Chapter 123: 122: Who Do I Even Care About? 6K Subscription Plea, Second Update Later

The quality of the armor on these people surprised Wang Wu, because it was even a bit higher than the armor on the city‑guard soldiers of He Dong Xian.

Although they certainly could not match the Demon‑Suppressing Army Wang Wu had seen, let alone the elite Xuan Niao Cavalry of the Nan Zhou army, they were even inferior to the regular cavalry units of the Great Zhou Dynasty that Wang Wu had encountered in the past two days.

But for a civilian militia, possessing armor of this level was already quite good.

The one who attacked this civilian militia was certainly not Ao Bailong, the demon trying to pose as a human, but Wang Wu, the human who already had full official identification.

Facing the knight's unmistakable gaze, Ao Bailong had already been ready to let Xie Yu take a temporary grievance to protect Brother Li and Su Niang, but the other side gave him no time.

For demons, regardless of male or female, being used by humans is perfectly normal; only a very few types of demons take such matters seriously.

That clearly does not include Ao Bailong and his attendant.

Heads flew, blood sprayed upward, and when the rain of blood fell on them, the group of 'cavalry' finally reacted.

But after they recovered, the first thing they did was not to attack immediately, but to show terror on their faces.

Immediately after, they broke up in a chaotic retreat.

Although their equipment was fine and they rode tall horses, the display was indeed intimidating. Yet they were merely a mob; once the leader fell, they scattered like birds and beasts.

After all, they were not a real army, nor well‑trained; horse‑bandit thieves are like that, and you cannot expect them to be especially fearless.

Watching the other cavalry scatter, Wang Wu thought for a moment, looked down at the ground, bent over, picked up a stone and threw it.

Then came the second, third, and fourth stones, until every head was smashed.

The moment the stone left his hand, it already exceeded the speed of sound, cracking through the air and striking precisely the rear heads of the fleeing horse bandits.

Helmets exploded, heads shattered.

In total twelve riders, plus twelve stones.

If you avoid the Guan Dao, you'll encounter situations like this, which is more dangerous. But there's nothing you can do; the guest's curiosity is too strong.

"Brother Li, if we kill these soldiers, will it cause trouble?"

Nevertheless, Ao Bailong was still grateful to Wang Wu, because he had stepped in to help him. Moreover, Ao Bailong now saw that this human did not seem weak.

No, not only is he not weak; he might be about as strong as Ao Bailong himself.

"They're not genuine government troops, what trouble could that bring?" Wang Wu withdrew his hand and continued to hold Shu Niang.

Come to think of it, he was also a bit curious about what race his fellow compatriot belonged to.

"Huh?" Ao Bailong was startled, "Aren't they government troops?"

"Of course not; the armor of government troops isn't that poor," Wang Wu said. "The armor on these people is only a bit better than that of the ordinary city‑guard soldiers in the town."

In peacetime, the armor quality of city‑guard soldiers is generally the worst, sometimes not even comparable to the supplies in a village armory.

After all, the latter actually have to join village fights, where thin armor can be fatal, while the former only need to guard gates and never see real battle.

The role of city‑guard soldiers is actually closer to that of clerks, not true soldiers.

Although it sounds like they're useless, in reality the armor of city‑guard soldiers is already quite good; compared with the ancient soldiers of his hometown, it is certainly far superior.

Comparing this world with the ancient society of his hometown, it clearly seems a bit too harsh on his home side.

"Well, that's good, it's fine then," Ao Bailong smiled. His name is rather casual, but it doesn't matter; Wang Wu didn't care.

"By the way, Brother Li, what are you planning to do in Yuan Zhou?" As they continued on the road, Ao Bailong asked curiously.

"I'm not at liberty to reveal that," Wang Wu said, not intending to answer, and the other party politely didn't press further. The group of 'people' kept moving, stopping here and there, and soon reached the Nan Zhou border.

This was Wang Wu's first time reaching the edge of a provincial region in this world; a 'zhou' is a first‑level administrative division, above which is only the capital region, i. e., the court.

Wang Wu originally thought the process would be similar to his previous life's hometown—just walk from here to there and be considered out of the province.

The previously visited Qing Ping Island also seemed to be at the Nan Zhou edge; after Yuan Qing Lake, another hundred kilometers forward is the Nan Zhou border.

But that was not the case.

Wang Wu saw an extremely towering, massive city wall stretching endlessly in both directions. In an instant, a word flashed in his mind:

The Great Wall.

