Chapter 293: Skyfall city 5.

"Yuxin. My wife, Yubing. We are wandering cultivators. We have no sect. We came to visit the city."

The guard looked suspicious.

"Just visiting?"

"Yes."

"During a city lockdown?"

"We arrived during the lockdown."

The guard looked at them for a long moment.

Then he sighed.

"Fine. Stay in the assigned guest district until the lockdown ends."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

They were led into Skyfall City.

The city was even more impressive from inside.

Markets stretched for kilometers.

Towering pavilions floated above the streets.

Cultivation academies stood beside merchant headquarters.

Sect banners filled the sky.

There were spirit beasts pulling carts, mechanical puppets carrying goods, sword cultivators flying between buildings, and ordinary people living their lives underneath it all.

It was loud.

It was chaotic.

It was enormous.

Su Yubing looked around with obvious interest.

Mo Yuxin watched her rather than the city.

Su Yubing noticed.

"What are you looking at?"

"You."

"You are supposed to look at the city."

"I have already seen cities."

"You have never seen one this big."

"Still looking at you."

Su Yubing shook her head, smiling.

"You are hopeless."

"Yes."

They reached the guest district.

Their assigned inn was called the Cloud Garden Pavilion.

The place was luxurious enough that even Mo Yuxin was impressed.

Their room had a balcony overlooking half the city.

There was a private hot spring.

There was a spirit fruit basket.

There was a small formation that played calming music.

Su Yubing walked around slowly.

"I like this place."

Mo Yuxin closed the door.

"Good."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Su Yubing gave her a suspicious look.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Mo Yuxin walked toward her.

"Because we finally have a comfortable room."

Su Yubing immediately understood.

"You are impossible."

Mo Yuxin hugged her.

"I missed you."

"You were holding my hand ten minutes ago."

"Still missed you."

"You held me on the whole ship."

"Still."

Su Yubing laughed and let herself be pulled into the embrace.

Outside, the city remained under lockdown.

Inside the room, neither woman cared.

They ate spirit fruits together.

They shared tea.

Mo Yuxin rested her head on Su Yubing’s shoulder while Su Yubing gently played with her hair.

For several peaceful minutes, they forgot about the thief.

Then someone knocked on the door.

Three slow knocks.

Mo Yuxin looked up.

Su Yubing’s hand stopped.

Another three knocks.

Mo Yuxin stood.

"Who?"

A man’s voice came from outside.

"City Lord’s Office. We need to speak with the two wandering cultivators who arrived on the seventh airship."

Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing exchanged a look.

Neither had mentioned their airship to anyone beyond the guards.

Mo Yuxin quietly placed a barrier around the room.

Then she opened the door.

A middle-aged cultivator stood outside.

He wore the robes of the City Lord’s Office.

His cultivation was at the late Nascent Soul stage.

Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing immediately understood something.

This city was serious.

They were surrounded by Nascent Soul cultivators.

And someone had specifically asked about them.

The man bowed slightly.

"Senior Yuxin. Senior Yubing. The City Lord requests your presence."

Mo Yuxin looked at Su Yubing.

Su Yubing shrugged.

"Should we go?"

Mo Yuxin smiled.

"We are tourists. Tourists should probably visit the local government at least once."

The officer looked confused.

Su Yubing laughed softly.

They followed him.

The City Lord’s Office was located in the center of the city.

As they walked through the streets, Mo Yuxin noticed something strange.

Every major road was being watched.

Every restaurant had guards stationed outside.

Every cultivator above Foundation Establishment was being checked.

The city had become tense.

But beneath the tension was something else.

Expectation.

As if everyone knew this was not merely a theft.

Something bigger was coming.

They arrived at the City Lord’s Office.

The doors opened.

Inside were several powerful cultivators.

At the center sat a woman in dark blue robes.

She looked to be around thirty years old.

Her cultivation was at the early Soul Formation realm.

Her gaze was calm but sharp.

She looked at Mo Yuxin.

Then at Su Yubing.

Then she stood.

"Please forgive the sudden invitation."

Mo Yuxin nodded.

"It is fine."

The City Lord’s gaze remained on her.

"You should not have been able to enter the city."

Mo Yuxin smiled.

"We bought tickets."

The City Lord almost smiled.

"That is not what I meant."

Su Yubing sat down.

Mo Yuxin sat beside her.

"Then what did you mean?"

The City Lord placed a small object on the table.

It was a black shard.

Mo Yuxin’s expression changed slightly.

She recognized it.

It was made from the same kind of energy she had sensed beneath the ruined sect.

Su Yubing noticed too.

The City Lord spoke slowly.

"This was recovered from the Skyfall Treasure Vault after the theft."

Mo Yuxin looked at the shard.

"Why show it to us?"

"Because the thief left it behind."

A pause.

"And because the city’s ancient formation reacted to your arrival at exactly the same moment."

Su Yubing narrowed her eyes.

"You think we are connected to the thief?"

"I think that would be too convenient."

The City Lord leaned forward.

"I think someone wants the city to believe you are connected."

Mo Yuxin’s expression became colder.

"Who?"

The City Lord shook her head.

"That is what I want to know."

For the first time, Mo Yuxin realized that Skyfall City was not merely suffering from a theft.

Someone was deliberately moving pieces across the board.

Bluewave City had been the beginning.

The ruined sect had been another piece.

And now Skyfall City was next.

She reached beneath the table and took Su Yubing’s hand.

Su Yubing squeezed back.

The City Lord noticed.

She smiled faintly.

"You two really are inseparable."

Mo Yuxin answered without hesitation.

"Yes."

The City Lord nodded.

"Then I have one more thing to tell you."

She lifted another piece of black crystal.

Inside it was a faint blue flame.

The same blue as the seven lanterns beneath the ruined sect.

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TO BE CONTINUED.