Born into the world in 1073

I hummed, putting the book back on the shelf."Where is that realistic" He frowned deeply, probably not happy to be painted as a fat and stout black-faced giant.I held the painting up to his face. "A...The terrain of Miao Wang City is relatively flat.

A wide and shallow river gently spreads out, connecting the two banks with stone bridges and small boats.

If it wasn't for the ice and snow, you could swim directly to the other side. The scenery here is gentle and not as grand and magnificent as that of the Witch King’s City.

But it was too cold here before.

Only the lonely, forlorn castle on the mountaintop remained, its interior lit by scattered fires and occupied by a solitary, young king.

Here, the entrance and exit require a boat. As soon as I stepped onto the small boat, I saw Mu Wanchen wrapped in a thin cloak, walking towards the pier from the wind and snow.

"I'll go with you," he said as he jumped onto the little boat.

"Oh I'm going to town, you know!" I reminded her.

He nodded silently and stood beside me, as if he absolutely had to go out with me.

"You still have your injuries... Besides, going out like that will attract attention." I tiptoed and tugged at the edge of his hood, trying to cover up his snowy white hair.

"You've been traveling and working so hard for my people. How can I ask you to do everything Besides, your safety is important to me. I feel better knowing I'm with you." He said softly, looking down at me.

His gentle expression made it impossible for me to resist. I hurriedly took his arm and walked into the boat's cabin.

Long Xiaoge was instructing the boatman when he saw us enter. He frowned slightly and said, "I'll take you to 'Outer City'. First, go buy two sets of clothes to change into. You can't dress like this and attract attention."

"Outer City What place is that Do you even have city walls anymore"

Long Xiaoge frowned and shook his head, saying nothing. He turned and told the boatman to start rowing.

This section of the river in Miao Wang City flows slowly and is crystal clear, but just outside the Dharma Gate lies a massive water-falling chasm that is terrifying to look at. Even tourists avoid this place.

Besides, the river outside is full of water plants underneath. The water looks like thick, dark ink green. It's normal for a few corpses to be tangled there. Normal people wouldn't even come near this place.

Outside were riverbanks and treacherous mountains, giving off a bit of a desolate and forbidding vibe.

What Long Xiaoge refers to as "the outer city" is actually the place where people from within the temple moved out to.

It was a town steeped in local flavor, mostly built after the founding of the nation. People who had gradually migrated here and thrived, intermarried with outsiders, and interacted with the world, concealed the secrets of their ethnic group.

After generations, only one in ten people of pure lineage know where they truly come from.

This one-tenth are mostly the heads of their own households, living and earning money to support their faith.

We disembarked at the inland wharf in the small town, where a rather gruff middle-aged man greeted us.

He seemed to be surnamed Shi, but I didn't hear clearly. But judging by his familiarity with Brother Long, he should belong to Brother Long's inner circle.

"Guests have arrived This is…" The old man winked at us: "Truly honored guests, honored guests! These past two days, I received orders from our Village Headman to start gathering supplies. This street, little beauty, look—"

He probably knew I was a money person and he looked at me with very sharp eyes, saying directly: "Little beauty, all the properties on this street belong to our Miao Wang's confidants and nobles. Look, our ecological tourism model is good, isn't it A national 4A scenic resort town, authentic Miao culture... Ah, watch your step."

This guy is as enthusiastic as the head of a place welcoming an inspection by top leaders.

“I’ve already prepared 100 kilograms of rice, 100 kilograms of noodles, one barrel of oil and salt for each household. Oh, and Lao X Ma chili sauce! With chili peppers, things are much simpler. Just toss in a few and it adds flavor to both meals and noodles! If you eat well, you won't cause trouble!” the uncle said with a very slick tone.

Long Xiaoge was too lazy to listen to him babble, and directly asked: "Then why not send him in"

"Oh crap, it's peak season lately. So many tourists! If we shipped everything at once, we'd definitely attract attention! We'll wait for your message. I've got a small boat ready, moving things in smaller batches will keep us under the radar." The old man whispered to Dragon Brother.

Long Xiaoge wasn't interested in these mundane matters of oil, salt, firewood, and rice. He didn't give the old man any response at all. The old man was unwilling to be ignored, so he turned to me and said, “Little beauty, what do you think of our plan Look at our efficiency, we got everything ready with just one order—"

"...Uncle, how much did we spend in total I'll pay. Let's not make everyone's rations of grain and oil go to waste." I interrupted his boastful speech.

He was taken aback for a moment and retracted his smile, saying: “Little beauty, you're sensible. In fact, it’s not a big deal for us to spend this amount of money. But this matter isn’t something that can be solved in a day or two, it requires living here for a long time. If we keep giving out grain, oil, rice and noodles all the time, I'm afraid the merchants will have complaints. So I promised the merchants, half-selling and half-giving, three hundred for each household, a total of one thousand households, costing three hundred thousand yuan once. I estimate that this round will only be enough for three to five days' expenses, about one million yuan per month.”

Phew… I let out a breath of relief inwardly. This old man is an honest person, not a lion with its mouth wide open trying to take advantage of the situation.

With Dragon Xiaogge here, he probably won't dare to overprice things.

Mu Wanchen stood beside me, deliberately creating space between me and the older man.

It's probably because this old man is too materialistic and always bends over to shake my hand, which makes Mu Wanchen unhappy.

"Start sending them in gradually tonight. There are already many people inside, and the village's supplies are not enough at all." Long Xiao commanded.

It was already evening, and snow was falling. The small town was covered in a layer of silver. Tourists were very excited, some shopping, some taking pictures, and others looking for hotels in groups of three or two.

I and Mu Wanchen stood on the street, Long Xiaoge with his hands in his pockets standing beside us.

Heaven and earth are like blank canvases, snowflakes fluttering.

Yet we seemed out of place.

The noise doesn't seem to belong to us, and even eating, drinking, playing, and relaxing can't ease the worries in our hearts.

I suddenly felt like I could understand Mu Wanchen's feelings.

Heaven forbids, and the underworld has no records.

Even the human world is a different realm.

Vastness, loneliness, and prosperity are all fleeting like smoke. When Peach Blossom Spring is no longer a Peach Blossom Spring, it will fall to the point where there is nowhere to rest one's feet.

The people of Miao Wang City migrated early, emerging during times of turmoil. After enduring battles and hardships, they finally lived to see a time of peace and prosperity in the world.

And at that time, the Mi River Dharma Gate and Wuwu Mountain City were still refuges and pilgrimage sites for outsiders. The Witch Clan people still possessed a proud sense of self-esteem and even sheltered those who betrayed the Corpse Refiners.

“Let’s… find somewhere to eat,” I broke the silence, smiling at the two of them. “I’ll go buy a phone; without it, mobile payments are a problem… Let me treat you guys to a meal.”

Long Xiaogē shook his head: "I don't usually show my face here, this is where I lay low. You two go eat yourselves. At midnight, we meet here to load the ship, then come back together."

"Um... okay then..."

I nodded, and Long Xiaoge led the old man away without hesitation, leaving me and Mu Wanchen in the crowd.

I looked at him and whispered, “Then, Great Shaman King, what would you like to eat”

"...You make the call, you're far more familiar with this environment than I am." He paused for a moment, letting out a slight sigh. "This is where you belong..." outside." a maid whispered.When the sun rose, these maids looked delicate and docile one by one, but their skin was so pale it lacked any color. Thinking back to what Jiang Qiyun had said about treat...