As Yin Xiu walked into the leasing headquarters he quickly observed the large atrium, it was filled with obvious affluence. A long marble counter was prominently displayed with various clerks wearing high-end robes sorting through documents, and guards stood at the corners of the room standing at attention with serious expressions on their faces.
Yin Xiu approached a man behind the main counter wearing official robes with a different family crest than the card from the Ye family. Depicting a tall tree with yellow leaves.
The man looked at Yin Xiu with a slight displeasure at his unkempt appearance before saying, "Our courtyards are only available to be rented with spirit stones, if you can't pay don't even approach me." Yin Xiu still with a harmless expression continued walking to the counter nonchalantly.
Noticing the beggar-like youth continuing to approach, the man made a waving motion to a guard nearby. Obviously ready to throw Yin Xiu out the door. As the guard approached he suddenly froze in place when Yin Xiu cast his gaze in his direction. A chilling feeling overtaking his body as Hu Meng released his aura briefly before Yin Xiu continued on passed him.
He looked directly into the eyes of the man behind the counter his red eyes seeming to bore a hole in his head. The clerk gulped nervously as he noticed the guards exaggerated reaction before smiling awkwardly. "I apologize for any unpleasantness sir." He then flipped open a scroll with a list of different available courtyards for Yin Xiu to inspect.
"These are the available courtyards we have and their various features. The prices are also listed alongside them." He hesitated before continuing. "Is there any specific features you'd like so I can make a few suggestions?"
Yin Xiu perused for a few moments before replying "I would like a more secluded courtyard and bathing facilities. Those are the only two requirements." The man nodded in relief that Yin Xiu didn't seem overly displeased with his earlier remarks, "If those are your requirements we have two that I think will fit your needs perfectly. The first is the Serenity Spring courtyard towards the back side of the property which is secluded with a grove of trees. It also has a pool that is perfect for bathing. The other is the Violet Pine courtyard. It is more centrally located, but it is on a small mountain peak with groves of pine trees as well. It comes with a small bathhouse on the premises. Both are priced the same for one spirit stone per week. That is the minimum time available for rent."
Yin Xiu pondered between the two for a moment, and quickly came to a decision. "I'll take the Violet Pine courtyard." After he made his decision he took out a spirit stone and a gold coin. Handing both to the clerk. The clerk smiled naturally as he pocketed the coin, and pulled out a key ring with an image of a towering pine branded onto it. Handing it over he said "Just follow the markers along the path, and you'll find your courtyard easily. The name is on the sign just outside the abode. Please enjoy your stay sir."
Yin Xiu gave a short bow in farewell, before making his way out the door. The guard who had been awkwardly standing there after the brief encounter came over with an embarrassed expression on his face. "Should we monitor that guest? He shouldn't have the strength to make me freeze with just a glance."
The clerk looked at him like he was a fool before explaining speechlessly. "That young man either has a protector, or he is hiding his cultivation. Either way creating a conflict over such a small matter is unwise. I originally thought that he was some vagrant that had stumbled in on accident, but I'm assuming he has just come from an excursion into the wilderness, or had an intense fight just before entering the city."
Pulling out the gold coin that Yin Xiu had handed over he continued, "Besides this proves his meaning perfectly well, he doesn't want any unpleasantness, so he threw some benefits our way." Shaking his head "We've taken the money, so we tacitly agreed." Looking at the guard, he said "It looks like you're still too young to know these things."
The young guards face turned red in shame for a second at the remark before he bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry sir." The clerk waved off the apology offhandedly before sighing again. "You'll learn in time." He stared at the door for a moment before noting down in the registry Yin Xiu's appearance and selected courtyard.
Meanwhile, the pale youth quickly found his selected residence, It was indeed as described. A small mountain peak with a grove of tall pine trees stretching all the way to the top. He made his way up the mountain satisfied with the selection. 'This should be similar enough to Hu Fang's residence for Hu Meng to feel at ease staying here, plus the pine trees provide sufficient cover, so he can come out when we're in the courtyard without being noticed.'
He quickly reached the quiet stone courtyard around halfway up the mountain. It was constructed from a simple gray stone high enough to prevent prying eyes, and an ornate wooden gate adorned with motifs of pine trees.
