Ancient Strengthening Technique: Chapter 37 – Night Market at the Town of the Setting Phoenix

After donning the satin robe embroidered with intricate designs, Qing Shui stood in front of the mirror, admiring his reflection and his elegant features. In addition to the barely perceptible speck of violet pearl, he also gave off an unsurpassed air of grace and elegance, but not to the point where people would mistake him for a female. However, his current looks could definitely match up to the definition of the word,“beautiful”.

Qing Shui did not know how other guys would feel if they were called beautiful by others, but personally he would rather look like a beastman than have his current appearance.

Qing Shui bitterly stared at the beautiful clothes on his body. This clothing style was actually quite similar to what that Situ Bu Fan would wear. This could not be considered a new fad as the Qing Clan and the various families in the Qing Village would wear a similar style of clothings every new year. Even Qing Shui himself had worn this style of clothing before, but it had never this  awkward. Maybe subconsciously, after meeting Situ Bu Fan, he had no desire to be similar to him in any way.

“If this was not personally tailored for me by mother, I would definitely not wear it!” Qing Shui inwardly grumbled.

As Qing Shui turned his head, and saw the look of happiness in Qing Yi’s eyes, he helplessly sighed. Who’s mother would not wish for their child to be good looking? Plus, how could such a beauty like Qing Yi give birth to an ugly child?

“Looking good, hehe. In the future, I do not know how many girls will fall for our Shui`er.” Qing Yi laughingly stated as she gently straightened Qing Shui’s collar, sleeves and clothes.

“Mother, let us go to the town! I have never been there before, and I remember Qing Hu saying that the town will be bustling and full of activities since it is a new year!”

Looking at Qing Yi, Qing Shui could not help but feel a trembling in his heart as he remembered Qing Hai’s words. He never expected that Qing Yi would actually stand outside the gates and waited for him to return safely, day after day.

“Okay!” Qing Yi agreed! With hints of guilt in her eyes, Qing Yi could not help but sigh. She had always been busy in Hundred Miles City, handling external businesses for the Qing Clan and had neglected Qing Shui in his early childhood years. Qing Yi could only spare time to come back and visit Qing Shui during certain times of the year. Luckily, this child of hers was independent by nature and understood the big picture.

The skies outside had not completely darkened, yet the trees on the streets all were adorned with “Light Stones”. The Light Stones were a kind of pebble, capable of emitting soft rays of light. There were many grades of Light Stones, it was said that the Light Stones used in Qing Village were of the lowest grades, so the light rays emitted from them were the weakest as well. There were rumors that some of the grand cities in the Green Cloud Continent had light stones of the highest grade, capable of emitting light rays that were comparable to the moonlight.

At this time of the night street lights were normally supposed to be on, however, because of the festive season, the street lights were not lit as the light stones took their place. Despite this, the effects of the Light Stones, in Qing Shui’s opinion, was much better than the light lamps. Following Qing Yi, the two of them walked out of the Qing Clan and in the direction of the Town of the Setting Phoenix.

The Paulownia Town got its name from the towering Paulownia Tree planted in the town. Legend has it that during ancient times, a phoenix once resided on top of the Paulownia tree. Eventually, after it departed, the name of the town was changed to the Town of the Setting Phoenix! Even now, one was able to hear the fascinating stories from the Elders, with detailed explanations that were so vivid that it was as if the elders had seen the phoenix with their very own eyes.

Because both Hundred Miles City and Town of the Setting Phoenix were situated some distance away from the Qing Village, taking into consideration the routes to visit Hundred Miles City were all mountainous paths, many people found it very inconvenient to visit it. Hence, this led to most people choosing to visit the nearby prosperous Town of the Setting Phoenix instead, and as it was the only town in the vicinity!

So generally, people would visit Town of the Setting Phoenix for purchasing and selling items! One more main point to note was that even influential merchants from Hundred Miles City would come to Town of the Setting Phoenix to set up stores and conduct their businesses; selling and purchasing beast leather, meat, crops. Their main aim was to target cultivators who tended to go to the 1,000,000 Li mountains to cultivate. These cultivators would usually need supplies, and they would frequently stop at the Town of the Setting Phoenix to make their purchases, or sell the gains they had acquired.

