Chapter 103: Salon Club

Frost City, core district, Isoorde Castle.

On a street near one of the castle’s side gates, a carriage rolled by, drawing the gazes of onlookers on both sides, though most only spared it a single glance.

Carriages leaving the castle weren’t unusual, but some people took a particular interest in this one.

They quietly slipped away from their positions.

Before long, a message spread and reached the hands of those who had set up the surveillance network.

Frost City’s outer ring, the commoner’s district.

This was the least prosperous part of Frost City, yet it bore the weight of its largest population.

Small courtyards enclosed by rows of houses, small communities woven together by streets, all drew boundaries for the people who lived here.

Though Frost City’s ethos revered martial prowess, where the strong could climb the ranks, most commoners remained frail.

Even here, people were divided into classes, and those who lived here were accustomed to their station.

What kind of person lived in what kind of community, in what kind of courtyard—this was nearly a universal understanding among Frost City’s residents, and even the most basic shared understanding of the West Wind Empire.

Fanna had risen early to wash and tidy herself. Today she was heading to Baizhenye Academy for combat training.

The community courtyard she lived in belonged to the lower-middle class.

The environment here was a bit rough, but it was still far better than the filthiest, most chaotic bottom-tier communities.

Those places called the bottom nests had no basic order at all, mired in chaos and breeding grounds for gangs.

Unless absolutely necessary, Fanna would never set foot in the bottom nests.

That place and the lower-middle class community where she now lived, where her courtyard stood, were two worlds as distinct as black and white.

The courtyard was a bit far from Baizhenye Academy, but that distance wouldn’t trouble Fanna.

After finishing her washing, she ate breakfast.

“Thank you, Grandma Sasha.”

Fanna sipped her hot vegetable soup and thanked the old woman who had gotten up early to cook the meal.

Sasha was an old lady with hair gone completely white, her back hunched, and when she smiled she revealed a single yellowed tooth.

They exchanged a few simple words, and then Fanna rose to leave.

She would walk all the way to Baizhenye Academy.

The carriage fare was too expensive—she could afford it, but there was no need to waste the money.

Ever since she’d become a Tier 1 Mage, she could use Magic Power to strengthen her body and get there quickly.

Just as she was about to head out, a door in the courtyard suddenly swung open.

Fanna looked over.

That scruffy, black-haired man was walking out with a bundle strapped to his back.

When their eyes met, Fanna stopped in place and said to Gar with a smile, “Gar, will you be back tonight? I’m planning to buy some beast meat and beast bones.”

Gar didn’t say a word.

He looked at Fanna, now fifteen years old, seeming lost in memory, reminiscing about the past, but soon those memories sank back into the depths of his mind.

Watching the young girl who had grown into her own, his only answer in the end was a nod, and then he walked out of the courtyard.

Fanna squeezed the hem of her Baizhenye Academy uniform skirt, a nagging worry churning in her chest, afraid that Gar might never come back.

She knew Gar was heading into those bottom nests.

There was an underground arena there, hosting bloody, life-or-death擂台matches.

Survive on the stage, and you’d win a generous prize.

Fail, and you’d become a corpse, rotting and stinking by the roadside, your bones gnawed on by stray dogs roaming the streets.

Watching Gar’s retreating figure, she let out a quiet sigh.

A long time ago, Fanna had urged Gar to stop going to places like that.

The money came fast and plentiful, but it was too dangerous.

If he ever lost to an opponent, he’d be killed on the stage.

Yet every time, Gar wore that indifferent expression, as if he didn’t take his own life seriously at all.

While Fanna was lost in thought, a little girl walked up beside her and wrapped her arms around Fanna’s waist.

“Sister Fanna, are you going to school?”

“Mm.”

“Sister Fanna, they say you’re going to a place called, called… um, Wolumonde Academic City?”

“Nothing’s decided yet, little Annie.”

Fanna looked at the little one’s half-understanding, adorably dazed expression and smiled softly.

She reached out and ruffled the child’s unkempt, tangled hair.

She looked up toward the doorway.

A woman was watching her.

When she saw Fanna’s gaze land on her, the woman smiled back.

Her face was etched with exhaustion, and even a full night’s sleep couldn’t relieve the fatigue that had piled up day after day.

Fanna returned the smile to Annie’s mother.

She looked down, meeting Annie’s clear, bright eyes.

Annie clutched Fanna’s Baizhenye Academy uniform and asked her cautiously.

“Is it far? Does Sister Fanna have to go every day?”

Fanna froze in place.

She didn’t know how to answer that question.

Fortunately, Annie’s mother pulled the girl away, telling her not to disturb her sister on her way to the academy.

Fanna waved goodbye and stepped out of the courtyard.

As a student of Baizhenye Academy, someone who had reached First-order Mid-stage and walked the Path of Transcendence, she could technically move to a higher-class community, live in those fine stone-brick houses.

