Chapter 90: White Snake State

Great Deer Kingdom, White Snake Prefecture, Snake Tail County.

White Snake Prefecture is located next to Li Prefecture, and similar to how Li Prefecture got its name from Li River, White Snake Prefecture’s name comes from White Snake Mountain.

It is a towering mountain range stretching for thousands of miles, and because it is so high, its peaks are covered in snow, resembling a white snake winding its way across the land, hence the name White Snake Mountain.

The entire White Snake Prefecture is divided into two by White Snake Mountain.

Fifteen full days have passed since the events in Li Prefecture.

For fifteen days, the old horse traveled day and night, galloping all the way, finally getting out of Li Prefecture, so there was no need to worry about the officials catching up.

It’s just…跨州.

Li Qi was crossing prefectures for the first time; even in his original world, he had never traveled this far.

Thousands of miles away.

To put it in perspective, it’s like running from Beijing all the way to New Delhi.

Li Qi couldn't help but marvel at the vastness of this world.

Earth is just… about the size of one Great Deer Kingdom.

Yet, Great Deer Kingdom is merely a poor, remote place; it is said that the entire Great Deer Kingdom is only the size of a single county in Tang Nation, and to Shaman God Mountain, there are thousands of small countries like Great Deer Kingdom.

Truly an unimaginably large scale.

According to Shen Shuibi, they have already covered about half the distance to Empress Luofu, and it seems they will arrive soon.

Because of this, Shen Shuibi has been very happy recently, eagerly looking west every day.

However, the old horse couldn’t keep up.

After fifteen consecutive days of travel, just eating some beets, oats, and grass was definitely not enough; the old horse’s fat melted away rapidly during these fifteen days of continuous travel, visibly losing a lot of weight.

One would think Li Qi had prepared twenty mares for him.

Therefore, at this moment, Li Qi planned to stop in Snake Tail County to replenish supplies, let the old horse rest and replenish its nutrition, gain some weight, and earn some money to cover his expenses.

How to make money?

He didn't know; he would see when he got to Snake Tail County.

Snake Tail County, as the name suggests, is precisely at the tail of White Snake Mountain, meaning the very edge of White Snake Mountain, bordering Li Prefecture. The endless white snow on White Snake Mountain melts here, rolling down the slopes, then turning into mountain streams and waterways, conveniently converging to form the source of Li River.

“Li Qi, do we really have to stop here…?” Shen Shuibi’s face was dejected and bitter; she wished she could fly to Niangniang immediately and felt very pained by Li Qi’s plan to rest for at least seven or eight days.

“Shen Guniang… there’s no other way. Look at the old horse; can he still run?” Li Qi patted the old horse’s belly, but it no longer made the usual slapping sound; instead, it felt like hitting bone, a dull thud.

The old horse snorted, its eyes sunken, and turned its head to look at Shen Shuibi with a pained expression.

At this, Shen Shuibi couldn’t say anything more.

Fifteen consecutive days of travel, even a Dragon Steed couldn’t endure it; he must have lost at least two hundred jin. Who could withstand that?

“Alright…” Shen Shuibi lowered her head, reluctantly agreeing.

Since everything was settled, Li Qi rode the old horse into the city.

This time, because they had already reached White Snake Prefecture and the main goal was to help the old horse gain weight, he rode the horse directly.

Anyway, Li Prefecture and here are thousands of miles apart; the things he did in Li Prefecture had nothing to do with this place.

However, although Li Qi was prepared, he was shocked by himself even before entering the city.

With a sword at his waist, riding a Dragon Steed, and a beautiful, dust-free woman behind him looking around curiously, though his clothes weren't luxurious, just commoner’s cloth, he still possessed a certain demeanor.

Actually, what demeanor? It was all supported by the Dragon Steed and Shen Shuibi.

Anyone placed on that would have a demeanor.

The only good thing was that he was clean, so clean that he didn’t look like someone who had been in the wilderness for over ten days.

It was normal; Li Qi needed to find water sources for his daily cultivation, soaking in water for three hours a day, making it hard to get dirty.

At the same time, he was reluctant to wear good clothes in the wilderness, always wearing coarse cloth. He only took out his good clothes and put them on just before entering the city. At first glance, they looked new, quite impressive.

All in all, this group was quite intimidating.

It’s just that the old horse had a large basket hanging on its back, which looked a bit unseemly, but there was no other way.

There were no spatial rings or mustard seed pouches or anything; without a basket, where would the luggage go?

However, that was probably the extent of it. Although there was an unsightly basket, the scene of riding a Dragon Steed, wearing a long sword, and having a beauty accompany him, in a county town, made them stand out like a crane among chickens.

So much so that when Li Qi walked to the city gate, no one dared to stop him.

It was Li Qi who dismounted voluntarily and paid for the entry permit; only then did the city guards nod and bow as they processed it for Li Qi.

Li Qi felt this differential treatment and couldn’t help but sigh.

It was very strange; they gained absolutely no benefit from fawning over Li Qi, they could have just done their job, yet they insisted on nodding and bowing.

Whereas ordinarily, just like when Li Qi was in Li Prefecture, wearing coarse clothes and having dark skin, they gained no benefit from making things difficult for Li Qi, yet they always liked to find trouble.

People are just like that; it’s hard to explain.

In any case, it was good that things were easy to handle. Li Qi still had about ten gold coins, so there was no need to stay in a bad inn. He immediately found one with a stable, paid a thousand coins first, and arranged for the best feed for the old horse: beans, beets, oats, and even mountain produce and fruits, all to be provided.

This old brother has worked hard; he still needs to gain some weight and eat well.

The innkeeper saw Li Qi’s generous spending, and the horse was tall and mighty, so his attitude was exceptionally good. He arranged for a stable boy to take care of the old horse and gave him a good wash.

As for Li Qi, while he looked extravagant, his heart was bleeding.

Keeping a horse is truly expensive.

An old horse like this Dragon Steed is said to be worth a thousand gold, a genuine thousand gold. In terms of modern luxury cars, it would be at least a Bugatti Veyron to start with, and the annual maintenance cost would probably be over a hundred thousand?

However, as long as it doesn't display its Qi ability, it's just an ordinary spiritual horse, not a Dragon Steed, just a tall one, so it won't be targeted.

Thinking about it, the old horse really suffered following him, only able to eat common mundane things when it should be eating Heaven And Earth Treasure.

Fortunately, every time Li Qi looked for a water source, the old horse could get some pure water Qi to consume, to compensate for the consumption of its cloud Qi, so it wasn't too miserable, it just couldn't keep up with the physical exertion.

After all, water from the base of mountains can form clouds, and cloud Qi itself is formed by the upward evaporation of mountain base water Qi, so it wouldn't weaken him to the point of being unable to travel on clouds.

According to Shen Shuibi, the Shuowen says: “Cloud, the Qi of mountains and rivers, comes from rain.”

After settling the old horse, Li Qi took Shen Shuibi upstairs to get a room.

(The frost and wind of heaven and earth are gone, the cosmos is harmonious, new years are added, and spring fills the old mountains and rivers!)

(Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, celebrating new things in the new year, and joy in the new spring and new year!)