Chapter 231: I'm Not Targeting Anyone (3/3)

"Mister Fang! Fog has suddenly rolled in outside! How very strange!" Zou Mo called out as he stepped into the cabin. He had not ventured far before his eyes fell upon Fang Qi, and the corpse being dragged along by the pale-faced cultivator.

His frame shuddered violently.

"A... a dead person?!"

The pale-faced cultivator cast a deep, lingering look at the pair before dragging the corpse away into the shadows.

"Mister... Mister Fang..." Zou Mo approached with trembling steps, his eyes fixed on the bloodstains yet to be wiped from the floor. "What... what is the meaning of this?!"

"I haven't the slightest idea," Fang Qi replied nonchalantly. "I merely heard someone in the next room shouting, 'This isn't the carriage to Black Dragon City, I want to get off,' and when I opened the door, this was the sight that greeted me."

"What!?" Zou Mo froze in sheer bewilderment, staring blankly at Fang Qi.

Fang Qi let out a short laugh. "Just a jest. Tell me, do you know what kind of place Half-City is?"

"Half-City...?" Zou Mo looked at Fang Qi with a mix of confusion and mounting dread. "Why do you ask of that place?"

Suddenly, a realization struck him. "Could it be... you mean to say this vessel is bound for Half-City?!"

"Mister Fang... we..." Upon uttering the name, his voice began to falter and stammer. "We... we must flee, and quickly..."

"There was someone who thought exactly as you did just a moment ago," Fang Qi remarked, gesturing toward the direction where the bloodstains trailed off. "His corpse is already growing cold."

Zou Mo fell utterly silent.

Fang Qi continued, "You had best tell me what sort of place Half-City truly is."

"Half-City," Zou Mo finally spoke, grasping for words within his meager vocabulary to describe it. "In truth, I know very little myself, save for what I have heard others mention. It is said to be a mysterious and terrifying realm... a sanctuary where countless wicked cultivators and desperate, ruthless criminals conceal themselves. It is a hotbed of vice, a cradle that nurtures sheer evil!"

"I have heard that within its confines, even the sovereigns or nobles of a nation can be auctioned off at whim. Demons that thirst for blood walk openly and proudly beneath the glare of the sun."

"Why does this sound more and more like the nursery rhymes used to lull children to sleep...?" Fang Qi muttered gloomily, stroking his chin. "Though from the sound of it, the wealthy seem rather abundant there. Far wealthier, it seems, than that Black Dragon City you spoke of, where cultivators are as common as dogs?"

Zou Mo remained speechless.

"Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to head to Half-City after all?"

"..." Drenched in a cold sweat, Zou Mo stammered, "It is said that the city is teeming with fiends and monsters! No wonder that man earlier slaughtered someone as though he were merely butchering a chicken... so he hails from that place!"

"Cultivators are naturally of such a disposition... is it not always a matter of slaughtering one another?" Fang Qi waved his hand dismissively. "Take Old Fiend Han or Old Fiend Lu, for instance. Which of them does not bear a mountain of lives upon their hands? After all, not everyone can simply play games to grow stronger."

Zou Mo felt his knees turn to water. "...Mister Fang, are you truly not afraid?"

"Afraid of what?" Fang Qi looked down upon the youth, who stood a full head shorter than himself. "My only fear is that they lack coin."

"Very well, return to your quarters and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we shall enjoy ourselves in a grand new city." Fang Qi stretched his limbs. From what he had gathered, the denizens of this city were not merely wealthy, but staggeringly opulent.

This realization greatly improved his mood after the arduous journey.

"Ah..."

...

"Where on earth has the boss vanished to now...? He isn't even streaming." Meanwhile, back at the main shop, Jiang Xiaoyue held a container of instant noodles. With one cheek puffed out as she chewed, she pondered, "He must have slipped out to amuse himself somewhere!"

Xiao Yulv stepped into the shop, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. "How is it that I don't see the boss? Is there no stream today? Isn't he about to complete Diablo?"

"The boss has gone on a long journey," Jiang Xiaoyue replied, casting a sidelong glance at him. "Did you not know?"

"A long journey?! When will he return?!" Xiao Yulv's voice pitched high with urgency. One had to understand that watching the boss play was the greatest pleasure in the shop; his execution was brilliant and his errors few, far surpassing anyone else. It was an essential daily viewing!

"I have no idea," Jiang Xiaoyue said, rolling her eyes. "Why do you seem even more eager for his return than I am?"

