The two guards were both somewhat slackjawed as the red eye captivated them.
"I... uh... no, there isn't a problem at all. You can come in."
Both of them seemed somewhat slow, their eyes were empty as they smiled at her, letting her go.
"Thank you, I'll be on my way then."
Xue Lan returned the gesture, smiling back at them before lowering her veil and walking through the gates. The guards watched her leave before turning around.
"Huh, did something happen?"
As soon as they did so, the duo snapped from their trance, looking around in confusion.
"How did we get here?"
"I don't know. I feel like we're forgetting something but I'm not sure what."
"You're right. How strange. Mm, perhaps we've been working too hard."
"Maybe, let's go back. I need a drink after today."
"Me too."
Not knowing what they had just done, they returned to their post, going about the rest of their day normally. As for Xue Lan, she walked in quite easily, looking at her surroundings.
Despite it being quite early in the day, the streets were bustling with people. There were stalls already set up and busy, serving food or peddling wares. She could hear hundreds of voices speaking all around her and smell a variety of food being made.
There was a strange look on her face.
"Was the city always like this?" she asked herself.
Strolling through the streets, her eyes wandered from one place to the next. There was a look of both wonder and confusion.
Things... didn't quite feel right to her.
Having walked through the main streets, the woman turned, walking into the side streets where things were much quieter. Instead of stores and restaurants, there were houses instead, mostly empty as many had gone out to work or on other errands.
Soon enough, she stopped at a particular place, standing in front of it. Her eyes gazed up and down at the building. It was a small place, somewhat rundown even. There were cobwebs and dust all around it, no doubt it had been abandoned for quite some time.
But there was a reason why it was so.
After looking, Xue Lan glanced at her surroundings before looking back at the building. Letting out a small breath, she walked forward, quietly pushing the door open and walking in.
She was quiet, utterly silent as her eyes trailed around, slowly absorbing the scene before her.
There was a musty smell inside it and a thin layer of dust on the surface of everything. It was small, there was a wooden table with three chairs alongside a bed made of wood and bamboo. Aside from the main area, there was a kitchen in the back with a stove, pots, pans, and a knife.
She walked through it, looking at everything but her face didn't seem to change.
Her attention went towards the bed to which she reached for something, picking it up and looking at it. They were little wooden figurines, roughly carved but good enough to know what they were. These were all carvings of warriors, and all of them wielded some kind of weapon.
Holding them in her hands, Xue Lan
It took her a few minutes before she walked out, turning back to look at it.
Being in a residential area, this was a house, her house, her home. The place where she and her family once resided. It wasn't big or luxurious but it certainly had a cozy feeling to it. But despite all of that, she felt nothing towards it, not even a shred of detachment.
"What's the use of looking at it now?" she asked herself, "I don't belong here anymore."
Xue Lan looked away and eventually left the area. Seeing the house in its ruined state didn't hurt her, it was the fact that she felt nothing towards her own home. This was a life that she had made with her family.
It wasn't much but it was theirs.
But now she couldn't recall anything from that life, no memories, not even a feeling. There was nothing. As if the person she once was had died a while ago.
Walking through the side streets, it was very quiet. Her eyes seemed distant as she was lost in thought, still hung up on her old home. But then her gaze went into focus as she suddenly stopped, looking around at her surroundings.
She stared up at the roofs behind her, looking at the empty space. Lingering on them for a moment, her eyes narrowed before turning around and walking forward. And when her figure was gone, there was movement as a pair of eyes peeked up from there.
There was a breath of relief as they revealed themselves. Their face was obscured as they were dressed in fully black garb.
"I didn't think it would pay off but it did!"
Grabbing something from their pockets, they took out a small piece of rolled paper and unfurled it, checking the small portrait in their hands. It was a detailed one, a portrait of Xue Lan before she transformed.
"I wasn't sure if that was her but there are some similarities. But, she stopped by the home, who else but she would've done such a thing?"
They rolled the portrait back up and put it away, getting ready to leave. Even though she wore a veiled hat to cover her face, he seemed confident that it was her.
"I must report this to the clan! Young Master Chen will be joyful that I found her!"
As excited as they were, as the masked figure turned around, they felt a chill down their neck. The next moment, they came face to face with the woman in question. Her red eyes glowed, staring intently at them.
They couldn't even speak, frozen with fear before she rushed forward, grabbing them by the neck.
"Who did you say you were going to report to?"
Her voice came out very lightly and somewhat playful. With her other hand, she unmasked the figure, revealing a young man, maybe even a boy, someone that barely looked like an adult. He was scared, his whole body trembled, ready to give out at any second.
He couldn't even speak.
All that came out of his mouth was quiet whimpering.
"I- I..."
Wrapping her fingers around his neck, she tightened her grip, slowly choking the air out of him.
"Tell me, tell me everything you know."
She stared right into his eyes, the red glow entranced him as he stopped trembling, becoming a mindless person.
"A caravan delivering silver taels never came to the Chen Clan, people had already been sent out to investigate but then a few of them wound up in the hands of the Five Tailed Crane store. The young master of the Chen Clan had joined the investigation and decided to have someone keep watch here, in case you showed up. After all, it is possible that the same person who killed the Evil Cultivator also killed them."
Hearing this from the boy, Xue Lan thought carefully.
"To think that those taels were for the Chen Clan, I didn't think things would turn out like this. But since it's like this then things are clear."
She looked back at the dazed boy, letting him go and leaving him dazed on the ground. Needless to say, he wouldn't remember a thing about this.
There was no need to raise any alarm yet.
After all, the woman wasn't here to make any unnecessary trouble. She wasn't stupid enough to make an entire clan her enemy, not with her current strength. But so long as she moved carefully and made the right moves, they would crumble soon enough.
She quickly left the area, moving elsewhere while thinking about the silver taels.
"I can't keep using them but I'll need money if I want to buy more manuals and materials."
Thinking about her options, there really was only one that she could take.
"I should sell what I don't need but which store should I pick."
Walking towards the main roads, she looked at the many stores lined up next to each other. Some weren't very eye-catching while others were quite flashy and lavish to say the least. One thing they did share was the size as each of these stores was quite large.
Even the Five Tailed Crane store was large and spacious with a total of five levels. But she wasn't looking for a place that mainly dealt with knowledge, she needed a place that both sold and bought a plethora of things.
"How about there?"
Near the center of the city was what she could only consider the most lavish place of them all. It was both the tallest and largest building in the city, dwarfing even the residences of the city lord and the four noble clans.
She made her way there, standing in front of it with a sight sense of awe.
"Pixiu's Fortune."