Just like Yan Ying had said, seven days after they picked up the Glacial Shroud, they reached an area from which they could see Four Clouds city. The area in front of the city was the same as the first city that Liang Chen had visited, a vast and empty plain filled with tall gra.s.s. But the city itself was built onto a mountain, the deeper into the city one went, the higher up the mountain one would go. The walls that surrounded the city were made out of a silver colored metal, shining dazzlingly under the sunlight.Yan Ying stopped the carriages, storing them into his bracelet. Even the steeds were absorbed into the bracelet, shocking Liang Chen. There were storing treasures that could store up living beings? Yan Ying didn"t notice Liang Chen"s shock, pointing at the distant city.
"That"s Four Clouds city. Those four palaces are where the current rulers of the city reside, so just try to stay away from them. Also, put on these, they"ll obscure your appearance and make it so that people can"t recognize you."
He took out several gray cloaks with large hoods from his interspatial ring, handing one to everyone. Once they put on the robes, an array within the robes activated, their faces turning blurry and indistinct.
The four palaces he mentioned were far larger than the other buildings in the city, one palace located at each corner of the city. The palaces were all pretty similar, ma.s.sive square mansions made out of pure white stone. But there was one thing that set them apart from each other, the number of towers surrounding the mansion. One palace had only a single tower, a second had two, the third had three, and the fourth had four. Liang Chen didn"t know what these towers symbolized, but he guessed that having more towers was a sign of power.
The group quickly crossed the plain, none of the people outside the city daring to stop them in an attempt to rob them. Even before he reached the city, there was a faint fragrance that tickled Liang Chen"s nose, stirring his hunger. Yan Ying and the others didn"t seem to notice this scent, so he didn"t bring it up. They quickly entered the city, which was filled with buildings made out of light gray stones or deep brown wood. After entering the city, Yan Ying pointed down a road to their left, speaking in a low voice.
"We"ll head to the market, you guys are free to do as you please, just remember to not cause a commotion."
Everyone but Xiao Yong and Liang Chen followed Yan Ying to the market. Xiao Yong went to find a restaurant where he could get some food, while Liang Chen decided to follow that enticing scent he had noticed, quickly heading down a small and nearly hidden street to his right.
The smell quickly got stronger as he moved down the street, reaching its peak once he arrived outside a narrow alley that was only wide enough to fit a single Liang Chen. He was able to spot an old and hunchbacked man with a long white beard and a bald head standing inside the alley, shaking his head and muttering to himself.
"Poor little girl, she didn"t deserve this."
Liang Chen made his way into the alley and up to the old man, who didn"t seem too bothered by his presence. Liang Chen was not dumb enough to believe that this old man would be someone weak, as no weak people could survive the pressure of this hidden realm. He could tell that the scent came from a spot directly in front of the man, so he quickly peered past him to see what it was. But the scene he saw nearly made him hurl, it was only after taking two steps backward that he was able to stutter out a question.
"This... What is this?"
Lying among the trash in front of the man was a young girl who seemed to be close to her twenties. Her arms and legs were bent in unnatural directions, the bones clearly shattered. Her silken robes were torn and tattered, leaving her practically naked, showing all the bruises that covered her body. But worst of all was her face. Her eyes and mouth were sewn shut, the st.i.tches still b.l.o.o.d.y. The old man glanced at the sickened Liang Chen, responding with a slight shake of his head and a voice that carried a trace of pity.
"She was one of Liu Daning"s maidservants. She must have gotten in the way of one of his temper tantrums. And looking at what he did to her body, she likely saw and heard something that she shouldn"t have. Poor girl, no one deserves something like this."
Liang Chen couldn"t help but be sickened. This was done by her master, the one who was supposed to take care of her? The old man took a few steps away from the girl, glancing at Liang Chen.
"Would you mind taking her outside the city and dump her with the rest?"
Liang Chen"s eyebrows couldn"t help but twitch at the words of the man. Firstly because of how emotionless his voice had suddenly gotten, as if the girl was no longer something to be pitied, but merely a dead object. And secondly, because of what his statement entailed.
"Dump her with the rest?"
Were there others like her? Someone had done this repeatedly? The old man stretched out a wrinkly and thin hand, pointing at a small green rat that was hiding amongst the trash.
"We can"t keep bodies like this in the city, it"ll attract pests. Because of that, all the corpses get dumped along the city wall."
Liang Chen only glanced at the rat for a short second, giving a slight nod of his head. He carefully picked up the ruined body of the girl, carrying it out of the city as gently as he could. Once he reached the outside of the city and found a spot where no one could see him, he took out one of his arrows and cut open the st.i.tches that covered the girl"s mouth and eyes.
He then took out a pill from his bracelet, popping it into the girl"s mouth and forcing her to swallow it. The reason he had done this was very simple, he could still sense the electricity within her body. She was ruined and beaten, but not dead. The pill quickly started to take effect, her wounds getting somewhat better, so Liang Chen decided to ask his question.
"Can you still talk? Can you tell me what happened to you?"
The girl had a cultivation that was a little higher than his, having reached the early stage of the Xiantian Tower realm. Because of that, the moment the pill started to take effect, she quickly regained consciousness, her limbs moving slightly.
