After ushering the two away, Qing Ti felt an inexplicable discomfort and immediately left the City Lord's Mansion, heading straight for Zhongzhou Street.
Xiao Man, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them. She vanished from her room and appeared in the sky above Zhongzhou Street just as Qing Ti was about to force his way in.
"City Lord graces us with your presence. Forgive us for not welcoming you properly. Please forgive our oversight," Xiao Man said from within the barrier, her expression calm as she looked at Qing Ti outside.
"Aren't you going to invite me in for a drink?"
Xiao Man emerged from the barrier. "City Lord, we humans are timid and cannot withstand your might."
Qing Ti surveyed Zhongzhou Street. The humans, indeed, lived well, self-contained and self-sufficient. Zhongzhou Street had everything, and the shops were open as usual, though very few people were on the streets.
"There are so few people."
"It's because not long ago, A Si was abducted in broad daylight. It frightened them," Xiao Man explained. "Now, they are all terrified and dare not even leave their homes. To reassure them, I erected this protective barrier. Please forgive me, City Lord."
"Have a couple of drinks with me." Qing Ti glanced at a nearby wine house, not far from Zhongzhou Street, where Xiao Man could keep an eye on things.
Xiao Man nodded and followed him. They chose an open-air private seating area, ordered fine wine and snacks, and sat facing each other. Xiao Man took the initiative to pour Qing Ti a drink.
"City Lord, please."
"You are too cunning. One cannot find any fault with you."
"I wonder if the City Lord has heard a human saying?" Xiao Man swirled her wine cup, the liquid dancing within as she moved.
"Which saying?"
"'Why worry about lacking a pretext to accuse someone?'" Xiao Man murmured. "If I were merely a cultivator at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, I would likely be a corpse by now. As for A Si, perhaps their soul would have been scattered. You aren't unable to find fault with me; rather, you are unwilling to."
Qing Ti downed the wine in his cup. "That's right. Because your cultivation is so high, even if I knew you were wrong, I could only go along with you."
"The City Lord isn't going along with me," Xiao Man refilled Qing Ti's cup. "The City Lord is merely choosing the situation most beneficial to himself."
Qing Ti stared at Xiao Man for a long time before abruptly saying, "I find I rather like you. You are remarkably clear-headed."
Xiao Man smiled. "Thank you for your praise, City Lord."
"And remarkably shameless," Qing Ti added. "Am I praising you?"
"Whether the City Lord is praising me or not, I will take it as praise," Xiao Man replied, her smile unwavering. "City Lord, how many years have you guarded this city?"
"How many years?" Qing Ti thought, unable to recall. "Too long, I don't remember."
"Do you usually leave the inner city?"
"The farthest I've ever gone is the outer domain's barrier," Qing Ti said unhurriedly. "Guardians cannot abandon their posts."
"Then you must have seen the outside world before," Xiao Man stated with certainty. "The outside world has changed a great deal."
Qing Ti had indeed been to the outside world. In the beginning, there weren't many people. Now, tens of thousands of years later, it was overcrowded. Their Heavenly Demon race, due to difficulties in reproduction, was dwindling in number. This was why they considered recruiting humans to serve them. Yet, some people didn't understand, thinking humans were merely their livestock!
"You are tempting me," Qing Ti said definitively. "It's useless. For people like me, there's nothing left that can interest me."
"City Lord, what realm comes after the Nascent Soul realm?" Xiao Man asked with a serious expression. "Beyond Cang Xuan, are there higher, vast continents?"
Qing Ti was taken aback. Clearly, he hadn't expected Xiao Man to ask such a question. What came after the Nascent Soul realm, he didn't know. He had already touched the sky, but what lay beyond the sky?
As for whether there was anything beyond Cang Xuan, there certainly was! Whether it was higher than Cang Xuan, he didn't know!
"You wish to leave Cang Xuan and go to a higher plane?" Qing Ti looked at Xiao Man, asking doubtfully.
"Yes, I want to know what the ultimate of martial arts is. I want to know what other worlds exist beyond Cang Xuan," Xiao Man said sincerely. "The City Lord is knowledgeable and must know much that I don't. Please impart your wisdom."
Qing Ti was silent for a long time, then gave a bitter laugh. "Unfortunately, I don't know either."
"You don't know either?" Xiao Man sounded distressed. "Then who does? Does the Divine Lord know?"
"The Divine Lord is omnipotent; he surely knows." When speaking of the Divine Lord, Qing Ti's face was filled with reverence. "The Divine Lord is immortal, having long since reached the pinnacle of martial arts and become the master of the world. All your doubts can perhaps be answered when you meet the Divine Lord."
"When can I meet the Divine Lord?" Xiao Man pressed. "I've been here for so long, yet I haven't been summoned by the Divine Lord. Why?"
"Because you are too troublesome and impulsive. If you don't change your ways, the Divine Lord will not see you," Qing Ti stated immediately. "If you want to meet the Divine Lord sooner, you must conduct yourself as a worthy divine envoy."
"Divine envoy?" Xiao Man was troubled. "City Lord, I... I don't seem to have caused trouble, have I?"
"You haven't caused trouble?" Qing Ti laughed. "You dared to gouge out someone's eyes, and you call that not causing trouble?"
"The Crimson Clan was in the wrong first!" Xiao Man retorted. "I never actively sought trouble, but they repeatedly provoked us, bullied us, and suppressed us!"
Qing Ti pursed his lips, about to argue, but Xiao Man gave him no chance, continuing.
"Before the Divine Lord, we are all his subjects, and everyone is equal. Yet, the people of the Seven Clans call us livestock. If we are livestock, then what is the Divine Lord? A butcher?"
"Insolence!" Qing Ti rebuked. "How dare you speak ill of the Divine Lord!"
"City Lord, it is not I who speaks ill of the Divine Lord, but the people of the Seven Clans who tarnish his name," Xiao Man said unhurriedly. "The Crimson Clan, relying on their high cultivation, commits all sorts of atrocities. The Blue Clan is deep in thought and excels at sowing discord and spreading rumors. They are always doing things that discredit the Divine race. Yet, the City Lord turns a blind eye, allowing them to tarnish the Divine race's reputation. This is your dereliction of duty!"
Qing Ti regretted inviting Xiao Man for a drink. He knew this young man was a tough nut to crack, impervious to reason, yet he had tried to persuade him to obey. He had been too naive!
"My duty is to protect the peace of the inner city."
"Under your protection, people are killed, robbed, captured, and some disappear without a trace. If this is called peace, then you are unfit to be City Lord."