Chapter 253: Ordinary daily life

However, while it was indeed tempting, it was not appropriate to engage in such activities during the day, especially since it was only morning.

Even if Li Qi couldn't control himself, Shen Shuibi would certainly not agree if he were to make a move.

Wait… it's hard to say.

If he insisted…

At this thought, Li Qi slapped himself again.

"?" Shen Shuibi, who was eating, looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Nothing, my hand cramped," Li Qi said casually with a smile.

Shen Shuibi blinked twice.

Strange, why would it suddenly cramp?

She worriedly reached out and held Li Qi's wrist: "Cramp? Let me see."

"If it's external wind leaking into the muscle tissue, causing pain between the muscles, or numbness and stiffness in the tendons, it could indeed be a cramp. Let me see what's actually going on with you," the rabbit said while taking Li Qi's pulse.

Li Qi had almost forgotten that the rabbit was an exceptionally skilled physician.

"Ah? Your body is very healthy, nothing is wrong. However, it's possible for Qi to surge up and cause various blockages. Your Human-Ghost's small world is indeed somewhat bloated from being filled with a vast Yang Qi, and your Qi and Blood are a bit turbulent. It might be due to surging Bloodline, causing the hand pulse to spasm. I'll help you release some Qi, and you'll be fine."

After speaking, she didn't wait for Li Qi's reply and pulled out a packet of silver needles from somewhere.

For hand and arm spasms, the Shenmen point is key. She directly inserted a needle into Li Qi's Shenmen acupoint, then into the various branch and collateral meridians. Li Qi immediately broke out in a cold sweat, a sign of Yang Qi leakage.

For fullness that prevents breathing, the Juque point is key. Another needle was inserted into the Juque acupoint.

Li Qi immediately let out a long breath, his expression becoming as calm as an ancient well.

The excess Qi had been released by the rabbit, and he had now temporarily entered a sage-like state.

The forced kind.

"Alright, your Qi fullness is resolved now. Ah? What's with that expression?" Shen Shuibi finished needling, looked up, and found Li Qi looking utterly serene.

"Nothing, I just feel much better… Don't ask, let's eat," Li Qi pulled out the silver needles and picked up his chopsticks.

Let's eat, what else could he say?

Let it be, let it be destroyed.

Although the rabbit was still a bit puzzled, since Li Qi's Qi fullness had been cured, there shouldn't be anything to worry about, right?

The two began to eat.

Shen Shuibi ate very happily because the taste was indeed good, and both the craftsmanship and ingredients were first-class. Although it wasn't some Heaven And Earth Treasure, the taste alone was genuinely excellent.

However, Li Qi felt tasteless in his mouth, eating it felt like chewing paper.

No choice, it's human nature.

After finishing breakfast, the two packed up their belongings and prepared to head to the Medical Clinic.

The Medical Clinic they had an appointment with was over a thousand one hundred li away from here.

Walking was definitely out of the question, and Tang Nation prohibited individual flying, so they could only take a vehicle.

But first, they had to decide what mode of transportation to choose.

In fact, driving non-sentient mount-type vehicles in Tang Nation required obtaining the appropriate license. Li Qi didn't have a driver's license yet, so he couldn't rent or buy a car himself.

So, it was either take a taxi or use public transportation.

Li Qi initially planned to use public transportation, such as taking an Earth Flow Vehicle or a public airplane.

It wasn't about money; the main reason was that using these modes of transport would allow him to experience more of the local customs and traditions.

However, considering Shen Shuibi was still with him, it was better to rent something good.

He browsed on the terminal and quickly spent some money to book a mount that didn't require a driver's license.

What was meant by not requiring a driver's license was actually those naturally intelligent mounts. They were specifically for this purpose, professional drivers. Engaging in this industry itself required passing a flight examination. They were both the mount and the driver, so passengers naturally didn't need a driver's license.

If it was a Spiritual Artifact-type vehicle or aircraft that required operation, then one would have to obtain a license themselves.

After confirming the itinerary on the terminal, Li Qi turned to Shen Shuibi and said, "This booking requires us to walk thirty li. Let's set off now."

"En!" Shen Shuibi nodded, she was also impatient.

This body was actually a very heavy burden for her.

No one likes to drag around a sick and injured body. If there's a chance to heal, it certainly shouldn't be missed.

The two left the house and began to walk.

Thirty li was not a long distance, even walking wouldn't take much time. After all, both of them had cultivation, and even if they couldn't walk in a straight line and had to wait for traffic lights, it only took about half an hour to reach their destination.

