Chapter 517: The Well‑Raised Little Bok Choy

Even an upright official finds it hard to judge family matters; this is a sibling dispute, and Ji Ming, as an outsider, really can't say much.

Simply, eyes watch the nose, nose watches the heart; he stared at the map and pretended to be dead.

—Eiya ya, this piece of paper, really, too~~~ paper!

"Ugh, I'm not convinced! You wait for me…"

So the isolated and helpless Fiya, after several cat‑like attempts to cling to the table edge that ended in failure, was finally forced out by Philip.

A moment later, the Prince returned to the private room, straightened his disheveled collar, and wore an awkward expression.

"Sorry, I've been too kind to my little sister in daily life, and I've spoiled her a bit."

"No problem, it's rare to have family in this world, I understand; let's just continue our chat."

Later, Ji Ming, from his own perspective and combined with the young boss's internet searches on Earth, fed Philip some governance principles from another realm.

Although the Prince was as reluctant to some of them as if they were "cutting a noble with a knife", even strongly opposed.

"What? Beating a noble in public? And with a board… that's just too…"

But since Ji Ming was teaching top‑tier internal skill distilled from thousands of years of Earth's civilization, in the end more agreed.

"Oh, so doing nothing is also a solution? Noted."

So the two chatted like this until midnight, until the inn staff came to tell them the shop had closed and they reluctantly broke off.

"Alright then, we've talked enough for today, and talking alone is useless; more importantly, what we should do next!"

"I understand."

Although the conversation was enjoyable, Ji Ming didn't intend to stay overnight at the inn.

So after several futile attempts to persuade him, Philip escorted him all the way to the town gate.

"Alright, you don't need to escort me further; go back and look after Fiya."

Ji Ming waved his hand and simultaneously cast a spell specifically for summoning a horse.

He was about to guess where the Pegasus would come from, when suddenly his own hand was grabbed.

Turning around, he saw it was Philip.

"Ji, the chosen one, born into the royal family, entangled in interests! I have few friends in this life, and you are probably the one who brings me the most comfort!"

Although his words made the atmosphere a bit awkward, seeing his sincere tone, Ji Ming could only nod in earnest agreement.

"I always thought the younger generation of Radiance had no hope, but now I see you, Philip; I believe that as the future king you can shoulder this responsibility!"

Having said that, he tried to pull his hand back, but before he could exert force, the other side suddenly clenched it tightly.

Ah?

Then he saw Philip clench his teeth, almost roaring, and with a reckless, broken‑pot shout he let out a sound.

"Ji Ming!"

!!!

Ji Ming (terrified). jpg

Not a buddy, you!

Brother!

This is inappropriate; why does your idea seem even more dangerous than Eleanor's!

However, he didn't have time to react, because Philip's expression changed, and after a moment of struggle, he let out a breath.

His voice was weak, asking with difficulty.

"So, Ji Ming, what do you think… what do you think of my little sister… Fiya… how is she?"

…

WTF!

The horse‑riding you scared me to death!

You, on horseback, scared me to death!

Ji Ming instantly grasped Philip's meaning and cursed his mother inwardly.

But he didn't even have time to sigh before realizing that this sentence seemed like another death‑trap!

Think about it: this iron‑girl fan actually offered to let you, a wild boar, root up a well‑raised little bok choy; how would you answer?

—Don't like it?

"Sorry, Your Highness, although Fiya is a nice person, I was bullied by female classmates when I was young, so I don't like women taller than me."

"Damn, you have no face, huh? Even looking down on my little sister; you·should·die·!"

—Like it?

"Mm mm! Actually I've long wanted to grow together with sister Fiya, big brother, picking a date is pointless, just give me the room key!"

"Impossible! I've long known that you, a flamboyant slut who likes to flirt everywhere, want to lay a hand on my dear … Xinei!"

—If it's truly impossible, bite the bullet?

"No, Your Highness, actually… oh dear, I'm… that, just that…"

Not to mention Ji Ming couldn't possibly be that shameless; if Philip were to extend a finger, he'd retort back.

"Alright, babe! I love you too!"

That not horse‑riding thing is totally messed up!!!!

—It's over, a dead end!

So Ji Ming's choice was to just ignore it and start bluffing back.

"Philip, love should be about learning to let go!"

