Ascending Towards the Sun

Chapter Nine The story of Xiao XingChen

After entering the city, the two walked side-by-side through the bustling crowd. All of a sudden, Lan Zhan stopped.

How is the Curse Mark? Asked Lan Zhan

Jin Ling was buried too close to our dear friend and got stained with quite a lot of resentful energy. It faded a bit, but it's not completely gone. But I have healed quite a bit of it, the chances are we can only find a way to remove it after we find the whole corpse or at least the head, or I absorb it and I do not want to do that here without some assistance from my uncle. It doesn't really cause much trouble anyways. Said Hua Ying

How much is 'a bit'? Asked Lan Zhan

A bit is enough for someone like me. How do I explain it? Should I take my clothes off and show you? Asked Hua Ying

Take them off once we find a room said Lan Zhan indifferently

Hua Ying laughed, whirled around, and walked a few steps facing backward. You know you are different than from what you were before, should I remove my clothes as I am now or as my female for Second master Lan? Teased Hua Ying,

Lan Zhan, do you think that the people who set our dear friend's hand in Mo Village and made it attack your juniors, and the people who sewed his legs on another corpse and buried them in the wall, are the same group of people? He asked

There are two groups. Said Lan Zhan

Well, I agree. Taking such pains to sew the legs to another corpse and hide them in a wall obviously meant that they didn't want the limbs to be discovered. If so, they wouldn't have purposely tossed out the left hand to attack the Gusu Lan Sect's people, since it would definitely have caused attention and investigation. One went to great lengths to hide everything, while the other attacked rashly, almost as if it wanted to be discovered.

They're probably not the same group of people. Said Hua Ying the people who hid the legs knew about the Qinghe Nie Sect's Saber Hall tradition, while the people who let the left hand loose knew about the Gusu Lan Sect's plans. I don't think any of them have simple intents. There are more and more secrets. Pouted Hua Ying

One step at a time. Said Lan Zhan

I've never been to Yueyang. Before, I've always had other people to inquire about things for me. This time, I'm going take a break and you can go ask around. Would you mind, second master Lan? Asked Hua Ying

Lan Zhan turned around and got going at once. Wait. Lan Zhan, may I ask where you're going? Asked Hua Ying

To find the cultivational sect of this area. Said Lan Zhan as he looked back

Taking Lan Zhan by the hand he pulled him in the opposite direction. Why would you find them? This is their area; even if they know, they wouldn't tell you. They either couldn't deal with it and hid it so that they didn't lose face or tried as hard as they could since they didn't want other people to meddle with things. My honorable second master Lan, it isn't that I want to purposely shame you, but you really can't do without me when handling things outside. If you ask around in such a manner, I'd be surprised if you actually managed to get results. Said Hua Ying and Lan Zhan intertwined their fingers without Hua Ying noticing

Mn replied Lan Zhan

What did you Mn for? That's not how you should've responded. Laughed Hua Ying

Then, how should I ask? Asked Lan Zhan

Go over there, of course. Said Hua Ying as he pointed toward a wide street. Bright red banners of all shapes and sizes hung on both sides of the street, fluttering in the wind. Every single shop opened its doors widely, with round, black jars placed from within to outside the entrance. There were also waiters holding trays of small liquor bowls, recommending their shops to the passerby. The strong scent of liquor drifted throughout the street. No wonder Hua Ying walked slower and slower. He stopped altogether when they arrived at the next street corner, and even dragged Lan Zhan to a halt.