Chapter 244: Chapter 243: Too Much Commotion

"Ma’am, I’d like this Flowing Cloud Mark. Same color as the last lady."

Sun Yuting walked up to the stall, pointed to one of the cloud-shaped designs, and sat down in the chair.

WHOOSH—

As she took her seat, the eyes of every curious onlooker fell upon her. In an instant, the noisy, laughing crowd fell silent.

They all stared blankly at the girl sitting primly in the chair.

Even without the mark’s adornment, Sun Yuting’s delicate features were far beyond what the daughter of the wealthy family before her could compare to.

It was hard to imagine what she would look like once the mark was added.

GULP! GULP!—

For a moment, the sound of many people swallowing filled the air.

"Alright!"

The proprietress looked at the gracefully seated Sun Yuting, a smile on her powdered face as she picked up her brush and began to paint on Sun Yuting’s smooth forehead.

With a few strokes of the brush, the crimson cloud pattern was quickly completed.

The proprietress then brought over a bowl of talisman water, which Sun Yuting took and drank in one gulp.

She handed twenty copper plates to the proprietress and trotted over to Wu Chen, who was resting outside the crowd.

"Do I look pretty?"

She tilted up her exquisite face, stood on her tiptoes to look at Wu Chen, and quietly awaited his answer.

Even though the girl had walked away, the crowd’s gazes remained locked on her. But seeing her posture now, in an instant, countless eyes shifted to Wu Chen, who had just been a bystander.

They looked at this young master with his sloppy posture, sleepy eyes, and saber propped carelessly against the ground.

Then they looked back at the delicate, lovely girl.

Many of them were already grinding their teeth in frustration.

’What right does he have!?’

"..."

Wu Chen couldn’t be bothered with Sun Yuting. He tossed the snack he was eating into her arms and walked off into the market on his own, finally escaping the numerous stares fixed on him.

Watching the young man’s back, Sun Yuting pursed her lips and could only hurry to catch up.

In the end, this was just a town market. Even with six hundred households, it wasn’t very large.

The two ambled along, not walking quickly, and had covered most of the market within an hour.

Thanks to the Guards from several prominent families maintaining order, the entire market was peaceful. The occasional verbal spat was nothing more than haggling between buyers and sellers, and things quickly quieted down.

Wu Chen wandered around two more times, stopping wherever a crowd had gathered, but he didn’t hear anything about disappearances.

This frustrated him for a moment.

Just as he was about to continue his wandering, a damp gust of wind swept through the market.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!—

"Hm, is it going to rain?"

Wu Chen noticed that as the mountain wind blew past, the surrounding air grew damp and heavy.

He looked up at the sky and saw thick clouds gradually rolling in from the distant mountaintops, pressing down toward his position.

Judging by the distance, a heavy rain would likely fall in less than an hour.

"Let’s pack up, a big storm is coming!"

"Look at that huge, dark patch of clouds. This could last all day!"

"Hurry, hurry! We don’t want to catch a chill!"

"..."

While Wu Chen was still wondering if it would rain, the market vendors had already reacted. Their experience told them a heavy downpour was imminent.

Faced with the fickle weather, the group of vendors sighed in resignation, though they were already used to it.

They were all small-time merchants, earning just peanuts from morning till night. Naturally, they wouldn’t risk doing business in a downpour and catching a deathly chill.

Sunny days were fine, but rainy days were a disaster for the poor.

Getting caught in a cold rain and catching a chill was enough to take their lives.

In just a few moments, the vendors had packed up and left one after another.

The common folk who were shopping or just enjoying the spectacle also scattered.

In no time at all, the Water Town market became deserted.

"Looks like there’s no problem here in Water Town..."

Wu Chen turned, looked at the girl behind him who was still eating, and said thoughtfully:

"We’ll stay at Master Liu’s for the night. When the rain stops tomorrow, we’ll ask around about the villages with missing people and go check for clues."

Sun Yuting mumbled with her mouth full, "Okay!"

They made their way back to the Liu family residence, where Master Liu himself came out to greet them.

