Chapter 45

(PS: Three updates today. Can this be considered the only burst of activity before the end of this month, or before the work goes on sale next month?)

The capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Dongjing Bianliang!

The place where Wu Pifu and the other two appeared was on a hillside, which happened to offer a view of a corner of the city, and this, naturally, was the city of Bianliang.

"This area should be Niu Family Village. The little mute girl is buried by the peach forest below. After spring comes next year, it will surely be very beautiful there, and the little mute girl would likely be very happy," Wu Pifu said, looking down below.

Regarding their experiences in the Mud Buddha Yaksha Dream World, Wu Pifu had already told the other two previously. Amada, being carefree and thoughtless, naturally didn't think much of it. He said boisterously, "When the peaches are ready, let's go and pack some to bring back to Gaia."

Xu Shilan kicked Amada, then walked to Wu Pifu's side and said gently, "The departed are gone. At least you survived, and you still remember her. If you pay your respects every year hereafter, I imagine she will be able to rest in peace."

Wu Pifu nodded silently, and Jiu Jiu, who was on his shoulder, flew straight out, heading toward the peach forest at the foot of the hill.

Wu Pifu shouted loudly, "Don't fly too far! We are going to the city of Bianliang; be careful not to lose us later."

Jiu Jiu chirped twice crisply, and in the blink of an eye, it had vanished without a trace.

Amada rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, "This bird... seems to have gotten fatter?"

Wu Pifu nodded affirmatively. He discovered that Jiu Jiu's body size had indeed increased slightly, though he didn't know if it was from absorbing the monster core or eating the wild boar monster meat.

Xu Shilan sighed again. She always felt that these two guys were really too unreliable during non-combat periods. Then, under her urging, she led the two of them down the hillside and headed toward the official road.

The three people and one bird walked along this official road, watching the pedestrians coming and going, the bustling traffic. The closer they got to the city ahead, the more congested the road actually felt. This level of liveliness was far beyond what the Peace Hotel Dream World could compare to.

Wu Pifu and the other two were all wearing maintenance staff uniforms. Although they weren't space suits, they were tight-sleeved with shorts, which would definitely be considered strange attire in ancient times. However, they didn't look conspicuous at all in this crowd. There were plenty of other strange outfits: theatrical costumes, martial arts tunics, juggling tunics, and even people dressed like sumo wrestlers. There were monks, Daoist priests, and even many foreigners with red, yellow, or brown hair.

"Is the Song Dynasty this developed?"

Xu Shilan and Amada were both a bit stunned. Even though they weren't well-versed in history—after all, human civilization had effectively suffered a generational gap during the Third War—they at least knew that before the Industrial Revolution, human civilization was very backward and barren. They truly hadn't expected a scene like the one before them.

Wu Pifu, on the contrary, was full of anticipation and appreciation. He said, "In ancient times, China was indeed much more developed than other regions and countries, especially the Song Dynasty. It is considered a period in history famous for its cultural and economic prosperity, aside from territorial expansion."

Amada picked his nostril and said, "What about territorial expansion?"

"Aside from territorial expansion."

"What about the fighting aspect?"

"Aside from territorial expansion."

"Then..."

Wu Pifu and Amada laughed and joked as they got closer and closer to the city gate. Xu Shilan, with a look of hesitation on her face, asked softly, "With so many non-white people around, I imagine this Song Dynasty won't be as fearful of 'foreigners' as the Qing Dynasty, right? So, how should we enter the city?"

Wu Pifu was taken aback for a moment. Only then did he suddenly think that ancient times had things like travel permits, right?

Although they weren't like the identity documents of the civilized era, there were household registrations and travel permits. The control over population movement might be even greater than in later generations. The three of them were complete blanks; where would they get travel permits? Thinking about it this way, they might not even be able to enter the city of Bianliang.

Yet, unexpectedly, as they caught sight of the city gate, the three of them saw that the vast number of passersby on the official road were entering and exiting freely. The dozen or so guards at the city gate looked more like ceremonial guards or order-keepers; they didn't even conduct a single interrogation.