"Fiya is already a grown woman; she has her own thoughts. You should respect who she likes, instead of trying to do everything for her."

"Huh?"

Taking advantage of the prince's dazed state, Ji Ming quickly withdrew his hand, rushed out of the town, found the heavenly horse that had already returned, mounted it and hurriedly fled.

By the time Philip came to his senses, feeling lost, only a night sky speckled with stars remained before his eyes.

Thereafter the journey proceeded without any further mishaps; the vast plain gradually became undulating, and Ji Ming returned to the southern hills of the kingdom.

Unlike when he first arrived, the evil god has lowered its banners and fallen silent, the insects dare not cause trouble, and the southern region, under the players' management, has indeed become considerably prosperous.

Considering it is midsummer, the golden wheat in the fields is just one step away from harvest; the joy of the impending bounty is almost intoxicating, even more so than fine wine.

Moreover, the public test of Double Moon Struggle has finally reached six months; according to the launch schedule, the half‑year anniversary celebration brought in a full million players at once. These players, who finally obtained access to the game, are going crazy, swarming everywhere like ants, eager to dig three feet deep for quests.

Today they help villagers build houses, tomorrow they help hunt tigers, the day after they assist NPCs in arranging marriages, and they wish to do every good deed in the world.

And amid this vibrant scene of burgeoning life and flourishing myriad things, the dungeon that the Demon Lord entrusted to Ji Ming has become the new arena of competition for the major guilds.

In order to obtain the treasures hidden within these mechanisms and fortifications, they take turns, one after another, undertaking major and harsh tasks.

In just a short month, the southern region already had five coordinates identified, three of them cracked, two emptied out, leading to intense internal competition.

Still, these are all good things; as long as the players' strength can gradually increase, the plan is indeed progressing steadily.

Ji Ming then proceeded southward with peace of mind, finally returning to his loyal Sunshine City, where he saw that this place, too, had undergone great changes, the "Land of Dragon Rise".

Formerly, Sunshine City only had its Inner City sheltered by the protective barrier that could barely be called "sunlit," at least possessing the most basic order.

Meanwhile, the surrounding Outer City was purely a slum‑level no‑man's‑land, where as long as taxes were paid, no one cared about human life.

However, in the great battle half a year ago, the Inner City was almost completely reduced to a dead city, after which the high‑ranking powers of Sunshine City were utterly reshuffled.

Mountain mercenaries were expelled, the Adventurers' Guild was reorganized, the Commercial Union was replaced, and the High Tower Community became the city's sole ruler.

Although even on Earth, ring‑nested urban construction remains mainstream, so Sunshine City still retains the distinction between inner and outer areas.

But the criteria for dividing them are no longer merely social status and wealth; instead, they are clear functional zoning and differing service ranges.

For example, unique structures with important functions are all moved into the Inner City, while multi‑unit residential buildings are scattered as much as possible.

And the top priority for placement is the security department jointly established by the High Tower Community and Sheng Guang Jiao Tang, responsible for the city's public safety.

Anyway, with plenty of players, the council simply deployed a guard post at every intersection and stationed a battalion in every district.

With a beast‑like mindset, they launched a special crackdown operation targeting Sunshine City's underground network, carrying out a saturation attack on all criminals in the city.

The effect was naturally immediate: vast numbers of criminals were arrested and jailed, the long‑plaguing crime rate in the Outer City plummeted in a straight line, and Sunshine City shed the dirty label of "Otherworldly Little Brother Goth".

At this point someone might ask: since all the criminal geniuses of Gotham City have vanished, surely the Arkham Asylum outside the city must be overcrowded by now?

So how do our brave dark knights ensure that this group of talents from various fields won't collude and band together to escape from within?

"Hahahahaha……"

"Holy shit, who's laughing?"

"Hahahahaha……"

"Damn it, come out already—if you keep laughing they'll say you're just padding the word count!"

"All right, I'm here—sorry, I just couldn't hold it in."

It turned out that the person unleashing that string of weird laughs was none other than Priest Stirling of Sheng Guang Jiao Tang, known abroad for his iron fist and cold demeanor and at home for his gentle and refined manners.

Of course, after Elinor, Ji Ming, and others left Sunshine City in Tenisi, he had already been promoted to the current bishop of Sunshine City.

