296 A Human Demon
Just as they approached the city gate, Qin Huai stood in a long line, quietly surveying everything in Qingzhou City.
There seemed to be no order outside the city walls, with all kinds of gangs running amok. Although there were no brawls on the streets, armed fights could be seen in the alleys with some attention.
However, the city outside the walls had many amenities, such as taverns, apothecaries, blacksmiths, and brothels. The people even had fireworks, and the moat connecting to Qingzhou City had beautiful flower boats adorned with bright lights.
As he looked at the city gate, he saw that the few soldiers guarding it were actually highly skilled blood refinement martial artists.
“How strict,” he muttered. But just as he finished speaking, two figures charged out from the city, one in front and one behind.
The thick city gate that was more than ten meters tall was pulled down by one of them and flew toward Qin Huai like a dart. It was as if a huge ox demon phantom had appeared in midair, and a row of three pavilions was directly cut in half by the city gate.
The wind howled, and it almost brushed past Qin Huai’s cheek. Blood splattered everywhere, and wails instantly resounded throughout the entire city outside the walls. This power had clearly surpassed the bone pattern realm, causing Qin Huai to frown.
The two figures, one tall and one short, stood on the ruins beside Qin Huai. He followed the panicked crowd and hid across the street, watching them fight.
The man who threw the gate looked middle-aged, with muscles so strong that his black robe was very big. The young man opposite him looked to be in his early twenties, and blood trickled down the corner of his mouth, making him look rather pathetic.
“Feng Zhiqun! Are you trying to bully my Wuji Mountain?” the young man said fiercely.
“Don’t use Wuji Mountain to pressure me. The west side of the city isn’t your Wuji Mountain’s territory,” Feng Zhiqun sneered in response.
“A demon disguised as a martial artist of your Wuji Mountain killed innocent people outside Qingzhou City and instigated the relationship between the major sects. This is a huge matter!” the young man replied.
“Even if you’re the leader of Wuji Mountain, you can forget about entering the city for the time being!” Feng Zhiqun changed his words. “From today onwards, Qingzhou City will be temporarily sealed off! No one is allowed to enter!”
The young man clenched his fists, and his voice trembled. “You’re going too far!”
“Your words don’t count!” Feng Zhiqun did not listen at all. Clearly, this Ghost Ox sect was not weak either.
As soon as the city was sealed, the city outside the walls was in an uproar. This was especially true for the many martial artists lining up in front of the city gate. Some of them even wanted to barge in, but Feng Zhiqun turned his head and his eyes shot out a ray of light.
From dozens of meters away, he threw a punch across the air, as if a bull had broken out of his body. The few people who wanted to barge in instantly exploded into clouds of blood mist, which was sprinkled on the city wall with a long history.
After that, the crowd instantly fell silent, and no one dared to challenge Feng Zhiqun’s words.
“Good! Good! Alright!” exclaimed the young man. “You’re ruthless!” He quickly turned around and left, not wanting to continue pestering them.
Qin Huai, who was in the crowd, frowned. He did not expect to encounter such a thing as soon as he arrived in Qingzhou. They couldn’t even enter the city, let alone go to Wuji Mountain.
Qin Huai felt helpless and could only find an inn to stay in for the time being.
“Young Master, are you eating or staying?” asked a shrewd waiter who walked over.
“Fifty taels a night,” the waiter replied with a smile.
Qin Huai raised his head abruptly and looked into the waiter’s eyes, which did not seem to be faking it. Fifty taels… This was no different from robbery. In Lingjiang, a vitality pill only costs ten taels.
He carefully sized up the inn. It was ordinary, clean, and tidy. However, he was helpless now, so he could only pinch his nose and give in. “I’ll take one for now.”
Qin Huai gave the waiter fifty taels. He didn’t have much money on him, just ten thousand taels. Lingjiang county was in dire need of money, so Qin Huai didn’t think of taking more. In fact, Li Shaoxiang had insisted on giving him the ten thousand taels. He had not expected that he would not be able to enter Qingzhou City.
“Speaking of which, can that demon really transform into someone else?” Qin Huai listened to the people around him talk about demons.
“It’s said that the demon is no different from a human. His realm is no different from a visceral prefecture expert. He can speak human language, look like a human, and even master several cultivation techniques. It’s impossible to guard against. If that wasn’t the case, why would the major sects seal off the entire Qingzhou City? Tsk tsk. That damned demon!”
Everyone drank their wine, sighed, and shook their heads. They all looked helpless.
Qin Huai drank his wine. It seemed like he wouldn’t be able to enter Qingzhou City for the time being.
“I have to find a job outside the city,” Qin Huai pondered. He could either go to an apothecary and resume his old profession to gain more experience in medicine, or he could find a blacksmith shop and improve his forging skills. He could even find a sect with a good cultivation technique. They were all good choices.
“Tsk tsk, your spear is a little too crude~” said a voice in front of him. “A mid-grade power stone was forged into an elementary-grade artifact.”
Qin Huai focused his gaze and saw a half-grown child sitting on the bench, his feet not touching the ground.
“Hey uncle, I’ll give you this amount. Can you give me the spear on your back?” the young man said as he extended five fingers.
“My spear is wrapped in black cloth, so how can you tell if it’s good or not?” Qin Huai smiled. He didn’t ask in detail if the price was fifty thousand or five hundred thousand.
“It depends. A high-level artifact master can tell whether a treasured weapon is good or bad just by looking at it!” replied the young man, shaking his head in a stylish manner.
Qin Huai looked at the young man, afraid that he would say something like ‘I once said it’. “So, you’re a treasured weapon master?” he asked curiously.
“Of course not, but my father and grandfather are,” the young man boasted. “Our family is known for their expertise in artifacts.”