Chapter 290: 299 Guests Arrive

"It is over."

Leaving behind a crowd of bewildered martial artists, the scarred man did not wait for them to rely on their brains to fill in the gaps and restore their logic after losing a large chunk of memory, nor for them to regain their sanity and act like people again; he simply waved his hand and turned to walk out of the main hall.

The tall woman watching from the side was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed.

On the road, the two moved with great speed, heading all the way upward, leaving the gloomy and oppressive Di Ku through a secret exit and returning to an inconspicuous small courtyard in Jichun City.

The small courtyard was clean and tidy, perhaps even excessively so; the rooms and courtyard had almost no furniture, giving a feeling of being bare. Only in the inner room was there a table, and on the table sat a large Time Jar.

Once inside the courtyard, with no one else around, the tall woman could not help but ask: "Is this enough?"

The scarred man laughed in response: "Is it not enough? Are you saying you want to eliminate future trouble by killing them all? That is not impossible. It is just that it would be bad for the reputation of Zhuoyu Villa, and Azhao also told me to commit fewer killings. Let it be."

Veins bulged slightly on the tall woman's forehead as she said: "That is not what I meant. I am asking, what happened just now? You poked through a piece of paper, then left, and they became fools?"

The scarred man smiled and explained: "They are not fools, they have just forgotten. Did you see the words written on the paper just now? Those words, that entire set of interrelated terms and logic, disappeared from their heads because of that one Sword Technique. If they want to get their brains working safely and normally again, it will take at least a few days of self-repair. Some people do not have much substance in their heads to begin with, and having so much taken out at once, they might not have anything left. For them, I can only say I am sorry."

The tall woman was stunned for a moment; before she could wonder if he even understood what it meant to be sorry, she asked in astonishment: "How is such a thing done? Is it Sword Art?"

The scarred man said: "It is Sword Technique."

The tall woman immediately shut her mouth. Sword Art was already strange and varied, each with its own marvelous uses, but it still had its limits. The level of Sword Technique, however, was even higher, exceeding the understanding of ordinary people. One could only say that whether one believed it or not, existence was reasonable.

The scarred man toyed with the transparent Sword that seemed to disappear into the air and laughed: "Originally, this matter should have been handled by another more suitable lad. But he went down, and only sent this Sword back. There was no choice, so I had to run back and forth. I am exhausted."

As he spoke, he curled his hand back, used the tip of the Sword to lightly pick at his face, and then gave a tug, peeling off the scar-covered skin to reveal sharp, handsome features.

It was Xing Ji.

The woman opposite was Yun Xiyan. She examined this face, which she had become increasingly familiar with over the past few days, and said: "Your makeup is truly impressive. Those scars look so real, you cannot tell at all."

Xing Ji laughed: "It is precisely because the disguise is terrifying that people are afraid to look closely, making it hard to see through. But that is only because you are unfamiliar with it; it could not fool an old acquaintance. For example, that Black Widow. She saw through it the first time we met, and then forced me to return the money I had swindled from her."

Back when Xing Ji was disguised as the scarred man, bossing people around and issuing tasks at the Ghost Grinding Mill, he happened to run into Black Widow, who had come to trade for information. Xing Ji naturally gave her a task without batting an eye, earning a sum of money from her in the process, but Black Widow saw through him at a glance and glared at him, demanding he return the money. Xing Ji had no choice but to stop playing games and exchange information with her openly using his real face.

Yun Xiyan was stunned for a moment and said: "You even swindle your own people?"

Xing Ji sighed: "I did not want to. However, ever since I was fired by the Marquis, my salary was cut off. I finally invested in a business, but it was a money pit. After all these years, I have not seen a return, and I have had to pay out of my own pocket and put in my own labor, losing a complete mess. I am so poor now I might as well be begging."

Yun Xiyan said: "Then do not swindle others. If you are short on money, I will lend it to you."

Xing Ji was the one stunned this time, then he burst into laughter: "That is not necessary, Miss Yun. Tomorrow, when Tang Zhao comes out of seclusion, he will have to reimburse my money down to the last cent, plus interest. Haha, the debt he owes this time is too much; he will not be able to pay it back for a while. When the time comes, if he has no money, you can lend it to him. Let us go, we are heading up the mountain."

Yun Xiyan said: "Up the mountain? Really going up the mountain?"

Xing Ji said: "Of course, it is time to go up the mountain. I have been in Jichun City for half a month, and you have not been up Jiugao Mountain yet, have you? Let us go together. Oh, right."

He looked back at the Time Jar on the table and pointed at it with a smile: "Move our Reception Hall."

Yun Xiyan said "Oh," and picked up the large jar. It felt heavy in her hands, but she had a strange feeling in her heart—who could have imagined that this jar contained a world of its own, and that she herself had just come out of it?

The next day, a calm and tranquil morning.

"Morning." The Young Inspector of the Profound Water Inspectorate finished washing up and came out of her room in the Reception Hall, just in time to see an old woman walking toward her from the opposite side; it was the only remaining old lady in the Reception Hall, the swordswoman surnamed Xun.

Although the Young Inspector had only been up for two days, she had already noticed quite a few things—for instance, the number of people in the Reception Hall fluctuated, and people often disappeared into the lake under the cover of night. Also, the Reception Hall hid several people who were not to be trifled with.

