Chapter 839

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Protagonist:

Shen Yao

"No need to be nervous, just asking casually. We also want to visit Chen Zhou."

Shen Yao stated her purpose very calmly. After all, there was nothing wrong with going to Chen Zhou. Chen Zhou was adjacent to Zhongzhou, and moreover, Chen Zhou was the core of the Jiuzhou Continent. Not to mention how prosperous it was inside, just the great families of Chen Zhou were more numerous than those of Zhongzhou.

Small people have the survival wisdom of small people. He definitely didn't know what happened in the Floating City, but he knew about the fall of the colossal object.

The chaos in the Floating City spread from inside out, so Chen Zhou would inevitably follow in the Floating City's footsteps.

"Guest, Chen Zhou has been quite unstable recently," the Shop Assistant couldn't help but remind her, this was out of consideration for Shen Yao's habit of rewarding him with money.

"Yes, if we didn't have matters to attend to, we wouldn't have traveled a thousand li to rush to Chen Zhou."

Lying. They didn't have any matters at all. It was mostly Shen Yao being bored and wanting to join the liveliness, seeing if she could pick up some bargains to bring back.

But the real inside story didn't need to be discussed with a Shop Assistant they met by chance. After all, this encounter was merely an accident, and they were mostly not familiar with each other.

Taking this opportunity, Shen Yao asked the Shop Assistant many things about Chen Zhou.

The Shop Assistant naturally didn't know much, but given that it was an inn, with people coming and going, gossip was the least lacking thing on ordinary days.

Telling Shen Yao everything and nothing, the Shop Assistant emphasized that these were all idle rumors he had heard. "Guest, you can't fully believe them, but you can't disbelieve them either."

Shen Yao:...

Oh, this was just a disclaimer, so that if anything happened, it had nothing to do with him.

Understood, understood. After all, they just wanted to go to Chen Zhou themselves. The Shop Assistant worked honestly at the inn and had no thought of adventure at all.

Smiling, she gave the Shop Assistant a small tip, then sent him away. Shen Yao herself stood by the window.

The opened window faced the noisy, lively street, with crowds coming and going.

Shen Yao thought this small city was not bad. Although it couldn't compare to the prosperity of the Floating City, because there were few people and life was stable, the air was filled with a peaceful scent.

When the room door was pushed open, it was already dusk. Lu Yan, who had been out for a day, returned.

"There is a car fleet here going to Chen Zhou. As long as we pay enough road fees, they will agree to take us to An Ning City in Chen Zhou."

This was a city within Chen Zhou. From the name, one could tell it was a place of peace and tranquility.

But currently Chen Zhou was in internal chaos. Whether An Ning City was peaceful or not, no one knew.

"When does the car fleet depart? I asked the inn's Shop Assistant today. He said recently many people have run over from the Chen Zhou direction to live here."

"It should be that the flames of war have spread, affecting the daily lives of ordinary people."

If their lives weren't threatened, ordinary people wouldn't choose to leave their hometowns. Eccentrics like Shen Yao and Lu Yan who actively left Zhongzhou to go to Chen Zhou were not common.

Lu Yan nodded, then lifted his robe and sat on a stool. "This city also has many commoners who came from Chen Zhou."

"They are also hesitant about why they left. But having learned from past examples, they had no choice but to abandon their external possessions."

Compared to money, life was more important. Very few truly cared about money and not their lives. Most considered for a while, then chose to grit their teeth and leave.

Hearing this, Shen Yao raised her eyebrows. "I don't know when we arrive at Chen Zhou, will it still be like the Floating City?"

Lu Yan propped his chin. "It should be fine. The Sima Clan no longer has a chance to make a comeback. Other great families have clear ranks. This means the typical situation where when the Eldest Brother is gone, the Second Brother takes the position. It won't be a big brawl like the Floating City."

Shen Yao expressed no opinion on this. Even if Chen Zhou wouldn't be a big brawl like the Floating City, the Second Brother taking the position would still deal with the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Brothers who coveted his position. The big brawl wouldn't disappear, only be delayed.

After talking about the situation outside for a while and confirming the car fleet's departure time, for the next few days, the two simply did nothing and stayed honestly at the inn to rest, until the car fleet people came to notify them that they were about to set off for An Ning City in Chen Zhou.

This car fleet had a very strong reputation in the small city. They had been doing this business for a long time. Whether people inside the city or outside, anyone wanting to go to Chen Zhou would spend money to hitch a ride with the car fleet, just to be able to arrive safely.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Chen Zhou has been dangerous recently, and various bandit cultivators have appeared on the road."

"Our Zheng Family Car Fleet has a good reputation. These years, there have been very few incidents."