The three of them were all amazed. Following the passersby through the city gate, they saw that the city was packed with people everywhere. There were many lanterns being set up. The time was about two or three in the afternoon. With the shouting, hawking, jugglers, people playing with paper dolls, and sumo wrestling, the entire city of Bianliang was noisy and seething. It was truly a scene of ancient prosperity, like a living *Along the River During the Qingming Festival*.

"No way, this is the Song Dynasty?" Wu Pifu really couldn't believe it. He looked left and right, found a small roadside shop selling herbal tea, and cupped his hands to the old man selling the tea, saying, "Old sir, what day is it today? It's so lively."

The old man was happily looking at the lanterns hung out by a shop in the distance. Hearing this, he turned his head to look at Wu Pifu. He looked him up and down, then looked at Amada and Xu Shilan following behind Wu Pifu, and still smiling happily, said, "Young man, just returned from overseas? You don't even remember your hometown's Lantern Festival?"

Wu Pifu understood immediately and smiled at the old man, saying, "Indeed, I've been away from home for too long. Thank you, old sir."

The old man stroked his beard, poured three cups of herbal tea, and handed them to Wu Pifu and the others, saying at the same time, "His Majesty is wise and has honored the Sage Guo as the Imperial Preceptor. For two years, the weather has been favorable, and the Liao barbarians in the north have been soundly defeated. I hear they are about to be wiped out. This year's Lantern Festival is especially lively. His Majesty has issued an edict for a seven-day celebration for the whole nation, with no curfew and no restrictions on the people. Otherwise, how could the two barbarians behind you enter my Eastern Capital Holy City so easily?"

Wu Pifu was puzzled, but he didn't show it on his face. He took the herbal tea, drank it in one gulp, and thanked the old man with cupped hands.

The three of them continued walking along the street. Xu Shilan said as they walked, "It seems to be a prosperous age. This is good. It's only in a prosperous age that one can do business. We will buy two properties in this city of Bianliang. Amada and I will set up a shelter. We'll use the gold from next month in this Dream World. With the capital, you two little brothers can watch how this big sister manipulates the winds and clouds." Xu Shilan spoke with extreme confidence, but Wu Pifu and Amada could both see that she had clearly been prominent and capable in the past, so they didn't doubt her words. Amada just said unconvinced, "Little brothers? Hehe, I'll take it out and scare you to death!"

"Take it out! Right now! If you don't take it out, this lady will look down on you today!" Xu Shilan didn't shy away and immediately called out.

This instead left Amada unable to back down, and he could only stammer.

Just then, Jiu Jiu on Wu Pifu's shoulder chirped, wanting to fly up to see the excitement. Wu Pifu reached out and grabbed Jiu Jiu in his hand. Jiu Jiu immediately started pecking at his palm, its chirping sounding aggrieved.

Wu Pifu said, "There are so many people here; how will you find us later? And what if someone uses a slingshot or something else to shoot you?"

Jiu Jiu immediately chirped loudly, while pointing its head toward the sky. Wu Pifu looked and saw a flock of birds flying up and down, and some ancient-style maids on high buildings were scattering fruits and melons, clearly teasing these birds.

Seeing this, Wu Pifu hesitated for a moment but still let go. However, he immediately said, "Then you must be careful. Don't run to places with many people, and don't go to places with many children. Stay away from those holding slingshots, crossbows, and the like, you know?"

Jiu Jiu chirped twice, then affectionately touched Wu Pifu's face before spreading its wings and flying high into the sky.

Once Jiu Jiu flew out of sight, Wu Pifu looked at Amada and Xu Shilan and said, "No, although my history isn't very good—aside from some information I looked up to argue with others, I'm really not familiar with the rest—I do know that after the Xuanhe era of the Northern Song, it was the Jingkang era of the Northern Song. The Humiliation of Jingkang... I just don't know how many years of Xuanhe it is until the Jingkang era. Could it be like the Tang Xuanzong era, similar to the Kaiyuan Prosperity, and then suddenly cut off at its most prosperous moment?"

