The Inn

In an instant, a fragment of a memory flashed through Wu Xingxue's mind—

It was also a time when he shouldn't have made a sound, and in a posture just like this, Xiao Fuxuan's hand was covering his mouth. He even remembered the feeling of the other's thumb lightly touching the tip of his nose, and the faint breath that brushed past his ear bone when he spoke in a low voice.

His shoulders and neck tensed for a moment. Beneath the other's palm, he spoke softly, "Xiao Fuxuan, do you know how reckless it is to touch a Demon Lord from behind?"

That's a vital point, too easily inviting an instinctive killing blow.

"I know." Xiao Fuxuan was quiet for a moment before saying in a low, slow voice, "But Wu Xingxue... you withdrew your Qi."

Wu Xingxue snapped back to his senses from that memory fragment, stunned.

Belatedly, he realized that he had also instinctively curled his fingers when his shoulder was patted. Then, upon bumping into Xiao Fuxuan's chest and hearing his voice, he had slowly retracted his Qi.

By the time he came to, Xiao Fuxuan had already led him to a corner sheltered from the wind.

The market was still bustling, but it was all beyond the wall.

Wu Xingxue looked at the steam rising from a distant tea and snack stall and asked, "Is this really an illusion?"

The palm on his lips moved slightly and was removed.

"What did you say?" Xiao Fuxuan said. "It's too noisy outside, I didn't hear you clearly."

"I said, is this place really an illusion? It seems far too real." Wu Xingxue looked beyond the wall for a while.

Xiao Fuxuan replied, "It is, and it isn't."

Wu Xingxue asked again, "What do you mean by that?"

Xiao Fuxuan: "The realm is an illusion, but the scenery is real."

Wu Xingxue: "…"

He was silent for a moment, then turned his head back and said, "High Immortal, just because you added six more characters doesn't make it an explanation."

Xiao Fuxuan: "…"

He glanced at Wu Xingxue, seemingly speechless, but still opened his mouth to say more, "The Fallen Flower Mountain Market has long been gone. For it to appear out of thin air now, it is naturally an illusion. But the scenery of this Mountain Market isn't fabricated; it is Fallen Flower Terrace as it was on a certain day in the past."

Fallen Flower Terrace on a certain day in the past?

Wu Xingxue looked at the market again.

This was all indeed too much of a coincidence. The moment they came out of Great Sorrow Valley, there was a disturbance at Fallen Flower Terrace.

In the past, the disturbances were always marked by startling flashes of fire. Now that they had stepped into the mountains, the disturbance was no longer just a flash of fire, but Fallen Flower Terrace on a certain day in the past.

Once could be called a coincidence, but too many coincidences meant there was an ulterior motive.

If it was Fallen Flower Terrace on a certain day in the past...

Did it want them to know something? Or to do something?

Wu Xingxue pondered, then turned his head and said, "Xiao Fuxuan, do you have a good memory?"

Xiao Fuxuan: "…"

High Immortal Tianxiu's expression was indescribable.

Before Wu Xingxue could speak again, he said, "I can't tell which day this is."

Wu Xingxue: "I obviously haven't asked yet."

Xiao Fuxuan's gaze swept over him. "It's written on your face."

Wu Xingxue: "…"

Fine.

He really had been about to ask that very question, only to have his words preempted by High Immortal Tianxiu, but he wasn't quite reconciled.

He looked at the street market. The tall figure from before was already gone, submerged somewhere in the bustling crowd. Without turning his head, he asked, "That person you said not to call out to just now, was that you?"

After asking, he subconsciously muttered, "It should be. There's no way I'd misidentify him."

Behind him, Xiao Fuxuan suddenly said, "Why?"

Wu Xingxue turned back to look at him. "Hmm?"

Xiao Fuxuan withdrew his gaze from the market, his eyes lowering slightly to land on him. "Why would you not misidentify him?"

Wu Xingxue opened his mouth but didn't answer, suddenly falling silent.