Opening the lock he strolled inside. As soon as the gate shut behind him Hu Meng seemed to materialize out of nowhere. His gaze boring straight into Yin Xiu's obviously eager to ask a multitude of questions. Smiling wryly Yin Xiu quickly stopped him. "Let me take a bath first, and then you can ask as many questions as you'd like." He stretched, and made his way to the small wooden bathhouse with a well next to it before quickly filling up the tub.
Undressing himself he hopped into the tub, and scrubbed the grime from his body hard enough to turn his skin red. Around fifteen minutes later he walked out feeling unbelievably refreshed. He had put on one of his new white robes, matching seamlessly with his extraordinarily pale complexion. His deep purple hair hanging loosely down his back. Finally regaining his handsome appearance from before.
Not long after Yin Xiu had emerged from his bath Hu Meng jumped out, and began voicing all of his question he had accumulated from their trip through the city. Most of which were rather mundane questions about human life, but others pertained to their plans, and Yin Xiu's decisions when in the city.
"Why did you buy an extra bolt of silk? Can you make clothes yourself?" Hu Meng had been dying to know the answer since leaving the Hundred Silk Pavilion.
Yin Xiu smiled excitedly while explaining his thoughts. "Have you seen a sowing needle before? They have what's called a needle eye that weavers use to hold the thread. I was thinking that if we find a good artifact refiner here, we can request my needles to have eyes as well when they refine them. Then, I can use the high density silk to control the needles more accurately. So, imagine when I throw the needle it won't leave me defenseless because I can just pull it back, plus it opens up a ton of ways to catch enemies off guard especially since we can make the silk almost unnoticeable. "
HuvMeng's mouth dropped open in shock, "Are all humans as devious as you?" Yin Xiu was momentarily taken aback before saying "I don't know if I would call myself devious."
Hu Meng rolled his eyes at that, before asking his other pertinent question "What do you think of that Fu Ling guy, and that so called market he wants to take us to?"
Yin Xiu spread his hands and said "That man is obviously a swindler or thief of some sort. So, far he's been smart, and not tried to make any moves against us, so we'll give that market a chance. If it is just a setup of some kind we can handle it when it comes to it, but if it is a legitimate way to acquire materials it might be perfect for the two of us." His eyes lighting up as he explained his reasoning. "We both require Yin attributed treasures to cultivate that will definitely be difficult to find at your usual cultivator markets, but at this secret marketplace he mentioned particularly shady goods being available. We need shady goods."
Hu Meng was instantly moved by the prospect as he pondered "By shady goods they are also including good looted from cultivators right? Do you think we can purchase Qi training techniques there as well?" Yin Xiu shrugged in response "Possibly, but we should also be able to purchase them in legitimate stores as well. By the way, you're going out to explore the city at night right? Can you try and scope out if there is a library or bookstore in the city? We need to accumulate some more knowledge for there future. We're both still in the dark about a lot of the cultivation world."
The black tiger nodded in agreement before saying "I'll snoop around that guy Fu Ling for a bit too to see if there is anthing fishy about him. If we find out he had bad intentions in advance it might be better to just make him disappear." A cold look flashed across Hu Meng's face when he made the suggestion.
Yin Xiu shook his head "I'm not sure that is the best idea. He was able to take out that card from the Ye family way too easily. I have a feeling he is employed by them. The last thing we need to do is have the attention of a large family on us before we finish our business here. I agree about tailing him though. If it is a trap we can get the drop on them in advance."
"Speaking of, if we go to that market I need to prepare a mask and a way to hide my hair." He glanced up at the rapidly darkening sky before deciding to bid Hu Meng a good night. "Have fun in the city, but be careful!" Having said that, Yin Xiu tiredly entered the small house in the courtyard and prepared for sleep.
Hu Meng watched Yin Xiu until he closed the door before he turned his attention to the bottom of the mountain peak. Faint lights were barely visible through the pine needles as the distant hubbub of voices sounded in his ears. He excitedly began sneaking down the mountain eager to begin his solo trip in his first human city. His golden eyes briefly shining in the darkness before disappearing abruptly.