"What does the shopkeeper mean by this? Can't Qiucheng go?"
Liu Weiming frowned and asked.
"I'm sorry, but I have nothing to say." The shopkeeper refused to answer.
Unable to get any results from the shopkeeper, Liu Weiming and others turned their eyes to Yan Jiuge.
Yan Jiuge threw down another ingot of gold.
The shopkeeper swallowed, looked away, and waved his hand, "It's said that even if you have money, you still need to be alive to spend it. The most important thing is to be alive—"
Yan Jiuge interrupted him and said, "We will stay here for a while. Tea, food, snacks, and drinks are all included in these two gold bars. If it's not enough, you can ask me for more."
"Just, just staying in the hotel?" The shopkeeper was a little bit unbelieving.
"Yeah." Yan Jiuge nodded.
The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief. He put away the two gold bars, took a bite of each, and finally said, "In that case, I would like to kindly remind you all not to wander outside after sunset, or the immortals will be angry."
Yan Jiuge sneered, looking nonchalant.
The shopkeeper glanced at him, and hesitated to speak. Finally, he said vaguely, "Don't take it lightly. This is all I can say."
If the God of Wealth dies, what will he earn
Saying this as a reminder is a sign of conscience.
Chu Qi and Yan Jiuge exchanged a glance and understood what Yan Jiuge meant. Chu Qi deliberately said, "What kind of immortal gets angry at night when he doesn't sleep? This immortal is really unusual. He has to choose a day to get angry?"
When the shopkeeper heard Chu Qi's words, he almost fainted. He hurriedly warned these ignorant outsiders.
"Shh!"
"Stop talking! I have good intentions, but if you really anger the immortal and he takes his anger out on my little inn, who can I cry to?"
"A strong wind blew up at night, sweeping away countless disobedient people. Look, how many people are left in this street and town?"
The shopkeeper wanted to say something, but then he remembered the original purpose of these people in front of him, so he closed his mouth and said nothing.
It has been a really bleak journey.
Chu Qi asked again, "Are there many people staying at the inn recently?"
This is not an unanswerable question. The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment and said, "There were quite a lot of people at first, but they have become fewer and fewer in the past few days. In a short while, probably no one will come. By then, I will leave here too."
"Thank you, we got it."
Now, no more useful information could be obtained from the shopkeeper. Yan Jiuge said, and then led everyone upstairs.
After arranging accommodation, Yan Jiuge ordered the other Tianxuan Sect disciples to form groups of two or three to inquire about news near the town and return to the inn before sunset.
As for Yan Jiuge, he walked with Chu Qi and took him to the teahouse behind the inn.
The world is in such chaos that the storytellers in the teahouse no longer tell stories. Only a few figures are sitting in the teahouse drinking tea.
The waiter at the teahouse was serving tea to them. When he looked up and saw Chu Qi and the others, he hurried over to greet them.
"What kind of tea would you like to drink, gentlemen?"
"Just like us, serve your best tea." A lazy voice came from behind the waiter.
"This..." The waiter was a little confused and looked at Yan Jiuge and Chu Qi for their opinions.
"As he said, the blame should be placed on him." Yan Jiuge said.
"Hello, sir." The waiter then trotted to the kitchen to add more tea.
"No way, young master, how can you let me pay? I'm still a junior."
Hearing Yan Jiuge's words, the young man who spoke earlier sounded surprised.
Yan Jiuge glanced at him and said coldly, "What's wrong with asking you to pay? You should respect your elders."
"..." The young man was speechless. He stared at Yan Jiuge with his eyes wide open, using his gaze to express his accusation.
"Aqi, come and sit here."
Ignoring the man's gaze, Yan Jiuge turned his head, said something to Chu Qi beside him, and took him to sit in the north seat of the table.
The largest square table in the teahouse could seat eight people, but there was only one bench, so even though there was plenty of space, they all sat on a long bench.
Only Yan Jiuge and Chu Qi sat together.
When Chu Qi sat down, the expressions of the people at the table behind him and at their table all changed slightly.
In some ancient rituals, the north position is the most honorable.
Anyone who can sit in the north seat must be of noble status.
