Yi Shuyuan's travels were no longer centered on the Eastern Domain. Instead, he roamed throughout the world, naturally seeing and hearing far more.
Changes arose between heaven and earth at every moment, and viewed over a longer span, the tides of the world seemed forever swept by rising winds and surging clouds.
Some nations endured unending warfare, some places saw old dynasties fall and new kingdoms rise, while others remained unchanged.
Even Great Yong had undergone several upheavals. A struggle over the succession had nearly pulled one thread and unraveled everything. Had the soldiers of Lingdong not fought to the death without retreating, driven by their devotion to their country, Great Yong might well have foundered. Even so, it had lost the vast lands of the Northwest Grasslands.
After the two short-lived reign eras of Martial Origin and Heavenly Firm, Yi Shuyuan returned to Great Yong in the twenty-fifth year of Heavenly Prosperity, coming once more to the ancient city of Mingzhou.
Along the ancient waterway running through Mingzhou City, an old man worked an oar, slowly steering a small black-canopied boat in from outside the city.
A large crowd had gathered beside Lotus Wind Bridge, one of Mingzhou's finest sights. A haggard woman with graying hair knelt there with a little girl, pleading again and again with the murmuring crowd.
"Please, good sirs, show us some kindness and buy this child. Give her a way to live. Please, good sirs, show us some kindness."
The people around them murmured among themselves. Some looked curious, some were clearly tempted, and others could only sigh. These were unsettled times, but most people could still survive. There were always some, however, who could not.
Someone examined the little girl very carefully. She had not said a word from beginning to end.
"Let