The Scum Is A ***

"Oops." Cheng Sheng spoke and covered his mouth with his hand. "I hit him too hard." He said and awkwardly smiled at Fei Yin and Wu Yuan. He's clearly guilty. 

"Meng Gui, Shang He, Ma Wen and Du Xiang are the demonic leaders of Heilong." Bai Yun, whose presence they have ignored, spoke. 

Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan have already guessed as such. "They act as generals?" Cheng Sheng asked. 

"'generals'?" Bai Yun said and laughed as if he has heard a joke. "There are no generals in Heilong." He said. 

"Huh?" 

"Why should there be a general – " Bai Yun said as he opened his fan. " – when he is not needed?" he asked. 

"What do you mean, 'not needed'?" Fei Yin asked. 

"Heilong is a No Rule Land. Why appoint a general, when there is no law to follow? No orders to execute?" Bai Yun asked. "Wouldn't his position be just empty? Be useless?" he said and smiled. 

Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan fell silent. They looked at Bai Yun's smile that is filled with mystery. Every word of his is spoken in volumes. 

Bai Yun didn't care how they will react. "Which Patrician House did you come from?" he asked. 

"'Patrician House'?" they asked. 

"Oh. Right – " Bai Yun muttered as if he remembered something. " – you look like a well-bred young master and I also got carried away by what the demonic cultivator said earlier." He explained. "I forgot you are righteous cultivators." He warmly smiled at them. 

However, the more one is being kind, the more reason for them to hide their intention. Yet, none of Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan spoke to pry into Bai Yun's secrets. Even though Bai Yun is hiding his unknown intention towards them, but they didn't sense any malice from him.

"A Patrician House is a family of nobles." Bai Yun explained to them. 

Wu Yuan has grown up from a noble family. However, his concept of a noble family differed from Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin. Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin have gone through countless worlds, so they also have heard of noble families of foreign countries. 

The xianxia world's noble families are families with their own respective prestige. Meanwhile, Cheng Sheng's and Fei Yin's understanding of the noble families differed slightly. The xianxia world's novel families can either be old or new, depending on the reputation they build. They are also free-willed. 

Meanwhile, the noble families that Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin understood are families with noble blood. They can be royal descendants, or indirect royal descendants so they are cold noble bloods. Because they are related to the monarch, they are also the monarch's subjects. So, they are also the first ones to be tasked by the monarch since the monarch doesn't trust the common people – only those who are his relatives, or people with relation to him.

"Are you someone from a Patrician House?" Cheng Sheng directly asked. With Bai Yun's unique temperament, it will be surprising he isn't a noble blood. 

"I'm not." Bai Yun answered and smiled. 

Cheng Sheng. "…" it is surprising. "Really?" he asked as he looked at Bai Yun's amber-colored eyes. 

"Really." Bai Yun nodded. 

Cheng Sheng knows he is lying, so he didn't push him. After all, they are also lying. Both parties have secrets to keep, so they stopped testing each other. 

"Are the Patrician Houses strong?" Wu Yuan asked. 

"They each have their own influence. However, when it comes to strength, they have to rely on the Four Demonic Leaders." Bai Yun answered. 

They fell silent. What he meant, the Patrician Houses only has a power, but doesn't have the corresponding strength to wield the power. Meanwhile, the Four Demonic Leaders have strength, but they are restricted by power. So, Bai Yun is implying that the Patrician Houses and the Four Demonic Leaders are dependent on each other. 

That's why the demonic cultivator earlier asked him those words. Which demonic leader did they choose? It proves that the Patrician Houses can choose which Demonic Leader they'll support. The demonic cultivator also called the demonic leaders as 'patrons'. 

"You know a lot." Fei Yin said as he sized up Bai Yun. 

Bai Yun chuckled. "This is because I am too idle." He said as he fanned himself. 

Fei Yin just snorted. 

"Are you sure you're not a noble blood?" Bai Yun asked. "Your surname is 'Shen'… I remember there is a Patrician House that is surnamed 'Shen' – " he said. 

Fei Yin's face darkened while Cheng Sheng stiffly smiled. "I'm not." He told him. 

