The news that the Northern Yan Kingdom had submitted to the King of Qin spread throughout the land on the tenth day after Chen Qing went north!
The news spread extremely quickly. No matter how remote the place, even in the Northern Lands surrounded by the giant python, the northern people received the news immediately.
This news came from merchants in the Northern Wasteland.
" Dahu, is this real or fake?"
North Wild Goose City, a large group of people surrounded the merchant who had brought goods from the Northern Wasteland and asked him questions.
Now that the Northern Lands is besieged by the giant python, all supplies can only be obtained from the Northern Lands, a complete reversal from before the chaos caused by the demons.
The Central Plains, once rich in resources, and even the arid and cold Northern Lands, had far superior material conditions compared to the Northern Wasteland. The cotton grown here, the wrought iron forged here, the salt refined here, the sugar, and even some luxury goods transported by sea were far more abundant than those in the Northern Wasteland.
Typically, the Northern Wasteland would exchange medicinal herbs from the Arctic region and some rare animal pelts for these items, while the Northern Lands were the true source of grain exports.
But things are completely different now. For some reason, there is a lot more monster flesh and blood in the Northern Wasteland. Now, the people of the North have to rely on things like cotton to exchange for food.
In the past month, new goods have appeared in the northern part of the city.
"It really is warm jade, and there's wine too, oh my god!"
A group of men from the Northern Lands stared at the jars of wine, their eyes red and mouths watering!
Almost every man in the Northern Lands is fond of drinking, as the cold weather makes them all quite capable of holding their liquor. However, since the snake plague, they have had to rely on merchants from the Northern Wasteland to import food, which is extremely unstable. Now, with limited arable land and the terrifying insect demons that can take lives at any time, farming is a life-or-death endeavor. How could they dare to use their precious crops to brew wine?
They were all just drifting through life, barely scraping by, never imagining that one day they would smell alcohol.
" Dahu, are these... are these really from Jiangnan?"
"Heh, what do you think?" The burly young man called Dahu looked smug, picked up a jar of wine, opened the lid, and instantly a strong and mellow aroma made the group of northerners swallow hard.
"Authentic Blood Ginseng Wine, these few jars in the Northern Wasteland could be exchanged for a large mansion."
"How did you get your hands on something this good?" A group of people drooled, their eyes bloodshot. If fighting wasn't strictly prohibited in North Wild Goose City, some of them would have been ready to snatch it.
Because it looks like I can't afford it anyway.
" Jiangnan did it, what else could it be?" Dahu rolled his eyes and said.
" Jiangnan. How did you get to Jiangnan?" Many northerners looked puzzled. Now, there were giant pythons that could devour people everywhere. They were only able to barely avoid the pursuit of those terrifying giant snakes by relying on the Black Lantern given to them by the leaders of the Nether Moon Sect in the city. It was said that those peddlers carried a Black Lantern and risked their lives to go out and buy goods. If they were not careful, the Black Lantern would go out and they could instantly become food for the giant pythons.
Going to the nearby Northern Wasteland to pick up some goods is fine, since there are supposedly special envoys protecting them and they won't be attacked along the way. But what about Jiangnan? That's so far away, how did they manage to come back alive?
" North Sea City, I suppose," Dahu said with a grin.
"Are you kidding me?" one of the burly men said. "Back when we were fleeing, North Sea City was the first city to be destroyed. Those giant pythons were so big they could swallow an entire ship. Let alone whether you could even reach North Sea City, even if you did, how would you cross the sea? And with so much cargo?"
"You're all locked up in here, you know nothing about what's happening outside," Dahu said with a smug smile, sitting down with a sigh. The group of people, intrigued, quickly stepped forward. "Stop keeping us in suspense, what exactly happened?"
"This is a long story. First of all, when the King of Qin from Jiangnan encountered trouble in our Northern Lands, he had already sent troops to rescue us. At that time, he joined forces with the Duke of Wei to save hundreds of millions of our compatriots in the Northern Lands!"
"Really?"
" The King of Qin of Jiangnan? Is he really that righteous?"
"Isn't he a traitor?"
"Pah!" Dahu glared at the person who had just spoken. "Don't you dare say that outside! Everyone in Jiangnan is living better than the old lords of the Northern Lands back then. They all treat His Highness King of Qin like a god. If you go to Jiangnan and say that, you'll definitely get beaten to death!"
The man was taken aback, but then smiled wryly and said, " Jiangnan... I'd like to go there, wait a minute."
A group of people realized what was happening. "You really went to Jiangnan?"
"Is that even possible?"
"Could it be the giant pythons along the way?"
"Hey, let me tell you, now, North Sea City is completely under the control of His Highness King of Qin. It's perfectly safe there. Once you get to North Sea City, there will be soldiers escorting you along the way. It's absolutely safe!"
"Safe? Aren't there giant snakes in the sea?" a man who had once served in the army asked blankly.
He was a deserter from the army, who had escaped from North Sea City and witnessed firsthand how dangerous those giant snakes were in the water!
"There really isn't any now," Dahu sighed. "I was just curious at first, so I went with others, only to find out later that it was all because of the Duke of Duke of Wei."
He then recounted the legendary tale of how the Duke of Wei transformed into a dragon and became an ice path, deterring the giant snake from approaching.
Everyone who heard the whole thing felt like they were listening to a myth.
But nowadays, with demons everywhere, such myths are no longer surprising. When people hear that the Duke of Wei shed his blood in the North Sea and turned it into an ice path so that the people of the North Sea could safely cross the North Sea and escape to the Jiangnan to avoid disaster, they can't help but shed tears.
It turns out that the Duke of Duke of Wei never abandoned them; it was they who abandoned Duke of Wei.
A group of men felt tears welling up in their eyes, especially the deserters, who lowered their heads in shame.
"So, it means we can now travel through North Sea City to Jiangnan?"
"Sure," Dahu nodded. "I came here to pick up my mother, brother, and sister-in-law. But Jiangnan is incredibly expensive right now. If we want to stay there, the only option is to be escorted by soldiers to the West Sea Island to reclaim wasteland. They say they even give us land and houses. I came here to pick up my brother and sister-in-law, and also to see if I can risk making some money. With more money, my mother can live in Jiangnan. Her life there will definitely be more comfortable than if she went to the island."
He paused for a moment, then added, "But it's still better than staying here."
All the Northern Lands who heard this news were tempted. If they could, who would want to stay in this place where they could be eaten by snakes at any moment?
Although it was hard to leave their homeland, they had heard countless times about the peaceful life in Jiangnan. Even if it wasn't as good as the rumors suggested, as Dahu said, it was still better than what they had now.
"You..." Dahu looked troubled. "I'm afraid you might not be able to get out."
The group suddenly realized that the outside world was full of terrifying snake demons, and only by obtaining the Black Lantern given by the leader of the Nether Moon Sect would they have any chance of going out.
In the city, ten households share one Black Lantern, and no one can easily take it away. If they want to leave as a group, will the mysterious Nether Moon Cult agree to it?
Many people suspect that these eerie cultists are in cahoots with the snake demons. Although the northern people appear respectful on the surface, they are actually extremely fearful inside.
At this point, if we were to suggest that we all leave this place and go to Jiangnan to make a living, would they be willing to let us go?