Chapter 562: Friendly Tour Group

Shao Jian snorted. "Since Beijia's founding, it has planned, instigated, and even personally participated in thousands of wars. It relies on doing such deeds for the Heavenly God to secure its own continued existence and power!"

"Tell me," he said, enunciating each word, "are these demon emperors, demon kingdom masters, and national preceptors not traitors to the human world?"

"...Yes," He Lingchuan replied cautiously. "But it seems Beijia hasn't been involved in any wars for the past decade or so?"

"Beijia itself may have been quiet, but what about the State of Ju? And the State of Dai?" Shao Jian said coldly. "In the State of Ju, the new ruler's reforms sparked an unexpected rebellion, leading to over twenty thousand deaths within half a year. The Ju ruler himself was buried under a hail of blades, and then various rebel factions fought fiercely for the throne. It was truly a massacre, like cutting grass, and it hasn't stopped even now."

"As for the State of Dai, it enjoyed peace for barely twenty years before engaging in war with an old adversary again. The ancient feud deepens with each passing year, and there's no telling when it will end." Shao Jian shook his head. "Beijia is behind the unrest in both these states. This is what I know; what I don't know, well, that would be countless."

"The Heavenly God isn't foolish either; endlessly harvesting Nightmare Qi is like draining a pond to catch fish." Shao Jian's expression always soured when discussing the Heavenly God. "The human world also needs time to recover, which helps spiritual energy regenerate. Otherwise, if everyone dies out, what would the Heavenly God use to collect Nightmare Qi? Coincidentally, human prosperity and spiritual energy recovery largely happen simultaneously. The Heavenly God only needs to control the intensity and frequency of wars through Beijia to ensure a continuous, high-quality supply of Nightmare Qi."

"In that case..." He Lingchuan chose his words carefully, "isn't the human world just the Heavenly God's pasture?"

When the population grows, they harvest a wave; when it shrinks, they let it recuperate. What's the difference between this and raising pigs or cattle?

"Indeed," Shao Jian sighed faintly. "The Heavenly God and Beijia are the root cause of the world's endless turmoil!"

He Lingchuan's gaze shifted slightly. "Since the Heavenly God relies on harvesting human Nightmare Qi to survive, why would Lady Mitian help us?"

To betray her own origins and stand against her entire race, could a normal deity do such a thing?

"Ah, that? You'll have to ask Commander Zhong about that," Shao Jian said, wiping mutton grease off his blade. "I'm not privy to the details of the agreement between him and Mitian."

He Lingchuan felt he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"In any case, you must understand that Panlong City is no paradise; the Heavenly God will eventually turn its gaze here. When that happens..." The hatred in Shao Jian's eyes finally became undisguised. "Their evil, madness, and cruelty, along with Beijia's, are beyond your imagination. Since Brother Zhong has chosen the right yet difficult path, you can only press forward!"

There's no turning back? He Lingchuan looked up at the starry sky, silently taking a cold breath.

As soon as dawn broke, He Lingchuan went out for a stroll.

Being new to the city, he was still an unknown, and hardly anyone in the vast Lingxu City recognized him. It was a good opportunity to sightsee.

When he entered the city yesterday, it was almost dark, and he'd only caught glimpses. This morning, he could explore properly.

While Panlong City's core was limited to a few spots on Wanglin Street, Lingxu City had no single "most central" area. Its prosperous urban district was simply too vast, encompassing entire swathes of market streets. Both the main city and its satellite cities had their own central areas, which, to He Lingchuan, were akin to commercial districts.

This was a place where goods and wealth from all over the world converged and circulated. As he walked, he even recognized specialties from the States of Yuan and Fu in the roadside shops.

Northern and Southern goods, rare treasures from across the land – anything could be bought here, provided one had the money.

Beyond the tall buildings and grand mansions, there were rows upon rows of eateries, from large restaurants to small diners, all bustling with continuous streams of customers.

He Lingchuan spotted a restaurant with a modest facade, but its sign proudly declared "Ferocious Seafood." He decided to go in.

Outside the door, a venerable pine bonsai stood, with two peach-faced lovebirds playfully nuzzling each other on its branches. Inside, the environment was clean and elegant, with four neatly arranged sets of rosewood tables and chairs. Three tables were already occupied.

He Lingchuan looked around but couldn't see any seafood displays. When he asked, he learned the saltwater tanks were kept in the back, for fear of appearing unseemly if placed upfront.

In the past, whenever He Lingchuan entered such small eateries, no one seemed to care about "seemliness." True to Lingxu City's reputation, even a small shop here had high standards.

Soon, his seafood porridge arrived, still bubbling when placed on the table.

He stirred it with his spoon and noted the generous ingredients. Apart from the squid and dried scallops, which were likely rehydrated, the oysters, shrimp, clams, and baby octopuses were all freshly prepared. The sweet, fresh taste was undeniably authentic.

The rice porridge itself was cooked to perfection, savory and fragrant.

After a couple of spoonfuls, He Lingchuan felt the autumn chill dissipate, replaced by a comforting warmth in his stomach.

Next came the "crab butter noodles."

"Crab butter" referred to crab meat and roe. The rich flavor was self-evident, and this shop added a bit of fried pork fat for extra aroma.

He Lingchuan knew that upscale restaurants were stricter, using only "pure yellow butter"—meaning pure crab roe and paste, without a trace of crab meat, which was considered more luxurious.

