Riding horses was not allowed within Spring Night City. Upon entering the city gates, the first impression was the sheer multitude of people.
Looking around was a breath of fresh air; a sweeping glance would catch several hundred people, all of whom happened to be young.
The most important point was that their attire was quite revealing. Exposed arms and thighs were everywhere, though to someone like me from the modern era, it naturally felt like nothing.
I glanced at Duan Qianyue, and he was looking back at me as well. However, this certainly wasn’t Duan Qianyue’s first time here. Still, it was extremely strange that every single person within sight was a handsome man or a beautiful woman.
“Does Senior Brother like young maidens?”
“Otherwise what? Do you want me to like you?” I sneered.
At that moment, the crowd suddenly surged with commotion.
“The City Lord is coming, the City Lord is coming!”
A troop of people ahead advanced toward our direction, and the people on the street hurriedly cleared the way to both sides.
I watched as rows of maidservants each held a branch of begonia flowers in their hands.
The palanquin in the middle of the procession was quite different from the one I saw in Luo City. The base and the roof of this palanquin were connected only by four slender, carved white jade pillars, with transparent thin gauzes hanging on all four sides, fluttering lightly in the breeze.
People all around produced begonia flowers from somewhere unknown and tossed them toward the City Lord’s palanquin. They always said that begonia flowers were fragrance-free, yet I caught a thick, heavy scent.
While I was dazed, that group had already arrived right in front of me. Duan Qianyue pulled me aside and did not forget to poke fun at me.
“Should Senior Brother squeeze into the City Lord’s palanquin to take a peek at her beauty?”
Just then, the City Lord’s palanquin stopped right in front of me, and a maidservant walked over.
“My City Lord wishes to see you. Young Master, please come with me.”
Not knowing what to do, I looked at Duan Qianyue. He wore an expression as though it had nothing to do with him, so I simply followed the maidservant over and walked up to the palanquin.
“What is your name?”
Her speech was unhurried, and her voice exuded maturity and nobility.
“Yu Li,” I replied.
“It really is you.”
She gently lifted the curtain and told me to sit beside her. Guided by some inexplicable impulse, I went right in and sat down. It was an extremely young and beautiful face, one that would make you take a second look even if you passed it on the street.
“Little Yu Li, your name was actually given to you by me. The single character Li symbolizes a person of integrity. You should call me Aunt.”
This sudden surge of familial affection caught me off guard. She proceeded to ask about various family members and matters, but since I did not know much, I just casually brushed it off with a few perfunctory responses.
Finally, the palanquin stopped in front of a building. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be the House of Drunken Life. Every single brothel in this novel seemed to be named the House of Drunken Life.
The moment I stepped down from the palanquin, several maidens swarmed over, interlocking arms and leaning on shoulders as they squeezed toward the City Lord. Their dresses were all low-cut. Even to someone from the modern era like me, the societal customs felt open to an unbelievable degree.
Aunt’s hand reached toward a maiden’s chest, prompting the maiden to immediately let out a spoiled, coquettish chirp.
Then, remembering her nephew, she called someone over to wait on me. I hurriedly declined, feeling that I might have come to the wrong place. That was when I thought of Duan Qianyue, but he was nowhere to be seen in the surroundings.
“Aunt, where is my friend?”
Aunt said with an expression of sudden realization:
“Not fond of maidens. That husband of yours is quite dashing. Nephew, you have good fortune.”
Following that, the people around began to hoot and jeer. Duan Qianyue was nudged and pushed over to my side, and two maidservants attentively led the two of us to the dinner banquet seats.
Throughout the meal, the smile on Aunt’s face never faded, reminding me of Yu Xin when she was shipping characters. The smile was truly identical.
“Nephew, when did you and your husband meet?” she asked.
Just as I prepared to deny it, Duan Qianyue sent a voice transmission to me.
“Senior Brother, you had better endure this for now. If you deny it, your Aunt will arrange maidens for you tonight. We haven’t even reached Solitary Smoke City yet, Senior Brother. Don’t end up having a child already.”
“We are from the same sect, and our affection grew over time. Heh heh.” I awkwardly forced a laugh and gulped down the wine in my cup in one breath.
“Have you two engaged in the joy of wind and rain yet?”
I hadn’t even swallowed my mouthful of wine before I choked and coughed tears out. As expected of such liberated customs, chatting about this kind of topic right at the dinner table.
Just as I was about to deny it, Duan Qianyue spoke up first. “Naturally we have. Senior Brother is very obedient. The two of us every single night, yes, every single night.”
Every single night your mom.
I had nothing to say. To avoid losing control and getting into a fistfight with Duan Qianyue, I could only drink cup after cup of wine.
My alcohol tolerance wasn’t as good as I imagined, and gradually everything became hazy. When I regained consciousness, it was already the morning of the next day.
“Morning, Senior Brother.” Duan Qianyue looked at me, propping his head up with one hand.
I instantly woke up and checked myself. Thankfully, my clothes were still properly on.
“Senior Brother surely didn’t think I would do something to you, did you?” he smiled.
“A mere joke. Senior Brother best not take it seriously.”
“You better not.” It ruined my mood first thing in the morning.
Knowing we were heading to Solitary Smoke City, Aunt held my hand, instructed us to mind our safety, and even prepared some water and food for us.
“Little Yu Li, you must come visit Aunt more often in the future. Aunt is getting old, and staying all alone is inevitably lonely.”
I thought to myself that I wouldn’t believe a single word of yours, but outwardly I didn’t show it and merely said:
“Understood.”
With that, we seized the time to hit the road.
No wonder Aunt prepared so much food and water for us. Once we left Spring Night City, not a single household was to be seen anywhere. After riding horses for an entire day, we were stuck in the middle of nowhere. It looked like we would have to sleep out in the wilderness tonight.
We set up individual barriers near a patch of wild grass a short distance away from the small path and rested for the night.
At night, the barrier’s function was to ward off wind, snakes, rats, and insects. We used the lowest-tier barrier, but even so, a whole night of it left me feeling vaguely unwell, though nothing too major.
By noon of the second day, we finally entered Solitary Smoke City. Solitary Smoke City didn’t even have any guards. There was only a tea stall by the city gate, so we went over and ordered a pot of tea.
The shopkeeper seemed very curious as to why we had come here. Not finding it convenient to say we were heading to the secret realm, we simply claimed we were looking for friends.
“Solitary Smoke City these past few days is quite capable of eating people alive. You two young masters had better leave as early as possible and go no further inside.”
Taking us for ordinary mortals, he spoke out of good intentions.
At this moment, a maiden dressed in red rode over on horseback, dismounted, handed her water pouch to the shopkeeper, and curiously sized us up. This girl in red was heroic and dashing.
“Who are you?” She lifted her chin toward Duan Qianyue and asked.