Chapter 175 You're Not My Little Cutie! Mingyuan City...
Although Mingyuan City was a border city of the Ming Dynasty, it was extremely lively.
Even before she got close, Sang Zhitao could vaguely hear the noise from the city.
"Come, come and take a look! You've traveled all over the country, but you've never seen anything like this!"
"Sugar flowers~ Sweet sugar flowers~ Sugar flowers that are so sweet they'll make your teeth ache~"
"Green tea, black tea, dark tea, and sweet flower tea~ Sir, would you like a bowl?"
...
Even outside the city walls, there were stalls, from tea stalls to food stalls, from street vendors to villagers carrying baskets to sell their own agricultural products.
It was a lively and bustling scene.
"Huh? We haven't even entered the city yet?" Sang Zhitao couldn't help but ask, looking at the bustling, everyday scene.
Qingyan used an invisibility spell, slowly lowering the clouds before releasing the spell. He then pulled Sang Zhitao forward, saying, "This is the unique nature of Mingyuan City."
“Mingyuan City was originally a border town. Due to the war with the Yue Kingdom, the city gates had to be closed in an emergency, leaving tens of thousands of people outside the city…”
"After the war, the Yue Kingdom was destroyed, and Mingyuan City was transformed from a border city into an inner city. However, the people in the city did not want to forget that tragedy, so they established the rule that the city would never be closed. Therefore, the city gates of Mingyuan City were just for show, and the people could set up stalls and do business at will."
"But... isn't this kind of management a problem?" Sang Zhitao asked curiously, somewhat surprised.
Qingyan, carrying a gourd, drank as he walked: "Mingyuan City is protected by the Snake Immortal, as everyone knows. The Snake Immortal loves his people, and no one is willing to risk offending him and challenging his authority."
"Not afraid of great evil, nor of small evil?" Sang Zhitao became even more curious. Could the snake immortal Qingyan mentioned be the protagonist of the original book?
Qingyan chuckled lightly: "The people are all proud to be the subjects protected by the Snake Immortal, and they will naturally protect their city. Since then, the city lord of Mingyuan City has always been a member of the royal family. So there may be petty theft here, but murder and robbery are absolutely impossible."
Hearing her confident tone, Sang Zhitao, despite her many doubts, ultimately kept quiet.
Just then, a burly man wearing a tiger skin and carrying a basket full of animal hides passed by.
"Brother, how much is the tiger skin?" Sang Zhitao saw that the tiger skin was brightly colored, with clear patterns and was in very good condition. She couldn't help but feel a little emotional. It was fortunate that this was an ancient setting. If it were modern times, how many years would she be sentenced to? Thinking this, she subconsciously asked about the price.
Hearing the greeting, the man quickly turned around and saw a tall, beautifully dressed woman carrying a gourd of wine, looking like a drunkard. Next to her stood a little girl in simple clothes. For a moment, he didn't know whether to ask the seemingly drunk adult or the obviously penniless little girl.
Sang Zhitao looked down at her clothes. Although she had transmigrated into a different identity, her clothes had been automatically changed into fine cotton garments commonly found here.
This person looked like someone from a moderately wealthy family, certainly not someone who could afford a tiger skin, so he tugged at Qingyan's sleeve.
Qingyan opened her eyes, straightened up slightly, and waved her hand dismissively: "Why buy it? We already have one at home."
As he spoke, he pulled Sang Zhitao along and started walking forward.
Seeing her like this, the man didn't pay any attention. He scratched his head, carried the tiger skin on his back, and started hawking his wares.
"That tiger skin is beautiful." Sang Zhitao didn't say it was a pity, but rather that she wanted to find a burial place for the skinned tiger.
Qingyan glanced at her but said nothing. He pulled her into a restaurant, ordered the food, and leaned against the window before looking at Sang Zhitao and saying, "It's good to have compassion, but you also need to have the heart to kill."
“Divine beasts are different from other people. Demons and monsters in the world regard you as a great tonic. If you have no strength, you will surely become someone else’s meal.”
"I understand." Sang Zhitao nodded obediently, but she knew in her heart that this world was far more dangerous than she imagined, and she would not and dare not be reckless and presumptuous about how powerful she was.
Seeing how obedient she was, Qingyan nodded indifferently, ate a few bites of food, and then started drinking wine again.
Just as Sang Zhitao was about to advise her to drink less alcohol, she heard several young swordsmen nearby telling the story of the snake fairy.
"I heard that after the snake immortal transformed into a dragon and ascended to heaven with Master Liu, the city lord was worried that people seeking immortality would disturb the snake immortal's cultivation, so he requested that people come up the mountain to seek immortality once every three years on a fixed day. Next month is this year's day to seek immortality, so it's really hard to book an inn." A tall man in blue sighed and said.
Another young man dressed in black beside him looked puzzled: "Since the snake immortals have all transformed into dragons, why are they still called snake immortals? Aren't you afraid..."
The man in blue chuckled twice: "Senior Brother Xuan, you may not know this, but the Snake Immortal requested it herself, saying that she liked the name."
"I see." Senior Brother Xuan nodded thoughtfully.
"Senior Brother Qin, now that the Snake Immortal has ascended to immortality, why are we still coming to seek immortality?" another girl in martial arts attire asked curiously.
"It's a long story," Senior Brother Qin said with a smile, feigning profundity. "Initially, they came here to seek immortal opportunities, but after searching for a long time without success, the number of people naturally decreased. However, a thousand years ago, the Snake Immortal suddenly appeared in Mingyuan City, and the people of the city watched helplessly as she left with a young boy."
"Really?!" Everyone looked at him in surprise.
Even the people drinking nearby turned to look.
