Chapter 894: Pretty Boy

Watching Han Li, Gu Qianxun, and Chen Yang walk at the very front, appearing familiar and chummy, Yi Liya's brow furrowed deeply.

As for Chen Yang, the new city lord, he had no grounds for doubt. At his level, he naturally understood what had happened during his seclusion; someone capable of disposing of Du Qingyang was certainly no simple figure.

As for Gu Qianxun, he likewise had no complaints, since her strength was indeed above his own. In their past few encounters, though they had not fought to the death, they had always ended with his defeat.

Only this Li Feiyu—a human he had never heard of before, seemingly weak in strength—was clearly on close terms with those two all along the way.

Regarding this matter, he had asked Tu Gang and Sun Binghe, but unfortunately, neither of them knew anything about the inside story.

Unaware of Yi Liya's scrutiny, Han Li, as soon as he entered the city, looked around and surveyed his surroundings.

He saw that the houses within the city were arranged in an orderly fashion, all built from the same black stone as the city walls. Though their styles were mostly simple and uniform, it was already rare in a desolate secret realm like the Scale-Severing Void.

The streets in the city were very wide, allowing even large scale-beasts to pass through without hindrance. On both sides, there were even some shops of varying heights, though he wondered if they sold items like scale-beast star bones and beast cores.

Perhaps because it was near evening, there were not many pedestrians on the streets, making the city quite tranquil, save for the occasional beast calls from various places, which seemed somewhat jarring.

Walking along the street inward, nearing the city center, Han Li's eyes suddenly narrowed slightly.

Because he saw a rather unusual building.

It was a circular structure covering a vast area, surrounded by numerous black stone pillars. The stone walls above were almost entirely inlaid with white scale-beast star bones, making it look even sturdier than the city walls.

Outside the building's gate was an open square, in the center of which stood a humanoid stone statue several tens of zhang tall, its face indistinct. Han Li couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

Earlier, in Qingyang City, he had seen an identical statue, differing only in size. He had asked Chen Yang about its origins, but Chen Yang had been unclear about it as well.

After passing this huge circular building, the group soon arrived before the City Lord's Mansion.

The City Lord's Mansion of Xuan City was as different from that of Qingyang City as clouds from mud.

Though the mansion before them lacked any vegetation as decoration, it was still built like a beautiful garden.

Almost all the paths within the mansion were paved with huge bluestone slabs. Along the way, one could see numerous black stone sculptures, including human figures, animal forms, and even some bizarre half-human, half-beast deity statues.

Around the paths, stone palaces carved with various ornate patterns were scattered in a well-arranged manner, their style and form already very close to what Han Li had seen in the Demon Domain.

Led by Tong Song, Han Li and the others arrived beside a large stone hall.

"City Lord Chen and诸位, please rest inside for a while. I have already reported your arrival; I believe the City Lord will come shortly to receive you in person," Tong Song said with a smile.

"Thank you for your trouble," Chen Yang replied.

Tong Song gave a courteous smile and made a gesture inviting them in.

Chen Yang then led the group into the hall.

Inside the hall, a huge rectangular stone table extended from the inner wall.

The wide, thick chair at the head of the table was still empty. On the left side below it, more than a dozen people were already seated, talking in low voices.

Han Li's gaze swept over them and saw that the leader was a short, stout middle-aged man with a dark nose, wrapped in a thick animal hide cloak, sitting with his eyes closed in meditation.

Next to him sat a burly, muscular man whose body was mostly wrapped in white bandages, leaving only half of his dark face exposed. The one visible eye revealed a bloodthirsty gleam.

What was even more peculiar was that one of his arms, wrapped in bandages, was extraordinarily long and thick, hanging almost to the ground even while seated. Compared to his other, ordinary exposed arm, it was like heaven and earth.

While he was sizing them up, those people also noticed them. They stopped their noisy discussions and looked toward the entrance.

"City Lord Fu, Fellow Daoist Duan, long time no see. I hope all is well," Chen Yang said with a smile, addressing the two.

The burly man wrapped in bandages merely glanced at Chen Yang and gave a cold snort, while the middle-aged man did not even lift his eyelids, as if he hadn't heard.

Chen Yang was unperturbed. He simply smiled to himself and was about to lead the group to sit opposite the middle-aged man's party.

Just then, a dry cough suddenly came from outside the hall, and then a middle-aged man with a tall, thin frame and a pale face, looking like a consumptive, walked in first.

Han Li noticed that near his Adam's apple, gray scales grew thick, and whenever it bobbed up and down, it carried a faint trembling sound.

