Chapter 160: The Real Panlongcheng

However, it didn't happen. People either nodded and smiled at him or ignored him directly, quickly brushing past without looking back.

Was this treating him as a local resident?

He Lingchuan knew that the Panlong military and civilians were very vigilant against outsiders, and illegal intruders were all treated as spies.

Was it because he had fought side-by-side with the Great Wind Army last time that he had obtained a transit permit from the Great Fang Hu?

With these questions, he continued forward.

The road was full of green hills and clear waters, wild flowers covered the long slopes, colorful butterflies were in pairs, and the crops in the fields were growing gratifyingly.

Everything was exceptionally tranquil, looking even more peaceful than most of the countryside the Support Army had passed through.

However, this was the Panlong Wasteland, land irrigated by the flesh and blood of countless people.

The Panlongcheng in his line of sight was also getting closer and more magnificent.

The outline of this city looked similar to what he had seen in the Panlong Illusion, lacking some sharp edges and many defensive works; the most obvious thing was the absence of the ferocious-looking crocodile-tooth spikes on the city gate, showing that the pressure Panlongcheng faced during this period was far less than in the later stages.

But Panlongcheng still caused a sense of oppression for any outsider.

Walking closer, He Lingchuan discovered that although there were no crocodile-tooth spikes under the battlements, the outer city wall was occupied by brown-gray climbing plants. They were densely packed on the wall surface, and others could hardly see the original color of the wall. It was spring now, but the plants were full of fist-sized fruits, light red in color, shaped like papayas.

It had to be said that this wall greening work was a bit of a failure.

Why plant climbing plants on the most important South Gate of Panlongcheng? These plants had thick vines and stems, and the old vines at the bottom were thicker than his thighs; weren't they just perfect for enemies to climb?

Not just He Lingchuan, many outsiders were also pointing and gesturing.

Yes, Panlongcheng was actually different from what he had imagined; it wasn't heavily guarded and off-limits to strangers. He glanced around and saw strangers with different attire and even different skin colors in front, behind, left, and right.

He also recognized that several pedestrians on the road were actually lone merchants, and there was a caravan ahead waiting to pass through. The team had at least forty or fifty people, and over a dozen carriages were fully loaded with goods.

These should all be outsiders, because the expressions of many people looking at Panlongcheng were similar to He Lingchuan's, and they didn't hide their surprise much.

The city gate was half-open, and there were about seven or eight soldiers responsible for security checks; it turned out to be a small squad, neatly dressed and full of spirit, but their expressions were mild.

They checked the indices and clearance documents taken out by pedestrians; for caravans, they would spot-check the goods, and if they matched the records in the documents, they would let them pass.

It didn't look very strict.

He Lingchuan admitted that this was even more relaxed than passing through Heishui City.

Soon it was his turn.

He Lingchuan smiled mildly, but in reality, he was channeling energy into both legs, ready to turn and flee if anything went wrong. After all, he didn't have any identification documents.

He was just here to try his luck. The dream started here; if he didn't enter Panlong, he wouldn't know what to do.

Who would have thought that the city gate guard saw him and didn't even want the index documents, waving his hand to signal him to pass quickly.

He Lingchuan hesitated, his footsteps pausing.

The city gate guard said directly: "Go, don't block the way!"

It didn't look like a trap, so He Lingchuan took a big step and slipped through the city gate quickly.

Sure enough, after fighting side-by-side with the Great Wind Army last time, he had obtained Panlongcheng's... favor? He was no longer a rat crossing the street.

The city gate tower was as magnificent as in his memory, but it only had two layers of gates, unlike the three-layer barbican of later generations.

After passing through, he first faced a large square.

This square was still so large, but the layout was different from his memory. What was peculiar was that there was a lake on the edge of the square, sparkling and steaming; it turned out to be a hot spring lake.

The shore was dotted with fluffy papyrus.

He Lingchuan stood by the lake, the lake water was clear enough to see the sand at the bottom; there were no koi in it, but local stream fish were in schools.

At this time, the Chipa Plateau had a crisscrossing water network and lush forests and grasses, being a pearl on the Panlong Wasteland. He Lingchuan had also seen this lake in the Panlongcheng of later generations, but by then it had long dried up, leaving only the outline.

Only when he saw it with his own eyes did he know that the lake shore had been built into multiple steps, so people could walk directly from the square to the lake to fetch water without any obstacles.

He tested the water temperature, and it must have been over forty degrees.

Fish in such high water temperature? Could they be cooked if it went up another twenty degrees? He Lingchuan looked back and saw scaffolding set up on the high wall by the city gate, with many craftsmen knocking and hammering there.

The sculpture was seven or eight zhang high, and although it wasn't finished, the general outline could already be seen.

That outline, those lines, hmm, it was definitely a dragon.

In the Panlong Illusion, there was also a black dragon sculpture by the city gate, but here, it wasn't finished yet.

Now He Lingchuan knew what era he had entered.

This stage was probably after the Panlong Wasteland became an exclave again, and Zhong Shengguang was completely disappointed with his motherland, which was why he replaced the original guardian beast, the Golden Bull, behind the city gate with the black dragon sculpture.

He Lingchuan chose a random road to stroll inside; the streets were spacious and clean, buildings were row upon row, and people were hawking outside shops... it was no different from other bustling cities.