But just this journey alone opened their eyes.

The sky filled with orderly flying objects was a unique sight.

Imagine, amidst countless ancient-style skyscrapers, these buildings had upturned eaves, seemingly made of wood, but they were like pavilions in the clouds, beautiful and magnificent.

In the middle of these tall buildings, there were birds, Flying Swords, vehicles, and various other oddly shaped flying objects. Li Qi could even see some strange things from outside the domain, such as those oddly shaped savage beasts, and even some highly mechanical flying objects. Some wooden mechanisms could also fly, and just looking at the styles was dazzling.

Then there was the street.

The street was not dull; there were street performers with licenses.

Street performers, truly, Li Qi could only use this term to describe them because he couldn't bring himself to say 'Jianghu street performers,' entirely because the skills of these people were simply too superb.

They could make people disappear and objects transform, change scenes instantly, and even train insects.

The most striking, of course, were various illusions, magical arts, and extraordinary abilities.

Li Qi passed by a gardener and happened to witness a performance, so he stopped to watch.

He saw the gardener set down a flower pot with a small peach tree in it, then held a piece of cloth and covered it.

After a while, when he uncovered it, the peach tree had blossomed, bright red and lovely. With a wave of his fan, the wind blew the petals, and a fragrant breeze wafted over, like a dream.

He covered it again, and when he uncovered it later, the flowers had withered, and the peaches had ripened.

After covering it three times and having drinks passed around, he removed the cloth, and the entire tree was full of ripe peaches, green and yellow intermingled. He picked them and gave them to the onlookers. Their fragrance surpassed ordinary peaches, and they tasted sweet and delicious.

Li Qi, of course, knew he had used some trick, but he couldn't figure out what it was. The other party easily deceived everyone present.

He even almost couldn't resist using True Knowledge Dao Resonance.

But he held back. The street performer's skill was their livelihood; there was no need to break his own illusion.

He gave about ten coins as a tip and continued on his way.

Along the way, there were also martial arts demonstrations, such as oil being boiled with fireworks, bowls being forged in hot pots, and dangerous acts of chopping with knives and axes.

Although it was only a thirty li walk, taking half an hour, they saw many sights.

Hundreds of pavilions and thousands of trees by the roadside, and watersides in the woods.

The gurgling Honggou River and the flowing Wei River by the bank.

Tall buildings, grand and magnificent, possessing all kinds of beauty.

Streets with shifting markets, a captivating sight for the entire city.

Occasionally, exotic flowers from all directions could be seen.

The chirping of hundreds of birds could be heard.

They could even see many 'public officials'.

However, these were not people, but something Li Qi was very familiar with:

Gods.

Yes, on the streets, maintaining traffic rules were deities in charge of roads.

These deities, enfeoffed by Tang Nation, undertook a large amount of grassroots work, including road maintenance, traffic control, and even everything related to traffic affairs.

And they all looked… like Human-Ghosts.

That is, deities formed from the souls of the deceased, the deities that the Invoker of the Human-Ghost lineage primarily communicated with.

In the Baiyue region, Human-Ghost deities mostly served as guardians of families or clans, protecting their relatives and descendants. Occasionally, some revered heroes would become guardians of a region, protecting their entire hometown.

But in Tang Nation, their authority was no longer limited to their relatives or hometown but became clearly defined areas of responsibility.

There were no longer restrictions of Bloodline and region.

It was hard to say whether this was good or bad.

Enjoying the scenery along the way, the two soon arrived at a tree.

This was a mulberry tree, about one or two li tall, with roots spreading widely and deeply, but it was also a residence.

It had been hollowed out, leaving only the bark to maintain the tree's life. The woody part had been replaced with another substance, strong enough to support its immense size, and people could live inside.

The mulberry tree was still alive; after all, the woody part was not strictly necessary. A tree could live with just its roots, bark, and branches; the woody part merely served as support.

From a distance, this tree blended into the city, but up close, it was overwhelming, even changing the surrounding ecosystem.

It had clearly become more refreshing and natural, giving a sense of being in Baiyue.

This should belong to… distinctive apartments?

It should be designed specifically for residents who like this kind of environment. For example, on this tree, Li Qi could see that most of the residents were avian demon beasts, and many of them built nests on the branches, quite neatly arranged.

His booked transportation was here.

"It's right here," Li Qi said to Shen Shuibi.