He wasn't so particular; as long as it tasted good, that was enough.

Then came two large plates of sea cucumber and fish dumplings.

Freshly minced dace was pureed and mixed with chopped sea cucumber for the filling, and even the dumpling skins were black, dyed with octopus or squid ink.

Honestly, the taste was genuinely good, but the portions were small. He Lingchuan rubbed his stomach, feeling at most twenty percent full.

He paid the bill; it came to exactly one tael of silver.

That was a thousand copper coins.

He let out a soft hiss. To eat his fill, a single meal would cost at least five taels of silver? The prices here were certainly not cheap.

Lingxu City wasn't near the sea, so transportation costs for fresh seafood were considerable. Furthermore, this was the main urban area, a place where every inch of land was precious...

He then noticed that the surrounding tables were all occupied by young men and women, eating slowly and deliberately, with hardly any clinking of bowls or spoons.

Clearly, this was not a place to simply fill one's stomach.

He Lingchuan bade farewell to the smiling proprietor, turned a few corners, and found a bun shop further back. He ordered ten large steamed buns with fresh meat filling, each the size of his fist, along with two large bowls of millet and grain porridge.

After devouring this meal, he was finally full.

He Lingchuan exited the bun shop and glanced up.

Lingxu City was truly a model of harmonious coexistence between humans and demons. The streets were full of various types of demons; the one who had just taken his money in the bun shop was a baboon demon, counting copper coins for him while wetting its fingers with saliva.

Birds were often seen in the sky and on tree branches.

In such an environment, He Lingchuan had no idea if he was being watched. He could only hope that, being new, he hadn't yet drawn anyone's attention.

He also visited two clothing stores and several specialty shops, buying a few sets of clothes and some souvenirs. Then he went to a teahouse, ordered two pots of morning tea, and listened to a storyteller.

Recently, some inexplicable strange events had occurred in a small state northwest of Beijia. The storyteller embellished them, added a few subjective interpretations, and turned them into entertaining tales. Because the stories were new, the audience listened intently, occasionally interrupting with questions.

Thus passed a leisurely morning.

He Lingchuan wasn't at all worried about the safety of Prince Chiyan. Given his status and position as the next demon king of Chiyan, favored by the deities, Lingxu City should treat him courteously.

Sure enough, the Eyeball Spider soon sent him a message: Fu Shanyue had returned to the posthouse, tidied up, and gone out again.

In the imperial capital, socializing was probably one of the most important activities for high-ranking individuals. If one only visited two households a day, it would take two or three months to complete all visits.

Prince Chiyan also had many people to call upon.

So He Lingchuan was in no hurry. He continued to sightsee in the city and even paid to join a guided tour.

Lingxu City was incredibly developed; any profitable business had practitioners here. With many scenic spots nearby, there were indeed people specializing in tourism, leading tour groups. The dedicated deer-drawn carriages for these tours were quite spacious.

In fact, the tour leader wasn't human at all, but a plump white-browed gibbon.

This ape demon was shrewder than any human. Its descriptions of attractions along the way were incredibly eloquent; it could even present a mere ditch as a mermaid's silk-washing ground. The most outrageous part was that this blasted monkey also took them shopping!

Local souvenir shops, inexpensive but unappetizing restaurants, and facing the guide's sour face and sarcasm if you didn't buy anything—this perfectly evoked a sense of nostalgia for He Lingchuan's hometown, making him view the ape demon with much more familiarity.

Midway through, someone wanted to quit and get a refund. The gibbon bared its teeth, and two huge, muscular mandrills with large faces silently appeared behind it, staring at the person.

The traveler immediately declared the tour too enjoyable to leave early, saying it would be inhuman not to complete it.

However, a few minor incidents during the tour made He Lingchuan realize that the gibbon was quite familiar with the main city and Beikan District, having many small connections. It even offered, for a price, to take guests to the floating islands to see the kind of earthly paradise where the wealthy lived, promising it would feel like another world.

However, free movement there would be restricted; visitors would have to follow its instructions and cues.

At this point, seeing that the deer carriage had reached its destination, He Lingchuan didn't listen to its further nonsense and decided to leave the tour group in the Xidui District.

Of course, there were no refunds for unvisited attractions.

He Lingchuan traveled a bit further and soon reached a common residential area, turning into Diliu Lane.

Here, there was a row of street shops in front and a small stream behind. It wasn't particularly tranquil amidst the hustle, but it offered convenient living.

After all, still being in Lingxu City, the houses were small, at most two or three times the size of He Lingchuan's residence in Panlong City, and they were packed tightly together, one after another.

Entering the lane, He Lingchuan counted the doors as he walked, until he reached the sixth one.

He reached out to knock, but then heard laughter from inside, from more than one person.

This didn't sound like the person he was looking for.

He Lingchuan channeled his internal energy, hearing people chatting and the clinking of objects inside—

They were drinking.

He Lingchuan looked back and saw an old man sitting on a doorstep sunning himself, watching him with half-closed eyes, and boys playing with grass horses and yelling in a courtyard.

These kinds of lanes were full of neighbors who had lived there for decades, so a stranger stood out.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, then turned and walked back.

A moment later, the sixth door was knocked.

The drinker inside poked his head out, looked left and right, but saw no one.

"Here!"

He looked down and saw a small boy standing nearby, holding up a note: "A letter for Tong Wei!"

Tong Wei? Who's Tong Wei?

(End of Chapter)