Chapter 183
Chapter 183: Groom Selection (2)
Inside the carriage.
The Heavenly Blade Dragon King sensed the 2 gazes from outside.
But he made no response.
That dignified face of his seemed weighed down by something.
"Lower the sedan!"
With a single shout, the 3 bridal procession groups that had completed their tasks finally gathered together in Soul-Return Town.
Everything was in place—all that remained was to carry these 3 Candidate Lords to the Forest of the Middle Grove to meet the legendary Phoenix Sovereign.
Just as Zhao Yan and Shadow were preparing to follow along and broaden their horizons, the procession leader from the Deep Pool Fortress walked over with a dark expression.
"What are you doing? What are all of you crowding around here for?"
He held a ledger in his hands and shouted rudely.
"Everyone doing Odd-Job Work—get over here!"
"Collect your wages for today, then go cool off somewhere else!"
Zhao Yan was taken aback. He wiped the mud from his face.
"Weren't we supposed to go to the Forest of the Middle Grove for the bridal procession? Aren't we going?"
"Go to the Forest of the Middle Grove? You lot?"
The steward tilted his nose skyward and let out a derisive laugh.
"Take a good look at yourselves and the rank you hold!"
"You're nothing more than the lowest class of Odd-Job Workers—and you expect to be granted entry into a place like that?"
"The Phoenix Sovereign's residence isn't somewhere filthy mud-covered people like you can just waltz into!"
"Collect your pay and get lost. Don't dirty this place!"
Being so humiliated by an NPC—even Zhao Yan, who had a good temper, felt the veins on his forehead bulge.
Shadow was even more indignant. She instinctively pointed toward the first sedan.
Over there, Guo Shuai was humming a little tune and strutting along at the very front of the procession.
"Then why does he get to go in?!"
Shadow demanded indignantly.
The procession leader glanced over at Guo Shuai in the direction Shadow pointed—and his expression held not disdain but reverence.
"Him?"
He rolled his eyes and fired back without missing a beat.
"He drew the Manure Hauler slot!"
"Without someone like him, the entire 2nd-ring district and the Forest of the Middle Grove would be flooded in filth within 3 days!"
The procession leader grew more and more animated as he spoke, practically spitting in Shadow's face.
"And you think you lot—carrying sacks and drinking muddy water—can compare?"
"Go on, get lost, take your money and leave!"
Shadow was left completely speechless, her chest heaving, yet unable to argue back. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and let it go.
The 2 of them collected their 20 taels of Silver Banknotes and were about to find a place to clean off the algae on their bodies.
Just then, Zhao Yan suddenly fixed his gaze on the other end of the street and nudged Shadow's arm.
"Little Shadow... look over there—who is that?!"
Shadow turned her head in the direction he pointed.
Not far ahead on the street, 4 people were making their way toward the inn.
Walking at the front was a tall woman with black silk stockings pulled over her head.
Beside her bounded a Circle-Face Entity.
Behind them was a pure-looking girl with rabbit ears.
And in the middle of this bizarre trio—being led by the hand by that rabbit-eared girl—was unmistakably Tang Sirui!
"Tang Sirui?! Wasn't he supposed to be out stealing things with Liu Ruyan?"
"How is he here?!"
Zhao Yan and Shadow exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and wariness reflected in each other's eyes.
Without any hesitation, the 2 of them shoved aside the townsfolk blocking their path and charged forward.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Before Zhao Yan could even get close, Han Fei instantly stepped in front of them.
Quanquan immediately sprang up from the ground, swinging fists left and right on the spot.
"That's right! No getting close!"
"Touch us and I'll flatten you into paper people!"
Quanquan growled, adorably ferocious.
Having been barred from the Forest of the Middle Grove, Zhao Yan and Shadow were already seething—and now they refused to back down.
"That's a question we should be asking you!"
Zhao Yan's entire body tensed. "That's one of our Huaxia Iron Wall Squad members!"
"What did you do to him to end up like this?!"
Shadow was even more direct—she reached for the S-Grade Shadow Dagger she had exchanged and raised it, ready to fight at any moment!
But...
Her hand found nothing at her waist.
Empty.
Shadow snapped her head up in shock—only to find her dagger perched on the fingertip of that silk-stocking woman.
Han Fei was spinning it lazily, without a care in the world.
"Drop the act in front of this desperado."
Han Fei stopped spinning the dagger and let out a cold laugh.
"How are you going to prove you're his teammates?"
"By being the loudest in the room?"
Hearing the words "this desperado," combined with that black stocking headgear—
Zhao Yan and Shadow's pupils contracted sharply.
"Silk-Stocking... Desperado?!"
The 2 of them stared at the bizarre getup on her face.
