Stranger Danger

Noticing Cang Qingmei, Leng Tianjue, Gu Mingfei, Fei Fei and Tan Tao’s pale faces, Ye Qing reassured them with a kind smile, “Worry not. There is no way this senior is so petty that he would take his anger out on us just because we mentioned his name and spoke about him a little.”

He was right. A few breaths later, the enigmatic silhouette abruptly dissipated into wisps of dark light. The light slipped back into the statue, and the terrifying pressure enveloping the entire “Living Enter Not” was no more.

Of course, the wandering ghosts and spirits continued to tremble in fear even after the enigmatic silhouette was gone. It was clear that they were absolutely terrified of the Lord of Western Radiance.

Ye Qing, Feng Qingyou and Wen Anran paid them no attention. They continued to engage the group of five in conversation.

At first, the five warriors were still reserved and cautious. But two or three cups of wine down their throats later, they slowly began to relax. Gu Mingfei, Tan Tao and Fei Fei in particular suffered a little too much fright tonight and were tired in both body and mind. As a result, they fell into a deep slumber not long after they relaxed.

As for Ye Qing, Feng Qingyou and Wen Anran, they meditated after all five warriors had crossed over into dreamland.

An indefinite amount of time later, when the pitch black sky was finally ripped in half by a single ray of light, Ye Qing sensed something and abruptly opened his eyes.

He noticed that “Living Enter Not” was slowly turning transparent as the sunlight grew. It was the same for the wandering ghosts and spirits taking shelter in this place.

The living, breathing humans were the only ones who hadn’t experienced any change.

Curious, Ye Qing tried to touch the semi-transparent table in front of him. However, his hand passed right through like it was air.

A few breaths later, the entire inn disappeared into thin air like vapor under sunlight, leaving all the humans behind.

The snow was still falling.

“How magical,” Ye Qing murmured to himself. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would’ve been hardpressed to believe that such a large inn could just disappear into thin air like that.

To be specific, the inn hadn’t moved into the void, nor had it been shifted elsewhere by some sort of power. It had simply… evaporated into nothing like vapor. It truly was a magical experience.

“What happened? Why am I in the snow?”

“Where’s the inn?”

Without “Living Enter Not” to keep the elements at bay, Cang Qingmei, Leng Tianjue, Gu Mingfei and more quickly jolted back to reality.

Ye Qing reminded them, “Living Enter Not appears during the night and disappears during the day. Since dawn has broken, it is gone.”

Exclamations of realization and wonder broke out.

They engaged in idle chat with each other for a moment before Cang Qingmei looked at Ye Qing and asked, “Warrior Ye, Miss Qingyou, if you don’t mind me asking, where are you headed next?”

“Good question. You mentioned a Goddess City last night. When will the Goddess Festival begin?” Ye Qing asked.

Last night, Ye Qing learned that the group of five were disciples of the Lapis Lazuli Sect, and that the reason they were on the road was to participate in the Goddess Festival that was being held at Goddess City.

As it turned out, Wen Anran was headed there as well.

Speaking of the Goddess Festival, one must begin with the origin of Goddess City.

Goddess City was a martial sect in Yan. Two hundred years ago, a broken city had descended from the sky and landed on the ground. It was so broken that only three wall paintings remained intact. Each painting contained the portrait of a goddess.

By chance, a scholar named Chen Guanxing had stumbled into the city and witnessed the goddesses dancing under the moon with his own eyes. Later, he was blessed by the goddesses and taught the way of immortality. In just the span of one year, he had gone from a helpless scholar who couldn’t even wrestle a chicken to a Half Sage who possessed enough power to move mountains and command the weather itself. It was a feat that stunned everyone to say the least.

After he became a Half Sage, Chen Guanxing rebuilt the broken city into the current Goddess City and began recruiting disciples from all over the world. There was no one who hadn’t heard his name.

What really piqued the interest and curiosity of the jianghu people, however, was the fact that the goddesses in the three wall paintings would descend to the mortal realm every three years during a full moon to teach a lucky person the ways of immortality.

