The overall layout of Eight Directions City looks a lot like the Umbrella Corporation logo—yep, it’s basically a giant, almost perfectly octagonal shape. Every direction has a city gate, and each gate leads to a major road. The gates are grand, the roads are wide, and these aren’t just dirt tracks—they’re paved with stones and even have proper foundations. Honestly, by local standards, they’re pretty much highways. All this is to boost the city’s logistics, gathering and distributing goods from all directions.
Eight Directions City is packed with people—second only to the capital in Hua Nation, and easily top five in all of Central Lands. Why? Hua Nation sits in the south, blessed by the Long River, so it’s rich in resources and has a booming population—perfect for a mega-city. If the capital is full of big shots and officials, then Eight Directions City is the heart of the martial world, where merchants, heroes, and young swordsmen and swordswomen all pass through. It’s a major hub for the whole martial arts scene.
And right now, this giant city is even busier than usual.
Just lining up to get into the city took twenty minutes. After a quick check, we were let through. If this were the capital, you’d have all sorts of vehicle restrictions—ordinary folks couldn’t even ride in, or there’d be some silly feudal law about specifications. But in Eight Directions City? None of that nonsense.
Apart from obvious royal carriages (like dragon chariots), anything goes. If your head’s big, wear a big hat—if you’ve got cash, nothing’s off limits. Rumor has it the city magistrate tried to enforce some rules, but gave up. This place is all about fame and fortune, and whoever messes with that gets chopped. The magistrate knows he’s not a martial arts powerhouse, so for the sake of his own neck, he just turns a blind eye.
So when you walk the main street, surrounded by endless crowds, it’s like stepping into a wild, surreal world. Jack Young’s carriage was decent—like, a mid-range phone, runs all the popular games. But in this city, it instantly turned into a cheap model, totally unremarkable.
Jack Young and Rachel Luo kept their cool—Eight Directions City is impressive, but it didn’t blow their minds. But Fiona Fang, who’s spent ages roughing it on the frontier, was absolutely gobsmacked. She poked her head out the carriage window, craning her neck left and right, desperate to soak it all in.
“Whoa—look, look! The buildings here are so tall, three stories at least!” Most of the wooden buildings are three stories or more, and some are even higher.
“Oh—look, look! The clothes here are so pretty. Hey, why are those two ladies carrying a cat? Are there rats on the street? Or… is it emergency rations?” Pets just aren’t a thing in Fiona Fang’s world. The two women with the cat overheard and immediately sneered, “Where’d this wild country girl come from…”
Fiona Fang’s ears have gotten sharp lately—she instantly stuck out her tongue and made a face at the two women.
“Alright, alright, if you want to look, just come out and look.” Jack Young sat up front, steering the carriage. Fiona Fang immediately cheered and burst out of the compartment, hopped up onto the roof, and sat on the edge swinging her legs, hand shading her eyes as she peered around. More people ended up watching her than she watched. Rachel Luo sighed—since Fiona had disguised herself, she let her be and went to sit beside Jack.
This bustling martial arts world really was something fresh for her.
The broad, crisscrossing streets and packed markets made Eight Directions City’s prosperity impossible to miss. Rachel Luo wasn’t Fiona Fang, though—her focus was totally different. She mentally mapped the city’s layout, memorizing districts like finance, trade, and residential, nodding to herself as she pieced it all together.
Looking south down the street, you could see another city gate—beyond it, the docks of Eight Directions City. The three of them were heading to that dock to catch a boat southwest, bound for the Southern Wilds in search of treasure.
“Hey—look, look! Those four guys over there are so weird, they’re not even walking properly!” Fiona Fang’s voice floated down from the roof as they passed a crossroads. Jack Young and Rachel Luo turned to look, and sure enough, there was some kind of commotion where she pointed.
Four men were strutting in a row, dressed in brocade robes and tall hats, swaggering down the street, shoulders bouncing in perfect rhythm. Just seeing them made you want to add a “dun dun dun dun” BGM in your head, and if a girl screamed, “The Four Talents of Jiangnan are here!” it’d be spot on.
Rachel Luo blinked, thinking she must’ve seen wrong, so she rubbed her eyes and looked again—nope, same scene!
Those four strutted through the crowd like they owned the place, checking out men with a dramatic lean-back pose and women with a forward-lean, sometimes even flaunting their clothes like creepy uncles. You could spot them from a mile away, flashing their weirdness at everyone.
“Tang Bohu Pursues Autumn Fragrance?!” Rachel Luo was stunned. After all this wandering, was this secretly the world of Tang Bohu Pursues Autumn Fragrance? That’s just… way too wild!
Rachel Luo tried to get a better look, but the carriage had already moved past the intersection, and the four were blocked by buildings.
“Master, what’s up with that…” Rachel Luo glanced at Jack Young.
“Tang Bohu Pursues Autumn Fragrance?” Another memory unlocked, and Jack Young nodded knowingly. “I’ve seen that movie too, but nope, this isn’t it. The world’s full of weirdos, so four like that isn’t even special. And even if it was Tang Bohu’s world—so what? Nothing to do with us.”
