Chapter 45: Long Time No See

Although the lock from the main universe prevented Lin Yu's consciousness and magic from spreading beyond ten miles, the magical beasts under his command were not subject to such a restriction.

Lord Lord Longlongyan in particular had already grown to an utterly exaggerated degree by now.

By following the lingering traces of magic, it could even sense movements over a hundred miles away.

Thus, adhering to the principle of never wasting anything, Lin Yu drove Longlong away from its nest, letting it use its steamroller-like paws to widen the roads for the people of Spine Peak Territory.

It could be said that every road in Spine Peak Territory wide enough to be called broad had been stamped out, one footfall at a time, by it.

Lord Lord Longlongyan's magic lingered on the roads, so that any creature bearing magic passing through—whether demon or human—could not escape its magical perception.

Borrowing this ability, Lin Yu extended his own field of vision beyond ten miles.

As early as when Fu Fu Lamei set foot on the main road with her disciple, he had already learned of it through Lord Lord Longlongyan and had taken up position in advance at the northern ten-mile edge.

Unfortunately, Fu Fu Lamei did not head in this direction, but instead followed the main road to Spine Peak City first…

The Spine Peak City of today was no longer the little village of years past.

In the morning sunlight, the scent of damp pine resin drifted through the morning mist.

More than ten masons were laying a layer of crushed stone along the town's roads, while convoy after convoy of earth-dragon carts, driven on by quarry merchants, roared past over the already finished central avenue, putting their labor to the test.

Quite a few shops and houses had already risen along both sides of the road.

The sweet, burnt fragrance drifting from Old Hawk's bakery drew a young man away from the carpenter's shop, where he had been working on oak crossbeams.

Amid the bellows' roar of the blacksmith's forge, a young smith swung his hammer in rhythm, and under the guidance of his old father beside him, gradually hammered a red-hot steel bar into shape.

All manner of sounds gathered and wove together above this newly built town, composing its peaceful daily life.

In an era of fierce warfare between humans and demons, and between humans and humans, nothing could be more important than this!

Soon the earth-dragon cart convoy halted beneath the city wall, which was already half built; the heavily bearded merchant leapt down, smiling to shake hands and chat with old village chief Old Old Woer Stone, who had come to oversee the wall's construction.

The old village chief of today had already been promoted to governor of Spine Peak Territory.

He enjoyed tremendous prestige in Spine Peak Territory, and had a son who served as captain of the city guard's escort; in the eyes of these outside merchants, he was a great man who stood second only to one, above ten thousand!

But each household knows its own affairs, and Old Old Woer was well aware of the lord's attitude.

The reason he could still hold this position was that he had demonstrated sufficient value.

Should he ever do anything foolish, he trusted the lord would replace him without the slightest hesitation.

Therefore, no matter how the outside world flattered him, Old Old Woer still maintained an approachable image, and treated the people of Spine Peak Territory no differently from when he had been a mere village chief.

Old Old Woer chatted cheerfully with the quarry merchant, while the strapping young men behind him were not idle either.

They sprang into action one after another, leaping onto the dragon carts to haul the cut giant stone blocks down.

When Fufu Lamei and Furilien arrived at the north gate, this was the bustling scene that greeted their eyes.

"It's already become like this…"

Fu Fu Lamei gazed in astonishment at the towering city wall before her.

The elven maiden behind her, though her expression was calm, kept her gaze wandering over the faces of those residents.

Traveling all the way from the north, they had grown accustomed to all manner of lifeless towns and expressionless inhabitants, yet this was the first time they had seen smiles from the heart upon the faces of laborers.

This town seemed a little different…

The elven maiden's lips curved slightly upward, as if she greatly liked this atmosphere of thriving prosperity.

Soon the patrolling guards spotted the two women and stepped forward with solemn expressions to meet them.

Furilien observed the guards in silence, and was astonished to discover that both their armor and their spears were engraved with intricate, profound magical runes—clearly an extremely costly set of magical equipment.

Equipment like this, on the northern front, was reserved only for the strongest warriors.

