Star Gate

Chapter 627: Finally Seeing Brother Hou (I)

The girl wore slightly tattered clothing, but they were clean and the holes properly patched up. There were even flowers embroidered on them, albeit slightly ugly flowers... She was startled by Li Hao’s look and mumbled, “You can just say no if you don’t want a guide. Why scare someone like that for?”

Li Hao heaved a long breath. Once bitten, twice shy. He’d trusted the fatty very much so at first and felt that the world was filled with love. He’d almost been hauled off for the mines for it, so he was much more wary now. But upon thinking that he was in the royal capital... he could not think that the girl was all she appeared to be.

However, the young man was indeed rather befuddled at the moment. He didn’t care if she was a fraud. “Do you know where the Avenues of the Nine Ministries are?”

“Of course!” The girl’s eyes lit up. “I’m a walking map of Skystar City! I’m very familiar with them. Are you going to one place or many places?”

“Just there. I’ll decide what to do next if I don’t find who I’m looking for.”

“One hundred star coins! You have to pay for any additional expenses you incur along the way.”

One hundred star coins... Li Hao would’ve thought that to be a princely sum before. It wasn’t until he reached the central region that he learned it wasn’t much. As for hailing a taxi... a country bumpkin such as him didn’t know about taxis.

There were actually taxi stands nearby, but whether it was White Moon City or Silver City, cars were reserved for the rich. The rich did not drive others around, so the possibility didn’t occur to Li Hao.

“Alright!” Li Hao nodded.

The girl looked at him. He’s not an idiot, is he? Is he a foreigner?

Probably!

She’d thought that there was no hope of doing business when the young man said he was going to the Avenues of the Nine Ministries, so she randomly quoted one hundred star coins. Taking a taxi there would cost only seventy or eighty, but the fool agreed to her price!

Well, on the other hand, perhaps foreigners didn’t know how much the taxis cost.

“Then come with me.” The girl’s radiant smile broadened. “The Avenues are pretty far away, so I’ll find you a cheap way to get there. I promise I’ll save you money!”

Li Hao didn’t care; he took a deep breath. I really don’t want to come to this lousy place. It’s so big that I, the vaunted Demon Sword, got lost in here! No one would believe it if word got out!

He followed the girl off the bus platform and walked to the side. Li Hao was completely fearless at the moment! He was in Ole Hou’s territory. Whoever tried to swindle him next would be served with a slash from his sword. He’d leave them all to Ole Hou to handle! There were a lot of people who wanted to kill him!

The young man knew even more so that these large factions gave certain consideration to face. As part of the nine ministries and a high rank chief commissioner, these people had to give consideration to his rank. They wouldn’t touch him out of that concern!

It was why he’d dared come to Skystar City. As for ambushes from the shadows... that was a possibility he’d considered as well. There was He Yong and Hou Xiaochen here. If a struggle truly broke out, he would be in charge of suppressing their seals after the fact. Those two unsealed could match Arcanus supernaturals.

With that in mind and a sneer on his face, he followed the little girl into an alley. The smirk quickly faded away, replaced with wordlessness. The girl wheeled out a battered bicycle from the alleyway!

“There’s traffic!” she quickly explained at seeing Li Hao’s reaction. “Don’t you know that it gets crazy congested on the way to the Avenues of the Nine Ministries? It’s at least two hours by car and much faster to bike—half an hour at most! You can just give me ten star coins for the ride!”

“You’re taking me there?”

“Yeah!” the girl responded matter-of-factly. “Of course I am! Ten coins is the same fare as the buses, but the buses will get caught in traffic too! You don’t look like you’re from around here, so you’re not familiar with the city. I’ll take you on my bike and also introduce Skystar City to you!”

“......” Li Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I rode a bike all the time when I commuted to work. Oh, that poor bike of mine stuck in the big house in Silver City. I wonder if anyone’s squatting in it.

He couldn’t be bothered with saying anything else. Traveling via bike was just as well, he could take a look around on their way to their destination. He definitely needed to study the streets, otherwise, he wouldn’t know which way to run in this blasted place if someone wanted to chase him down.

Possibilities for retreat were constantly on Li Hao’s mind. As for why someone would be hunting him in Skystar City... Who knew?

The girl was overjoyed and flung a leg over her bike, then patted the back seat. “Get on! Oh yeah, you need to hold your dog... What about your luggage?”

“Don’t have any.”

“You don’t have luggage?” The girl quickly recovered from her surprise. “You’ve got a place to stay here, don’t you? You’ll have to come back after your business is concluded... You can look for me then too!”

