Chapter 841

The Long River winds a hundred bends, twisting into the sea.

The Long River, the largest river within Sui Dynasty territory, originates from the Sky‑High Plateau in the western Demon Kingdom, crosses most of the Demon Kingdom before plunging into Sui Dynasty lands, traverses Sui Dynasty from west to east, and from the southeast, where the Demon and Ghost Kingdoms border, it rushes past in mighty torrents, finally emptying into the Eastern Ocean.

Sui Du lies in the middle reaches of the Long River system; the Long River's hundred bends each have dozens of tributaries, large and small, flowing into it.

Wu Tie's party purchased a rune‑etched warship, then sped downstream along a tributary of the Long River called the Biluo River; after half a month they could enter the Long River, and after another month sailing along the Long River they could go upstream into the Peach Blossom River.

Sui Du is located on the left bank of the Peach Blossom River.

The Biluo River is mighty, its channel hundreds of li wide; on its surface white sails fly like birds, both downstream and upstream, nothing but giant ships over a thousand zhang long racing across the water.

In the sky, occasionally a hundred‑zhang flying vessel streaks past, leaving trails of crimson fire—these are the Sui Dynasty officials and soldiers tasked with patrolling the waterways.

In Sui Dynasty, the sky belongs to the Sui court.

Even if they are local aristocratic clans or even the royal household, unless mobilized by imperial decree to send private troops to war, any detachment—whether civilian caravans or private militia escorts—may only travel on land.

Anyone not belonging to the court who dares to fly in the air, once caught, will be punished with the extermination of nine generations.

"The law is stern." Wu Tie sat upright at the prow of the warship he had bought, gazing at the fleets coming and going on the Biluo River, looking at the villages and manors nestled in the lush greenery along the banks, and felt a great sense of ease.

The scenery of Sui Dynasty is quite different from that of the Three Kingdoms lands.

With the same mountains and rivers, the same villages and towns, here in Sui Dynasty there emanates a long‑inherited, grand atmosphere; whereas the Three Kingdoms lands feel overly cramped and petty.

Even among the Three Kingdoms, the many aristocratic elders of the highly cultivated Divine State of Great Wei have bearing and demeanor that, compared to Sui Dynasty's county and prefect lords, are roughly comparable, yet still fall short of a state lord, let alone the ancient, aristocratic families whose bells ring and tripods dine.

By secret arts, he silently took control of a wealthy family of a mid‑rank county, forged an identity, and became that household's steward who travels abroad; thus Wu Tie evaded Sui Dynasty's strict prohibitions and gained legitimate permission to travel outside.

Setting out from that county, after seven or eight days of travel Wu Tie saw many local customs and folkways markedly different from those of the Three Kingdoms; Sui Dynasty's might lived up to its reputation. Yet, as Feng Shang and Smiling Buddha had said, Sui Dynasty's population is indeed inferior to that of the Three Kingdoms.

"Constant wars, year‑round without rest." Wu Tie said in a low voice: "This Sui Dynasty, too, suffers a hard fate."

In the four directions—southeast, northwest, and the other two—the four great enemy states of demons, monsters, ghosts, and beasts constantly wage war against Sui Dynasty; on the battlefield, Sui Dynasty loses countless soldiers each year, and occasionally powerful beings from those enemy realms invade Sui Dynasty, wantonly slaughtering and pillaging cities.

Moreover, inexplicably, Sui Dynasty's birth rate has always been disappointing, far weaker than that of the Three Kingdoms lands.

Consequently, Sui Dynasty's population cannot grow; according to the Sui Dynasty household registry, which is conducted every thirty years, over the past two thousand years there have been many years in which the total population showed negative growth.

Thus, when the news of the discovery of the Three Kingdoms continent reached Sui Dynasty, it prompted Feng Rong and Feng Shang to lead troops on an expedition, and it stirred the civil and military officials throughout Sui Dynasty into a shared frenzy and commotion.

Indeed, the total population of the Three Kingdoms continent, together with its speed and efficiency of population growth, made Sui Dynasty's upper echelons envious and jealous to the point of green‑eyed covetousness.

"By rights, it shouldn't be this way." Wu Tie had learned part of the Nuwa lineage from Nuwa Mother, and he also understood the uniquely human "Way of Humanity."

By rights, such a mighty and powerful Sui Dynasty should have flourishing fortune; a thriving populace and numerous subjects are the most basic requirement. Moreover, as the population steadily increases, Sui Dynasty ought to have a strong urge to expand its territory.

Yet what Sui Dynasty actually displays is completely contrary to the regularity that the Humanity Law ought to have.

