While Meng Yinuo was talking with Melody, Quinlan was also busy doing something else in the cultivation world.
"So this is the city..."
Finding that cultivating during the daytime yielded him almost no Qi, he decided to spend the day leisurely instead. Xiyadie had already finished her chores and was accompanying him, of course, since she was "Meng Yinuo's" personal maid.
With a worried face, Xiyadie commented from Quinlan's side. "Young Lady, if you have something you wanted to procure, you could've just asked me to get it. There's no need for you to go to the city center."
"It's fine, it's fine. I have something I wanted to check out, that's all."
Right, Quinlan was curious. He had been unable to touch any sort of machinery for over 24 hours, which was something that was almost equivalent to a life-or-death matter for him. Even after searching the entire mansion, he found nothing of the sort, not even a simple radio.
'No matter how late the progress of this world is, there's no way electrical or mechanical technology doesn't exist!'
Believing so, Quinlan begged Xiyadie to take him to the city center, the place with the highest chance of having some machinery around.
The city was bustling, with a lot of people walking along the road. If the two of them were separated, it would be a little hard to meet up again. As such, the two were walking side by side, looking at the stalls lining up on both sides of the road. Quinlan was expectantly scanning every single piece of merchandise he could see, but he was disappointed every single time.
"This isn't it either," he muttered as he put the trinket back in its place. "Is there nothing remotely mechanical in this place?"
From what he observed, the cultivation world had the concept of wheels, using waterwheels and windmills to help with basic chores. However, he had yet to see a single vehicle, even a simple one like a carriage, passing by.
Quinlan's drive was slowly waning, losing hope that some sort of machinery was present around the city. "... No, if there's none, then I should just make one!"
Problems are the parent of innovation, leading to the creation of machinery to address the said problem! Quinlan's burning desire to touch machinery was pushing him to act!
"Now that I've decided, it's time to look for tools and materials!"
"Young Lady, wait for me!"
Quinlan backtracked, going straight to the places where he saw tools and materials for crafting being sold. Given his current resources, however, he couldn't handle metal, so he decided to go with wood instead.
With Xiyadie's help, the negotiation went well, and the price was brought down by quite a lot through haggling.
"This should do." Quinlan nodded, completing the order and walking joyfully back to the mansion.
"Xiyadie, please send everything to the courtyard as soon as they arrive. I can't wait to work on it~!" He requested excitedly while walking among the crowd, but no response came back even after some time passed. "Xiyadie?"
When Quinlan turned around, Xiyadie was nowhere to be found. At first, he thought she was simply delayed by the human traffic, but after waiting for a full minute, not even her shadow was within sight.
"..."
At that moment, the worst-case scenario played in his mind. "If anything happens to Xiyadie, I don't know what Meng Yinuo would do!" He could even lose his life, for all he knows!
Panicking, Quinlan started to run back into the bustling city center, calling in a loud voice. "Damn it! Xiyadie, where are you?!"
However, not a peep was heard in reply to his calls. When he returned to the stall, the workshop where he bought tools and wood for delivery, he finally got a clue about Xiyadie's whereabouts.
"You mean the lady with you? Some rough-looking guys grabbed her and headed towards the slums." The owner answered, his lips turning into a frown. "You should give up, little girl; those guys are serial kidnappers. If you confront them, then you'd just end up becoming an addition to their goods."
His warning went on deaf ears, however, as Quinlan ran in the direction the man pointed at immediately. "That way, right? Thanks!"
Since he was wearing a Hanfu, it was hard to run at full speed. Furthermore, his footwear was heavy, adding to his discomfort. "I don't need this!" He grumbled as he took off the slippers, running barefoot instead.
*TEAAAR!*
Furthermore, to hasten his steps, he didn't hesitate to create a long tear on both sides of his dress. Although this made it a lot easier to move, his exposed thighs ended up catching more eyes than he thought. Still, Quinlan didn't mind those gazes, running in a straight line and heading toward the slums.
The view started to change, from the bright city center to a darker, dirtier side of the capital. Ignoring the changes, Quinlan continued running without a rest.
"XIYADIE!" Like a madman, Quinlan continued to call her name, wishing that she would raise her voice in response.
However, instead of Xiyadie, a bunch of men blocked his way, causing him to stop immediately. One of the men, one with unkempt long black hair and smelling like the sewers, took a step forward with a creepy smile.
"Hey, young lady. This isn't a place where you should've come to. Look? You've nowhere to go now."
Quinlan glanced around, taking a rough headcount. There were a total of 20 hoodlums, completely surrounding him and cutting off any path of retreat. "Are you guys the kidnappers? Where did you take my maid?!"
"Kek kek kek! What a feisty one! Don't worry, you'll go to where she is too, soon." The man answered, reaching out his dirty hands toward Quinlan's chest. "But first, let's take a look at your assets, shall we?"
*CRACK!*
"AAAAAARGH!"
In an instant, the hand that was approaching Quinlan got slapped away, causing a resounding crack as the bones inside broke. The man cried, keeling over as his eyes turned bloodshot from the pain.
"Anyone who dares to touch me would meet the same fate. Rather than that," Quinlan flipped his hair, glaring at the ones before him, staring with disbelief. "Take me to her, now."
"Kuh! G-Get her!!!"
The black-haired man roared in anger, but not a single one followed his command. Looking closer, the others were busy laughing at him, who was handled easily by one weak-looking lass.
"Gansho, look at how low you've fallen! Now, even a little girl can take you on! Kha kha kha!"
At that moment, from the back of the group, a large, topless man, whose body was covered in tattoos, walked forward.
"Bastards, let me show you how to properly handle a woman!"
The large man stepped forward, approaching Quinlan with a wide grin. Then, without warning, his fist went flying forward, aiming for Quinlan's face!