The Villain's White Lotus Halo

23

Chapter 23- Ye City

Ye City was the closest city to the ZhongMing mountains. The official hosts would make arrangements for all the people participating in the Flower Picking Festival. 'One Mountain Three Sects, Double Buddhist Temples' would alternate being hosts. This year was the QingLu Sword Sect's turn .

Since the QingLu Sword Sect already was established in the Southern Continent and also had some connections with Ye City's government, many portions of the arrangements proceeded smoothly

With this year's Flower Picking Festival, they put even more effort into the preparations. It was not only to exhibit the foundation and prestige of an affluent sect, but more importantly- barring any accidents, the pride of their sect: 'Sword of Rain and Wind' Zhong Shan will prevail.

The preparations for accommodations for each sect's disciples, the protection arrays at the base of ZhongMing Mountains, and the safeguarding and renovation of the mountain paths, had all begun half a year ago.

Although the three of them arrived a month before the appointed date, the courtyards for Cang Ya disciples beside Lake Qiu were already arranged.

After Song Tang brought Luo MingChuan to the city center, Luo MingChuan returned to the city gates to wait for Yin BiYue and Duan ChongXuan.

Ye City was built a long time ago; long enough to be traced back to the Ye Town from the 'End of Dharma Era'. Because of its geographical location and convenient trade routes, Ye City became one of the biggest cities in the northern part of the Southern Continent.

And later, with the advent of the Flower Picking Festival, the city expanded even more rapidly. As of today, the city wall comprised of eight huge city gates, each day seeing tens of thousands of people passing through.

By the time the three of them entered the city it was already late afternoon; just as the city guards rotated their shifts. The most majestic city on the western side of Southern Continent finally exhibited its glory.

Teams of guards hurried through the city in organized formations. Their polished heavyset black armor reflected the light, obsidian scabbards holding changdao fitted around their waists, their demeanors solemn yet dignified.

All the commoners in the city seemed to be perfectly fine with it.

The old man at the roadside wonton stall was still peddling his goods, the entertainers on the pedestrian overpass were still calling out slogans, and the children running about the streets were still play-fighting with wooden swords and sugared hawthorn skewers.

Yin BiYue could not understand, "What's the purpose of the city guards here?"

Were they not used for maintaining the image of a tidy and serene city? Why were the peddlers at the roadside stalls not even a little bit afraid of them?

The three of them strolled along the wide streets. Duan ChongXuan flapped his fan and gazed with great interest at the young ladies fluttering their handkerchiefs at him from atop the building.

"It's a hard job. Even with this kind of hot weather, they're wrapped head to toe with armor while patrolling the streets. If they happen to meet cultivators fighting, then they must intercept and maintain order by asking them to find a different place to fight so that the children, flowers, and grasses will be not hurt. If they happen on powerful people who are starting fights, they must open the city's underground passage to allow the elderly, women, and common people to first take refuge... The guards must help even if it's meeting a old woman carrying a heavy object. Isn't it miserable?"

Luo MingChuan smiled a little and continued to explain to Yin BiYue. "The road we're walking on right now is Ye city's main road. It's extremely crowded. If we were to ride a horse, these black armored guards would come to remind us to dismount, as to avoid collisions with pedestrians and vendors. They're expressionless and cold as to represent the city's prestige and to intimidate the foreign cultivators to stop them from being domineering."