Among them was a beautiful woman who had walked back and forth like she was patrolling the streets with several sons, only to suddenly disappear one day. There was also a "Young Master Guang," who was always mysterious and rumored to be elusive, though the Young Inspector had not seen him do anything extra since she arrived; instead, she found him exceptionally reclusive. The last one was the old lady.

This old woman usually did not seem out of the ordinary. The Young Inspector had seen her a few times and only felt that she was elegant and possessed a noble temperament that commanded respect. However, there was a legend about her: she had gone out on a boat with a group of old men, and in the end, only she returned, while the others were never seen again, dead or alive.

Although this rumor was unverified, the Young Inspector remained very vigilant, maintaining a smile as she brushed past the old woman, fearing she might offend her without knowing it.

"Morning, did the little girl sleep well last night?" the old lady Xun asked with a smile.

The Young Inspector said politely: "Quite well. I slept through until dawn."

Old lady Xun nodded and smiled: "Indeed, it was very quiet last night, very suitable for a sound sleep."

The Young Inspector hesitated for a moment; she knew what the old woman meant. In fact, everyone knew. When the fire in the center of the lake started last night, how many people had been itching to act, waiting for the chaos to start so they could fish in troubled waters.

However, there was no follow-up.

Soon, the fire disappeared.

It truly disappeared, without even a gradual extinguishing process; at a certain moment, it suddenly vanished, and the sky instantly returned to darkness, leaving only the thick, uniform color of the sky and water.

Many people waited, unwilling to give up, but after a long time, there was no sound at all. Although the Young Inspector was curious, she was eventually overcome by sleepiness and went back to rest, and sure enough, she slept until broad daylight.

Zhuoyu Villa was indeed formidable, able to extinguish a great chaos so cleanly and efficiently, however...

"This is too quiet. It should not be this quiet."

She could not help but add that.

It was a good thing there was no chaos, but it was strange that it was excessively quiet in other respects.

Had the Sword Casting not reached its most critical moment?

Before the Sword Casting succeeded, were there no signs? Not even a hint of flame could be seen in the Sword Furnace; was this Sword being cast by ghosts?

Or was it that the Sword Casting had failed entirely, and that cluster of flames last night was not an enemy attack, but the Sword Furnace exploding?

The Young Inspector shook her head. It was not that she had never seen a Sword Casting fail at the final moment, but usually, even if it failed at the ninety-ninth step, the final failure would be earth-shattering; it was rare for it to fail so silently.

When things are abnormal, there must be demons.

She became even more suspicious.

Besides, today was the big day, right? Why were there no preparations for the grand assembly?

Just as she was thinking this, she heard someone say: "Distinguished guests, the ship is here, please board the ship to head to the venue."

The old woman smiled and said: "It seems the host is not ignoring us after all."

The Young Inspector met up with her companions and walked out of the Reception Hall together.

A Great Ship was docked at the lakeside in front of the Reception Hall.

This ship, how to put it... it was not that the Young Inspector had never seen a good ship; she had seen ocean-going sailing ships, large wooden boats on rivers, and even pleasure boats on lakes; she had even seen the imperial dragon boat. But the style of this ship was something she had never seen before.

This Great Ship was actually made of metal, the hull shimmering with a silvery-white metallic luster, and the body had a strange, streamlined shape, like a drill bit boring through steel, possessing a sense of powerful aesthetics.

In front of the ship, a round-faced young man with a Sword on his back was pacing around, constantly stroking the hull and making sounds of admiration.

On the deck and the pier, Disciples dressed in neat uniforms were already welcoming guests onto the ship. The Young Inspector did not reveal her identity and followed her companions onto the ship.

There were spacious and bright cabins on the ship, but there were also seats on the deck. The Young Inspector saw that Young Master Guang and the others were all on the deck, seemingly unwilling to enter the cabins and preferring to stay on the deck to look at the scenery, so she did not enter the cabins either.

Finally, the thin, elderly man who had been guarding the Reception Hall boarded the ship and shouted, "Everyone get on board! That Sword Student kid, stop looking and get on board quickly."

The round-faced young man boarded the ship reluctantly. The old man said, "Alright, everyone is on board. Everyone, let me offer a belated introduction. This old man is called Ping Jiangqiu, and I am the master of this temporary Reception Hall. I didn't host you properly before, so now I am here to see you off on your final journey."

The phrasing "final journey" was quite ominous, causing everyone to frown, save for the old woman who watched him with interest.

Ping Jiangqiu kicked the gangplank away, and the Great Ship moved away from the shore automatically, yet it did not ride the wind and waves, but instead stopped right on the water's surface.

He stood at the bow of the ship, raised his hand slightly, and then let it fall:

"Sword Art Jar Storage—Release!"

The sky, the water, the embankment, and that Reception Hall suddenly solidified.

Then, it cracked like shattered porcelain.

Clatter—

From all directions, it fell away like a Fragment, revealing a marshy water surface that looked like shattered stars.

In the distance, the plank road, white cranes, Sword Furnace, and Sword Hut were in plain sight.

Zhuoyu Villa, we have arrived!