The car fleet's Steward first stood at the very front and gave a long account of their great achievements. Then he changed the topic, saying that this journey was not easy. It wasn't that paying money guaranteed a safe arrival. It could only be said that their Zheng Family would do their best to guarantee safety. If anyone was timid and afraid, they could wait here a bit longer. Once the commotion in Chen Zhou died down, the danger level would drop significantly.

The people who came to ride the Zheng Family Car Fleet all had matters that required them to go to Chen Zhou. They had already paid all the money beforehand. Leaving now was simply unrealistic.

Moreover, those who dared to travel far at this time had their backings. The big shots all claimed to have the ability for self-preservation. So after the Steward finished speaking, no one raised their hand to withdraw.

The Steward had expected this. After all, he said such words before every departure. Those who weren't truly determined had already fallen at the step of paying money.

Nodding very satisfied, the Steward turned around and waved at his Subordinates beside him. Then he shouted that they would depart directly in half an hour. The Zheng Family Car Fleet had prepared daily food. If anyone wanted to eat better, they could purchase additional items from the Zheng Family Car Fleet.

Shen Yao and Lu Yan had their own carriage. Before departure, they also bought many daily necessities from around the small city. Moreover, they had spatial artifacts in their hands. The three contract beasts, which had grown quite a lot, lay lazily beside them like cute little dolls. But the people around them didn't dare to truly look down on these contract beasts.

Sitting steadily and motionless in the carriage, Shen Yao propped her chin until the system suddenly shouted, saying that the Zheng Family Car Fleet was somewhat dark.

"Wow, the supplies sold are so expensive. Why do these people spend money without blinking?"

They didn't feel any pain at all. Clearly, there were cheaper supplies outside.

"Of course, it's to curry favor with the Zheng Family, so that if anything happens on the road, they can receive some care."

"Moreover, for a car fleet on a journey, the position we follow in is very particular. Those who paid money can be arranged to the front. The closer to the Zheng Family Car Fleet, the safer."

Because the people of the Zheng Family Car Fleet were veterans, basically running around all year round. Not only were they rich in experience handling matters, but they could also offer pointers from time to time, making those who followed feel more secure.

Shen Yao and Lu Yan just wanted to hitch a ride. Their strength didn't need the Zheng Family's protection. So they didn't buy the Zheng Family Car Fleet's daily food. They just waited for half an hour. As the car fleet moved forward, the entire long dragon of people slowly started moving.

Although Shen Yao and Lu Yan didn't give the Zheng Family Car Fleet money for that food, the fees they had paid earlier were medium. So their position was in the middle of the car fleet, with people in front and behind. If something really happened, they definitely wouldn't be the first to be attacked. But because the front and back were blocked to death, they definitely couldn't just run away directly.

The position with both advantages and disadvantages made Shen Yao feel speechless. But the system in her mind was very satisfied with this allocation. The reason was that this position could listen to gossip.

System:...

Hahahahaha, truly heaven helped it. Finally, it wouldn't feel bored anymore.

The system ran around happily. It didn't care what others thought. Anyway, no big or small matters in the car fleet could be hidden from it.

Shen Yao occasionally became the system's confidant. But this time the system learned to be smart. It would deliberately say some things and leave some, then hint for Shen Yao to take the initiative to ask.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao did satisfy the system's wish. After all, the system was a silly innocent. Previously, it had stumbled around trying to get benefits, but was later tricked by Shen Yao into forgetting everything. Now it had no thought of getting benefits at all, just honestly digging for gossip.

"...... Really, really, Host, you're saying the Zheng Family wouldn't have any cooperation with bandits, right?"

"Impossible. If there really was cooperation, how could the Zheng Family's reputation be this good? It should have been ruined long ago."

The system muttered and mumbled, recounting the gossip it had just heard today — the content spoken by several men huddled together out of boredom.

"Perhaps the previous cooperation wasn't big enough, or perhaps cooperation differs from cooperation, but the Zheng Family shouldn't do anything to destroy their own signboard — unless the benefits they're plotting are huge, forcing the Zheng Family Courtyard to climb walls."

It's not that Shen Yao looks down on herself; rather, their caravan doesn't have anything too important, so the Zheng Family should be impossible to sell them out to bandits for those external possessions.

Besides, ordinary bandits can't touch them; the pressure the Zheng Family bears is too great. Those people's words are more like nonsense.

System:......

"Perhaps it's jealousy. They're all a batch of people following behind the Zheng Family Caravan, paying the least money and also the easiest to get hurt."

Saying some irrelevant things at this time is merely to satisfy their mouths.

