Soft Mist Inn, third floor suite.

“Are all the rich and powerful here so quick to make threats and push their names about?” said Aryon as soon as they arrived at their room.

“Forgive us, lord, for not reacting sooner.” said one of the sect elders.

He waved it off and sat down in one of the cushioned chairs. Their suite was luxurious to be sure, if a bit foreign for his tastes; a large and well-furnished living room of sorts with six modest bedrooms adjacent. ‘The luxury is lost on me, sadly.’

“Who was that ruffian?” he asked.

“A clansman of the local Bai clan. They own parts of the city, lord, and are one of the local powers in the prefecture.”

“So a noble, huh?” Aryon said with disdain. He never felt kinship with nobility despite being a king of a kingdom. ‘Tarminian kings did it right, only having their apprentices earn the crown.’

“In my land the nobles were more… subtle in their aggravations. That one didn’t even hesitate to throw implications at my face.”

“Again, forgive us lord.”

Aryon would be sighing now if he could. “Bah. Nevermind. Let us just forget that and settle in.”

Dragon Border Gate City streets

It didn’t take long for his sect to finish settling in. With dusk still a few hours off, Feng Yan found himself with Lord Aryon, Liu Wong and a sect elder as they wandered the city.

Lord Aryon didn’t want to ‘stand out’ since the incident at the hotel lobby, so he took up a disguise. It was an amazing sight that made even the elders gasp when he used a mystic art to change his form: from that of a tall, armoured man into one of the elders in the group.

Aryon swore to do no mischief in this form to allay the copied elder, and wore a hat to hide himself. It was strange and funny in Feng Yan’s eyes, seeing the elder being flustered and arguing with his mirror image.

They wandered without a particular destination, toured around by the sect elder who visited the city often. Along the way they visited many shops and stalls and viewed street performances, famous places and strange sights.

“I must admit, this city could rival even a major city in Tarminas.” he heard Aryon say. “But it is not as peaceful.”

They walked passed three random brawls amongst cultivators during their sightseeing. Feng Yan explained that it was a common occurrence amongst the lower-realm practitioners in the city, but large-scale violence almost never happened because of the guards.

“You cultivators are so prickly when it comes to pride. Speaking of guards, I see red-armoured ones and black-armoured ones. Are they both from the garrison?”

“No lord.” said the elder with them. “The red armoured ones are from the Ye clan.”

“Mhm. I read about them. The other local power here.”

“Just so. Patriarch Ye served as an imperial officer and earned many merits before retiring here with his family and soldiers loyal to him. He is a good man of excellent morals, but recently our relations with them have soured.”

“Why so?”

“Patriarch Ye has been missing from the public eye recently. His younger brother, Ye Shao, manages the sect in his absence and has caused friction between us for control of the southern villages.”

“Oh.”

They continued meandering through the city streets, stopping once to eat at Aryon’s treat at a noodle stand. The lord himself didn’t join them, opting to stand and watch the road with its busy people.

Feng Yan didn’t try to invite him: most cultivators at lord Aryon’s level of power usually obtained nourishment from the heavens and the earth.

“Can lord tell us why he’s going to an auction?” he asked while he ate.

“Hm? Ah. I need it to create something called a focus. I’ll spare you the finer details and tell you that it improves spells- that is, mystic arts.”

“Lord knows a lot of mystic arts. Do you know any martial techniques?”

Mystic arts are pure manipulations of Spirit Energy whilst martial techniques combine Spirit Energy with physical abilities and movements. Some martial techniques even combine mystic arts together as part of the technique.

“Hah, no. I tend to fight from a distance. But I do know boxing and wrestling back in my academy days. Useful for getting people off me when they get close.”

“If lord wishes, I am sure the sect can provide him with material for techniques.” chimed in Liu Wong as he slurped down his bowl.

“I might read some out of study, but I doubt it’ll be of use for me. Finish up, now. It is getting late. We will continue our tour tomorrow.”

“Some Green Blade Forest Sect disciples and elders went out into the city, but they were simply looking around like tourists. Here are the details”

The elder bowed and handed over a scroll to the young woman seated on a couch before him. She gave it a quick read before setting it aside.

“No news on their benefactor?”

“No, young mistress. He hasn’t left the room as far as we can tell, but we cannot penetrate the hotel room without alerting the Soul Core elders within.”

“Nevermind then.” she said with a sigh. “Best if we don’t try and push this angle too far and risk offending whoever that man is. What of the scroll?”

“It should be at the auction house now.”

“And the competition?”

“The Ye clan will come on the day of the auction. Ye Shao himself and a retinue of guards will be taking part in the bidding.”

Another sigh came from the young woman. “Anyone else?”

“A carriage bearing imperial colours recently came through the Dragon Border Gate and will likely be here tomorrow. No news on who’s inside, but we’re fairly certain it’s for the scroll.”

The woman took a cup of tea from a nearby table and sipped. “Focus on that for now.” she said. “And where’s that idiot of a brother of mine?”

“Ah. In the inn, with his… partners.”

“Ugh. What’s his plans tomorrow? He better not cause trouble in the city again.”

“That I do not know. But rest assured that Guardian Ji will be with him.”