Chapter 2252

This big gray rat is almost as big as a wild dog, round and plump, as if it can barely move its legs.

"Because the inn and restaurant are just ahead." Lord Pu reminded him thoughtfully, "Be careful, they'll bite even when hungry. These years, everything in the wild has grown larger—even centipedes are three feet long!"

Just ahead is the Qingyun Inn.

The services provided here are comprehensive: guests can bathe, change clothes, dine, and for a little extra money enjoy bone-setting and foot therapy.

The two of them made a quick stop, bathed and changed to wash off the sea stench, then came down to eat.

The inn's front hall was doing good business—seventeen out of twenty-five tables occupied, bustling with chatter and laughter, and someone upstairs was telling stories and talking about ancient times, making it very lively.

On the keeper's counter were stacked four or five food baskets, all orders placed by outside guests.

Mr. Sun had just finished ordering when he heard the storyteller shaking his head and waving his fan:

"Between Between Between Beijia and Mu Guo were called the Twin Heroes back then—fighting with give and take, mountains of corpses, seas of blood, rivers flowing red, neither side willing to yield..."

The guest at the next table, cracking melon seeds, said: "Aren't 'mountains of corpses and seas of blood' and 'rivers flowing red' redundant? Master Lu, don't you have any new phrases to switch in?"

The storyteller glared: "Surname Wu, I don't even take your money, and you're picking at a chicken eye? You know what I'm about to say next?"

Seeing they were quite familiar, the guest waved his hand with a smile: "Go on, go on—say your piece, I won't nitpick anymore."

The storyteller then continued: "Does anyone know why Between Between Between Beijia and Mu Guo, who were fighting fiercely just a few years ago, suddenly stopped fighting?"

A guest chimed in: "They got tired of fighting."

"Even if they were tired, they couldn't show it—otherwise the enemy would see they were worn out and beat them to death!" said the storyteller. "They almost simultaneously stopped fighting—does anyone know what happened?"

The diners all shook their heads; nobody liked to use their brains while eating.

"It's the Jingzhe period—here comes the demon beast tide."

As soon as those eight characters were spoken, a long "Oh——" rose from below.

Everyone understood, and no one objected.

"The result of the surge in heavenly and earthly spiritual energy is that in recent years, all countries have seen demon beast tides, severely impacting local areas." said the storyteller. "Whether it's Between Between Between Beijia, Mu Guo, or our Cangyan, none can avoid it. Those present surely remember it vividly, right?"

"Yes."

"We remember, we remember!" everyone nodded.

"At this time, internal troubles outweigh external worries—our own backyard is on fire, who has the energy to fight outsiders? So Mu and Bei gradually stopped fighting, didn't fight anymore..."

The two young men beside Elder Wu asked:

"If Between Between Between Beijia is called the Northern Demon State, does it lack the ability to control newly born demons?"

Mr. Lu rolled his eyes: "You say that just because it's called a demon state it can control demons? Then does a human state control humans? Look at how many countries have bandits running rampant—aren't those people from human states? Why can't they control them?"

The two were left speechless by the rebuke.

Mr. Sun smiled upon hearing this but said nothing.

The origins and end of the Mu-Bei war are complex. What Mr. Lu said isn't without reason, but it may not be the main cause.

Just as Mr. Sun's big bowl of beef noodles was served, a sturdy young man rushed in from outside and quietly said to the guests at the two tables beside Mr. Sun:

"Elder Wu, on the northern official road near Shi Lin, four or five black bears and a pack of wild wolves have appeared—especially fierce! They attacked two merchant convoys last night until this morning, ate a passerby, and injured over a dozen. The office orders your squad to go out and exterminate them."

The guests at those two tables were all sturdy men, their eyes sharp with energy—clearly they possessed cultivation and martial skills.

Someone muttered: "It's been peaceful for months—why do we run into trouble just when we're on duty?"

Squad Leader Elder Wu asked: "Did they attack people on the official road or inside Shi Lin?"

"Inside Shi Lin, but very close to the official road—just a few dozen steps away and you could stroll up there."

"Mindless things—beautiful forests and mountains they won't stay in, insist on coming to our turf to seek death!" Elder Wolf Downwind gulped down the remaining noodles, wiped his mouth, and led seven or eight subordinates striding away: "Let's go! Go strip the black bear pelts!"

A subordinate said: "We should still be careful—White Su's team, three months ago they joined the legion's hunt of the West Ridge demon tribe and never came back."

Another added: "I heard that over a hundred years ago this place was called Ju Lu State, and back then demon bears and wolves ran rampant, eating people..."

The captain slapped each of them on the back of the head: "Keep crowing like that, and I'll feed you two to the bears and wolves first!"

After they left, Mr. Sun asked: "These people aren't mercenaries, are they?"

"No. They're regular patrol-hunting squads." Lord Pu watched their retreating backs, "Actually, in the first few years after Cangyan's founding, the Dragon God Army pacified all directions, clearing out mountain bandits, road bandits, and great demons spotless—so much so that merchants dared to travel the Jinjin Plains at night. Too bad good times don't last—Imperial Liujiang kept pouring down, year after year, and these newly emerged mountain sprites and wild monsters are like bamboo shoots after rain—batch after batch, day after day, month after month, year after year! You can't kill them all, can't control them all."

"They understand no reasoning, not even human speech, and don't know which places are human territory—often they disturb transport and disrupt security near cities and official roads, grabbing and eating people. Domestically and abroad, this is called the 'demon beast tide,' meaning their numbers have grown so they impact normal human life. So the government organized patrol-hunting squads to protect travel safety."

"I heard it was like this in ancient times too—humanity suffered from demon beast harassment. I previously served in Fu State, which had similar measures, but official manpower and funds were insufficient, so they outsourced to escort agencies and mercenaries, which only caused more trouble, with deductions in between. Some mercenaries kept working, then just stopped taking path money. Over time, that road saw hardly anyone dare to travel." Mr. Sun sighed, "Then, what about the mountain trails outside the official road here?"

"At your own risk—official authority can't reach there. Unless you're highly skilled and bold, don't go." Lord Pu shrugged, "Getting back to the point: no matter the time, wild countryside is no place for the weak to travel."

"That makes sense."

After eating, the two were in a hurry to get going, so they left the port.

The official road was still very safe. Mr. Sun turned back, saw the buildings of Ju Lu Port receding into the distance behind him, while carriages and horses flowed continuously beside him, and couldn't help but say:

"This place is as lively as Yang Shan Islands."

They came by boat, stopped midway at Yang Shan, and he left a deep impression of Yang Shan.

Lord Pu laughed: "What's different?"

"Yang Shan has beautiful scenery, while Ju Lu Port is grand and imposing."

The carriage they rode in was actually ascending higher and higher, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff to let passengers off.