Lincheng 17 (2)

In the days that followed, Mi felt dozens of eyes fixed on her every day. Those men radiated a fiery desire, like males in heat unable to control their urges, devoid of any other color. Mi turned to Qiu with disgust and asked, "Can I cripple them?"

“It’s not impossible,” Qiu said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. After a while, he turned to look at Mi and said seriously, “As long as you can catch him in the act, you can cripple him however you want. But you can’t cripple them just because they’re watching you.”

“I know, I know, we judge by actions, not intentions,” Mi sighed, “but these looks are disgusting.”

"Do you want to teach them a lesson?" Qiu asked suddenly after thinking for a while with her head down.

"how?"

"I'm sending everyone to catch rabbits in the fields, do you want to come along?" Qiu Chongmi blinked. Although these men radiated lust, they only made verbal jokes about the women from Lincheng, and even if they wanted to make things happen, they needed the verbal consent of the women from Lincheng and a third party to witness it. But the way they looked at Mi was completely different; this lone woman seemed like prey that they could easily obtain.

"Forget it, the fields are full of crops." Mi shook her head and thought to herself, "If I take action, I'll kill people. Once I start killing, it's like the Yellow River bursting its banks—uncontrollable." Ever since she killed a few Sand People, Mi realized that killing people was no different from killing animals in the Misty Forest. She had clearly become irritable, and the bloodthirsty genes in her bones could no longer be suppressed.

The laws of the Flower Kingdom couldn't restrain Mi. Mi felt she was heading further and further down a path of lawlessness. Otherwise, she wouldn't have caused such a huge incident in Acropolis 17 and could have easily extricated herself. This wasn't good. After leaving Acropolis 17, Mi seriously reflected on why she had completely lost the vigilance and caution she had shown in the wasteland. Was it merely because of the witch's intangible body, or because she had no respect for this world?

Mi and Qiu's group arrived smoothly at Lincheng 17 without any casualties. Everyone was very happy. Qiu waved for everyone to go to the shop to settle their wages, while she took Mi to the city lord's mansion.

"Come with me to see the city lord. I think you'll have something to say to her." Qiu pulled Mi towards an inconspicuous little courtyard.

"No need." Mi's social anxiety suddenly flared up. She was just an ordinary person, an ordinary person who had never even met a rich second-generation or official second-generation on Earth.

"Don't worry, the city lord doesn't eat people. Besides, you need to learn about the laws of the Flower Kingdom. The city lord's mansion has a lot of books." Qiu coaxed Mi, "I'll take you there, you don't need to say anything." In the end, Mi couldn't resist Qiu's persuasion and followed Qiu to the city lord's mansion.

The city lord of Lincheng was a strong middle-aged woman. As soon as she saw Qiu striding over, she greeted her cheerfully, "Qiu, you're back! I was just about to come looking for you." With that, she pulled Qiu away.

Qiu turned to the side, revealing Mi behind her. The city lord, who had missed her grab, paused and withdrew her hand. She wiped her hand on her clothes and asked, "And who is this?" The city lord winked at Qiu while extending her hand to shake hands with Mi. "You must be the good friend Qiu mentioned. Welcome, I am City Lord Zara." City Lord Zara pushed Qiu aside and grabbed Mi's arm. "So you're planning to stay in Lin City for a long time? Come, let me introduce you to our Lin City." Mi was helplessly carried away by City Lord Zara like a little chick. Qiu waved to Mi with a smile and turned to leave. At that moment, Mi felt betrayed by Qiu. All the friendship of traveling together and protecting each other had vanished.

City Lord Zara led Mi on a stroll through the main city near the City Lord's Mansion: the bustling commercial streets were teeming with people, mostly women, with some children running around among them. Sometimes Mi would hear shouts of discounts and promotions: "Closing down! Closing down! Last two items at half price, buy one get one free!"

