Chapter 229: 228: This Time It's Truly Shu Niang

"But Wang Xiushi really is well‑versed; I've never heard this story before. Even among those March people's tales, I haven't heard this whatever—uh, the story of Earth."

The little girl's father smiled at Wang Wu, and after speaking, lifted his daughter onto his shoulder. "It's getting late; I think we should quicken our pace to reach the city before the sun sets."

"Of course." Wang Wu smiled and nodded.

Yingdu.

Yingdu is the largest and most prosperous city of the Chu State. Unlike Great Zhou, whose capital is not its most economically developed area but merely the political capital.

As for the degree of prosperity, it is indeed prosperous, yet clearly not as prosperous as Yingdu of Great Chu.

Great Chu, as a top‑tier power in this world—along with Wei and Zhou as the only three great nations—still possesses immense national strength and a very prosperous economy.

As the wealthiest city of the nation, Yingdu's splendor naturally exceeds any city Wang Wu has ever seen.

With a population of 22 million—already a megacity even by his hometown standards—and over 20,000 square meters of land, plus a colossal city wall impossible to build back home.

In the true sense, a fantasy‑world megacity, yet upon entering the gates the first sight is an endless plain—what about the urban area?

The urban district lies farther away.

Of course, this doesn't mean most of Yingdu within the walls is that endless plain; the area near the walls is, but there are still many urban districts.

Just as his hometown's megacity is divided into districts, Yingdu is the same.

Wang Wu doesn't know how many districts there are, because after entering the city he partied ways with that father‑daughter pair and never asked them about the city beforehand.

As for that noblewoman, her strength didn't even reach the True Realm, so Wang Wu easily blasted her to scraps and had no chance to question her about any of this.

However, the sky over Yingdu is not without flight, so Wang Wu could fly up to look.

As for the city‑entry inspection, it's simple; due to the harmonious relations between Chu and the demon races, entry now only requires a basic registration, no identity verification or anything else.

Of course, after registering at the entry point, your location is recorded, so officials can locate you instantly when needed.

Wang Wu has no objection to this; he's a law‑abiding citizen and never feels that, as a strong individual, he deserves any special privilege.

From his aerial observation, Wang Wu notes the city has seven major districts, each covering a vast area, totaling roughly 15,000 square kilometers.

The remaining 7,000 square kilometers constitute the "blank zone" near the city wall.

This blank zone isn't empty; it's an endless plain dotted with villages, extensive fields, pastures, and military camps.

Military camps sit by the wall—one each to the east, south, west, and north—and at the city's core, the Royal City District, there is also a General Military District.

It must be the General Military District, since it's all within the Royal City District.

The Royal City District is small—the smallest of the seven districts, just over 1,000 square kilometers—but honestly, it's less a "royal city" than an enormous military fortress.

Wang Wu saw countless bunkers and turrets there; the entire district is littered with massive, militaristic structures, its defenses looking terrifying.

After entering the city, Wang Wu headed to the western part, the so‑called "Port District."

West Port District—this is what it's called here—just as Wang Wu stepped in, two people appeared before him.

"Ah! Such a handsome gentleman!"

"Sir, you look unfamiliar; do you have a reservation at an inn? My Wang Ji Inn is the best in this West Port District…"

The two who approached Wang Wu consisted of a man and a woman; the man was plain‑faced, the woman heavily made‑up yet with an excellent figure.

"No need, I'm just here to look around."

Wang Wu smiled, declined their pitch, then briskly stepped past them and continued forward.

The pair weren't from the same inn; they were vying to approach Wang Wu. After the woman exclaimed "Such a handsome gentleman," the man immediately interrupted to pitch his own services.

Clearly, West Port District exudes strong commercial vibes—not just here, but Yingdu as a whole is an intensely business‑oriented city.

Shops and merchants abound everywhere, and the city's prosperity draws countless tourists from across the nation and the world.

Though only three major states—Great Zhou and the Eastern and Western Wei—plus the surrounding minor kingdoms, which of course count as well.

Thus many people from the periphery come here, and Yingdu isn't in Chu's core but near the empire's border, reminiscent of a certain dynasty from his hometown.

As for modern times, although contemporary society inherits the same capital as the previous feudal dynasty, differing artistic styles make direct comparison unwise.

Anyway, that's irrelevant; in short, after entering West Port District, Wang Wu's first destination was the Red… uh, never mind, nothing.

Upon arriving, he toured various spots in West Port District, getting a general feel for the local customs; indeed, Chu people are more open than the Zhou in this regard…

Uh, digressing—anyway, Wang Wu soon chose a lodging, a relatively upscale inn in West Port District that also doubles as a… uh, restaurant.

A high‑end restaurant, with waitstaff all strikingly good‑looking… again, off‑topic.

In short, this inn is the best Wang Wu has ever experienced, even though he's only stayed in a few inns total; it doesn't matter.

Since he booked the top‑tier suite, the inn assigned him a maid, which didn't surprise Wang Wu—she was indeed a demon.

Demons are commonplace throughout Chu, appearing in all trades.

How to attract more customers to one's shop? The answer: hire a demon. An exceptionally good‑looking demon offers benefits ordinary human staff can't match.

