With a flap of its wings, Su Qing sat atop a cloud, traversing half the territory. Everywhere it looked, construction was underway.

The ever-expanding cement roads, the cultivated fields divided into neat squares, and the black-armored army that slaughtered the remnants of the nine kingdoms everywhere.

With mines being rapidly mined, caravans coming and going, and new cities under construction, the entire territory is thriving.

Faced with the takeover of the Dragon Territory, apart from a few loyal individuals, most civilians showed little resistance and were even quite willing to cooperate because the Dragon Territory offered better treatment.

Su Qingfei flew higher, and from there he could clearly see the overall layout of the Dragon Territory, a terrifying sight with a spiderweb-like structure centered on the Sky Castle, gradually spreading outwards.

Perhaps I should build a giant city with the Sky Castle as its core!

Su Qing had this idea and decided to start working on it as soon as she got back.

In addition to trains, transportation has become a major problem after the territory expanded.

We need to start making arrangements!

Su Qing noted these two things down in his notebook, and then traveled at full speed, flying for another half a day before finally leaving the territory.

It wasn't exactly leaving the territory, because the division of the wilderness was rather vague, but at this moment Su Qing had entered the wilderness area.

This is a lawless land known as the "Little Chaotic Territory of the Northwest".

Su Qing descended from the sky, his body shrank, his tail wrapped around his waist, and he took out a black robe to wrap himself in, instantly transforming into a chubby little man who was 1.78 meters tall.

He took down the four baskets placed on the clouds and covered them with a black cloth, then hoisted them onto a carrying pole, instantly transforming himself into a wandering merchant.

On the sandy, gravelly land, Su Qing carried a shoulder pole, and with each step, the four baskets hanging on the pole swayed back and forth.

After walking for nearly ten miles, Su Qing understood why this place was called the wilderness—it was truly desolate!

We didn't see a single person along the way, or even a trace of wild animals.

This made Su Qing, who had carefully disguised herself, feel very frustrated.

As evening approached, some lights appeared ahead, and upon closer inspection, they discovered it was a simple village.

There are probably several dozen households.

After thinking for two long breaths, Su Qing decided to go and take a look.

"What is that?"

There were sentries around the village, and two of them spotted Su Qing approaching and immediately became alert.

"I'll keep watch here. Go and tell the boss that a suspicious, fat, dark-skinned man is heading towards our village."

The slightly older middle-aged man gave instructions to the short young man beside him, his sharp eyes fixed on Su Qing, who was slowly approaching.

The short young man nodded hurriedly and rushed into the village with light and quick steps.

Su Qing moved closer, about two hundred meters from the village.

"stop!"

The middle-aged man could no longer restrain himself; he couldn't let the other party get any closer to the village.

Su Qing obediently stopped in his tracks, and a cheerful voice came from under the black robe: "Brother, my name is Chris, I'm a wandering merchant. It's so late now, and the area is so desolate, so I'd like to stay in your village for the night. Of course, I'll pay you!"

Su Qing was extending her friendliness, but the middle-aged man didn't seem to appreciate it: "Get lost, we Tiger Stronghold don't welcome outsiders!"

"But it's already so late, where can I go? Please, have mercy and let me stay for the night!"

Su Qing continued to plead his case, hoping to resolve the accommodation issue peacefully and, incidentally, learn about the basic situation of this wilderness through the village.

Although his intelligence agency had infiltrated all the northwestern countries, it had not expanded into the wilderness, so Su Qing still needed to gather information slowly.

The middle-aged man frowned repeatedly, cursing inwardly that this guy was courting death. He had been kind and wanted everyone to leave, but this guy insisted on staying.

The wilderness is a place where people are devoured without spitting out the bones. Although no one usually targets those wandering merchants, since there's not much profit to be made from them, it doesn't mean they'll let go of meat that's offered to them.

"Haha, of course!"

Suddenly, a fire lit up the village, and a tall, burly bald man walked out, touching his bald head. His bare upper body was covered with more than a dozen visible scars.

"Young man, would you like to stay here for the night?"

Su Qing nodded seriously, and breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally met a good person.

"Of course, no problem. Tiger Stronghold is always the most hospitable. By the way, I heard you're a wandering merchant, young man. You must have brought a lot of good stuff, right?"

The bald man touched his bald head, and the smile on his face gradually became somewhat malicious.

Su Qing shook his head with a wry smile: "I'm just a poor, wandering merchant. What good stuff do I have? I just have some salt, icing sugar, and other ordinary necessities, and a few children's toys."

Hearing Su Qing's words, the bald man was clearly disappointed, but he still warmly invited people to arrange a room for Su Qing.

It wasn't particularly nice or clean, but in this simple village, it was considered a mid-to-high-class house.

They escorted Su Qing to his room, but didn't prepare any food for him, probably because they felt that the dead didn't need food.

Su Qing didn't mind. She took a thin quilt from a basket, spread it on the bed, and fell asleep immediately.

As a traveling merchant, it's normal to fall asleep as soon as you hit the pillow after a long day of travel.

Su Qing quickly got into character, but she was also listening to the conversation outside the door.

Even though he hasn't unlocked the "Hearing the Wind" skill yet, his level of strength is still there, and he can still hear conversations within a hundred meters.

"Boss, should we take advantage of him falling asleep and kill him?"

Someone asked the bald man a question, and his tone sounded eager to try.

"idiot!"

The bald man slapped him on the head and scolded him with exasperation: "Use your dog brain! Which normal wandering merchant would dare to casually enter someone's lair? This fat black guy is either quite strong or he has a life-saving treasure on him."

Let's see how things go tomorrow. First, we need to determine if what's inside is valuable. If it's worthless, we'll kick him out. If it's valuable, then we'll take the plunge.

The bald man was clearly smarter and more cautious, but Su Qing hadn't yet shown him any value that would tempt him.

In his heart, he probably didn't think that a wandering merchant could be that much better!

Hearing their conversation, Su Qing slept even more soundly.

To his surprise, around midnight, a short young man sneaked into his room, rummaged through his baskets, and then ran up to him, saying, "You'd better leave quickly, this is no good place."

After saying that, the short man sneaked out.

PS: Second update!