The Zun twins ran into the house without a care, but Tien Huang clearly had a bit more reservations than them. He remained inside the doorway without actually setting foot into the room, maintaining his friendly smile as he waved over the two children.
"Please don't mind them, I haven't had the heart to make them grow up just yet."
The Zun twins were only around eight or nine, but that was actually a perfectly acceptable age to start losing your childishness. The main reason behind this was the cruelty that was ever-present in the cultivation world. The actual age at which you had to grow up differed based on how brutal the area you lived in was, but a person generally had to have an adult mindset by the time they turned 15. Tien Huang was slightly worried about it, but Liang Chen ruffled the curly hair of the kids without much care.
"Don't worry about it, I don't mind. They're just kids, and they should be allowed to remain like that as long as they can, nothing good will come out from being forced to grow up early."
He could see the necessity in it, when battle and rivalry was a constant state of life for some groups, their children were forced to grow up early. But understanding it was not the same as accepting it, children should be allowed to enjoy their childhood. Of course, his own childhood played a large part in this train of thought.
He was 12 when his parents were taken from him, and then he had been forced to grow up practically overnight. And it was only when they were taken from him that he realized how important some small childhood experiences could be, just running around the city with some friends now felt so distant and nostalgic. Tien Huang refrained from commenting on Liang Chen's statement, changing the subject and moving on to his true reason for coming.
"I got the report from Physician Dou...It doesn't look too good. If he can't help you, then we can only let time run on and hope for a miracle. Of course, I gave you my word and I intend to keep it, I can give you a job as a librarian starting as early as tomorrow if you want to. Of course, I would personally recommend that you spend a week or three resting first, your wounds may have healed favourably thanks to the medicines, but it wouldn't be good to start working straight away."
A librarian was one of the more highly sought after jobs, and for good reason, you could basically just sit around all day and just go through book after book. It was relaxed, fairly easy, and you could increase your own wealth of knowledge by just having a slight bit of motivation to read. Liang Chen didn't dwell too long on the job he was offered, tapping the two kids on the head and ushering them towards Tien Huang.
"I'll just go along with what you've said, resting for a bit sounds like a good idea. But a bit of walking is hardly going to mess with my wounds, so how about we do as this one so eagerly shouted out and look at the sights? Should be quite a few in the city, no? And oh, I should probably know about the larger organizations here if I am to work here in the future, so do you think you can tell me about them too?"
An elemental had ascended to the Sovereign God realm right in this city, so if there were any sights to behold here then they would most likely be attached to that elemental or its ascension. And as long as they were connected to something like that, the odds of them being shabby were extremely low, some of them might even provide opportunities to grow stronger.
Liang Chen's willingness to tag along with them brought a smile to Tien Huang's face, it was a clear indication that he wasn't entirely against growing closer with them. As such, he nodded his head and stepped aside so that Liang Chen could leave the room, patting the excited children on the head.
"We've got more sights than you can imagine so I promise that you won't be disappointed. Zun Zhao, Zun Zhi, I'll leave him to you, make sure he doesn't wander off and get lost."
Tien Huang spoke with a light chuckle to joke around, but the Zun twins took it exceedingly serious. They immediately hopped over to Liang Chen and took up positions next to him, each one grabbing onto one of his hands and not showing the slightest intentions of letting go.
Tien Huang's lips curved up somewhat bitterly, but Liang Chen simply shrugged his shoulders and allowed the kids to act as they did. Tien Huang mentally let out a breath of relief, the person they had picked up on the way luckily seemed to have a rather kind and calm personality. A more murderous or arrogant person might have already flipped out at being approached so aggressively and nonchalantly by two kids.
Tien Huang walked over to Liang Chen's side and started leading the group away from the area, allowing the Zun twins to excitedly show off all the small places they had already told Liang Chen about. When the children finally finished detailing all the spots they had told Liang Chen about, Tien Huang took the chance to offer him a small apology.
