Chapter 8: In the Shadows of Xuan Du

Chapter 8: In the Shadows of Xuan Du
There are places where light cannot reach, and the grand Xuan Du Capital is no exception. Underground in the capital, there is a dark corner where many illicit transactions take place. Despite purposely avoiding the underground areas of the imperial palace and Eastern Residence, this space, built upon the vast Xuan Du City, resembles a city within an underground dungeon. Therefore, those in the know refer to it as "Xuan An Town," meaning the town in the shadows of Xuan Du, also known as "Dark Town."
In the dark town, it is divided into several streets, except for a few special ones such as "Soul Street" near the Eastern Mansion underground, and "Mysterious Dark Street" near the palace. The other streets are simply named by numbers, like First Street, Second Street, etc. Various shops are scattered along each street, not all of which are involved in black market trading, but also include strongholds of various factions and many information brokers.
Just after leaving the mansion, Dongfang Zi, the guy wrapped in a black robe, walked steadily with his head down. He ignored all the cries of the street vendors and even the sounds of fighting that passed by his ears. Yes, unlike Xuan Du City under the sun, fighting was not prohibited in the general streets of the dark town unless certain streets controlled by major forces had their own rules... Of course, in any street, fights were unlikely to happen inside shops. This was because fighting inside a shop would offend the owner, and who in this town owned a shop and didn't have a temper?
However, on the other hand, the Black-robed Man knew that the fights and the peddling had nothing to do with him for the time being. He was the subordinate of An Ye, the head of the largest information trading organization in Qijie. Generally, those who frequented this area wouldn't provoke him. After a while, the Black-robed Man looked up and stopped in front of a slightly run-down building, then walked in slowly. On the surface, it appeared to be a simple teahouse. Of course, anyone familiar with An Xiaoqi would know that this guy was a complete gambler, so this place was definitely more than just a regular teahouse.
“这真是道上有名的赌徒安小七安爷的场子？”一个壮汉干一杯淡茶，又啐了口唾沫，咂吧着嘴“错不了的，只不过以前这还是个赌场来着……”同桌的一个汉子小声答到，“你瞧，那个多半是安爷的人……”他眼神瞟向黑袍人示意。黑袍人没有理会旁人，他知道，这些人都是来找安爷的，但多半路子不够，只能在这里喝茶碰碰运气。他径直走向不对外开放的后台偏房，又按特殊节律敲了敲梁柱，原本平整的地板上顿时出现了一条延伸向下阶梯。随着黑袍身影的深入，地上的口子也逐渐与地面融为了一体……
In a certain place on the bustling Seventh Street of Anzhen, people's voices were loud and varied. The gamblers were either embracing their female companions, holding chips, or staring at the gambling tables with bloodshot eyes... It was clearly a busy casino. A person dressed in a black robe made his way through various checkpoints and entered the central area of the casino – the personal space of An Ye, also known as An Xiaoqi.
This place is somewhat quiet compared to the bustling gambling tables outside. There is only one middle-aged man with a single eye, single ear, and a crippled leg, along with a few attendant playmates, playing enthusiastically. The person in the black robe slowly approached the middle-aged man and whispered something in his ear. Translated:
"Is the news true?" The man's voice was hoarse. The figure in the black robe nodded and then withdrew. The man couldn't help but close his eyes, his brow furrowed. "What's wrong, Master An? Do you want to continue playing?" The head servant asked. "There's been a mistake, it's none of your business now. I'm not in the mood for gambling anymore," An Xiaoqi waved his hand impatiently and said, "By the way, bring Guo Huai to me and tell him I have something to instruct him, quickly!" The servants felt relieved and hurriedly complied, leaving...
In a certain restaurant in Anzhen Seventh Street, an elderly man in plain attire sits leisurely on the second floor, sipping his wine and squinting as he observes the various pedestrians passing by on the street. Before long, a young servant-like person approaches the old man and reports something... "An Xiaoqi, heh heh, An Ye, it seems he has gotten himself into a big trouble~" After listening, the old man casually remarks, "But since he is so foolish, let me take his place." The old man's tone suddenly becomes stern, "This street, it's time for a change." translated:
After speaking, the old man quieted down again and continued to drink his wine. He seemed like a completely different person than before, constantly mumbling phrases like "good wine," "wonderful," "amazing," and so on... Please note that the @ symbol is not commonly used in English. Hence, it will not be kept in the translation.
However, on the streets of Anzhenqi, it seems that there are suddenly more suspicious individuals. Most of them are spies from various forces... Obviously, they have all received some information. A great performance is about to take place on Street Number Seven...
All of this, East Zi, who is still on the Xuan Du land, is not aware of. However, this is not important to him, after all, since he has made up his mind, he will never hesitate...
?? To know how things will turn out, let's wait for the next decomposition~
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(End of this chapter)