174: Tingfenglou Storytelling

“Listening Wind Tower?”

Su Jin grew interested. “That’s an interesting name.”

A sharp-eyed waiter, seeing them pause at the entrance, came over with a beaming smile.

“Honored guests, you must be friends from the Alliance, right? You’ve come to the right place by visiting our Cloud City!”

The waiter enthusiastically introduced, “Our Listening Wind Tower not only has the best wine and cuisine in Cloud City…”

“The best part is, every noon and evening, there’s a ‘Hundred Scholars’ storyteller who shares the latest strange tales and happenings.”

“Especially the front-line battle reports – they’re even more exciting than the official announcements!”

“Oh? That sounds fun?”

Su Jin’s eyes lit up.

“Let’s go, we’ll listen.”

Su Jin stepped forward, heading towards the Listening Wind Tower.

Inside the Listening Wind Tower, it was bustling with people, even the aisles were packed.

In the center of the first-floor hall, a storyteller dressed in a Taoist robe was speaking eloquently, and when he reached a thrilling part, the entire hall erupted in applause.

Su Jin and his group were led by the waiter to a private room on the second floor.

The view from here was excellent, offering a full panorama of the entire first-floor hall.

“…Speaking of the most explosive news from the south recently, it has to be that battle on Changfeng Plain!”

The storyteller slapped his gavel, raising his voice by an octave.

“They say that the Dark Star Empire’s legendary powerhouse, Erosion of Darkness, set up an Erosion Domain, trapping our Seventh Fleet, and was on the verge of success.”

“At that critical moment, a shout of ‘Sword, come!’ rang out! A sword light, piercing through heaven and earth, struck from the direction of Youfeng Valley, and with one strike, it shattered the Erosion Domain.”

A gasp immediately rose from downstairs.

Su Jin, holding his teacup, nearly spat out his drink.

‘Sword, come?’ And ‘one sword shatters the domain?’ What was all this nonsense?

Bai Xiao’s sword strike was clearly delivered in Youfeng Valley, tens of thousands of miles from Changfeng Plain.

The storyteller, meanwhile, grew more and more excited.

“Ladies and gentlemen, do you think that’s all? No! The best part is yet to come.”

“Erosion of Darkness, unwilling to accept defeat, revealed his true form, intending to deliver a thunderous strike. At this moment, another mysterious powerhouse appeared! Who was this person? It was none other than the legendary City Lord of Infinite City, Su Jin!”

Su Jin raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

“That City Lord Su, twelve feet tall, with three heads and six arms, riding on fire wheels, and wielding a Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle.”

“He roared at Erosion of Darkness, ‘I call your name, do you dare to answer?’ Erosion of Darkness, a stubborn fellow, stuck out his neck and replied, ‘I dare!’ No sooner had he spoken than, whoosh! He was sucked into the bottle, and in an instant, turned into a puddle of pus!”

“Pfft—”

This time, Su Jin truly couldn’t hold back, spitting out a mouthful of tea.

Jin quickly offered him a handkerchief.

Though she tried to keep a straight face, the slight twitch of her lips betrayed the smile she was desperately trying to suppress.

The other Ling Shu Sword Guards in the private room had already turned away, their shoulders shaking violently.

Three heads and six arms? A Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle?

If their Lord looked like that, they felt they might need to apply for psychological counseling first.

Su Jin wiped his mouth, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

These rumors were too outrageous, even more exaggerated than Ghost Hand’s report.

However, for this ‘Hundred Scholars’ to be telling stories in such a place…

It seemed the higher echelons of the Blue Star Alliance and Crimson Flame Dynasty were intentionally guiding public opinion, creating a mysterious and powerful image for him.

As he pondered, the corner of his eye was drawn to a table of guests in a downstairs corner.

Three people sat at that table, all wearing large cloaks that obscured their faces.

In the noisy and bustling hall, the silence of the trio seemed somewhat odd.