Yet here in this obscure southern town, it had actually been issued to the guards—and one set per person!

Did the lord here have so much money he had nowhere to spend it?!

Furilien was rather puzzled, but her teacher Fufu Lamei found it perfectly normal.

For that otherworldly deity beyond all comprehension, mere magical equipment amounted to nothing at all.

Compared to that, Fu Fu Lamei was far more interested in the badge on the guards' chests—a miniature unicorn-head relief, clearly modeled on Lord Lord Longlongyan's image.

"Outsiders, state your origins and purpose."

The steady, cautious voice rang out once more.

Furilien came back to herself; seeing her teacher had no reaction, she said softly, "We are adventurers from the north, and our purpose is to pay a visit to the lord here."

"…"

The patrolling guards frowned, exchanged glances, and the leading guard shook his head: "By order of the governor, Spine Peak City welcomes every adventurer who has fought against the demons, but the lord is not someone you can simply meet just because you wish to."

"If that is your only purpose, then apologies—please turn around and leave!"

Just as she thought, it wouldn't work…

Furilien sighed, turned to Fufu Lamei and said, "Stop watching the show, I know you have a way."

Fu Fu Lamei said with a smile, "What's the rush? I just wanted to see if I could get in on face recognition, but unfortunately, it seems that fellow never listed me as an honored guest of Spine Peak City…"

Grumbling as she spoke, she drew a holy scripture from her satchel.

"Do you recognize this?"

Fu Fu Lamei held up the holy scripture and asked with a smile.

The guards looked at the holy scripture in confusion.

Upon seeing the familiar giant-unicorn relief on the cover, the guards' faces all changed dramatically.

"So it is Lady Fu Fu Lamei!"

The leading guard hurriedly bowed, apologizing for not having recognized Fu Fu Lamei.

…So did that fellow ever mention me or not?

Seeing the guards' enormous before-and-after reversal, Fu Fu Lamei asked this question out of curiosity.

The leading guard explained respectfully, "The lord has always been disinclined to go out, and we have not had the fortune to hear his teachings; however, Captain Dai Meng once instructed us that any human woman carrying this holy scripture on her person must certainly be Lady Fu Fu Lamei!"

So it's Dai Meng...

Then there's no problem!

Fu Fu Lamei nodded, put away the holy scripture, and asked with a smile, "May we enter now?"

The guards quickly cleared the way and respectfully said, "My lord, please enter!"

"You are quite good, a competent guard!"

Fu Fu Lamei patted the flustered guard, then walked through the city gate with a smile, looking in good spirits.

Frieren sighed, took a step, and followed.

After walking two steps, the two women stopped again. It turned out that Old Vol at the foot of the city wall was attracted by the commotion here. Taking a closer look, he recognized Fu Fu Lamei's appearance and hurried forward to welcome them.

"Lord Fu Fu Lamei!"

"Old Vol?"

Fu Fu Lamei looked at the sturdy old man before her with some uncertainty.

Old Vol puffed out his chest and proudly said, "It is Vol Stone, the family name bestowed by the Lord!"

"Is that so?"

Fu Fu Lamei exclaimed in surprise, "Congratulations, congratulations!"

Vol wore a proud expression and said cheerfully, "Lord Fu Fu Lamei, when do you plan to go pay your respects to the Lord?"

"No rush... Where is Dai Meng?"

"He is still patrolling the east side. The wall there has only had its foundation laid and offers no defensive value."

"I see!"

Fu Fu Lamei nodded, walking along the main street in the city while observing the surroundings.

Looking at the busy residents and shops coming and going, Fu Fu Lamei couldn't help but praise, "In just ten years, such achievements have been made. It seems I underestimated you back then!"

Vol hurriedly said, "It is all the Lord's grace; it has nothing to do with me..."

Fu Fu Lamei asked skeptically, "Is that so?"

"Of course not!"

A familiar voice came from behind.

Fu Fu Lamei was slightly stunned, turned her head, and indeed saw a black-haired youth with a smile on his face.

"Long time no see... Fu Fu Lamei!"

(End of this chapter)