“Another batch of people! What kind of sin did Xiu He commit! Sigh…”

“Isn’t it so, how many times is this. There’s not even a single statement, how is she going to rest in peace.” A few elderly were sewing shoe soles while they sat at the entrance of the village grumbled when they saw dozens of people rushing toward their direction.

“Aunty, is this Darkwater Town?” The guy with a crew-cut hairstyle could not help but ask when he saw this place had such a beautiful ambiance, with mountains and clear rivers. He could not seem to relate the name to this place.

“Can’t you see for yourself? It states clearly up there, you can’t read?” An old woman who sat beside the mill answered impatiently.

“Pfft… Haha…” Sheng Ya looked at the crew-cut guy and stared at Xu Lan before bursting into laughter. Xu Lan’s neck flushed immediately and turned away from that bright-lit face.

When they looked closer, there was indeed a signboard at the village’s entrance. There were two words written on it using Small Seal Script – Darkwater Town. Those characters were written with a powerful stroke and the artistry could not be easily recognized by commoners.

“Aunty, is there anyone who’s in charge of this place?” Bai Wu came forward and asked politely.

“Walk straight ahead and turn left at the third intersection until you reach the tallest building. That’s the mayor’s house.” Another old lady sensed the awkward tension and answered with a smile.

“Thank you.” Bai Wu bid his farewell politely.

A group of people followed behind Bai Wu and scrambled their way to the mayor’s house.

Splash! A bucket of water poured down from the second floor. Bai Wu was completely drenched since he was the first one in line.

“Are you okay, Bai Wu?” Sheng Ya walked over with an astonished look, where she tried to wipe away the water stains while she asked.

“No worries…”

“What is there to worry about? He was fine even after going down the well and got completely wet,” Xu Lan said shrugging his shoulders as he retracted his hand halfway with the handkerchief and put it back to his pocket.

Bai Wu laughed bitterly and shook his head. He signaled Sheng Ya to inform her that he was fine. He pushed the rail fence and walked inside to inquire if the mayor was around. Sheng Ya turned back to glare at Xu Lan. Xu Lan rolled his eyes and looked to the sky to pretend that he did not see it.

“Get lost! Who let you in!” An old voice erupted while it trembled emotionally.

An old, white-haired man chased Bai Wu out by waving his walking stick. The people upstairs prepared another bucket of water, glaring at them fiercely.

“Sir! Let’s talk nicely, why are you hitting us?” Xu Lan dragged Bai Wu behind his back when he saw the situation and stared firmly at the mayor.

“Get lost! I don’t have anything to say to you!” The mayor pointed with his walking stick and yelled loudly.

“Don’t be angry, mayor. We just want to ask about Xiu…”

Splash!

“Get out! I don’t want to see you guys again!” The upstairs poured down another bucket of water before Bai Wu could finish his sentence. The mayor was raging with anger until his mustache stood upright.

“Papa!”

Xu Lan had also turned into a drenched chicken. Bai Wu walked over quickly to pass him the handkerchief from just now.

“Hehe… Mayor, we’re here to sketch. I own an art institute. It just so happen that I read about an article on Darkwater Town online and find that this place had such beautiful sceneries and ambiance, which is perfect for sketching. That’s why I brought them over, hehe…” Xu Lan said laughingly and slapped the reaching hand away.

“Don’t you try to fool this old man, what sketch, you just said you wanted to know about Xiu…” The mayor choked and did not continue talking.

“Why would I fool you, sir? Look, we even brought our drawing boards. Sketching is also drawing. You should know what’s drawing right?” Xu Lan used two hundred gold coins to redeem a drawing board and took it out from his back to prove that he did not lie.

The mayor scrutinized all of them. There were around twenty people, each of them spent their gold coins to exchange for something related to art unwillingly.

“Look, I told you. We just arrived and wanted to witness the beauty of Darkwater Town’s mountains and rivers. We walked around for a bit when we arrive and this place is just perfect,” said Xu Lan.

The mayor let them into the house dubiously.