Chapter 373

The advantages and disadvantages of this system can be seen at a glance, but the Beijia Nation has no better way, because its territory is too vast, so vast that it is difficult to manage itself—the Yuan Nation's size is not small, and among the known countries besides the Sea Nation and Lake Nation, its land area ranks sixth.

But the Beijia Nation is six times larger than it, the first in the world!

He Lingchuan has seen the territory of Beijia on the sand table; it is truly a spectacular piece, connecting to the ocean in the north and reaching the Earth Sea in the east.

Let's put it this way, if He Lingchuan rode a Qingbo beast from the easternmost end of Beijia all the way west, traveling four hundred li a day, walking only in a straight line, it would take more than thirty days to reach the westernmost end of the demon nation's territory!

This is still the result of ignoring the crisscrossing mountains and rivers in the middle, and the countless deserts, swamps, lakes, and high mountains, otherwise the time would be stretched many times longer.

This country has always been a peculiar existence with mixed reputations; countless people are not optimistic about its system and customs; after all, other countries that imitated Beijia didn't exist after one or two hundred years.

To this day, it is also a key point repeatedly studied by the imperial courts, historians, and strategists of various countries.

But no matter what others say, the Beijia Nation is still there, the Demon Emperor is still there, and this huge empire still runs.

The territory of the Treasure Tree Kingdom is much larger than the entire Fu Nation, but its capital is close to the south, and the caravan can arrive soon after crossing the border.

He Lingchuan has walked all the way, and he is no longer surprised by the scene of "demons and humans coexisting."

The larger the town, the stranger the architectural style; some simply break He Lingchuan's cognition of "houses," because the residents are not only humans, but also demons.

He has even seen a family of mole demons go to a carpenter to customize their house—the total area is less than five square meters, and it only needs to be nailed to the outer wall of someone else's house.

Walking into the northern demon nation is like walking into a strange new world; sometimes it looks chaotic, but it runs with its own order.

This is the result of six hundred years of grinding, and it is also a strange scene that can't be seen in the Yuan Nation for a lifetime; He Lingchuan feels that he has opened his eyes.

The caravan arrived at Fufeng City, the capital of the Treasure Tree Kingdom, in the middle of the night; the sky was covered with dark clouds, but the entire city was not immersed in darkness.

Every hundred feet on the main road, two fluorescent spores were hung to illuminate the passing pedestrians.

This specialty of the Demon Nest Swamp was bright and stable, unaffected by wind power. He Lingchuan smiled as soon as he saw it; no wonder the Gan Chamber of Commerce was fat and oily, the exclusive business was here.

However, after the Shimen caravan returned from Lingxu City, they might take over this cash cow.

There were not many people on the road, but the restaurants and inns had lights on, and if you listened closely, there might be clinking glasses.

After entering the city, Wu Jingsong and the other invited He Lingchuan to rush back to the Imperial Preceptor's mansion with them, while the caravan went to the inn to stay on their own.

When the three of them walked through the streets and alleys, they also met a team of "night fragrance men." That is, the team that came out in the middle of the night to collect "night fragrance" and transport it out of the city.

This was dozens of huge dung beetles, commonly known as dung beetles. They pulled carts, each carrying a huge wooden barrel. The caravan collected night fragrance from house to house, poured it into the large wooden barrel, and transported it outside the city to ferment fertilizer before dawn.

After some time, these fertilizers could be used in the fields.

Whether it was Shi Huan or Heishui City, the municipal government also provided this service, but having demons responsible for collection and transportation, and it was such a professionally matched demon species, He Lingchuan encountered it for the first time and clicked his tongue in wonder.

There were more than a dozen such small teams in Fufeng City.

Wu Jingsong was a bit embarrassed when he saw the dung beetles and hurriedly led He Lingchuan to the main road.

The night fragrance team would not appear on the main road.

The three rushed to the Imperial Preceptor's mansion, and after some reporting, He Lingchuan waited in the side hall.

The area of the Imperial Preceptor's mansion was very large, probably four times that of the He residence in Dunyu; he passed three gardens on the way, each with a different theme, and the one that left the deepest impression on him actually had a small waterfall, with vines with strange flowers and green ferns on both sides of the gurgling water, and the fan palms were taller than people; here, it felt like being in a rainforest, completely different from the garden landscaping of the Yuan Nation.

Another garden had a huge pond, and the fish inside were also shockingly large; they were not koi, but the color of their belly scales was very gorgeous, eight feet long from head to tail, and their mouths were so large that they seemed to be able to swallow a baby.

From the way the big fish looked at people, He Lingchuan had reason to believe that this should be a fish demon.

He waited in the side hall for a full two quarters of an hour, drank three cups of hot tea, and the main person came.

Sha Cong, the Imperial Preceptor of the Treasure Tree Kingdom, had just passed sixty years old this year, but there was only a wisp of silver silk on his temples, and his body was very healthy, looking less than fifty years old.

He strode into the hall, his eyes containing divine light, followed by a man, about thirty, expressionless.

Wu Jingsong, who had always been by the Imperial Preceptor's side, hurriedly introduced both parties.

It turned out that the person behind Sha Cong was his second son, Sha Xinghai, the victim who had lost one soul and one spirit.

It is worth mentioning that the name Wu Jingsong introduced for He Lingchuan was "He Xiao," a distant relative of the two Shi brothers.

Sha Cong looked He Lingchuan up and down, his eyes containing scrutiny: "You sent my son's soul back, what do you seek?"

Wu Jingsong had already reported the process of this trip to him roughly.

He Lingchuan shook his head: "Just on the way."

"Good, then let his soul return to its place."

