260: Chapter 258 When in Rome, do as the Romans do and take a stroll through the streets

Ah Yuan's eyes lit up, bright as two stars.

"Master, I... I'm going to change my clothes!" She turned and ran into the inner room, leaving behind a trail of light footsteps. Yun Ming stood in the courtyard, looking at the closed door, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. He bent down to pick up the fox from the ground and placed it on his shoulder. The fox squinted its eyes, its nine tails hanging down and swaying.

Ah Yuan came out quickly. She had changed into a pale green dress that Yun Ming had casually bought at Tianbao Market; the material was good and the style simple, but wearing it made her whole person seem to brighten up. Her hair was held up by a wooden hairpin, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears, complementing that clean little face and adding a bit of a young girl's liveliness. She walked up to Yun Ming, somewhat uncomfortably pulling at the hem of her clothes. "Master, does it look good?"

Yun Ming glanced at her. "It's fine. Let's go."

The two people and one fox left the small courtyard, passed through several alleys, and arrived at the Heavenly Street.

During the Longevity Festival, Tianyuan City was completely different from usual.

The Heavenly Street was surging with crowds, people rubbing shoulders, but the congestion was not chaotic; it was an orderly bustle. Cultivators wore various Daoist robes, some riding Spirit Beasts, some flying on swords, and some walking. Everyone had a smile on their face, and even the usually cold-faced city patrol guards were a bit more amiable today.

All the shops in Tianbao Market were open, with signs formed from spiritual light hanging at their doors, and some even had notice boards for limited-time discounts. The characters on the notice boards weren't written with ink but were formed from spiritual light, colorful and shimmering. Ah Yuan had never entered Tianbao Market before; as she wandered from one end of the street to the other, her eyes never stopped moving. She stopped in front of a Spirit Beast shop, looking at the fluffy cub in the cage, her eyes sparkling. "Master, what Spirit Beast is this?"

Yun Ming took a look. "A Wind Spirit Marten, a second-rank Spirit Beast. It's fast and good at finding treasures. It's not very suitable for you." Ah Yuan nodded and didn't ask more, her gaze falling on a nest of newly hatched Spirit Sparrows nearby. The sparrows' feathers were pale gold, and they were chirping away.

Yun Ming didn't rush her, just stood by and waited. The fox jumped down from his shoulder into Ah Yuan's arms, rubbing its head against her chin. Ah Yuan looked down at the fox and smiled. She didn't buy the Spirit Sparrow, nor did she buy the Wind Spirit Marten. She just watched for a while and then continued forward with Yun Ming.

Passing by a spirit cuisine restaurant, Yun Ming stopped and looked at the sign at the door. "Xiankelai"—the name was given casually, but the fragrance wafting from inside was indeed extraordinary. Ah Yuan's stomach growled. She lowered her head, her face turning slightly red. Yun Ming didn't laugh at her and pushed the door open to walk in. A waiter came up, smiling. "Guest, please come in! How many in your party?"

"Two," Yun Ming said.

The waiter led them to the second floor, to a seat by the window. The window was open, and one could see the flow of people coming and going on the Heavenly Street and the golden roof of the imperial palace in the distance. Yun Ming ordered a few dishes, all of them signature items, and also ordered a Spirit Fruit platter for Ah Yuan. The dishes came out quickly and tasted good; the cooking techniques for the spirit cuisine were more than a level higher than those in Qingyao City. Ah Yuan ate very slowly, chewing every bite for a long time, reluctant to swallow. Yun Ming didn't rush her, slowly drinking his tea.

After finishing the meal, the two continued their stroll.

In the middle section of the Heavenly Street, there was a temporarily constructed high platform, surrounded by crowds of people.

Ah Yuan stood on tiptoe curiously to look inside but could see nothing, only hearing the sound of gongs, drums, and cheering coming from within.

Yun Ming extended his Divine Sense and found it was a theater stage, where a great Xianxia play was being performed. It was a story from a thousand years ago about a general of the Zifu Immortal Dynasty leading heavenly troops to conquer the Yao Race.

The actors on the stage were not Mortals; they were all Cultivators.

They wore magnificent costumes and held Magical Artifacts, with spiritual light swirling around each person.

When the general made his entrance, a burst of golden light erupted from him, transforming into phantoms of thousands of troops and horses. Those phantoms charged on the stage, their shouts shaking the sky. When the Yao King appeared, black mist surged, and one could feel that cold, eerie aura even below the stage.

The two sides fought on stage, sword light and Demonic Qi clashing, exploding into ripples of spiritual light.

The audience below was mesmerized, some even unable to help themselves from joining in the shouts of "kill."

It was Ah Yuan's first time seeing such a play; her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open. The general struck down with his sword, the sword light turning into a massive golden dragon that coiled around the Yao King. The Yao King roared and transformed into his original form, a hundred-zhang-long black flood dragon, fighting with the golden dragon in the air.

The black flood dragon's tail whipped past the edge of the stage, and Ah Yuan instinctively dodged back.

Yun Ming reached out to support her shoulder. "It's fake." Ah Yuan blushed.

The golden dragon on stage finally suppressed the black flood dragon, and the general beheaded the Yao King with a single sword strike.

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

Ah Yuan also clapped along, clapping very hard.

The play ended, the actors walked off the stage, and the audience gradually dispersed.

Yun Ming led Ah Yuan further ahead. At the other end of the Heavenly Street, even more people were gathered.

There were no gongs or drums here, no actors, only a temporarily built wooden hut. The door curtain of the hut was black, with the character "Speak" embroidered on it in gold thread. Someone was collecting fees at the door, one Mid-Grade Spirit Stone per person.