"I heard you encountered Elder Sister Shih as you were brought to your home. Please don't take her words to heart, she inherited some of Grandfather's nature so she's a bit...brusquer than others. She also has to endure a large amount of stress so she is on edge more often than not, she really can't help the words that just slip out."
Tien Huang knew about the duty that had been forced onto his elder sister, it was a line of work where the stress and pressure could easily warp your personality at times. It was fine normally, but if it caused Liang Chen to become furious then they might have a problem on their hands.
After all, he still had no idea how strong Liang Chen was, all he had was small clues that showed nothing conclusive. Luckily, Liang Chen only shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly once more. He hadn't really bothered much with the girl's, who he now guessed was probably named Tien Shih, actions. She had stopped quickly and admitted her own fault, moving on without much fuss or arguing.
Of course, whether or not that was due to her nature or due to her having sensed something from him, Liang Chen didn't know. He didn't continue that conversation so neither did Tien Huang, his expression not faltering despite Liang Chen remaining quiet and not making his own thoughts known.
The group quickly reached the exit of the estate owned by the Tien family, Tien Huang offering Liang Chen a very thin white robe to help him with the heat. He didn't need it, but he didn't reject it and draped the cloth over his body, storing the other robe he was wearing into his ring. And as the group of four stepped onto the roads covered in hardened and flattened sand, Tien Huang took the chance to talk about one of the topics Liang Chen had brought up earlier.
"The division of power here is actually pretty simple, we've only really got four organizations of power in the city, everyone else has been repressed. But of the four organizations, only two actually occupy territory, the two others are scattered throughout the entire city and their only territory is their buildings."
It wasn't entirely uncommon for organizations to hold power but not territory, the Heaven's Secrets Company was one such example. No one dared to resist if they wanted to build a branch in a city, and no one dared to even think about touching them, history had shown that such an act would not end well. Liang Chen didn't speak up, allowing Tien Huang to continue his explanation as they moved through the winding streets to reach the main street.
"The first is, of course, the estate we just left, the Tien family. We control about half the city and constantly squabble with the Enlai family who controls the other half. Neither of us is really willing to engage in a large war so we keep our squabbles fairly small, it really isn't worth taking over the entire city if it means that we'll just lose it all to an outsider force that decides to take advantage of our weakened state."
There was no force that didn't desire to increase their territory and wealth, but you always had to keep in mind what the worst result might be if you chased that goal too greedily. This made it somewhat hard to break through if a stalemate ever formed, but that was just how life was.
Tien Huang didn't move on to explain the two other powers after he spoke about his own family and the Enlai family, his attention shifting slightly. He stopped the group from walking further and pointed at a large spiralling silver tower that stretched above the buildings a few kilometres to their left.
"Oh, that there is the Moon-reaching Tower, a drop of blood from the elemental is enshrined there and it's a pretty popular place to cultivate if you have spare money. It's best for those who share an element with the elemental, but just resisting the pressure unleashed by the blood is good practice."
Pressure made for a rather good catalyst when you cultivated, Liang Chen himself had used pressure to cultivate in the past, mainly when he fused some of his different types of lightning together. Thinking about it now, he realized that he might finally have the strength to merge his brown lightning with the ferocious violet lightning.
And if that proved impossible, he could see if he could find a way to make his various types of lightning as strong as the types of lightning he had encountered back on Tripartite God planet, inside the area known as Thunder Saint's Final Breath. Of course, he didn't voice these thoughts, allowing Tien Huang to lead the group away once more as he continued to explain the various organizations in the city, occasionally pointing out a few places of interest.
"As for the two other powers, one is, of course, the Heaven's Secrets Company, and the other is the Nine Claws Dojo. The Nine Claws Dojo has three training halls in the city and they accept everyone who wants to drop by, giving them free lessons in how to use various weapons or fighting styles. They don't really hand out resources or the like, but just the fact that they freely train anyone has made them immensely popular. Their founder left the city long ago, but just the words he carved into the three buildings radiate such a pressure that no one really dares to take over the dojos."