"That's right. The Shen family were annihilated…" Bai Yun spoke. 

They ignored him. They know that Bai Yun is just teasing them since Bai Yun knows they are using fake names. 

"You must have come from the First City?" Bai Yun asked. 

Cheng Sheng nodded. "Yes." He answered. 

"Although the Heilong is a lawless place, but the First City is slightly different." Bai Yun told them. 

Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan looked at each other. They also noticed it, too. The First City of Heilong isn't any different from the cities in Huilong. 

"The Ni Lai Gates are all leading to the First City." Bai Yun said. "Thus, the 'visitors' will arrive in the First City. To welcome the 'guests', the First City is very 'welcoming' towards them." He explained. "Although there might be some crimes like murder, arson and theft, but it's slightly better than the other cities in Heilong." He added. 

"How many cities are there in Heilong?" Cheng Sheng asked. 

"There are two large cities and four small cities. A total of six cities." Bai Yun answered. "The four small cities are the cities each owned by the Four Demonic Leaders after they have set up their camps. One of the two large cities is the First City." He explained. "As for the remaining large city…" 

Fei Yin has picked up his brain. "The city for the Patrician Houses?" he asked. 

"Not exactly right." Bai Yin said. 

Fei Yin frowned. 

"That city is where the Patrician Houses are located." Bai Yun said. 

Their eyes flashed when they caught the word 'located'. Recalling the words Fei Yin spoke, they've come up a conjecture. "That city is not for the Patrician Houses, but for… the emperor?" Cheng Sheng said. 

"Bingo." Bai Yun said. 

Wu Yuan frowned in contemplation. He had never liked using his brain to think of solutions. He is used to solve them through force. "I thought you said there are no generals?" he asked. Although he doesn't usually exercise his brain, but that doesn't mean he is dumb. 

"There isn't." Bai Yun said. 

"Then – " 

"There can be no general, but there can be an emperor." Bai Yun said. 

Silence. After a while, Cheng Sheng spoke. He has become familiar with the way Bai Yun thinks, and so he said. "There are no generals, since the emperor can protect himself by himself." He looked at Bai Yun who chuckled. "The emperor is very powerful and strong." He added. 

"That's right." Bai Yun nodded. 

"How about Wu Ran?" Fei Yin asked. "Which rank is he?"

"A demonic leader." Bai Yun answered. 

"Huh? Weren't there only four?" Fei Yin asked. 

"There are only four, since only four were named by the demonic cultivator." Bai Yun pointed out and turned to look at the demonic cultivator whose corpse is lying on the ground. His face returned to his original face, which looked very ordinary. 

Fei Yin and Wu Yuan whose IQ has gone offline. "…" fine. You're the ones who are smart. 

"Wu Ran is the fifth demonic leader…" Cheng Sheng muttered when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait – " he said and looked at Bai Yun who is smiling. He seemed like to guess what Cheng Sheng is thinking. Or that, he has already expecting for Cheng Sheng to notice the fact and then ask him. "There are only four small cities which are for the four demonic leaders. Then, the large city of the First City, then the other large city for the emperor of Heilong. So – " he said. " – where is Wu Ran's city…?" he asked when his voice suddenly trailed off after he realized something. His eyes widened in horror and shock. 

"Sheng? What's wrong?" Fei Yin asked, feeling alarmed when he saw the panicked look on Cheng Sheng's face. Wu Yuan also felt worried, but he didn't speak since he doesn't know how to comfort people. 

Cheng Sheng ignored them and he just stared at Bai Yun who is enjoying the change of the expressions on his face. "Wu Ran's city…" he said. "It is the biggest 'city'." He muttered. 

Bai Yun didn't speak and just waited for him to finish drawing his conclusion. 

"Sheng. What are you talking about?" Fei Yin asked. 

Cheng Sheng heard his voice and looked at him. "Wu Ran's city – " he said as he took a deep breath when he felt his breath hitched. " – it is the Huilong." He told him. 

"Huh?" 

"Wu Ran's 'city'… is the Huilong."