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Chapter 231 – Mandatory Vacation

"I wish there is something we can do for this in the next ten days," I said after Bai Ye and I stepped out of the hidden entrance and returned to the cliffs by the sea. "I can\'t help but worry that something might happen before we get back to it. Were you able to feel how much power was left in the seal when you revealed it with that spell?"

Bai Ye shook his head. "No … But given that the symbol we saw wasn\'t completely black, we should still have time based on what Thirteen said." He clasped his hand around mine. "I know how uneasy this makes you feel, but we should trust Vermilion Shrine to know their own art. No other sect is as skilled in seals and talismans as they are, and we might only make things worse if we try to rush it ourselves."

Seeing the still concerned look on my face, he tousled my hair with a smile. "You are too stressed, Qing-er. I thought the whole point of leaving Mount Hua was so that we don\'t have to trouble ourselves with all these complicated cultivator\'s matters anymore." He summoned his flying sword and, without warning, picked me up. "Looks like your husband will need to help you relax a little."

"B-Bai Ye!" I yelped as the flying sword started taking off with me still in his arms. "Where are we going?"

"To fulfill the purpose of our new life, of course. Weren\'t we supposed to enjoy our time as commoners once we are free?"

~ ~

We flew for quite a while, and I glanced down beneath us occasionally, curious where he was taking us. But the thick winter clouds blocked my view. All I could see was a fluffy spread of whiteness, rolling away behind us like a soft blanket. When we finally started to descend, I had completely lost my bearings.

"Where are we?" I asked again, staring hard at the landscape that was becoming more clear as we drew closer. I couldn\'t see the buildings and streets yet, but I could tell from just the vastness of the land below us that it was a city, and it was much larger than any of the ones I had been to.

Bai Ye chuckled. "Look that way," he gestured towards the east, and his flying sword lowered some more until it hovered at a distance that was just enough for us to see the ground clearly. My gaze followed him, and I gasped.

The entire city beneath us was spread out like a checkerboard, with wide streets crisscrossing each other into a perfect grid. Everything from trees to ponds was meticulously placed, and every building was aligned precisely to mirror each other about a central line running through the city. In the middle of that central line sat a row of palaces. Grand and majestic, each rising above the previous one as they stretched further from the gates. Contrary to the busy streets everywhere else, the vast grounds of these palaces were completely empty, giving off a solemn and somewhat forbidding atmosphere.

"This is the capital?" I finally realized where we were.

Bai Ye nodded, and he turned the flying sword around, drifting a little farther away from the palaces as we continued to descend. "Few get to see those palaces from above," he smiled, "which I think is the best view. But we can\'t get any closer, since the Emperor has his own cultivators to protect the imperial residence, and they don\'t like anyone peeking."

Marveling one last time at the sublime view of the imperial courts, I turned my attention to the rest of the streets becoming wider and wider in front of our eyes. I could already hear the din of the busy crowd from so far away. The only times that I had seen so many people in one place were on the market days in our village, when everyone would gather at the center square to exchange their goods and share the latest gossip, but that was nothing compared to this. Every street within our sight was filled with people, all dressed in bright colors and ambling with elegance. A carriage or two passed occasionally, all gilded frames and jingling harnesses.

"This is incredible," I exclaimed. "This is where you lived before you left home to start cultivation? It\'s so lively, so …"

Suddenly, I felt a little at a loss. "You grew up in such a stately surrounding …" I turned back to look at Bai Ye. "But I … I haven\'t even seen a city half the size of this before …"

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to suggest that I\'d think you unrefined?" He pinched my cheek, making me ouch in embarrassment. "That\'s precisely what I like about you, Qing-er. I left home for a reason. People in the capital lose themselves in their exorbitant lifestyles and lust for power. Things might look grand and opulent, but you didn\'t see all the dirty hands that move the gold behind it, nor the lower class struggling for a living at their mercy." He pulled me into his arms. "I prefer it if you never get to see the real side of the capital."

I blinked. When I looked back down at the city below us, the view didn\'t seem so impressive anymore. "We\'ll live somewhere else then," I said.

He laughed. "That would be my preferred choice. But for what it\'s worth, the capital does have its own attractiveness." He steered the flying sword towards a back alley, landing us behind a row of tall trees in a quiet corner. "Now that we are following the commoner\'s calendar, don\'t forget that New Year is coming up soon. Whatever one might need, from ingredients for a New Year\'s Eve feast to gifts for their family and friends—"

He led me onto the streets, gesturing at the shops and stalls cramming our view, "—there is nothing you can\'t find at the largest market on this continent."