Chapter 566: A Friendly Tour Group

Shao Jian snorted. "Since the founding of Beijia, it has planned, launched, or even personally participated in thousands of wars. It relies on doing such things for the Heavenly Gods in exchange for its own continuation and power!" "Tell me—" he said, enunciating every word, "are these Demon Emperors, Demon Kings, and State Preceptors not traitors to humanity?"

"... They are." He Lingchuan said cautiously, "But it seems Beijia hasn't fought any wars in the last ten years or so?"

"It hasn't moved itself, but what about the Ju State? The Dai State?" Shao Jian said coldly. "The new monarch of the Ju State reformed the government, and rebellions suddenly arose. Over twenty thousand people died within half a year, and the Ju monarch himself was buried under a flurry of blades. Afterward, the various rebel armies fought incessantly for the throne. It was truly like mowing down grass, and it hasn't stopped even now."

"The Dai State had only enjoyed peace for twenty years before going to war with an old enemy again. The blood feuds have only deepened, and there is no telling when it will end." Shao Jian shook his head. "Behind the turmoil in these two states, Beijia is the one stirring up trouble. That's all I know; as for what I don't know, hah, it's beyond counting."

"The Heavenly Gods aren't stupid either; blindly harvesting Nightmare Qi is like draining a pond to catch fish." When speaking of the Heavenly Gods, Shao Jian never had a pleasant expression. "The human world also needs to recuperate, which is beneficial for the recovery of spiritual energy. Otherwise, if all the humans die, what will the Heavenly Gods use to collect Nightmare Qi? It just so happens that human reproduction and prosperity coincide with the recovery of spiritual energy. As long as the Heavenly Gods control the intensity and frequency of wars through Beijia, they can ensure a constant, high-quality, and high-quantity supply of Nightmare Qi."

"In that case..." He Lingchuan weighed his words, "Isn't the human world just a pasture for the Heavenly Gods?"

When there are many people, they harvest a crop; when there are few, they raise them up.

How is this any different from raising pigs or cattle? "Who's to say it isn't?" Shao Jian sighed leisurely. "The Heavenly Gods and Beijia are the root cause of the world's endless turmoil!"

He Lingchuan's gaze flickered. "Since the Heavenly Gods rely on harvesting human Nightmare Qi to survive, why would Lady Mitian want to help us?"

Betraying one's own origin to stand against one's entire race—is this something a normal god could do?

"That? You'll have to ask Commander Zhong about that." Shao Jian wiped the sheep fat off his blade. "I'm not clear on the contents of the agreement he made with Mitian."

He Lingchuan felt that he hadn't told the whole truth.

"In any case, you must understand that Panlongcheng is no otherworldly paradise. The Heavenly Gods will eventually cast their gaze here. When that time comes..." The hatred in Shao Jian's eyes could no longer be hidden. "The evil, madness, and cruelty of them and Beijia are beyond your imagination. Since Brother Zhong has already chosen the correct and difficult path, you can only forge ahead!"

No turning back? He Lingchuan looked up at the starry sky and silently inhaled a breath of cold air.

￥￥￥￥￥

As soon as dawn broke, He Lingchuan went out for a stroll.

Being a newcomer, he was still a nobody. Hardly anyone in the vast Lingxu City recognized him, so he decided to take this opportunity to look around.

He had arrived near dusk yesterday and only caught a fleeting glimpse of things along the way; he could have a proper look this morning.

The core area of Panlongcheng was limited to a few places like Wang Lin Street, but Lingxu City had no so-called "core" because its bustling urban area was simply too large. Entire swathes of markets were included, and both the main city and the auxiliary cities had their own central districts. To He Lingchuan, those were just commercial hubs.

This was a place where the world's wealth gathered and circulated. As he walked, he even recognized specialties from the Yuan and Fu States in the street-side shops.

Northern and southern goods, rare treasures from across the world—as long as you had money, you could buy anything here.

Walking further behind the high-rise mansions, there were rows upon rows of eateries, from large restaurants to small diners. Business was booming, and the flow of customers was endless.

He Lingchuan saw a diner with a small storefront, but the sign boldly read "Piaomeng Seafood," so he walked in.

Outside the door stood a bonsai of an ancient pine, with two yellow-peach parrots playing and kissing on the tree. The interior was clean and elegant, with four sets of rosewood tables and chairs neatly arranged. Three tables were already occupied.

He Lingchuan looked left and right but couldn't see where the seafood was. Upon asking, he learned that the seawater tanks were all in the back, for fear that placing them in front would be considered unrefined.

He Lingchuan had been to such small diners before, and no one cared about being "refined." As expected of Lingxu City, even a small shop had high standards.

Before long, the seafood porridge he ordered arrived, still bubbling when placed on the table.

He stirred it with a spoon—oh, there were plenty of ingredients. Besides the squid and dried scallops, which were likely rehydrated, the oysters, shrimp, clams, and small octopuses were all fresh, and the fresh, sweet taste upon entering his mouth couldn't be faked.

The rice porridge was also boiled until it was savory and blooming, with the heat perfectly controlled.

He Lingchuan took two sips and felt the autumn chill being driven away; his stomach felt warm and very comfortable.

Next was the butter-tossed noodles.

The so-called "butter" referred to crab meat and crab roe. There's no need to describe how kingly that taste was; this shop even added some fried pork fat, which added even more fragrance.

He Lingchuan knew that large restaurants had stricter requirements, using only "bald butter"—which meant not adding a shred of crab meat, but purely crab roe and crab paste—which was truly luxurious.

He wasn't that particular; as long as it tasted good, it was fine.

