bookbashuk Chapter 46 Entering the City
Chapter 46 Entering the City
The real world is like a replica of a future dream, the only difference being that Zhou Qiuyuan did not agree to exchange the Thunder-Nourishing Pills, but only gave Lu Chengping an ambiguous answer, saying that he would consider it for a few more days.
Lu Chengping believed that since Zhou Qiuyuan was willing to exchange things, he would not resort to desperate measures or more underhanded tactics.
"A spiritual tool can give you much more time to cultivate each day, allowing you to progress much faster." Lu Chengping smiled as he handed over the Thunder Listening Sword. "I'll lend you this spiritual tool today."
Zhou Qiuyuan quickly understood Lu Chengping's thoughts.
Once he experiences the extra cultivation benefits brought by the Thunder Listening Sword, after a period of time, when this preferential treatment ends, he will feel the gap between his cultivation and strength.
If you don't want your cultivation progress to slow down, you'll have to exchange it for a Thunder Nourishing Pill.
They're true masters of manipulating people's hearts.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother." Zhou Qiuyuan accepted the Thunder Listening Sword without any hesitation and began to temper his bones.
The Thunder Listening Sword was ultimately no match for the Thunder Strike Blade. Zhou Qiuyuan had not prepared any extra pills and was worried about wasting their potency, so his cultivation efficiency was extremely poor.
However, the extra four hours of cultivation time each day is a good thing, and over the years, the improvement it brings is quite considerable.
Only after obtaining the Thunderclap Blade did Zhou Qiuyuan take the Wild Bull Bone Strengthening Pill and the Black Tiger Bone Tempering Pill.
Forging Thunder Bones takes longer than tempering Yang Thunder Skin. Although the two types of pills are no less effective than the previous combination, it still takes eleven days to forge Thunder Bones.
During this period, Zhou Qiuyuan used the Thunder Listening Sword, which reduced the time required to forge the Thunder Bone to ten days.
The story moves to the future dream of the second day.
As dawn broke, Zhou Qiuyuan had breakfast as usual when he vaguely heard a loud commotion coming from the east gate. Listening carefully, he realized it was related to people from Tianqiao City.
Lu Chengping had given a heads-up yesterday, so Zhou Qiuyuan was not surprised by the arrival of people from Tianqiao City.
He hesitated for a moment, then ran all the way towards the east side of the city.
Along the way, he met many people who shared similar thoughts and were all heading to Dongcheng.
The closer you get to the east gate, the more people there are, and the main road is completely blocked.
Zhou Qiuyuan looked into the distance and saw the East City Gate wide open, with a large number of black dots like ants rapidly approaching Black Swamp City at the end of his line of sight.
Upon closer inspection, he was astonished to discover that they were all living people.
Eight people dressed in Xuan Shui Daoist robes walked in front, and they breathed a sigh of relief as they looked at the Black Swamp City that was so close at hand.
"Mission accomplished!"
"They're so stingy, trying to save the spirit stones for the flying boat, they're making us escort them for six or seven days..."
Before he could finish speaking, the older man interrupted, "Xuanmo, don't talk nonsense, or you'll get yourself into trouble."
Those in the crowd who were knowledgeable recognized the familiar Xuan Shui Daoist robe and exclaimed in surprise, "A celestial master from the Blackwater Sect!"
The eight Blackwater Sect immortal masters ignored the mortals and instructed the magistrate on the city wall: "The outer city government should settle these people properly; they are all citizens of Black Swamp City."
On the city wall, the county magistrate, dressed in official robes, bowed to the immortal master and said, "I will respectfully obey the immortal master's decree."
The Blackwater Sect's immortal master did not concern himself with the trivial matters of the outer city. The outer city had a county government office, which was responsible for maintaining order within the city, in accordance with the ancient dynastic system.
Ignoring the gazes of the crowd, the eight Blackwater Sect immortal masters each used their magical artifacts, transforming into streams of light and disappearing into the inner city.