He saw something in this world similar to his hometown.

Walls a hundred meters high, and tightly shut gates.

"Young gentleman, if you wish to leave Nan Zhou, you'll probably have to wait until autumn."

As the few of them stared at the towering wall ahead, a voice reached their ears. They turned and saw a caravan passing by.

The elderly leader of the caravan called out to them:

"Since yesterday, the entire Nan Zhou has been under martial law; without proper clearance documents, one cannot exit nor enter."

"Huh?" Wang Wu was not particularly surprised, because when he previously saw many troops gathering somewhere, he had already suspected this.

"Uh, it seems we cannot leave the city, sir," Wang Wu said after receiving the news of the gate closure from the old man, turning to the other and adding, "That's quite inconvenient."

"No problem, no problem!" Ao Bailong laughed, "I haven't explored Nan Zhou in detail either; it's been just a cursory tour. Now is a good chance to tour Nan Zhou properly."

"Since that's the case," he then produced several emerald‑gold ingots and handed them to Wang Wu, "shall we part ways here, Brother Li?"

Having said that, he bowed his hand toward Wang Wu.

"Well, I'm embarrassed; I haven't done anything for Brother Ao..." Wang Wu still showed an extremely shy expression, yet his hand decisively grabbed the emerald‑gold ingot Ao gave him.

"Then, let's part here." After taking the money, Wang Wu also bowed his hand toward the other.

The two went their separate ways, each heading in a different direction.

As for the caravan's old man, he watched the two pairs of men and women with interest for a while, and only after both parties vanished from sight did he signal the caravan to continue onward.

"Father, what were you just staring at?"

While on the road, a stout man rode up to his father on horseback and asked curiously.

"I'm just sighing that the war is about to break out, and all sorts of strange incidents in the zhou are increasing," the old man said, picking up his dry tobacco pipe, taking a puff, and letting a cloud of smoke envelop his face.

"Father, does that mean…"

The stout man clearly didn't understand what his father meant.

"You pig‑like brain! Fool!!"

The old man suddenly got angry, grabbed his pipe and tapped his son's forehead, "Can't you see they're a pair of monsters? They're being led around here by a great cultivator."

"Monsters?!" the man shivered, and at that moment he immediately thought of that white‑haired young master, as well as the tall woman who had held his gaze the whole time.

"I knew you'd be staring at a female monster's chest; be careful someone might gobble you up!!"

At that point the old man seemed to recall something else, and added, "Oh right, the girl who follows that great cultivator is also a monster."

"Huh? That one is a monster too?" the man was stunned again.

"She just doesn't have that stunningly beautiful face," the old man sneered at his son, "Damn, you've been out with me for two or three years, and you still can't tell if someone is a monster or not?"

Just as Ma Chuo once saw through someone's identity, a monster that hasn't spent much time in human society will easily give itself away.

After all, they lack much common knowledge, and their behavior in certain matters won't match that of ordinary humans.

The caravan pressed on, escorting its goods to another county town. Since Wang Wu could no longer visit the monster city of his dreams, he decided to go see the most bustling place in Nanzhou.

Nanzhou Prefecture, Qingnan Prefecture.

That place lies on the Thousand‑mile Plain in the heart of Nanzhou; it is the largest and most prosperous city in Nanzhou.

It is said that there, as long as you have money, you can buy anything. Of course, every big city has such "rumors"—just another "gold‑selling cave" or "human paradise" cliché.

"By the way, Shu Niang, do you know what kind of monster the Ao White Dragon is?" on the road, recalling the Ao White Dragon earlier, Wang Wu asked the Shu Niang beside him.

Shu Niang shook her head, "I don't know either; if Wu Lang hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known it was a monster."

Wang Wu shrugged; he was not surprised by the answer.

Although it is a monster, he now knows more about human society than before.

As for the "society" his own race belongs to, sorry, he, Shu Niang, Wu Er Niang, and Zhu San Niang are all mountain sprites; it's not that they are completely ignorant of such knowledge, but at best they are unaware.

Oh right, Zhu San Niang has seen the world; she knows a little.

So Wang Wu asked Zhu San Niang again, but unfortunately, her answer was still "I don't know."

The problem with the monster race is that nature has too many species, and after they shapeshift they retain no traits from their monster form.

Therefore, unless one uses special means—such as a treasure that reveals true form—it's hard to tell a monster's species with the naked eye.