Just as he was staring at the other's Adam's apple, a figure suddenly flashed out from behind that person, appearing before Han Li almost as if teleporting, holding a thin, narrow sword as light as a willow leaf, thrusting straight at Han Li's right eye.

Han Li reacted extremely quickly; two of his fingers, refined with the Flower Branch Cave Heaven, suddenly stood upright, pinched together, and caught the blade of the longsword.

The sword body trembled slightly, then suddenly withdrew and retracted.

The sword-wielder was a young gentleman in a snow-white long robe, with a very handsome face and soft features, possessing a beauty that made it hard to distinguish male from female, but his eyes were icy cold.

If you dare to stare at my adoptive father so recklessly again, I'll cut your throat," the young gentleman said, his voice somewhat childish, adding to the ambiguity, making it impossible to tell whether he was male or female.

"Cough, Wuchen, come back. Why bother with a lowly slave?" the consumptive-looking man said indifferently.

"Yes." The young gentleman immediately withdrew and obediently followed behind the consumptive, still casting unfriendly glances at Han Li.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you've already offended Feng Wuchen right off the bat. If you run into him later in the Mystic Arena, he'll likely go all out to kill you." At that moment, Gu Qianxun's voice suddenly rang in Han Li's mind.

"What, is that sissy really that troublesome?" Han Li transmitted.

"He's the top expert under Xuanzhi City Lord Qin Yuan, focusing his cultivation on the acupoints of his legs, moving without a trace, and skilled with a willow-leaf narrow sword, with extremely strong assassination power. What do you think?" Gu Qianxun laughed.

"What about that guy wrapped in bandages?" Han Li asked nonchalantly.

"His name is Duan Tong. He practices a 'Mystic Arm' technique, specially training the acupoints and bones of his right arm, hence that strange appearance of one oversized hand. Last time I saw him, his skin wasn't so dark, and he wasn't wrapped in bandages." Gu Qianxun replied.

"No need to guess; he must have cultivated some powerful technique again." Han Li transmitted back.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, he was previously the top general under Tongyu City Lord Fujian, but after losing to me last time, he was stripped of that title. This time he's making a comeback, likely with ill intentions." Gu Qianxun transmitted.

While the two were conversing, that group, led by the consumptive city lord Qin Yuan, swaggered over and sat opposite Fujian and his men.

Chen Yang had no choice but to lead his people to sit below them.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, see that? Now a nobody, after a bold rebellion, dares to put on airs and openly come to Mystic City for the Five-City Tournament. Truly, does he not know how to write the word 'shame'?" Fujian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them and spoke.

His subordinates burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Oh? It seems Fellow Daoist Fu knows well how to write 'shame'? Why not find a beast bone or cliff stone and leave a masterpiece for posterity?" Chen Yang seemed completely unfazed and retorted with a straight face.

Qin Yuan leaned back, crossed his legs on the stone table, and spoke:

"Cough, last time I came to Mystic City, I warned Du Qingyang, cough cough... that you had a rebellious bone, told him to be wary of you. Looks like he didn't heed my words..."

"Fellow Daoist Qin Yuan, you have enough troubles in Xuanzhi City to worry about, yet you still meddle in Qingyang City's affairs? Du Qingyang did heed your warning, but his tyrannical rule had long stirred discontent among his subordinates. My smooth ascension was merely the will of the people." Chen Yang shook his head with a smile.

He said this without a blush, but Han Li inwardly scoffed.

"What's the use of all this nonsense? Last time Du Qingyang brought some decent men, but what are these you've brought? A bunch of misfits... Of course, Fellow Daoist Gu is not among these wastes." Fujian sneered.

Dulong and the others' faces turned ugly, but they could say nothing, their faces flushed red.

Yi Liya frowned deeply, his fists clenched in his sleeves, making a cracking sound.

"Cough, cough... If I'm not mistaken, that pale-faced fellow is a human, right?" Qin Yuan coughed violently twice, then suddenly turned his gaze to Han Li and asked.

Han Li frowned slightly, looked at his pale cheeks, and said loudly:

"It's true that I am a human, but the title 'pale-faced fellow' is more fitting for you, or your son... no, your daughter... that doesn't seem right either... or perhaps for this androgynous Feng Wuchen?"

These words stunned everyone present, and their gazes fell on him, many with strange expressions.

Xuanzhi City Lord Qin Yuan, due to some special circumstances, had a face pale as paper all year round, but no one had ever dared to mock him for it, given his status and strength.

Gu Qianxun frowned slightly but said nothing, while Yi Liya sneered coldly.

"How dare you, you bastard! When the city lord speaks, when does a filthy wretch like you get to interrupt? Do you truly seek death!" Before Qin Yuan could speak, Feng Wuchen's face turned cold, and he roared in fury.