The city was fairly large so Liang Chen wasn't surprised that there was at least one branch of the Heaven's Secrets Company here, but the Nine Claws Dojo caught his interest. It wasn't just due to the carved words that Tien Huang mentioned, it was also due to the fact that he had never heard of this dojo before.
Liang Chen had already bought a report containing the branches of the Golden Branch sect and the Tranquil Lake, and while he had left the area where the Golden Branch sect operated, the Tranquil Lake still operated in this dominion. But this Nine Claws Dojo wasn't mentioned anywhere in the report, neither was the Enlai family or the Tien family, so it seemed like they didn't have any operators in this city.
Of course, Liang Chen wasn't completely certain of this, so he didn't have any intention of revealing himself just based on this guess. And once more, Tien Huang had no clue what Liang Chen was thinking, once again halting his steps as he pointed at an exceedingly normal-looking five-room earthen house.
"Ah, this is The Moon's Nest, the old home of the elemental. The elemental left long ago, but its aura still remains on the house, preventing anyone from entering. As a result, no one actually knows if there's actually anything inside the house, but just like with the blood, just resisting the pressure is a good form of training."
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Despite being the home that housed the elemental that could be said to have formed this city, the simple earthen house didn't actually seem to be given that much attention. It felt like only a short while, but they had actually already walked for a few hours, but that was still far from enough to bring them close to the centre of the city.
The house actually seemed to be hidden away somewhat, the only thing that made it clear that the building was special was the fact that a 10-kilometre wide stretch of land all around the house had been left barren. Of course, the fact that no one was actually able to enter the house probably played a large part in it.
In fact, Liang Chen could feel the chilly pressure emitted by the house even in their current position, a bit over 10-kilometres away. And since Liang Chen could feel it, so too could Tien Huang and the Zun twins. and it was far worse for the three of them, especially the Zun twins, who were already shivering thanks to the pressure.
The group swiftly left the area and continued walking for a few more hours, the Zun twins proving that their feet were rather resilient as they managed to walk for this long without any problems. Of course, Tien Huang continued talking for almost the full duration of their walk, pointing out every single point of interest he could think of.
It was morning, close to noon when they left the Tien family and started moving. They had been on the move for nearly nine hours already so it should already be dark, but the sun was only barely starting to set, making it look as if it was just evening. And after walking for so long, they ended up in a star-shaped plaza filled with stationary booths that carried various wares, Tien Huang's gaze landing on a blue-clad youth.
"Hoh, you actually dare skulk around here, Enlai Kwan? Aren't you worried about getting lost after leaving your own territory?"
A faint and slightly mocking smirk formed on Tien Huang's face as he spoke, forming a soft contrast to the friendly and calm smile that Liang Chen had seen him with. The blue-clad youth he spoke to halted his steps somewhat abruptly, spinning around and looking at Tien Huang with narrowed black eyes, the six other men around him mimicking his actions.
"Tch, this is our territory, Tien Huang, so just stay quiet."
The youth was entirely bald, and just like the people from the Tien family, he was much paler than one would expect from a family who lived in such a sun-battered city. Tien Huang maintained his expression when faced with Enlai Kwan, his smirk actually growing a bit wider.
"Used, it used to be your territory. Now it's ours, after you so graciously handed it to us last year."
Liang Chen listened from the side without interfering, guessing at just how bad the relationship between the two families was by looking at how Tien Huang changed while interacting with Enlai Kwan. He also noted the fact that the market had just recently changed owner, it was probably one of the squabbles Tien Huang had mentioned earlier.
Enlai Kwan's expression turned rather gloomy thanks to Tien Huang's smug statement, his body unconsciously stepping forward. The Zun twins immediately scurried behind Liang Chen to hide, still refusing to let go of his hands. Enlai Kwan stepped forward once more, practically growling forth the words, which were only met with a snarky remark from Tien Huang.
