Beneath stars and moon, they traveled a thousand miles; with four men as horses, the wind itself seemed to cheer them on. Two days later.
Standing atop a hillside, Chu Ge gazed at the plain beyond the city walls below. In the distance, hundreds of torches flickered like fireflies. He exclaimed in amazement,
"It seems the towns around here are getting less and less safe. So many merchant caravans are traveling to the prefectural city through the night, braving wind and stars."
The nights in this world were nothing like those in the one he had come from, where streetlights could be found everywhere. Out in the wilderness, it was pitch-black—so dark that he might not even see someone standing five meters away.
And the wilderness teemed with beasts. There were even the legendary Exotic Demons and other fiends. It was an extremely dangerous place.
Few people were willing to travel at night, unless they had no other choice.
Fortunately, they were now just a stone's throw from the prefectural city.
Beneath the brilliant canopy of stars, Jiangcheng Prefecture glowed with lights not far away.
Flags fluttered atop the city walls. He could make out the battlements and the guards keeping watch from the towers, which gave him a sense of security.
After climbing to a high vantage point to survey the area, Chu Ge swiftly dashed down the hillside.
At the foot of the slope, a carriage sat alone beside the mountain road.
A Thousand Mile Kite and a red lantern hung from the front of the carriage. Another kite dangled from the back, swaying quietly in the breeze.
He had learned his lesson on the way here. From time to time, he used the Thousand Mile Kite to survey the surroundings, making sure no bandits had their eyes on him again. The journey had gone smoothly.
As for the four Yellow Turban thugs who had pulled the carriage before, Chu Ge had considerately sent them to the Dragon Clock to join their own steward.
Now he had to haul the carriage, which held several large chests, to the prefectural city by himself.
After all, keeping four Yellow Turban thugs enslaved would have attracted far too much attention. Someone might notice—perhaps even an expert from the Yellow Turban Sect.
Chu Ge didn't want to make a flashy entrance the moment he arrived. The next day, someone might find his corpse in a foul-smelling ditch outside the city.
Gripping the carriage's shafts, he quickly headed toward the prefectural city.
"Heeheehee—giddyup! Giddyup! Zhuzi! Come on, run faster!"
On the carriage, Little Sprite Qian swung her smooth little legs and giggled.
She had a new paper doll body now.
She looked about thirteen or fourteen, still with a child's innocence. She wore a little padded jacket in shades of jade, red, and green, with a ring of tiny braids woven around her brow. Dimples appeared and vanished in her cheeks as she smiled.
After two days of practice on the road, she had learned to use the paper-box voice device Chu Ge had made for her. She could now manage simple conversations.
"Little brat, if I speed up, you won't be able to take it!"
Chu Ge gave a snort and suddenly picked up the pace.
Xiao Qian let out a startled squeal. Her paper doll body nearly got swept off and blown away. She grabbed the kite string hanging from the carriage just in time to steady herself, then ducked into the carriage, furious, and spat out a curse.
"Bad Zhuzi!"
Chu Ge laughed heartily. "Just use a little of your otherworldly power, and your paper body will weigh as much as a real person. Once I have some money, I'll make you a new core out of Gold Paper. Then your body will be stronger, too."
Xiao Qian cheered from inside the carriage, then poked her little head out and asked haltingly, "Why... why does it have to be Gold Paper? Couldn't you use the hide of an Exotic Demon or a Spirit Fish membrane?"
"Hm?"
Chu Ge was taken aback, then nodded. "You have a point. It's just that, compared to Gold Paper, which you can buy with money, those two things are much harder to get.
"Maybe there'll be more resources in the prefectural city. I might be able to find some there. By the way, do Exotic Demons really exist?"
"Y-yes. When Xiao Qian was with the big bad man, I saw some at an auction house. They were all powerful and precious, and the demon cultivators liked them."
Chu Ge knew that the "big bad man" Xiao Qian meant was the Soul Chasing Old Man. He asked,
"How strong are they? Stronger than Mortal Realm martial artists? Have they reached the Force Condensation Realm?"
"I-I don't know. But I feel like even the weakest one would be very dangerous if you ran into it."
Chu Ge was speechless. His gaze drifted toward the dark mountains around them, and a chill crept up his spine.
Still, he had already used the Thousand Mile Kite to survey the life auras in the surrounding mountains. He hadn't sensed anything powerful, so traveling at night felt relatively safe. He said,
"I've never seen an Exotic Demon or a fiend. I've heard those strange creatures live in remote, desolate regions, far from Great Zhou. There shouldn't be any around the prefectural city, right?"
"Th-that's right. But Xiao Qian heard the big bad man say that the world's been in turmoil lately. Exotic Demons have started appearing in some places, and one of them devoured an entire village."