As Su Jin’s perception extended, a peculiar energy fluctuation seemed to emanate from the three of them.

It was a power… mixed with void and shadow, and carrying an aura of decay.

Oh? People from the Dark Star Empire?

Even more interesting, in his perception,

There were also a dozen other individuals, concealing their presence, lurking at several hidden high points in the alleys outside the building.

Their gazes occasionally flickered towards the three cloaked figures.

Su Jin’s eyes became playful.

“It seems that by being lazy this time, I’ve stumbled upon a good show.”

On stage, the storyteller was in full swing, spitting as he spoke, exaggerating Su Jin’s deeds to be utterly divine.

At the table in the downstairs corner, one of the cloaked figures gently tapped the table, speaking in somewhat stiff common tongue.

“There’s nothing else to see here. Let’s leave after we eat.”

The other two nodded slightly, one of them picking up a brochure from the table and pointing at a dish.

“This ‘Cloud Peak Mushroom Soup’ is quite good. How about we come again tomorrow?”

The other two nodded in agreement.

Their words mimicked the tone of tourists, and their actions appeared quite natural.

A moment later, the three stood up, blended into the crowd, and headed for the exit.

Su Jin smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.

He gave Jin a look beside him.

Jin understood and nodded slightly.

The group sat for a moment longer, then also rose and went downstairs.

Su Jin even bought a string of candied hawthorn made from glowing mushrooms from a stall at the entrance.

His leisurely, strolling demeanor was indistinguishable from that of any ordinary wealthy young master.

Cloud City’s alleys were intricate, winding between giant rock structures, with a swirling sea of clouds below.

The three cloaked figures deliberately chose secluded, deserted paths, turning and twisting, and soon arrived at a disused cargo transfer platform.

At the edge of the platform, several broken vine ropes hung limply.

Just as the three were about to step onto the platform, over a dozen figures flashed out from the shadows, blocking their path.

Leading them was a stern-faced middle-aged general wearing crimson scale armor, wielding a battle saber with flaming patterns.

“Gentlemen, we’ve been following you for days,”

The leader’s voice was low, with a strange metallic quality.

“There are no other exits here. Please surrender.”

As he spoke, the dozen or so warriors behind him quickly fanned out, forming a battle array, sealing off all escape routes.

“The Crimson Scale Guard of the Crimson Flame Dynasty?”

One of the cloaked figures surveyed his surroundings, then laughed.

“You think you can stop us?”

As he spoke, the three cloaked figures shimmered simultaneously, and a thick, inky black mist, mixed with a nauseating scent of decay, surged from beneath their cloaks.

Within the black mist, three pairs of crimson eyes suddenly glowed.

“Attack!”

The Crimson Scale Guard general roared, taking the lead by slashing his saber, a scorching flame saber qi heading straight for the foremost cloaked figure.

However, the saber qi plunged into the black mist like a clay ox entering the sea, instantly dissipating.

The next moment, three shadowy figures, like ghosts, shot out from the mist, moving with unimaginable speed.

One Crimson Scale Guard warrior barely managed to raise his long saber before a black shadow brushed past him.

The crimson scale armor on his body rapidly turned gray and decayed, as if it had endured thousands of years of weathering.

Then, with a “crash,” it shattered into powder.

Immediately after, the warrior screamed, his body rapidly shriveled, and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

“It’s the Withering Shadows! Beware of their corrosive power!”

The Crimson Scale Guard general was both shocked and enraged.

The enemy’s strength somewhat exceeded their estimations.

The battle continued, and in the blink of an eye, two more Crimson Scale Guards were struck down, their battle array already on the verge of collapse.

At the entrance to the alley, Su Jin took a bite of his mushroom candied hawthorn, the slightly sweet juice dissolving in his mouth.

“Lord?”

Jin asked softly, her hand on her sword hilt, ready to strike.

Su Jin took another bite of his mushroom candied hawthorn, watching the struggle below, and said faintly,

“Very well, consider it… an after-dinner stroll.”