Chapter 210: Cat-like Girlfriend

Chen Shu still wanted to go on this trip to Duqin.

Looking at it now, it could bring him at least three gains—

First-hand information from a fellow countryman he had always been interested in;

Raw materials for medicine;

Answers regarding the whereabouts of the gods.

But this trip also seemed to have some trouble.

First, the time required was quite long. Counting a departure at the latest in mid-September and the opening of the Duqin Fangti in October, working inside for a period would take at least over a month. Wandering in a foreign land for so long, even if it were for travel, would feel very tiring.

Not to mention that Duqin was poor and war-torn, with poor conditions.

The group of lunatics from the Mengyue Sect also seemed to be involved.

Chen Shu pondered for a moment and decided to first gain a deeper understanding of the current domestic situation in Duqin.

He opened the short video app and searched for Duqin.

There were actually travel bloggers!

Chen Shu casually watched a few videos. What came into view included yellow sand, Gobi deserts, and crumbling walls, as well as somewhat rustic cities or markets. This blogger would sometimes introduce local specialty foods, but mainly relied on promoting local women—who had low horizons, low requirements, and were beautiful—to gain traffic.

Because they only went to relatively stable cities, in the footage of the videos, apart from the armed personnel who occasionally appeared in the frame, it seemed merely underdeveloped.

Chen Shu gave up on this channel after not watching for long.

He turned to open his laptop and inserted the Crystal Disk.

He connected to the Deep Net very quickly.

There were merchants here specifically selling such information. If one didn't want to spend money, there were also forums where one could get it for free, though the information on the forums was somewhat chaotic.

The Duqin here wore a different face—

War, bombings, the sounds of gunfire and artillery, severed limbs, children who had lost their parents and couldn't afford to eat, girls getting married in their early teens, human trafficking and killing games, slaves and demons, wild dogs eating people...

All of it was the real Duqin, and yet none of it was the real Duqin.

The two had to be combined to be understood.

Chen Shu searched for a while, then conveniently opened Wide and Narrow Alley, which he often frequented.

There were quite a few messages.

Mao Xiansheng: Are you still taking jobs lately?

Mao Xiansheng: Where are you?

Mao Xiansheng:??

Mao Xiansheng: Did your imitation crime using the Tracer Technique get exposed, and were you caught by the Yiguo police?

Mao Xiansheng: I'm numb.

Mao Xiansheng: See you in the next life.

These messages were basically spaced several days apart.

That person was truly a bit bored.

Chen Shu twitched the corner of his mouth and started typing.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Haven't been online lately.

Mao Xiansheng: Congratulations on your release from prison.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: How are you online all the time?

Mao Xiansheng: This is my line of work.

Mao Xiansheng: What have you been up to lately?

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Busy with various things.

Mao Xiansheng:...

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: By the way, do you have any thoughts on the current domestic situation in Duqin?

Mao Xiansheng: Why?

Mao Xiansheng: Are you also interested in the Duqin Fangti?

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Also?

Mao Xiansheng: Many people are interested in it.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Is that so?

Mao Xiansheng: A Fangti appearing in a small country is like a piece of fatty meat in the wilderness; it will always attract the covetousness of wolves.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: That's true.

Mao Xiansheng: If you want to go, you must be careful.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Tell me in detail.

Mao Xiansheng: One coin.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang:...

You paid one Black Gold Coin to Mao Xiansheng.

Mao Xiansheng: The armed forces currently in Duqin can be divided into five parts.

Mao Xiansheng: First is the Government Army, which is close to Yiguo. Second is the "Watcher" anti-government armed group supported by Lan Country. Third is the Mercenary group from Yiguo, which is almost equivalent to the Regular Army in different clothes. Fourth is the Mercenary group from Lan Country; this one is very chaotic because of different policies. Most of them are retired soldiers from Lan Country, as well as people recruited from abroad who crave war and enjoy fighting and killing. They are chaotic but under the jurisdiction of Lan Country's secret command. Fifth is a mixture of various chaotic forces. Because it is too chaotic, and during this time when the Fangti has appeared, there will definitely be people from all directions coming to spy.

Mao Xiansheng: You are from Yiguo, so the Government Army will not attack you.

Mao Xiansheng: Your own cultivation is not low; for you, as long as you don't run into a large troop, the Watcher armed group is nothing to worry about.

Mao Xiansheng: You don't need to worry about the third.

Mao Xiansheng: You don't really need to worry about the fourth either.

Mao Xiansheng: Three and Four will not attack each other. Although a portion of the people in Four burn, kill, and loot in Duqin, committing all kinds of evil, they are very respectful toward foreigners, especially toward people from Yiguo. But there are some people among them whose brains aren't normal; they come to enjoy the slaughter and seek thrills, so it's hard to say for sure.

Mao Xiansheng: Five appears to be a rabble, but in fact, they are not.

Mao Xiansheng: Although Duqin is small and its military power is not strong, it actually has quite a few mid-to-high-level practitioners.

Mao Xiansheng: Historically, this country has also produced top-tier practitioners, it's just that it is too close to Lan Country.

Mao Xiansheng: And there are those like you, who smelled the scent and rushed over, wanting to join in the fun or pick up a bargain.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Wu, rabble.

Mao Xiansheng: Understood.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Anything else?

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Are there any forces lurking in Duqin in advance?

Mao Xiansheng: Have you heard of the Mengyue Sect?

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: I have heard of them.

Mao Xiansheng: Traces of them have also appeared in Duqin; I am referring to the high-level members of the Mengyue Sect here.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: That would be the Inner Layer, right?

