Chapter 20: Qingqing Takes Me Along

For dinner, we had a health-conscious hot pot; the taste was average.

When we walked out of the restaurant, the sky had already darkened; the wisps of clouds floating in the sky were dyed a purplish-red, and the streetlights on the ground lit up one after another—the roads were like jade ribbons, and the cars like flowing water.

Chen Shu navigated to a large supermarket, and he and Ning Qing walked over slowly, looking at this unfamiliar city as they went.

The weather in the Imperial Capital is quite a bit hotter than in Bai City, but because the terrain is flat, there is always a breeze at night; once night falls, it cools down quickly. Strolling along so leisurely, watching teams of cyclists whiz past, their taillights blinking, it was quite pleasant in its own way.

We arrived at our destination.

Chen Shu found the supermarket entrance, and he and Ning Qing walked inside.

This supermarket is very large, and the things it sells are very miscellaneous; it seems like you can find the world's goods here.

He just likes this kind of supermarket.

Wandering slowly.

Ning Qing followed behind him, watching him walk past the toiletries section, then past the kitchenware section; he didn't buy much, yet he would lean in to carefully examine every shelf. Even in the meat, seafood, and vegetable sections, he wouldn't let anything go; not only did he go over to see what they were selling and what the quality was like, he also had to check the prices to compare them with Bai City.

Occasionally, he would turn his head and say to her:

"The meat here is 19..."

Ning Qing was long used to it; she just followed behind him, pushing the small cart with only a few items in it, occasionally saying "mm" to go along with him.

"Do you want potato chips?"

"Mm."

"How about shrimp crackers? These are good."

"Mm."

"Hey, they have spicy chicken here too, do you want some?"

"Yes."

"Then... let's buy some fruit?"

"That's fine."

"Let's buy some water, to drink tonight."

"Mm."

The items in the small cart gradually increased; aside from some toiletries, they were mostly fruit, snacks, and drinks.

Leaving, checking out.

It cost several hundred yuan.

Chen Shu carried the items as he walked out, holding the receipt in his hand, looking at it as he walked.

A watermelon is over a hundred...

I haven't even achieved watermelon freedom; what a trash country.

Pfft!

When we walked out of the supermarket, the sky had turned completely dark; the clouds overhead were still visible, but they had turned a grayish-black. We were over a kilometer away from the hotel.

Still walking slowly.

Yujing is still quite interesting.

As the premier city under heaven, it makes people from all over the world flock to it; you can see every race on the road.

Not just different skin colors, but different human races.

Yiguo is a non-immigrant country; there are only yellow-skinned Wise Humans and Heavenly Humans in the country.

Heavenly Humans are tall and thin, usually with nine-head-height proportions, white skin, small faces, and excellent features; they are geniuses on average. In ancient times, they lived on a floating island that flew around the globe and were revered as heavenly gods by ancient people all over the world. In the last world war, they were shot down by the Yiguo army.

Ning Qing has one-eighth Heavenly Human bloodline in her body.

There are also Night People and Barbarians.

You can even see demons.

The Demon Race resides in Dongzhou and is a little bit closed off; only in a place like Yujing can you see the Demon Race just by walking down the street.

At the very least, you can't see them in Bai City.

Yet as a thousand-year-old Imperial Capital, besides being as prosperous as a dream, Yujing is also covered everywhere in the mottled traces left by time.

The houses Chen Shu and Ning Qing walked past and the walls they passed were sometimes covered in withered or green vines, sometimes full of children's graffiti, sometimes blackened by cooking fumes; even in the cracks between the floor tiles at the base of the walls, weeds often grew. No one cleaned them, and the people of Yiguo don't like to clean these things either.

Under the influence of the mundane world, this city possesses a strange charm.

By the way—

"Imperial Capital" is not a joke.

Yujing is truly an imperial capital.

There is still an Imperial Family, after all.

This world is special, after all; over 60% of the countries in the world have kings, and 40% are ruled by kings.

It is not hard to understand.

If you calculate carefully, it has only been a little over a hundred years since Yiguo ended its feudal rule.

A hundred years is not even enough for the High-level Practitioners of a major power to die off naturally. Added to some more complex, deep-seated reasons, it is very difficult to abolish the Yiguo Imperial Family relying solely on the power of the people; at least, it cannot be done now. Come to think of it, the Emperor before the last one defied public opinion and, with great courage, took the initiative to lay down power, which allowed this country to move from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy; otherwise, the current Chen Shu would still be living under the rule of an emperor.

Therefore, the current Yiguo is a constitutional monarchy.

The full name is the Central Huaxia Empire, Dayi Dynasty.

It suddenly feels a bit "chuunibyou," doesn't it?

Because the Imperial Family's surname is Meng, it is also called the Meng Yi Dynasty.