"These people were sent by my family to help us investigate the matter of Qiucheng. If Aqiruo needs anything, he can ask them to help."
Yan Jiuge introduced Chu Qi, "The one who was talking too much just now is the weapon refiner Yan Chi that I mentioned to you."
In addition to Yan Chi, there are four others. They are subordinates and have no surnames. Their names are "Twelve" to "Fifteen", which seem to be the numbers that big families would give to their secret guards.
It was Chu Qi’s first time meeting Yan Jiuge’s “family”, and it was impossible for him to not be nervous.
"Hello, my name is Chu Qi."
"Hello, hello. Seeing is believing. You are truly a rare talent." Yan Chi glanced at the earring on Chu Qi's ear and could roughly guess what he was thinking.
It turns out that the medical practitioner that Yan Jiuge cared so much about was the one in front of him.
I don’t know if the head of the family would be pleased to know this. The young master who was once cold and violent could be so gentle to one person.
Yan Chi narrowed his eyes slightly. As early as when Yan Jiuge asked him to refine the medical instruments and accessories, he wanted to see who could use his masterpiece. Therefore, when Yan Mingchao was selecting candidates, Yan Chi took the lead in taking on this task.
"Have you heard of me?" Chu Qi was very curious about Yan Chi's words.
"Young Master often talks about you to us." Yan Chi spoke calmly, but Yan Jiuge's eyes opposite him showed a warning, which was a bit dangerous.
Chu Qi asked subconsciously, "Really? What did A Yan say..."
Yan Jiuge glared at Yan Chi.
Yan Chi opened his mouth and said, "You are smart and kind, good-looking, and especially talented in medicine. Paired with silver ornaments and magic tools, it's like adding embroidery to a beautiful piece of brocade. It couldn't be more appropriate."
"Here, young master. What do you think I missed? I can add to it." Yan Chi was a little unscrupulous, as if he was sure that Yan Jiuge would not lose his temper in front of Chu Qi, and he smiled half of his face.
Chu Qi did not see the eye contact between the two, but he could hear the displeasure in Yan Jiuge's words, so he treated it as a joke and said defensively, "A Yan would not say that, Lord Yan Chi is joking."
"Really?" When Yan Jiuge urged him to refine the magic weapon, he was too much.
Yan Chi didn't believe it.
"Of course." Yan Jiuge snorted, "No one can be half as good as him, so what does your magic weapon have to do with it? You really know how to flatter yourself."
"?"
Yan Chi was completely confused. He had come all the way here, either to refine the weapon or to get information from Yan Jiuge. Wasn't the masterpiece he had finally refined worthy of even a "flagship"
"… "
Yan Jiuge's words just now sounded like a matter of course. Apart from Yan Chi's indignation, Chu Qi felt his ears burning inexplicably as he listened to his own heartbeat getting faster and faster.
He awkwardly changed the subject, "Well! We came to the teahouse..." His original intention was to inquire about the news.
"Dear guests, the tea is here!"
At this juncture, the waiter's voice sounded at the right time, rescuing Chu Qi from the previous atmosphere.
The tea is served in large bowls. Even if good tea leaves are used, the tea is still served in a chipped porcelain bowl.
The aroma was good, Chu Qi took a sip. It didn't have the refreshing effect of spiritual tea, but it had a different flavor.
After the waiter poured the tea, he quickly ran to the door to wait for new customers.
After he left, Yan Chi snapped his fingers and re-set the isolation barrier. He said, "Then let's get down to business."
"Have you found any clues about Qiucheng?" Yan Jiuge asked.
"We arrived here three days in advance. After some exploration, we found that Qiucheng does not exist in the central region of Yunhua Realm."
"What? But the master said that the letter for help came from Qiu City in the Central Region." If it's not in the Central Region, where should they look for it
Chu Qi frowned, "And the people here are also very familiar with Qiu Cheng. Although they are reluctant to talk about it, they must have heard of it."
"Yes." Yan Chi nodded, "Therefore, we speculate that Qiu Cheng has disappeared."
"disappear?"
Nothing disappears for no reason, let alone a city.
"Are there any traces of formations around?" Yan Jiuge asked.