"Oh, I know my laughing like this might be a bit out of character, but I can't help it—haha, I actually heard you worrying whether we can keep them under control!"

"All right, all right, no more laughing—I have a set of slides here; once you look at them you'll understand."

……

"Look, these are the hooligans volunteering at the nursing home and orphanage—see how well they're taking care of the elderly, women, and children!"

"Oh, don't worry—they've learned to be honest, they won't do anything out of line, and our people are always watching them."

……

"Damn it! I clearly told them to Photoshop out the whips and bloodstains… cough, never mind!"

"All right, let's look at the next set of photos—these are gang members hard at work in the mines of the barbarian wilds."

"Haha, let's give them our highest respect! It's precisely because of their existence that Sunshine City's tax rate has dropped by 30% this year."

"Even during the first three months of this year, when the city was at its coldest, we managed to provide free coal to all residents, and today the frost‑death rate is zero!"

……

"Ah, what? Oh, don't worry! We've given them the best labor protection—look, only a few months have passed and over ten thousand have died, just a thousand or two, which isn't many!"

"Next is the final set of photos…… sunny‑day dolls, sunny‑day dolls, and, sunny‑day dolls!"

"They used to be the gang bosses of Sunshine City, or remnants of the Commercial Union and mountain mercenaries, but now they're all hanging together."

"Haha, it's truly a work of art—look, this is my favorite piece; you definitely won't see anything like it anywhere else!"

In short, under the thunderous measures of the players and the Holy Light Knights, these bad apples were either killed or punished, and in the shortest time they were all rounded up.

At the same time, the Sunshine City census and reconstruction efforts led by the Adhesive Nations are proceeding in an orderly, step‑by‑step fashion.

—Yes, although on Earth its headquarters is in Baiying, in the Yangyue World its headquarters is located in Sunshine City, which is practically a city‑state.

Thus the high‑rise buildings of the inner ring rose up, the infrastructure of the outer ring was swiftly laid out, and Sunshine City, once the southern gem, finally regained its brilliance.

It is precisely after these months of recovery and development that Sunshine City can brand itself as a "tourist city, summer retreat," attracting visitors from the surrounding areas to come and play.

Otherwise, with Sunshine City's former glory from half a year ago…… would we let everyone come for a three‑day Gotham tour, or a seven‑day zombie fest?

Although I've said so much, it sounds as if everything is an unalloyed blessing for the ordinary citizens of Sunshine City.

In fact, that's truly the case—not only the locals, but even the Iron Cable Squad and the orc Hawk, whom Ji Ming guided into the dungeon to serve as instructors,

A few months ago they all returned to Sunshine City in high spirits, and with the wages they earned during that time they paid in full for a house that truly belongs to them.

But for Ji Ming, this matter fills him with both hope and anxiety.

There's nothing he can do—when he entered Sunshine City disguised as a tourist, hoping to find the ruins of his clinic left in the Outer City, he discovered that the entire street had been cordoned off and turned into a scenic spot!

Moreover, this attraction called the "Divine Selection Former Residence" requires visitors to fork out a silver coin just for the admission ticket, let alone any of the other services offered inside.

Such black‑heartedness made Ji Ming's fist clench instantly.

"Grandma, back when I was rescuing the dying and healing the wounded, even a bottle of Rejuvenation Liquid was priced by copper coins."

"How come now, if you want to go in and take a look, you have to first toss a silver coin away! Which damn swindler did this?"

What made Ji Ming, the person involved, even more displeased was that it was just a silver coin, yet a huge crowd queued up wanting to be the sucker!

Moreover, each one thought it was quite worth it, whispering excitedly to each other.

"I heard the Divine Chosen is exceptionally handsome; with just one smile, he can make grown women and young wives so enamored they can't even keep their waist belts fastened, and even the noble ladies and young miss of the Royal Capital can't resist!"

"I heard the Divine Chosen lectured on the Holy Mountain for months, his disciples spread across the world; this is where he got his start. Son, you should really soak it in and try to learn more skills from the blacksmith!"

"I heard the Divine Chosen's Skillful Rejuvenation surpasses the combined abilities of the doctors at the Clinic now; many nobles have sought his treatment. Sigh, we missed the good timing!"