"Something odd?" Lao Tie sat on the rail of the ship's prow with his legs crossed, swinging his wine jug proudly, legs crossed, looking around at the scenery: "But even if there's something odd, don't tell me about it… I hate all this managerial stuff."

"Gee, I only handle frontal combat and killing enemies; logistics, personnel administration, governance planning… let professionals do those." Lao Tie found the perfect excuse for his laziness: "Our specialty is fighting and killing… I'm simple‑minded, don't bother me with irrelevant nonsense."

Suddenly, Lao Tie let out an extremely loud, long whistle, waving his hand vigorously at a fishing boat seven or eight zhang long on the river hundreds of zhang away: "Hey, big sis on that boat, are you selling that golden‑scaled carp?"

Wu Tie lowered his head and slapped his forehead with a palm.

This Lao Tie is getting a bit carried away…

But then again, this sort of fisherman's song ambiance cannot be found in the Three Kingdoms lands.

Sui Dynasty is astonishingly strong; on that fishing boat, the girl in coarse hemp clothing, with an oval face, fair skin, and a lithe figure, though her looks are only six or seven out of ten, combined with the youthful vitality she radiates, gives an impression of eight or nine out of ten.

Wu Tie's warship gradually slowed its speed, and the fishing boat drifted toward it.

An old fisherman, accompanied by four fishermen, used a large net to tightly hold the just‑landed golden‑scaled carp, which was over four chi long; from a distance he greeted Lao Tie with a smiling bow.

"Sir, this Biluo River golden‑scaled carp is famous…"

The old fisherman's face was all smiles, but his eyes held a hint of wariness and restraint as he replied to Lao Tie.

The warship Wu Tie bought is twelve hundred zhang long; this little fishing boat of seven or eight zhang, beside that giant ship, is like a tiny fish beside a whale—any slight contact would smash it to pieces.

This is also the largest class of vessel permitted to navigate the waters under the regulations issued by the Sui court.

Such a warship costs a fortune; only a wealthy noble household could afford such a behemoth.

The old fisherman is merely a commoner, his cultivation no higher than fifteen or sixteen levels of the Chonglou Realm; he well knows that if a single word displeases those mighty noble lords, it could bring disaster upon his household.

Yet a golden‑scaled carp over four chi long from the Biluo River is truly a rare treasure… the old fisherman was unwilling to sell it for a paltry few coins.

Lao Tie laughed "hahaha," reached into his sleeve and pulled out a handful of valuable pearls, jade, agate, and jadeite, shook them into the fishing boat's hold, then hooked his finger—the golden‑scaled carp thrashed wildly, shaking its head and tail, and involuntarily flew to Lao Tie's front.

"Come on, come on, hurry up and fire up the wine."

The warship slowly started up; the old fisherman and his children aboard stared dumbfounded at the glittering treasure in the hold—worth nearly a thousand times the fish's price—and trembled all over.

"That big sis, the rest is for your dowry!" After the warship had gone some distance, Lao Tie turned back and blew a kiss to the fishing boat: "May you have many children and grandchildren, grow old together… Brother, I'm off—don't miss me!"

The fisherwoman's face turned crimson; she grabbed a handful of river shrimp and hurled them at Lao Tie.

The fisherwoman also had cultivation of one or two levels of the Chonglou Realm; the shrimp "whoosh" flew out a hundred or so zhang before falling back, spent, into the river. She pointed at Lao Tie and shouted angrily: "Pah, you lecher!"

Lao Tie laughed "hehehe," his face creasing with laughter.

Wu Tie watched Lao Tie with interest: "Lao Tie, you seem… quite happy?"

Lao Tie patted the golden‑scaled carp floating before him, then casually tossed it to a sailor who had run out of the hold.

He lifted his head, gazed at the sky, and murmured: "Of course I'm happy… you have no idea how happy I am to be here."

"Once, I thought the Three Kingdoms continent was everything."

"Humanity has sunk to that state… tsk, being harvested like leeks, batch after batch."

"But only now have we discovered that we still have a bit of hope."

"Take a look at this Sui Dynasty…"

Lao Tie's face lit up as he looked around: "The scenery never gets old… never gets old. Wu Tie kid, you know, since you ran into that cellar and woke me up, these past few days have been the happiest I've felt in all these years."

"Here, people actually live like human beings."

He shook his head and sighed: "Although there are still shortcomings. Compared to when I was first created, there are still many deficiencies. But it's good. It's already good enough; we shouldn't ask for too much, right?"

