Yingyang City was built against the Yuming Mountains to the north and bordered the Jing River to the south. This section of the Jing River was about ten zhang wide. From the Jing River, a smaller river about two zhang wide was drawn out and meandered around Yingyang City, which was the city moat.
Viewed from the sky, the outer city of Yingyang was roughly rectangular, about ten li long from north to south and seven li wide from east to west, with eight gates in total. The central gate on the north wall was Anding Gate, and two li west of Anding Gate was Ying Gate. Slightly north of the west wall was Xizhi Gate, and three li south of Xizhi Gate was Yuyang Gate. Slightly west of the south wall was Kaiyang Gate, and two li east of Kaiyang Gate was Angchun Gate. The central gate on the east wall was Dongzhi Gate, and two li south of Dongzhi Gate was Xuanming Gate.
Liu Li, Li Molin, and the others entered the city through Yuyang Gate. The street directly opposite Yuyang Gate was paved with smooth bluestone slabs and was about fifteen zhang wide. Both sides of the long street were lined with a dazzling array of stalls, and behind the stalls were rows of various shops.
It was afternoon, and the long street was crowded with people, making it exceptionally lively.
Liuli held Ahua in her arms, her eyes darting around as she stared at the stalls on both sides of the long street, feeling as if she couldn't take it all in.
Li Molin stood beside her and said, "Don't you love lively places? This is the most bustling West Market in Yingyang City. You can have a good look around today."
"Okay!" Liuli nodded happily, instantly forgetting about the handkerchief, and shouted as she ran forward.
Amidst the hustle and bustle, Ahua lazily opened her eyes in Liuli's arms. Seeing the lively street, she stopped sleeping and began to look around curiously.
Looking at the white figure mixed in with the crowd, Li Molin couldn't help but smile. He whispered to Yu Ke and Ji Jue beside him, "Let's go."
"Yes." Yu Ke and Ji Jue followed half a step behind Li Molin, and Yu Ke said as they walked, "Young Master, when shall we visit Zhang Chao?"
Li Molin pondered for a moment and said, "Without a waist token, one cannot enter the inner city of Yingyang City at will. Although it is easy to get a few waist tokens, to avoid unnecessary trouble, let's enter the inner city tonight under the cover of darkness."
Yu Ke glanced at Li Molin, shook her head and sighed softly. Whether it was to avoid unnecessary trouble or to let Liuli have a good time to stroll around the West Market, only Li Molin himself knew.
Money exchange, silk shop, clothing store, jewelry store, antique shop...
Liuli strolled through the shops one by one. When she had walked more than halfway down the long street, she ran out of a clothing store. She was wearing a white brocade cloud-shaped shawl draped over her shoulders, five or six exquisite necklaces around her neck, and her hair was haphazardly tied into a bun, adorned with a variety of hairpins, hair ornaments, and pearl flowers. Her exposed wrists were adorned with more than a dozen bracelets of various kinds, and even Ahua, whom she was holding, wore two or three necklaces around her neck.
With each step Liuli took, a tinkling sound rang out. Her numerous pieces of jewelry inevitably attracted curious glances from passersby, but she paid no attention and ran ahead excitedly.
However, Li Molin, Yu Ke, and Ji Jue, who were following behind Liu Li, all slowed down their pace and soon fell quite a distance behind her in order to avoid the strange looks from everyone on the street.
But a short while later, Liuli's loud shouts came from ahead again. It turned out that she had taken a fancy to a string of exquisitely shaped sugar figurines and was calling someone to pay for them.
Li Molin turned to look at Yu Ke, only to see Yu Ke's face full of disgust. As soon as she saw him looking over, she quickly looked away.
Li Molin shook his head helplessly, turned to look at Ji Jue, and said in a low voice, "Ji Jue, you go."
"Yes," Ji Jue replied in a muffled voice, scratched his head, and reluctantly walked over.
Li Molin and Yu Ke followed at a distance, watching through the bustling crowd as Ji Jue's hands accumulated more and more, and the two couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement.
And so, Liuli carried Ahua and Jijue in front, while Li Molin and Yu Ke followed behind. The three of them and the two demons slowly walked through the crowded West Market, turned at a high wall at the end of the long street, walked through a narrow alley about five zhang wide, turned another corner, and arrived at another long street.
This long street is about ten zhang wide, and a locust tree is planted every ten zhang or so on both sides of the road. It is winter, and the locust trees have long since lost their leaves, leaving only bare branches shivering in the bleak cold wind.
The long street is lined with what appears to be residential houses. Every now and then, you can see groups of two or three women chatting and laughing in front of the houses, or elderly people sitting lazily in rattan chairs at their doorways, basking in the sun.
Compared to the West Market, this long street was far too quiet.
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