Walking the Ten Thousand Daos

Chapter 62: Entering the City

Indeed, Li Qi spent that night lost in thought.

Aside from contemplating his own path forward, he also considered the squad of soldiers he had encountered earlier.

What was the deal with that squad of soldiers?

Were they soldiers of Tang?

Yet, their banner clearly bore a gnarled, intertwining pine tree, resembling the standard of Song Kingdom.

The Li River of the Great Lu Kingdom, after flowing for ten thousand li, would split into two branches: one eventually merging into the vast sea, the other ultimately flowing into Song Kingdom.

The known intelligence was that Song Kingdom had fought a battle with Tang and suffered a devastating defeat.

This was quite normal. From Li Qi's current understanding, Tang was essentially on par with Wushen Mountain.

The actual dominion of Wushen Mountain encompassed the entire southwestern part of the world, including the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. It was a major power of considerable standing, and the Ten Thousand Great Mountains accounted for merely one-third of Wushen Mountain's territory. Further west lay Annan, the Houle, and Wushen Mountain itself, these areas were even larger.

Song Kingdom, though proclaimed a nation, was roughly equivalent to just one of Tang's counties. Losing the battle was entirely expected.So... could it be inferred that the current Song Kingdom was effectively controlled by Tang? And that from this center, Tang was extending its influence into the Shaman Dao territories, gradually drawing the surrounding Great Lu Kingdom closer to the Human Dao?

In that case, as a ritual priest of Wushen Mountain, being in this region seemed quite disadvantageous. This was the front line of the struggle between the Shaman Dao and the Human Dao, the very center of their chessboard.

Risk? Opportunity?

He would set these thoughts aside for now. First, he needed to find Lady Luofu.

Li Qi pondered endlessly, yet found no clear direction. He simply finished his meal, buried his head, and fell asleep.

Such considerations were useless anyway. He had to find Lady Luofu first and then see what he could gain.

He had been noticed by Young Master Zhu because of his status as an outsider. This first mission absolutely could not be botched.

Still, something felt off.

This rabbit Shen Shuibi was already a Fifth-Rank expert. What rank would Lady Luofu be?

Third-Rank? Second-Rank?

Could she be a First-Rank being, capable of moving mountains, filling seas, seizing stars, and grasping the moon, as legends claimed?

Regardless of her rank, one could estimate her power based on her current speed.

The journey to Tang was no less than a hundred thousand li, yet she had fled all the way from Jiannan Dao to this place, an estimated two or three hundred thousand li, but according to Shen Shuibi, it only took one day.

That was a minimum speed of twelve thousand five hundred li per hour.

Six thousand kilometers an hour? How many times the speed of sound was that? And this was long-distance flight. What about her instantaneous speed?

It was simply terrifying.

Unimaginable.

Moreover, Lady Luofu was said to have been severely wounded during her escape, and she was carrying someone.

If she were in her full, peak condition, she might very well be able to make a round trip between Earth and the Moon in a single night.

A round trip of Earth-Moon distance in one night, that was truly absurd.

With these disparate thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Qi gradually drifted into slumber.

Time swiftly passed, and it was already the next day.

Today's sacrifice had been performed, and the corresponding Divine Qi had been obtained.

The river had been opened in late winter, early spring. Now, approximately a month had passed, and spring was in its full bloom.

Hibernating wild beasts gradually began to emerge, trees sprouted buds, and all living things revived. Some fields had even begun to be sown. Passing by villages from afar, one could observe a scene of flourishing vitality.

However, Li Qi had no leisure to appreciate the scenery. The old horse ran as fast as a high-speed train, making it impossible to take in the views.

Shen Shuibi, on the other hand, quite enjoyed such sights, continuously murmuring: "The various towns of Baiyue have paddy fields, dry fields, and hillside fields. Their hillside fields are suitable for planting yams, sweet potatoes, and taro..."

It must be some ancient text's record of Baiyue.

But why was it all about food? She didn't seem to eat, did she?

Never mind, let her keep reciting it.

Thus, in less than an hour, Yixian was reached.

...

Yixian, one of the thirteen counties of Li Prefecture.

Li Prefecture, in the Great Lu Kingdom, covered an area of twelve hundred square li, encompassing three commanderies and a total of thirteen counties.

Li Qi had previously set out from Li Prefecture's provincial capital, passed through Feng County, but then changed direction to first seek Lady Luofu.

So now, he had arrived at Yixian.

After Yixian, by taking a slight detour, he could return to the provincial capital. At that time, he would seek out the members of the Wave-Breaking Gang to resolve the lingering issues of the Bull Strength Art.

Looking at the map, he had precisely traversed half of Li Prefecture, which was about five or six hundred li.

This highlighted the importance of having a mount. It had taken nearly a month to cover approximately four hundred li, but the last hundred or two hundred li, riding the old horse, was completed in an instant, arriving before the morning was even over.

Truly worthy of being a Dragon Steed!

However, Li Qi did not let the old horse swagger directly into the city. Instead, he instructed it to wait outside the city, while he himself had Shen Shuibi keep her head down as they entered together.

There was no help for it. A young man accompanied by a beautiful young woman and riding a Dragon Steed, to brazenly arrive at Yixian, for a county town of no more than a hundred thousand people, such an appearance was overly ostentatious.

Even though he was still wearing linen clothes, who was to say it wasn't due to some eccentric habit of his? Right?

Simply having Shen Shuibi by his side could be explained by her natural beauty, but adding a Dragon Steed would definitely invite unnecessary trouble.

In truth, if he could have, Li Qi would not even have wanted to bring Shen Shuibi with him. He would have preferred for her to hide outside the city with the old horse while he went in, completed his business, and then left.

But there was no alternative; Shen Shuibi also needed to change her clothes and her attire for the journey ahead.

She had to do it herself. Otherwise, would Li Qi measure her size with his hands?

That probably wouldn't be appropriate...

So, after considering it, he decided to bring Shen Shuibi into the city.

He was now a cultivator of sorts, big or small; he should be able to handle a few ruffians or hooligans.

Entering the city was still the same: no fees were required. However, if one wished to sell goods, one needed to enter a designated commercial district. There, a fixed tax of five qian was required and afterward, the government would levy a ten percent merchant tax on the transaction amount.

Yixian's tax rate was not high; it was already quite reasonable.

In Li Prefecture's provincial capital, in addition to layers upon layers of customs duties and river taxes along the way, a separate merchant tax would also be collected, basically a fifty percent tax.

Li Qi paid the five qian and then, in the commercial district, displayed his beast hides and bones, as well as some cooked goat meat that hadn't been finished yesterday. Although it was cold, it was still fresh and hadn't spoiled; it was edible.

In addition, he had some fresh wild mountain produce.

Although he didn't know how to dry them, preserving things like wood ears for a day or two wasn't difficult, so he brought some along to sell as well.

In short, he needed to make some money first to change their attire.

Bones, meat, and furs were not cheap, and they were also rare. Ordinary merchants and mountain dwellers were not capable of acquiring such items. Thus, as soon as he displayed them, a crowd gathered.

"Young brother, how much for this goat hide?"

"Elder brother, how much for this fox fur?"

"How much meat is there? Cut me one catty."

Business began almost immediately, without waiting for more than a few minutes.

Li Qi had already decided on the prices before entering the city, so he naturally responded smoothly to the customers, beginning to bargain.

Shen Shuibi squatted by his side, pretending others couldn't see her.

Rabbits were always like that.

...