Late Night Tales Of The Capital

Chapter 145 White Streamers Hanging Over the Entire City
For nine days and nights, Ye Que went through all mystical words that he could comprehend and experience at his current level once more. At the same time, he made practical use of them as they traveled southward.

The effects looked pretty good right now.

At the very least, the devils had not caught up with his party. This proved that his magical formations were of use.

They were a band of nearly 20 people that rode in a simple carriage and carried few belongings. They traveled south from Northern You until they reached the Divine Capital, Luoyang, eventually.

The crude carriage that had been carrying Ye Que kept creaking and grinding as it went downhill. Beside it were dozens of young teenagers on horseback. Their skin, which was originally white, had turned suntanned by now. Even the female disciples like Yang Nuanyue were not spared; their skin was wheat-colored now. Only Ye Que, Red Bean, and Lei Tianyou, who had been recuperating in the carriage, looked the same as before.

Ye Que did not sit in the carriage again, nor did he ride a horse. Instead, he began walking.

It was already unnecessary to continue setting up magical formations.

They were already extremely close to Luoyang, and the devils would not dare to brazenly show themselves at this moment.

All of them felt very relaxed, and even their horses began to get infected by their calm; the beasts began to trot along languidly. They traveled slowly to accommodate Ye Que’s speed. In the end, a few male disciples even dismounted and led their horses by the reins as they walked slowly.

Lei Tianyou had also emerged from the carriage. Guan Shuheng supported his eldest senior brother and silently thought that the vague brown figure far away in the horizon must be the Divine Capital, Luoyang, of legend. He was brought up in Northern You since a young age, and it was the first time he had traveled so far away from home. It seemed to him now, however, that it would be ages before he could return there.

Lei Tianyou slowed down to wait for Ye Que. He cupped his hands together and said, “Mr. Ye, I can’t thank you enough for the care you’ve given along our journey. I’ll remember this forever, as will all of the disciples of the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. In future, just ask if you need my help. Even though our sect has been broken, my words still have some influence in Southern Yue.”

This was officially the first time Lei Tianyou had spoken to Ye Que.

On the entire journey, Ye Que had immersed himself entirely in his magical formations and rarely conversed with anyone else. He seldom left the carriage, except to set up more formations or to study the mystical words within the Divine Book.

“It just happens that we’re heading in the same direction. You’re overstating it; I didn’t do much,” Ye Que said plainly.

“You saved a dozen lives that were the last hope for the Pavilion of Wind and Thunder. That itself was a great favor for us. The others may not be clear on this, but my eyes are still working well. I can see that you’ve done great things for us along this journey. Those dozens of formations could not be set up successfully by ordinary folk. Only someone with great willpower could have accomplished a feat like that,” Lei Tianyou said somewhat admiringly.

Lei Tianyou pointed behind them before continuing, “If it weren’t for your wondrous formations, Sir, the devils would definitely have caught up with us. If that happened, our survival would be up to our fates.”

Ye Que smiled calmly. He did not try to play down his achievements again, nor did he rebut.

Being overly humble was hypocritical.

Ye Que’s mantra was to go along with the flow. Naturally, he would not do anything that did not suit his beliefs.

“Mr. Ye, after entering the city, we may have to leave. I’ll have to take a look at the assets we have in Luoyang and make contact with my family; there are some things that we should take precautions against before they happen. Since the devils have emerged in Northern You, they could very likely appear in Luoyang or even Southern Yue. You should take care as well, Sir,” Lei Tianyou said softly as he looked at the majestic city which kept drawing nearer.

“Everything has to come to an end.”

“Life is long.”

“We’ll meet again if fated,” Ye Que said pensively as he looked at Lei Tianyou. His expression had not changed in the slightest bit, as if he had experienced many partings like this in the past.

Instead, Guan Shuheng, who was beside them, opened his mouth as if he had something to say before closing it again. His eyes were turning slightly red. The others might not have been aware that he was the only one who had communicated with Ye Que along their journey to Luoyang.

Ye Que would speak casually to Guan Shuheng each time he set up his formations. At first he would only ask Guan Shuheng about his current situation, but eventually, he passed on a set of breathing techniques to the young man unexpectedly, on the pretext that it would help realign his eldest senior brother’s meridians.

Guan Shuheng was a little slow sometimes, but he was no fool. He knew how to differentiate between bad and good.

The dozen of female Pavilion of Wind and Thunder disciples were much happier. After entering Luoyang, the danger they faced would temporarily be removed. They had been fleeing and in fear for the entire journey, and even the male disciples like Guan Shuheng nearly gave up, much less them, who used to be delicate maidens.

Chen Chenchen immediately came over after Lei Tianyou left.

He wanted to bid farewell first, just like Lei Tianyou did. The Broken King Gorge had assets hidden within Luoyang as well, and as the disciple who managed to flee, he had the responsibility and right to check on them, so that he could increase the chances of his sect’s survival.

Luoyang was the hub of the Divine Land. All sects, no matter their sizes, would naturally leave some resources in the city.

The number of pedestrians kept increasing as they continued in Luoyang’s direction, and teams of carriages and horses kept streaming in and out of the city.

There were teams of armed escorts, merchant teams that were heading for faraway lands, as well as horse-drawn carriages that were delivering goods to the outskirts. There were also teenagers that were returning from their spring hike, and their surroundings had become extremely vibrant even before they caught sight of the city gates.

The piercing chill in the air had also been replaced with a vaguely gentle vapor.

They could already hear intermittent shouts ringing out.

After walking further, they realized that vegetable farmers had already set up their small stalls beside the road.

The young practitioners that had never traveled south to Luoyang were staring with their eyes wide open. “So, this is the Divine Capital, Luoyang!”

“There are so many people here!”

“The city is really huge!”

The first impression they had of Luoyang was that it was teeming with people, and that its city walls were boundless.

“Do you have a place to stay in Luoyang?” Red Bean asked suddenly as she looked at the huge Luoyang City.

“Place to stay?” Ye Que paused before replying uncertainly, “I think so.”

“I don’t.”

Red Bean raised her hand to shield her eyes from the somewhat piercing sunlight before glancing at him, evidently meaning, “You have a place to stay here, while I don’t. I think you know what to do.”

The party walked slowly to the city gates. The castle walls soared high above them, and they could not seem to see the end of them. They looked like tiny ants as they stood below the city.

Ye Que was about to reply Red Bean when he felt a slight tremor beneath his feet. He also began to hear the sounds of a horse galloping. A group of riders, about a few thousand strong and dressed in white feathers, were speeding in their direction from Luoyang City. All of them carried white streamers, which gave onlookers an impression that they were an endless line of white.

The white-feathered riders shouted loudly as they galloped, “His Majesty has passed away!”

Their voices were resounding and resonant, but also sounded hoarse and strained at the same time!

The riders charged up to the bottom of the castle before stopping and dismounting from their horses in a neat, unified fashion. After that, they began to climb the walls in a single file, before finally planting their white streamers along the entire length of the castle walls in an orderly fashion.

Ye Que and his company had entered the North Gate. The other four gates had armored riders as well.

4,000 armored riders stuck their tall white streamers along the entire length of Luoyang City.