Fattening Up

Don't ask, we booked two rooms.

This maneuver even astonished the inn's waiter.

I had even prepared a double room for two people, but this guy booked two rooms.

What's going on? True Lord?

Is it still not Human Path?

Ignoring the waiter's surprised look, Li Qi paid for the room and told Shen Shuibi that he was going out for a walk and that she was free to do as Shen Shuibi pleased, but not to wander around.

The rabbit nods its head like a chick pecking at rice, appearing very obedient.

Li Qi calmed down, packed his things, carefully wrapped the knife again with coarse cloth so it looked like a stick, and then took it out the door.

What are we going out to do? Of course, we're looking for opportunities to make money; we can't just sit around and live off our savings.

Old Ma's fattening up isn't something that can be done in a day or two; he needs at least half a month to rest properly. Luckily, he doesn't need to make new horseshoes, otherwise it would cost even more.

However, there's no need for that. Dragon Steed steeds travel on clouds, so they don't experience as much wear and tear, and their hooves don't grow continuously like those of ordinary spirit horses, which can lead to illness.

The Dragon Steed's hooves are always fixed; they grow when they are short and stop when they are long, which is very convenient.

They're all called horses, but they actually seem to be completely different species.

Come to think of it, one is a horse, and the other is a half-dragon.

These random thoughts swirled in Li Qi's mind as he walked through the streets of Snake Tail County, looking around and observing the situation. He occasionally chatted with people, inquiring about things that were common knowledge but unknown to him.

The air here is quite fresh and very humid.

Human settlements are inevitably located near water. In Snake Tail County, there is a Qinghe River that flows through the area. This river is formed by the melting snow from White Snake Mountain.

Just as the entire Li Prefecture relies on the Li River for its livelihood, the entire White Snake Prefecture relies on White Snake Mountain for its livelihood. After all, people live off the mountains and rivers.

The melting snow on the mountain creates countless rivers that meander down, forming a dense network of waterways that supply all things in nature. The existence of White Snake Mountain itself is also a treasure.

Unlike the barren mountains and forests of Li Prefecture, the existence of White Snake Mountain yields countless rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and there are also mineral veins extending there, so White Snake Prefecture is quite wealthy.

Moreover, this wealth is built on a large number of adventurers.

Whether it's exploring mineral veins, harvesting heavenly materials and earthly treasures, or anything else, you have to leave the city and go to the wilderness. Then there will be caravans waiting in the city, and they will buy as much as you take out.

After purchasing them, they would take a boat down the river to the Li River, and then transport them from the Li River to other places.

White Snake Mountain and Li River form a perfect ecological chain, supporting the food, clothing, housing, and transportation needs of hundreds of millions of residents in the two states of the Great Deer Kingdom.

However, unlike Li Prefecture, which is located by the Li River and can earn money by collecting taxes and farming in the city, in White Snake Prefecture, one has to go out of the city to earn money.

Li Prefecture has the Li River. As long as you grow crops outside the city and everyone gathers by the Li River, you will naturally receive plenty of supplies, taxes, and jobs. Water is the gentlest thing for humans. As long as you stay quietly by your side, supplies will flow down with the water.

But mountains are different. Mountains are rich, but they are also harsh. They don't deliver supplies like water. You need to prepare your own equipment and risk your life to go into the mountains and gather the resources yourself.

Because of this, the martial spirit is strong in this area, and many families own swords and armor. They often gather together and go into the mountains to make money.

White Snake Mountain is like an inexhaustible treasure trove; when you run out of money, you can go in and buy things.

That's nonsense. The mountain range stretches for thousands of miles and covers an area of millions of square kilometers, which is the size of a continent on Earth. It would be a miracle if you could take everything.

Snake Tail County has a small population of only a few hundred thousand, but Li Qi was able to feel the atmosphere of the entire White Snake Prefecture just by walking around and observing.

There weren't as many gangs as in Li Prefecture, but there were many more "mountain raiding teams" and "martial arts schools".

These are the organizations that are most numerous in Snake Tail County.

You can often see people practicing martial arts on the streets. Many places have set up arenas where people enjoy exchanging skills. The winners receive cheers from the crowd, and the losers are not discouraged and move on to the next one.

It seems like it's a game we all play together; winning or losing isn't important, what matters is that we all improve together.

Li Qi could tell that most of these people were much stronger than the gangs in Lizhou City. Many of them had Sha Qi and scars, probably because they had been fighting in the mountains for many years, killing many beasts and people.

Because of this, the forests near White Snake Prefecture are highly developed.

Li Qi realized that in White Snake Prefecture, he would probably find it much harder to ride his horse across the wilderness for many years without encountering a single ghost, just like he did in Li Prefecture.

If you were to ride Old Ma at full speed here, you'd probably run into a quarrying team every now and then and see your own exhaust fumes.

"It's not suitable to be too conspicuous here, otherwise it will be easy to expose the identity of the Dragon Steed." Li Qi shook his head, assessing the situation at White Snake Mountain and considering what he should do.

A tall, spirited horse and a Dragon Steed are two different concepts.

Unless someone is as skilled at judging horses as Shen Shuibi, simply walking is not easy to expose. But if Old Ma takes off and starts running, anyone with a little knowledge in this area can recognize at a glance that it is a Dragon Steed worth a thousand gold pieces, more than a hundred times the price of an ordinary spirit horse.

"But making money is quite convenient. Martial arts are popular here, and many mining teams are recruiting people. However, those are just ordinary mining teams. The strong ones haven't even reached the rank, so the pay is too low and it's a waste of time." Li Qi walked down the street, analyzing how to earn some travel expenses to bring back Old Ma a better meal.

Since I'm new here, I shouldn't expose Shaman's abilities. However, I should be able to make money using the ninth rank of martial arts.

After all, they had been wandering the streets all afternoon but hadn't seen a single ninth-rank official. The strongest member of those patrol teams was just a big, bearded man.

He has only just finished tempering his skin, muscles, and bones, and has only just begun to work on refining his internal organs. Moreover, he is already in his forties or fifties, and his Qi and Blood are already depleted. He probably has no hope of reaching the ninth rank in this lifetime.

For ordinary people, reaching the highest level is so difficult that even a lifetime of effort may not be enough to achieve it.

In fact, it's not just about getting into a high-ranking position; the very act of wanting to access Cultivation Method that can achieve that position already filters out 99% of people.

This made Li Qi once again marvel at his good fortune.

Therefore, we should seize the opportunity.

Li Qi continued walking down the street, listening to a group of people shouting.

But at this moment, someone hurriedly stepped forward and spoke to Li Qi, saying, "Brave warrior! Please wait!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qi turned his head to look.

But then he saw a merchant dressed in silk calling out to him for some reason.