Milu City, Jade Pendant

In the Small World of the Jade Pendant, after Bai Xue formed her Golden Core and gained magical abilities, she spent her days riding a Black Swan and soaring through the sky.

Chen Qing tried to ride a white swan, but the feathered creature refused. Angered, he locked it up, withholding food and water until it surrendered.

Bai Xue flew over the fantastical forest within the Small World and the edges of Corpse Mountain, searching every corner for a path to the outside. Finding none, she finally gave up and returned to diligently refine pills and cultivate.

At the Gushan Island pier, more than a dozen ships set sail. Milu City, their destination, was three hundred li away, with more than half the journey by water.

The fleet traveled forty li and reached Haikou Town on the northeastern shore of Luoqie Lake, well past the hour of Shen.

Uncle Alu procured some wine and food from eateries along the shore and sent them aboard. The boatmen, who took turns rowing and steering, ate in shifts as the boats continued northeast along the Haikou River without stopping.

Bai Bingxue marveled at Uncle Alu's thoughtfulness.

The Haikou River's gentle current carried them for thirty li before merging into the Nanpan River. Due to the swift current, thirty sailors and boatmen were deployed. They exerted all their strength, traveling ten li eastward against the current, and entered the Banqiao River.

Uncle Alu also joined the sailors, and Bai Bingxue inwardly praised him for showing consideration for his subordinates.

Afterward, the river became calm again. They continued north for another hundred li, docking at Awu Village. By then, it was already dark.

Along the way, twelve ships formed a long line, their torches lit. Within the territory of the Southern Expedition Country, no bandits dared to harass them, and they smoothly reached the Milu River.

Uncle Alu and Uncle Age, each with five ships laden with goods like furs, rice, salt, and wine, were heading to celebrate their father the King's birthday.

Bai Bingxue inwardly admired her two uncles for their filial piety.

The Su Xian Sect's congratulatory gifts of cloth, silk, and brocade filled two ships, escorted by a hundred elite disciples. Two mysterious wooden chests, each as tall as a person, were also on board, their contents unknown treasures.

Uncle Age had them change into the attire of Ziqi Kingdom soldiers to avoid arousing suspicion from other tribes.

Bai Bingxue marveled at Uncle Age's prudence.

With the sound of oars and the reflection of paddles, a night of refreshing wind passed. After winding their way to the Milu River, the remaining land route was flat.

Bai Bingxue was not in a hurry. She calmly waited for the boatmen to load all the goods onto the carriages. By then, the east had already begun to show a pale, fish-belly white sky.

Having been jostled on the boats all night, everyone felt drowsy on horseback as they headed towards Milu City, yawning.

Uncle Alu arranged for Bai Bingxue, Monk Sixi, and himself to ride in a carriage. He also arranged for his subordinates to go ahead into the city to inform King Ziqi and his third brother, Abu.

Bai Bingxue observed the scenery along the way: thatched cottages interspersed with adobe houses, villages facing each other, and cattle and horses covering the fields.

She recalled her mother telling her how, in her childhood, people in the Southern Expedition Country had no defenses against each other. Neighbors, dozens of families, shared a courtyard, with houses connected by only a foot-wide path.

Grain was piled in the courtyard, and not a single kernel was ever lost. Farming tools hung on the adobe walls; one could take them and return them to their original place after use. If anyone in the village had a significant event, big or small, everyone would come to help.

Bai Bingxue sighed, reflecting on how this tradition, unchanged for centuries, still allowed for honesty and safety, where no one picked up lost items and doors were left unlocked at night.

After about two hours of travel, General Alu rode his horse to the carriage and shouted, "Bingxue, we've arrived at Milu City!"

Bai Bingxue lifted the carriage door and looked up. A castle rising from the flat ground appeared before her eyes.

The entire Milu City was built in tiers along Flying Tiger Mountain. The two sides resembled the outstretched wings of a tiger, the middle section jutting forward like its body, and the palace on the mountaintop was its head.

Below the city stood a sturdy wall, and outside it, a moat. The river and the mountain together formed a "coiled dragon and crouching tiger" formation. Beyond the moat lay an open expanse of crisscrossing fields.

"Uncle Alu, seeing Milu City makes me feel so close!" Bai Bingxue said happily with a smile.

