315 The Four Great Clans of Jade City
Ye Xuan, who had just stepped into Jade City, naturally didn’t know about the turmoil in the shadows. After talking to the young man, he found out that the latter’s name was A’tian.

Ye Xuan commented, “A’tian? What a strange name. Don’t you have a surname?”

A’tian scratched his head in embarrassment as he explained, “I’ve been an orphan since I was a child. I don’t know who my parents are. I consider myself raised by the heavens and earth. Everyone calls me that, so I got used to it.”

Ye Xuan learnt that the young man in front of him had a rough life. He was an orphan since he was young and was adopted by a beggar. Later, the beggar died. In order to have a proper burial for him, A’tian had to scrape together a lot of spirit stones and was now deep in debt.

If it wasn’t for his debt, he wouldn’t have asked for such a high price. To A’tian, it was already asking for too much. Usually a few hundred spiritual stones would suffice.

After saying that, A’tian looked at Ye Xuan apprehensively and said, “If you think my price is too expensive, I can lower it a bit.”

“However, before that, I need to collect some spirit stones from you to pay off my debt,” he said with some hesitation.

Other people would work first and get paid later, but he was asking Ye Xuan for an advance payment of spirit stones. This was the first time the two had met. If he took the spirit stones and ran away, Ye Xuan wouldn’t know where to find him.

Ye Xuan didn’t hesitate as he directly placed a bag of spirit stones in A’tian’s hand. He reassured him, saying, “Since we’ve already agreed on the price, there’s no reason to change it.”

A’tian was extremely grateful for Ye Xuan’s trust.

Ye Xuan followed A’tian through many turns and finally arrived at a dilapidated alley. Compared to the bustling streets, this was the most remote place in the northeast of Jade City. It was surrounded by low-rise houses and felt like an entirely different world.

The people who lived here were of ordinary status. This was probably at the lowest level of Jade City.

A’tian introduced, “I live here. My neighbors helped me a lot. Otherwise, I would have starved to death long ago. How could I have survived until now on my own?”

This was also the reason why A’tian was in a hurry to pay back his debt. The people here were not rich. They had lent him every spare spirit stone they could afford. Every family here lived life with tight pockets.

A’tian said, “The neighborhood is too unsightly. Please wait for me here for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”

Although Ye Xuan’s clothes were ordinary, A’tian could sense that he was not an ordinary person. Otherwise, he would not be so generous, and A’tian was worried that Ye Xuan would be displeased for having to enter such a place.

Fortunately, Ye Xuan’s expression was normal. He said, “It’s fine. Let’s go together.”

He wasn’t worried that A’tian would run away after taking the spirit stones. Ye Xuan had seen worse environments than this.

Although the dilapidated alley looked old on the outside, it was still clean. There was no stench in the air, and although it was not as orderly as other areas of the city, it was still passable to live in.

“Aunt Li, Aunt Zhang, Uncle Niu, I’m here to return the spirit stones I borrowed.”

A’tian knocked on the doors of several houses one by one.

“Sigh, child, I already said that we’re not short of spirit stones. Why are you doing this? Look at you. You haven’t rested for a few days. Have you been working overnight to earn spirit stones?”

“Aunt Zhang, thank you for your kindness. I just received a big order, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

…

Very soon, A’tian came back. He said, “My Lord, I’ve finished my business here.”

Ye Xuan wasn’t someone who liked to put on airs. He said, “You can just call me Ye Xuan. Now, take me on a tour around Jade City and tell me more about it.”

A’tian felt that calling Ye Xuan by his name was too disrespectful, so he chose to call him Young Master as a compromise. Through A’tian, Ye Xuan also learned the basic background of Jade City.

Jade City could be considered one of the largest cities around here. The biggest difference between Jade City and the other cities was that the four great clans were in charge of it. Every five years, one of the four great clans would choose a clan to lead. Now, it was time for the rotation.

“Young Master Ye, are you here for business or are you taking a break? If you stay longer, you might be able to stay and watch the event in Jade City.”

Ye Xuan didn’t care about the event. He was only curious about the four clans A’tian mentioned. He asked, “Which four clans are they?”

A’tian replied, “They’re the Xiao, Zhao, Bai, and Fu clans. The Xiao clan is the most powerful among them. They’ve been leading for several years. Many people claim that they will emerge as the leading clan this time as well. However, the Zhao clan and Bai clan are quite strong too. The Fu clan is the most low-key among them.”

These things were known to everyone, and it was not a secret. Anyone could find out about this by simply asking a random passerby.

Ye Xuan thought of the two people he met last time, Xiao Mingyan and Zhao Huaifeng. It seemed that he was quite lucky to meet the members of two great clans at once. Judging from their behavior, they probably had high standing in their clans.

With Zhao Huaifeng’s vengeful personality, if they met each other in Jade City, the former would definitely make things difficult for him.

“Do you know Xiao Mingyan?”

A’tian’s eyes immediately lit up with admiration. “Young Master Ye, how do you know Xiao Mingyan?”

He continued to explain, “He’s a genius of our Jade City. I’ve never seen him in person, but I would need more than just a few days and nights to tell you all his stories. Xiao Mingyan possesses the supreme dragon bone and has displayed outstanding talent since he was young. Even a seven year old child knows his name. However…”

Bang!

As A’tian was talking enthusiastically, the sound of something shattering came from nearby.

There was a drunk man lying around the corner. There were wine jars around him, and there were many broken pieces on the ground. He must have been the one who had caused the commotion just now.

“Young Master Ye, please don’t mind him. There are all kinds of people in this place. There are often homeless people who get drunk on the street. Let’s leave quickly.”

The man’s clothes were ragged, his hair was disheveled, and his appearance was unkempt. He didn’t have any cultivation, so he was obviously an ordinary person. A’tian hated this kind of person the most in his life. The man clearly had hands and feet, but chose to waste his life away.

A’tian’s believed that, even without cultivation, as long as one was willing to work, one would not starve to death.

Ye Xuan felt a gaze peering at him from the shadows. However, it disappeared in a flash. Was he imagining things?