Chapter 13: City

Cultivation is naturally like this; it's impossible to always have smooth sailing, and one will always encounter all kinds of difficulties, especially since all of Ye Qin's cultivation has been self-explored, and he is not born with knowledge.

No one is perfect; even sages make mistakes and feel confused.

Fortunately, Ye Qin's mindset is good; he hasn't worried about this, perhaps he merely lacks the right opportunity.

Having reached this point already far exceeds Ye Qin's expectations; this life was originally picked up, and even if his cultivation stops here later, it would still be a gain for him.

Thinking of this, Ye Qin suddenly felt enlightened.

He glanced outside the cave; after a night of heavy rain, puddles of all sizes were everywhere around.

Low-lying areas had been flooded, and many field mice and small animals could be seen searching for new homes on the ground.

The cave's location is on higher ground with no standing water, so Ye Qin needn't worry about flooding; otherwise, he'd likely have to find a new place.

I don't know if he's already used to here, but if Ye Qin were to change locations, he might truly not adapt.

Besides, where would one find such a hidden yet spacious cave?

Most importantly, he cultivated and gained insight in the cave, saving his life—equivalent to a rebirth here—so unless absolutely necessary, Ye Qin does not want to leave.

From now on, the cave is his nest, his base of operations.

Although he is now a snake, he still retains some human habits, such as not wanting to get wet on rainy days.

Ye Qin also couldn't be bothered to go out; he hid in the cave cultivating, hoping to break through his bottleneck and find the next direction for his practice.

After several days of heavy rain, the sky finally cleared today.

Seeing the sky reveal long-absent sunshine, dispelling the lingering gloom and dark clouds, Ye Qin also planned to go out for a stroll and, incidentally, hunt for food.

Probably due to cultivation, his appetite has grown larger, requiring more energy and nutrients in his food.

Just after crawling out of the cave, he could smell the earthy odor rising from the soil after the rain, along with the fresh scent of green leaves.

"Huh."

Ye Qin seemed to have discovered something, looking at a reflective object not far away, and quickly crawled over.

It was a small puddle; more precisely, it was a footprint with a shallow layer of water inside.

Because of the continuous days of heavy rain, the soil had become extremely soft, so when a person or a large animal passed through, it would leave an imprint.

"Could it be that someone human passed through nearby?"

Looking at the trace of the footprint, it should have been formed not long ago.

Ye Qin thought to himself: he currently has no positioning or navigation system, so getting out of this deep mountain forest would be difficult, but if someone were guiding him, it would be different.

"Perhaps I can follow him to find the way out of the mountains."

Ye Qin had just crossed over; one could say he was completely clueless, not even knowing where he was, and this was a perfect opportunity to use it to figure out his current location.

As for worrying about being persecuted… that turned out to be unnecessary.

A small snake, moreover, cannot speak human language and won't attract attention; of course, along the way he must still stay cautious and careful.

Moreover, he originally intended to go to the city once to learn some knowledge; otherwise, his cultivation path would make no progress.

His snake tongue flicked back and forth in the air; the scent where the trace finally disappeared was to the southeast, and Ye Qin immediately chased after it, and indeed he saw footprints again.

Ye Qin followed the footprints all the way, going for over half a day; the surrounding vegetation became increasingly sparse, his view opened up, and not far away an asphalt road came into sight.

Occasionally a few cars sped past, and Ye Qin felt the ground beneath him trembling.

"Thud—thud—"

Hearing the long-unheard car horn, he felt as if separated by an age.

The familiar means of transport from his previous life, in Ye Qin's eyes at this moment, resembled a massive steel monster that could easily crush his current body into a snake-like stick.

Ye Qin felt a sigh, quickly withdrew his gaze; as long as he continued along this main road, he should be able to enter the city.

Not far away, a blue traffic sign told Ye Qin where he was.

This is the junction of Wu Du and Tian Fu Sheng; the surroundings are mountainous, with green mountains stretching continuously, layered peaks overlapping, and there are even more lofty and perilous peaks where countless creatures grow.

The fertile, rich land provides them with nutrients, leading to biodiversity here, and the ecological environment is also not bad.

On such mountain roads, wild animals occasionally appear.

Ye Qin proceeded along the main road; when tired, he would find a relatively concealed spot, cultivate and contemplate to restore his vital essence, then continue onward.

Until the next morning, when the sky faintly showed fish-belly white, he finally reached his destination.

Wu Du is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with rivers winding around; inside the city there are Ba Mountain extending and Yu River crisscrossing, together with the surrounding high-rise buildings forming a unique landscape.

At this moment the sky had just brightened; morning moisture was still abundant, not fully evaporated, and a thin veil like gauze draped over the entire city, adding a touch of hazy beauty.

"Wu Du" earned its beautiful name from this.

Although it was still early, the city had already awakened; street vendors' loud calls, amid rising steam, a handful of white flour scattered into the boiling soup, kicking off an ordinary person's busy day.

Like a steel forest, the city's streets are packed tightly, roads crisscross like a chessboard; for the working people rushing through life, everything seemed to Ye Qin both familiar and strange.

Because once, he too was one of those people.

And things that were once proportionate, when suddenly magnified many times, can be fraught with danger for Ye Qin's current small frame.

Not to mention cars; even a bicycle, or even a passerby's step, could injure him.

Fortunately, his prior wilderness life experience had already accustomed him to this perspective of giant objects; the only thing he wasn't used to was that on the mountain, aside from some plants, there were hardly any obstacles.

But here it's different; various buildings, plus dense crowds, are all packed into a city, making it feel rather crowded.

Ye Qin did not want to expose his form, lest he be beaten to death by others; after all, he has only just begun cultivation, still far from possessing divine abilities, and can only advance by using the surrounding greenery or pipes.

Although snakes are not like street rats that everyone shouts to beat, in modern people's eyes they are not welcome, and fear is still relatively common.

A wind blew from somewhere, and a sheet of paper floated over; it turned out to be a flyer advertising a new housing development.

"This really is fate's arrangement……"

Ye Qin was instantly speechless, doubting whether such a thing as fate truly exists.

He was worrying about not finding a direction, planning to stroll around the city first, but timely rain had arrived; this housing flyer clearly marked some construction in the city's core areas, convenient for deceiving consumers.

And among those main constructions, there happened to be the location of a "Wu Du Library".

These days, regarding cultivation, he has always been puzzled in his heart, yet he struggles to find a solution; the library has many books, perhaps he can find the answer, and even if he cannot, at least he can resolve part of the confusion.

Because cultivation's origin lies in such an ancient text as the Yellow Emperor's Yin Fu Classic; even the contemplation method is enlightened thereby, all have traces to follow and principles to rely on, and success cannot be achieved merely by relying on one's own pondering.

Therefore, consulting ancient texts and understanding the wisdom of predecessors is very important; otherwise, relying solely on Ye Qin's secluded contemplation would yield no progress.

Although going online might be more convenient, one cannot expect a snake to turn on a computer and type; moreover, if someone were to bump into it, it might be mistaken for a monster and be caught.

Therefore, after thinking it over, going to a place like a library is somewhat more useful.

As for whether going to the library to look up books poses a risk of exposure?

Ye Qin himself had also considered this, but in the end decided to give it a try, because he is ultimately just a small snake, the greatest advantage being that he does not attract attention, can sneak into various places, as long as he picks a suitable moment and takes appropriate precautions, there will be no problem.

Of course, if he encounters danger, he will also abandon it immediately to preserve his life.

(End of chapter)