"Uh..." Xiao Yulv stiffened, clearing his throat as he adopted a solemn countenance. "How could this young master possibly long for that lad's return! It is just as well that he is absent! It would be best if he never returned at all!"

Jiang Xiaoyue finished her noodles with great satisfaction, patting her small stomach. "Exquisite!"

Observing that the morning rush—when everyone gathered to eat noodles and occupy the stations—had passed, Jiang Xiaoyue hastily stepped out from behind the counter. Skipping merrily, she selected a seat and launched The Legend of Sword and Fairy!

"Hey, how is it that you are permitted to play?!" Xiao Yulv asked, utterly dumbfounded.

Immediately after, he pressed closer. "Come, come, come! This young master possesses complete knowledge of the entire walkthrough! As well as every hidden treasure! There is nothing you can conceive that this young master does not know! Allow me to guide you through it! I guarantee a flawless playthrough, and we shall even achieve the ending where Yuru survives!"

He eagerly hovered by her side.

...

"Disembark! Everyone off the vessel!"

"We are doomed! Utterly doomed!" Upon hearing the summons, Zou Mo curled tightly within his quarters, trembling from head to toe. "I should never have been so covetous of a cheap fare as to board this vessel... this time, death is certain!"

Thump, thump, thump!

"I say, Little Mo, are we leaving or not?"

"Leaving?" Zou Mo remained huddled in the corner, shaking violently as though enduring an immense terror. "Leave for where?! Will we not be slaughtered by them...?"

"How should I know? The voyage has reached its destination. Are you coming or not? If not, I shall take my leave." Fang Qi pushed the door open, looking upon the youth cowering in the corner.

"We have... arrived?" Zou Mo slowly stood up, gritting his teeth. "Let fate do its worst!"

Above nearly any city, vessels were strictly forbidden from traversing the airspace, and this vessel was no exception, coming to a halt outside the city gates.

Of course, the moment Fang Qi beheld several massive vessels still floating high above the city, he instantly discarded any notion that a flight ban existed here.

Before him loomed a city of immense proportions, yet strangely, nearly half of this grand metropolis lay in utter ruin!

The remaining half exhibited a starkly contrasting architectural style. Towering structures rose so high that tens or even a hundred stories were by no means unusual, while the shorter buildings resembled the civilian residences Fang Qi had seen in Jiuhua, spanning a mere story or two.

Yet even those as humble as common houses did not appear crude. In fact, a faint ripple of spiritual energy emanated around every single dwelling. The walls were mostly plastered a pristine, brilliant white, lending the entire city a refreshing novelty to any beholder.

At a single glance, even Fang Qi had to admit he had never seen nor heard of such an eccentric city.

Those traversing the streets were cultivators clad in a bizarre array of attire; scarcely a single warrior was to be seen.

Their group from the vessel numbered roughly a dozen. Leading the way was none other than that pale-faced cultivator, accompanied by the vessel's master whom Fang Qi had noted earlier—a gaunt, skeletal cultivator bearing a pair of rat-like whiskers.

Fang Qi followed behind them as they journeyed into the city, winding through some seven or eight streets.

As they observed their surroundings, this particular district appeared reasonably clean and well-arranged, the pedestrians moving in an orderly fashion.

Of course, had he not witnessed several cultivators committing a highway robbery as they passed a dark alleyway, he might have maintained that favorable impression.

"Those with talent shall be sold as herbal disciples; those without shall be used to refine elixirs."

"This venture should yield a handsome price... the one clad in the greyish-blue robe seems to possess some cultivation, and that short one is also a promising prospect..."

"..." Fang Qi's face darkened as he listened to the men discussing him as though they were debating the price of pork per pound by the roadside. "This simply cannot be endured..."

With that thought, Fang Qi drifted directly in front of the pair. "Gentlemen."

Every eye turned to fix upon Fang Qi, who had suddenly stepped ahead of the entire gathering.

"While I am most grateful to you all for providing a smooth journey, I must nonetheless declare that we shall part ways right here."

The crowd stared at Fang Qi in absolute bewilderment.

After a prolonged silence of sheer astonishment, a roaring burst of laughter erupted among them.

They looked upon him as though he were an ignorant fool who had never witnessed the ways of the world.

"Do you court death?" A chilling, mocking smile played upon every face. How could they possibly allow the cargo they had secured to simply walk away?

"Ha?" Fang Qi responded with an air of casual indifference, speaking with utmost courtesy. "I do not mean to single anyone out. What I mean to say is that everyone present here is utter rubbish."