Qingqing, Carry Me

Dinner was a nourishing hotpot. It tasted so-so.

By the time they left the restaurant, dusk had fallen. Wisps of cloud overhead were stained purple-red, streetlights flickered on below, the roads stretched like jade ribbons, and cars flowed along them like water.

Chen Shu found a large supermarket on his map, and he and Ning Qing walked there at an easy pace, taking in the unfamiliar city as they went.

The Imperial Capital was much hotter than Bai City, but its flat terrain meant there was always a breeze at night. Once darkness fell, it cooled down quickly. Strolling along like this, watching groups of cyclists speed past with their taillights blinking, had a charm of its own.

They reached their destination.

Chen Shu found the supermarket entrance, and they went in.

The supermarket was huge and sold all sorts of things. It seemed as though goods from every corner of the world could be found there.

He loved supermarkets like this.

They took their time browsing.

Ning Qing followed behind him as he passed through the toiletries aisle and then the kitchenware aisle without buying much. Still, he leaned in to inspect every shelf. He wouldn't even skip the meat, seafood, or vegetable sections: he had to see what was on sale, how fresh it looked, and how the prices compared with Bai City.

Now and then, he turned to tell her:

"Meat's nineteen here..."

Ning Qing was used to it. She simply followed him, pushing a cart with barely anything in it, occasionally humming in agreement.

"Want some potato chips?"

"Mm."

"How about shrimp crackers? These are good."

"Mm."

"Oh, they have spicy chicken here too. Want some?"

"Yes."

"Then... let's get some fruit?"

"Sure."

"And some water for tonight."

"Mm."

The cart gradually filled up. Apart from a few toiletries, it held fruit, snacks, and drinks.

They headed out and paid.

It came to several hundred yuan.

Chen Shu carried the bags out, studying the receipt as he walked.

Over a hundred yuan for one watermelon...

Can't even afford to eat watermelon whenever I want. What a lousy country.

Pah!

By the time they left the supermarket, it was completely dark. The clouds overhead were still visible, though they had turned gray-black. The hotel was more than a kilometer away.

They continued at their leisurely pace.

Jade Capital was a fascinating place.

As the foremost city under heaven, it drew people from across the world. Every kind of person could be seen on its streets.

There were differences not just in skin color, but in species.

Yi Nation was not a country of immigrants. Only yellow-skinned humans and Celestials lived there.

Celestials were tall and slender, usually with nine-head-tall proportions, fair skin, small faces, and striking looks. Every one of them was gifted. In ancient times, they had lived on an island that floated through the skies and circled the globe. Ancient peoples everywhere had revered them as gods, until Yi Nation's army brought them down in the last world war.

Ning Qing had one-eighth Celestial blood.

There were Nightfolk and Barbarians, too.

You could even see demons.

The Demon Race lived on the Eastern Continent and kept somewhat to themselves. Only somewhere like Jade Capital could you spot members of the Demon Race while out shopping.

You certainly couldn't in Bai City.

Yet as a thousand-year-old Imperial Capital, Jade Capital was more than a dream of splendor. The mottled traces of time were everywhere.

Some of the houses and walls Chen Shu and Ning Qing passed were covered in vines, green or withered. Some bore children's scribbles; others were blackened by cooking smoke. Weeds often grew between the paving stones at the foot of the walls, and no one cleared them away. The people of Yi Nation didn't much like clearing them away, either.

Steeped in the smoke and warmth of everyday life, the city had a strange charm.

Speaking of which—

Calling it the Imperial Capital wasn't a joke.

Jade Capital really was one.

It even still had a royal family.

This world was unusual, after all. More than sixty percent of its countries had kings, and forty percent were ruled by them.

It wasn't hard to understand.

When you counted it out, Yi Nation had ended feudal rule only a little over a century ago.

A century wasn't even enough time for the high-ranking cultivators of a major power to die off naturally. With other, more complicated reasons added in, it was difficult for the people alone to abolish Yi Nation's monarchy. At least, they couldn't do it yet. In fact, the emperor two reigns ago had defied all opposition and voluntarily relinquished power with extraordinary resolve. Only then had the country moved from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. Otherwise, Chen Shu would still be living under an emperor's rule.

So Yi Nation was currently a constitutional monarchy.

Its full name was the Great Yi Dynasty of the Central Huaxia Empire.

Why does that sound so ridiculously grand?

Since the royal family's surname was Meng, it was also called the Meng Yi Dynasty.

