All along the way, Ye Feng remained exceptionally quiet, reviewing and reflecting on the entire ordeal.
Seeing him like this, Li Guanqi did not say much.
Many lessons could never be made clear through pure reasoning.
Once someone tripped and fell over the lesson themselves, they would understand it without anyone needing to spell it out.
Yet as Ye Feng pondered, he could not stop glancing at Li Guanqi.
It gave Li Guanqi the creeps. When Ye Feng looked over yet again, Li Guanqi could endure it no longer.
"What exactly are you trying to say? Just spit it out. You're giving me the creeps."
Ye Feng leaned closer and asked in a secretive whisper, "Boss, how did you know back then that there was more to that whole situation than met the eye?"
Li Guanqi replied helplessly, "To put it simply, when things are abnormal, treachery is afoot. In the dead of night, out in the middle of nowhere, how could there be such convenient coincidences? Especially that Yu Heng riding on that woman's back—although his aura was hidden fairly well, his eyes gave him away. When traveling the world, you can never be too careful."
At this point, Li Guanqi could not help sighing. He patted Ye Feng on the shoulder and said, "I'm not telling you to become a selfish, heartless person. I just want you to understand that before doing anything, it's always best to make proper preparations."
Ye Feng curled his lip and asked, "Then did you plan everything out ahead of time when you killed those Ziyang Palace disciples, Boss?"
To Ye Feng's surprise, Li Guanqi answered honestly, "No. Back then, all I could think about was that if I didn't strike that night, those bastards would get away and I'd never be able to kill them."
Ye Feng nodded. He naturally understood why.
The next day, once they were on the arena stage, neither Ge Qing nor the Ziyang Palace elders would stand idly by and watch Li Guanqi slaughter those people.
Even if he managed to kill one or two, he could never have killed them all.
Ye Feng fell silent for a long while before clicking his tongue in marvel. "I really don't know how you know so much, Boss, or how you can be so cautious."
A look of reminiscence crossed Li Guanqi's face. "Trust me, you definitely wouldn't want to go through the childhood I had."
The two continued in silence, flying through the air until the sun rose.
Suspended midair, they gazed into the eastern distance. Faintly visible upon a high mountain far away stood a massive city.
Ye Feng's eyes lit up with delight. "Boss, are we almost at that Lingchang City from the map?"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. Looking at the colossal city ahead, he chuckled. "Seems like it. They say Lingchang City enjoys spring all year round and boasts wonderful scenery. We can take a breather here."
With those words, they shot forward. Before long, the full panorama of Lingchang City came into view.
By rough estimate, at least five hundred thousand people lived in this city.
Still, compared to truly grand cities, it was hardly worth mentioning.
The pair descended slowly when they were still a hundred zhang from Lingchang City.
Ye Feng winked and said suggestively, "Boss, since we're already here, can we do a little tempering of the heart in the mortal realm?"
Li Guanqi cleared his throat lightly and said with a solemn expression, "Let's enter the city first. That sort of thing... we'll talk about it later."
Hearing this, Ye Feng eagerly trotted along behind him as they made their way toward the city gates.
Rather peculiarly, almost no one was entering the city; there were only two guards at the Foundation Establishment realm, half-asleep.
Seeing the two arrive, the guards hurriedly stood up and smiled warmly. "Distinguished guests, please head right inside."
Ye Feng blinked in mild surprise and asked in confusion, "Just walk right in? We don't need to pay an entrance fee or show our identity jade slips?"
The man laughed heartily. "You two gentlemen might not know this, but Lingchang City loves welcoming guests. We don't charge any entry fees."
Li Guanqi did not dwell on it, simply thinking that Lingchang City seemed quite nice for not charging an entrance fee.
The two then strolled into the city.
However, Li Guanqi noticed the man who had just spoken cast a backward glance at them, after which he retrieved a jade slip and whispered something into it.
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth curled slightly. Following Ye Feng, he walked deeper into the city.
Perhaps it was too early in the day, but not even the shops lining the streets of Lingchang City were open for business yet.
Li Guanqi had originally wanted to find a steamed bun shop to pick up some buns for the road.
Ye Feng also found it strange. On the wide street, there were only a few scattered pedestrians, each looking listless and drained of energy.
"Boss, did these people not get enough sleep?"
"Why do they all look so dead on their feet?"
Li Guanqi did not answer. Instead, his divine sense hummed, softly spreading into the surroundings.
Aside from a few sleeping townsfolk, he detected nothing out of the ordinary. He then swept his divine sense over the few people on the street.
Beyond their poor vitality and spirit, there did not seem to be anything seriously wrong with them.
After a moment's thought, Li Guanqi said quietly, "Come on. Let's find an inn to stay in first and head back out later."
Soon, the two arrived at a slightly more upscale tavern and inn in the city.
The moment they stepped through the door, they saw a waiter wiping down tables. Spotting the two, the waiter hurried over with a bow.
"Honored guests, are you staying the night or just stopping for a bite?"
"If you're looking for lodging, you'd best hurry. The cherry blossom grove in our city is about to bloom, so we've got quite a crowd looking for rooms lately."
Li Guanqi looked around and noticed that there were indeed barely any vacant rooms left.
Right now, he focused his divine sense into his eyes, which to an ordinary person looked no different from regular vision.
Li Guanqi simply booked a room with two beds, which was enough for both of them.
After paying, the waiter enthusiastically recommended various scenic spots around the city.
Finally, he escorted them to their third-floor room before taking his leave.
Before the waiter left, Li Guanqi asked him to prepare two tubs of hot bathwater so they could rest properly.
Stepping inside, Li Guanqi pinched a few melon seeds from the table, cracked them open, and casually slipped the shells beneath the rug by the doorway.
Lying on the bed, Ye Feng saw this and could not help muttering, "Boss, isn't that a bit much...?"
Li Guanqi chuckled. "When you're out and about, a little caution never hurts."
As he spoke, he blew a wisp of dust from under the bed onto the right door handle. Unless one looked closely, it was completely undetectable.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
"Guests, your hot water is here."
The two enjoyed a comfortable bath. After tidying themselves up a bit, they headed back outside.
By now, Lingchang City had finally come to life. The roadside food stalls were all open for business.
The crowds on the street had grown significantly, and Li Guanqi even sensed the auras of quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators.
The two strolled along, intending to visit the city's Treasure Pavilion to purchase some Essence Augmentation Pills for cultivation.
The two bottles of pills looted from Yu Heng and his two accomplices were simply unfit for consumption.
Right at that moment, however, a faint commotion stirred among the crowd ahead.
Not only that, but shouts and curses occasionally drifted out from the throng.
Chapter 194