Chapter 581

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

Mules' overall stamina was not as good as horses, but fortunately the two mules ran fast enough.

Running without stopping all the way until they had thrown the trouble far behind them, the two finally let out a long sigh of relief. Truly not easy.

Raising her hand to wipe away the new beads of sweat on her forehead, Shen Yao thought that given the speed at which news spread within the Sheng Dynasty, the two of them would likely spend the next month rushing back and forth.

Fortunately, life in Tang Family Village had allowed them to successfully master two new talismans.

Spirit Thunder Talisman and Calming Mind Talisman

Although the two newly mastered talismans were not of much use to them yet, having both attack and self-preservation made them a very conspicuous presence even in the Infinite World.

"The Sheng Dynasty's borders are unstable, with frequent friction. Now that chaos has appeared within the Sheng Dynasty, the borders surely will not be peaceful."

Not to mention the serious opposition between states in ancient times, even modern society does not favor mutual help; it is basically taking advantage of your illness to take your life, constantly obtaining others' benefits to fill oneself.

Xu Ningchen and Shen Yao wanted to safely cross the border and reach a more prosperous and safe neighboring country; the energy required would probably be more than the previous two months combined.

"Even if it's unstable, we have to go take a look," seeing the smoke of war rising within the Sheng Dynasty, if the two of them stayed behind they would have to deal with the endless trouble.

Including the previous war disaster, whose fault was it? The high officials and nobles in the city did not lack guards to protect themselves, but the unarmed common people before these people were cannon fodder to be slaughtered at will.

After leaving the capital, traveling along the southward route, they would be able to reach the destination they wanted to go to.

The only problem here was that the two powerless people had to spend a large amount of silver to bribe every link, letting these people open the door of convenience widely and allow them to enter the neighboring country on the opposite side to live.

Shen Yao found time to tidy up the gold and silver jewelry and pearls and gems in her space.

These were things that could sell for a price in various worlds (human-led), and buying them from the System Mall did not cost many points.

"Enough!"

Nodding with a face full of certainty, Shen Yao felt that as long as the two of them successfully reached the border, they could pave a path of survival just by throwing money at it.

Moreover, defections often happened at the border; when the Sheng Dynasty was stable it could not change anything, but now that the Sheng Dynasty could not take care of itself, it was easier to operate over there.

The war disaster behind them had long since disappeared, and the two of them had successfully reached the last of the three commanderies of Jingzhou, Xu Hu Jun.

Leaving Xu Hu Jun and walking further, they would enter the range of Qing Zhou, and Qing Zhou was exactly where the Sheng Dynasty's border was located. The Sheng Dynasty's territory was not large, at most no more than six states; they had fled across four states, basically traversing more than half of the Sheng Dynasty's territory.

Xu Hu Jun had received news and was under martial law; at this time the city gates were tightly closed, and soldiers in armor stopped everyone who wanted to enter the city and travel on.

When Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen arrived at the foot of the city, the group of people gathered here, judging by their clothing and appearance, were all ordinary people or lower class.

Occasionally, passing carriages and fine horses were let in through the opened small door.

It seemed that no matter when, human relations and family background would always exist.

Xu Ningchen squeezed in to gather information; when he came out, his head was covered in sweat. "They are all commoners living around Xu Hu Jun. A few days ago they suddenly received news of the riot in the capital, so they brought their families to seek refuge in Xu Hu Jun."

"Two days ago, Xu Hu Jun's city gates were tightly closed and entry and exit were strictly forbidden. They had no choice but to wait at the doorway."

Forcing their way in was impossible. Xu Hu Jun had strong soldiers and sturdy horses; ordinary people were stopped by the armored guards before they could even approach the city gate. As for the wealthy families who could successfully enter the city, they were not on the same level as ordinary people, so there was no need to discuss it.

Hearing this, Shen Yao frowned. They had finally arrived at Xu Hu Jun with great difficulty; if they could not enter the city smoothly, taking a detour would waste an infinite amount of time.

"Can't we pay money?"

Shen Yao felt that appropriately relaxing control over money was beneficial to their future travel speed.

"One hundred taels per person."

Xu Ningchen spoke an astronomical figure, directly making Shen Yao roll her eyes wildly in anger.

Xu Hu Jun wanted money so much it had gone crazy!

Xu Ningchen rubbed his forehead and lowered his voice. "Now it's an exclusive deal. Wealthy families don't lack this bit of money; commoners have no money but there are people to sell." If the two of them wanted to pass through Xu Hu Jun to leave Jingzhou, this sky-high city entry fee had to be paid no matter what.

