Chapter 27: 027 Tales from the Eastern River (Part 1)

At noon, Wang Wu also managed to snag a lunch in the Wang Mansion, and because the mansion hosted the distinguished guests Wang Wu and Li Yuan, the meal was extremely lavish.

In fact it was even better than what he ate in his previous life, since back home he was just an ordinary person and could only afford ordinary ingredients.

Here, however, he is the honored guest of the Wang family, so he naturally receives the finest treatment.

Moreover, the ingredients in this world are generally more upscale than those back home, even the food ordinary people eat.

And the food the rich eat is unquestionably of an even higher grade; on top of that they are transcendents, so it's a level above level.

Well, whether there is a "level above level" or not Wang Wu doesn't know, but it certainly let him indulge greatly.

This can't really be called "freeloading"; after all, they invited him to stay and said everything—food and lodging—was covered. So he was simply enjoying the treatment he was entitled to.

After lunch in the afternoon, Wang Wu took a nap in his own room, and when he woke up he suddenly found that someone had mysteriously appeared in his room.

It was a woman, very beautiful, dressed in a costume similar to the maid outfits from his hometown's period dramas, now sitting on the stool at his desk, propping her cheek on one hand and looking at him.

Her gaze was a little hazy, as if she were daydreaming. When her eyes met Wang Wu's, her face instantly flushed bright red.

"Young… young hero…" the woman hurriedly stood from the stool, brushed off her clothes, bowed low to Wang Wu, and stammered softly:

"Young hero, you're awake?"

She looked still quite young, with a hint of childish innocence and a maidenly air, but she was essentially already a woman.

"Who are you?" Wang Wu sat up on the bed, glanced at the quilt covering him, then asked, "You covered me with it."

"Y‑yes…" the woman nodded, "I'm a maid arranged for you by the master; you may call me Xiao Yun."

"Oh, hello Xiao Yun." Wang Wu replied, gave a greeting, then rolled off the bed, went to the desk where the woman had been sitting, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp.

The tea was quite good; back home he didn't like tea, but the tea here was different, apparently sweetened with a bit of sugar.

That made it acceptable, especially for a young man like him.

Before returning to his room, Wang Yin waved his hand and presented Wang Wu with a tray of silver ingots, each weighing ten liang, twenty‑five in total, now neatly arranged on the cabinet beside Wang Wu's bed.

These were not a reward but pocket money that Wang Yin gave Wang Wu, and he also told him that if he ever ran out he could go to the accounting office to withdraw more.

Ten liang per piece, twenty‑five pieces makes two hundred and fifty liang. Of course, Wang Wu didn't feel insulted by the amount. Even if it were an insult, he could always ask for more.

After all, he isn't a person with a strong sense of pride.

"You, you too, young hero." Though she didn't quite understand what this "hello" meant, Xiao Yun knew it must be some kind of greeting, so she mimicked it back.

"If you have any orders, feel free to command me," she said.

"I'd like to go out," Wang Wu said, "to buy some things, order a set of clothes, and stroll around the city. Lead me to the main gate; I don't know the way inside."

"Alright, okay." Xiao Yun immediately nodded, then walked to the gate, "Young hero, follow me, stay behind me."

On the way to the Wang Mansion's main gate, Wang Wu passed by the training arena again.

Wang Yin's daughter Wang Lan was training in the arena; she also wielded a sword, now dressed in a black practice robe, performing a sword routine.

To be honest, Wang Lan's looks and figure rank among the highest of all human women Wang Wu has seen so far, even though he has only recently entered human society in this world.

Wang Wu stopped, stared at her sword technique for a while, then ceased watching and prepared to continue on his way.

As a human martial artist and a wealthy young lady, Wang Lan's skill is naturally quite good.

However, although her skill and physical condition are decent, compared with the two Taoist priests Wang Wu has met, she still falls far short.

In fact, even compared with Wang Wu when he first arrived—who had no cultivation at all and relied only on raw physical ability—she is still a notch weaker.

Demons have extremely robust bodies; even without cultivation they are naturally far stronger than ordinary martial artists. Their reaction speed is faster, regeneration stronger, and endurance better.

Naturally, their strength is also greater, and by a large margin.

Demons are essentially a fully enhanced version of martial artists, not to mention they can shift into a true form and possess various awakened divine abilities.

It seems demons are slightly stronger in every aspect than humans. Compared with ordinary humans, human martial artists, or certain "cultivators," that statement isn't inaccurate.

Yet the reality is clearly different; otherwise Wang Wu and his companions wouldn't have to hide deep within the Wang Gu Lin.

Wang Wu is indeed a demon; although he crossed over in a mortal body, perhaps his body was also partially localized after arriving in this world, giving him that form.

Wang Wu is a demon without a true form, or rather his true form is human—simply "human"… ahem.

"Young Hero Wang?"

Just as Wang Wu turned his head to leave, a voice from Wang Lan suddenly sounded beside his ear. He looked at her again and saw she had stopped, staring at him with a look of wanting to speak but holding back.

"If you have something to say, just say it directly…" Wang Wu looked at her hesitant expression and asked.

"I wonder, Young Hero Wang, could you…"

"Could you grant me instruction?" she placed her hand on the hilt of the long sword she had sheathed, and asked Wang Wu.

"Sure."

Wang Wu agreed, nodded toward Xiao Yun who was waiting ahead, and then walked over.

"Do you have practice weapons?" Wang Wu asked.

"Over there." Wang Lan pointed to a weapons rack in a corner of the arena; it held all sorts of weapons, seemingly all made of iron.

"Iron?" Wang Wu went over, picked up a sword, and then realized the blade was not sharpened.

"Is there any wooden one? If it's an iron weapon I'm afraid I won't be able to control the force and might hurt you," Wang Wu said.

"No problem, Young Hero." Wang Lan shook her head, drew her long sword from its scabbard, "You need not worry, the physicians of our Wang Mansion are quite skilled."

"Very well…" Wang Wu saw her resolute gaze, said nothing more, lifted the long sword from the rack, and prepared to walk over.

"Xiao Lan!"

At that moment, a suddenly familiar voice rang in his ear.

(End of Chapter)