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Chapter 282 – Toothed Bur Clover with Garlic (c)
Translated by Gumihou
Edited by Gumihou
While Shiyu was preparing herself to break through at the Imperial Capital, 5,000 miles away at Dawn City, something unusual was happing.
The atmosphere of the City of Dawn was very different from the Imperial Capital.
It was
 very relaxed, almost leisurely compared to the exciting, almost fervent atmosphere that surrounded the Capital.
Every day, the people Dawn City went to work, earned enough to support their families and went home under the soft light of dusk. When evening fell, they would move their stools to the alley and share sips of wine, ate peanuts and chat with neighbours, relatives and friends before retiring for the night.
This was how the regular people pass their simple lives.
The Shi Clan was now one of the major clans in Dawn City. Other clans gave them a lot of face. Moreover, City Lord Ding was often found associating with the Shi Clan, lending additional social standing to their newly established strength. It could be said that Patriarch Ding and Madam Shi were now the representatives of Dawn City.
That evening, Madam Shi had just arrived home after a long busy day. After ordering the maid to put the account books away, she asked, “Has the three Young Masters returned yet?”
[1] The three Young Masters were the Panda Brothers, of course. After recognising Madam Shi as their foster mother, the brothers naturally became ‘Young Masters’ of the Shi Clan.
The maid shook her head, “It’s been two days, they must have gone out to play.”
Madam Shi nodded. [1] The three young men were all powerful masters. Even the whole of Dawn City would be hard-pressed to take down one of the brothers but the natural worry an older generation has for the younger still exist.
“I see, well, find out how much credit they had run up at the shops and restaurants. Make sure to settle their bills for them. Speaking of which, where is the Master?”
“The Master has gone to the Old Madam’s courtyard.”
“Then, I shall visit mother too,”
The master of the Shi Clan was a middle-aged man with a refined temper and scholarly air. His Cultivation was not high, only hovering at Core Condensation 4. It certainly looks like he would never break into Divine Transformation realm in this lifetime. However, his main thoughts were of his family and did not have much ambition about increasing his Cultivation.
To him, having a loving wife, good daughters by his side and a harmonious family was already a great blessing. Now that Xiao Shu has gone on her Cultivation travel, [1] his main concern was collecting the odd rumour or news on his daughter’s activities.
Would his little girl come back as a heroine? Perhaps she would even make a name for herself outside and become a household name praised throughout the country!
As a scholar, he had always been a little romantic in his thoughts. When he voiced them to Madam Shi, she would always shake her head and laugh at his absurd speculations. For herself, all she wanted was for both her daughters to return safely.
While the Shi Clan was enjoying this little harmonious interaction, the three Panda Brothers had also returned to Dawn City. Naturally, they did not return to the estate immediately but elected to walk through the busiest food street to greet stall owners and made it their business to eat as much as they could.
All three brothers have great appetites. They could sample food from stalls lining the streets from one end to the other without missing a single stall.
By now, the stall owners were very familiar with the friendly and gluttonous Young Masters of the most prominent clan of Dawn City. As soon as the three appeared, friendly calls and greetings came along with imploration to eat quickly.
“Little masters, you’re here again? Are you going to eat from this end to that end again?”
“Of course, of course, we want one of everything!” cheered the three greedy pandas. Never mind that their hands were already filled with food and snacks of all kinds.
It could be said that thanks to these brothers, the snack industry of Dawn City received a new shot of vitality.
Soon, laden down with food, the three brothers finally begin their leisurely journey back to the Shi Estate. From time to time, they would sigh with happiness and satisfaction.
How awesome is Ninth Realm, ah? In Ninth Realm, they could eat and eat to their satisfaction.
“I don’t want to go home anymore.”
“Me neither, it’s always either bamboo or raw meat day after day over there,”
“Personally, I think this is more like what home should be,”
“However, once Xiao Shi breaks through to Divine Transformation Realm, we’ll have to leave with her to the upper realms. Who knows how many years that would take, so let’s enjoy ourselves to the fullest here!”
The three chatted as they ate, stopping now and then before a food stall or restaurant to pick up whatever snack that caught their eye.
While they were busy with their mission, a group of people in black cloaks appeared just outside Dawn City.
Before them was a man in a grey cloak and a Chinese banner in his hand. He looked like a fortune teller with his advertisement banner, however, the air he exuded was more sinister than cheerful. Every person who passed by him shivered.
The man in grey cloak gave the high walls of Dawn City a dark smile, “This is a very good place.” He lifted his head and breathed in, his smile took on an intoxicated air. “I smell the scent of living souls. Come, let’s have a look and see what’s inside.”
He stepped forward eagerly, followed by a whole entourage of black-cloaked people. The moment they stepped into Dawn City, the group drew the eye of all the people around them.
The final lingering light of dusk gradually disappeared as the sun settled quietly into sleep. It just happened that these men were standing with the light behind them, casting long shadows forward that seemed to creep into Dawn City and the hearts of people.
The three Panda Brothers who had been eating happily suddenly became alert. Their natural beast instincts instantly detect danger.
All three looked towards the city gates and saw a group of ominous people.
At the same time, the group spotted them.
As their gaze collided in the air, the three Panda Brothers suddenly hugged their food to their chest and scatter in the opposite direction.
The man in grey [1] drew his lips back into a menacing smile. A thick tongue licked his lips, “Spiritual Beasts! Go, capture them!”
The subordinates all flew forward.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah!!!” seeing the chaser getting closer and closer to them, Jing Jing cried out, “They almost caught up, what do we do? What do we do, ah!!??”
Boss Bei knew that it’s useless to keep running aimlessly like this. Every single person chasing them were Divine Transformation experts! His nerves barely held as he shouted, “Spiritual Beast Mountain Range!”
It was their only chance.
The speed of Divine Transformation experts was no joke. They could cover hundreds of miles in a breath. However, the Panda Brothers were also Divine Transformation masters. So long as they reach the Mountain Range, they could hide within the cover of the ancient trees. After six months of exploring the place, they had become quite familiar with it.
No matter what, it was their only chance.
A few breaths later, the scene of chasing and fighting had disappeared from Dawn City. The man in grey [2] was strolling in Dawn City while his subordinates gave chase. He sniffed the air as he walked, “The odour of these monsters is strong. They must have been here for quite some time.”
As he walked and muttered to himself, people around him watched apprehensively. They dare not make a sound as he passed them by.
Then, quite suddenly, the person disappeared.
For a moment, nothing was heard in the city. Then, a cacophony of voices roused and people chattered excitedly to each other.
“That person must be some big shot, do you think he’s an immortal?”
“If he’s an immortal, do you think we could get his blessing?”
Everyone became very engaged with the topic and were very excited by the prospect of celestials visiting their city.
A few hundred miles away, the three Panda Brothers managed to reach Spiritual Beast Mountain Range without losing hair or limbs. The chasers could only search the periphery of the forest, unable to penetrate deeper.
In the end, unable to find a trace of the three, they could only turn around and leave.
[Gumihou: Let us welcome, ‘Grey Cloaked Person with Chinese Banner’]
We now have Glossaries for Character , Cultivation Terms , Clan Names, Restaurants & Places
[1] Added Details for Dramatic Purpose: Fleshing out details to make the text more vivid.
[2] Deleted: ‘with the Chinese banner’ because, like, how many men in grey do you have in this chapter that you must include this? Is it to differentiate him from the man in grey with a fork or the man in grey with the underwear on his head?