Chapter 369: Initial Entry into the Demon Country

Catching the tail end of May, the Shimen Caravan stepped into the territory of Beijia Kingdom.

The sky was clear and the air refreshing. The fields around them stretched endlessly, with crops a vibrant green and farmers bent over, busy weeding.

He Lingchuan was observing the crops.

It wasn't rice, nor wheat, nor even tea leaves. "What are they growing here?"

It couldn't be said that he was ignorant about agriculture. When he helped his father survey the counties around Dunyu, he had spent a lot of time traveling through fields and farmlands, learning what was what.

But he had truly never seen this kind of plant before. The scale was at least dozens of *qing*, very impressive. They had walked for over an hour and hadn't seen a second type of crop.

Second Steward Shi was beside him. "Tobacco leaves."

"Huh? These are tobacco leaves?" This answer surprised He Lingchuan. "The land is so flat, I thought they'd be growing grain crops."

"This kind of red soil isn't good for growing grain crops. However, this large area of land along the border, good or bad, is all planted with tobacco leaves," Shi Congshan said with a smile. "Almost every demon king's fiefdom grows tobacco leaves. This stuff is much more expensive than grain."

"So, do they still grow grain?"

"Of course they do. The demon nations have such vast territories and countless fertile lands. Are you afraid they won't grow enough food?" Shi Congshan laughed. "No need to worry about them."

He Lingchuan looked at the tobacco fields around him and suddenly remembered the chewing tobacco He Chunhua had distributed to his subordinates before he entered Xiazhou.

Exquisite, delicious, and mandatory imports.

"Fu Kingdom has to buy this stuff too, right?" He remembered the subtle helplessness on He Chunhua's face; Yuan Kingdom and Beijia Kingdom had signed an agreement, and they couldn't *not* buy it.

"Of course," Shi Congshan said. "However, the people of Fu Kingdom naturally like chewing tobacco. There's no need for allocation; all the merchant associations are eager to do this business." He pointed to the caravan behind them, "We do it too."

One important business of the Shimen Merchant Association is supplying "cage pearls" (sealed beads) to the Azure Jade Bamboo of Baoshu's Southern Territory, which are the round balls used to plug the bamboo tubes.

Only after his explanation did He Lingchuan learn that, though it was all chewing tobacco, the quality and packaging varied among the different demon kings' fiefdoms. The chewing tobacco from the southern territory of Baoshu Kingdom had to be sealed with Cloud-Scented Wood. Not only did this prevent the tobacco's fragrance from escaping, but Cloud-Scented Wood also had a unique aroma in addition to its moisture-proof properties. When aged in the bamboo tube for a long time, it would add a new flavor to the chewing tobacco.

Over time, this became a very important feature.

However, Cloud-Scented Wood was rare in Beijia Kingdom but common in Fu Kingdom. Therefore, the latter developed Cloud-Scented Wood forests specifically to provide processed Cloud-Scented Wood beads, or "cage pearls," as accessories to Baoshu's Southern Territory.

They really wanted to name them "Dragon Pearls," but they had to avoid taboos.

The Shi brothers had strived for many years and finally spent a large sum to secure two forest farms. They meticulously maintained, harvested, and processed the wood, supplying Baoshu's Southern Territory three times a year.

Don't underestimate these unassuming wooden beads; they supported countless merchant associations in Fu Kingdom.

This was merely one industry under a single demon king in Beijia Kingdom, not even a pillar industry.

Along the way, the Shimen Merchant Association crossed the border along the outer edge of the Demon's Lair Swamp, entering the territory of one of the thirteen demon kings—Baoshu King, also known as Baoshu Kingdom. With the merchant association's assistance, He Lingchuan passed through customs smoothly, encountering no obstacles.

In fact, the checkpoint was very lax. The customs officers sitting there were a few ape demons, shorter than humans, with pale fur around their mouths, and constantly yawning, clearly elderly. After collecting the transit tax, they didn't scrutinize the people or the goods, simply stamping their approval and letting them pass.

After passing the checkpoint, He Lingchuan asked Shi Congshan, "Even the border is this perfunctory?"

Yuan Kingdom's border inspections were extremely strict; if you didn't offer "Brother Kongfang" (bribes), you would face endless difficulties.

"Passing through customs, you need efficiency," Shi Congshan said, pointing behind him. "Look how many teams are here. Can they afford to waste time? Besides, Beijia Kingdom collects little in road taxes, so why bother holding people up?"

Back on Red Cliff Road, He Chunhua was the one collecting road tolls, albeit with an official identity. So He Lingchuan knew perfectly well that the road tolls at Red Cliff Road and Blackwater City were very high, often causing inbound and outbound merchants to complain loudly, like Liu Baobao's family, who always tried to evade them. Now that he asked, Baoshu Kingdom actually only collected one-fifth of the road toll!

Second Steward Shi smiled again and said, "Although the road tax is low, some checkpoints used to invent various pretexts to collect taxes, charging much more than the original road tax. After the current Grand Tutor took office, they launched a severe crackdown, arresting tens of thousands of people and sending them to prison. Now it's much clearer."

No wonder this trade route was bustling, even livelier than the main road outside Shihuan City.

He Lingchuan also noticed that the road beyond the checkpoint was the smoothest and widest official road he had ever seen, wide enough for seven carriages to travel side-by-side.

Although this plain was flat and roads could be built anywhere, most countries wouldn't expend such great effort.

After another two hours, the outline of a town appeared ahead. The roadside was no longer tobacco fields; finally, there were some normal crops.

"Huh, demons?"