Rachel Luo finally calmed down and nodded. “Master’s got a point.”
Whew! Fiona Fang jumped down from the roof, all excited. “Who were those four weirdos? I gotta find out someday!”
“I just heard someone call them the ‘Four Knights of the Dust.’” Even in the noisy market, Jack Young’s ears were sharp. He shook his head. “But if you want weirdos, those four aren’t the only ones. Take a look around—the restaurants, streets, casinos, banks—there are all sorts of unusual people everywhere.”
The two girls shifted their focus to the passersby, and sure enough, Jack Young was right—there were strange folks everywhere. Young and old, fat and thin, pretty and plain, but every one of them had a strong aura. Eight Directions City was a magnet for martial artists. Rachel Luo and Fiona Fang exchanged glances, both getting serious.
“So, seeing all this, what do you think we should worry about next?” Jack Young decided to quiz them.
Faced with her master’s question, Rachel Luo, as the senior disciple, spoke up first. “I think… safety’s the big issue.” She thought for a moment. “Eight Directions City is a total mixed bag, and there must be plenty of martial arts experts here. Even if Fiona’s pursuers haven’t tracked us, they could show up anytime. If big names like King of the Golden Blade, King of the Silver Sword, or Lady Three Wonders pop up, we’re in trouble. So, safety first.”
“Makes sense.” Jack Young nodded, then turned to Fiona Fang. “What about you?”
“I think it’s an awesome opportunity! With so many experts here, it’s perfect for duels, sparring, and learning new stuff!” Fiona Fang had already tasted the thrill of real combat. “And hey, even though lots of folks are eyeing the Wedding Robe Divine Art, they’re probably still wandering around the Southern Wilds. I’m not in a rush, since Mom’s clues are all fuzzy anyway, and those guys definitely won’t find it before us. So let’s take it slow, get stronger as we go, and wipe the floor with them at the end! Sound good?”
“That’s true.” Two answers, two totally different ways of thinking. Fourteen years old versus twenty-eight—yep, that’s a generation gap for you.
“What about you, Master? What do you think we should worry about?” The girls wanted to know the right answer.
“There’s no right or wrong here. You both made good points, and you should focus on your own concerns. But before all that, I’ve got something else on my mind—” Jack Young sighed. “The real issue… is finding a place to stay.”
Accommodation—so practical, so not glamorous. But Jack Young’s worry quickly became reality: every inn, every hostel, even the foreign guesthouses were packed. Ever since news broke from Master Ou Yezi and the Phantom Sword Saint, martial artists had flooded into Eight Directions City. Even regular residents were setting up temporary lodging to make a quick buck.
The trio drove around the city—couldn’t find an inn, couldn’t even find a spot to park the carriage.
In a place like Eight Directions City, big clans and wealthy factions always have bases here. The ones without a base are the lone martial artists—the best at causing trouble. With so many of them pouring in, every inn was packed, nowhere to go.
Jack Young clutched his VIP card from the Grand Inn and gave it a shot at Eight Directions City’s biggest hotel.
The Grand Inn in Eight Directions City was as fancy and spacious as ever—five stories tall, like a fortress, oozing wealth. The manager was a big, jolly guy, almost identical to the last one—big guys all look alike. When Jack Young flashed his bronze thumb card, the manager was super friendly, but the answer was still just two words: ‘Sorry…’
“Even here, there’s no room?” Fiona Fang pouted, clearly annoyed.
Just then, a commotion broke out on the fourth floor. The trio looked up to see two women suddenly start yelling at each other, and the men with them jumped in, fists flying. Who knows what grudge they had.
“Dear guest,” the manager said to Fiona Fang with a grin, “if one side gets killed, then we’ll have a room available.”
Fiona Fang’s face fell—she could tell those four were fighting hard, but the odds of anyone dying were slim. And the real kicker: “So two of them have to die before we get a room? Getting a place to stay is way too hard!”
“No, no, you misunderstood. It’s not that two have to die for you to get a room—it’s just that if two die, that means one room opens up.” The manager handed her a wooden number plate. “Since you’ve got the bronze thumb, here’s a fast-track ticket. When it’s your turn, you can check in right away.”
Fiona Fang looked down—number eighteen! “I…” She was speechless. Eighteen rooms would have to be vacated by death before she could check in? This place would be a bloodbath! Was this a meat grinder hotel or what? And a fast-track ticket, too? Just how many people are waiting for a room here?!
In that moment, Fiona Fang realized her master’s worries were totally legit.
“Boss,” Jack Young decided to ask something practical, “any idea where we can actually stay? Even just a spot to park the carriage and crash for a night would do—we’ve camped out in the wild long enough.”
But the manager thought for a moment, then said, “Actually, there is one place left. And it’s super fancy, too.”
A sudden twist! Fiona Fang perked up, “Where, where?”
The manager chuckled and said just three words: “Big Brothel!”