Most of the people on the commercial street recognized the city lord. Seeing him walking by with a strange woman, they all greeted him loudly: "City lord, you're shopping!" "City lord, you have a new lady!" "City lord, come in and take a look, we have some new goods!" Some even stopped the city lord to ask him questions: "City lord, can you give me a ticket to Maicheng tomorrow?" "City lord, I need to pick up my sister from Xingcheng, who do you think should go?" "City lord—" Mi's ears were filled with "City lord," "City lord." She finally managed to break free while the city lord was talking to someone. Mi tidied her hair and said in a low voice, "I have something to do, I'll take my leave first." After saying that, she quickly turned around and slipped away while the city lord was being pulled away.

Catching her breath after escaping the commercial street, Mi strolled through this city, so different from Weicheng. The buildings in Lincheng weren't as tall; ordinary houses had small courtyards with lounge chairs and stools scattered around, and blooming flowers along the walls, exuding a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. Even the bustling commercial street Mi had just hastily fled consisted of only two-story buildings, with carved wooden doors, windows, and attics—all small and exquisite.

Beyond that was a schoolhouse filled with the sound of students reciting their lessons. Mi followed the sound for a while and came to a brick wall covered with pink, purple, and white morning glories. A breeze carried an even stronger fragrance of the flowers.

Mi looked at the peculiar wall surrounding several small buildings, revealing square houses and pointed roofs. Following the wall of morning glories, Mi came to a huge archway—an iron gate welded from wire and pillars, with a fist-sized gap in the middle through which a green lawn could be seen. Behind the lawn stood a solemn white building, like an auditorium, with arched doorways, white columns, and large windows. In front of the building were three flagpoles, with three flags fluttering in the air: a number flag with two black numbers—17; a floral flag, the flower identical to the one on the 17th Acropolis obelisk; and a flag with a complex design, which Mi could only make out roughly, featuring stars and ears of rice.

Mi looked away. There was a sign on the iron gate: Lincheng No. 17 Girls' School. She looked around and saw an old woman with white hair sitting by the gate, lying in a rocking chair and nodding off as the chair rocked.

"Grandma," Mi called out to the old woman as she opened her sleepy eyes to look at the sky, "Is this a girls' school?"

"Who are you?" The old woman squinted at Mi for a long time. Mi was dressed in a simple shirt and trousers, with a black braid and a floral headscarf. She had dark skin, a dusty face, and looked haggard, clearly someone who had traveled a long way. The old woman asked kindly, "Are you new here?" She pulled a footstool from under the rocking chair and handed it to Mi. "Come, sit down and keep this old woman company for a while."

The old woman stood up shakily. Mi reached out to help her, but the old woman pushed Mi's hand away, saying, "This old woman can still walk by herself. You wait here, I'll get you some fruit." With that, the old woman went into the small hut by the door and brought out a small table. Mi quickly took it from her.

"Put it there," the old woman said, pointing to the stone steps beside the rocking chair. Mi put it down as instructed. On the small table were two plates of snacks, a fried dough stick and a cake. The old woman then brought out a teapot, poured a cup of water for Mi, poured one for herself, and placed the teapot on the stone base as well, saying, "Come on, have a taste. This is a special supply for the girls' school."

"Special supply for girls' schools?" Mi, who hadn't heard the term "special supply" in a long time, took a sip of water and picked up a piece of pastry. The pastry was shaped like a five-petaled plum blossom, small in size, about the size of her palm. Mi broke off a petal to examine it closely. Inside was a dark brown filling. She took a bite; the filling was soft and sweet, with an indescribable floral fragrance. "Delicious." Mi nodded, then broke off another piece. This time, the filling was light yellow, and the fragrance was much milder. She put it in her mouth and let the delicate filling spread out smoothly. "Cough cough"—Mi choked, quickly drank two sips of water to calm herself down, and then carefully examined the small pastry in her hand. Mi broke off another piece; this time the filling was slightly greenish, sweeter and chewier. The remaining two petals were pink on one side and plain white on the other. Mi broke off the pink petal and popped it into her mouth; a floral aroma filled the air—this was real petal filling. The remaining small piece of white pastry was similar in texture to the crust. Mi picked it up and smelled it; it didn't have any particular aroma. Carefully putting it in her mouth, she found it was just an ordinary pastry, slightly firmer and chewier than the crust. Mi glanced at the old woman with a puzzled look, then lowered her head to drink her water.

