Great Tang.
Early morning.
A streak of golden light flashed across the western horizon.
It tore through the sea of clouds and plunged straight into Chang'an.
When the golden light faded, the girl had already appeared atop a tall building within Chang'an City.
Two figures landed close behind her.
The moment he steadied himself,
Niu Ben impatiently lowered his head and gently pulled open the front of his robe.
A bald fledgling poked out its bare little head.
"Big Sis, take a look. This is the capital of Great Tang, called Chang'an."
The fledgling blinked, her eyes full of curiosity.
As the Demon Emperor of the Great Marsh, she had never allowed Niu Ben to wander around in the past. In truth, she herself rarely left the Great Marsh either.
She had interacted with human cultivators even less.
But now,
before her lay a vast city of blue bricks and gray tiles, with wisps of cooking smoke rising into the air.
It lacked the lofty immortal air of a sect's mountain gate, yet possessed an indescribable liveliness.
The fledgling twisted her bare neck and found herself utterly captivated.
Hu Cuihua beside her stared so hard his eyes nearly popped out.
At that moment, both claws gripped the railing as his large head stretched far out.
After a long while,
he finally muttered, "A hundred thousand homes lie like a Go board; twelve streets spread like vegetable plots..."
He shook his head and swayed it, even the tail behind him unconsciously wagging.
"This little demon had only ever seen books describe the splendor of the mortal world. I always thought humans were gilding their own faces, filling the pages with nothing but exaggerated boasting."
"Now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I realize that the breath of human