The Visitor

The pitch-black expanse of the sky was dotted with countless blood-red specks of starlight. Xu Yuan had noticed that for some time now, these insect beasts had been staring fixedly at him, their sky-spanning blood-red compound eyes brimming with a maddened greed. Even with his qi dynamic masked by the black mist of his intent soul and the soul-shielding robe, the gaze of these bugs still clung to him like a shadow. This made no sense. Barring the city-protecting array running at full power, not even a Saint would be able to detect him, to say nothing of these low-level insects. And now that all authority over the city defenses had been reclaimed by Li Junwu, the defensive array could be ruled out. There seemed to be only one reason left why the enemy could track his movements— Halting in a quiet, narrow alleyway, Xu Yuan looked up at the sky-blanketing insect tide. It seemed the brat who devoured the Thousand-Thorns Ghost Willow could also sense his location in reverse—and far more clearly than he could sense theirs. As the thought flashed through his mind, Xu Yuan tugged at the soul-shielding robe he wore, clicking his tongue softly. "Tsk. Had I known, I might as well have left this soul-shielding robe for Li Junwu." "If you wish, I could help you take it back right now." Tianye's teasing voice echoed directly in his mind from who-knew-where. Hearing this, Xu Yuan did not even hesitate, slipping off the soul-shielding robe and extending it toward the empty space at his side. "Then I'll trouble you with that." "..." Tianye materialized, her golden eyes glinting with a peculiar light in the dark alley. "Are you serious? The Saint on the other side could breach the city at any moment. And once the canopy breaks, a Saint's speed would bring them right before you in an instant." Xu Yuan gave an indifferent chuckle. "As of right now, I don't need you, the Calamity-Chosen from twenty thousand years ago, just yet." Tianye seemed to glean something from his smile. A faint smirk curved her crimson lips. "You don't trust me?" Xu Yuan shrugged, noncommittal. "Treating you as my final lifesaving trump card—how does that become distrust coming from your mouth? Besides, if I truly didn't trust you, how could I have kept you by my side at a time like this?" Tianye appeared already convinced of her suspicion, yet not a trace of anger surfaced. Instead, she circled around Xu Yuan with evident amusement, snatched the soul-shielding robe from his hand, and gave a light chuckle. "Is it because the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion Master didn't make a move against me?... Well, if you insist, then I will do you this favor." With that, she gave Xu Yuan a meaningful glance, cast another look toward the canopy overrun with insects, and slowly dissolved into the shadows of the alley. Watching Tianye vanish into the gloom, Xu Yuan calmly turned, leapt into the air, and transformed into a ray of black-flame light, streaking toward the western city wall. Blocks of blazing streets receded rapidly beneath his flight. Countless frenzied silhouettes swayed amid fire and shadow, giving free rein to their vile desires. Yet surprisingly, along the way, Xu Yuan actually spotted volunteer militias suppressing the riots—militias organized into proper, disciplined formations. Even without central coordination, the aristocratic clans and merchant guilds within the city had spontaneously begun suppressing the rioters who were causing chaos. Driven to desperation, they had begun to grasp the meaning of the adage that beneath a fallen nest, no egg remains unbroken. Originally, they had considered surrendering or fleeing because a Saint attacking the city did not necessarily mean a massacre. The scheming among the higher-ups of Zhenxi Manor had nothing to do with them, and a change in master would not shake their standing. But now the situation was entirely different: the insect tide outside the canopy was clearly a swarm of creatures that would never accept surrender. Therefore, what they needed right now was order. They needed to join forces with the Zhenxi Army to resist the monstrous insects outside in order to survive. Spearheaded by several prominent clans and chivalric societies, the rioting across the city had already begun to be subdued at a visible pace. As he flew past more districts, the astonishment in Xu Yuan's eyes deepened. The actions of these clans and chivalric societies did not seem limited to simply suppressing rioters. They had also barricaded many thoroughfares and moved into the deserted Zhenxi Army barracks, using it as a central hub and turning the various clan estates into defensive perimeters large and small. Everything appeared remarkably well-organized. Evidently, these clans were already preparing for the insect tide's descent. To be able to organize these clans to such an extent in so short a time, Xu Yuan could not help but feel a flicker of surprise at the leader's capability. What surprised him most, however, was that these clans and chivalric societies were not merely looking out for themselves; they were actually evacuating the city's commoners, moving them into the newly established defensive perimeters— This move left Xu Yuan somewhat bewildered. With even the Zhenxi Army having pulled back its forces into the prefectural yamen, these aristocratic clans actually... actually gave a thought to commoners? At a moment of life and death, the leader had managed to persuade those wealthy clans to care about whether ordinary folk lived or died? Reaching this point in his thoughts, Xu Yuan broke off, shaking his head with a sigh. He realized that by this point in his life, he had seemingly grown colder and colder. Yet fortunately, there were still others in this world who held fast to such principles. His eyes flickered as he suppressed the strange emotions welling up within him, a complex smile touching the corners of his lips. If this war could be won—or at least not lost—he would have to pay a proper visit to that leader. Thinking this, Xu Yuan's streak of light suddenly slowed in the low sky as he glanced down at the ground. He had arrived at his destination. Below was a marketplace as vast as a plaza. Its location near the western wall accounted for its prosperity; nearly all merchant caravans entering the city from the west would stop here, selling goods and slaves they had bought or plundered in the Great Desert to local vendors. Yet as the city stood on the verge of falling, this vast bazaar lay completely silent and strewn with debris. All manner of goods left behind in haste and scattered utensils rolling on the ground spoke to the panic of their owners at the moment of flight. Dropping to the ground, he walked alone through streets that resembled a ghost market, his footsteps echoing in the silence. Not far away, the western city wall loomed out of the dark like a mountain. Reaching the center of the market, Xu Yuan came to a stop and swept his gaze over the surrounding mess. This market was far removed from the city's residential areas, so when the fighting broke out, it shouldn't cause too many unnecessary casualties. Musing to himself, Xu Yuan strolled over to a fruit stall as though taking a leisurely walk, picked out a fine-looking fruit at random, and took a gentle bite. *Crunch... ptui.* The moment the flesh entered his mouth, he chewed twice before spitting it out in disgust. Bad luck. It actually tasted like durian. Curling his lip, Xu Yuan was just about to reach for a different fruit beside it when he saw a snow-pale hand reach out from within the unmanned stall, snatching the fruit a beat ahead of him. Raising an eyebrow, Xu Yuan felt his eyelid twitch involuntarily. He met a pair of human eyes— Yet within those eyes were countless densely packed pupils, resembling the compound eyes of an insect. The newcomer had a deathly pale complexion. Offering Xu Yuan a faint smile from within the stall, he tossed the fruit to him and asked softly: "Brother Zhou... or rather, Brother Xu now, I am quite curious. Leaving the prefectural yamen and coming all alone to this Huanglong Market—surely it wasn't just to eat this yellow fragrant fruit?"