In short, Goddess City invited warriors from all across the world to visit them and partake in their goddesses’ blessing every three years. This grand event was called the Goddess Festival.

Of course, this so-called way of immortality couldn’t actually make someone immortal. It was just a gift consisting of Magias, secret arts, martial insights, enlightenment, natural resources and other tangible or intangible objects. Not only that, the gifts were all rare and valuable.

A beggar who was born a cripple made a full recovery after receiving a divine elixir from the goddess.

A woman so ugly that even a dog disdained her looks was transformed into a one-of-a-kind beauty by the goddess’ blessing.

A warrior with terrible talent was enlightened by the goddess and opened seven points in their heart. Since then, they progressed at a supernatural rate.

There was a qi practitioner who received the teachings of the goddess and entered a state of enlightenment. In three breaths, he broke three cultivation levels and became a Trueman.

……

The above were but the tip of the miracles that the goddesses had bestowed upon the people. Not only that, those favored by the goddesses were recruited as inner disciples by the city lord of Goddess City. In short, being chosen by a goddess was like being given a stairway to heaven.

Although the Goddess Festival only took place once every three years, and only three lucky people were chosen each time (each goddess would pick one lucky person), it was still an unbelievable boon. The aristocratic families or major sects did not care for such a boon since they already possessed the wealth and resources necessary to better their people at the same pace but on a much larger scale, but for the wanderers, inferiors, and independent warriors with little to no background to speak of, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they got lucky and were chosen by the goddesses, then their lives would be transformed… forever.

This was why countless jianghu people from all over the world came to the Goddess City to participate in the Goddess Festival every time it was held.

So, why was the group of five attending the Goddess Festival even though they were already part of a sect? It was because the Lapis Lazuli Sect was a small and weak sect, of course. If they got lucky, and the goddess chose one of them to receive her blessing, then their lives would be transformed forever. With that in mind, why on earth would they allow such an opportunity to slip through their grasp?

Ye Qing had grown interested in the Goddess Festival after hearing about it. If possible, he would like to attend the event and experience it in person—provided that it would not impact their travel schedule, of course.

“The Goddess City is about fifty kilometers to the east from here, and the Goddess Festival will take place about five days later.”

Cang Qingmei’s eyes lit up as she asked expectantly, “Are you planning to attend the Goddess Festival as well?”

“To the east? That sounds perfect. Would you like to attend the Goddess Festival, Qingyou?” Ye Qing turned around and asked.

“Why not? I have long heard about the Goddess Festival, but I was never able to experience it for one reason or another. Now that the opportunity has presented itself, I see no reason to reject it.” Feng Qingyou nodded with a smile.

“That’s awesome! I’m so glad I get to travel with you, sister Qingyou!” Fei Fei burst out in excitement.

Feng Qingyou patted her head and favored her with a kind smile.

“If everyone’s ready, then let us be off.”

Ye Qing tossed a paper doll into the air. When it hit the ground, it immediately transformed into a horse carriage.

“Wow! You have a horse carriage? That’s incredible!” Fei Fei’s eyes shone brightly as she ran circles around the horse carriage like a kid.

“Cutting People Into Paper?” Wen Anran spoke up, “I did not know that you are a master of this art, warrior Ye.”

“Please, I am no master. It is but the product of a convenient tool I own.” Ye Qing shook his head. “Those who wish to ride the horse carriage, feel free.”

“Heck yeah!”

Fei Fei had already jumped inside the horse carriage before Cang Qingmei could yell at her about her childishness.

“Thank you, warrior Ye, Miss Qingyou. I shall happily accept your offer.” Wen Anran thanked them and climbed into the horse carriage as well.

“Thank you, warrior.”

Cang Qingmei too voiced her thanks.

[1]

1. Without spoiling too much, you are about to learn why Ye Qing caught Joy Bodhisattva’s attention all those chapters ago. ☜

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