However, people don't care for that "Empire" stuff nowadays; it is very off-putting. Yiguo is generally called Yiguo externally, and sometimes it calls itself China; both are fine.

This country may still have a long way to go before completely abolishing the Imperial Family.

In Chen Shu's view, the current Imperial Family also has it quite tough; they act with caution, as if walking on thin ice. Not only must they restrain the members of the Imperial Family, but they must also do extensive charity work and show more positive energy. Even though the constitution grants the Imperial Family many privileges, they dare not abuse them and are constantly catering to the preferences of the public. In addition, the reputation of the ancient Yiguo Imperial Family is quite good: they do not engage in marriage alliances, do not cede territory, and do not pay indemnities. The descendants of the Imperial Family, and even the emperors themselves, are mostly brave and skilled in battle, and they love going to the battlefield; more than half of the emperors died on the battlefield for the sake of expanding territory and resisting foreign enemies. If there were a weak, cowardly, or incompetent monarch, they would usually be deposed very quickly. Anyone who sees this has to give a thumbs up, which is why, for the time being, no one has stood up to raise the banner of abolishing the Imperial Family.

However, it is merely a matter of time.

This is a historical inevitability, it has only slowed its pace in this special world.

Walking onto a deserted road, Chen Shu raised his hand to touch the leaves hanging from a roadside tree; even when he stretched his hand to the fullest, he was still a centimeter short. Retracting his hand, he turned his head and asked, "The Secret Sect System is actually derived from a certain system of the Heavenly Human, right?"

"How did you know?"

"History; books hide a lot of information that isn't written directly, but it can't fool someone with a pair of discerning eyes like me."

"How virtuous of you!"

"I heard on the internet that the Secret Sect is the most powerful system, is that true or false?" Chen Shu was a person with heavy curiosity; curiosity makes people progress.

"Killing without form, with no resistance from those of the same tier."

"That exaggerated? No wonder it was besieged!" Chen Shu blinked his eyes, turned his head to look around, and seeing no one, "I heard people say that the Secret Sect, like the Daoist school, can also trace back history."

"Only High-Tier can."

"And can also foresee the future?"

"Only High-Tier can see it clearly; I can only obtain vague revelations." Ning Qing glanced at Chen Shu, as if she knew what this person was thinking in his heart, "You can't buy lottery tickets, nor can you frequently use it for stock trading; you will be discovered."

"Then how did you guess so accurately?"

"Smart."

"Oh, half-guessing, half-calculating." Chen Shu nodded, "When did you embark on the Secret Sect path?"

"When I was small."

"How come I don't know?"

"At a time you didn't know."

"Are the requirements for Secret Sect practice very high?"

"Very high, and harsh; it is different from all other systems, and its requirements cannot be expressed. It is a very special system." Ning Qing answered indifferently, "Among the newborns born every hundred years worldwide, those who possess the talent for Secret Sect practice and can embark on the Secret Sect path are perhaps only a dozen or so. And it has nothing to do with the total population."

"Nothing to do with the total population? How magical! Then how did you know you had the talent for Secret Sect practice?"

"Someone found me."

"Your master?"

"I don't know if it counts; she left me the initial practice method and then disappeared."

"How did she find you?"

"Because she is a Secret Sect Practitioner."

"Oh... then what about the subsequent practice methods?"

"When the time comes, you will naturally know where to find them."

"That is truly magical."

Chen Shu widened his eyes, exclaiming in wonder repeatedly; to think there was such a marvelous system: "What kind of principle is inside this?"

Ning Qing still gave an answer: "Whether it is Runes or physics, both are the peeking into and utilization of world rules, and Secret Sect Practitioners have peeked into more essential rules. We rely on our innate unique talents to utilize these rules."

"So it forms a dimensionality-reduction strike against other Cultivation Systems?"

"Yes."

"Then were the previous sieges true?"

"I don't know, I'm not as knowledgeable about history as you." Ning Qing paused, "But what I do know is that Secret Sect Practitioners usually won't let themselves fall into dangerous situations."

"Oh..."

At this moment, someone was walking from the opposite direction. Chen Shu wisely interrupted this topic and instead asked: "Then have you calculated the probability of us being together?"

"Together?"

"Marriage."

"If we are together before the age of 23, the probability of breaking up is greater than 68.4%." Ning Qing pursed her lips, "If it's after 25, then we can stay together for a lifetime."

"It's that precise!?"

"I calculated for a long time, many times."

"I see..."

Chen Shu felt a bit of Surprise; his intuition told him that Qingqing might be a very thick thigh to hold onto.

"Hmm..."

Chen Shu lowered his head and took a peek.

It wasn't that thick either.

It was a very large bowl of soft rice.

Returning to the hotel, Chen Shu gave most of the snacks and fruit to her, keeping only a grapefruit and a few bags of snacks he liked for himself:

"Say goodnight to me."

"Goodnight."