Yun Ming paid two stones and led Ah Yuan inside.

The room was full of people, men and women, young and old, a mix of Cultivators and Mortals.

At the very front was a long table, with a folding fan and a gavel placed on it. Behind the table sat a white-haired old man with a lean, elegant face and a three-strand beard, wearing a greyish-white Daoist robe with cloud patterns embroidered on the sleeves.

His cultivation was actually at the Early Golden Core Stage, and he had an extraordinary air about him.

Seeing that most of the people had arrived, he struck the gavel with a crisp "crack." The room fell silent. The old man cleared his throat and spoke: "Ladies and gentlemen, today this old man will tell you a story—'The Life and Death Tribulation of the Taixu Secret Realm'." Someone in the audience cheered. The old man unfolded his fan, and a picture appeared on the fan's surface—a towering immortal gate, surrounded by swirling clouds and flying cranes. That was no ordinary fan surface; it was an illusion formed by Spells, lifelike as if one were actually there.

The old man began to speak, his voice neither fast nor slow, with clear and rounded pronunciation. Every word he spoke turned into a streak of spiritual light, flying out from the fan and forming images in the air above the wooden hut.

When he spoke of the Taixu Secret Realm, a ten-thousand-zhang abyss appeared above the wooden hut, with a stone bridge over the abyss and boiling lava beneath the bridge.

When he spoke of the Yao Beasts in the Secret Realm, a Three-Headed Demonic Python appeared in the air, each head with its bloody maw wide open. During the scenes of duels with others, the clashing of sword light, Spells, and Magic Treasures, and the exploding spiritual light made the people below feel a heat on their faces.

Ah Yuan had never heard storytelling like this before; her eyes were wider than when she was watching the play.

She looked at those images formed by Spells in the air and listened to the old man's rhythmic voice, completely immersed in the story.

As the story reached its climax, he struck the gavel, and the images hanging in mid-air suddenly contracted, turning into a speck of spiritual light that flew back into the old man's fan. "If you want to know what happens next, listen to the next installment." The old man folded his fan.

A chorus of groans rose from below. Some shouted "one more," and some threw Spirit Stones onto the stage.

The old man picked up the Spirit Stones with a smile and tucked them into his sleeve. "Please come early tomorrow."

Ah Yuan looked at the closed door curtain with reluctance.

Yun Ming didn't rush her; after waiting a moment, Ah Yuan finally followed him out.

Passing a row of stalls selling snacks, Ah Yuan's pace slowed down. Yun Ming glanced at those stalls, which sold a wide variety of things. There was roasted Spirit Beast meat, the meat skewered on iron spikes, sizzling with oil and smelling fragrant; there were boiled spirit spring tangyuan, the tangyuan made of spirit rice and the soup being spirit spring water—one bowl could sustain half a day's cultivation; there were Spirit Fruit tanghulu, the outer syrup made from refined honey, sweet but not cloying.

Yun Ming bought two sticks of tanghulu, one for Ah Yuan and one for himself.

The crispy sugar shell encased the sweet and sour Spirit Fruit; it tasted good. Ah Yuan ate until her mouth was covered in sugar crumbs. The fox poked its head out from her arms and took a lick, frowning from the sourness.

Ah Yuan laughed and held the tanghulu to the fox's mouth, but the fox turned its head away. She laughed even more happily.

Passing by the entrance of the Vermilion Tower, several girls dressed in thin gauze stood on the steps, laughing and talking. Ah Yuan took one look, her face turned red, and she lowered her head and walked quickly past. Yun Ming followed behind, his expression as usual. The fox poked its head out from her arms, glanced at those girls, and then pulled its head back in.

Passing the Shanhai Society's tavern, the sounds of finger-guessing games and clinking glasses came from inside. A drunken Golden Core Cultivator stumbled out and almost bumped into Ah Yuan. Yun Ming reached out to block him. The man looked up, glanced at Yun Ming, muttered something, and staggered away.

It was getting dark. The spirit lamps on the street lit up one by one, illuminating the entire Heavenly Street as if it were day. The auspicious clouds in the sky had not yet dispersed, the immortal light was still flowing, and the cranes were still circling. Ah Yuan had walked all day, and her legs were a bit sore, but her eyes were full of light.

"Master, Tianyuan City is really big." She stood on the bridge, looking at the towering Heaven-Reaching Tower in the distance, murmuring.

Yun Ming stood beside her and didn't speak.

The fox lay in her arms, its nine tails hanging down and swaying.

"Let's go home," Yun Ming said.

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study.

The Crown Prince sat behind the desk, a secret report just delivered spread out before him. The candlelight flickered, reflecting on his square face in alternating light and shadow. His fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop—once, twice, thrice. His brow was furrowed tightly, the "river" character wrinkle between his eyebrows deep enough to hold a pen.

The door was pushed open. The Princess Royal walked in, holding the crimson Treasure-Spitting Mouse in her arms. The Treasure-Spitting Mouse squinted its eyes, dozing in her arms. Today, the Princess Royal was wearing a pale purple palace dress, her hair piled high and held by a golden step-shake, her steps light. She sat down opposite the Crown Prince and placed the Treasure-Spitting Mouse on the table. The Treasure-Spitting Mouse opened its eyes, glanced at the Crown Prince, and closed them again.

"What's wrong? Your brow is furrowed like that." The Princess Royal picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip.

The Crown Prince didn't answer. He pushed the secret report toward her. The Princess Royal put down her teacup, picked up the report, and read it from beginning to end. Her brow also furrowed. "Is there movement on the Second Brother's side again?"