"Isn't it strange?" The old woman sat down in her rocking chair and looked at the rice. "How could such a delicious pastry be served with such a solid piece of crust?"

"A little." Mi nodded, completely baffled as to what the point of this pastry was. Did they not have any other fillings?

The old woman put down her cup, picked up a piece of pastry, broke off a piece without filling, put it in her mouth and ate it. Then she pointed to the fried dough sticks and said to Mi, "Eat this, this is delicious. I'm old and my teeth aren't good, so I can only look at it." Mi took a small handful of fried dough sticks and chewed them with a crunching sound. They were oily, fragrant, and crispy, and indeed delicious.

"A newcomer from out of town?"

"Yes." Mi nodded. "I just arrived today."

"You just arrived? You'll have to stay a few more days, maybe you won't want to leave." The old woman broke off another petal. "This is called Lincheng Fruit. Just like in Lincheng, sometimes it seems ordinary to you, and sometimes it seems exceptionally beautiful. Have you been to the garden?" Mi shook her head. "It's alright, I'll go take a look tomorrow, it's very pretty."

After finishing a pastry, the old woman brought out a basin of water: "Come on, wash up."

Mi found it a little funny; washing hands only after eating? Mi took off her headscarf, washed her hands and face, and sighed comfortably, saying, "Thank you, Grandma." Mi sat down again, pointed to the girls' school behind her, and asked, "Is it a boys' and girls' school in Lincheng?"

"You mean this?" The old woman glanced back at the schoolyard. "This girls' school requires an entrance exam." She explained softly to Mi that all the children in Lincheng, regardless of gender, had to attend the City Lord's Mansion at age five to learn to read and write, and to learn Lincheng's laws. At age eight, they would spend two years at the martial arts academy. After age ten, they could choose freely: girls could apply to the girls' school or the Lincheng technical school. The technical school charged tuition and offered three-year or five-year programs, after which graduates could find a job to support themselves in Lincheng. The girls' school was tuition-free, and students could continue studying as long as they wanted. Everyone in Lincheng said, "Girls' school, except for the difficulty of the entrance exam, is great in every way."

"Where are the boys?" Mi felt a vague, inexplicable sense of disorientation.

"The boys, some continue their studies at martial arts schools, some at technical schools, and most go to agricultural colleges. Our Lin City has a lot of land, and we need a lot of people to farm, so there aren't enough boys," the old woman sighed. "And those merchant caravans, they always take the boys out, so we don't have enough people to farm, and the city lord doesn't do anything about them. These women have become wild, and they've taken the men's hearts with them, causing quite a few troubles. Oh dear, this can't go on." The old woman grumbled and complained.

"Why is this a special supply for girls' schools?" Mi asked, pointing at the pastry.

"This is a new recipe from the Food Department. The City Lord has tasted it and said that it will be distributed free of charge to the Girls' School this year, and the recipe will be sold to whoever offers the highest price next year." The old woman enthusiastically introduced to Mi. It turned out that the Girls' School was divided into five departments: Law, Technology, Food, Mathematics, and Astrology. The Law Department had people personally sent by the City Lord to teach, and most graduates would go to work in the City Lord's Mansion. All the laws of the neighboring city were drafted and revised here, and the City Lord's Mansion arranged for their implementation.

Here is a small legislature—Mi An thought, is it really feasible to let a bunch of teenage girls make laws?

"All the laws of our Lincheng No. 17 were learned from the girls' school," the old woman said proudly. "The principal of the girls' school is the Minister of the Legal Department of the City Lord's Mansion."