The system felt that it still had to be its own Host; no matter what it said, she could analyze rationally and objectively. It just didn't know when their Main Quest would be completed.

Shen Yao:......

The Main Quest or whatever isn't urgent. After all, she and Lu Yan are still young, and the time since the Floating City matter concluded is too short. They haven't fully walked out of the Floating City yet. At this time, they should wander around and relax more, rather than be pinned in one place because of a mission.

Changing the topic to let the system wander around with nothing to do, they had already left the city and were on a desolate road with no human habitation.

"Who knows if some road-blocking tiger might jump out. With your advance warning, Lu Yan and I can be more at ease."

Directly elevating the system's role as a slippery scout, Shen Yao perfunctorily replied a few more sentences until the system left her in high spirits. Only then did she exhale, leaning her head on Lu Yan's shoulder.

Lu Yan smiled and patted Shen Yao's arm. Although he didn't understand why Shen Yao was like this, he guessed in his heart it was probably because the journey was too boring.

The journey to Chen Zhou had no waves. The only robber cultivators hadn't even jumped out to act before they were pressed down by the Zheng Family Caravan's people.

Because she was curious about the robber cultivators' appearance, Shen Yao deliberately went up to look a few times. As a result, she discovered these people really are lingering ghosts. Back in the Qingchuan Secret Realm, these people were doing the business of killing people and seizing goods.

"Running from the Qingchuan Secret Realm to the Chen Zhou border — could something have happened over there?"

The system touched its round, fat body and muttered, indicating it would go investigate information right away.

As a result, the system circled around once, and the conclusion it actually came to was that the robber cultivators had no future in the Qingchuan Secret Realm — this was the result of each going their separate ways.

Shen Yao:......

It seems these robber cultivators who came to resume their old trade have bad luck. The people they picked out aren't soft persimmons either.

They fell directly into the Zheng Family's hands. Whether it was to kill the chicken to warn the monkey or for the treasures in the robber cultivators' hands, they ultimately couldn't escape death.

Shaking her head with slight regret, Shen Yao returned to the carriage compartment to rest.

In the following time, until they arrived at An Ning City in Chen Zhou, they didn't suffer any attacks.

Perhaps there were some, it's just that the Zheng Family takes money to do the job and didn't let these dangers approach them.

As expected, this thing called reputation is indeed useful. The Zheng Family has traveled south and ventured north for so many years, relying on just these.

Separating from the Zheng Family Caravan, Shen Yao and Lu Yan drove the carriage into An Ning City.

Not to mention comparing with the Floating City, even compared to Jin Jue City, An Ning City falls far short.

But An Ning City truly lives up to its name. The commoners inside live in peace and prosperity. Everyone looks peaceful and calm. Even those speaking loudly are rare.

Satisfied with An Ning City's environment, Shen Yao simply settled down with Lu Yan.

There's still a distance from here to the center of Chen Zhou, but Shen Yao isn't one to necessarily join that bustle. She simply stayed in An Ning City to investigate news.

Travelers coming and going brought the latest news of Chen Zhou. A change of ruler in Chen Zhou is normal. It's just that this time the one who rose to power wasn't the Second Brother, but the Fourth Brother who usually doesn't show his mountains or reveal his waters.

There must have been all kinds of struggles in between. In the end, the winner becomes king. The Gong Sun Clan ascended the Chen Zhou stage.

Shen Yao and Lu Yan listened to the news and looked at each other in dismay. The two of them truly hadn't expected it to be the Gong Sun Clan. This clan's people are too low-key.

Along with the change of ruler in Chen Zhou, the chaos in the Central State also slowly calmed down. The neighboring Qing Zhou and Huang Zhou, adjacent to the Central State, also experienced small-scale turmoil. Shen Yao only knows that the Meng Family became the absolute decision-makers of these two states. The Luo Family followed in the footsteps of the Xuan Yuan Clan and the Sima Clan, disappearing without a trace.

By this time, Shen Yao had stayed in An Ning City about enough. She simply left with Lu Yan. The two drove the carriage wandering everywhere.

In the following time, they went to several surrounding states and even saw that Meng Family Clan Head who once appeared in Jin Jue City.

The other party had long since become a different person. In every gesture and movement was full of majesty.

Shen Yao and Lu Yan also took time to return to Yuan City once. They saw the Golden Jade Rats living very well here. Jin Jue is still their ancestor. It's just that without the pressure of Jin Jue City, Jin Jue became lazy and scattered. All day it wasn't eating in the clan grounds, it was sleeping. It was only when Shen Yao led Lu Ling (her and Lu Yan's daughter) to appear that the other party was startled.

Lu Ling thereby gained a cute contract beast capable of finding minerals, when she was not yet three years old.