The crowd watched the disappearing figure with envy, unable to look away for a long time.
Although body cultivators are prestigious in the outer city, they are ultimately destined to never embark on the path to immortality. How can they compare to the lofty immortal masters? Their status is worlds apart.
Zhou Qiuyuan did not focus on the unattainable path to immortality, but instead focused on the present.
The people of Tianqiao City arrived outside Black Swamp City, carrying bundles of all sizes, and some even rode in horse-drawn carriages or oxcarts, bringing their belongings and valuables, having traveled a long distance to Black Swamp City.
They traveled day and night, enduring wind and rain during the day and suffering numerous attacks from evil spirits and monsters at night, facing immense danger. Even those who were once well-dressed became disheveled and exhausted.
Body cultivators have abundant stamina and can maintain a good condition.
Ordinary people don't have such good physical strength. In order to keep up with the group and not be abandoned by the Blackwater Sect's immortal masters as a burden, they can only try their best to catch up.
Now, seeing the Black Swamp City so close at hand, they collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.
It was impossible for the eight immortal masters of the Blackwater Sect to take care of everything in detail. Some of the elderly, weak, sick and disabled could not keep up with the group and were abandoned by the escort team.
Along the way, the people of Tianqiao City have lost fifty to sixty thousand people.
Even so, the number of people arriving still exceeded 100,000.
With a population of less than 300,000, the sudden increase of nearly half in Black Swamp City will surely cause a significant rise in food prices and other commodity prices.
Among the refugees of Tianqiao City, there were also some with lingering auras, indicating they were at least Qi Refining Realm or higher Body Refiners.
These body cultivators are not low-ranking figures in Tianqiao City, and some are even heads of powerful families. They certainly wouldn't be willing to be at the bottom of Black Swamp City.
Once they enter Black Swamp City, they will fight for territory and acquire more cultivation resources, which will inevitably lead to conflict with the old powerful families.
It is foreseeable that Black Swamp City will become extremely lively.
An elderly man in a brocade robe stepped out of a carriage. His body refinement level was not low, and he was one of the few people who were not significantly affected.
The elderly man in brocade robes, Zeng Rong, asked the county magistrate on the city wall, "Your Excellency, have you arranged food and lodging?"
"We are exhausted from our long journey, and we are hungry and thirsty. Please do us a favor."
"This matter has been arranged." The magistrate stood on the city wall and instructed the constables behind him: "Officer Xue, take one-third of the refugees with your men to the tenement in the west of the city to settle them down. Then take a batch of rice from the government granary to open a soup kitchen for relief."
"..."
Black Swamp City has limited available land; large mansions and prime locations are controlled by powerful families, who are unwilling to relinquish their own territory.
The magistrate could easily deal with one or two powerful clans, but these clans, upon receiving the news, secretly united, leaving him with no chance of success.
The resettlement of more than 100,000 people is no small matter. If a riot breaks out in the outer city, even the county magistrate will lose his head.
Fortunately, there were large courtyards in the western, southern and northern parts of the city. The owners of these courtyards were easy to control. As long as some of the courtyards were left vacant, refugees could be squeezed in.
The wealthy and those who practice body cultivation need not be bothered by the government; they will find inns or rent or buy houses from brokers on their own.
As long as the refugees are settled and prevented from dying on the spot, the situation can be stabilized.
If refugees cannot afford rent and taxes, it's because they are incompetent. Of course, they should be expelled like the people of Black Swamp City. It's impossible for the government to keep paying for their livelihood.
Are all the refugees in Tianqiao City housed in large courtyards?
The tenement is the most suitable place to settle people. With a large influx of people from Tianqiao City, the tenement will become the place where conflicts are most acute and the most chaotic place in the city.
Zhou Qiuyuan was very glad that his family had moved away from the alley. Otherwise, nowadays, if they wanted to stay away from trouble, they would have to spend at least three times the cost to find a suitable place to live.