Though demons often have chaotic private lives, Chu people don't consider that an issue.

Because Chu itself is a highly liberal society, private life is such that wealthy families and noble households are no better than demons.

This isn't an exaggeration; demons may even be more conservative than some nobles, treating such matters as routine as eating and drinking, without any particularly deviant quirks.

And even when they have quirks, they're usually types ordinary humans can accept, unlike some nobles…

Uh, honestly, some of it is overly over‑the‑top.

Chu does have a sizable aristocracy, many of whose families have long histories, some dating back to the great merchant era as major nobles.

Consequently, as the upper class of human civilization, they produce creations that are truly extraordinary.

As for how extraordinary, one can only say you can't imagine it, and they can't fail to achieve it.

But that's normal; aristocrats have always left that impression on the masses, from his hometown to here.

As a privileged class, the so‑called "noble spirit" is mostly just a veneer the group uses to gild themselves and dupe the lower classes.

One can't claim no individual perfectly embodies the noble spirit, but as a class, aristocracy is rarely a good thing for a nation's lower populace.

After all, the deeds of aristocrats before that nation's great calamity, as well as the ancient great families and landlords of his hometown, are all recorded.

Though landlords aren't that "flag," essentially their level of cruelty is comparable to aristocrats.

Or you could say there's no real difference; it's just a matter of how many privileges one has.

And some people in modern society live so well that they actually champion this class, which can only be said they've become addicted to being tenant farmers or long‑term workers.

Or perhaps they feel that their families at that time could have dined at the same table with those people.

Of course, it might also be that their families truly were members of that group at that time.

Let's return to the inn where we are staying.

Wang Wu's maid is a female demon; although her race is a demon, she has lived among humans for years, so essentially she is no different from a human.

Wang Wu previously did not think highly of such demons, because demons who have long lived in human society in the Zhou Kingdom tend to forget that they are actually demons, which then breeds contempt for their own kin who live in demon societies.

He has no issue with demon kin who grew up among humans, but he does have strong objections to those who forget who they are, despise their own kin, and act as traitorous beasts.

However, his maid is not that type of demon, and it is not because of the Extreme Heaven Divine Palace that she became this way; she has always been like this.

For a Earth martial artist like him, a person's or demon's type is something he can discern at a glance, without needing prolonged observation.

Xiao Qian—that is the maid's name; as for a surname, she has none.

"Wang Shaoxia, have you ever heard a rumor from our West Port?"

In the suite's living room, Xiao Qian finished serving dishes to Wang Wu, sat beside him with a grin, hands supporting her cheeks as she looked at him and asked.

"What rumor?"

Wang Wu took a bite, then handed Xiao Qian a pair of chopsticks, "You eat too, no need to be formal; we're of the same race, no need for such courtesy."

"Same—same race!?"

Wang Wu never deliberately disclosed his race, and when registering in the city he wasn't required to state it, so he said nothing.

But because of the aura and energy he exudes, ordinary people wouldn't associate him with the demon race.

Thus, when Xiao Qian learned of Wang Wu's demon identity, she was instantly stunned.

"What, don't you believe it?"

Seeing the expression on her face, Wang Wu said little more and simply activated a partial transformation.

Horn‑like protrusions pierced his skin, an exoskeleton covered his entire face; when Xiao Qian saw this form, her expression shifted from stunned to surprised.

Then came joy.

"Wang Shaoxiao! You—you actually, actually are my same race!??"

Xiao Qian blushed with excitement, grabbed Wang Wu's hand, and exclaimed, "Wow! It's true, it's really, really my same race!!!"

"Great, it's really wonderful!!"

"What's wrong, why so excited?" Seeing Xiao Qian's suddenly intense emotion, Wang Wu was puzzled, but the next moment, when she pressed her whole body onto him, he roughly understood.

But before that, he first cleared the dishes on the table together with Xiao Qian and put away the bowls and chopsticks.

Xiao Qian is a demon cultivated by this establishment called Heavenly Fragrance Hall, having grown up there since childhood.

She is not a born demon; she originated from an animal transformation, and her true form is a mouse.

A little white mouse; Chu State lies in the south, so the mice here are generally larger, and because Xiao Qian is a leucistic mouse, the inn's proprietress kept her as a pet.

Then she transformed, of course, during the tenure of this current owner managing the restaurant.

As for the proprietress who raised her, the lifespan gap between humans and demons is huge, so despite many longevity methods, she rode a crane westward twenty years ago.

The restaurant was then passed to her son, who is the current owner.

Her transformation occurred ten years ago, which didn't surprise the owner's son, because this creature can live longer than his own mother; a normal mouse couldn't survive that long.

There are other demons working in the restaurant, so after her transformation, Xiao Qian naturally became one of its maids.

Of course, she differs from ordinary maids in that the owner treats her like family; if she hadn't asked, she would never have become a maid.

And even if she became a maid, she's not that kind of… you get the idea.

But anyway, she is still a demon, and a very traditional one.

What surprised Wang Wu, however, was that this sister had no experience.

Not at all.

(End of chapter)