In any case, that night, Li Qi pondered a lot.
Apart from thinking about his future path, he also considered the squad of soldiers he had encountered previously.
What was that squad of soldiers all about?
Were they Tang Dynasty soldiers?
But their banner clearly depicted a gnarled pine tree, resembling the flag of Pine Kingdom.
The Lishui River of Daliangguo flows for ten thousand miles before splitting into two rivers—one rging into the Canghai Sea and the other ultimately flowing into Pine Kingdom.
Known intelligence indicated that Pine Kingdom had fought a battle with Tang Dynasty and suffered a devastating defeat.
It made sense. According to Li Qi's current understanding, Tang Dynasty was essentially on par with Wu Deity Mountain.
Wu Deity Mountain's actual ruling territory encompassed the entire southwestern part of the world, including the Ten Thousand Mountains, making it a significant power. The Ten Thousand Mountains constituted rely one-third of Wu Deity Mountain's domain, while further west lay An Nan, Hou Li, and even Wu Deity Mountain itself, all much larger regions.
Pine Kingdom, although claiming to be a kingdom, was equivalent to just a county in Tang Dynasty. Losing a battle was expected.
So... could it be assud that Pine Kingdom is currently under Tang Dynasty's control? And using this as a center, are they extending their influence over Wu Dao territories, gradually aligning surrounding regions like Daliangguo towards Humanism?
As a Wu Zhu of Wu Deity Mountain, staying here seed risky. This place was the frontline of the conflict between Wu Dao and Humanism, a chessboard where both sides clashed.
Risk? Opportunity?
He decided not to dwell on it for now; first, he needed to find Luo Fu Niangniang.
Li Qi thought through various possibilities but found no clear answers, so he simply finished his al and went to sleep.
Thinking about it wouldn't help; he needed to find Luo Fu Niangniang and see what he could gain.
He was chosen by Young Master Zhu because of his Outer Path identity. He couldn't afford to ss up this first mission.
Still, sothing felt off.
Shen Shuibei, a rabbit at Fifth Rank, what rank would Luo Fu Niangniang be?
Third Rank? Second Rank?
Could she possibly be at First Rank, capable of moving mountains and seas, capturing stars and moons?
Regardless of her rank, judging by her speed, one could estimate her prowess.
Traveling from Tang Dynasty, covering tens of thousands of miles, she fled from Jiannan Dao all the way here, likely spanning twenty to thirty thousand miles, yet according to Shen Shuibei, it took only one day.
Minimum speed of twelve thousand five hundred miles per hour.
Flying six thousand kiloters an hour—how many tis the speed of sound was that? This was long-distance flight; imagine her instantaneous speed!
Terrifying.
Unimaginable.
And Luo Fu Niangniang was heavily injured during her escape, carrying soone with her.
If she were at full strength, she might traverse the distance between Earth and Moon in a single night.
Covering an astronomical unit in one night—utterly absurd.
With these thoughts swirling in his head, Li Qi drifted into sleep.
Ti passed swiftly, and it was already the next day.
Today's rituals were completed, acquiring corresponding divine Qi.
When the river opened, it was late winter turning to early spring. Now, a month later, spring was in full bloom.
Hibernating beasts began to erge, trees sprouted new buds, and life flourished. Even so fields started planting crops, and passing villages revealed scenes of prosperity.
But Li Qi had no ti to enjoy the scenery; Old Horse ran as fast as a high-speed train, leaving little chance for sightseeing.
Shen Shuibei, however, enjoyed the view, constantly muttering, "Baiyue has water fields, dry fields, and slope fields. Slope fields are suitable for growing yams, sweet potatoes, taro..."
Probably quotes from so ancient text about Baiyue.
But why did it always involve food? She didn't need to eat, right?
Oh well, let her recite.
Before long, less than two hours, they reached Yixian County.
---
Yixian County, one of the thirteen counties of Lishui Prefecture.
Lishui Prefecture in Daliangguo spanned twelve hundred square miles, divided into three prefectures and thirteen counties.
Previously, Li Qi set out from Lishui Prefecture city, passed through Feng County, but changed direction to find Luo Fu Niangniang.
Thus, he arrived at Yixian County.
After Yixian County, a slight detour would lead back to the prefectural capital, where he could resolve the aftermath of Niu Li Technique with Paibo Gang mbers.
On the map, they had covered half of Lishui Prefecture, roughly five to six hundred miles.
This highlighted the importance of having a mount. After nearly a month of traveling around four hundred miles, the last one to two hundred miles on Old Horse took only monts, arriving before noon.
Truly a dragon steed!
However, Li Qi didn't have Old Horse enter the city directly, instructing him to wait outside while he had Shen Shuibei lower her head and enter with him.
A young man with a beautiful woman riding a dragon steed entering Yixian County—a city of rely a few ten thousand people—would attract too much attention.
Though he wore simple hemp clothes, who knew if it was due to his eccentricities?
Having Shen Shuibei alone could be explained by her natural beauty, but adding a dragon steed would invite unnecessary trouble.
Ideally, Li Qi would leave Shen Shuibei and Old Horse outside to avoid complications, handling business alone.
But Shen Shuibei needed new clothes for the journey ahead, and asuring her himself wasn't appropriate.
So, after consideration, he decided to bring Shen Shuibei into the city.
As a cultivator, dealing with local ruffians shouldn't be too challenging.
Entering the city required no fees, but selling goods ant going to designated market areas, paying a fixed tax of five qian, followed by a ten percent sales tax levied by the governnt.
Yixian County's tax rate was relatively low, quite reasonable.
In contrast, Lishui Prefecture's capital imposed multiple layers of tariffs, river taxes, and comrcial taxes, often reaching fifty percent.
Li Qi paid five qian and set up his furs, bones, and leftover cooked mountain goat at in the rchant district. Though cold, it remained fresh and edible.
Additionally, he brought so fresh mountain goods.
Though he lacked preservation skills, mushrooms could last a couple of days, so he included them for sale.
First, earn so money and get new attire.
Bones, at, pelts—all valuable and rare items unattainable by ordinary rchants or mountain folk. As soon as he laid them out, a crowd gathered.
"Brother, how much for this mountain goat skin?"
"Sir, how much for this fox pelt?"
"How much at do you have? Give a jin."
Within minutes, business was booming.
Li Qi had already determined prices before entering the city, smoothly handling custors and haggling.
Shen Shuibei squatted nearby, pretending to be invisible.
Rabbits were always like that.
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