At this moment, Jinde had long left the grounds of the Yun Zou Sect and arrived in the town that Leng Jin Yu had pointed out to him. This really was just a small town. The streets weren't wide, barely allowing two horse-drawn carriages to pass by next to each other if no people were standing at the side. He had seen two inns next to the market square that barely held a dozen stalls. There were only about three or four dozen houses too and looking at the people that were moving about, most of them seemed to be locals. Other than him, there was only one other group of visitors.
Jinde stopped next to a stall selling jewelry and pretended to look at the goods while he glanced at the group of foreigners. They were wearing dark green robes without any embellishments. Contrary to the currently popular style that featured wide sleeves, theirs were tight-fitting and even reinforced by a layer of soft leather. Each of them was also carrying a weapon. Apparently, they weren't just normal cultivators, they were demon hunters.
Jinde narrowed his eyes. Asking cultivators would be the best idea if he wanted to know about a cultivation sect. Then again, he was a dragon and with his appearance, he would get himself into trouble if one of these people saw. And who could say for sure that not a single strand of hair would peek out from below the veil? No, it was better not to risk it. At the very least, he should first try if he could achieve his goal another way.
Jinde turned to the woman behind the stall and gave a smile before he remembered that the veil was covering his face. Right, he wouldn't be able to charm his way through this. Ah, what a pity. He'd have to hope that his voice was magnetic enough then. "I'm sorry but there's something I'd like to ask."
The woman looked at him, her expression turning confused. She had certainly never seen a customer like this. Why was his whole body covered with a veil?
"Have you ever heard of the … Liu He Alliance?"
"Liu He Alliance? Never heard of them. What's that supposed to be?"
Jinde sighed. Well, it had probably been too much to expect the first person he asked to know about this. If the person hadn't met someone from the alliance by chance or traveled around before, they would in most cases only know about the sect that was closest to them. At the very least, that was what Xin Lan had told him. "Thank you nonetheless. I'm sorry for taking up your time."
The woman frowned. "Heh! You wouldn't just go, would you?! What about my goods? You haven't brought anything!" She had already feared that something like this might happen when she had seen this person's get-up. But since he still dared to talk to her, she had thought he would at least buy something. Who could have known he would ask something strange? How should she know some alliance? But he couldn't use that as an excuse not to buy anything! That wasn't right!
Not far from them, one of the demon hunters was already looking over.
Jinde gave a sigh and nodded at her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have disturbed your business." Unfortunately, he couldn't buy the jewelry. Although he had some money in his spatial ring but after hurrying here this fast, the spiritual energy at his disposal was already very low. He couldn't use that indiscriminately and even opening his spatial ring would consume some of it. If he wasn't able to recover it soon, things wouldn't look too good for him.
He turned away and walked to one of the inns, trying not to listen to the woman's scolding. Ah, did she really need to be like this? It wasn't like he had stolen something!
Just when he wanted to enter the inn, that group of demon hunters stepped into his path. The one in front smiled at him and cupped his fists. "This brother, may I ask where you're going?"
Jinde sighed inwardly. Ah, he had tried to avoid them but it seemed he hadn't been successful. Maybe he had still acted too suspicious. Well, it was no wonder. The last time he had been in the mortal world …
Jinde grew dazed for a moment. His last time in the mortal world, it had been when he and Chun Yin had still been young. It had been Chun Yin who pulled him out of the dragon realm and down here, making him visit several cities, listening to stories in the teahouses, drinking in the inns, taking part in the festivals of the humans.
Back then, it had still been as if they had all the time in the world, as if there was nothing that could ever separate them. Back then, who could have known that Chun Yin would someday die and that he would be left alone, waiting for Chun Yin's reincarnation?
And now, even he and Leng Jin Yu had been separated because of the mistakes he had made in the past. It seemed he truly was followed by bad luck. Well, whatever kind of bad luck was following him, he would make sure that reunite with Leng Jin Yu soon. He definitely wouldn't allow fate to separate him from his lover for so many years ever again!
Jinde cupped his fists to return the demon hunter's greeting. "It's a lucky coincidence to meet here. I was already wondering if it would be a bother if I approached you since you were still in conversation. Actually, I was sent to bring a message to the Liu He Alliance's alliance head Hua. Unfortunately …" He drawled and finally gave a sigh. "I'm ashamed to admit it but I've never been there so I got lost on my way. You wouldn't be able to point me in the right direction?"
Faced with this explanation, the group of demon hunters didn't know what to say. It sounded logical but … Who would get lost on their way to such a prominent sect? Was there anything more to this story?