Chapter 238

A few pieces of natural dog-head gold gave Wu Tie the right to temporarily reside in Sanlian City for one month.

Several soldiers gave Wu Tie an iron plate the size of a palm; following their instructions, Wu Tie poured a strand of his magical power into it, whereupon the plate's surface emitted a beam of light that swept across his face.

Soon, the iron plate wriggled; on one side appeared Wu Tie's current appearance, while on the other side several lines of small characters emerged, marking the period during which Wu Tie may stay in Sanlian City for one month.

Each day that passes, the number on the iron plate decreases by one on its own; once the number reaches zero, the plate automatically sends a warning to the officials of Sanlian City, whereupon Wu Tie will be seized by the officials and receive severe punishment.

'Pa,' the iron plate flew up, a tremendous suction force emanating from it and sticking firmly to the back of Wu Tie's hand.

Wu Tie shook his hand; the iron plate was of a special material, light and airy, so it posed no hindrance. However, with this iron plate on the back of his hand, the natives of Sanlian City could instantly recognize his outsider identity.

After nodding to several soldiers, Wu Tie strode to the edge of the cliff and leapt off.

A gale raged beneath his feet; Wu Tie walked with the wind toward the central part of Sanlian City… This expanse of stone caves, beautiful and splendid like a fairyland, was merely the outskirts of Sanlian City; the true Sanlian City lay over a thousand li farther.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of melons and fruits; as the strong wind blew over the neat fields, green waves rolled, and that sense of abundance and tranquility made Wu Tie feel deeply intoxicated.

Scanning the surroundings, Wu Tie saw many rare crops.

For example, on a stretch of hills extending tens of li, Wu Tie saw vast old grapevines; the purple-black grapes were each the size of a thumb, clustered one after another on the vines, and a girl in white clothes was picking the ripe fruit.

Wu Tie couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

In the knowledge inherited from Old Iron, information on all kinds of fruits and vegetables is complete.

But as for this fruit, the grape… even in the extremely decadent Wa Valley, where surrounding great regions offer tribute, Wu Tie had never been able to taste it.

Sanlian City… is far more decadent than Wa Valley.

Wu Tie recalled what the Demon Chapter King had described about his life in youth.

Wu Tie shook his head and smiled; he finally understood why the Great Peacock Dynasty had become so decadent.

Powerful and prosperous, with no external threats whatsoever around them, and having lost the drive and ability to continue outward expansion, what else could the Great Peacock Dynasty do but indulge in wanton decadence?

A shadow fell over Wu Tie.

He raised his head; a sheet of white cloud drifted leisurely overhead, and several large, multicolored birds flitted in and out of the cloud, frolicking to their heart's content.

Wu Tie involuntarily rose much higher; stepping on the gale, he reached an altitude of several thousand meters above ground, wanting to get as close as possible to those beautiful, leisurely creatures, yet fearing he might startle them, so he kept a cautious distance.

Having lived for many years in deep, dark caves and passageways teeming with poisonous insects and snakes, filled with countless dangers, he had grown accustomed to that gloomy, damp, oppressive, stifling atmosphere; suddenly arriving in Sanlian City, Wu Tie could not help but feel his mind shaken.

Wu Tie suddenly understood why Sanlian City set such a high entry fee, and why one had to pay half a gold coin for each day of stay.

Here, it can be called a Peach Blossom Spring.

Here, it truly is a fairyland.

Wu Tie was staring blankly at those large birds when he suddenly heard a dull thud of hooves in the distance.

He lowered his gaze toward a village to the left front; tens of li away, a cavalry unit was galloping, circling the village and racing about.

These cavalrymen wore bright armor; each horseman held a three-meter-long small flagpole, from which hung a vividly colored triangular flag.

Their mounts were not the lizards, spiders, or giant pythons familiar to Wu Tie, but… fine horses.

White, with manes flowing like water and jumping joyfully, their coats glossy and smooth like silk, they were pure silver-white fine horses.

Such beautiful, magnificent creatures.

Wu Tie knew of the existence of fine horses from the knowledge inherited from Old Iron.

