As they drew closer to Year-End City, more and more Strange Stone Orchids appeared beside the road, growing as freely as grass.
Bai Qingqian fell in love with the place almost at once. She had grown up in Anhe Divine Capital, whose surroundings were among the most exquisite on the continent, a quintessential southern waterside town; afterward, she had gone to the coastal Mirage Tower and begun to grow accustomed to the salty tang that never left the air.
But she had never encountered a place like Shangyu before. It had both the delicacy of the south and the bold spirit of the Northern Borderlands, blended together perfectly to create a very distinctive feeling.
The climate, the surroundings... including her distinctly different mood since coming here, and the Strange Stone Orchids she had never seen before in her life, which seemed just like her.
The carriage drove into Year-End City. In truth, it was not entirely a city. The peculiarities of the hilly terrain made it difficult to cluster buildings together, so they were built along the hills instead, making it look like several large towns joined together.
"Year-End City has nine towns: Morning Glory Town, Gentian Town, Horseshoe Town, Cocklebur Town, Peacock Town, Goosefoot Town, Primrose Town, Cactus Town, and Dendrobium Town. Which town would you two like to go to?"
Neither of them had really considered that question. After all, they had only just arrived. "Do you have any recommendations, Uncle Zhang? This is our first visit."
Uncle Zhang gave an honest, good-natured smile. "The Nine Towns of Sui Mo are actually all named after flowers, and those names haven't changed for thousands of years. In that order, the nine towns represent their most celebrated flowers: Tricolor Morning Glory, Blue Jade Gentian, Heart-Piercing Calla Lily, Cangshan Saxifrage, Emperor's