Li Hao smiled and climbed onto the backseat without a word. He didn’t offer to pedal as he’d spent money for this service. Additionally, he didn’t recognize the roads. The little girl was spindly enough that she probably couldn’t move him. He and Panther together had to weigh at least four hundred kilograms. Therefore, the young man hovered slightly in the air when the girl started pedaling.

“You’re so light...” She turned back for a look.

“Eyes on the road!” Li Hao barked. A large car zoomed past them. Do you not look at the roads when you ride?!

Utterly fearless, the girl whipped her head back to the front. As bold as she was, she didn’t forget that she’d been hired as a guide. She lifted her chin at a nearby structure. “Look, that’s the most famous establishment in the eastern quadrant of the city—the Elysian Fields. Hehe, you men like to go there. It fills an entire block and is apparently not that expensive...”

Li Hao was unmoved. The girl stopped and started along the way. Although he was nearly completely hovering in the air, she steadily grew more fatigued. It looked like her physique wasn’t much to look at. She took her duties as a guide seriously and introduced everything they passed by.

Li Hao listened quietly and committed everything to memory. Soon enough, there were a few less buildings around them.

“There are nine avenues that we’re headed to, which one do you want? Which location along the avenue are you looking for? They’re all very, very long and run in different directions.”

“The Inspectorate, the Night Watchers.”

“Oh? You want to go there?” The girl was surprised. “That’s where supernatural powerhouses gather. Are you looking for someone?”

“Yes.”

“Are you a supernatural too?” she answered herself before Li Hao had a chance to. “No way. Most supernaturals don’t dare go there. Are you looking for a friend or a relative?”

“Friend, I’d say.”

“Then be careful,” she lowered her voice. “I’ve heard people say that the Night Watchers welcomed a new director a few days ago. He’s mean as heck! He killed a lot of people a few days ago and even caused a mess at Skystar Academy! That’s the royal academy! I hear people say that he’s not long for this world. Your accent sounds like you’re from the north... You’re not looking for someone he brought, are you?”

The girl turned fearful. “Let me give you a warning, you probably shouldn’t. People say that no one he brought with him will make it back to the north alive!”

“This is the royal city, are people that bold?” Li Hao frowned.

“So what about the royal city?” dismissed the girl. “There’s plenty of darkness below the ground. Some major hotshot died outside the palace last year. Apparently, he drowned to death in the sewers. Pfft, we all know that he was a supernatural, so who believes that? No one dares look into it, he’s just dead. They say that he had something to do with the royal family...”

The girl suddenly snapped her mouth shut. “That was just some gossip, you shouldn’t don’t believe me. If you’re really from the north, leave after you see your friend. Your friend’s not some major hotshot, is he? He should be fine if he’s just a minor cog.”

Li Hao smiled. The girl liked to run her mouth. She spoke of anything and everything. He’d thought that he’d leave her behind after reaching his destination, but couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know I needed a guide just now?”

“You look like an outsider!”

“......” Was it that obvious? “Am I wearing the wrong clothes or something like that? I feel like I was the same as the rest waiting at the bus stop.”

“You were so different!” the girl snorted. “The others were either nose deep in newspapers or waiting patiently. You were the only one looking around like... ahem, like you didn’t know how to get where you were going.”

She’d almost said like a country bumpkin entering town.

“Also, we take the crosswalks when crossing the street, but you change straight into the roads. Judging from your actions, you’ve never seen such a large road before, haven’t you?”

“......” Li Hao laughed. He was being thought less of! But he didn’t mind. “You’re out earning a living at such a young age?”

“Who’s young??” The girl scowled, but recalled that Li Hao was paying her. She immediately giggled, “Isn’t it nice to earn money as soon as possible to support your family?”

“That’s true, but don’t you want to study?” asked Li Hao. “The royal city has a good education system and you’re of the age to study.”

“Study... pfft!” the girl dismissed. “That would’ve been useful twenty years ago, what good is studying now? It’s only worth something if you go to one of the supernatural academies. If not, there’s absolutely no point even after graduating! They don’t care how many books you’ve read or if you can read and write, they only care about how strong you are when it comes to being an official!

“Everyone will want you if you’re strong. No one cares about your abilities if you’re not. One of the teachers at my old school knew everything from geography to astronomy. But the school closed down and I saw my teacher selling vegetables in the market a few days ago.

“It looks like you’ve done some studying too, haven’t you? Are you here to look for a job?”