Although he continued looking down on Virus, he was still very clear about his duties and knew there would be unnecessary trouble in case he didn’t properly do the paperwork for the newcomers.
While they were left cooling their heels, the cloaked woman started mouthing all of a sudden, “You know, a single first grade Qi Ingot is too much already for a common citizen, so don’t mistakenly assume you would’ve been able to find someone else to help you out if you had rejected me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
A few minutes later, the guard returned with a plaque and threw it at him rudely.
Two things were engraved on the plaque. The first one was his name, Vee and below that, there was a certain number that represented his identity.
“You two are permitted into the city, now go away.” With a wave of his hand, the guard shooed them away.
…
After entering the city, the first view Virus met with was a large river. Thinking back, it was in fact another significant detail Virus had witnessed earlier when he was looking down from inside the spacecraft.
The river ran across the entire Ricando itself as it separated the city into two equal half parts.
It was the water source of the entire city. As a matter of course, one of the reasons why Ricando had even formed in this location was supposedly due to the existence of this river in the middle of the dead desert which became the water source for everyone!
Along the two sides of the river, there was a never-ending bazaar on both sides while a busy crowd was raucously commuting around.
Noticing Virus’ inquisitive gaze wandering around, the cloaked woman voluntarily stepped up and introduced, “This is the main and the biggest market of Ricando.”
The brief introduction seemed to only intensify Virus’ thirst for more information. “Hooh? Is that so? Tell me more.”
Pointing at the river, she presented. “Do you see that river? It separates both Outer and Inner Ricando into two equal parts. What you need to know about these parts, however, is that each of them is controlled by one of the two factions of the Poison Deity clan.”
“So, the Poison Deity clan consists of two factions, eh? What are they called?” An utterly sharp and serious glint was gleaming through his pupils. Since an opportunity to gather some rudimentary data had provided itself, Virus wasn’t going to miss it.
“You don’t even know that much and you came to live here? They are the Poison and the Deity factions obviously.” Without stopping there, she continued, “The side we’re at right now is the Poison-Half which is naturally controlled by the Poison faction while the other side is the Deity-Half controlled by the Deity faction.”
“I see… and even Inner Ricando is managed like that?”
“Yes, actually, the clan itself resides in Inner Ricando while Outer Ricando is mostly inhabited by other people and cultivators that are not related to the clan.”
‘Hmm, what an interesting city.’ Deliberating shortly, Virus asked another question. “Who are the nobles of this city?”
“Naturally, as long as they are at least an inner disciple, every member of the Poison Deity clan is considered nobility.” Lowering her eyebrows, she announced.
“I see. That makes sense if they are in total control of the city.” Nodding his head, Virus was satisfied for now.
“Yes, anyway, just remember this is the Poison-Half of Outer Ricando and our destination is also in this section of the town.” Afterward, a long silence descended upon the two until they decided to focus on the rowdy market and people instead.
Subsequently, half an hour passed when the two finally arrived in front of a large colosseum.
“Huh? Why are we here?” Tugging on an earlobe, Virus squinted at the annoyingly secretive woman that refused to notify him of the services he had been hired for.
“This arena is called the Recreation Training Center. One of the major events of Ricando occurs in this place. Let’s go, I’ll explain everything else when we get there.”
Next, Virus and the disguised woman sauntered into the colosseum together.
“You stay here. I’ll be back soon.” Telling Virus to wait when they reached an empty reception, the woman left in a hurry.
A few minutes later, she returned with a buffed-up middle-aged man who was exuding a strong qi from all over himself, he was clearly at least at the Sublimity Emergence stage. Virus was unsure whether he could defeat the newcomer if he went against him.
“Is this him?” Yawning, while half-closing his eyes, the man questioned.
“Yes.” Unusually respectful, the woman confirmed.
“I see, okay. You there, since you agreed to take her place in exchange for the identity plaque, follow me.” Picking his nose, the man urged Virus.
“Hmm? Where to?” Pursing his lips, Virus requested further clarification since he was still baffled about almost everything.
“Please just follow him, Vee, you’ll understand the rest very soon. I’ll stay here until you return.” She proclaimed with the saddest smile she could form.
Although Virus knew this entire circumstance was too suspicious, having already made up his mind to see through this little ploy to the very end, he accompanied the man.
Furthermore, analyzing where he was and how the situation had progressed so far, Virus had a rough picture of the most likely possibilities that were going to take place subsequently.
What he could say for sure, however, was that accompanying the man was the sole option he had at hand right now.
In case he tried retaliating and killing the middle-aged guy, the entire city would probably be after his head and that will prevent him from accomplishing the main purpose of his visit to this place.
Moreover, he wasn’t confident about escaping if things escalated that far ahead since his spacecraft couldn’t even enter Ricando.. So, the most logical course of action was to go along with the person.
