Mu Xuan gazed at the standing city walls and the guards stationed at the city gate, his expression grave.
If it weren’t for the fact that those entering the town appeared out of thin air before the black mist, and those leaving disappeared just as suddenly before it, Mu Xuan might have really thought this was a normal town.
Most importantly, the scepter seemed to be cut off by some kind of power. He could sense its existence, but there was no way to bring the scepter into this town.
With no way to retrieve the scepter, Mu Xuan had no choice but to shift his attention to that shard.
He’d already made a deal with the shepherd.
The shepherd wouldn’t leave without permission before Mu Xuan returned. Likewise, Buzhaqi would stay put as well.
This shard was forcefully handed over by the shepherd before Mu Xuan left.
The shepherd clearly knew something, but hadn’t told him… Otherwise, he wouldn’t have forced the shard on him…
Was he worried that Mu Xuan wouldn’t come if he knew?
He shook his head, dismissing the thought from his mind.
Since he was already here, all he could do was investigate. In this Rules-based Nightmare, getting out wouldn’t be so easy…
At that moment, the guards also noticed Mu Xuan’s odd behavior.
Immediately, one of them shouted from afar, “Hey! What are you doing over there!”
Mu Xuan froze, then quickly realized his behavior stood out, and hurriedly lined up behind the group entering the town.
People in front and behind were chatting, their expressions perfectly natural. Some spoke of Lord Mage, their faces showing both timidity and longing; others discussed the day’s events, while those listening appeared full of curiosity.
Mu Xuan couldn’t sense anything out of the ordinary. It was as if this place was just as it had been before the Calamity descended, with the black mist and the strangeness outside not existing at all.
He listened carefully to the conversations around him, but found nothing of substance. Mu Xuan hung his head, looking toward the city gate.
As expected, people were questioned routinely before being allowed in. Some, unable to answer the guards’ questions, chose to slip coins to the guards.
Watching those obsequious smiles on the faces of the townsfolk and the satisfied grins on the guards, Mu Xuan’s mouth twitched.
Surely they wouldn’t ask any strange questions, would they?
Mu Xuan mused, watching the money they passed over. Several silver coins, each engraved with the image of a soaring eagle—one of the main currencies for trade between humans before the Calamity.
However… after the Calamity, money was basically useless, and Mu Xuan had none of those copper, silver, or gold coins at all.
If this place, which seemed so normal, contained “people” with independent thought, would he need money here?
And by rights, a Rules-based Nightmare shouldn’t be like this…
Everything here was so normal, so normal that it struck Mu Xuan as a little eerie.
Before he could think further, a commotion erupted up ahead.
A young man hauling a wooden cart had clashed with the guards. The people in line quickly gathered around, pointing and gossiping.
From their conversations, Mu Xuan pieced together what had happened.
The young man was never wealthy; every morning, he had to leave the city to gather herbs in the forest and sell them to the apothecary inside.
Apparently, he’d found a good spot yesterday, and today he’d filled his cart with herbs.
The guard, seeing the young man’s big haul, wanted a cut before letting him in.
But the young man was stubborn, absolutely refusing to give the guard anything. When the guard tried to search his cart, he refused just as adamantly.
So, things blew up.
Seeing this, Mu Xuan frowned.
If this kept up, who knew how much longer it would take him to get inside? It was wasting his time.
But the problem was, no matter how normal this place seemed, Mu Xuan knew there were rules here that couldn’t be broken. Not knowing what the rules were, and without any money, he simply had no way to resolve this.
As things looked set to escalate, Mu Xuan’s gaze darkened.
Now, the guard was already accusing the young man of smuggling dangerous goods into the city, ready to arrest him at any moment.
The defiant look in the young man’s eyes stirred something in Mu Xuan’s heart.
The young man’s explanation was simple: all his money had gone to pay for his family’s medical treatment, he had none left.
But the guard wasn’t moved.
It felt too real… There was no sense of wrongness at all, it even sparked a flame of anger in Mu Xuan.
Although Mu Xuan often put himself first, as long as he wasn’t in danger, this sort of thing was what he couldn’t stand the most.
Even so, he stayed calm, not letting his anger push him to act. He had no way to help, and charging in would only be dangerous.
This place was dangerous!
Mu Xuan kept repeating this to himself.
Just as he’d thought at the start, only absolute rationality, never letting emotions dictate his actions, would allow him to survive here.
Glancing around, Mu Xuan started thinking of a solution.
But before he could come up with anything, the crowd suddenly dispersed and quietly lined up again.
Mu Xuan was taken aback and looked again at the city gate.
A tall woman with long golden hair and clad in silver chainmail strode out.
Her fine brows were tightly furrowed, her gaze unfriendly as she stared at the guards at the gate.
“You two…”
At the sound of that cool, crisp voice, the guards—who had just been about to seize the young man—shuddered. Sensing something was off, they immediately turned, wringing their hands and forcing stiff smiles onto their faces.
“My lady, we were just joking with this guy… Besides, well, his family’s all sick, so the two of us wanted to help him bring his cart into the city…”
“Is that so?” The female knight was clearly unconvinced, turning to the young man for confirmation.
Looking at the two guards, who were making threatening gestures, and then at the female knight with her sharp gaze, the young man hesitated for a moment before sighing, “My lady, you misunderstand them. They really were just trying to help me…”
At that, Mu Xuan’s brow twitched. The female knight is already helping you, why back down now?
But, seeing the two guards to the side, Mu Xuan wisely kept silent. He didn’t know what the situation inside the city was, nor what kind of person this female knight was. There was no need to get involved because of this.
The female knight’s brow tightened at the young man’s words, but she didn’t pursue the matter.
“Go on in, your family still needs money for medicine.”
Clearly, since the young man wouldn’t say more, she wasn’t going to press further. Helping this much was already the greatest kindness.
Once the young man had hauled his cart into the city, the female knight looked at the two guards.
“All right, you two, go stand watch at the side. I’ll handle checking people through the gate from here.”
Her voice was icy, leaving the two guards no room for argument.
They glanced at each other, saw the resignation in one another’s eyes, and had no choice but to bow their heads and move aside.
Mu Xuan looked at the beautiful female knight, feeling a bit curious. But he quickly suppressed his gaze.
For no other reason than that the female knight looked his way, her cold stare sending a chill through Mu Xuan.
