Chapter 413: Radiance

When everyone from Panlong City has left, will the shops here still be valuable? Will I still be able to collect so much rent?

In the face of such massive changes, will Panlong City officials still follow the rules as before?

He Lingchuan knew this guy had a keen sense of smell and would try to get a head start when the time came, which was why he approached him about the rent. He smiled, stood up, and said, "Let's wait until the relocation order comes down."

With that, he strode out, disregarding Bai Guo's attempts to stop him.

The fatty sighed behind him.

Outside Arena No. 7, it was still packed with people today. He Lingchuan spotted the thin guy at first glance. The fellow was carrying a sack, his face beaming like a flower.

Two hours passed without major incident, and He Lingchuan remained the arena master. However, he had a few more bruises on his face, several new holes in his clothes, and felt some discomfort in his chest and abdomen. He'd been kicked a few times and punched twice in that area, making it painful to breathe.

He took some medicine and meditated for half an hour before the discomfort subsided somewhat.

While the thin guy was splitting the money with him, He Lingchuan seized the opportunity to ask, "Have you heard any rumors?"

The thin guy was intently counting silver and copper coins. "Huh?" he replied.

"News from Xiluo Kingdom?"

"Collecting money like this, in small denominations, is too inconvenient. Money was easy to earn by the arena, and he had gained some experience. Most importantly, everyone now knew he was the arena master's friend! Others didn't dare to compete with him, so the thin guy was thinking about expanding his business. "Should we make tokens for people to bet with?"

"You mean chips?" He thought. "Aren't those already used in casinos?"

"Ah, yes." The thin guy only snapped back to attention after counting a bag of money. "What were you saying earlier? News from Xiluo? Oh, yes. I heard that the civil wars and power struggles within the country are escalating. The capital is completely unable to suppress them."

Because Panlong City has always maintained open trade relations, its information channels have been much smoother in recent years than they were four or five years ago. It was only a matter of time before internal intelligence reached here.

"Who doesn't know that?" He Lingchuan retorted. "Weak nations are prone to instability; anyone who dares to emulate Begas's system is heading for a dead end. Anything else?"

The thin guy looked bewildered. "I haven't heard anything else," he said.

"Alright then." He Lingchuan patted his shoulder, took his share of the money, and went home.

It seemed the news hadn't spread yet.

On the way, he stopped to buy some Fuling cakes.

With a creak, he pushed the door open. His courtyard, or rather, his patio, was still small, but He Lingchuan could sense a difference.

He had only been away for a few days, but a row of shelves had been installed above the water vat, on the exterior wall of the kitchen, displaying three small potted flowers.

One pot held apricot-colored ranunculus, another featured scarlet red anemones, and a third, which He Lingchuan couldn't identify, had cascading white blossoms resembling falling snowflakes or a bride's beaded veil, almost touching the water in the vat.

The courtyard was small, and he usually practiced martial arts there, so the three extra flower pots were placed out of his reach.

He Lingchuan sniffed.

His courtyard had never smelled so fragrant before.

Inside the main room, not a speck of dust could be seen. The clutter that used to be everywhere was gone, and a dark brown clothes chest now stood by the bed. A vase sat on the chair, holding two wild-looking Gerbera daisies, likely picked from the outskirts of the city.

He opened the chest and, sure enough, all his miscellaneous items were neatly organized inside.

At the very top were several gentlemen's periodicals he had brought back from the general store, neatly stacked in a pile.

Just then, a sound came from the courtyard gate, and someone pushed it open.

He Lingchuan quickly snapped the chest lid shut and walked out to see:

It was Sun Fuling, as expected.

She put down the basket she was carrying. "You won the arena challenge again today?"

"Yeah. It's getting harder and harder, but I still won." He Lingchuan stretched, which pulled at the injury in his ribs, making him wince. "There are too many strong fighters in the Great Wind Army. Next time, it might not be so certain."

His left ribs had been hit by his challenger's stick; it was probably at least a hairline fracture. Today's opponent was particularly cunning, feigning weakness several times, attempting to deliver a killing blow in a single strike.

Of course, He Lingchuan ultimately kicked him off the arena.

"Is there such a thing as an undefeated general? Anyone in that position will be taken down sooner or later," Sun Fuling said nonchalantly. From her basket, she took out two jars of good wine, two plump roasted chickens, three large pieces of braised beef shank, and a bundle of cured trotters. "To celebrate your victory. This is 'Apricot Blossom Spring,' a new offering from Apricot Blossom Restaurant this year."

Cultivators have abundant vital energy and large appetites.

"What if I lose?"

"Then it'll be for drowning your sorrows."

She carried the roasted chicken and braised trotters into the kitchen to cut them. She picked up a cleaver, sharpened it a few times, and then casually performed a knife flourish.

Seeing such a delicate young girl wielding a thick-backed cleaver, its gleaming blade twirling between her slender fingers, made He Lingchuan feel utterly abashed.

With a dozen rapid thuds, the roasted chicken and trotters were neatly chopped into pieces.

He Lingchuan noticed that there weren't many new knife marks on the cutting board, indicating the precision of her cuts; not a shred of strength was wasted.

Chopping through large pig bones was laborious; who could do it so perfectly?

"And you say you can't cook?"

"I don't," she replied. "These are all pre-made." She pointed to the roasted chicken and trotters. "These were gifts from my students."

Then she pointed to the braised beef. "This is from Apricot Blossom Restaurant."

"I merely cut them," Sun Fuling said with a smile. "Don't you also start your training by slicing paper and tofu?" With that, she picked up the braised beef, and with a flash of her hand and the blade, only a blur remained.

