As the world was slowly cloaked in darkness, Hu Meng returned completely to his element. He moved down the mountain peak with grace, maneuvering through the pine groves with ease. When he emerged into the city proper he slunk into the alleys naturally. It was as if he was back in the forest on a hunt. The buildings replacing the trees and the cultivators and mortals replacing the birds and beasts.
He stopped and sniffed the air, quickly turning his head in a specific direction. The center of the city. Unsurprisingly, exactly where the residences of the three ruling families were located. His eyes glowed slightly, before he made his way quickly through the streets. He ignored the passersby as he hunted down his target Fu Ling. When the scent was close, he stopped in a narrow alley with a good view of the front entrance of the Ye families compound. It was a sprawling collection of buildings with the family crest prominently displayed all over the place. Near the guard outpost he could see the slightly shaded figures of Fu Ling and a man with a Qi refining cultivation base in luxurious robes.
Straining his ears Hu Meng managed to overhear their conversation clearly. "Any news for the day?" The man asked with an air of superiority. Fu Ling with his usual servant-like smile replied deferentially "Not much to report today sir, but I did guide an interesting young cultivator."
"Oh? How so?"
"His appearance was quite peculiar, as I'm assuming he cultivates a specific body refining technique. The really unusual thing was he made me feel threatened. I might not be the strongest, but within Violet Mist City there are only one or two body refining level experts that can cause any trepidation in me. He mentioned he had collected materials recently and had come to the city to trade, so I recommended the families market." Fu Ling explained with his head lowered, evidently not wishing to offend the other party.
The Ye family cultivator nodded in approval. "As long as he doesn't seem like he's here to cause trouble then it's fine to bring him into the marketplace." He paused just as he turned to leave. "You only have a couple more years on your contract Fu Ling. As long as the patriarch's plan to amass resources succeeds, then we can clear your contract ahead of schedule... if not you'd better be prepared to be useful in a less than pleasant way." Leaving that last ominous sentence he left slowly, gradually disappearing into the Ye families compound.
Fu Ling only turned around after the cultivator had left completely. His expression drastically morphing from subservient to one of hatred and vitriol. "If only they hadn't caught me, and placed that mark on my soul, I wouldn't even bother breathing the same air as you pretentious bastards." He kept cursing as he quickly headed off into the night.
Hu Meng's ears twitched slightly in the shadows at the surprising information revealed from the short conversation. Not deigning to follow Fu Ling anymore as his purpose had been achieved. He sat in place as he reviewed the words that each individual had said. Trying to think of the best way to use this information. Only to shake his head after a few minutes inwardly deciding to let Yin Xiu make a decision. As a spirit beast he wasn't as adept at schemes as humans, and Yin Xiu was the craftiest being he had ever met.
Hu Meng then made his way to the market district of the city which was still bustling even at the late hour. Just as he was about to try and locate a bookstore or library for Yin Xiu, an overwhelming smell entered his nose. It was a mixture of floral scents, sweat, and alcohol that both repulsed him, and simultaneously ignited his innate curiosity. After hesitating slightly he turned in the direction of the smell. A short time later arriving at a street overflowing with the offensive scent. Gaudy buildings lined the street awash with light in the darkness. Not daring to enter the street itself, Hu Meng observed in puzzlement as women in short robes were calling out in a strange fashion to the pedestrians on the road.
Raucous laughter and strange moans echoed from the patrons of the establishments clearly in Hu Meng's heightened senses. Causing him to realize that something wrong must be happening in the buildings, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. He attempted to read the signs on the outside of the buildings to determine their purpose, but they were all ambiguous. In confusion he observed for a few more minutes before resolving to ask Yin Xiu about what on earth these places were in the morning.
Turning onto another street, he stopped to smell the air once again. Repeating the process several times until the scent of paper and ink made its way into his nose. His eyes lit up as he hurried through the alleys, streaking passed the occasional beggar and drunk sleeping in the dark, damp alleyways.
Emerging quietly onto a secluded street, he appeared in front of a store that had already closed for the night. It was a quaint building that gave off a slight scholarly air with classics visible through the window that Hu Meng had stood up against the wall with his forelegs to peep through carefully.