"That really is dangerous! I need to hurry up and break through to the Force Condensation Realm. Spiritual Aptitude, Spiritual Aptitude... Xiao Qian, you seem to have strong spiritual perception. Can you tell if I have Spiritual Aptitude?"
Xiao Qian was stumped. "."
Getting no answer, Chu Ge couldn't help laughing. He turned his gaze toward the prefectural city glowing in the darkness ahead, crouched like a giant beast, and kept running at a steady pace.
Before long, he left the mountain road and reached the main road, where he came across several merchant caravans.
He found a caravan whose people seemed easy enough to talk to, told them how bandits had killed his horse, then paid them a high price for a replacement.
That way, he wouldn't have to be the ox pulling the cart anymore.
Once he had hitched up the carriage again, Chu Ge dug his travel permit out of his pack. He followed the stream of people heading for the city gate, where everyone was being checked before they could enter.
In this world, at a time like this, everyone traveled through the night, covered in dust. Hygiene was hardly anyone's priority; it was common for people to go months without bathing.
As a result, they all ended up gathering at the city gate.
A foul miasma hung all around them, a mixture of body odor, stinking feet, bad breath, and the smoke from burning cheap tobacco. It was so thick it felt hard to breathe.
People from every direction crowded together, their local dialects from every backwater nook and cranny all mixed up. Listening to them made Chu Ge's head spin.
There were a few women in the crowd who looked passable, but their faces were dull and sallow, and they had the vacant look of people who had never learned to think. In those stinking surroundings, Chu Ge couldn't be bothered to give them a second glance.
He wasn't some pampered young master, but he had come from another world, and he instinctively found the place unpleasant. After standing in line for ages, he finally had his travel permit checked and entered the city.
Along the way, he had vaguely heard that people might soon have to pay a fee to enter the city.
As the poor muttered among themselves, their faces grew bitter.
"They're going to charge people just to enter the city now?"
Chu Ge hadn't understood why. But once he was inside and saw the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds—and people bedding down right on the street with nothing but torn quilts and cotton stuffing beneath them—he understood.
Jiangcheng Prefecture was a prefectural city, and it was enormous.
But if things kept up like this, it wouldn't be long before the streets were so packed that no one could even move.
It was the dead of winter. Some villages were even seeing people starve to death.
And with the world in such turmoil, more and more people were bound to pour into the prefectural city. A wave of refugees might soon follow.
The situation everywhere seemed to be getting worse.
"Hey! Carriages can't go on the main road. You're blocking traffic. Take it over to the post station!"
Just then, a city official came over and shouted at Chu Ge.
Chu Ge's heart stirred. Smiling, he walked up and clasped his hands. "Sir, do you happen to know whether a merchant caravan from the Wang Family of Linyuan City has arrived recently?"
As he spoke, he discreetly took a ten-tael silver ingot from his sleeve and slipped it to the man.
"How would I know?" The official's face was impatient. He was about to say he didn't know when he spotted the gleaming silver. His expression instantly turned into a smile. He pocketed the money with a grin, looked Chu Ge over, then courteously clasped his hands and said,
"So you're a wealthy young master from Linyuan City! I knew your accent sounded familiar.
"Believe me, I know where all the people who've come into the city lately have gone. If the Wang Family caravan you mentioned has arrived, they're probably at Moon Xi Inn in the west of the city. People from Linyuan City always like to stay over there."
"I see! Thank you, sir! You really know everything that goes on in the city. You're certainly diligent in your duties."
"Not at all, not at all! It's just my duty, and I'm happy to do it. And you're a fine, honest young man yourself."
The official's smile grew broader. "Come, come. Take your carriage down that road over there. It's wide, and it runs straight along the river."
"Oh? I shouldn't head to the inn? I've just arrived, and I wouldn't want to cause you any trouble."
"Come now, it's no trouble. Folks from Linyuan City know how to follow the rules. No need to be so polite."
"Very well!"
Grinning, Chu Ge climbed onto the carriage and waved goodbye to the official, who felt like an old friend at first sight. Then he followed the direct route toward the western district.
"Ha! These wealthy country gentlemen sure know how to spend! And they sure know how to talk!"
The official watched Chu Ge leave, glanced down at the silver ingot, and bit it. Satisfied, he tucked it into his waist pouch. Then his smile vanished; he straightened his face, clasped his hands behind his back, and went back to keeping order in the city.
"That's him, right?"
"That's him. Just like the portrait, only a little more mature."
"Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and invite him to Lin Mansion as a guest. We can claim the reward, too!"
"No, no. We should follow him first. The Lin Family steward was clear: we're supposed to influence him subtly, so he'll go to the Lin Family of his own accord, not invite him right away. Go report to the Lin Family first. Tell them he's arrived."
Amid the crowd, two figures trailed far behind Chu Ge's carriage, murmuring to each other.
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