Upon entering Fuxiao City, Xie Hanzhu initially wanted to go directly to the City Lord's mansion to meet the thick-skinned City Lord. However, Su Luowei stopped her. "Let's first find a place to stay and gather information."
Although the three of them didn't have much experience traveling in the mortal world, they were not completely out of touch with worldly matters. It didn't take them long to find the largest inn in the city.
"Three rooms, please."
The innkeeper was initially preoccupied with his abacus. When he noticed someone approaching out of the corner of his eye, he looked up and saw three women, each with an elegant demeanor and fine clothing.
The woman at the front was dressed in simple white robes, her appearance was as beautiful as the moon, and she exuded a celestial aura, akin to a figure from a painting.
The two women behind her were dressed similarly, though they appeared more approachable.
The innkeeper, stunned for a moment, just stared blankly at them. Su Luowei placed a silver ingot on the counter and asked again, "Are there any rooms available for tonight?"
The innkeeper snapped out of his daze, wiped his forehead with his sleeve—though there was no sweat—and smiled. "You three fairies are in luck. We happen to have three top rooms available."
Xie Hanzhu raised an eyebrow, curious. "How did you know we're cultivators?"
Before boarding the ship, to avoid unnecessary trouble, the three of them had changed out of their robes and into ordinary clothes. They had also stored their swords in their storage pouches, making themselves appear no different from ordinary women.
Xie Hanzhu had been confident that their disguises were perfect, and that no one could tell they were cultivators. So, how did this innkeeper see through them at a glance?
The innkeeper chuckled. "You three fairies have an extraordinary aura, clearly not ordinary women. Though I'm just a commoner, I've seen enough people coming and going to have some discernment."
He prepared three rooms on the top floor and instructed a servant to lead the three women upstairs.
The inn had four floors; the first and second floors were dining areas, while the third and fourth floors were guest rooms.
Their rooms were on the fourth floor. The inn's staircase wasn't wide, so if someone came down while they were going up, they'd have to turn sideways to pass.
It was still early in the day, but there were already guests checking out. As someone walked down from the third floor and passed them, Su Luowei's gaze lingered on the person for a moment, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.
Once the servant had shown them to their rooms, the three of them freshened up before heading downstairs to find a table near the window.
As soon as they were seated, Su Luowei asked Xie Hanzhu, "Do you know how the innkeeper knew we were cultivators?"
Xie Hanzhu looked confused. "I have no idea."
Su Luowei glanced out the window, then pointed to someone and asked Xie Hanzhu, "Does he look like he's here to stay at the inn?"
Xie Hanzhu leaned over to look. The man was dressed in plain gray clothes, his skin tanned and his expression hurried. He didn't look like someone checking into an inn, but rather like someone heading to work.
"No, he doesn't." She shook her head.
"And what about him?" Su Luowei pointed to another person.
This time, she pointed to a man dressed in indigo robes, wearing a black hat, holding a child's hand with his left hand and carrying a bundle on his right shoulder.
Wen Miaomiao said, "He looks like he's here to stay."
They watched for a while longer, and sure enough, the man walked into the inn. Shortly after, a servant led them upstairs, and from the sound of footsteps, it seemed they went to the third floor.
There was a silk screen on the second floor of the inn that conveniently hid them from view, so the man and his child didn't notice that anyone was watching.
Su Luowei turned to Xie Hanzhu. "Now, do you understand?"
Xie Hanzhu still shook her head. "I don't get it, Senior Sister. Stop being so mysterious."
Wen Miaomiao thought for a moment and asked, "Is it because we were empty-handed?"
"Exactly. Anyone checking into an inn would carry some luggage."
Only cultivators with storage pouches would travel without any visible belongings, so the innkeeper could tell they were cultivators at a glance.
Xie Hanzhu finally understood. "So, all our efforts to blend in were pointless."
They had boarded the ship empty-handed, yet somehow always had clean clothes each day. It seemed that everyone on the ship had already figured out they were cultivators.
No wonder everyone on the ship had been so polite to them.
Poor Xie Hanzhu, who had suffered through days of seasickness when the ship encountered rough weather, had stubbornly refrained from using spiritual energy to stabilize the boat, just to avoid revealing herself as a cultivator.
As Xie Hanzhu sighed dramatically, a sudden commotion came from outside.
A group of people, all dressed in bright red, emerged from around the corner, decorating and banging on drums, making quite a ruckus.
Before long, a groom appeared, riding a tall horse. He wore a red wedding robe, with a large red flower pinned to his chest, and he smiled as he greeted the passersby.
Though it was a joyful occasion, the passersby and vendors on the street deliberately ignored him, turning their heads away.
"Interesting…" Xie Hanzhu muttered, summoning a servant and placing a piece of silver on the table. She asked, "What's going on in Fuxiao City? Why is no one congratulating the bridegroom?"
The servant subtly pocketed the silver and quietly replied, "If you look closely at the groom, can you see anything unusual?"