Having witnessed the bleakness and desolation of Panlongcheng in later generations, and then seeing its current appearance, even though He Lingchuan knew he was in a dream, he felt a sense of unreality as if it were a lifetime ago.

Especially the hawkers, laborers, civilians, and wealthy merchants coming and going, laughing and joking, haggling, arguing, and hurrying about, all full of the atmosphere of life.

The tragic, gloomy, and solemn atmosphere He Lingchuan had expected did not exist.

Was the dream he was in a past reality? People living here still went about their days, still bowed for five pecks of rice, still bought two-wen sugar-coated haws for their children, still cheated and swindled—

He Lingchuan walked to the entrance of a restaurant and was bumped into by a child rushing from the opposite side.

This little brat was as short and thin as a monkey, but his strength was great; an ordinary person would probably have been knocked over, but He Lingchuan had practiced martial arts for many years, and his stance was as stable as a bell. Not only did the boy not knock him down, but he himself was bounced back two feet, sitting on the ground with a thud.

He was so angry he glared: "You, can't you walk properly?"

"You little brat, why are you pulling my necklace?" He Lingchuan looked down and saw that the necklace that had been against his skin was pulled outside his collar, and that small piece of divine bone was actually emitting a faint red light.

When the little brat bumped into him, he felt his neck tighten; fortunately, the chain was thin but hadn't been pulled apart.

The boy scrambled up from the ground and ran away.

He Lingchuan was just about to catch up and give him a big slap when his shoulder was heavily patted by someone, and a voice said: "Hey, He Lingchuan!"

Someone here actually knew his name! He Lingchuan gave a start, stopped chasing the brat, and turned to look at the person.

This person was of medium-to-thin build, with round eyes, a spirited young man, but he was leaning on a crutch under his arm, one leg suspended and not daring to touch the ground.

"It really is you!" He looked at He Lingchuan and smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Hu Min!" He Lingchuan was also pleasantly surprised, going up to hug his shoulders and pat his back, "Where did you, a cripple, pop out from?"

His surprise lay in the fact that not only did he meet an old acquaintance in the dream, but the other party actually remembered him! This showed that he had left a mark in the dream, and was not just a spectator or a passerby.

This discovery was of great significance.

"I wanted to go to the Shuanghe Restaurant for a cup of wine, but I saw you standing here, foolishly being touched by a little brat!"

The two looked at each other and laughed heartily.

Hu Min was his comrade-in-arms from the Great Wind Army who had died defending the chariot formation together in his last dream. He Lingchuan had lost an arm, and so many crossbow arrows had been installed for him by Hu Min.

A man's sincere friendship didn't have to be about having been classmates; it could be about having carried a gun together.

"Let's go, let's have a few cups." He Lingchuan saw the Shuanghe Restaurant as soon as he turned his head.

Eh? Wasn't this the place where Sun Fuping gathered them to discuss countermeasures after the expedition team entered the Panlong ruins? It was just that at that time, only the restaurant's sign was left swaying in the wind, and the characters were hard to recognize.

But the Shuanghe Restaurant before his eyes had gold-plated characters on the plaque, and the restaurant was full of customers, with business booming.

The two happily entered the restaurant and sat down. When the waiter came over to ask what wine and food the guests wanted, He Lingchuan realized belatedly and touched his pocket.

Oh no, it was as clean as if it had just been washed!

Did the Broken Blade only let him bring a set of clothes when it sent him into the dream?

Shouldn't it have given some startup capital or something? This was too stingy.

Hu Min, however, was happily ordering things: "Old Luo Bai, bring a jar first, stir-fry some greens for us, bring a plate of pork cracklings, and mix some pig head meat! Oh right, do you want to eat goose or chicken?"

"I..." Did a penniless person have room to choose? He Lingchuan's smile was a bit bitter, "Anything is fine."

"Then bring a piece of braised goose leg, the biggest and fattest one!"

Hearing the word "biggest," He Lingchuan hurriedly said: "Isn't that too much? I came after eating, don't waste it."

Hu Min glared: "You're full, but I'm still hungry. Just this little bit won't finish this jar of wine! You order more—"

Speaking of this, he suddenly reacted: "Oh! It's fine, it's fine, eat whatever, order whatever, I'm treating today!"

"This..." That was great! "... How can that be! Am I the kind of person who takes advantage of others?"

He Lingchuan also glared, and Hu Min laughed: "Between brothers, why say those things?"

In less than two blinks of an eye, the pork cracklings were served.

This was actually the residue left from rendering lard in the kitchen, with some pepper powder added. Meat was so expensive that it couldn't be thrown away, so it was sold to drinkers for only two coppers a plate.

He Lingchuan picked one up and put it in his mouth; it was crispy and crunchy, getting more fragrant the more he chewed. Looking at Hu Min, he was clearly an old drinker who knew the goodness of pork cracklings.

"How did you survive?" Hu Min asked him, "We defended until dawn, and it was only with great difficulty that General Hong personally supported us, but you were knocked into the water. After the enemy retreated, even Commander Xiao personally went into the water, but couldn't find you."

Commander Xiao jumped into the water to look for him? He Lingchuan was moved.

He remembered climbing onto a large rock, wanting to pay respects to General Hong, but was woken up by a servant, which he still regarded as a regret. But it turned out that in the eyes of Hu Min, Commander Xiao, and others, he had been knocked into the water by the enemy and disappeared?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 161 =====