The long, drawn-out cry of the young attendant at the tea stall broke the atmosphere in the corner.

Wu Xingxue hurriedly turned his head, glanced over, and changed the subject, "Since you've been here in the past, do you still remember—"

As he spoke and turned back again, he saw High Immortal Tianxiu's coffin-like face staring at the tea stall.

Wu Xingxue: "…"

He paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

This seemed to be the first time he had laughed so freely, without any burdens or complications, since waking up in the Canglang Northern Domain. It wasn't to frighten someone, it wasn't a sneer, it wasn't out of helpless anger, nor was he plotting something else while laughing.

Xiao Fuxuan withdrew his gaze from the tea stall and looked at him. After a long moment, he said, "Are you done laughing? If you're done, let's go."

With that, he picked up his sword and stepped out from the corner.

Wu Xingxue followed a step behind, his voice still laced with laughter, "Hey, I haven't finished asking yet."

Since Xiao Fuxuan was in this illusion, he could ask him to try and recall if he had encountered anything strange when he came to this Fallen Flower Mountain Market back then.

But on second thought, Wu Xingxue considered that it had been several hundred years ago. After so long, who would still remember those things.

So, after speaking, he changed his mind and said, "Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Xiao Fuxuan, however, seemed to guess his meaning and said, "I've come to this Mountain Market many times."

The implication was that based on a single figure, it was indeed impossible to determine which visit it was, let alone remember what had happened back then.

Wu Xingxue nodded. "So where are we going now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, they happened to reach a higher point. Wu Xingxue lifted his eyes and could see the entire winding crowd ahead.

A little further away, he saw that familiar back again. Because of his outstanding looks and height, he stood out in the crowd.

That was the Xiao Fuxuan of the illusion.

"Are you following yourself?" Wu Xingxue asked.

The question sounded truly strange. Xiao Fuxuan grunted in affirmation but said no more.

"Then why didn't you follow him directly just now, and instead dragged me to a corner?" Wu Xingxue asked again.

This question sounded even stranger than the last. Xiao Fuxuan was silent for a moment, then deigned to speak, "Getting too close would get us noticed."

'That's true.'

Wu Xingxue thought, 'After all, the High Immortal Tianxiu in the illusion is still High Immortal Tianxiu. At that distance, with two people following behind him, it's impossible for him not to notice anything.'

Imagine if he were constantly followed by people of unknown origin, and if one of them looked exactly like him...

A fight would be getting off lightly; a killing blow would have likely already been struck.

No wonder Xiao Fuxuan had to cover his mouth earlier. If he hadn't, something major would have happened.

The Fallen Flower Mountain Market was said to stretch for twelve miles, with no end in sight.

They had walked for less than a mile amidst the countless lanterns when they suddenly smelled an extremely strong fragrance.

The entire street was filled with almost nothing but this scent, and it gave Wu Xingxue a headache. He pressed his fingers to the tip of his nose and muttered, "Did someone overturn a whole cart of rouge and powder?"

Sure enough, there were clamorous complaints up ahead. Yet, the crowd seemed curious and eager to watch the commotion, blocking the way and making it difficult to advance or retreat.

Just then, a shop assistant, nimble as a skinny monkey, darted forward two steps, climbed onto a stall table, and addressed the crowd, "Esteemed customers, don't be anxious, don't curse, please be patient. That's the rouge from Li's Stall next door. When they were setting up, they were somehow hit by a falling rock that smashed their cart. Boxes of rouge and powder scattered all over the ground, and they're cleaning it up now."

"There are falling rocks in the Fallen Flower Mountain Market?" Wu Xingxue was a little surprised.

Because he was pressing his nose, his voice sounded muffled.

Xiao Fuxuan had to turn his head to hear him clearly. He said, "It is indeed strange."

Normally, this Mountain Market was held every year. The pavilions and shops were all built against the mountain and arranged along it. They should have long since figured out which areas were stable and which were dangerous. If rocks fell from time to time, this Fallen Flower Mountain Market could not possibly have become so grand and lively.