Liang Chen wanted to know what happened to her, why these things had been done to her. Could it really be that this Lui Daning had done something this sinful just because this girl got in the way of his temper tantrums? The girl slowly opened her eyes, sight of them shocking Liang Chen.
Her eyes were completely ruined, the process of sewing her eyes shut having cut several gashes into them. They were completely white, and the only thing Liang Chen could see in them was despair, death, and pain. The girl slowly started to talk, struggling to get the words out.
"Young Master Daning... He was having an argument with his fiancee... Over the fact that he had slept...With one of the maids... I happened to overhear the argument... He made me sow my eyes... And mouth shut... Saying that he would spare my life... But then... Then he threw me to his... Soldiers..."
Her voice was filled with nothing but pure anguish and misery. The state of her body and voice alone filled Liang Chen with fury, but her words caused his blood to boil. For something as petty as that, he had done this? For something as petty as that, HE HAD DONE THIS TO AN INNOCENT GIRL?!
Liang Chen could feel his entire body tremble, he had to struggle to not clench his fists and accidentally harm the girl. Liang Chen had never met this Liu Daning before, but just for this single act, Liang Chen knew that Liu Daning had to die. And resonating with Liang Chen"s burning rage was his instincts. They cried out to erase the source of rage, to ease their boiling blood. And for the first time outside of battle, Liang Chen"s own thoughts perfectly aligned with his b.e.s.t.i.a.l instincts.
The thing that brought Liang Chen out of his furious state was a b.l.o.o.d.y hand that gently touched his face, a weak voice sounding out from the girl.
"Please... Please end this... Pain... This horrid pain... Please!"
Again, her voice was filled with nothing but anguish. She had been beaten and ruined, her chast.i.ty and purity tainted by several groups of men. Even if Liang Chen fed her more pills and fully healed her, she would simply kill herself. Liang Chen placed his own hand over the girl"s, his voice calm, quiet, and determined.
"I will. Rest easy and dream sweetly knowing the fact that Liu Daning will sooner or later follow you into death."
He didn"t know how strong this Liu Daning was, so he didn"t dare promise that he would immediately kill him. But the end result had been determined. Liu Daning had been judged, and the verdict was guilty, the sentence, death. The girl"s despairing eyes lit up slightly, her b.l.o.o.d.y lips curling faintly.
"My sweet... Angel of death... Thank you... Thank you..."
Liang Chen placed his hand on the head of the girl, his poison flooding into her body, peacefully and painlessly shutting down all her organs, granting her the release that she begged for. Liang Chen lifted up her lifeless body and carried it further away, finding an empty spot where he buried her beneath the snow.
He was too weak to dig a deep enough hole that could serve as a grave, but the snow in this hidden realm was everlasting, so it would have to do. After burying the girl, Liang Chen slowly walked back to the city, a light and self-deprecating laugh escaping his lips.
"Right, I almost forgot. While people like Yan Ying and his men exist, there are still countless numbers of sc.u.m out there. This peaceful time almost made me forget that."
The time he had spent with Yan Ying and the others was very enjoyable, they made him feel like he actually belonged, like he had a safe place where he could rest. And that feeling of safety almost made him forget the horrors he had seen. But now he had gotten a grim reminder of what the world could truly be like, now he promised himself that he would never allow himself to forget it again. The heavens wouldn"t punish people like Liu Daning, so he would have to do it for them.
He quickly made his way through the city, heading to the market. The market in this city was far larger than the one he had seen in the first city he had been in, it was so larger that Liang Chen wasn"t able to see the end of it. He paid the tax needed to enter the market and followed the directions of a guard he had asked.
He quickly arrived at a small booth located a few kilometers away from the market entrance, a booth run by a tall woman clad in a pale pink robe. Seeing the cloaked Liang Chen walking up to her, she quickly put on a seductive smile.
"What are you looking for?"
Liang Chen didn"t waste any time, taking out a small interspatial ring and tossing it at the woman.
"Information on Liu Daning, everything you have. Price is no problem."
The woman was slightly annoyed at Liang Chen"s brusque mannerism, but once she checked the contents of the interspatial ring, her face bloomed into a brilliant smile.
"Pleasure doing business with you!"
She quickly tucked away the ring, as if she was worried that Liang Chen would change his mind. She then cleared her throat and started to list all the information that she had.
"Liu Daning, an unaffiliated cultivator who has reached the late stage of the Heaven"s Gate realm, the Heaven"s Gate stage. He cultivates the elements of wood and water for defense and uses the strange element of piercing for attacks. He currently resides within the Second Cloud Palace, the place with two towers, along with his fiancee and several cultivators who have chosen to follow him. He rarely leaves the palace, worried about ambushes. So he either sends his henchmen or walks onto the large balcony on the third floor and shouts out his orders to whoever can hear them."
This woman was the best information broker in the city, which was why Liang Chen had chosen to go to her after asking the guards of the market for directions. While speaking, she even brought out a small crystal and filled it with Qi, showing Liang Chen an image of Liu Daning and his fiancee. Liang Chen gave a nod of his head, turning around and leaving the market.