Crown of Silence

Chapter 768 Yunlou

Yunlou, the city of silk and lapis lazuli.

Hundreds of years ago, it rose from the sea due to the turmoil of Dayuan, occupying the main route of maritime transportation between the East and the West, and it can be said that it strangled the throat of the trade route.

Just existing is like a cash cow. As long as the waterway is still running, the money will be inexhaustible.

Ye Qingxuan had heard about the luxury and prosperity of Yunlou from many travel notes and the mouths of merchants and smugglers.

It is said that half of the huge city is built in the ocean. Civilians and low-class people without property and identity can only live in the sea. Houses built with sampans and wooden boats live on the city walls and reefs like barnacles.

On the ocean where land is scarce, this is really a place where every inch of land is worth a lot of money. Every inch of land is occupied and the value of every foot of space must be fully utilized.

In the end, the whole city became a three-dimensional maze.

Behind the heavy city wall, the builders skillfully and creatively laid a layer of building materials, then stuffed in the lowest-class slaves, then laid a layer of wooden boards, and then laid another layer of wooden boards, and then put in the common people, and then the wealthy, officials, wealthy people, and wealthy merchants... Just like this, they kept going up, layer by layer, until the ninth floor, the high-rise building illuminated by the sun was the top.

In the poet's mouth, the city lord's mansion was the most luxurious in the world, every brick and tile was made by a skilled craftsman, and even the tiles on the roof were decorated with lapis lazuli and beautiful jade.

The whole city seemed to be a high-rise built by skilled hands, and the city lord's mansion was the magnificent crystallization at the top of the high-rise building. Under the city lord's mansion, the city in the dark never slept all night, and the lights were on for 360 days a year. People ran back and forth, climbing up and down along the wooden ladders and steel rails, swallowing and spitting out goods and wealth.

Gold, silver and jade were continuously transported to the deepest part of the maze. Until now, no one knows how much wealth is buried under this city.

In various rumors, whether it is gorgeous, solemn, weird or dark, each Yunlou City has a mysterious attraction like a mirage, which makes people curious.

But Ye Qingxuan never thought that when he came to this city, it would be so desolate.

The Nomadic Mountain sailed through the silent sea. Wherever it passed, all the dilapidated and rotten houses on the sea were lifeless. Through the fog, one or two vague shadows could be seen occasionally in those layers of houses, but when he approached, he could not see any traces.

It was as if they were deliberately avoiding him.

The fleets that came and went in the past had all disappeared, and even until they arrived at the gate under the Yunlou City, they did not see anyone.

Although it is normal to have some depression after the route is cut off due to the blockade of the Great Wall in the East, it is beyond people's expectation that it will be depressed to such a degree.

"Your Highness, there is something wrong with this damn place."

Yegor, who was at the helm, scratched his bald head: "It's scary."

Ye Qingxuan was amused, "The Lightless Sea of ​​Leviathan didn't scare you. It's just a little desolate now, not like this, right?"

"It's different."

Yegor organized his words and answered after a long time: "The Lightless Sea was created by monsters. I'm not afraid of monsters. If I can beat them, I will live. If I can't beat them, I will run away. If I can't run away, I will die.

But it's different here... This place is man-made."

He said, "Compared to monsters, I'm still more afraid of humans."

Ye Qingxuan was stunned and couldn't help laughing.

Although Yegor's survival philosophy is rough and simple, it always has shining points.

"Don't worry, no matter what happens, I can protect you." He patted Yegor's shoulder, walked to the front of the bridge, and stared at the front of the Nomadic Mountain.

Now they have arrived under Yunlou City, and in front of them is the main gate of Yunlou City - a 10,000-ton sluice.

The main gate of Yunlou City is divided into two layers, separated by two sluices at both ends of the city gate. It is said that the water level inside and outside the city is completely different, and the altitude difference is like a cliff.

If there is no whole set of hubs to coordinate and mobilize, it would be difficult for Ye Qingxuan to get in even if he broke through the outer gate.

But now the ship has reached the bottom of the city wall, but Yunlou City has no reaction at all. In Ye Qingxuan's perception, there is not even a person on the huge city wall, in the space wide enough for dozens of carriages to run in parallel.

The space behind the city gate is also silent, not like a city.

Now, the whole Yunlou is like a double-layer iron coffin, sealing the corpse and the corpse odor, without revealing a bit, but it makes people feel uneasy when approaching.

This city... seems to be dead.

In the confusion, a roar broke out.

Along with the violent vibration of the sluice gate, countless green rust spots and barnacles fell from the iron wall, the surging sound of the water flow gathered into the sharp sound of countless boulders colliding, and white foam surged under the ocean, like a dead octopus spewing corpse water.

Finally, the road leading to the interior of the city slowly opened.

Even now, no one appeared in front of them.

Even the signal light was not on.

"This..."

Yegor looked at Ye Qingxuan hesitantly.

"I'll go, you stay here." Ye Qingxuan reached out, took the windbreaker from the crew and put it on, and told the captain: "If there is any situation, don't worry about me, just retreat to a safe range. When necessary, I authorize you to use Hephaestus."

Yegor hesitated to speak, guessing that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, it would be useless, so he just sighed and called two crew members.

"Please let them follow you." Yegor looked at Ye Qingxuan, "As a prince, if you go on a tour, you can't live without two attendants. Even if you let them carry a bag for you, that's fine."