Even Wang Wu's "Fire Eye Golden Pupils" can't do that, because Wang Wu is not Sun Wukong; his Fire Eye Golden Pupils aren't the real thing.

"But judging by this kid's clothes, he must come from some monster city," Zhu San Niang added.

"I don't know which monster city, but there aren't many nearby; if it's not in Yuanzhou's Hundred‑thousand Great Mountains, then it must be over in Chu,"

"Chu?" Wang Wu was taken aback by the name, but then recalled that this world's Great Zhou Dynasty is similar in many ways to his home's Great Zhou Dynasty.

For example, the earlier Great Shang, whose last king was King Zhou.

But ultimately it still differs from his hometown.

For instance, the State of Chu existed during the Great Shang dynasty. It is an extremely ancient nation that long ago was a major thorn in the Great Shang's side.

"Southern Barbarians" or "Chu Yi"—that's how the ancient Shang people called them. Chu people are naturally fierce, often warring with the Shang, and they're not weak in combat.

Although the Shang eventually conquered Chu lands, subjugating the Chu, they also built Coiling Dragon City there as a bridgehead for imperial control of the south.

Chu, being mountainous and in the south, has an especially huge number of monsters. Moreover, Chu's attitude toward monsters is far better than that of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, so many monsters live in Chu.

The monster‑city social structure is uncommon in the Zhou region, but common in Chu, where much of the land is mixed human‑monster habitation.

"But in my feeling, Wu Lang, this Ao White Dragon should be a monster from Chu," Zhu San Niang speculated.

"After all, our Nanzhou borders Chu; although vast forests lie between us, those forests are home to countless monsters."

"I feel this Ao White Dragon might have come from over there."

At this moment Wang Wu had already returned to his spherical fortress, as the morning meal was about to begin.

While staying in the human city, Wang Wu procured a huge amount of fresh food, giving Wu Er Niang more chances to practice her cooking.

She seems truly skilled; with just a few cookbooks she has already earned endless praise from the myriad monsters.

Even Zi Yuan, once a royal offspring, after trying Wu Er Niang's dishes, expressed approval of her cooking.

Today's lunch was dry‑fried beef ho fun, braised pork hock, twice‑cooked pork, and several greens. The portions were huge, so when Wang Wu upgraded, he made many improvements to the kitchen.

"Wu Er Niang, is your cooking improving a bit too fast?" after tasting the beef ho fun, Wang Wu looked at the Niang beside him, surprised, and asked.

Dry‑fried beef ho fun isn't a Zhou‑region dish, not even a dish of this world; it's a cooking tutorial video Wang Wu found from his assassin brother's hometown.

Since the girls were each given a mobile phone, they can now go online like Wang Wu, but the girls seem uninterested in surfing the web, and Wu Er Niang's cooking videos are all the ones Wang Wu found for her.

"Wu Lang, as long as you like it…"

Faced with Wang Wu's praise, Wu Er Niang said shyly. Then she lifted the pork hock from Wang Wu's plate to his mouth, "Wu Lang, give this a try too."

No doubt, Wu Er Niang's cooking skill is truly unmatched; she's a culinary genius.

After drinking and eating their fill, they together placed the plates into the dishwasher. On returning, all the girls' gazes were fixed on Wang Wu.

Wang Wu, of course, knew what the looks meant, so he honestly prepared to strip, but before he could move, they pounced on him.

First came low, mischievous laughter, then high‑pitched shrieks.

Afternoon arrived quickly; since there are more tasks each day now, the girls' leisure time naturally shrank.

Such daytime debauchery only occurs every few days, because Wang Wu spends most of the daylight training.

He doesn't wander outside all day either; most of the time he curls up in his fortress to train.

He had taken his master's words to heart before, no longer slacking as he once did.

Wang Wu was lifting Zi Yuan's chin with his finger when, just after waking from fainting, the Zhu San Niang, already in Sage Time, called out to him.

"Wu Lang, Wu Lang."

Female monsters also have Sage Time, and women even more so; this is something Wang Wu learned after his power breakthrough.

"What's wrong?" he pecked lightly at Zi Yuan's beak, climbed beside her, sat down, pulled Zi Yuan into his arms, and asked.

"Look at this."

An image appeared before them; after seeing the scene, Wang Wu was taken aback.

"My goodness, why are these two?"

In the picture, Ao Bailong has already taken his true form, and now Wang Wu can be said to know what this thing actually is.

