Blue Phoenix Chapter 26 – Mercenary Guild

“Sleep well?” Hui Yue asked as he looked at his three friends in front of him. During their trip through the tunnels none of them managed to catch any sleep, they instead used the time to cultivate. Upon arriving at their rooms, especially because they were in the safety of an inn with key stones, Hui Yue ordered each of them to sleep half of the night and then cultivate for the rest of the night. This way they could catch up on some much needed sleep.

Cultivation was something which allowed them to relax and restore the energy of their bodies. It was not the same as getting a good night’s sleep in which their minds were allowed to completely relax and become refreshed in the morning.

The four all nodded simultaneously as they accepted the congee Hui Yue had brought up from the restaurant downstairs.

While eating, everyone sat in silence. Although they were stuck within the earth, living in caves far beneath the surface, oddly enough the light still shone through the window, and the outside bustling street sounds could be heard inside the inn.

Sitting together in this way reminded all of them of the previous years at the Royal Academy. Nostalgia swept over the party before smiles appeared on the various faces, happy memories surfacing in their minds.

“We will make it through this so-called Dungeon of the Divine,” Hui Yue said with a smile on his face. “After we get out of these dungeons we will be much stronger. I’m sure that the Rong twins will be as strong as us. Remember how they were accepted into the inner branch of the Royal Academy. We cannot slack off the slightest bit, or we will be left behind.”

Hui Yue’s eyes were shining with excitement as he said this. Seeing his obsession, it was obvious to everyone that his interest in cultivation bordered towards madness.

“We need more information about this cave,” Hui Yue said as he ate a spoonful of congee, happy to eat something other than dried meat. “We also need to get some of those demon coins,” he continued, as the loss of the beast cores caused him to feel great sadness.

The friends knowing Hui Yue’s personality all nodded in agreement. Information and money were the things they needed to survive within this new world. Fortunately, they ended up in a town where both were overflowing.

Wearing the black cloaks, the four friends walked down the staircase. They left Little Poppy behind to guard the room and their belongings.

As soon as the four appeared at the stairs, all talk within the bar stilled. Everyone turned towards the four cloaked people, eager to get a hint of their origin or power.

Hui Yue expected that their appearance would attract attention. However, he had never expected it to be this obvious.

Hui Yue contemplated for a moment before he left the stairs and headed for the door. Finding someone who was interested in selling information in a city like this would be like looking for a tree in the middle of a forest. To find that person and speak with him without others overhearing their conversation, that would be hard indeed.

Upon leaving the inn, the white-haired youth also considered whether or not he should enter an alleyway and allow them all to enter the street without their cloaks. Upon thinking it through, Hui Yue quickly dismissed that idea.

If they were to enter an alleyway wearing the cloak and leave the alleyway without the cloak, it would be obvious who they were. Hui Yue did not think that he needed to hide himself away. Nor did he feel like there was anyone present within the city who was capable of defeating him. Still, a nagging feeling lingered behind.

If water mages were capable of finding their trail, then it would be best if no one knew what they looked like. Coming to that conclusion, Hui Yue moved towards a big building called the Mercenary Guild.

A small tinge of pain appeared in Hui Yue’s heart, as he knew that this trip would cause him to lose even more of his beloved beast cores. Right now information was the most important issue. Beast cores were something he could always regain later on by fighting.

The Mercenary Guild building was a massive structure in the middle of the town. Looking around, Hui Yue saw no signs of a City Lord, and he guessed that the Mercenary Guild was the owner of the city.

Not wanting to waste any time outside, Hui Yue made his way towards the entrance followed closely by his friends. As soon as he reached the entrance, ten guards appeared out of nowhere blocking the doorway with their weapons. A menacing aura came from their bodies, their spiritual energy gushing out.

Their spiritual energy was of lower quality than that of Hui Yue’s; their cultivation base was also a few stars below him. This caused the oppressive spiritual energy from the guards to dissipate as soon as it came into contact with Hui Yue’s cloak. The entire oppressive force was being nullified by the cloak clad upon his body.

Seeing how their oppressive aura was dismissed easily without the cloaked person even revealing a hint of his own cultivation base caused fear to emerge within the hearts of the guards. Gritting their teeth, they were about to launch an attack on Hui Yue as they thought his actions meant that he would attempt to force his way through.

“Halt!” a harsh voice sounded from within the Merchant’s Guild, and a beautiful woman strode out from the shadows. Looking at the woman, Hui Yue narrowed his eyes. She was definitely not just a middle dantian Master; she was at least a King ranked expert. Although Hui Yue could hold his own against a Duke ranked cultivator, it was different when it came to the upper dantian. The difference in strength was not something which he could oppose just yet.