But nobody went in for that empire business anymore; it rubbed people the wrong way. Abroad, the country generally called itself Yi Nation. Sometimes it called itself China. Either worked.

The country probably had a long road ahead before it abolished the monarchy entirely.

As Chen Shu saw it, the royal family had a hard time these days. They watched their every step as if walking on thin ice. They had to keep their members in line, do plenty of charity work, and project a positive image. Even with the many privileges the constitution granted them, they didn't dare abuse them. Instead, they constantly tried to please the public. Besides, Yi Nation's royal family had a pretty good reputation throughout history: no marrying off their kin for peace, no ceding territory, no paying indemnities. Royal descendants and emperors alike had mostly been brave fighters who loved taking the field. More than half the emperors had died in battle expanding the realm or resisting foreign enemies. Any weak, useless ruler was usually deposed in short order. Who could hear all that and not give them a thumbs-up? That was why, for now, no one had stepped forward to raise the banner of abolishing the monarchy.

Still, it was only a matter of time.

History was bound to run its course. It had simply slowed its pace in this unusual world.

On a nearly empty street, Chen Shu reached for a leaf hanging from a roadside tree. Even with his arm stretched as far as it would go, he fell a centimeter short. He lowered his hand and turned to ask, "The Esoteric Sect system actually grew out of a Celestial system, didn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"History. Books hide a lot of information without spelling it out, but they can't fool these keen eyes of mine."

"Oh, you!"

"I heard online that the Esoteric Sect is the strongest system. Is that true?" Chen Shu was a curious person, and curiosity drove progress.

"It kills without a trace. Someone at the same level has no way to resist."

"That extreme? No wonder they were hunted down!" Chen Shu blinked and glanced around. There was no one nearby. "I heard that, like the Daoist Order, the Esoteric Sect can look back into the past."

"Only at higher levels."

"And see the future?"

"Only those at higher levels can see it clearly. I can only get vague hints." Ning Qing glanced at Chen Shu, as if she knew what he was thinking. "I can't use it to buy lottery tickets, and I can't use it to trade stocks too often. I'd be found out."

"Then how do you guess so accurately?"

"I'm smart."

"Oh, half guessing, half calculating." Chen Shu nodded. "When did you start down the Esoteric Sect path?"

"When I was little."

"How did I not know?"

"It happened when you didn't know."

"Is it hard to qualify for Esoteric Sect training?"

"Very. And the requirements are exacting. They're unlike those of any other system; I can't put them into words. It's a very unusual system," Ning Qing answered evenly. "Of all the babies born worldwide in a century, maybe only a dozen have the talent to train in the Esoteric Sect and can follow its path. And that number has nothing to do with the total population."

"Nothing to do with population? That's amazing! How did you find out you had the talent for it?"

"Someone found me."

"Your master?"

"I don't know if she counts. She left me the initial training method, then disappeared."

"How did he find you?"

"Because she was an Esoteric Sect practitioner."

"Oh... Then what about the methods for later stages?"

"When the time comes, I'll know where to find them."

"That's incredible."

Chen Shu's eyes widened. He marveled at the thought of such an extraordinary system. "How does it work?"

Ning Qing answered him. "Runes and physics both probe and make use of the world's rules. Esoteric Sect practitioners have glimpsed rules that lie deeper. We use our unique inborn talent to harness them."

"So it gives you an overwhelming edge against other cultivation systems?"

"Yes."

"Then was the old hunt for Esoteric Sect practitioners real?"

"I don't know. I'm not as knowledgeable about history as you are." Ning Qing paused. "But I do know that Esoteric Sect practitioners generally don't let themselves fall into danger."

"Oh..."

Someone approached from the opposite direction. Chen Shu wisely dropped the subject and asked instead, "Have you calculated the odds of us getting together?"

"Getting together?"

"Getting married."

"If we get together before we're twenty-three, there's more than a 68.4% chance we'll break up." Ning Qing pursed her lips. "If it's after we're twenty-five, we can stay together for life."

"That precise!?"

"I spent a long time calculating it. Many times."

"I see..."

Chen Shu was a little startled. His instincts told him Qingqing might be a mighty thigh to cling to.

"Hmm..."

Chen Shu glanced down.

Not that thick.

But what a feast of a free ride.

Back at the hotel, Chen Shu gave her most of the snacks and fruit, keeping only a grapefruit and a few packs of his favorite snacks for himself.

"Tell me good night."

"Good night."