A figure who had once flashed briefly across the Sky Screen's Newcomer Leaderboard drifted into their minds—someone the bases had assumed long dead on Eerie Island.
And yet, here they were—meeting her in Soul-Return Town.
Seeing the shock on their faces, Han Fei raised an eyebrow with satisfaction.
"What? Scared? If you're smart, you'll back off—otherwise I'll let Quanquan bite you to death!"
"That's right! Quanquan will bite you to death!"
Quanquan dropped to all fours and bared its breath threateningly.
But the moment it finished, it suddenly realized something.
It looked up at Han Fei with wide, blank eyes.
"Silk-Stocking big sister... Quanquan doesn't have a mouth or teeth. How do I bite them to death?"
Han Fei was completely stumped by this brutally logical question. She rubbed her chin and began pondering with great seriousness.
"Hmm... uh... well, let me think about that one."
At that moment.
Tu Xiaowu, who had been hiding in the back, seemed to suddenly remember something.
She asked tentatively
"This... this mud-covered grandpa—you should be... Zhao Yan, right?"
Zhao Yan froze, eyeing the rabbit-eared girl warily. "You know me? You know that brat well?"
Tu Xiaowu nodded vigorously, her eyes reddening. "I remember Sirui mentioned you before."
"I'm Sirui's wife... Tu Xiaowu."
"Wife?!"
Shadow was so stunned she forgot all about her stolen dagger.
"Wait—that tombstone in the mass burial ground outside Soul-Return Town... you're the one who put it up?"
Tu Xiaowu nodded. Then she explained from the beginning—how Tang Sirui had been ambushed, and how his identity had been stolen and replaced.
She held nothing back.
By the time Tu Xiaowu finished her account, Zhao Yan and Shadow finally understood everything.
So the "Tang Sirui" who had been eating and traveling with them was a complete fake all along!
No wonder he hadn't brought his bamboo pole—and the Dimensional Equipment Storage Ring on his hand had vanished, too!
At the time they had assumed it was lost. But looking back now, the signs had been overwhelming.
And the Tang Sirui standing before them now—though reduced to a walking corpse—still had his blind man's bamboo pole and his spatial ring, both intact.
Who was real and who was fake? Any person could see it.
"Damn them—it has to be the Arashin-Kai!"
Zhao Yan clenched his fists in fury. "Only they'd have the means to resist Elder Yue Tian's Interrogator."
Beside them, Han Fei and Quanquan were completely lost, not understanding a word of what was being said.
"Who are these 2 anyway? Are we not fighting anymore?"
Han Fei tossed the dagger back to Shadow and tilted her head in confusion.
Tu Xiaowu quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Everyone here is Sirui's friend—let's not stand in the street like this."
"The Candidate Lord's sedan has already gone to the Forest of the Middle Grove. Let's head back to my father's shop first."
"The food will get cold. We can talk over the meal."
Everyone had their own thoughts, but there was nothing else to be done—and so they all agreed.
Zhao Yan and Shadow followed Tu Xiaowu's group, hearts heavy, toward Tu's Rabbit Meat.
......
At the same time.
Inside Soul-Return Town, in the Forest of the Middle Grove.
Unlike the bustling marketplace atmosphere of the outer town, this place was an expanse of magnificent palace halls.
Pavilions and towers, ornately carved beams and painted rafters.
The courtyards were filled with red flowers and plants that gave off a strange fragrance, and ancient trees towered high enough to blot out the sky.
Between the artificial rock gardens and flowing streams, faint celestial music seemed to drift in the air.
This was the true palace of Soul-Return Town—and the Phoenix Sovereign's private domain.
【Forest of the Middle Grove.】
3 great red bridal sedans, escorted by a host of Ghost Constables, came to rest before the vermilion gates of the Forest of the Middle Grove.
In a corner outside the sedans.
Guo Shuai gloated to himself with quiet delight.
‘Heh heh! My people, who could understand this feeling?’
‘Today, Guo Shuai has officially become a cut above the rest!’
‘Didn't think this TFboy's privileges would be this useful—next time I play, I'm picking Manure Hauler again!’
Just as he was practically floating on air, the townsman who had brought him in pinched his nose and walked over, pointing with clear distaste toward the corner wall.
"Hey, you—new Manure Hauler! Stop standing there grinning like an idiot!"
"Tonight's night soil is full. Get to the storeroom and haul those 2 most rancid buckets out to the cesspit outside the town!"
With that, the steward kicked 2 enormous wooden buckets over to Guo Shuai's feet.
"Ugh—"
Guo Shuai caught one single whiff of whatever had been fermenting in those things for god knows how many years.
He nearly hurled up everything he'd eaten at last year's New Year's dinner!
All at once, he felt an overwhelming desire to take back his earlier declaration of ‘I'm picking this again next time.’