But this was the first time in his life that he had seen a living, genuine fine horse.

Such beautiful creatures are unsuited to survive in caves and passageways; their strength is inferior to that of the gigantic lizards, their combat ability even less than that of the giant poisonous spiders, and facing the various dangers of the stone-cave world, their viability is truly worrisome.

Especially, they have extremely high demands for temperature and fodder, and raising them entails enormous cost.

Moreover, in the complex terrain of the passageways, they cannot move as freely as the large lizards and giant spiders; many ninety-degree cliffs are utterly beyond their ability to scale.

Wu Tie has traveled to many places over these years, yet this is still his first sighting of a fine horse.

Moreover, they were uniformly silver-white fine horses, over three hundred of them carrying proud, high-spirited riders who galloped around the small village, and many riders kept letting out long whistles.

In the small village of over five hundred households, villagers came out one after another; at the call of several elders, they gathered in the village's central square.

After about half a quarter of an hour, all the villagers had assembled; the cavalry outside the village formed two-by-two ranks, neat and orderly, waving their triangular flags as they rode into the village.

Upon reaching the village square, the cavalry split to left and right; several dozen youths in splendid attire, smiling, dismounted from their fine horses and, laughing together, approached the villagers.

Wu Tie flew closer to the village; the wind beneath his feet subsided considerably, and he gently descended from high altitude, landing silently on the eaves of a small building in the village without startling anyone, and poked half his head out to watch the activity in the square.

A youth with slightly reddish hair casually shoved aside the middle-aged man in front of him, revealing a girl about fifteen or sixteen standing behind the man.

The girl was fresh and pretty, her whole being exuding youthful vigor; she wore a coarse linen long dress, possessing the unique simple purity of a country maiden.

The youths let out cries like wolf howls; a few simply stepped forward, pinching and grabbing at the girl's body at random, and someone even pried open her mouth to examine her neat, even teeth.

Just like livestock dealers picking out desirable animals at the market.

"This lass is not bad, spirited."

"Haha, one is not enough; go find several more, several more."

"This one, I've seen it; haha, there's another good one here."

Another youth laughed loudly, casually shoved aside several villagers, seized a girl who looked even more juvenile, and hauled her out of the crowd; then a few more youths approached, commenting on her looks.

The villagers wore humble smiles, silent as they watched the youths pick and choose among the crowd, selecting over thirty beautiful girls.

"That's enough," said the youth with reddish hair, laughing as he hoisted a girl onto his shoulder like a bundle of straw and walked off: "Borrow these girls for a few days' amusement; if they're still alive after a few days, they'll come back."

The villagers' humble smiles turned into deep, respectful bows toward the youths.

The youths each carried one or two girls to their mounts, slung the girls casually onto the horses' backs, vaulted up, gave a light cry, and spurred their fine horses to gallop out of the village.

During this process, the girls offered no resistance or struggle, nor any crying or tears.

The villagers acted as if nothing had happened; after the cavalry departed, a few elders called out, and the villagers dispersed, those fetching water continued fetching water, those watering vegetables continued watering vegetables, those tending household chores continued tending household chores…

The children in the village continued to run about, chasing each other and laughing as they played.

Everything was so tranquil, so tranquil that it seemed… as if the entire village's populace were nothing but lifelike puppets, devoid of any feeling.

Whether male or female, they were all so healthy, their faces bearing the rosy glow of those who are well-fed and well-clothed; they busied themselves, labored, and worked very hard…

'Living'.

They are 'alive'.

This is Wu Tie's only feeling for them.

But also, it's just 'alive'!

Wu Tie turned his head, he saw a group of youths galloping madly on horseback, and soon arrived at a small hill only five or six li from the village.

There was a patch of emerald grass; the youths laughed as they lifted the girls from their mounts and threw them onto the grass, tearing their clothes and pouncing on them.

Those cavalrymen laughed loudly, they took out tents and various tools, and began to set up a small camp.

Moreover, some cavalrymen took out firewood and preserved meat, lit a bonfire, and set up a grill.

On the emerald grass, naked bodies rolled about; low groans and painful moans mingled together, while many cavalrymen laughed loudly and openly watched the youths' performance.

