Yandu, the capital of Yan Country in the Eastern Wasteland, stood very close to the renowned Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone. The city was magnificent and sprawling, its walls stretching endlessly across the landscape like the Great Wall.
Yandu was bustling with life. Watching the crowds thronging its streets, Gu Sheng felt a touch of wistfulness. So many years had passed, and he was no longer the university graduate who had felt lost about his future. By now, even his previous life seemed to have faded considerably.
"Golden-thread honey dates! Big and sweet!"
"Crispy chicken wings! If they don't taste good, you don't pay!"
"Zhang's soup dumplings! Thin wrappers, generous fillings, juicy and delicious! Come try them!"
"Candied hawthorn skewers! Just one copper coin each!"
The cries of vendors rang out without end. Acrobats and other street performers worked on the corners, drawing crowds of adults and children. Enthusiastic shop assistants stood outside their stores, coaxing customers inside with an endless stream of flattering words.
Gu Sheng's gaze wandered along the street, but his primordial spirit had already swept through all of Yandu. Even after scanning it more than three times, he had found nothing, as though the person he sought did not exist at all.
But Gu Sheng knew perfectly well that she was here. She had been here for hundreds of thousands of years, waiting for her older brother to return.
In a corner of Yandu, with a local hoodlum leading the way, Gu Sheng finally found what seemed to be the person he had come looking for after spending most of the day searching.
A filthy, pitiful little beggar was begging along the street. His clothes were in tatters, and his face was so smeared with grime that it was difficult to tell his age. All anyone