Senior Brother Qin drank a cup of water and slowly said, "Everyone says that the boy is a descendant of Master Liu, which is why the Snake Immortal came to take him away."
"That's it...?" The girl frowned, her delicate lips pursed.
Senior Brother Qin changed the subject: "Do you know what Mingyuan City is most famous for?"
"A snake immortal?" Senior Brother Xuan guessed curiously.
Senior Brother Qin shook his head.
What is that?
"Is it wine?" a boy who hadn't spoken until now suddenly asked.
Senior Brother Qin gave him an admiring look: "That's right, wine! Almost every household in Mingyuan City brews wine, and they don't need government-approved wine permits."
"Could it be that the snake spirit loves wine?" the girl asked, puzzled.
"Of course!" Senior Brother Qin proudly raised his head. "When the Snake Fairy left with her people that day, she was covered in the smell of alcohol. Mingyuan City thought she must be a person who loves wine very much. In addition, Master Liu was good at brewing medicinal wine, so from then on every household brewed wine for offering. People who came to seek the immortal even brought fine wine with them."
"Will it work?" Senior Brother Xuan asked curiously.
Senior Brother Qin nodded emphatically: "Of course, in the two thousand years since then, the Snake Immortal has appeared five times, and each time it was because of wine."
"Clatter." Sang Zhitao's chopsticks fell onto the table.
Three thousand years...
Sang Zhitao stared in shock at the lively crowd, then felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.
Her outlines were always so simple they were almost unbelievable, and this book was no exception. But even with such simplicity, Sang Zhitao remembered that in the original book, the protagonist, Qinglong, was only a thousand years old at the end.
“Three thousand years…” Sang Zhitao murmured involuntarily.
Qingyan glanced at her suspiciously, and couldn't help but mutter, "Not a blood descendant, it's that bastard who's clinging to my tail!"
Sang Zhitao took these words to heart and was stunned for a moment. A bad feeling crept into her heart. She swallowed her dry throat and asked cautiously in a low voice, "You...you wouldn't happen to be...a snake...fairy?"
Qingyan raised an eyebrow: "What? I don't look like it?"
"How could you possibly be?!" Sang Zhitao stood up abruptly, pointing at Qingyan, her voice trembling.
Seeing that everyone around was looking over, Qingyan simply waved his sleeve and pulled Sang Zhitao up to the clouds.
"Huh? What just happened?" The people in the restaurant looked at each other, completely bewildered.
"What's wrong, little phoenix?" Qingyan stretched on the cloud, tilting his head and looking at Sang Zhitao, who was too shocked to react.
“You…” Sang Zhitao pointed at the other person with trembling hands, “How could you possibly be the Little Azure Dragon!”
"Why can't it be me?" Qingyan looked herself up and down, then casually drew a water mirror. "I'm still as beautiful as ever."
"Give me back my stunningly beautiful, incomparably beautiful, adorably charming, alluring, and unrestrainedly romantic Little Azure Dragon, the most beautiful woman in the celestial realm!!! She's not like you, that chubby old dragon who only drinks and sleeps and spends his time wandering the wild forests!! My beautiful little darling!!!"
Qingyan kept picking his ears as he listened to Sang Zhitao's rapid-fire questions. After Sang Zhitao finished speaking, Qingyan raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "So, how do you, a little phoenix who's not even three hundred years old, know what I used to look like?"
"Besides..." Qingyan sat up, slightly raising his chin, "Who's old? I'm only four thousand years old this year, not even ten thousand, I'm still a child!"
I watched as a cafeteria worker, who could be described as "middle-aged," pointed to herself and said she was still a baby.
Sang Zhitao looked at Qingyan with an expression that suggested she was about to vomit blood.
After a long while, she took a few deep breaths, closed her eyes to calm herself, and then said, "So... why did you become like this?"
A flicker of emotion flashed in Qingyan's eyes, but before Sang Zhitao could understand, it vanished again.
She replied in a nonchalant manner, "Isn't this good? I travel with the clouds and sea, going anywhere in the world, truly carefree and at ease."
"I mean, why do you look like this?" Sang Zhitao took a deep breath. "Aren't you the spirited little Azure Dragon? The darling of the cultivation world? Where are your teachers, friends, and relatives?"
Qingyan paused, glancing at her sideways: "Why are you so inquisitive?"
“It’s none of your business…” Sang Zhitao opened her mouth, but only managed to utter three awkward words.
Qingyan raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on her face, and said, "Then why do you care about me?"
Sang Zhitao was speechless, and really didn't know how to respond.
Qingyan lay back down on the cloud without caring and yawned: "Teach me a lesson when you're stronger than me."
Sang Zhitao rolled her eyes upon hearing this. She wouldn't even dare to say she could defeat the little green dragon from three thousand years ago, let alone three thousand years later.
Moreover, she always felt that something was wrong. Could three thousand years really turn a spirited person into such a decadent state?
She hadn't forgotten the sorrow in Qingyan's eyes earlier, and felt there was something she didn't know.
But she simply couldn't find any clues about what happened 3,000 years after the story ended from those 100,000 words of backstory and 300 words of outline.
Sang Zhitao sighed softly, feeling that her future was exceptionally bleak.
The soft clouds helped Sang Zhitao, who had been feeling tense all morning, slowly drift off to sleep.
After she fell asleep, Qingyan, who was next to her, suddenly opened his eyes and looked Sang Zhitao up and down with suspicion.
After a long while, she secretly took out a magical artifact from her sleeve, gestured at Sang Zhitao several times, then frowned and put it away. Looking at the sky, she drank heavily for a long time, the indescribable sorrow almost overwhelming her...
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