Chapter 00196: Trouble Has Arrived
# Trouble Has Arrived
Chapter 196
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 196: Trouble Has Arrived
In just four days, Guan Lou arrived at West Wind City.
After stowing away her flying ship and stepping into the city, she found herself momentarily awestruck.
She had heard that West Wind City was a city of mortals, a place where the weak were at the mercy of the strong.
It might be overdoing it to call it a hell, but in such a city, one could be killed at any moment.
Yet, what did she see? A remarkably peaceful city, where both mortals and cultivators from the Dao realm seemed to adhere to some unspoken standard, free from any fighting or quarrels.
Even the most intense disputes were quickly resolved by the patrolling guards in a peaceful manner.
Guan Lou didn't possess any spiritual sense.
Just as she was about to inquire about directions, a voice suddenly called out to her, "Guan Lou, over here."
"Senior Liu!" Upon seeing Liu Yin Zhu, Guan Lou's eyes brightened, and she hurried over to greet her.
Liu Yin Zhu smiled and said, "I received a message from Elder Jia about your arrival, so I've been waiting for you. Let’s go to Ding Dao You's residence and talk there."
Hearing that Liu Yin Zhu was staying at Ding Huan's place, Guan Lou was overjoyed.
"Senior Liu, have you been living here with Big Brother Ding all this time?"
Liu Yin Zhu nodded but sighed, "You should know I came here to find Ding Huan as well. Unfortunately, I arrived at an inconvenient time, a bit late. By the time I got here, Ding Dao You had already left, and I've been waiting here for nearly half a year. Sigh..."
"Big Brother Ding isn’t here?" Guan Lou's expression changed, her mood dimming.
"Do you have something you need to ask Ding Dao You about?" Liu Yin Zhu inquired.
Logically speaking, as the potential future consort of the sub-leader and being part of the prominent Yan Yue Sect, what could Guan Lou possibly not resolve? If it were true that Guan Lou and Ding Huan had a secret relationship, Liu Yin Zhu wouldn't believe it.
During the latter half of the Great Canyon, Guan Lou had been by Ding Huan's side the whole time.
If there were any hidden matters, she would have noticed long ago.
On the contrary, Guan Lou, while not looking down on Ding Huan, certainly held a sense of superiority around him.
This was an indelible fact.
Ding Huan might appear to be just a cook, but Liu Yin Zhu could sense his inner pride clearly.
Therefore, Ding Huan would never bow down to Guan Lou, especially not since she was already taken.
If people thought that Ding Huan wouldn’t find Guan Lou attractive, Liu Yin Zhu found it amusing but did not think it odd.
If Ding Huan truly felt that way, she wouldn't be standing here waiting for him.
After hesitating for a moment, Guan Lou said, "I feel like I have some issues I’d like to seek help from Big Brother Ding about."
Liu Yin Zhu was momentarily stunned by Guan Lou's words and then asked doubtfully, "You think you have issues that require Ding Huan's guidance?"
Guan Lou realized her words had been misunderstood, so she quickly clarified, "I had always thought Ding Huan was merely a cook. But after he led us through the Great Canyon and the Lost Swamp, I thought maybe he just had better luck. Now I slowly understand that it goes beyond just luck..."
Liu Yin Zhu finally comprehended her meaning, feeling somewhat speechless.
"I see. You must have encountered some difficulties. Plus, when Ding Huan came to us, it seemed like no problem could stop him. You wish for him to help you resolve this difficulty?"
Guan Lou lowered her head in shame, for this was indeed the truth.
Moreover, without the sub-leader's support here, she had no one else to turn to for help.
Her only trusted maid was a backstabber.
In fact, she didn’t have a single friend.
In the Yan Yue Sect, the only person she felt any warmth towards was Elder Gu, but Elder Gu had been absent from the sect for quite some time.
"Why not ask for help from the sub-leader?" Liu Yin Zhu was puzzled.
Guan Lou shook her head.
Liu Yin Zhu had been waiting in West Wind City and was unaware of some matters back in the Yan Yue Sect.
The sub-leader, Jiang, had long since left the Dao realm to enter the ascension realm, specifically the Wild God Sect.
Also, she felt that the sub-leader wasn't particularly concerned about her.
The techniques she had were brought by Elder Mi, and the sub-leader hadn’t even bothered to meet her.
This situation left her feeling strange.
Now, not to mention seeking help from the sub-leader, she wasn’t even inclined to get close to anyone associated with him.
Noticing that Guan Lou seemed reluctant to discuss the matter further, Liu Yin Zhu diverted the topic.
"We're almost at Ding Dao You's residence. He has plenty of rooms; usually, it's just Yan Mei who cultivates here."
"Is the monkey that Ding Dao You brought along with him also gone?" Guan Lou asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
If that monkey, called Lao Liu, had also left with Ding Huan, there was no telling when Ding Huan would return.
Liu Yin Zhu chuckled lightly, "No, Lao Liu rarely comes back. He’s enjoying his glory right now. Yan Mei is currently in charge of West Wind City, but as she needs to cultivate, Lao Liu takes advantage of the situation to be the king here. This monkey even knows to adhere to the laws of West Wind City established by Ding Dao You, so that fellow, Gu Bin, with its help, has managed to manage the city quite well."
Just as they were chatting, a member of the patrol rushed over on his unicorn.
"Captain Yan, trouble is brewing..."
Yan Mei had just come out from his closed-door cultivation.
His cultivation level wasn't bad, but he felt that the Locus Scripture was a wood-type technique, which didn’t quite match with his spiritual roots.
"What is it?" Hearing the commotion outside, Yan Mei hurried out.