Then came two large plates of sea worm and fish dumplings.

Freshly minced dace meat was stirred into a paste and mixed with chopped sea worms for the filling, and even the dumpling skins were black—dyed with the ink of an octopus or squid.

In all honesty, the taste was truly excellent, but the portion was a bit small. He Lingchuan rubbed his belly; he was at most twenty percent full.

He took out money to pay the bill, which came to exactly one tael of silver.

That was one thousand large coins.

He hissed softly. With his appetite, wouldn't a full meal cost five taels of silver? This price was truly not cheap.

Lingxu City wasn't near the sea, so the transport costs for fresh seafood couldn't be saved. Besides, this was the main urban area, a place where every inch of land was worth gold...

Looking at the tables to his left and right, they were all young men and women, eating slowly and chewing carefully, with even the clinking of bowls and spoons being rare.

Sure enough, this wasn't a place for people to fill their bellies.

He Lingchuan bid farewell to the smiling shopkeeper, turned a few corners after leaving, and found a steamed bun shop in a further row, ordering ten large fresh meat buns in one go, each the size of his fist, plus two large bowls of millet and grain porridge.

After gulping this meal down, he was finally full.

He Lingchuan left the bun shop and looked up.

Lingxu City could be called a model of harmonious coexistence between humans and demons. The streets were full of all kinds of monsters; the one collecting money in the bun shop just now was a baboon demon, counting copper coins for him while dipping its fingers in saliva.

In the sky and on the branches, the figures of birds were often seen.

In this environment, He Lingchuan had no idea if he was being watched, only hoping that as a newcomer, others wouldn't be targeting him yet.

He also visited two clothing stores and several specialty shops, bought a few sets of clothes and souvenirs, and went to a teahouse to order two pots of morning tea and listen to a storyteller.

Recently, some inexplicable strange events had occurred in a small country in the northwest of Beijia. The storyteller added oil and vinegar to the tale, threw in some subjective speculation, and it became a few good stories. Because it was fresh, everyone listened intently, interrupting him from time to time to ask questions.

And so, a leisurely morning passed.

As for the safety of the Crown Prince of Chiyan, He Lingchuan wasn't worried at all. With his status and position, and being the next Chiyan Demon King favored by the gods, Lingxu City should treat him with courtesy.

Sure enough, the Eyeball Spider soon sent him a message saying that Fushan Yue had returned to the post house and, after tidying up, had gone out again.

Under the Emperor's feet, socializing was probably one of the most important activities for the upper class. If one only visited two places a day, it would take two or three months to finish.

The Crown Prince of Chiyan also had many people he needed to visit.

So He Lingchuan wasn't in a hurry, continuing to sightsee in the city, even spending some money to join a guided tour.

Lingxu City was simply too developed; as long as it was a job that could make money, someone here would do it. There were many famous scenic spots nearby, so there were indeed people who specialized in tourism, leading tour groups, and the deer-drawn carriages they chartered were quite spacious.

In fact, the person in charge wasn't a human at all, but a fat white-browed gibbon.

This ape demon was sharper than a human, introducing the attractions along the way with a silver tongue, even able to explain a stinking ditch as a place where merfolk washed their silk... The most extreme thing was that this damn monkey even took them shopping!

Local specialty shops, restaurants that weren't expensive but didn't taste good, and the stinking faces and sarcasm one had to face if one didn't buy anything—this properly evoked He Lingchuan's nostalgia for his hometown, making him feel much closer to this ape demon.

Midway, someone didn't want to play anymore and wanted a refund to leave, but the gibbon bared its teeth, and two huge, muscular mountain baboons stood behind it, looking at him silently with their big, painted faces.

"..."

The traveler immediately stated that this itinerary was too much fun, and that anyone who didn't finish the tour wasn't a human.

However, through a few small accidents, He Lingchuan discovered that the gibbon was quite familiar with the main urban area and the Beikan District, and had many petty connections. It even stated that as long as the guest could afford it, it could take everyone to visit the floating islands to see what kind of earthly paradise the wealthy lived in, guaranteeing it would be like another world.

But one couldn't walk around as one pleased in that place; one had to follow its instructions and cues.

At this point, He Lingchuan saw that the deer carriage had arrived, and without listening to its continued nonsense, he left the group on his own in the Xidui District.

Of course, there were no refunds for the unvisited attractions.

He Lingchuan navigated another stretch of the journey and soon walked to a common residential area, turning into Diliu Lane.

There was a row of street shops in front and a small river ditch in the back; it had nothing to do with finding quiet in the midst of noise, but it was convenient for daily living.

After all, this was still Lingxu City; every household's house was small, at most two or three times the size of He Lingchuan's residence in Panlongcheng, and they were also densely packed, one right next to the other.

Entering the lane, He Lingchuan counted the doors as he walked until he reached the sixth door.

He reached out to knock, but heard laughter coming from inside, and not just from one person.

Hmm? This didn't look like the target he was looking for.

He Lingchuan channeled his true qi and heard people chatting inside, along with the sound of objects clinking—

They were drinking.

He Lingchuan looked back twice and found old people sitting on doorsteps in the lane basking in the sun, their eyes half-closed as they watched him, and boys playing with grass horses in the courtyard, yelling "ya ya."

These kinds of streets and lanes were all decades-old neighbors; a stranger coming along was very conspicuous.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment and turned to walk back.

Before long, the sixth door was knocked upon.

The drinker inside poked his head out, looked left and right—no one there.

"Here!"

He lowered his head and only then saw a little boy standing nearby, holding a note in his hand: "A letter for Tong Wei!"

Tong Wei? Who was Tong Wei?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 567 =====