While looking at Wei Yuanjie, Wu Longâs expression,suddenly turned into a kind smile, which for some reason made the former even more nervous, "W-whyâre you looking at me like that?"
"Because youâre so kind to me, youâre even providing me with an excuse to showcase some strength...", Wu Long spoke in a friendly tone.
"W-what are you talking about?", Wei Yuanjieâs eyes went wide with shock, while his mind was fervently checking his memories for when he was crazy enough to make such promises.
"Thereâs a few quite dangerous people who arrived in the city not that long ago, who have a grudge with the Wei Dynastyâs Imperial Family, they just donât have the strength to do something against an entire Dynasty... one prince who is all alone in a remote place like this, though, is another story... especially if that prince, for whatever reason, decides to leave his residence to have fun in the night city without any escorts, except for two friends, and by âsheer coincidenceâ happens to approach the area where those people are..."
"Hahaha, that prince is not that foolish though, right? W-who is stupid enough to knowingly go near clearly dangerous people with a grudge against their family?", Wei Yuanjie felt his throat drying up, resulting in a dry, slightly forced laugh, "Really... youâre so funny. Ahahaha-hahaha... haha...ha"
---
"Cheer up man, youâre supposed to be out to have some fun", Wu Long chuckled, nudging the sour-faced prince with his elbow.
"I am just ecstatic", Wei Yuanjie grumbled, "Canât you see? Iâm brimming with excitement..."
"The place weâre going to supposedly has good dancing and musical performances, and delicious wine, itâs quite famous among locals", Wu Long continued to entice the prince, while Duan Feng who was walking to the other side shook his head with a smile.
The princeâs face, on the other hand, didnât show much improvement, similarly to his tone as he sighed, "... can I at least know whoâre those guys and whatâs their grudge all about?"
"Son of a high-ranking noble of your Dynasty who was stripped of his inheritance and wealth, and then banished from ever setting foot on the Emerald Falls Continent about 300~350 years ago, along with a few people who are now his subordinates", Wu Long answered nonchalantly as they passed through the still-crowded despite the nighttime streets.
"What the... I wasnât even born then! Talk about taking out your anger on someone completely unrelated! ...Besides, if heâs of a high noble lineage and received that kind of punishment it means what he did wouldâve been a death sentence for someone of lesser status, he should be grateful heâs alive! Not to mention, if he was punished like that, didnât he do something to deserve it? Whatâs there to have a grudge about?", Wei Yuanjie first showed surprise, and then indignation about being the target of revenge for something that happened hundreds of years before he was even born.
"Hmm, I commend your understanding that justice works differently for people with different statuses, but it seems youâre still a bit naive about the true nature of the Imperial Court", Wu Long made a slightly wry smile, "I wouldnât say he was some pure and innocent lamb, in his time he did plenty of things with his status of untouchable scion of a high noble that could strip you of any sympathy for him, but the reason he was punished wasnât because he did any of that. He simply accidentally got on nerves of someone he shouldnât have"
Seeing that Wei Yuanjie was about to continue arguing it was still unfair to go after him, Wu Long added, "And as far as you being âcompletelyâ unrelated... the person he got on the nerves of was the Empress"
"Shit...", the 9th prince could only curse with a defeated expression, and then after a few moments, showed a renewed spirit of argument in his eyes, "Still... itâs been 300 years... itâs basically history now! Who knows, he could be long over it by now, and as you said, itâs not like he didnât deserve it either way, maybe getting older made him mature? You know... learn to be humble and recognize his mistakes...?"
"You only think thatâs long for a grudge to pass because youâre less than 2 decades old. For cultivators who live long, time doesnât smooth out past grudges as it does for mortals. As for your other point, from what information the Thousand Eyes Palace could gather his personality hardly changed from before, if anything it might have gotten more cruel after survival âin the wildâ for all these years", Wu Long shook his head, "Think about it, every time he encountered hardship or danger while living as a rogue cultivator, every time he had to lower his head to someone just to survive, he would remember why his lifeâs like this now instead of the luxurious life he had before. You still think âitâs all in the pastâ for him?"
Wei Yuanjie gulped, once again filled with desire to quit this madness and go back to his inn. He knew Wu Long was strong, and that he would be almost certainly safe next to him, especially since Duan Feng who was also quite powerful was also there, but it still felt wrong to willingly go near someone with such a burning grudge, especially because, when Wu Long first brought up this idea, he said they were âquite dangerousâ, which for the 9th prince sounded more like âextremely deadlyâ. It went against all his survival instincts.
However, at the same time, he knew that Wu Long wouldnât ask for his help in this if he could do it differently. After all, it was entirely in character for Wei Yuanjie to go out and have fun in the city as he did many times before. Especially after drinking with the Ember Palm Pavilionâs Elder, influenced by perhaps a few too many cups of wine, it was a completely plausible situation.
Without that scenario as a backdrop, Wu Long going out alone and somehow getting into a fight with someone powerful enough to showcase his strength would look too suspiciously like he was doing it on purpose.
With that in mind, he soon adjusted his expression and behavior, acting out the role of a spoiled, slightly tipsy prince who came out here on a whim.
Going on foot they moved much faster than using a carriage, eventually reaching a part of the city that only operates at night. There, Wei Yuanjie loudly proclaimed his wish to enter one of the pavilions, despite the advice of both Wu Long and Duan Feng to pick another place, which seemingly only solidified his resolve to visit this particular one.
Helpless to change his mind, they reluctantly followed him inside.
The inside of the large main building of the pavilion was mostly hollow, with floors filled with tables taking up the sides like long balconies, overseeing a large stage in the center of the first floor, where women danced in daring dresses.
Under Wei Yuanjieâs demands, they were escorted to the highest, most luxurious floor. Seeing the dance performance, as well as pretty servants dressed almost as provocatively as the performers on the stage walking all around the hall, the princeâs heart started pumping, seemingly forgetting the worry of danger that he walked into by coming here.
"Youâre corrupting the mind of an innocent youth bringing him to such a place", Duan Feng sighed.
"Heh, says someone whose pretending to really not see anything as soon as that girl offered to escort you to the seat", Wu Long chuckled, shaking his head.
"Iâm not pretending, I really canât see anything with my eyes, and using Spiritual Sense in such a public place is rude...", Duan Feng made a few dry coughs.
"Besides, it is drinking pavilion, even though itâs slightly more provocative. Itâs not a brothel or something similar", Wu Long shrugged, and then noticing a few people who arrived added, "Though I suppose Yuanjieâs fun and enjoyable time here is going to end before it can even really begin, today our âguestsâ arrived much earlier than the two nights they were here before"