Shen Yao sneered. "No wonder the Sheng Dynasty has internal unrest. A dynasty full of corrupt officials who only line their own pockets and have not a shred of righteousness for the country and family—if it doesn't fall, who will?"

Whether the Sheng Dynasty fell or not had no direct relationship with Shen Yao and the other person.

For now, Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen discussed for a long time but still decided to pay money to enter the city.

It was not just a matter of time; they also needed to replenish supplies, and the scale of other large and small towns around could not compare to Xu Hu Jun.

"Where do we pay the money? How do we enter the city?"

At this time Shen Yao observed the crowd gathered ahead and thought that no matter how much they delayed, Xu Hu Jun would simply have to open the city gate stubbornly.

There were too many people!

As time passed, more and more people came to the outside of Xu Hu Jun city. If she were the prefect of Xu Hu Jun, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"Wait until evening!"

Xu Ningchen's one hundred taels city entry fee was pocket money earned by Xu Hu Jun; of course it could not be put out in the open.

When the sky turned dark, Xu Ningchen poked Shen Yao. The two led the mule cart carefully, weaving through the crowd around them, and finally came to the side gate.

Someone was already waiting there to collect the silver; money and goods exchanged in one hand.

"Three days' time. Enter the city and leave as soon as possible. If you dare to stay and refuse to leave, humph!"

The speaker had a face full of horizontal flesh; the rogue aura coming at him made Shen Yao feel disgust.

Tsk

So this one hundred taels was not the city entry fee but just a temporary cost. The people of Xu Hu Jun were truly black-hearted!

Muttering to herself in her heart, she still smiled on the surface and handed over two hundred taels of silver.

The person who took the silver grinned, saying their business was fair to young and old; as long as you paid, they would let you enter the city. However, Xu Hu Jun's small gate small household could not take in so many people; you should still flee south as soon as possible.

Scared!

There were still several border county cities to the south. The people living inside, unless they truly could not escape, would all take their families to live in the neighboring country.

Compared to the Sheng Dynasty, whose sun was setting in the west, the neighboring country was like a newly born sun, full of vitality. They treated ordinary people well too; who wouldn't want to live a peaceful and happy life?

Those who had paid looked at me, I looked at you, no one dared speak of this open desertion—what if it was a trick?

"Tsk! Enter the city quickly, remember that your stay must not exceed three days."

Anyone who dares play tricks here, don't blame the Xu Hu Jun prison for being unsympathetic."

After the harsh words were spoken, the person calmly waved a hand, and a slit opened in the originally tightly closed side gate, just enough for one person to pass through.

What are you waiting for? At a time like this, there's no need to keep standing foolishly outside the gate.

Several people queued and quickly entered the city, thinking Xu Hu Jun would be quiet after dark, but instead the city was brightly lit and bustling with chatter, completely different from outside the city.

Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen had no time to appreciate the scenery before them; they hurried to find the shops they needed and spent money to buy supplies.

They found a relatively quiet inn to stay at, waiting until early morning the next day to set off.

The hotter things were inside Xu Hu Jun, the more they had to escape as soon as possible.

No choice—the people outside were timed bombs; once Xu Hu Jun could no longer suppress them, they would surely backfire.

Who wouldn't understand such reasoning? Perhaps they just wanted to gamble more.

Gambling that those people wouldn't dare, gambling that the unrest in the Capital would soon be quelled, gambling that their own abilities were outstanding and they wouldn't capsize... Shen Yao opened her eyes, looking dazedly at the unfamiliar room before her.

Oh, they had already entered the city last night and were currently resting at an inn in the city.

Xu Ningchen beside her had already woken up, and like Shen Yao, both had a moment of confusion.

It was a lingering effect of fleeing for too long; they had never stayed in one place for long, and even while living in Tang Family Village, they still spent a great deal of energy drawing talismans and gathering information.

"Get up."

Xu Ningchen reached out and pulled Shen Yao over; the two went to the inn's main hall to eat, then left amid a crowd's gossip.

The gossip was nothing more than the wealthy families in the city and the commoners outside the city.

More and more commoners came; even though many kept leaving, the overall number was visibly increasing.

The wealthy families in the city were kind-hearted and couldn't bear such human suffering; almost every day, women from the inner chambers went out of the city to distribute porridge and grain.

But such measures treated symptoms, not the root cause, and only further increased the gathering of commoners.

Those on the outside came for the spectacle; those on the inside had already seen through many tricks.

Some who wanted to hedge their bets had already sent their own juniors out of Xu Hu Jun; only the foolish Xu Hu commoners knew nothing at all.

"Queue to leave the city—exit only, no entry!"

Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen queued up; ahead, officials maintained order.