"Aren't the roofs in this Mountain Market said to be reinforced by the Immortal Sects?" Many people in the crowd also voiced their doubts. "How could there be a falling rock? We haven't seen anything like this in all these years."

"Indeed," the assistant said. "Indeed, our innkeeper said he has already sent someone to fetch the Feng Clan. There's no need for anyone to be afraid."

"The Feng Clan again?"

Wu Xingxue himself couldn't remember those Immortal Sects well; at most, he had a deep impression of the Hua Family. The Feng Clan could probably be considered the second one to leave a deep impression, because just before, at the entrance to Zhaoye City, they had heard about the relationship between the new City Lord Xueli and the Feng Clan. Hearing them mentioned again now, it was hard not to pay attention.

"If there's trouble in the Mountain Market, they will ask the nearest Immortal Sect for help, or the most powerful Immortal Sect in the vicinity," Xiao Fuxuan explained.

As he spoke, Wu Xingxue caught sight of the "Xiao Fuxuan" they were following suddenly stopping and glancing back over the crowd.

Wu Xingxue reacted extremely quickly this time. He hastily grabbed the person beside him and pulled him into the nearest shop, using a pillar to hide.

Compared to the crowd gathered outside, this shop was much quieter. There was only a middle-aged man with bags under his eyes behind a wooden counter, clicking away at an abacus.

Hearing the noise, he didn't raise his head, calling out slowly in a hoarse voice, "Attendant, we have customers."

Wu Xingxue had intended to leave after hiding for a moment, but then he saw a bell hanging from the edge of a high shelf behind the counter. It was also made of white jade, glowing with a soft, warm light under the lamp.

At first glance, it looked eighty percent similar to a Dream Bell.

During this brief pause, a plump figure came clomping down the wooden stairs, thudding down from the upper floor.

"Innkeeper, what customers? More customers? Our inn has been really strange these past two days!" The chubby boy wasn't old. He rolled over like a ball and almost bumped right into them, but was stopped by Wu Xingxue's outstretched hand.

Wu Xingxue's hand was as cold as ice. The chubby boy shivered from the cold, then fixed his gaze on the two of them and, for some reason, froze on the spot.

He looked at Xiao Fuxuan, then at Wu Xingxue, his mouth opening and closing, but not a word came out for a long time.

"What's wrong with you?" Wu Xingxue rubbed his fingertips, thinking to himself, 'Could it be that my hand was so cold it froze him stupid?'

The chubby boy quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no, no."

Perhaps because he was close and his movements were large, and because the scent of rouge and powder from the street wasn't as thick in this corner.

In the draft stirred by the chubby boy's raised hand, Wu Xingxue caught a faint, barely-there scent. The smell dissipated in an instant, and when he tried to smell it again, it was completely gone.

Anyone else probably wouldn't have noticed it at all.

But Wu Xingxue was different. He had a deep impression of this smell from his dream, and he had smelled it a second time at the entrance to Zhaoye City.

This was the third time today—

This chubby boy actually had the damp, yin scent characteristic of people who practiced the Corpse Refining Path, like Sang Yu and Xueli.

This inn was not ordinary.

The chubby boy's stammering finally caught the innkeeper's attention. The middle-aged man behind the counter put down his abacus and asked slowly, "Attendant, don't be rude. Are you two here to stay at the inn?"

Wu Xingxue thought of the strange, damp yin scent from just now, and the Dream Bell hanging on the shelf. He was just about to say "Yes."

Just then, the innkeeper raised his head.

The middle-aged man finally got a clear look at his guests. He first gave a belated startle, then slowly opened his mouth, his reaction identical to the chubby boy's.

A moment later, he raised his voice and asked, "Wait a minute, didn't you two just check out?"

The word "Yes" that Wu Xingxue was about to say went down with a gulp.

"......"

Huh???