If she were willing to accept a Noble’s patronage, she could even have two or three servants attending to her.

Fanna never left. She stayed in this house built of mud bricks and wood.

Everyone in the courtyard liked Fanna.

She and Gar had moved in together.

Ever since the two of them arrived, things had shifted somewhat in the surrounding community.

Though everyone in the courtyard was terrified of Gar, that was because Gar knew some friends around here.

Those friends had cleaned out the troublemakers in the nearby communities, which was the only reason the past few years had been peaceful.

Otherwise, even a lower-middle class community like this wouldn’t be as calm as it was now.

And Gar never collected protection money from them.

On most days, they rarely even saw him.

Frost City, core district.

The houses here were mostly standalone small buildings, one household per floor, or one family per story.

All were brick and stone, with finely polished exteriors and full glass panes in the windows.

The tidy streets were a pleasing sight.

This wasn’t a place ordinary people could afford.

Both sides of the streets were lined with all sorts of shops, and pedestrians came and went in a steady stream, all of them looking well-fed and spirited—you’d hardly spot a gaunt face around here.

These were the middle class, dressed in proper attire.

Someone like Gar was the odd one out.

Gar crouched in a dim alley, gnawing on a black loaf he’d traded for two rough copper coins.

As he chewed, his eyes fixed on the bustling scene out on the street.

A gentleman and a lady in a pale pink dress walked past Gar, chatting and laughing.

They didn’t notice that in the alley’s shadow lurked a man in tattered clothes, radiating an aura that made people want to keep their distance.

And it wasn’t just them.

Even the people who walked right past Gar didn’t notice him.

Some kind of force influenced them, making them overlook this anomaly that was right under their noses.

Otherwise, some idle rich troublemaker would likely have summoned the community guards to chase off this poor lowlife.

Not until a carriage bearing the Isolde Family’s crest rolled past did his figure, along with the carriage’s departure, vanish into the alley’s shadows.

Gar just crouched there, doing nothing but gnawing on his bread.

No one saw him.

No one knew where he went.

Inside the carriage, Shu Yue and Lin sat across from each other at an angle.

Apart from the two of them, there was no one else.

Neither spoke; they sat in silence.

Shu Yue gazed out the window, seeming lost in a daze.

Lin occasionally glanced at Shu Yue.

It was plain to see her suspicion was still locked tightly onto her.

Shu Yue could feel that gaze, hot enough that it nearly affected her breathing.

Every time Lin stared at her, Shu Yue only dared to take small, shallow breaths, afraid that making too much noise would give Lin an opening.

Though Lin could start her interrogation with just about any excuse.

Finally, Shu Yue had just about had enough.

“Stinky little sister, if you’ve got something to say, just say it.

Stop staring at me like that, alright?”

To make things easier on herself, Shu Yue decided to bring up something less sensitive.

She mulled over her wording and prepared to speak.

But just then, the horses pulling the carriage suddenly whinnied.

“What’s going on?”

The carriage had four wheels and could stop steadily on the road.

The horse’s problem only rocked the carriage back and forth a few times.

That got the attention of both Shu Yue and Lin.

Lin stood up, went to the window, and asked the driver.

“What happened?”

“Miss, one of the horses suddenly collapsed. Looks like it’s having some kind of seizure.”

The driver sounded nervous.

The carriage was pulled by two horses.

Losing one meant it could still move, but the harness had to be untied first.

With only one horse’s strength, the speed would be more than halved compared to before.

Lin frowned slightly.

She’d never run into something like this, so she turned her head and shot Shu Yue a glare.

Shu Yue, on the receiving end of that glare, twitched the corner of her mouth.

How was this my fault?

“Stinky little sister, you’re asking for a smack, aren’t you!”

Watching the driver fumbling with the reins, Lin pursed her little lips and walked over to the carriage door.

She pushed it open and jumped down.

Seeing that, Shu Yue followed and got out too.

Once on the ground, she could see the fallen horse, white foam spilling from its mouth. It didn’t look good—she wasn’t sure if it could be saved.

Lin walked over to Shu Yue, lifted her foot, and gave Shu Yue’s calf a light kick.

“Let’s go sit in that shop over there.”

Shu Yue looked toward where Lin was pointing and found it was… a salon?

A salon was a place where society ladies and noblewomen held their little gatherings, with drinks, tea, and pastries, plus some small treats and food.

Judging by the exterior decor, it was high-class, but Lin could certainly afford it.

“Oh, as long as you’re paying. Shu Yue didn’t care whether it was a salon or not, as long as no one was trying to kill her.”

“Hmph, you cheapskate!”

Lin rolled her eyes at Shu Yue in annoyance but didn’t say much else.

Renting the whole place out for a day was nothing to her.

As the second young miss of the Isolde Family, she could splash this kind of money around freely.

Lin led the way, Shu Yue followed behind, and the two walked into that place one after the other…