"Then why is no one here?" Shen Shuibi looked around but didn't see anyone waiting.

According to the agreement with the driver, it should have been waiting right below, but there was no one here.

Li Qi fiddled with the terminal for a bit, confirming this was the location.

"It might be delayed by something, perhaps? Shall we go up and see? The information here says its address is up there," Li Qi pointed to the large mulberry tree.

Then he led Shen Shuibi inside.

There was also an elevator inside, no, a self-moving staircase, which could fly directly up through the tree trunk.

The houses here were of two types: one was hollowed-out rooms inside the tree trunk, mostly inhabited by humans or insects. Li Qi even saw some exotic races he didn't recognize, but they looked very strange.

The other type was nests built on the branches, which were almost exclusively inhabited by avian demon beasts, as was their nature.

The driver Li Qi booked was such a bird demon. According to its introduction on the booking interface, it was a Azure Bird.

Of course, it couldn't be a pure-blooded Azure Bird. Pure-blooded Azure Birds were already naturally extraordinary beings, living in Kunlun Mountain, responsible for the diet of a certain great deity, and were Daoist Spirit Beasts.

This should be a bird demon with a trace of Azure Bird Bloodline, right?

Taking the self-moving staircase and asking the apartment manager to confirm which nest it lived in, Li Qi led Shen Shuibi all the way up to the branch.

Although called a branch, it was actually very spacious, several meters wide, and very solid.

Upon reaching here, they heard crying from inside.

On a distant branch, there was a bird's nest, and they could see a large azure bird with a wingspan of about three zhang bustling about something in the nest.

Li Qi strained his vision and expanded his perception, and he saw… there seemed to be two or three small birds in the nest.

These chicks were about the size of a Xiao Gou, their feathers not yet fully grown, only feather roots without actual feathers. They were crying: "Mama, don't go, Mama, don't go!"

The large azure bird with a wingspan of three zhang was comforting these chicks, saying things like "Mama is going to work, will you be good at home?" and so on.

Honestly, it felt quite domestic.

This suddenly gave Li Qi a sense of reality.

It was like the tangible feeling of standing on solid ground.

The Tang Nation he had encountered before felt like a dream, advanced and powerful, high above in the clouds.

But at this moment, such a conversation made Li Qi see the mundane realities of life.

However, Li Qi's arrival was not concealed, so the azure bird in the large nest quickly noticed his presence.

"Ah!" She suddenly realized something, directly took flight, and landed in front of Li Qi, apologizing repeatedly: "Ah, I'm so sorry, Sir, have you been waiting anxiously? Let's depart now!"

The chicks behind chirped incessantly, but the azure bird looked extremely embarrassed.

"No rush, we were just curious if something was going on. Please comfort your children first, we're not in a hurry," Li Qi shook his head and said.

The azure bird, however, said: "No, I see your destination is a Medical Clinic, and to go to such a large Medical Clinic, it's probably not a minor illness. The children are just being noisy, it won't delay things. A quick trip won't take much time, so please attend to your matters first."

"There's no need to argue about this. How about bringing them along? I don't mind, it's fine," Li Qi pointed to the nest and said.

"If Sir doesn't mind, that would be for the best…" The azure bird let out a long sigh of relief.

Many people didn't like bringing children along. Honestly, this azure bird was actually a bit apprehensive.

However, this guest seemed very easy to talk to, so she immediately began to prepare.

This azure bird's cultivation was only around the Ninth Rank, but since it specialized in flying, its speed was very fast.

She quickly put on some equipment, then transformed, her body stretching out. Her original three-zhang wingspan expanded to ten zhang.

Then she hunched her body, and the equipment she had been wearing had already transformed into some Spiritual Artifacts.

There was something like a streamlined carriage on her back, which should be the passenger seats.

There were also things resembling traffic lights, and the very crucial travel permit.

Then, she picked up the three small azure birds in her mouth and apologized to Li Qi: "I'm truly making Sir laugh."

"No worries, don't hold them in your mouth, it's not safe. How about letting them sit with us instead?" Li Qi suggested.

The azure bird tried to refuse: "No, no, these children are noisy…"

"It's fine. My wife and I also like children. It's a good opportunity to learn how to get along with children on the way," Li Qi said.

"Then… I humbly accept," the azure bird nodded, then lowered herself, allowing Li Qi and the others to get on.

Then, she spread her wings and flew into the air.

(It's the last day, everyone, please cast your monthly votes… We're only 30 votes short of a thousand!)