Sha Cong stepped aside, and He Lingchuan took out the Soul-Sucking Mirror from his bosom, shone the mirror surface at Sha Xinghai, and patted it twice.

A faint white light flew out from the mirror, circled around Sha Xinghai as if confirming the original owner, and then drilled into his seven orifices.

Sha Xinghai gave a jolt, took a long breath, and his eyes were no longer dull.

He bowed long to Sha Cong: "Father, I am back." And then said to He Lingchuan, "Thank you, little brother He."

"Next time, be sure to be careful, don't let the petty people take advantage again!" Sha Cong waved his hand, let Sha Xinghai retreat, and looked at He Lingchuan again, "You don't claim credit, but the credit is still there. Oh, I heard you originally lived in the Fu Nation?"

"Yes."

"Wu Jingsong said you are brave and resourceful; I will recommend you to the monarch as a Honglin Captain; are you satisfied?"

He Lingchuan had just arrived and didn't know what kind of position this was, but he thought it shouldn't be too bad. He had a great kindness to Sha Xinghai, and the reward Sha Cong took out had to be appropriate; if it was too meager, it would be a slight to this kindness.

Wu Jingsong even blinked at him repeatedly, signaling him to accept it.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment: "I still have to go to Lingxu City; let's talk about it when I come back."

Sha Cong was not surprised: "What are you going to do?"

"I want to see the world-famous Beijia capital, and by the way, visit Xushan."

Zhu Xiuer's largest remains were on Xushan, and it was also the mountain gate of the Great Dahai Sect. He Lingchuan dared to say this place name openly because he had long learned from Wu Jingsong and the second-in-command Shi that Xushan was now one of the famous tourist attractions in Lingxu City, welcoming a large number of tourists every day.

Such an ancient ruin, Lingxu City didn't cover it up, didn't block it, and didn't mark it as a forbidden area, showing its magnanimity.

The hot-blooded teenager He Lingchuan went there for its name, to visit the mountains and saints, which was not strange at all.

"It's good to go once; the capital is spectacular and hard to find in the world," Sha Cong said. "Go around the capital and come back to be an official."

After He Lingchuan released Sha Xinghai's soul, he put away the mirror. Sha Cong saw that he didn't refuse and said again: "Your mirror, let me see."

"It has already recognized me as its master."

Sha Cong smiled: "Don't worry, I won't rob you."

He Lingchuan then took out the Soul-Sucking Mirror.

Sha Cong held it in his hand and rubbed it a few times, pondering: "It is indeed a spiritual object."

With He Lingchuan on the side, the mirror naturally wouldn't suck his soul for no reason, otherwise just looking at the mirror surface like this would be dangerous.

"Where did this mirror get the Emperor's Flowing Pulp paste?"

"It doesn't know either," He Lingchuan said. "It woke up in a tree stump in the wilderness; the mirror slave walked for five days and five nights before finding a human village, and it doesn't know where it was before."

Sha Cong returned the mirror to him: "By the way, in a few days, it will be my King's eight-hundredth birthday; you might as well join in the fun before leaving."

He Lingchuan nodded: "I will definitely admire it."

"You have come from afar and are tired from the journey; go back and rest. I will let Xu Dongdong send you."

Sha Imperial Preceptor summoned, and Xu Dongdong walked out from outside the door, escorting He Lingchuan out of the mansion all the way to the inn where Shi Congshan was staying.

Shi Congshui heard that he had fished for an official position just by going back and forth like this, and was overjoyed, immediately wanting to set up wine and dishes to celebrate for him.

He Lingchuan waved his hand: "It's not even a stroke of the eight characters."

He had a rank in the Yuan Nation, and usually speaking, he couldn't be an official in other countries before he left office. Even if he forcibly received the Sheji Order of the Beijia Nation, he couldn't use its meta-power.

Only one position was an exception: envoy.

Only then could he be an official in two countries as a matter of course.

"Besides, he hasn't examined my background yet, why did he give me an official position?" A dignified Imperial Preceptor, is he so frivolous in doing things?

"I heard that Beijia's standard for employing people is not to stick to one pattern and to employ people according to their talents. Many strong people active in the Beijia court are from outside. Take this Sha Imperial Preceptor, his father came from a place called Tangye in the Dai Nation, and he is not a Treasure Tree Kingdom person either," Shi Congshui smiled. "Perhaps he just likes talent?"

He Lingchuan smiled: "How can there be love and hate for no reason?"

Shi Congshui only thought he was humble: "People should enjoy themselves when they are proud!"

He Lingchuan smiled and drank a glass of wine, replaying the trip to the Imperial Preceptor's mansion in his mind.

Even if he had the kindness of saving Sha Xinghai, Sha Imperial Preceptor's attitude towards him was condescending. This person had been in a high position for a long time, and there were only two leaders in the country, the Treasure Tree King and the Prime Minister, so his reserve and arrogance had long been carved into his bones.

In his eyes, this kindness could be offset by a suitable reward.

He Lingchuan didn't care about this at all.

He was a person with no roots, no background, and no identity in the Beijia Nation, and he didn't care at all how others looked at him.

Fufeng City was just a stop on his journey, and it would pass in the blink of an eye.

"Come, drink!"

￥￥￥￥￥

After He Lingchuan left, Sha Xinghai walked out from the back hall again, his face full of shame: "Father, I didn't handle this errand well."

"No one expected that you would be attacked before you arrived in Wu Ze County," Sha Imperial Preceptor waved his hand. "The armor and weapons had no markings, and the death soldiers swallowed poison when captured. Heh, this is someone in the mansion leaking your whereabouts."

(End of chapter)