Mao Xiansheng: Just about.

Mao Xiansheng: But they are usually very scattered, so there is no more specific news. I only know that there are definitely people in the Mengyue Sect's high-level ranks who are interested in the Square Body, and it is very likely that some members with high-level cultivation have reached a consensus on cooperation and snuck in here together.

Mao Xiansheng: And judging by the current talks between the three parties of Duqin, Yiguo, and Lan Country, when the time comes, both Yiguo and Lan Country will have powerful forces entering Duqin, most likely entering low-key in the form of high-level practitioners.

Chen Shu looked at these messages, but his brows gradually furrowed.

What Mao Xiansheng said was more detailed than he had expected, and he even knew that members of the Mengyue Sect had appeared in Duqin.

This is not simple at all.

The Mengyue Sect itself is very low-key, and its members are very loose, so their tracks are not easy to capture—the difficulty is not the main point, but rather that the vast majority of people do not pay attention to these things at all times.

To use an analogy, if members of the Mengyue Sect's Inner Layer came to Yiguo, then apart from the group of people who specifically focus on this type of intelligence, presumably even the leaders of certain top sects might not necessarily get the news.

Of course, Yiguo and Duqin cannot be mentioned in the same breath; Yiguo is too big, and in a place like Duqin, Mengyue Sect members are very likely to have been unscrupulous for a long time.

But there is another detail.

"Du-Yi-Lan."

This involves personal habits.

Usually, people from Yiguo will abbreviate it as "Yi-Lan-Du," people from Lan Country will abbreviate it as "Lan-Yi-Du," and other countries are possible; most countries will put Yiguo in front, but very few countries will abbreviate it as "Du-Yi-Lan."

Added to his previous understanding of Mao Xiansheng...

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu decided to probe him.

But before he finished typing, he received another message.

Mao Xiansheng: If you encounter trouble in Duqin that you cannot solve, you can seek help from me; it costs money, but it is very useful.

Chen Shu was stunned for a moment.

He immediately deleted the words he had typed one by one.

Brother Mao is an honest person.

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: Many thanks.

Mao Xiansheng: Do you really have no research on the Spirit Power Secondary Cannon?

Qingcai Baiyu Tang: /falls into deep thought

Zhilan Garden.

Ning Qing sat on the sofa with her eyes closed, leaning against the backrest, her expression extremely quiet.

Chen Shu was holding Taozi, petting her as he said: "That's roughly the situation. I weighed it and felt that if I go to Duqin with the History Expert Group, the safety is still quite high, the food and accommodation are guaranteed, and there's no need to worry about language barriers."

"Ah~"

"Haha, I still really want to go, but as soon as I think that if I go, I will be separated from you for a long time, I don't want to go again."

"Woof!"

"Really!"

"Hmm-woo?"

"So I'm asking for your opinion."

"Awoo!"

"Who said that! I have always respected your opinion, okay? If you say you can't bear to part with me and won't let me go, I definitely won't go!"

"..."

Ning Qing resisted his petting with her little paws while falling into deep thought.

She discovered that she only needed to make a random sound, and this person would know what she wanted to say, which made her almost suspect that he could understand Taozi-speak.

So she decided to make a random sound:

"Meow~"

"Okay, you can't bear to part with me, then I won't go."

"..."

Ning Qing was silent again.

Sure enough, when this person usually talks to her, he doesn't need her to respond at all; he can keep talking by himself.

At this moment, the white cat suddenly opened its eyes wide—

Chen Shu lowered his head and kissed it fiercely.

"Ah..."

The white cat tilted its head and ended its cultivation immediately.

Beside it, Ning Qing opened her eyes, her expression blank.

In that final instant, she felt Chen Shu's lips touch the fur on Taozi's face, and as a cat is naturally sensitive to this, the sensory feedback was transmitted to her, leaving her feeling an itchy, tingling sensation on her own face even after she ended the possession.

Ning Qing silently raised her hand and rubbed her face.

As she lowered her hand, she suddenly and subconsciously placed it near her mouth, wanting to lick it; her tongue even poked out, but then she realized what she was doing, and her expression involuntarily froze.

A glance from the corner of her eye—

Chen Shu and the little girl were staring at her unblinkingly from the side.

Ning Qing silently lowered her hand.

Those two exchanged a look again, not knowing what they were communicating.

She did not want to know.

Ning Qing only pursed her lips, and acting as if nothing had happened, she said indifferently, "My prediction is that on this trip, you will not encounter any major danger, you will not be injured, you will successfully obtain what you want, and perhaps you will even have unexpected gains."

"So you want me to go."

"It's a suggestion."

"Won't you miss me?"

"I will."

"Then why are you still letting me go?"

"Remember to video call me."

"Alright."

"Make full preparations." Ning Qing pursed her lips slightly again, a faint glimmer flickering in her eyes, "If you need me, I will appear by your side."

"Okay."

"Qingqing, help me calculate too," the little girl said from the side.

"?"

"Big sister, help me calculate too," the little girl immediately corrected herself, "Calculate when I will grow taller; if you calculate it accurately, I'll buy you cat treats to eat."

"?"

"When will I be able to grow taller? How much taller can I grow?"

"What do you want to grow taller for?"

"..." The little girl fell silent.

"Give up, you're only going to be this tall," Ning Qing said in a cold tone.

"You're lying!"

The little girl pointed at her big sister, her expression serious: "You won't get any cat treats to eat!"

Ning Qing simply closed her eyes, her heart as still as water.

Chen Shu then called the Historical Relics Bureau to tell them that he agreed to go.