"No." Yan Chi shook his head, his expression gradually becoming serious. "This is the strangest thing. We can't find the reason why Qiu Cheng disappeared. And the surrounding small main cities have opened up defense barriers to refuse outsiders from entering. I guess they probably saw what happened to Qiu Cheng, so they are very scared."
"We searched for two days before we found this desolate little town on the edge of the city."
"Most of the people in the town have fled the Central Region, and only a few have stayed."
Chu Qi nodded. The innkeeper had just said that if there were no guests, he would move out.
"Have you ever seen a town where the immortals get angry after sunset, and a strong wind blows up between heaven and earth, sweeping away people?"
"No." Yan Chi shook his head, his eyes filled with surprise, "Is there such a saying?"
If there really was an "angry immortal", he should have been caught red-handed by them long ago.
"We have been here for a few days, and everything has been peaceful. There is nothing special, but the people here don't want to mention the location of Qiucheng. I guess someone has cursed them and they can't tell outsiders at will."
“It’s a bit weird.”
Chu Qi rubbed his forehead. They had come to rescue people on the orders of the Sect Leader, but they never expected that they wouldn't be able to find anyone to help.
"Qiu City does exist, but someone deliberately erased its existence. Also, the number of people in the Central Region is decreasing, and most of the people are cursed. This news cannot be told to outsiders."
"Not entirely true. We haven't stayed outside after sunset in the past few days since we came here." Yan family secret guard Fourteen, who had been silent, spoke up, "I am willing to try it myself."
"This is a method, I think it's feasible." Yan Chi nodded, "I'll go with Fourteen."
"Let's collect some more clues." Chu Qi was a little worried. He said, "Although the Central Region is small, we haven't encountered any cultivators along the way. They are all mortals. Maybe some strange thing only targets cultivators."
Just like the last time in the Yunxi Secret Realm, except for the medical practitioners, all other cultivators were suppressed by the formation.
"Aqi is right. Let's wait a moment." Yan Jiuge followed Chu Qi's advice.
At this moment, the identity token on Yan Jiuge's waist lit up, indicating that a disciple of Tianxuan Sect had sent him a message.
After the call was connected, Liu Weiming's voice came from the other end, "First Senior Brother, we found someone who is willing to tell us where Qiu Cheng is, but..."
"but what?"
Liu Weiming's voice sounded a little embarrassed, "But he wants a huge sum of money to sell this information, and we don't have any gold or silver in our Qiankun bag."
If they needed spirit stones, the sword cultivators of the Tianxuan Sect could still gather some, but as for gold, silver and treasures from the mortal world, they would never put such useless things in their Qiankun bags.
You only regret not having enough money when you need it!
"Where are you now? Aqi and I will be there soon." Yan Jiuge asked.
"It's in an alley on the right at the end of the street near the inn."
After the interrogation, Yan Jiuge met the curious eyes of the others and began to give orders, "I will take Aqi away first, you continue to look for clues, and meet at the inn before sunset."
"I also want to go over and see who values money more than their life." Yan Chi was very curious.
"You keep it." Yan Jiuge glanced at Yan Chi. The Yan family was low-key, so he didn't intend to introduce the origins of Yan Chi and others to other disciples of Tianxuan Sect.
"Okay, last time you sent me a message asking me to refine the mustard seed space, but I haven't given me the materials yet. Let me make it clear first, the ten thousand year old spiritual marrow jade is so expensive, I can't afford it, and I only have a hundred spirit stones left." Yan Chi spread his hands.
Chu Qi: “…”
One hundred spirit stones, but he was even poorer than when he went down the mountain to train.
Hearing Yan Chi's words, Yan Jiuge sneered, "You are probably the only weapon refiner who can't make ends meet."
"... I have the Ten Thousand Year Spiritual Marrow Jade and Spiritual Stones here. Do you need any?" Chu Qi asked Yan Chi hesitantly.
"No, no, how can I accept your spirit stones. Just give me the ten thousand year old spirit jade." Yan Chi was a principled person, so he accepted Yan Jiuge's spirit stones.
Chu Qi handed the Ten Thousand Year Spiritual Marrow Jade to Yan Chi, and then went to where Liu Weiming and others were with Yan Jiuge.
(End of this chapter)