Before long, Qin Lushu, whom Xie Mulang had mentioned, walked out of the city with an air of nonchalance.
This boy, who looked to be only ten years old, had rosy lips and white teeth. Despite the dead of winter, he was only dressed in a blue robe and black clothes. Yun Wei noticed that he had a jade flute at his waist, so the earlier response must have been made with this instrument.
In just a few breaths, the dashing young man approached.
Before he could even speak, the other person had already bowed deeply as if lighting a candle, saying, "I am Qin Lushu, the Junior Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. I greet my Grandmaster Uncle and the two distinguished guests."
The sound was crisp and clear, like the gentle murmur of a cascading spring.
Yun Wei had never seen such a scene before, and he hurriedly pulled Isaac to bow in return, which ended up causing everyone to fall over.
Seeing this, Xie Mulang couldn't help but cross his arms and sigh, "Alright, Lü Shu, don't be rude. These two are Yun Wei and Isaac, my close friends. I'll have to ask you to take good care of them for the next few days."
Qin Lushu was curiously observing Yun Wei and Isaac when he heard this, and he quickly clasped his hands and stood at attention, saying, "Hey, don't you know how I handle things? Please rest assured, Grandmaster Uncle."
Yun Wei then noticed the character "祖" (ancestor), and he couldn't help but look at Xie Mulang with a strange expression, only to see the other party smile helplessly.
"You've become more and more glib in the months I've been away."
Xie Mulang couldn't help but pat Qin Lushu on the shoulder, then bid farewell to Yun and Wei, saying, "Brother Yun, Brother Isaac, I'll take my leave now. Have a good time!"
After speaking, without waiting for Yun Wei's reply, his figure flashed and disappeared from the spot.
Yun Wei couldn't help but rub his forehead, but then he heard the young man laugh, "I didn't expect that Grandmaster Uncle would still be the same as before."
He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Xie's seniority seems to be quite high."
"Of course, Grandmaster Uncle is Elder Xie's own nephew." Qin Lushu glanced at the two of them and smiled. "Are you two from the mainland? I didn't expect that Grandmaster Uncle, who is so dull, would actually make friends."
Upon hearing this, Yun Wei immediately nodded, "Yes, we came from Alchemy City. We met Brother Xie in Moonflower City earlier, and he helped us a lot."
He thought to himself that this person must have a very good relationship with Xie Mulang. He addressed Xie Mulang with such respect, but he didn't hold back at all when teasing him.
"Haha, honored guest, your humility makes me feel truly ashamed. My master's uncle has sent a letter, and I've already heard about it. It was you who helped find the lost sword manual, wasn't it?" Qin Lushu glanced at Isaac, then switched to standard Common English:
"Let's not stand here like idiots. Let's take you to the side rooms in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. By the way, although it may be a bit presumptuous, let's address each other as equals. Using honorifics all the time will make us seem too distant."
In reality, he and Xie Mulang treated each other as equals in private.
Yun Wei was naturally more than happy to accept this offer; if he continued to be so modest, he might not be able to speak properly anymore.
The three of them walked together toward the stone steps. The base of the walls of Bili City was more than 30 meters higher than the mudflats below. The stone steps from the city gate to the mudflats were grand and wide, and the flat and clean steps went all the way into the water, like a natural dock.
The stone steps outside the city gate were unusually deserted.
Qin Lushu explained, "Normally, around the twelfth lunar month, when the end of the year is approaching, Bili City will no longer send out merchant caravans. Moreover, this year is different from previous years, with that crucial battle hanging in everyone's minds, so Tianji Prefecture ordered the city gates to be closed earlier."
In reality, every winter, villages across the entire Zhuyuan Continent struggle to survive, and there's hardly any business to be done.
Yun Wei then understood Xie Mulang's intention and quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you for your help, Brother Qin."
Qin Lushu chuckled, "Brother Yun, you've misunderstood. Distinguished guests like you can go anywhere, not just the city gates, but even Tianji Prefecture."
Yun Wei waved his hand, feeling that he had only done a small favor by borrowing someone else's flower to offer to Buddha.
With Qin Lüshu leading the way, the soldiers guarding the city easily let them pass.
Upon entering the city and seeing the bustling crowds and dazzling street scenes, Yun Wei was suddenly awestruck by this incredibly three-dimensional city.
"Isn't Bili City beautiful?" Seeing the expression on Yun Wei's face, Qin Lushu smiled smugly. "Bili City is like a living nine-square grid, divided into ten levels..."
As the energetic young man spoke, he magically pulled a rather old map from his sleeve.
Yun Wei and Isaac leaned over to look, and were even more shocked.
Just as Qin Lushu said, the layout of the entire Bili City resembles a three-dimensional nine-square grid.
The top floor only has the central section, where the Tianji Mansion and the Three Temples are located.
The remaining nine floors are arranged in a stepped pattern. Apart from the middle section, which is used for the construction of various public facilities and the connecting hub between the upper and lower floors, the other eight sections are all residences and shops of the city's residents. Each section is called a lane, which is the origin of Xie Mulang's "overseeing seventy-two lanes".
Even in the previous era of Yunwei, such urban planning...
He thought that getting it recognized as a World Cultural Heritage site shouldn't be a problem.
"I... I'm sorry, I was too shocked and misspoke for a moment." Yun Wei was still in a daze for a long time. As he followed Qin Lushu toward the elevator platform in the center of the city, he asked, "How long did it take you to build such a large city?"
“Four hundred and seventy-two years, as clearly stated in the Chronicle of the Jade City.” Qin Lushu answered without hesitation, waving his hand. “Actually, at the beginning there was only the level we are standing on, but as more and more people came, we had to build upwards.”
Yun Wei couldn't help but ask in confusion, "But...why not build another city?"
He was also very curious as to why the people of Bili had never settled outside of Bili City, even though they had been in the Zhuyuan Continent for so long.
"Because..." Qin Lushu stopped speaking at this point.
The mischievous boy stuck out his tongue, licked his bright red lips, and asked with a smile, "You two should have already heard your grandmaster mention the contents of 'The Chronicles of the Azure City', right?"
Yun Wei replied, "That's right. It's said that the fleet encountered the Taibai Immortal Lord riding a whale, and then traveled to the Zhuyuan Continent."
Isaac had been listening attentively to their conversation, simply nodding in agreement.
Qin Lushu smiled mysteriously and led the two onto the slowly rising elevator platform. It was a rather magical device; Yun Wei felt it... was somewhat like a waterwheel.
Fortunately, their area was quite quiet. Qin Lushu looked around and then turned to the two of them, saying, "I also have another version of the history of Bili City here."
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