Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 287 - 280 Temporary End

Chapter 287: Chapter 280 Temporary End

Bang!

A huge firework burst into the night sky.

Red petals of light scattered down like fluttering dots.

Lin Xin followed the caravan, slowly moving through the bustling streets of Naxi, surrounded by the lively cheering crowd, some gathered in groups, playing with something that seemed to be colorful balls.

Some people were tossing small cube-shaped creatures back and forth in their hands, which changed shapes each time they were thrown and emitted colorful lights.

As the caravan passed by a roadside, a large crowd gathered around a small stage to watch a dancer. A few scantily clad dancers in black, veiled, with little fabric on them, swayed and sometimes revealed their private parts.

Below, people continuously shouted and threw Silver Taels.

Mmm~~~~~

In the distance, a huge silver-grey airship slowly flew across the sky, its sides carved with the heads of a stag and a wild boar. Its oval sails were layered upon one another, totaling dozens at a glance.

On the side of the airship, one could faintly see luxuriously dressed cultivator beauties looking down from the railings.

Several white, silver-crowned Immortal Cranes slowly circled the airship, the sunlight reflecting brightly off their crowns.

Ling’er watched with dazzled eyes, momentarily forgetting that she and the others were under the threat of the Red Spine Sect as she curiously looked around.

"Ling’er, haven’t you been here before?" Lin Xin asked casually.

"I have, but I’ve never encountered such a grand festival before. There are so many fun and delicious things!" she exclaimed excitedly, being just a girl of twenty.

"Naxi is huge. It originally consisted of several scattered towns in the middle area, but later, one of the towns flourished and merged with the others, combining all the towns into one giant city."

Uncle Wu, worldly and knowledgeable, admired, "What we see here doesn’t even make up one-twentieth of Naxi."

Bang!

Suddenly, pedestrians in the street ahead exclaimed in surprise and began to clear the way.

A bookish-looking young man strutted by holding an oil lamp with a swollen white fox floating above it like a balloon. The fox continued to dance but never left the confinement of the oil lamp.

"White Lantern Marten, five pieces of Shell Gold each!" he shouted directly to a few cultivators in the crowd.

However, everyone consciously avoided him, with only two women stepping forward to bargain.

The caravan bypassed him and continued onward, everyone overwhelmed by the bustling and peaceful scenery of Naxi.

"What is Shell Gold?" Lin Xin asked.

"It’s the common currency here," Uncle Wu explained. "Naxi is known as the city of cultivators. All sorts of substrates for cultivators, scriptures, can be bought here, but the prices are exaggerated. It’s okay for ordinary people to come and have a look, but if they really want to buy, perhaps just a small ordinary scripture would cost them their entire fortune. Moreover, even if they buy it, they might not be able to keep it safe, instead attracting trouble."

"City of cultivators..." Lin Xin looked up at the sky, noticing several cultivators flying past on magic artifacts. They were clearly Foundation Establishment Cultivators, such experts seen around here were indeed worthy of being called a city of cultivators.

"Naxi is known for being free and fair, accepting anyone from the Righteous Path to Demons and even monsters from the Outer Regions, as long as they don’t disrupt the order; hence, it’s one of the most bustling areas of the Central Prefecture, rivaled by only a few places like Lin’an," Uncle Wu explained.

The caravan moved slowly through the bustling crowd, showing the real scene of the Central Prefecture distinctly different from the outside.

After a while, a giant nearly five meters tall suddenly stood up from the side of the street.

The giant wore brown leather armor and a metal helmet, with a giant silver-white sword on his back, scanning his surroundings.

"Look! That’s Naxi’s unique giant guard!!" Ling’er yelled out. In this lively street, her shout was just a bit louder than most but nothing significant.

The crowd followed where she pointed, and they saw that the giant was somewhat hunched, his old grey-white skin occasionally visible beneath his armor.

He wore a black eyepatch over one eye and had a water pipe in his mouth, occasionally taking a puff and exhaling circles of white smoke.

The over five-meter-tall stature allowed him to survey the street from above, keeping a vigilant watch on the movements around him.

Lin Xin was also amazed; such sights were never seen in the impoverished Southern Prefecture, clearly, the giant was a specially recruited race.

Even after they had passed the giant, the group kept talking about what they had just seen.

The other escort masters, many of whom were experiencing the Naxi festival for the first time, felt like they had broadened their horizons and couldn’t stop talking about it.

Finally, they turned into a less crowded street. Most of the street vendors were selling stone statues, and the shops mainly dealt in stone materials, which made the area much less crowded and quite desolate.

The caravan finally had a moment to catch their breath.

"Our shipment is supposed to be delivered around here," Uncle Wu whispered.

"Mr. Hong, do you know what the plans are?" Ling’er and Lin Xin asked quietly while sitting side by side in the carriage.

"I need to find a few friends. As for you, if you haven’t been discovered by the Red Spine Sect, it’s still fine. But once discovered, you’ll have to carefully consider your next steps," Lin Xin replied softly.

"Being discovered is a matter of time, they might not notice us minor characters yet. After this escort mission, I plan to retire as I have almost saved enough money. Finding a good place to settle down and not coming out again would be nice," Uncle Wu said quietly.

"Me too, I’ve saved enough money. I plan to go back to my hometown, open a small martial arts school, and teaching disciples would be a good option," said another.

"I need to go home and get married."

"I’ve also saved enough for my son’s dowry."

The group of escort masters knew that the situation might turn bad later on, so they all planned not to continue in the business anymore.

"Now, we can only hope that the Red Spine Sect hasn’t paid any attention to us, the small fries who escaped death," Uncle Wu sighed.