"And Sage Guo... who is that? It can't be Guo Jing, right!?"

!

Wu Pifu tried hard to recall his meager historical memory. He only knew that once the Humiliation of Jingkang arrived, the Northern Song Dynasty was declared destroyed. Afterward, Zhao Gou ran to the south, which led to the Southern Song Dynasty. Could it be that this baseline reality 0.7 world has such a large deviation from true historical reality? Has the Song Dynasty of this world become like the Immortal-Xia Qin Dynasty, invincible throughout the world?

Xu Shilan retorted, "Either your history is wrong, or the 0.7 baseline reality deviation is too large. Because we have seen all this along the way; what we see and hear is a prosperous age. Other things can deceive people, but the mental state of the people cannot be faked, right? And listening to that old man, the north has also won battles. Economic and cultural prosperity, coupled with recent victories—and victories that wiped out a country—at least there should be no worries for twenty years, right?"

Wu Pifu remained hesitant, but from Xu Shilan's analysis, this was indeed the most reasonable explanation. He nodded, looked at the sea of people around him, and watched the lantern scenes that were gradually being set up. He was also moved in his heart and said, "Then let's first find a way to handle household registration and the like. We'll just say we returned from overseas; that's plausible. Afterward, we'll see how to get money, how to go through government channels, and find a way to whitewash our identities and buy two properties in this city of Bianliang."

Joy is contagious. The three of them walked in this festive holiday atmosphere, and the haze in their hearts gradually dissipated. Each of them looked at the ancient cultural landscape and also looked for places like pawnshops to exchange gold for silver or copper coins.

Just then, a bright green shadow flew back quickly. Once it landed on Wu Pifu's shoulder, it immediately chirped urgently and fiercely.

Wu Pifu was stunned, and then his expression immediately turned cold. He whispered, "Is someone trying to hurt you? Point it out, where is it?"

Jiu Jiu shook its head in a human-like way, while still chirping urgently and pecking at Wu Pifu's collar.

Wu Pifu looked left and right, then looked at Jiu Jiu carefully, discovering that she was unharmed. Hearing this impatient sound, he asked, "Slow down, slow down, don't be anxious. What exactly is it?"

Jiu Jiu paused for a moment, then let out a single chirp, followed by two consecutive chirps, repeating this three times.

"Little mute girl?" Wu Pifu asked blankly, "Jiu Jiu, are you saying you saw the little mute girl?"

Amada and Xu Shilan immediately retorted, "No, how did you get the words 'little mute girl' out of that!?"

Yet, unexpectedly, Jiu Jiu nodded immediately, nodding three times in a row, then flew toward the sky. Halfway there, it fell back down, looked at Wu Pifu, chirped, and flew up again.

Wu Pifu immediately said to Amada and the other, "Wait for me here!"

Then he directly channeled his martial arts Qi and blood, operating his Human Immortal Martial Dao blood energy, and quickly squeezed forward through the crowd, immediately drawing curses from pedestrians.

Wu Pifu didn't care; he just kept charging forward. After running for a while, the pedestrians ahead thinned out. Looking ahead, he saw a temple and Buddhist monastery with an extremely vast area. Jiu Jiu continued to fly into this monastery, and a high wall stood before Wu Pifu.

At this moment, he couldn't care about anything else. Wu Pifu rushed forward, stepped on the high wall several times, and his whole body soared more than five meters high, jumping onto the high wall. At this moment, Jiu Jiu was circling in a direction in mid-air, and Wu Pifu immediately looked over there, seeing a young girl in palace attire, about thirteen or fourteen years old, bending over to enter a sedan chair. There were guards and palace maids around the front, back, left, and right of the sedan chair.

As Wu Pifu jumped onto the high wall, the young girl in palace attire happened to turn her head subconsciously to look this way. She saw Wu Pifu standing on the high wall, tens of meters away from her, was slightly stunned, and then immediately hurried into the sedan chair.

"Little mute girl!"

Wu Pifu only had a hurried glance, but he saw the young girl's eyes.

They were the little mute girl's eyes!!

(End of chapter)