"I wonder if you enjoy a good drink, young master? I have a few jars of twenty-year-old aged wine that I can bring out for us to enjoy! And this kind of weather is perfect for a few hearty cups."

As soon as he stepped out, Master Liu began ordering his servants to prepare a meal.

Wu Chen shook his head and stopped him. "Don’t trouble yourself, Master Liu. The two of us will just stay for one night and leave tomorrow."

Seeing his firm resolve, Master Liu didn’t press the matter. He simply led Wu Chen and Sun Yuting to a side courtyard and a prepared guest room.

...

"Wow, what a soft bed!"

Seeing the bed laid with thick quilts, Sun Yuting’s eyes lit up, and she was about to dive onto it.

But before she could land, she felt a sudden tightness around her lower back, and then she saw the distance between herself and the bed grow.

"You!"

Sun Yuting stared at the young man who had stopped her and lain down on the bed himself, momentarily at a loss for words.

"You got the bed yesterday. It’s my turn today," Wu Chen explained simply, pulling the covers over himself and quickly starting to snore.

Sun Yuting: "..."

Speechless as she was, Sun Yuting couldn’t possibly trouble Master Liu to prepare another room. With a long face, she slumped over the table and began to doze off. The room fell silent.

DRUM! DRUM! DRUM!—

Before long, a torrential rain began to fall outside.

Beneath the heavy storm clouds, the already dim sky now turned pitch-black, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

’Judging by the looks of it, this rain will last all night.’

Listening to the sound of the rain outside, Wu Chen pondered in the dark room, his brow furrowing unconsciously.

They had been in the Cold Rain City area for two days without a single clue about the disappearing townspeople. He couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.

Besides, back at the Demon Suppression Bureau, it was always work before you ate. This sudden reversal, eating before accomplishing anything, felt like a debt he couldn’t repay. He didn’t know how others might feel, but to him, it was agonizing...

"Ngh..."

Lost in his thoughts, after some unknown amount of time, Wu Chen heard a faint, pained moan from inside the room.

Besides him, the only other person in the room was Sun Yuting.

So it was obvious who had made the sound.

"..."

Wu Chen thought for a moment, then pretended not to have heard. He rolled over to face the wall, avoiding any potentially embarrassing sights.

But a moment later, after the faint moaning stopped, the sound of rustling footsteps came from within the room.

Just by the sound and direction of the movement, Wu Chen knew Sun Yuting wanted to go outside but hesitated, pacing back and forth.

She did this several times.

’Did she eat too much during the day and get a stomachache?’

’She’s a grown adult. Is she that scared of the dark?’

Wu Chen didn’t want to get involved, so he continued to feign ignorance and ignore it.

But an hour passed, and Sun Yuting’s footsteps grew more frantic. Her breathing became more rapid, as if she had reached her limit.

After another moment, the pacing stopped. Instead, the footsteps came to the side of the bed, and hot breath washed over the back of Wu Chen’s neck.

’Don’t tell me she wants me to go with her!’

Wu Chen, who was only pretending to be asleep, frowned. Feeling the continuous gusts of hot air on the back of his neck, he could no longer remain calm.

He turned his head, frowning at Sun Yuting, ready to refuse her outright.

’After all, she’s a Martial Artist at the Blood Coagulation Realm. In a town like this, she’s one of the top experts. Other people should be afraid of her, not the other way around!’

But as his eyes fell on her, Wu Chen froze and sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hiss! What’s with you..."

In the pitch-black night, Sun Yuting’s eyes flickered like a pair of eerie, emerald ghost-flames.

The Flowing Cloud Mark that had been painted on her forehead during the day was now glowing, its light pulsing in the darkness.

It flickered continuously, as if answering some kind of summons.

Sun Yuting’s face was ashen-pale, her clothes soaked with sweat. An occasional flash of golden light in her eyes would bring a flicker of rationality back to her, but it was quickly consumed again by the ghostly green fire.

"What’s going on!"

Only then did Wu Chen realize something was seriously wrong with Sun Yuting. If this was just a stomachache, the commotion was far too great.

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