Noting the location he prepared to leave when he noticed a pair of small eyes looking right at him from the back of the store. A young girl of only two or three years old with pigtails curiously peeked out from behind a doorframe with not even a hint of fear on her face as she looked into Hu Meng's golden eyes.
In surprise, Hu Meng stared back awkwardly for a few moments, and then made as harmless an expression as he could before nodding at her and fading back into the darkness. 'That little girl is unusual... if the owner of this store has the same ability to see me then we need to be careful if Yin Xiu is still determined to come here.'
A little unnerved at being discovered, Hu Meng decided to try and find another bookstore just in case. After a few hours of fruitless searching he eventually had to give up resignedly. Just as he was about to turn back to head to the courtyard, he noticed a large building by itself on the very outskirts of the city.
It looked aloof from its surroundings, as if declaring it was its own entity, and not a real part of Violet Mist City. Curious, Hu Meng approached stealthily before reading the sign with interest. 'The Howling Tempest Merchant association? Mother did say that large merchants should be more reliable to trade with than individual cultivators and will be less likely to covet our treasures... I'll mention this place to Yin Xiu as well.'
It had gotten late enough that the entire city seemed to have been lulled to sleep. Upon noticing the lack of interesting scenes to witness, Hu Meng decided to end his exploration for the night contentedly. 'Humans are really interesting to observe.' he sighed excitedly as he raced through the streets, only occasionally having to maneuver around the guards patrolling the area. Rapidly arriving back at the courtyard he leaped over the stone wall with ease before he curled up on a tree limb nearby. He closed his eyes to wait patiently for the last few hours until Yin Xiu woke up.
Time passed quickly and the sun rose steadily in the East as the city stirred to life. As the sun first crossed the horizon, a spectacular scene spread throughout the city. Purple light swirled through the air, blanketing the entire cityscape in violet rays. Yin Xiu who had just walked out of the small house in the courtyard stopped with a stunned expression on his face as he took in the magnificent sight. A few minutes later, the spectacle began to fade away, and the city became as ordinary as its was when they had just arrived.
Hu Meng had jumped down beside Yin Xiu at some point as he was taking in the sight. "Well, I guess we know how the city got its name. Where is the mist though?" He asked Yin Xiu curiously. In response Yin Xiu laughed slightly "Mist doesn't appear all the time, plus its even less likely in the hot summer months." After clearing up Hu Meng's slight misunderstanding he asked "What did you find out last night?" Hu Meng sat up straight at the question he had been waiting for, before excitedly reporting what he had discovered.
Yin Xiu listened quietly until Hu Meng was done before expressing his thoughts. "It seems that Fu Ling truly has some secrets, but that's not really a concern for us, and neither is the Ye families plot. All we have to worry about is that the market is indeed real. We'll go tonight, but we need to make a few preparations while we're out today. Also, make sure to keep an eye on Fu Ling, and the merchants at the market closely. We don't want to get involved in whatever chaos will arise from it, but learning more information might be beneficial to make some moves in the future. If anything else comes up we'll report the news to Senior Hu Fang, and see if she cares about the Ye family's apparent plot or not."
Hu Meng nodded in understanding before asking his most burning question. "So, what was that strange street with the weird smell?" Yin Xiu's face turned slightly red as he managed to stammer out. "That question might be better for you mother to explain." Ignoring Hu Meng's even more confused expression he hurriedly continued to speak. "I think we need to still go and visit that bookstore. If that little girl is as observant as you say then she is probably very special. Either she has a special physique like me, or she is naturally gifted in a particular Dao like you." He rubbed his chin in thought before sighing. "We'll make note of her, but there's not really anything we can do about it either way. I doubt whatever her affinity is has anything in common with the two of us. We also aren't qualified to teach her anything either. In any case it might be safer if I entered alone just in case, so as to avoid trouble."
Throwing the young girl to the back of his mind he continued. "We'll also stop by the merchant association, and try to sell the bulk of the unranked materials and one of the Qi refining materials there if it seems reputable. We need to split the more expensive goods up and not be too ostentatious, so as to not attract greedy eyes."
Having made up their minds about the day the duo began walking together back down into the city to get their mission started.