"We didn't hand it to you, you cheated to get your hands on it."
"It's easy to blame it on cheating, is it really that hard to admit that you were the weaker side in the exchange? Would it hurt your little pride that much?"
Tien Huang seemed quite eager to prod at Enlai Kwan, almost looking like he relished in insulting him now that they had met. Enlai Kwan also seemed to have a rather short fuse, a furious light flashing through his pupils as he stepped forward once again.
"You!"
He swiped his interspatial ring as he spoke and drew out a large saber, the six men behind him quickly pulling out their own weapons with somewhat bitter expressions. But before any of them got the chance to brandish their weapons, Liang Chen stepped forward.
"Now now, let's not start getting violent, that really won't end well."
Liang Chen wore a calming and casual smile as he spoke, his words practically drilling into the minds of the people from the Enlai family and calming them. The furious light in Enlai Kwan's eyes receded as Liang Chen spoke, he took in a deep breath to calm himself properly before sweeping over Liang Chen with a quick gaze.
"I don't recognize him, is he a new member of your family or did you pick up a new straggler while out wandering? Well, whatever it is, you ought to learn a thing or two from him, at least he has the calmness to not incite arguments wherever he goes."
Enlai Kwan chalked it up to Liang Chen's calmness, but the truth was that Liang Chen had seen Enlai Kwan's shadow wriggle faintly when he drew out his weapon. Yumao had obviously left the Tien family when Liang Chen did, following them to make sure that nothing happened. and now that Enlai Kwan had drawn his weapon and stepped towards Liang Chen, Yumao was preparing to deal with the nuisance.
He wouldn't kill them, he knew that Liang Chen would never accept that. But just hurting them until they couldn't move? That was something he was perfectly capable of doing without arousing too much anger from Liang Chen.
Enlai Kwan shot one last scathing look at Tien Huang before he turned around and walked away, bringing his men over to the other end of the market so that he didn't have to see Tien Huang anymore. As for Tien Huang, his smirk vanished when Enlai Kwan did, an apologetic expression replacing it.
"Sorry about that, the Tien family and the Enlai family really don't get along, especially me and Enlai Kwan, we always end up arguing when we meet."
Liang Chen didn't say anything about it, he himself understood what it was like to change so abruptly upon meeting certain people. He was the same with Qing Lan Yong, there was no way he could remain normal when faced with him. Tien Huang was slightly relieved when he saw that Liang Chen didn't seem to mind, but a sliver of worry flashed through his eyes as he gazed after Enlai Kwan.
"But since they're here then they are probably scouting the area to prepare for the next challenge, meaning that they intend to bring it forward rather quickly. Sorry, but I'll have to return to the family to report this, it means that Elder Sister Shih will have to prepare."
Liang Chen could guess what this challenge was, it was probably how the Tien family had acquired this market previously. But he didn't have too much interest in it, he honestly didn't want to get too involved in the squabbles between the two families. It didn't matter much if he got a bit involved in some small sparring matches after he restored his power, but he didn't know enough about either family to fight for or against them in any larger and more murderous battles.
As such, he didn't say much when Tien Huang rushed them back to the Tien family, taking a slightly different route this time so that he could show off a few more locations of interest along the way. He brought the Zun twins with him this time after they returned to the Tien estate, he seemed to have a job for the two of them, they were his servants after all.
Liang Chen returned to the house he had been given on his own, closing the door behind him before he sat down on the couch with crossed legs and closed his eyes. He had learned about a few places that did interest him, but the thing that mattered the most was still recuperating from his wounds and reforming his veins.
But it seemed like the people from the Tien family shared a fondness for interrupting him while he was focusing on his recuperation. Someone knocked on his door after only a few more hours, when the night should be at its deepest, the tired and slightly familiar voice of Tien Shih coming from outside his house.
"You're still up, aren't you? May I enter?"