Ling’er’s complexion also turned grave at this moment. Her father was a high-ranking official in the Escort Agency, and among those present, she was the one who could not escape. Once found out, she would have nowhere to hide.

Xiao Liu was in a similar situation. He had only joined the Escort Agency a few years ago and hadn’t saved enough money; finding another job quickly was not easy. There were also a few others in the escort team who felt similarly uneasy.

"Us old folks are still okay, but these young ones....," Uncle Wu didn’t finish his sentence, but Lin Xin understood what he meant.

"Heaven brings unexpected storms, and people encounter sudden fortunes and calamities. No one could have predicted this," Lin Xin remembered how Xiao Liu had taken good care of him on the road. This fellow was simple-minded, and he thought that it was time he settled down in the Central Prefecture. Always staying in inns or outdoors, he never felt at peace.

To truly relax, he needed a home of his own.

After pondering for a moment, he slowly spoke.

"If you folks have nowhere to go...."

Ling’er was the first to react, immediately straightening up and saying firmly,

"Please, sir, take us in! We’re skilled in martial arts, and protecting the estate won’t be a problem. Managing daily chores is also possible!"

Her mind was quick. This Mr. Red, although he had offended the Red Spine Sect, took this as a gamble. By following him, if nothing went wrong, soaring to great heights in the future would be no issue.

Most importantly, she was currently practicing her family’s mental method and had reached the Fourth Layer. With her talent, that was the ultimate limit. If she couldn’t find another path, she might spend her entire life stuck at this stage, merely hovering at the Heart Level, unable to make any progress.

Her father had experienced the same issue, suffering from the lack of further mental methods and a mentor’s guidance. So, this decision was simply a matter of resolve.

Though she was willing, Xiao Liu also showed an eager look of expectation, but the others were somewhat hesitant.

For them, following Lin Xin, who had offended the Red Spine Sect, would undoubtedly lead to endless troubles in the future. Wasn’t this clearly courting death?

Ling’er and Uncle Wu watched all this, and Lin Xin could immediately see the thoughts of the others.

Having lived for so many years, if he couldn’t even see through these basic social interactions, then he had lived in vain.

His gaze first lingered on Xiao Liu. This fellow was simple-minded and gave him a silly smile.

"Sir, I can protect the estate!"

Then, he looked towards Ling’er.

Ling’er came from a noble family, her goals were self-evident.

"Ling’er has always been frustrated by the inability to find a mentor, having no teacher to guide her, she could only practice the family’s mental method. Now that her family’s martial arts have reached their limit, there’s no path forward....," she said earnestly, "If Sir does not mind, Ling’er can also serve as a tea-serving maid. Just hoping for a bit of guidance."

Her words were coherent and her purpose clear, obviously, she had made her decision during the journey.

Lin Xin smiled.

He had made up his mind.

"I was indeed planning to settle somewhere. If you decide to follow me, be prepared to root yourselves elsewhere in the future."

"Of course!" Ling’er nodded. She had already discussed this with Uncle Wu during the journey. Since they had gotten involved in this matter, and they might be remembered by the Red Spine Sect, the only support they could rely on was this mysterious and unpredictable Mr. Red.

Xiao Liu hesitated for a moment but was quickly pushed by Uncle Wu from behind and hurriedly nodded.

"I have no issues! No issues!"

"You have no parents, nothing at home, you’ve always been a drifter. Following Mr. Red will surely make your life better than before. What is there to fear?" Ling’er whispered.

"I.... I still want to go back and find Xiao Hong...." Xiao Liu suddenly said, embarrassedly bowing his head.

"Don’t think too much, I’ll find you someone better than Xiao Hong in the future!" Ling’er whispered. To not grasp such a good opportunity would surely be a regrettable thing to recall in the future.

Although she was somewhat selfish, Mr. Red must have seen through this and didn’t mind. Moreover, his eyes had often fallen on Xiao Liu, clearly valuing his opinion more.

Ling’er, realizing this, made an effort to persuade Xiao Liu to follow along.

As the three of them conversed, a few other young people were moved, but Lin Xin did not even glance at them. Uncle Wu saw that Lin Xin was no longer interested in discussing this and did not let those young people speak further. Some opportunities, once missed, are unlikely to come again.

The several young people who saw this also felt somewhat regretful. But of course, it was already too late.

"Let’s do this: we’ll find a place to stay first, and then I will contact some old acquaintances here. I will inform you once we settle down," Lin Xin preliminarily decided on Ling’er and Xiao Liu, not wanting anyone else.

"We’ll follow all of Sir’s instructions," Ling’er responded smartly and deftly.

The caravan stopped at a stone shop; after safely delivering the goods and signing, Uncle Wu planned to head directly to the local Escort Agency, and Lin Xin also planned to part ways here.

The people from the Escort Agency were all somewhat uneasy, but since they did not want to follow Lin Xin, they had no choice but to head back to the Escort Agency.

Such matters also depend on luck, left to fate.

Lin Xin departed with Ling’er and Xiao Liu. As soon as the young lady said she was leaving, there was no hesitation, which Lin Xin somewhat admired.

She was different from Xiao Liu; after all, she had a father, a mother, brothers, and sisters, and yet she was still so decisive, showing good mental fortitude.

Before leaving, she only asked Uncle Wu to send a message to her family on her behalf, telling them not to worry, and then she left freely.

After parting with the caravan, Lin Xin came to the edge of a restaurant and turned into an alley. Suddenly, a piece of black jade slip - a sign of the Radiance Society of the Central Prefecture - appeared in his hand.

He asked Ling’er and the others to stand guard at the back entrance while he stood alone.

Following the content of the jade slip, he swiftly cast a Taoist talisman seal with spiritual energy. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), recommend it monthly, or read on mobile at m.qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)