Wu Tie stood dazedly on the roof, he was in a daze for a while, then looked at those villagers who seemed as if nothing had happened, bustling about inside and outside, and he suddenly shivered.

The wind raged beneath his feet; Wu Tie rode the wind and continued flying toward the center of Three-linked City.

He no longer had the interest to look at those beautiful big birds, nor the mood to appreciate the surrounding scenery.

Three-linked City was magnificently splendid, almost like a legendary fairyland, but Wu Tie always felt a heaviness in his chest, somewhat short of breath.

He passed one small village after another, one small town after another.

Some things that Wu Tie could not comprehend were happening anytime, anywhere.

Outside a small town, Wu Tie saw several richly dressed youths with guards, treating a dozen strong men as prey. The strong men ran ahead fleeing, while they pursued from behind with bows and arrows.

In a small village, all the elders and men sat quietly in the fields outside the village. All the young women in the village were stripped naked, and a dozen finely dressed youths frolicked, chasing them at will within the village.

In a clear little stream, nearly a thousand young men and women gathered together, they freely drank blood-red wine, engaging in indiscriminate, chaotic *** with each other. No specific target, no specific person; they would randomly grab a member of the opposite or same sex and roll about in the river water at will.

In a sea of flowers, inside a hall with no walls, only towering pillars, dozens of dignified elders sat upon high thrones, like a group of hungry ghosts reborn, indulging in fine wine and delicacies.

These elders emanated powerful magical fluctuations from their whole bodies; their cultivation was strong, so their bodily functions were robust, they continuously stuffed large amounts of fine wine and countless delicacies into their mouths, eating and drinking without cease.

The attendants serving them food and drink were all young and beautiful, or handsome and upright; often, while the elders ate and drank, a sudden whim would strike, they would seize a maid or attendant and press them onto the table, then enjoy them at will.

……

Wu Tie traveled all the way; over a short distance of over a thousand li, he saw all kinds of unimaginable things, which threw his mind into chaos.

He finally understood what Mozhang Wang meant by that extreme decadence.

He also finally understood why Huaguang had left Three-linked City.

As Huaguang said, this Three-linked City really is a bit dirty.

Continuing onward, after crossing a range of undulating mountains, at the point where two rivers intersected ahead, a magnificent city suddenly appeared before Wu Tie.

Wide, straight avenues crisscrossed like a chessboard's orderly urban planning; amidst greenery and flower clusters, pavilions and towers of elegant design stood in orderly array; the whole urban area, ten li long and eight li wide, was arranged overly beautifully, giving Wu Tie the illusion of a 'false bonsai'.

Standing on the hilltop, after gazing for a while at the urban area dozens of li away, Wu Tie's gaze finally fell upon a majestic building to the north of the urban area.

That building's shape is exactly a standard pyramid, its whole body shining with golden light, standing a kilometer or so tall, with a base side length also about a kilometer; its exterior features zigzagging wide corridors, on which various pavilions are built, and moreover large amounts of flora are planted.

There, it was once the capital of the Great Peacock Dynasty, and also the place where Mozhang Wang was born and raised.

There, that is the true Three-linked City.

Three-linked City is the general term for three overlapping pyramid-shaped colossal buildings.

The golden building Wu Tie saw was merely a small part of the highest pyramid; underground there is a volume many times larger.

The other two pyramids are likewise wrapped in thick layers of rock.

According to Mozhang Wang, those two pyramids conceal Three-linked City's greatest secret, and are also the vital lifeline of Three-linked City.

It is said that within those two pyramids lie countless rare treasures, immense power is hidden, and the essence of ancient civilization is preserved.

Those two pyramids are also the final retreat of the Great Peacock Dynasty's royal family.

However, when the Great Peacock Dynasty was destroyed, its royal family at that time did not open those two pyramids, nor did they use the legendary miraculous treasures and immense power hidden within them.

Perhaps, as Mozhang Wang said, the Great Peacock Dynasty has long lost the method to enter those two pyramids.

Wu Tie let out a heavy sigh.