He Lingchuan immediately noticed something unusual about the plowing oxen in the fields. Not only did they have two tails, but their bodies were incredibly robust, two sizes larger than ordinary water buffalo, weighing at least five to six thousand catties (2500-3000 kg). They looked like moving low-rise houses.

Humans standing next to them appeared tiny.

He Lingchuan had hunted these creatures on the Chipa Plateau; if they went berserk, they could tear down an entire village. In the two months following the recent Emperor's Flowing Sap, patrols often encountered these savage ox demons.

But these ox demons in front of him were surprisingly harnessed to plows, diligently tilling the fields.

Of course, their specialized plows were massive, each with four plowshares. The oxen walked ahead, with two or three people guiding from behind. They even turned automatically, making their tilling efficiency incredibly high.

Judging by their skilled movements and seamless cooperation, these ox demons must have been doing farm work for quite some time.

Seeing him staring intently, Shi Congshan chuckled, "People visiting a demon nation for the first time always have that expression."

He Lingchuan withdrew his gaze. "I was ignorant," he said.

His medicinal ape could refine pills, the octopus at Panlong City's Revitalization Office could examine human meridians, and the ape demons at the checkpoint just now could process customs declarations. So, it wasn't strange at all for demons to perform human tasks.

With at most an hour until sunset, the caravan decided to stop for the night in the town and continue their journey tomorrow morning.

He Lingchuan found it very novel and looked around. However, in terms of scale, this town was no different from those in Jia Kingdom. It was primarily inhabited by humans, with over three hundred registered local residents, including more than seventy demon residents.

Additionally, there were over four hundred transient merchants.

The town was not far from the border, and it was clear it was accustomed to travelers coming and going, with plenty of eateries, blacksmiths, post stations, and inns.

There seemed to be a market today as well.

They were very familiar with this road. After Second Steward Shi had arranged all the miscellaneous tasks, he was about to invite He Lingchuan for a drink.

No sooner had he spoken than the sound of gongs banging echoed from the town center, and someone shouted, "Execution at the street corner is beginning!"

Second Steward Shi let out a sound of surprise. "What a coincidence, catching a death row execution today? I've traveled this road over thirty times, and including today, I've only encountered it twice."

He Lingchuan shook his head. "What's good about that?"

No sooner had he spoken than a six or seven-year-old girl ran past him, her rosy cheeks making her look both pretty and adorable.

She giggled as she pulled her mother forward, "Hurry, hurry! This time we need to get the front row!"

"Slow down..." her mother stumbled.

The daughter complained, "Last time, Ah Dong got to watch from the very front, and he told us later that blood even splattered on his face!"

He Lingchuan then looked at the townspeople gathering around, all laughing and chatting merrily, some even gossiping on the spot.

It was as lively as a festival.

He looked at the execution platform ahead, and it was different from elsewhere.

Elsewhere, executions involved building a tall wooden platform and taking the condemned person up to be hanged or beheaded.

This town's street corner, however, had a massive pit, about half a *zhang* (approx. 1.6 meters) lower than the ground. He didn't know if it had originally been a fish pond, but its bottom was stained with grime.

He knew at a glance that these were dried bloodstains.

Now many people had gathered around the pit. No wonder the little girl said if they didn't grab the front row, they wouldn't see clearly; it turned out this execution was to be viewed from above.

At this moment, bailiffs led out two prisoners in shackles. The execution supervisor declared their grave crimes and announced the divine judgment of "Suffering the Bite Punishment."

He Lingchuan misheard it as "Stone Punishment" and thought they would be stoned to death, especially since the execution platform was sunken, making it easier to throw heavy objects. Stoning was also a very ancient form of punishment.

Upon hearing this, the two prisoners trembled like chaff, their faces ashen.

One of them immediately wet himself, and the spectators pointed and yelled, "He peed! He peed!"

Just then, someone outside shouted, "The executioners are here, everyone make way!"

The surrounding crowd quickly and uniformly parted, creating a path, not daring to delay even a moment.

Two soul-stirring roars were heard, and two enormous shadows moved through the crowd, walking in as if no one else were there.

These were clearly two massive tiger-like creatures. Their bodies resembled fierce tigers, but their forelegs were longer and thicker, while their hind legs were slightly shorter. Their shoulder height was over four *chi* (approx. 1.3 meters), and their build was more robust than ordinary tigers. Their striped patterns were only distributed on their backs.

A single paw resting on the ground was three times the size of an adult man's palm.

He Lingchuan had never seen this type of demon beast in Yuan Kingdom, but he seemed to recall seeing illustrations of it in some travelogue. He knew these beasts were called "Nihu" (pseudo-tigers) and enjoyed hunting large beasts like rhinoceroses and elephants.

However, they didn't seem to reject human flesh, judging by their predatory gaze fixed on the prisoners. It was truly a "tiger's covetous stare."

He Lingchuan finally understood that "Bite Punishment" (噬刑, *shì xíng*) referred to *biting* (噬, *shì*).

The Nihu licked their lips, and one prisoner immediately collapsed to the ground.

A bailiff pulled him and found he had already fainted.

Although the other prisoner was also trembling all over, he seized the moment while the bailiff lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and with a fierce resolve, slammed his head against a pillar with a loud "bang."

The sound was very loud.

He Lingchuan heard a "crack" and knew from experience that the man's skull had split. Looking again, the man collapsed immediately, and fresh blood quickly stained the ground.

The bailiff quickly bent down to check his neck pulse, and after a moment, said to the execution supervisor, "He's dead."

The surrounding townspeople let out a chorus of boos.

With one less living person, the entertainment value of the show would be greatly diminished.