Alu smiled and replied, "Indeed! Look, the Flying Tiger flag on the city wall flutters in the wind, welcoming you back."

Bai Bingxue gazed at the orderly rows of adobe houses on Flying Tiger Mountain, resembling a giant beehive, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Uncle Alu, what are the houses on the mountain made of, and how many people live there?"

General Alu replied, "These are our adobe houses, home to as many as three thousand families.

The adobe houses are warm in winter and cool in summer. The back wall is the mountain, the sides are supported by packed earth pillars, and the roof is wood covered with earth. Even if a fire breaks out, it won't affect the neighbors.

Moreover, the wood used is ironwood, which is strong and durable, more than ten times stronger than hundred-year-old pine."

Bai Bingxue repeatedly praised him.

When Bai Bingxue was still half a li from Milu City, Alu reminded her, "Bingxue, your Uncle Abu is over there!" He pointed towards the city gate.

Bai Bingxue followed her uncle's finger and saw a man standing at the city gate. She jumped out of the carriage and shouted, "Uncle Abu... Uncle Abu..." and ran towards him.

Abu, having received his elder brother's message, had hurried to the city gate to greet them. Behind him, four soldiers held four luxurious carriages.

He led the Luoqie Tribe, the tribe with the largest territory and population in the Southern Expedition Country, and commanded the ten thousand guards of Milu City.

Within a few breaths, Bai Bingxue ran over and hugged Uncle Abu, sobbing.

After eight years apart, General Abu stroked her face, seeing a faint resemblance to her third sister.

Bai Bingxue touched General Abu's empty left sleeve, feeling a pang of sadness, and asked, "Uncle Abu, are you doing well?"

Eight years ago, General Abu had lost his left arm. He had not become dejected but had become even more resolute than before.

Abu replied, "Bingxue, do I look younger than before?"

Bai Bingxue's tears turned into a smile.

General Alu, along with Su Jiangcheng, Su Dingfeng, and Sixi, arrived and introduced themselves to General Abu. They exchanged greetings.

General Abu then invited them into the four luxurious carriages and entered the city through the south gate.

General Age led the soldiers, escorting the carriages carrying the treasures through the back mountain of the west gate to the royal palace.

Inside the carriage, Bai Bingxue looked around. After entering the south gate, a street ten zhang wide stretched out. Along the street were two-story inns, hotels, official salt shops, cloth shops, fur shops, medical clinics, and pharmacies, as well as the six government offices of the Southern Expedition Country and officials' residences. Walking up the street for two li led to the royal palace.

A three-zhang-high stone wall separated the royal palace from the residential area.

Bai Bingxue dismounted and looked around. The royal palace couldn't compare to the imperial palace of the Southern Expedition Country; at most, it was a princely estate.

To the left and right of the main southern gate of the royal palace were the Wende Hall and Wude Hall, administrative offices. In the center was a garden with a pond. To the east was a circular altar for worshipping heaven, from which one could overlook the entire Milu City.

Her maternal grandfather, King Ziqi, and his female relatives lived in the innermost city. Uncle Abu took her to meet her grandfather.

Upon seeing his granddaughter, Bai Bingxue brought tears to King Ziqi's eyes. Eight years had passed, and King Ziqi had aged considerably. These eight years of worrying about state affairs, coupled with missing his daughter, had made him much thinner.

Alu, Age, Bai Bing, and Abu shared the same mother. Unfortunately, she passed away from illness when Bai Bing was sixteen. After King Ziqi united thirty-seven tribes to establish the Ziqi Kingdom, this royal palace had no queen.

Five years ago, Alu and Age each selected a beautiful woman from their territories and presented them to their father, the King. King Ziqi appointed them as secondary consorts to accompany him. The Fierce Tiger of Milu River had become much tamer than before.

Bai Bingxue cried for a while, then laughed. The grandfather and granddaughter adjusted their emotions. Bai Bingxue noticed Sixi standing foolishly to the side. She quickly said to her grandfather, "Grandfather, there's also a messenger who came with me."

King Ziqi followed Bai Bingxue's gaze towards the doorway and saw a young monk with delicate features standing there.

King Ziqi beckoned, and Sixi hurried forward, bowed, and presented Master Puxin's token and letter.

Upon seeing the token, King Ziqi's expression changed drastically.