The river breeze blew past; on the right‑hand riverbank embankment, a group of children dressed in red and green were flying kites with the wind.

A dozen or so large yellow dogs, their tails held high, barked "woof woof" as they happily chased the children back and forth. Below the embankment, on a tiny wooden boat, a thin old man waved a bamboo pole and shouted at the children.

A bunch of little rabbit brats, run slower, run slower…… Don't miss your step and fall into the river.

A flock of nearly a thousand white geese frolicked in the shallow water by the riverbank, occasionally diving in to hunt fish and shrimp, constantly emitting their 'ga ang' calls.

On the dam, a big yellow dog that was running too happily suddenly missed a step, tumbling all the way down the dam into the shallow water at the shore.

The big yellow dog, looking adorably dazed, struggled and paddled in the water; a flock of startled white geese stared blankly, then lunged forward, flapping their wings wildly, beating the dog into a sorry state as it howled hysterically, 'woof woof'.

Lao Tie laughed so hard he nearly fell off the railing.

He pointed at the soaked yellow dog and burst into loud laughter: "Look at that stupid dog…… hahaha, hahaha…… sigh…… back then……"

Lao Tie's mood was a bit low.

Wu Tie glanced at him, smiling, and asked: "Back then, did you also raise a dog?"

Lao Tie gave a cold snort, lifted his head: "I'm not that bored raising dogs…… except for that three‑eyed fellow…… his mangy dog, heh heh, back then, among our brotherhood, who hadn't been bitten on the calf by him?"

Wu Tie laughed, stretched lazily at ease, then leaned back into the chair.

The river wind blew; on the distant and near river surface, fishing folk sang ballads, their fishery songs echoing back and forth, from time to time cheers drifted over.

A single fish large enough and of fine quality was enough to make these fishermen happy for several days.

By day the caught fish were taken to the market and sold for a jug of wine and a few jin of meat; occasionally they indulged, killing a chicken. At night in the riverside fishing village, there was the scent of wine, the scent of meat, the cheers of children and dogs, and the chickens, ducks, and geese also called.

Wu Tie hummed a tune softly.

Although worried about Pei Feng, at this moment Wu Tie was enjoying this inexplicable atmosphere.

"So, humanity cannot be treated like leeks, so lowly, harvested batch after batch." Lao Tie lifted his head, gazing at the sky: "One day……"

Wu Tie nodded slowly.

Yeah, humanity.

His father, his mother, his brothers, his relatives, those he knew and those he didn't—these 'people'—whether rich or poor, handsome or ugly, clever or foolish.

'Humanity' is not leeks.

Ahead, dozens of li away, above a small riverside village, a massive purple‑tinged handprint appeared out of thin air, then came down heavily with a slap upon the village.

Wu Tie and Lao Tie rose to their feet simultaneously, hovering at the bow, staring in shock at that spot.

With a tremendous boom, a scarlet sword light erupted, spewing fierce flames skyward; one strike split the great handprint into a sky‑filled scattering of purple sparks.

"The rebel king's traitor son is here…… The heir of the Yin King's Manor, Feng Xiao, is here……"

"Those who block me die!" a hoarse roar shouted: "Those who block me die…… and you lot, do not slaughter the innocent…… you……"

One after another, great handprints kept appearing—golden, purple, silver, blue—with flames, ice, lightning, and gales; within the handprints, various strange heavenly and earthly elemental forces howled and roared, striking the village one after another.

Crimson sword light kept blasting out, shattering each great handprint to pieces.

Afterward, dozens of escape lights howled out from the village, shooting straight toward the Bi Luo River.

A cold, stern voice came: "Your Highness the Heir Apparent, you've been fleeing for days—you must be tired. Why not rest?"

"Hehehe, trying to escape by water? Too bad, this way is blocked!"

Following that cold voice, a silver seal appeared out of thin air above the Bi Luo River; the seal's icy blue light flickered, and the river surface for a hundred li suddenly 'crack‑crack‑crack' froze into thick ice, instantly freezing even the riverbed.

On this stretch of river, all large and small vessels were frozen fast in the ice; Wu Tie's huge warship happened to be trapped right inside.

Dozens of escape lights descended together; seeing the river freeze, they immediately turned and flew upstream along the Bi Luo River at great speed.

"Feng Xiao, this time you can't get away." A rough voice echoed from afar: "Ban!"

In the void, twelve cyan‑green banners appeared, swaying slowly; rings of transparent blue‑green ripples spread outward, and dozens of escape lights suddenly crashed down together, slamming heavily onto the ice.

Here the void was sealed, and everyone lost the ability to fly.