It is better to have more people than less people, not to mention that no matter how bad it is, they can still be used to block the knife and buy some time.

Ye Qingxuan looked at the two knights who were starting to get dressed. He did not refuse and quickly jumped onto the sampan on the gangway. Facing the gloomy city, the sampan slowly sank into the depths of the city gate.

On the bridge, Yegor smoked a cigarette roughly, looking at the cold edges of the city, his expression couldn't help but twitch:

"This damn place... is so damn evil."

——

In fact, Ye Qingxuan did not sail in the darkness for long.

When his sampan docked at the pier, he saw the figure waiting there, a girl with slender limbs, white hair, and familiar eyebrows...

Bai Xi?

Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, and almost blurted out the name, but soon he discovered that the girl's face did not have the same unruly and playful expression as before, and did not even have any expression, just like a puppet.

Just indifference.

"Are you... Yunlou Chaoyue?"

Ye Qingxuan thought of the rumored twin sister of Bai Xi, but he did not expect that the first meeting would be under such strange circumstances.

In the silence, the girl bowed slightly to him.

"plz follow me."

After saying that, he turned around and led the way.

That posture was as if he had known he would come for a long time. There was no surprise or confusion, no confusion or fear, and his eyes were empty and devoid of any emotional ups and downs.

Like a puppet doll.

While walking forward in silence, Ye Qingxuan followed her footsteps, walking through the complicated and dark corridors and steps, from bottom to top.

There were no bright lights in the legend, only a paper lantern in the girl's hand brought a faint light, making the entire dead city even more gloomy.

Markets, neighborhoods, medical clinics, storefronts...everywhere they passed, everything was silent, decadent, covered in dust, and no one had been active for who knows how long.

There is a lingering rotten smell in the air, and bugs and mice can be seen faintly crawling behind the broken wooden boards, bringing the only sound to the darkness.

There is definitely something wrong with this city!

In the end, Ye Qingxuan couldn't help but ask, "Where are the people here?"

Yunlou Chaoyue was walking in front and stopped when she heard his words, almost knocking Ye Qingxuan down. Looking back at him, a trace of confusion appeared on that beautiful lifeless face.

It seemed like he didn't know how to explain it to him.

Soon, she replied softly: "Everyone is leaving here."

"Leave?" Ye Qingxuan was confused: "Why?"

"have no idea."

This time Yunlou Chaoyue answered quickly, almost without thinking, "Father said they were scared."

"What are you afraid of..."

Before Ye Qingxuan finished asking, his eyes had already seen the answer.

corpse.

Many corpses...

After passing through the corridors and steps, Ye Qingxuan finally climbed to the top of the city and saw the legendary, magnificent and magical White Tower.

But above the white building, there was a dense mass of corpses hanging.

Those corpses had been dead for who knows how long. The shriveled shells were swaying slightly in the wind. After being exposed to the sun for such a long time, the rotten smell had long since disappeared, but there was still no glimmer of light in the dark eye holes.

Just looking straight down at them.

The knight subconsciously placed his hand on his sword, feeling horrified.

After Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, he sneered softly: "Your father's welcome ceremony... was really unique."

Yunlou Chaoyue stopped at the door and looked back at the knights behind him, "They, stay here."

"good."

Ye Qingxuan waved his hand, signaling his entourage to wait for him at the door, and then stepped into the bustling pavilion behind the door, "I want to see what kind of medicine Yunlou Qingshu sells."

-

As soon as I stepped through the door, I heard the sound of the piano.

The cool and elegant sound of the piano echoed throughout the city. It was not noisy, but it set off the silence and made people feel relaxed.

Among the green pines and green bamboos in the courtyard, there are curved water surrounding it, and the sound of water flowing creates a strange charm in a small area, which is exquisite and gorgeous.

It's like leaving the city in an instant and coming to the mountains and fields, feeling at ease.

But the further you move forward, the more you feel the strong embellishment on top of this ‘naturalness’.

He felt that the ground beneath his feet was subtly rotating, facing the sun. The entire city lord's palace seemed to be built on a hinge, causing the huge building to rotate slightly all the time to ensure that it faced the direction of the sun.

Each rotation is one day and night.

As Ye Qingxuan moves forward, the courtyard is also subtly undulating. Whether it is the bamboo forest, winding water, green pines or white walls, they are just part of this huge machine.

Countless pavilions followed his footsteps and appeared from the end of the bifurcated road. After he reversed his direction, they slowly sank into the ground. Under the patchwork of countless buildings and decorations, the entire city lord's palace seems to have thousands of different appearances, hundreds of different postures and styles.

Even the faint sound of the piano is played by a device like a music box. Behind the dexterous rhythm are countless rotating gears and hubs.

Ye Qingxuan finally understood why there were contradictions in so many travel notes, because this city itself is amorphous, with countless modules rising and falling, and countless appearances.

In the hands of his controller, this is the most expensive and exquisite toy in the world.

Even if there were no traces of people along the way, Ye Qingxuan could feel the beauty in every inch of space.

Until he finally climbed to the top of the tall building, at the highest point of the entire city, he finally saw Yun Lou Qingshu... Bai Xi's father, the man who once made him unable to restrain his murderous intent.

However, the current Yun Lou Qingshu, however, did not look like what he expected.

It was like... a different person.