The captain continued on completely oblivious of the guard's thoughts and the strange curious looks he was giving him, especially on his face.
"Make sure the White orchard villa is informed and also make sure you tighten security and place those arrogant scions from the noble families under close watch. Better yet round them up and throw them in the city lord's dungeons," the captain hurriedly gave out orders to the rest of the guards. However, he was mindful enough to use a small sound transmission technique as he gave those orders.
"Captain isn't this…" one of the guards couldn't help but fearfully question the order especially on rounding up the noble's children within the city and locking them up in the dungeon.
With the numerous rank 4 organizations around, add to that some of the noble families who moved some of their branches to the city because of the purple grass, Purple city was a powder keg of different powerhouses maintaining a fragile coexistence and it was the job of the guards to ensure that balance is maintained but if they were to follow the captain's order, chaos may ensue.
"What? What? What are you afraid of? It's the royal family that rules this place, not the noble families despite their greedy wishes to do so. Only one of the families here has a palace stage expert and he is usually stationed at the capital not to mention that he is weaker than any of the palace stage experts in the royal family.
There's a reason why the Empire's ruling family has remained unchanged for 30,000 years. Act with some backbone will you? You are the face of the Red maple Empire.
LOCK THEM ALL UP. Whatever backlash comes from it I will be the one to face it, so go do your jobs!!!" fiercely said the captain this time he didn't even bother to lower his voice.
All the guards got riled up for some reason as they unsheathed their sabers pointing them to the sky as they left as if going off to battle.
The crowd behind waiting to enter all had dumbfounded looks at what just happened. Those close to the captain were trembling from being exposed to the overbearing and murderous aura that leaked from the captain which later got compounded by the guards' own murderous aura.
"Is the Empire at war or something," most couldn't help but wonder. There were even some of the weaker ones within the crowd who fearfully turned back to head back to whence they came from.
Meanwhile, Yang Qing who was the unwitting cause of all this was busy whistling with his hands clasped behind his head happily taking in the sights.
"Hey big brother, are you a visitor by chance?"
Yang Qing's intake of the scenery was interrupted by two children about nine years old who appeared in front of him. It was a boy and a girl and from their evident close resembling looks, they were twins.
They had on worn-out light blue robes that had a few holes in them. Though Yang Qing noticed despite the holes and worn-out appearance the robes were clean and well-maintained down to their looks. Their skins were tanned and a little sallow but they were clean nonetheless.
Both two siblings had short pitch-black hair with the girl's hair being amateurly tied in twin ponytails.
Though the two were identical twins they seemed like polar opposites. The brother had lively eyes that shone with energy, intelligence, and a hint of cunningness. He was also the one that asked Yang Qing if he was a visitor. As for the sister she had a shy and cautious temperament to her as she stood closely behind her brother's back. She was also curious sort as he occasionally examined Yang Qing's light grey robes while hiding behind her brother.
Yang Qing smiled with deep interest as he examined the two siblings before him. Even though the sister seemed like she was the one who had chosen to hide behind her brother's back in the real sense Yang Qing noticed when the boy appeared he was the one who had conveniently placed his sister in that position.
Even though he seemed rambunctious, the young boy was calculated. Even the moment he had chosen to talk to Yang Qing was conveniently when one of the city guards appeared within shouting distance.
"Quite the sneaky cautious one," thought Yang Qing as he noticed a few bruises on the brother's arm hidden under his robes.
….
"Yes, I am a visitor. How did you know" gently said Yang Qing as he offered a small friendly smile which made the brother increase his wariness though he was quick to mask it with a cheery laugh.
"It's because I am pretty good with details, among them, faces. Big brother, I'm sure you have heard this plenty of times but there's a lofty bearing to you almost like a solitary immortal. With such an aura there's no way I would have not noticed you were a resident of the Purple city despite its large populace hence why I knew right away you were a visitor," said the brother with a bit of smugness and no shame whatsoever at calling Yang Qing a solitary immortal.
Yang Qing was decent looking but even he knew it wasn't to the extent of being likened to a solitary immortal. He even wondered what part of him looked lofty from his carelessly kept hair and lackadaisical air. He was the farthest thing from what an immortal should be though he had to admit it was nice being shamelessly complimented even if it was a complete lie.
"Many thanks for your compliments little brother though my skin isn't too thick to accept such a compliment. So how can I help you two?" asked Yang Qing.
"My name is Zhi Da and this is my sister Zhi Ruolan. Big brother how about we be your guides in Purple City? I don't mean to brag but you would be hard-pressed to find better guides than us.
We know all the best general merchant stores, alchemy shops, and blacksmith shops where you can buy top quality products at a considerable price..," Zhi Da suddenly paused from his enthusiastic speech as he beckoned Yang Qing over, cautiously eyeing his surroundings afraid someone will overhear them.
Yang Qing happily obliged him as he bent his ear over.
"Big brother it's only because I have a favorable impression of you that I'm willing to tell you this even at the risk of my life. While the Purple city is known as the central hub for trade especially when it comes to alchemical ingredients and potions such as the Mauve rejuvenation potion, the city is unkind to outsiders. Most shops won't sell outside their established clientele and those that will, do so at exorbitant prices. Lots of visitors have been swindled like that some even got defective potions but with my help and recommendations, I know shops with decent reputations that will open their doors to you on my account.
So what do you say, big brother? Do you want to employ our services? Don't worry because I feel like fate has brought us together I'll even give you a discount. I usually charge 4 low-grade spirit stones but in your case, I'll charge just 2 and I'll even answer any and all questions you may have.
As I said before, I'm pretty good with details, the information I have in my head is sufficient to ensure the longevity of any information organization," said Zhi Da as flashed a professional deal-closing smile that left his sister red faced which Yang Qing guessed was from passive embarrassment.
"What a talent," Yang Qing muttered in shock as he dryly chuckled.
