Chapter 62: Enter the city

In short, Li Qi had many thoughts that night.

Besides considering his future path, he also pondered about the squad of soldiers he had encountered earlier.

What was the deal with that squad of soldiers?

Were they Tang Nation soldiers?

But their banner was clearly a gnarled pine tree, like the Song Kingdom's banner.

The Li Shui River in Great Deer Kingdom, after flowing for ten thousand li, splits into two rivers; one eventually flows into the sea, and the other ultimately flows into the Song Kingdom.

The known intelligence is that Song Kingdom and Tang Nation fought a war and lost terribly.

This is normal; based on Li Qi's current understanding, Tang Nation is actually on par with Shaman God Mountain.

And the actual ruling territory of Shaman God Mountain encompasses the entire Southwest part of the world, including the Shiwan Mountains, making it a major power; the Shiwan Mountains are only one-third of Shaman God Mountain's territory, and the areas further west, such as Annam, Hou Le, and Shaman God Mountain itself, are even larger.

Although Song Kingdom claims to be a country, compared to Tang Nation, it's roughly equivalent to just one county town of Tang Nation, so losing is perfectly normal.

So… could it be that the current Song Kingdom is actually controlled by Tang Nation? And using this as a center, they are spreading their influence towards the Shaman Dao forces, causing the surrounding Great Deer Kingdom to gradually lean towards the Dao of Man?

Then, as a Invoker of Shaman God Mountain, staying in this place seems very unfavorable; this is the frontline of the struggle between Shaman Dao and the Dao of Man, the center of the chessboard for both sides.

Risk? Opportunity?

Let's not consider it for now; let's find Empress Luofu first.

Li Qi thought about it repeatedly but found no clue, so he simply ate his meal, covered his head, and went to sleep.

Thinking about those things was useless; he had to find Empress Luofu first and then see what he could gain.

He was noticed by Young Master Zhu because of his identity as an outsider, so this first mission absolutely couldn't be botched.

It just felt a little off.

Shen Shuibi, this rabbit, is already Fifth Grade, so what grade would Empress Luofu be?

Third Grade? Second Grade?

Could it be the legendary First Grade, capable of moving mountains, filling seas, catching stars, and seizing the moon?

Regardless of the grade, her current speed allows for an estimation of her power.

The journey to Tang Nation is no less than one hundred thousand li, but she fled all the way from Jiannan Road to here just to escape, an estimated two to three hundred thousand li, yet according to Shen Shuibi, it only took one day.

The minimum speed is twelve thousand five hundred li per hour.

Flying six thousand kilometers in an hour, how many times the speed of sound is that? And this is for long-distance flight; what about instantaneous speed?

It's simply terrifying.

Unimaginable.

It is said that Empress Luofu was still severely injured and fleeing, and she was even carrying someone.

If she were at her peak, she might be able to travel between the Earth and the Moon in one night.

Traveling the Earth-Moon distance in one night is truly preposterous.

Thinking about these random things, Li Qi gradually drifted into dreamland.

Time flew by, and it was the next day.

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

The river opening was in late winter, early spring; about a month has passed since then, and spring is now at its peak.

Hibernating beasts are starting to appear, trees are budding, everything is reviving, and some fields have even begun planting; when passing by villages from afar, one can see a thriving scene.

However, Li Qi was not in the mood to enjoy the scenery; the old horse ran as fast as a high-speed train, making it impossible to appreciate.

Shen Shuibi, on the other hand, loved such scenes, constantly muttering: “The various cities of Baiyue have paddy fields, dry fields, and slope fields. Their slope fields are suitable for planting yam, sweet potato, taro…”

It must be a record of Baiyue from some ancient book.

But why is it all about food? She doesn't seem to eat, does she?

Never mind, let her keep muttering.

Just like that, in less than an hour.

Yi County was reached.

— — — — — — — — — —

Yi County, one of the thirteen counties of Li Prefecture.

Li Prefecture in Great Deer Kingdom covers an area of twelve hundred li, with three commanderies and a total of thirteen county towns.

Li Qi had previously set off from Li Prefecture's main city, passed through Feng County, but then changed direction and went to find Empress Luofu first.

So at this moment, he arrived at Yi County.

After Yi County, by taking a slight detour, he could return to the main city, and then go to find the Paibo Gang members to resolve the after-effects of the Ox Strength Technique.

Looking at the map, he had precisely traveled half of Li Prefecture, which is about five to six hundred li.

This shows the importance of a mount; he traveled approximately four hundred li in nearly a month, and then rode the old horse for the last one or two hundred li, arriving in an instant, before morning was even over.

Truly 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 told Shen Shuibi to keep her head down and enter the city with him.

There was no other way; a young man with a young woman, riding a Dragon Steed, grandly arriving at Yi County—for a county town with a population of only a few tens of thousands, such attire was overly luxurious.

Although he was still wearing hemp clothes, who's to say it wasn't due to his strange quirk? Right?

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

In fact, if possible, Li Qi didn't even want to bring Shen Shuibi with him; he wanted her to stay hidden outside the city with the old horse, and he would come in, finish his business, and leave.

But there was no other way; Shen Shuibi also needed to change her clothes and her outfit for convenience on the road later.

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

That probably wouldn't be good…

So, after considering it, he still brought Shen Shuibi into the city.

He was now a practitioner of sorts, big or small, so he should be able to handle ruffians and local thugs if he encountered any.

Entering the city was still the same; no fees were required, but if one wanted to sell things, they needed to enter a special market area. There, a fixed tax of five cash was required, and after that, the government would also take a ten percent Merchant tax on the transaction amount.

Yi County's tax rate was not high; it was already very reasonable.

If it were Li Prefecture's main city, in addition to layers of customs duties and river taxes on the road, a Merchant tax would also be collected separately, basically around fifty percent.

Li Qi paid five cash, and then in the market area, he displayed his animal skins and bones, as well as some goat meat he hadn't finished eating yesterday. It was all cooked; although it was cold, it was still fresh, not spoiled, and edible.

In addition, there were some fresh wild mountain goods.

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

In short, he needed to get some money first to change his outfit.

Bones, meat, and furs were not cheap and were also rare; ordinary Merchants and mountain dwellers were unable to obtain these things, so as soon as he set them out, a crowd gathered.

“Young Master, how much for this goat skin?”

“Big Brother, how much for this fox fur?”

“How much meat is there? Cut me a jin.”

Business opened in just a few minutes.

Li Qi had already decided on the prices before entering the city, so he naturally went with the flow, naturally dealt with customers, and began to bargain.

Shen Shuibi squatted beside him, pretending that others couldn't see her.

Rabbits are always like that.