Xie Hanzhu scrutinized the groom for a while before hesitantly saying, "He looks… rather old, and he doesn't seem very happy."
Not just unhappy—he looked downright fierce.
The groom had one hand on the saddle and the other on his waist, where a knife was sheathed.
It looked less like he was getting married and more like he was about to charge into battle.
Behind him was an eight-person palanquin. The porters' shoulders visibly sagged, as if the palanquin was unusually heavy.
—Or perhaps the bride inside was unusually heavy.
Even from a distance, Su Luowei could see that the poles of the palanquin were unnaturally bent.
"Alas... These two men have been putting on this act every day. The people on this street are tired of it, so no one plays along with their charade anymore."
The servant hinted at something but fell silent, not willing to elaborate further.
As the porters carried the palanquin forward, one of them suddenly twisted his ankle and stumbled to the ground. With one porter down, the palanquin tipped to the side, and despite the bystanders' efforts, the bride in her wedding gown fell out.
When the bride fell out, Su Luowei understood why the porters seemed to struggle so much.
From the back, it was clear that the bride was tall and stout, with a broad waist that could match two of the porters.
It was a wonder how she had even managed to fit into the wedding gown...
As the bride got up and lifted her veil, everyone shuddered.
The bride was sporting a thick, bushy beard!
This was no bride but a burly man!
Even in a city as open-minded as Fuxiao City, the residents had never seen anything like this, and they were all left gaping in shock.
Xie Hanzhu's expression changed several times before she finally couldn't help but sigh, "I haven't been down the mountain in years, and I never expected the mortal world to turn into this."
The man on the horse heard the commotion behind him and turned back, his face tense. When he saw the "bride" had lifted his veil, he flinched and suddenly drew his knife, leaping off the horse with a shout, "Show yourself, demon!"
Wen Miaomiao hesitantly asked the servant, "Are they trying to find out why the brides in the city have been disappearing?"
The servant hesitated before nodding.
Wen Miaomiao was even more doubtful. "Will this actually work?"
This time, the servant replied bluntly, "No, it won't."
These men had been pulling this stunt for days with no results. Renting the palanquin and hiring porters every day wasn't cheap.
The servant figured they'd give up in a few more days.
It would be a relief when they did, as the constant noise from morning to night was driving people crazy. There had already been complaints from guests.
The groom waited anxiously with his knife drawn, but nothing happened. He sheathed the knife and quickly approached the "bride," scolding, "Why did you lift the veil? If that fox sees your face, it definitely won't come."
The "bride" scoffed, "It's just a fox. What does it know about beauty?"
"Fox?" Su Luowei turned to the servant. "What fox?"
The servant, well-informed as always, glanced around cautiously before leaning in closer and whispering, "You see, just a while ago, another bride went missing. But this time, someone saw a white fox near where she disappeared. So now, everyone's saying that the brides are being taken by a white fox who wants to get married."
"A white fox?"
"A demon beast?"
"There's a mountain to the east of Fuxiao City, known as Fox Mountain. Many years ago, someone saw a white fox walking upright near there. After all these years, it's not surprising if it's gained some intelligence."
Xie Hanzhu, intrigued by his story, asked, "But even if it's gained intelligence, it's still just a fox. Why would it want to marry human women?"
Even if it wanted to marry, it should marry other foxes. Kidnapping human brides was absurd.
The servant replied, "Who can understand the mind of a fox spirit? But this is all just speculation, after all."
After the servant left, Xie Hanzhu fell into deep thought.
Su Luowei assumed she was contemplating the missing brides and didn't disturb her. But after a long time, Xie Hanzhu suddenly slapped the table and stood up. "I still don't get it! Why would a fox want to marry human women? No, I have to go to Fox Mountain and ask it myself."
Impetuous as ever, once she had this idea, Xie Hanzhu couldn't even finish her tea. She urged Su Luowei to leave immediately.
Su Luowei had no choice but to comply. She, too, was curious about Fox Mountain. After quickly settling the bill, the three of them set off for Fox Mountain.
Not long after they left, the door of a room on the third floor opened, and a little girl led someone out slowly.
The little girl wore a yellow dress, about four or five years old, and looked as if she had been sculpted from jade. The most striking feature was the two pink patches on her cheeks, which, though naturally rosy, looked as if she had secretly dabbed on some rouge.
These rosy patches made her look especially adorable, like the little blessings one would find in depictions of immortals.
She carefully guided the person she was leading to sit by the window, then, in a sweet voice, asked for tea to be served.
As the servant approached with a kettle, the person finally removed the veiled hat, revealing their face.
It was a young man with delicate and handsome features.
He wasn't particularly tall, but not short either. His frame was a bit thin, and the clothes he wore seemed too large for him, hanging loosely.
But the most striking feature was his eyes.
They were dark and deep, but devoid of any light.
As the servant poured the tea, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the little girl.
So young, and her father was already blind, yet she had to take care of him.
Life must be hard for her.