The distance between Qing Village and Town of the Setting Phoenix was about a little over a thousand meters. Despite having the name of “Town of the Setting Phoenix”, in reality this town was also considered a part of Qing Village. This was because, in the radius of a 100 Li, all the surrounding region were called the Qing Village. This left Qing Shui feeling a bit awed, it was as if the Town of the Setting Phoenix was the capital of the Qing Clan.

The road was swamped with many people, as the Qing Clan held absolute authority in the region, many people took the initiative to courteously greet them as they passed.

The rowdy kids infected the bustling atmosphere with a sense of innocence as they ran about and played with each other. Looking at such a scene, anyone would smile in their heart.

“Shui`er, how did your training progress during this half year?” Qing Yi asked after looking at the current Qing Shui who was already taller than her by half a head.

“Not too bad!” Qing Shui said as he smiled, giving an answer that made Qing Yi feel very happy.

Since Qing Shui said not too bad, that means that it really was not too bad, Qing Yi knew that Qing Shui would never exaggerate facts to boost his own power. She knew that Qing Shui was not as weak as he looked to be!

As mother and son chatted, unknowingly, they had already arrived at the entrance of the Town of the Setting pheonix. Qing Shui finally saw the legendary Paulownia Tree which gave the town its name. Speaking of which, even Qing Shui found it hard to believe. This was his first time here, in the last 10 years, he had never even stepped foot out of the Qing Mansion, even if he went out, he would only go to the mountains near the Qing Clan.

Qing Shui could not help but be thunderstruck by the size of the towering Paulownia tree. It was over 100m tall in height, and the girth of it requires over 10 humans before they could wrap their hands around the trunk. The many branches and leaves were akin to a gigantic umbrella, he mused to himself “Maybe, a phoenix really did once nest in this tree”.

The Town of the Setting Phoenix could not be considered small, in a radius of 10 Li, even now when the night was approaching many prongs of people still remained walking about the streets. Not to mention that this was a festive celebration as the new year was approaching. Everyone was on holiday just to celebrate this occasion, and as such, vendors on the streets were busy hawking their wares, shouting in loud voices as they attempted to attract more customers to their stores! This level of bustling could be compared to some of the cities back in Qing Shui’s previous life!

Qing Shui discovered that, after arriving in the town, he often saw a plethora of pretty girls; those with jade white skin, long and slender legs, and those with curvaceous figures. How could there be any shortage of pretty girls with so many people on the streets! It was just that, all of these pretty girls were still some distance away when compared to Shi Qing Zhuang.

There were many pretty young ladies shyly glancing at Qing Shui, everytime Qing Yi noticed this, she would tease: “Shui`er, look, there are so many pretty young ladies that are stealing glances at you.”

Qing Shui felt very happy at this moment. He was not happy because there were plenty of beautiful girls for him to see, he was happy because he could tell that Qing Yi was no longer as depressed as before.

As they looked at the people in the streets; parents would accompany their children, teenage guys and girls were dating, the elderly grandparents were all supporting each other as they enjoyed the atmosphere…

Qing Shui unintentionally saw hints of helplessness and unwillingness flashing through Qing Yi eyes and he could roughly guess what Qing Yi was thinking about. However, to the current him, as long as he did not reach the Xiantian realm, there was nothing he could do about it…

“Mother, what are you thinking about? After tonight has passed, I can finally be considered as an adult. You previously promised me that after my coming of age ceremony, you would let me know about the circumstances of my father.” Qing Shui gently held Qing Yi’s hands as he asked. The instant Qing Shui mentioned his father, a frightening, razor sharp, ice cold look flashed in his eyes. Upon seeing it, Qing Yi could not help but tremble as she felt the menacing aura emitted from Qing Shui.

“What mother has promised, I will naturally deliver. However, you must not go against my words!” Qing Yi let out a forced smile as she look at Qing Shui with hints of doting in her gaze.

“Do not worry mother. With me by your side, even if the heavens were to tumble down, I would still be here to support you!”