Paradiso

The first step of today’s journey was for the trio of men to get onto a carriage paid for by Anoteros, which took them out of the city and further inland. Or, in other words, closer to the royal capital. And sure enough, the closer they got to it, the more the roads seemed to improve.

The roads were already very good around the satellite cities, but the pathways leading to and from Leynrex? They were simply on another level entirely. The stone bricks used to build them were bright, as though people were paid to polish them every day, and every now and then, a brick of a different colour could be seen. Bright orange or dark grey were the most common, adding some liveliness to it all.

Not to mention, the roads they ended up embarking on for the majority of the trip were imposingly wide, clearly intended for great carriages and chariots to travel upon. Yet they did not encounter many carriages at all, and neither did they actually get very close to the royal capital. They instead ended up taking a sharp turn on the right toward a fortified town.

This place, in particular, was clearly under the watch of someone wealthy. The guards that watched over the gate were not pushovers. Much like the city guards of the satellite cities, these men could be considered elites in their line of work.

They all wore hoods, but whatever stealthy vibe that might have given them was nullified by the bright yellow they wore, making them stand out like sore thumbs.

The carriage was stopped, but not for long. Edrick simply pulled out the emblem bearing the mark of the Elt family. And immediately, the guard took off his hood and bowed as a sign of respect.

“Mister… Anoteros?” he said. Almost using the Elt name by sheer force of the emblem.

“Indeed”

“Welcome to Paradiso! Everything is ready for your arrival!” the guard exclaimed with a salute.

Edrick didn’t say anything else and just handed out some Copper Leyens as a tip before the carriage was allowed to move into the fortified town. Revealing the inside to be rather detached from what one would actually expect of a town, there were markets and such, but it quickly became obvious that this town served a single purpose.

“Mmh… Edrick?” Xiao spoke up.

“Yes?”

“This town… Is that legal?” he asked with a wry smile.

“Of course, it’s, but one of a handful of towns. They are all called Paradiso and are under the control of the Red Mansion, a cultivation sect subordinate to the Elt family-” he began explaining in a casual tone. Meanwhile, both Xiao and Shu had their eyes fixated on what was outside the carriage. Apart from the stalls, which all sold very similar products, there were scantily clad women flashing them with their feminine attributes in broad daylight, be it in the street, or from the windows or doors of the buildings.

“-The Red Mansion is a traditional dual cultivation sect. So naturally, they are adept at managing that sort of business. Besides, they gather the ambient energy from these towns every so often. Apparently, the high amount of lust makes it ideal for them to cultivate with and absorb… In any case, since they are vassals to my family, you could say that this is basically Elt territory, so where else is better for us men to hang out?”

“Huh…” the protagonist had no words to respond with. He tried to look at Shu for some assistance, but the inner disciple did not seem surprised at all. He must have been in on it from the start.

The carriage came to a stop, and the coachman’s voice rang out, prompting the trio to step onto the street. Considering the sort of activities going on here, the place was awfully clean and tidy. But taking into account the sort of people serving as guards, it only made sense that everything would be very professional.

In truth, this town was a glorified whorehouse.

‘Red Mansion, huh? The name fits…' This was a sect he had never heard about in the story, despite dual cultivation being a rather big portion of it. Considering that they were affiliated with the Elt clan, those guys were probably villainous in some sort of way. After all, if memory did not betray, the Elt clan was also associated with the Sect Of The Horned One, which was a literal cult, one that worshipped some horrible creature.

Xiao did not say anything about that, however.

“Sir Anoteros, I shall come back tomorrow to pick you up” the coachman said, only for Edrick to raise one hand.

“Hold on, before you leave-” with a smile, the noble scion turned to a nearby ‘working girl’ and signed for her to come over “-You should get to enjoy the local businesses”

The crimson-eyed youth looked with a mildly odd expression as the coachman was taken into one of the buildings to receive some of the local services free of charge.

“Let’s go, I rented a hall for us further inside of town” Anoteros said, putting both hands behind his back and led the way, absolutely undisturbed despite what was happening around him. The Red Mansion seemed to have gathered quite a variety of workers. Leynlornd was a kingdom primarily occupied by humans like Xiao, but here, there was a rather impressive range of sapient species offering their services.

Though it was mostly beastfolks, the majority of which only sported the simplest of bestial traits, like ears or tails. Though Xiao did spot one that was not only completely covered in fur, but also had a fully animalistic head.

He was personally not a big fan of that, and neither did Shu seem to be into that sort of thing.

“I’ll see you another time!” Edrick was not like them, however. He locked eyes with that beast woman and promised to pick her for some fun time at a later date.

“Take notes, Xiao, a real man sees beauty in all sorts of women!” the emerald ghost popped out of nowhere, startling Xiao a bit. The spectre had not said a thing during the entire carriage ride, having merely been looking around with a focused expression.

‘Master Chengzhe… What were you doing during the carriage ride, exactly?' the elder no longer seemed busy since he was back to implying that real men should be attracted to anything female.

“Mmh, my great senses are no longer what they once were, so I am not sure, but I felt that Edrick’s bloodline was far stronger than what I had previously seen during my time, so I was curious. Alas, I can’t quite decipher such things with accuracy anymore… If only I had access to artefacts to recover some of my power…”

‘Yes, yes… I’ll find you some objects to restore your strength later… But what do you think about his bloodline? Even if not accurate, you should have some ideas’

“Well, don’t take my word for it, but I suspect that he either acquired a bloodline from a creature far more complex than a mere sasquatch, or that he has awakened something else that resonates with his bloodline, or maybe that he consumed something that enhanced the bloodline? I told you, I can’t be certain”

Just as Xiao was about to ask something else, the trio arrived at the hall Anoteros had rented…