As soon as he stepped out, he saw Liu Yin Zhu and Guan Lou at the doorway and hurriedly bowed.
"Greetings, Elder Liu. Why is Fairy Guan also here?"
Since Liu Yin Zhu had been living here for a few months, he often sought her advice, so he didn’t feel out of place.
Guan Lou sensed that something was amiss, so she smiled and said, "You handle your affairs first. My issues can wait, it's no rush."
Yan Mei looked at the patrol member who had come to deliver the news.
Seeing the authoritative posture of Yan Mei, Guan Lou couldn’t help but admire him in her heart.
She felt Yan Mei had a good eye, as he could immediately tell Ding Huan was a worthy person to follow.
If Yan Mei hadn’t followed Ding Huan, he wouldn’t be so strong even in the Double Soul Sect.
What she didn’t know was that if Yan Mei hadn’t followed Ding Huan, he would have lost his life long ago.
"Vice-Captain Yan, a powerful figure from the Zhuangxing Lord’s Domain claims we killed the city lord. He has injured Lao Liu."
The patrol member blurted out in one breath.
"Ah..."
Upon hearing this news, Yan Mei was immediately stunned.
Even though he was clever, he couldn’t come up with a solution right away.
Lao Liu was the strongest fighter on his side; if even Lao Liu had been injured, what could he possibly do?
Although there were over two thousand patrol members, numbers meant nothing against true strength.
"I’ll go take a look," Liu Yin Zhu said, having recognized Yan Mei's dilemma.
Yan Mei suddenly came to his senses.
"Thank you, Elder Liu."
Liu Yin Zhu was an elder of the Purple Cloud Valley, a formidable True Dan cultivator.
A mere lord’s domain couldn't possibly match a True Dan expert.
As the group rushed to the city gates of West Wind City, they found Lao Liu covered in blood, appearing half-dead as if he had been beaten severely.
Several patrol members had also died, while spectators only dared to watch from a distance, too afraid to approach.
Such events were far too common in West Wind City; they occurred periodically, and soon the controllers of the city would change.
Most people residing in West Wind City did not wish for someone to take over power, as the current peace and stability was something they had never experienced since the city's founding.
"Little Yan, after I die, you must tell Brother Huan to destroy this broken lordship," Lao Liu shouted defiantly despite his injuries.
Understanding Lao Liu's mindset, Liu Yin Zhu realized he was threatening the adversaries using Ding Huan’s name.
"Who hurt you?" Yan Mei asked Lao Liu.
With Elder Liu present, he didn’t feel worried.
"I hurt him. What about it?" replied a strong man coldly.
Liu Yin Zhu had already noticed this guy; he was the strongest around, and there was a man and woman beside him.
"Are you from the Zhuangxing Lord’s Domain?" Liu Yin Zhu asked.
The strong man dismissed her, "I’m Cui Hu'er from the Ten Thousand Beast Gate."
Yan Mei exploded in anger.
"What does your Ten Thousand Beast Gate have to do with West Wind City? Disturbing my city?"
Stepping forward, Liu Yin Zhu raised her hand and slapped without hesitation.
"You’re just a Foundation Establishment ant; who gave you the audacity to speak to me so disrespectfully?"
With a loud slap, a cloud of blood and teeth flew, and Cui Hu'er was sent flying several dozen meters like a leaf.
He fell to the ground as if a sandbag had dropped, frightened beyond belief.
Wasn’t it said that everyone in West Wind City was merely a Qi Gathering ant? How did a True Dan expert suddenly appear?
The other man and woman turned pale in fear.
A True Dan expert?
To send Foundation Establishment Cui Hu'er flying with a single slap, how could it be anything but a True Dan expert?
"Zhuangxing Lord’s Domain's Dan Peng and Qiu Xing Yuan greet the elder," the man and woman quickly came forward and bowed respectfully.
"You have quite the audacity, coming to my West Wind City to kill and flaunt your power, huh?" Yan Mei pronounced mockingly, stepping close to the man and woman.
He hadn’t wanted to say this, but with so many people surrounding them and over a thousand patrol soldiers present, if he, the captain, showed fear, it would make managing West Wind City even harder.
Dan Peng wore a mournful expression.
"It’s not that we wanted to come. The Ten Thousand Beast Gate heard that there was a talking beast in West Wind City and forced us to bring him here. We didn't even lay a hand."
Liu Yin Zhu understood the underlying game.
The Ten Thousand Beast Gate was still a sect after all.
There had to be some reason for them to come to West Wind City in search of Lao Liu; the Zhuangxing Lord’s Domain was just the excuse.
"Elder, I will leave West Wind City now; I've acted rashly this time," Cui Hu'er said, crawling up and cautiously walking toward Liu Yin Zhu to apologize, his voice muffled.
Given they were from the Ten Thousand Beast Gate, Liu Yin Zhu hadn’t fully unleashed her power.
Cui Hu'er appeared disheveled.
Apart from losing some teeth, his injuries weren’t that serious.
Realizing that she couldn’t kill the opponent, Liu Yin Zhu was about to speak when a voice rang out, "You come to my West Wind City to kill and injure, and now you want to leave? You think too much."
"Brother Huan..."
Lao Liu, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly jumped up.
"What are you, a pig? Getting up so quickly..."
Ding Huan shouted in anger, quickly transferring his thoughts to Lao Liu.
"Ah... My organs are shattered; I’m dying!" Lao Liu fell back to the ground, continuing his clumsy act.
(Today’s update ends here, friends.
Good night! Requesting support with monthly tickets!)
(End of chapter)