But there was nothing to be done—he'd drawn the lot himself, and he'd have to grit his teeth and see it through.
‘Just consider it an early scouting run to check the internal layout of the Forest of the Middle Grove for the boss.’
Guo Shuai choked back his disgust, pinched his nose, and waved a quick farewell to Jiang Nan inside the sedan.
Then, looking utterly miserable, he hauled those 2 hundred-jin buckets of night soil and staggered off toward the rear courtyard, swaying with every step.
Once Guo Shuai had gone far enough, the procession leader stepped up before the 3 bridal sedans and bent respectfully at the waist.
"Please wait a moment, the 3 Candidate Lords."
"I will go inside at once to announce your arrival to the Phoenix Sovereign."
"From here, the Phoenix Sovereign will conduct one-on-one interviews with each of you in the main hall of the Forest of the Middle Grove..."
With that, the steward retreated backwards through the gates.
......
Inside the 2nd bridal sedan.
Muraguchi Kazusu, who had been deep in unconsciousness, was finally jolted awake—forcibly—by Corporal Morishita pressing on his philtrum from the shadows.
"Lord Muraguchi! Lord Muraguchi, wake up!"
"We've arrived at the Forest of the Middle Grove—we're about to meet the Phoenix Sovereign!"
At the words "Phoenix Sovereign," Muraguchi Kazusu snapped to attention with a violent shudder.
He forcibly drove those humiliating images of his wife and his father from his mind.
Drew a deep breath. Steadied himself.
"Yoshii!"
Muraguchi Kazusu straightened his samurai kimono.
"Morishita-kun, rest assured!"
"I will use the bearing of a warrior of our great Sakura Empire to utterly move the Phoenix Sovereign's heart!"
"And even if... that approach fails—"
"I have other methods. I will win this selection by whatever means necessary!"
In the shadows, Corporal Morishita was moved to tears.
"Lord Muraguchi, may fortune favor your blade!"
"To avoid holding you back, I will slip out now and gather intelligence on Soul-Return Town from the shadows."
"Go."
Muraguchi Kazusu gave his approval.
Indeed—if the Phoenix Sovereign discovered a stowaway hiding inside the sedan, his candidacy might be eliminated on the spot.
And at that same moment, inside the 3rd sedan—the one that had returned from the Deep Pool Fortress—
The Heavenly Blade Dragon King sat bolt upright, but those gray vertical pupils of his were filled with restlessness and anxiety.
He pressed his fists tight, fingernails digging deep into his palms.
'There's no more time...'
'The seal on the Imperial Mausoleum is loosening.'
'I must report to the Phoenix Sovereign as soon as possible!'
'Otherwise...'
'Not just this island—all of the Savage Realm, every living soul under heaven, will face annihilation!'
Just as he burned with urgency—
Suddenly!
The Heavenly Blade Dragon King's body gave a violent shudder!
"Strange..."
He snapped his head around, fixing his gaze on the 1st bridal sedan stopped at the very front.
"Why is it that the bloodline within me—silent for countless ages—is now trembling with a thrill it cannot suppress?!"
"Could it be... that the one seated inside that sedan is one of my kin?!"
In an instant, the Heavenly Blade Dragon King's gray pupils erupted with 2 beams of blazing light!
His gaze pierced straight through the red curtain of the 1st sedan and reached inside.
Within the carriage—
He saw a handsome, black-haired young man dressed in a dark flying fish robe, leaning lazily against the side of the sedan.
A notepad covered the upper half of his face. He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed.
The Heavenly Blade Dragon King stared at that face—half-obscured by the notepad—and his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
‘This human... why does he look somewhat familiar?’
He stared intently at Jiang Nan for a full 3 seconds, then ultimately shook his head.
‘Never mind...’
‘He's likely just a companion of those 2 human Odd-Job Workers from earlier.’
‘The perception disruption from the curse must be causing me to see things.’
The Heavenly Blade Dragon King withdrew his gaze, forced the stirring in his chest back down, and continued waiting anxiously for the summons.
......
Before long, a full 10 minutes of tense waiting passed.
Creak—
The vermilion gates of the Forest of the Middle Grove swung open.
2 handmaidens dressed in ancient emerald-green gauze robes stepped out from within.
"By the Phoenix Sovereign's decree."
The 2 handmaidens stood at the top of the steps.
"The Sovereign says: you have come from afar, and all who arrive are guests."
"In the spirit of Soul-Return Town's hospitality, today's interviews shall be conducted in the reverse order of the processions' return!"
The 2 handmaidens gave a gentle curtsy in unison, then turned their gaze toward the very last sedan.
"Please welcome the Candidate Lord returned from the Deep Pool Fortress—"
"Enter the grove. Your interview awaits."