He is a dragon—no, a jiaolong—because he has only one horn on his head; although his surname is Ao, he is clearly not a true dragon.

Although, according to the myths from his hometown, dragons can be either noble or humble—after all, dragon meat is from the heavens and donkey meat is from the earth.

"Hmph, monster, aren't you going to surrender quickly??"

In the scar‑covered Ao Bailong's front, hovering in the air, is a haughty cultivator whose strength is not weak, evidently already at the Break Delusion realm.

Beside him follows a female cultivator, weaker by a notch, roughly at the mid‑stage of the True Realm.

"Wu Lang, shall we go out?" Zhu San Niang asked, looking at Ao Bailong in the scene.

"No need to say that." Wang Wu's face had already switched to the Li San mode; he hurriedly put on his clothes, and the girls, without pause, fetched his garments and shoes and helped him dress.

He dressed, took a sword, thought for a moment, put it back, and then vanished from the room in an instant.

The girls were still lying on the bed, even snuggled together; even Zi Yuan was there, and Shu Niang and Wu Er Niang had fetched some snacks from the storage to eat.

"Lord Immortal, we only yearn for the splendor of the human world and wish to see it… we have never, never harmed any person…"

Bai Tan now naturally felt regret—regret for not listening to his family, regret for sneaking out with his guard, regret…

But now, what use is regret?

His peripheral vision caught Xie Yu, not far away, trampled by another female cultivator, unable to shapeshift, her clothes already stripped, filling his heart with bitter anger.

Xie Yu was enduring the other's insults, though such insults might mean little to monsters like them.

"You wanton spirit, why are you no longer defiant now? Huh???"

The female cultivator wore a cruel smile, kicking Xie Yu on the ground foot by foot; each strike landed in a particularly vicious spot, either on the tip of a small lotus that just showed a sharp point, or on the … part.

"Seeing your face makes me nauseous!!"

As she spoke, light began to bloom in the female cultivator's palm, "Ha ha, I feel you're enjoying this, so let me make you enjoy it even more… ah, ah—!!!"

But the next moment, her voice turned into a mournful scream.

Because the light didn't fire outward; it exploded in her hand.

Wang Wu, appearing before the female cultivator, stared expressionlessly at her, lifted her arm, and then yanked it.

Her body fell like a sack, but her arm remained where it was, still in Wang Wu's hand.

Glancing at the woman's arm, Wang Wu tossed it aside and then helped Xie Yu up from the ground.

"You…!!!"

The next moment, before the male cultivator could finish speaking, Wang Wu had already rushed to his front.

"Boom—!!"

An explosive bang erupted in the air; Wang Wu's palm grabbed the opponent's face, instantly accelerating to ten Mach, pressing him down to the ground.

Dust billowed as the man's head sank deep, then was ripped out again.

Then another blast rang out, the head plunged into the ground, and was pulled out once more.

This repeated many times until his head was ground down to blood‑soaked flesh, even revealing stark white bone.

But he was still alive, at least for now he could still live.

"Can you now listen properly?"

Wang Wu asked.

Gripping the opponent's lower jaw tightly, Wang Wu's fingers crushed several of his big teeth, penetrating into the mouth.

"Can you hear me, huh?"

Seeing no reply, Wang Wu shook him and asked again.

"I, I, I am, I am…"

"It seems you don't understand human speech."

Wang Wu directly crushed his lower jaw.

"I don't give a damn who you are." Looking at the man on the ground who had lost his lower jaw, Wang Wu said expressionlessly. Then he lifted his foot and stepped onto each of the man's legs.

Accompanied by two crisp, brutal bone‑breaking sounds, Wang Wu stopped looking at the man on the ground and walked toward the female cultivator, who had been thrown far away, just now scrambling up, her expression terrified, desperately urging her inner true Qi to escape.

"Hurry! Quick!!! Hurry!!!!"

As Wang Wu walked slowly toward her, every cell in the woman's body screamed; it is the strongest warning a being gives when on the brink of death.

Her inner true Qi surged rapidly, yet for some reason no power could emerge to let her flee this place, not even to send a message to her family or sect.

"Who are you?"

Wang Wu lifted the woman from the ground, gripping her left rib with one hand and her right rib with the other.

He placed the woman beside Xie Yu, then began to strip her clothing piece by piece.

"Here."

He handed the removed clothing to Xie Yu, and Wang Wu said, "Put it on."

(End of chapter)