“Mister Black, please follow me,” she said as she gestured for the guards to allow passage for Hui Yue and his friends. Looking at the woman, Hui Yue did not sense any hostility, only genuine curiosity. For now, he followed without asking any questions.

The woman they followed did not lead them towards the main hall where most mercenaries were headed. On the contrary, she led them past multiple courtyards which belonged to the mercenaries who stayed within the guild.

After having moved past the courtyards, Hui Yue and the others were led to a large mansion. There the woman went inside, inviting her guests as well.

Inside the mansion, she kept walking with the same steady steps as she had the entire time. She did not stop until she stood in front of a door carved from heavy wood. Elaborate images of the Azure Dragon could be seen upon it.

Standing still, she knocked on the door a few times before she entered the room, gesturing for Hui Yue and his friends to wait outside.

From inside a shriek sounded out followed by bellowing laughter. After a few minutes of waiting, the heavy wooden door was pushed open. An almost-naked woman ran out from within the room. At first, her face was crimson with embarrassment, but when she almost ran directly into Hui Yue her face paled. She quickly backed away and escaped into a room located down the hallway.

“Enter!” a laughing voice called out. Hui Yue, who was standing, still slightly shocked, was roused back to reality. He quickly knocked Deng Wu on the head before he went into the room, followed by his friends.

The feeling upon entering this office was similar to the one Hui Yue had felt during the times he had entered the office belonging to Rong Liang. Whoever owned this office was not to be trifled with.

“Welcome, welcome!” the voice from before belonged to a young man who seemed to be around twenty-five years of age. However, the knowledge within his eyes far exceeded that age. Hui Yue could not help but be on alert when he saw the man.

He was half naked, only wearing pants and his muscles were something Hui Yue envied. The man looked like the same sort of person as Deng Wu. Although he seemed very dangerous, he also seemed friendly towards them. Showing them a smile that reached his eyes, made him seem more mischievous than troublesome.

“Please take a seat,” he continued. Spreading out his arms he pointed to the chairs which were placed randomly around the office.

Looking at the man, Hui Yue took a gamble. He removed the black cloak he had been wearing, revealing his features and cultivation base to the man and woman in front of him.

Both gaped openly as soon as his white hair was revealed along with his blue eyes. The majority of the citizens within the caves were black-haired and brown-eyed unless they were mixed with magical beasts.

The cultivators who were half-human and half-magical beasts would always fetch a high price at the markets for servants. After looking at this particular person, it was easy for them to see that he was not half-beast. Why he had white hair, and blue eyes was even more mysterious due to that fact.

“This is quite the surprise,” the man suddenly laughed as Hui Yue revealed himself. However, what shocked the man, the most was not his abnormal looks. What surprised him the most was that the man in front of him was only a Master ranked expert, but the aura around him far surpassed his level. This caused the man not to dare take him lightly.

As they saw Hui Yue drop his disguise, Deng Wu, Wang Ju Long, and Sha Yun followed suit and removed their cloaks, allowing their appearances to be seen.

At first Hui Yue had expected that Sha Yun’s appearance would cause a ruckus. But it seemed that mixed breeds were not so uncommon under the surface as they were in the world above. The manager let an appraising whistle escape his lips as he looked at the seductive snake-woman.

“I am sure we are both interested in working together,” the man said with a smile on his face. “My name is Xu Piao. I am the leader of the Mercenary Guild within this city. My family owns the entire Mercenary Guild which appears within this Demon Dwelling Cave.”

Hui Yue made a mental note about the name, Demon Dwelling Cave. Then he waited for more free information. It was obvious that this man was one who thought highly of equal exchange of knowledge. Before Xu Piao found out how little knowledge Hui Yue actually had, the white-haired boy did everything he could to get free information.

“Where are you from?” Although Hui Yue had shown no signs at all, still this man had caught on to the fact that they had very little knowledge. He shook his head wondering where they could be from to not know the name Demon Dwelling Cave.

“Information like that is going to be very expensive,” Hui Yue said seriously, his eyes showing no signs of joking and Xu Piao nodded solemnly.

“I will answer three of your questions for that one answer,” Xu Piao said seriously, his eyes not ready to haggle. Seeing this, Hui Yue looked at his friends behind him, then nodded his head as he looked at the woman next to Xu Piao.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he noticed how the man nodded his head and the woman slowly left the room. She quietly closed the heavy wooden door behind her, leaving only the five people inside the office.

“I hope that this is worth it,” Xu Piao said with a sigh. However, his sudden worry was quickly answered by a small smile on Hui Yue’s lips.

“We come from the world above,” he said seriously, causing the man behind the desk to almost fall from his chair. His eyes widened, and his heart started beating erratically.

“Above? There is a world above?!”