The braised beef was perfectly sliced, each piece as thin as paper and translucent.

They were so uniform they looked machine-sliced.

After placing all the food in the courtyard and washing her hands, she took out a small jar, one that could only hold about three taels of wine.

"What's this now?" He Lingchuan feigned refusal. "This is too much! I can't eat it all!"

Sun Fuling let out a soft laugh. "Care to try one?" she asked.

She held the jar and poured its contents into a chipped porcelain cup, revealing a wriggling, reddish mass of thin, hair-like strands–––

a clump of worms.

Sun Fuling held the cup up to his mouth. "Want some?"

He Lingchuan instantly leaped three feet back. "What in the world is that?"

It wasn't that he hadn't eaten insects before, but these looked particularly unappetizing.

They looked like parasites.

"Red worms, of course. Are you the only one eating?" Sun Fuling casually poured the contents of the cup into the water vat, and He Lingchuan heard a splash.

He peeked over and saw the goldfish swimming to the surface, eagerly scrambling for the treats.

He took the opportunity to count them: one, two, three, four, five, six... Huh, all nine fish were still there?

Not only were they lively and energetic, but their colors were also more vibrant.

This must be due to ample sunlight and nutrition. He Lingchuan asked himself, "The fish have been here for seven or eight days, and I think I've only remembered to feed them twice?"

Where did the aquatic plants and shells at the bottom of the vat come from? And the snails clinging to the sides – they couldn't have grown there by themselves, could they?

He Lingchuan also saw something flicker at the bottom of the vat, glowing blue like a ghost. On closer inspection, he realized it was a small shrimp, its body almost transparent.

Keeping fish outdoors wasn't easy; there were many magpies and egrets in the city that often came to snatch food. How lucky were these nine fish to consistently maintain their numbers?

"You've gone to a lot of trouble with these fish." He had originally caught them to please the girl, but in the end, she was the one taking care of them for him.

"It was nothing at all." Sun Fuling brushed away a strand of hair from her face, and the dimples reappeared on her cheeks.

The girl stood in the soft light of April, smiling sweetly. Though dressed in simple cloth and wearing a plain hairpin, she outshone all the blooming flowers in the courtyard.

She lowered her head to feed the fish, perfectly complementing the pot of cascading white flowers, her dark hair appearing as if lightly touched by fresh snow, delicate and fine.

He Lingchuan gazed in a daze, suddenly feeling that all the beauty in the world was contained within his small, palm-sized courtyard.

Sun Fuling turned her head to look at him, her almond-shaped eyes full of mirth. "What are you looking at?"

"The flower is beautiful, and the fish seem to enjoy eating it," He Lingchuan quickly said, pointing at the cascading plant. "What's it called?"

The flower's tendrils were almost touching the water, and one goldfish, not getting enough red worms, simply leaped out of the water to nibble on a petal.

"Weeping Jasmine," Sun Fuling said, gently tidying the plant. "I bought it from a foreign merchant. It's said to be a specialty of eastern Xiluo Kingdom; it certainly doesn't grow on the Chipa Plateau."

After feeding the fish and washing her hands, they both sat down to eat and drink.

He Lingchuan took out the Fuling cakes, so now they had a staple too.

He mentioned the Gura tree that had suddenly appeared by the South City Gate. Sun Fuling exclaimed, "Did it really grow within a few days? I'll go see it tomorrow. Gura trees are rare; where would a seedling have come from?"

"You know about Gura trees?"

"They're rare wonders of the world; I know a bit about them. Isn't this the legendary underwater wood where spirits can reside?" Sun Fuling picked up a piece of trotter with two fingers and began to gnaw on it, completely unconcerned about appearing unrefined. "Baoshu King, the oldest demon king in Begas, is himself a Gura tree."

And the Spirit Seed, didn't it come from Baoshu King? He Lingchuan asked her, "I heard that Baoshu King's territory is the most peaceful demon nation in Begas, with few wars."

"No demon king has ever replaced him; that old tree has always been in power, so isn't it naturally that way?" Sun Fuling shrugged. "Let alone other demon nations, even Spirit Void City has had a change of ruler."

"Begas has been established for six hundred… no, over four hundred years." He caught himself, almost forgetting that Panlong calendar was different from reality, and Begas's history was only over four hundred years at this point. "I looked for related historical records in the Literary Pavilion, and they all described its state as chaotic yet surprisingly resilient. What's your take on it?"

The person before him was well-versed in national history; asking questions could save him the effort of poring over books. After all, his time in the dream was also very precious.

He Lingchuan solicitously poured wine for Ms. Sun. She raised her cup and drained it in one gulp, then exhaled softly, the scent of apricot blossoms indeed accompanying her breath.

"The vast territory of Begas was formerly made up of over a dozen human kingdoms, interspersed with two small demon nations. Of these two demon nations, one was destroyed by human kingdoms. The other, sensing that humanity's destiny was too strong and that demons were a scattered force unable to compete, therefore turned to the embrace of the gods. Using the gods' power, they united a host of great demons and began to turn the tide, little by little, kingdom by kingdom, encroaching upon human territory.

"Its success attracted more demons to pledge allegiance, and the war against the human kingdoms became increasingly advantageous. This process lasted just over thirty years. When the last human kingdom there vanished, the Begas Demon Nation emerged, and its founding monarch became the first Demon Emperor. He extensively rewarded his meritorious officials, dividing the vast territory among twelve highly distinguished demon kings, allowing them to establish their own vassal states. Thus, the Northern Demon Nations were established."