep in it if it comes down to it," Wu Meng replied nonchalantly.

"The horse wagon...?" Zhang Wanqing felt the corner of her lips twitch.

She could understand them sleeping in the horse wagon when travelling in the wilds, but did they really have to continue doing that when they had already arrived at a city?

No matter how she thought about it, a merchant with the means to get away from the Ravenous Dark Spitter should have enough money to pay for accommodations, even if it was just the cheapest one available.

Besides, they had always taken turns sleeping while they were travelling.

That was partially to have someone stay awake to keep guard, but also because the horse wagon was far too small.

There was only one mattress, and it was only big enough for one person to sleep comfortably. If the two of them were going to sleep at the same time, then wouldn't they be practically hugging each other to sleep?

But she was a girl!

No, there was no way that would happen.

She would not let that happen.

Since that was the case, it would mean that they still had to take turns sleeping despite having reached the safety of a city...

Goodbye, my short-lived dream of experiencing the comfort of a city inn!

Zhang Wanqing let out a resigned sigh before following Wu Meng into Grand Sky Square.

Wu Meng appeared to be extremely familiar with this place. He went straight to the person in charge and rented a temporary shop space in the Grand Sky Square, then led his horse wagon to his assigned area.

Each shop space already had the basic setup. There was a wooden counter in front for the display of wares, as well as a large space behind for the storage of items and horse wagons.

After a quick scan across the various crates and chests loaded on the horse wagon, Wu Meng brought one down and placed it behind the wooden counter.

But unlike the other shops around them, Wu Meng did not take out his wares to put them on display. Instead, he just stood there and looked around, as though trying to see what the other shop owners were doing.

Zhang Wanqing followed suit since she was genuinely curious as well.

Unlike the bustling streets from earlier, the crowd within the Grand Sky Square was significantly smaller. However, each person here exuded an air of confidence that could not be easily imitated.

Armed with this air of confidence, even those who were dressed simply would appear to be important characters at first glance.

"Young Brother, you seem a little lost. Is it your first time here?" the owner of the adjacent shop space called out in a friendly manner.

It was a bearded man who looked to be in his mid thirties. Since he had no potential customers at the moment, he decided to have a little chat with the newbie who had just arrived.

"I have been here before, but it has been a long time since," Wu Meng clasped his fists towards the bearded man in greeting. "May I know if there have been any changes to the city in the past few years?"

"Mm," the bearded man nodded after seeing how polite Wu Meng was. "If you have been here before, you should know that Golem City is the nearest city to the Five Elements Valley. In recent years, the Five Elements Valley seems to have become more active than before, and more cultivators from there have been frequenting Golem City. As the most prestigious marketplace in Golem City, Grand Sky Square is naturally where all these cultivators would visit if they wished to buy anything. So choosing to set up shop here is a wise decision on your part! Just don't try to trick these cultivators. Their means are beyond what we mortals understand, so it is likely that they will be able to tell if you are lying to them."

The bearded man decided to remind him out of kindness.

After all, there were many merchants who embellished truths with lies in order to promote their wares. In the past, there had been merchants who offended cultivators because of that, and the results were always disastrous, to say the least.

In the worst-case scenarios, some of these merchants even ended up losing their lives!

"I see. Thank you for the information, Brother Kui!" Wu Meng said.

"Don't mention it," the bearded man waved his hand nonchalantly, but could not help but feel that there was something off about the situation.

Strange... did he mention his name earlier?

But at this moment, a lady happened to stop in front of his shop space. As the professional that he was, the bearded man immediately shrugged off the unease and started promoting his wares in a well-practised manner.

Seeing that their conversation had ended, Zhang Wanqing quickly asked Wu Meng. "Where is this Five Elements Valley? Are there a lot of cultivators who go there?"

"The name Five Elements Valley stands for two different things. It is both the name of a valley, as well as the name of a cultivator's faction that occupies that valley," Wu Meng patiently explained. "As an established faction that has existed for some time, it naturally has many cultivators under its umbrella. If the valley has really become more active in the recent years, then it is not too surprising for Golem City to be enjoying much better business."

While saying that, Wu Meng turned around to open the chest behind him, taking out a piece of paper along with some ink and a brush.

Zhang Wanqing looked on curiously as Wu Meng started writing on the piece of paper.

His calligraphy was as swift as it was exquisite, and beautiful characters quickly appeared on the paper.

After he was done, Wu Meng proudly admired the end product before passing it over to Zhang Wanqing. "Go hang it up in front."

Zhang Wanqing looked at the piece of paper, then back at Wu Meng. "Just this?"

"Just this," Wu Meng nodded.

Zhang Wanqing did as she was told. But even after she was done putting it up, she could not help but feel confused when she looked at the words [Yin Heart Stone] written on the paper.

Other shop owners all had multiple wares on display, so why was Wu Meng only putting up a single item for sale?

Looking at the crates and chests on the horse wagon, he obviously had more items in stock!