Entering the city through the three gates was strictly guarded and required money, while the South Gate for leaving the city had long lines during the day; the amount of money inside was simply excessive.

The big shots aren't fools, after all!

After half an hour, it was Shen Yao and the other's turn; the officials checked the shabby interior and exterior of the carriage, glanced at them with arrogant eyes, and said, "Move along!"

Tsk, a poor dirt-leg with no oil or water—bad luck!

Shen Yao:...

She didn't want to see this person anyway; she had paid to enter the city too, alright.

Boarding the mule cart, they swayed onto the Official Road; Shen Yao looked back at the increasingly distant Xu Hu Jun city and sighed helplessly.

Xu Ningchen handed over a bottle of water: "This time we're not traveling alone."

Good grief, the surroundings were full of carriages, fast and slow, densely packed and occupying the entire Official Road.

The closer to the border, the worse the road conditions; fortunately, they hadn't yet left Jingzhou, because Qingzhou ahead was the most miserable.

Traveling with the crowd for three days, the originally gloomy weather rained again.

But unlike the previous stuffy, humid rain, this rain brought unprecedented coolness, as if absorbing the heat from the air.

Hiss

Shen Yao shivered inside the carriage, quickly took out thick clothes from her Space Backpack, and handed them to Xu Ningchen, who was driving the cart.

The sudden drop in temperature clearly caught others off guard.

Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen had anticipated this; when they left Willow Tree Village, they brought whatever they could, and now Shen Yao's Space Backpack was full of miscellaneous supplies, enough food, clothing, and daily necessities for the two to last a year and a half in this Instance.

But the Instance's three-month time limit shouldn't suddenly be extended, right?

Tsk—Shen Yao felt a bit lacking in confidence; who let her be mere Cannon Fodder?

Wrapped in soft, thick cotton quilts, very warm, Shen Yao buried her whole head in them, leaning against the carriage with her eyes closed to rest.

The mule cart traveled slowly until dark, when they stopped to rest.

Xu Ningchen asked Shen Yao for some cloth and made clothes for the two mules.

People fear the cold and need more clothes; mules fear the cold too, and it would affect their daily travel.

Swish swish swish—

Shen Yao watched Xu Ningchen do it himself; soon he wrapped the roughly cut cloth around the mule, exposing only its four limbs and head.

Speaking of which, they had been traveling in the Instance for over two months; the attacks they suffered could be counted on one's fingers, basically very peaceful.

"If we could keep going like this, this Instance would count as a vacation."

Although the journey was rushed and they occasionally encountered various unexpected situations, compared to others' various survival adventures, they were still much more relaxed.

"The Instance shouldn't be like this," Xu Ningchen also wanted to take it easier; at least he wouldn't be too tired, and it would be friendlier to Shen Yao, a pregnant woman.

The two slept in the carriage at night, simply laying a mattress underneath and covering themselves with a thin quilt with an added layer of cotton, to prevent accidentally catching a cold from the chill.

They slept like this for two or three days, and Shen Yao and Xu Ningchen couldn't take it anymore.

The cooling effect brought by this rain was too obvious; it had already dropped below zero.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao pointed to the Official Road ahead, conflicted in her heart about whether to stay in the city; at least there would be a place to block wind and rain.

"I'm afraid some people will take advantage of the fire to rob"; their original group of traveling companions scattered because of this sudden cold snap.

Among them were quite a few who had moved into nearby towns, planning to wait until the temperature rose before continuing their journey.

After all, abnormal climate wouldn't last long, just like the previous drought and rainstorm; if not for the chain reaction it triggered causing trouble in the Capital, they'd still be enjoying themselves in Xu Hu Jun.

The young juniors couldn't think as far ahead as their elders; they'd rather focus their minds on eating, drinking, and pleasure. This current cold snap gave them an opportunity—who would want to journey in wind and rain? They had to stay in the largest residence in town with dedicated attendants.

Because these people had moved into the towns, there were fewer and fewer fellow travelers on their road.

Now only a few sporadic carriages remained on the Official Road, and Shen Yao felt it desolate whenever she saw one.

"Continue the journey. So many wealthy people have gone to these towns; I'm afraid no small amount of trouble will arise."

Compared to being robbed in the chaos, Shen Yao worried more that the upper class, accustomed to tyranny, would bring their lofty contempt and play the victim first.

Their two small frames weren't sturdy, and they couldn't afford to provoke these second-generation rich with backing behind them; they might as well brave the wind and rain and continue the journey.

Muttering a couple of words silently in her heart, Shen Yao turned her head and changed her mind; without Xu Ningchen needing to persuade her further, she wholeheartedly headed toward the Qing Zhou region ahead.