Seeking Immortals

Even if Fang Zelin spent rather lavishly, ten taels of silver would last him a year without any trouble.

With money in hand, Fang Zelin no longer needed to worry about that aspect of things.

He thought he would simply find an inn and settle in for the time being.

But just as Fang Zelin was about to head over, a glance revealed quite a few people in ragged clothes around him.

Every one of them looked utterly emaciated.

They looked as though they had been starving for a long time.

A little farther away, there was a stall handing out porridge. These refugees scrambled to line up, hoping to get a bowl.

"This game is way too realistic, isn't it? In any other game, we'd already be leveling up and killing monsters. Who else has to line up like refugees just to get a meal?"

"Tell me about it. This game is practically a hundred percent realistic. We've got it pretty good here, with a generous soul willing to hand out rice porridge. Other places might not have someone so charitable."

The group talked as they gazed eagerly toward the front.

Fang Zelin was slightly taken aback by their words. He glanced at these refugees, and the corner of his mouth twitched despite himself.

They were actually all players.

Coming into a game to suffer like this really was rough.

The problem was, this game did not seem to be as simple as just a game.

At the sight, Fang Zelin shook his head, then found an inn, intending to settle in for now before doing anything else.

Soon, Fang Zelin arrived outside an inn and raised his head to take a good look.

The inn before him was called There Is an Inn.

The name was rather amusing.

Fang Zelin entered the inn and asked about the room rates.

He then took a superior room.

Once he had settled in, Fang Zelin breathed a temporary sigh of relief. For now, he had a safe, steady place to stay.

Fang Zelin looked around the room. The inn was built entirely of wood, something he had already noticed on his way in.

It was a wholly ancient-style building.

The room also had solid wood flooring, which did not creak beneath his feet. The workmanship seemed excellent.

It was unlike modern renovations, where some homeowners had wooden floors installed only for them to start creaking underfoot before long.

Fang Zelin opened the door. The superior room had a balcony-like area for relaxing and drinking tea, along with a railing called a "beauty's rest" to keep anyone from losing their footing and falling.

Fang Zelin leaned against the beauty's rest and looked down.

This place was called Anzi County. When he first arrived, Fang Zelin had already gotten some sense of its prosperity.

Hawkers' cries filled the streets without pause, and a great many traveling merchants came and went.

Fang Zelin lowered his head to look more closely, studying the clothes of the common people below.

He had not looked carefully before, but now that he did, Fang Zelin noticed quite a few things.

The people below wore quite a variety of styles.

For instance, there were the round-collared robes popular during the Tang dynasty. As the name suggested, their collars were round, and beneath them was an inner garment whose overlapping collar showed above the round neckline, lending the wearer an added air of distinction.

There were also women's chest-high ruqun, another Tang style.

Then there were the separate upper garments and lower skirts, as well as wide-sleeved robes, from the Wei and Jin periods.

What Fang Zelin found somewhat unbelievable was that he could even see flying-fish robes on the street.

Judging by their appearance, the wearers were not powerful nobles, yet they could still wear flying-fish robes.

Aside from these, there were also short tunics and the like.

From the look of things, flying-fish robes here were not reserved for the powerful and noble, but seemed more like ordinary clothing.

Viewed this way, what he could see of this place resembled a dynasty that brought together the civilizations of Huaxia's successive eras.

Of course, these were merely observations Fang Zelin had made from their clothing. As for anything else, he had no way of knowing.

The information I saw from other people didn't make much clear about this dynasty yet. But judging by what I've seen here in Anzi County, the current dynasty ought to count as quite prosperous and flourishing.

Fang Zelin watched the endless stream of traveling merchants below, taking in the hawkers' cries and the clothes the common people wore, feeling a little moved.

In ancient times, anyone who could govern a country to this degree could fairly be called an enlightened ruler of his generation.

I can leave that matter alone for now. First, I'll find someone to ask whether there are any immortal mountains or Daoist temples nearby, and seek out a method of immortal cultivation.

Even if this isn't a real world, experiencing the wondrous arts of immortals in a world like this is still very much necessary.

Fang Zelin mulled it over inwardly, then, after a moment's consideration, called for an inn attendant.

Naturally, it was better to ask a local about such things. As someone who had only just arrived in this world, he certainly did not know as much as the other man.

A short while later, the attendant came in response to his call.

"What can I do for you, honored guest?"

The attendant looked at Fang Zelin and asked politely.

Seated to one side, Fang Zelin took out twenty copper coins and placed them on the table.

At the sight, the attendant's eyes immediately lit up, and his smile grew even warmer.

"I've only just arrived here and would like to make a few inquiries. Do you know whether there are any immortal mountains or Daoist temples nearby? Where might traces of immortals be found?"

Thinking of the water ghost and the kappa he had encountered just as he left, Fang Zelin felt that there should not be only ghosts and monsters. Surely there ought to be some immortals too?

The attendant froze for a moment at the question, then grew hesitant. He had known a guest's money would not be so easy to earn.

But he had never expected this guest's question to be so difficult to answer.

After a long while, the attendant gave a rueful smile. "Honored guest, I wouldn't dare deceive you. There are indeed legends about immortals, but those are all just legends. I imagine they're merely inventions of storytellers."

"But there are plenty of stories about spirits and monsters. They say that during last year's Lantern Festival, a flood dragon in Yunmeng Marsh was about to transform into a dragon, only to be struck by an immensely thick bolt of lightning. In the villages within a ten-kilometer radius, quite a few people heard a dragon's cry."

"I also heard there's a ginseng in the Hundred Thousand Mountains that's about to take human form. They say eating a single slice of it grants everlasting life without aging."

At this point, the attendant glanced mysteriously from side to side. After making sure no one else was around, he whispered, "Even the reigning emperor learned of this and sent quite a few capable officials to investigate, but they found nothing."

Hearing what the attendant said, Fang Zelin could not help being taken aback. What was this supposed to be?

There were only tales of spirits and monsters, with no immortals making themselves known to the world?

Surely there could not truly be no immortals?

Perhaps the traces of immortals were simply too elusive, so mortals knew nothing about them.

Just as the attendant himself had said, he had at least heard some rumors.

It was just that, by comparison, rumors about spirits and monsters were rather more numerous.