Damn, I turned into a monster

Chapter 230, Section 228: This time it's a real rat girl.
"But Master Wang is truly knowledgeable. I've never heard of this story before. Even among the stories of the March people, I've never heard of this so-called Earth story."

The little girl's father smiled and said to Wang Wu, then picked up his daughter and put her on his shoulder, "It's getting late, I think we should hurry up and get into the city before sunset."

"Of course," Wang Wu nodded with a smile.

Yingdu.

Yingdu was the largest and most prosperous city in the State of Chu. This was different from the State of Zhou, whose capital was not the most economically developed place, but merely the political capital.

As for its level of prosperity, it was certainly prosperous, but it was clearly not as prosperous as Yingdu, the capital of the Great Chu.

As one of the world's top powers, the Great Chu, despite having only three powerful states—Wei, Zhou, and Chu—was still incredibly strong and had a very prosperous economy.

As the wealthiest city in the country, Yingdu's prosperity naturally surpassed that of any city Wang Wu had ever seen before.

With a population of 22 million, this would be considered a megacity even back in my hometown. Add to that the 20,000-plus square meters of land area and the colossal city walls that would be impossible to achieve back home.

A truly fantastical super metropolis. Although upon entering the city gates, the first thing that catches the eye is the vast plain, as for the urban area...
The city area is in a relatively far place.

Of course, this does not mean that most of the area within the walls of Yingdu is a vast plain. Although it is indeed a plain near the walls, there are still many urban areas.

Just like the megacity in my hometown is divided into districts, Yingdu is the same.

Wang Wu didn't know exactly how many districts there were, because he and the father and daughter parted ways after entering the city, and he hadn't asked them about the city before they did.

As for that noblewoman, her strength wasn't even at the True Realm level, so she was easily blasted to dust by Wang Wu, and he didn't even have a chance to ask her about this matter.

However, flying is not prohibited over Yingdu, so Wang Wu could fly up into the sky to take a look.

As for the entry check, it's very simple. Because of the harmonious relationship between the Chu Kingdom and the demon race, entering the city now only requires a simple registration, without needing to verify identity or anything else.

Of course, after registering at the point of entry into the city, your location will be recorded, and the authorities will be able to find you immediately if needed.

Wang Wu had no objection to this. He was a law-abiding citizen and never felt that he, as a strong person, had any special privileges he couldn't have.

According to Wang Wu's observation from the sky, the city has seven major districts, each with a large area, totaling about 15,000 square kilometers.

As for the other 7,000 square kilometers, that is the 'blank area' near the city wall.

This blank area is not empty; it is a vast plain with some villages, large fields and pastures, and military camps.

The military camps were located along the city wall, with one in each of the four cardinal directions. In the very center of the city, in the Wangcheng District, there was also a general military region.

It should be the General Military Region, since it's all located in Wangcheng District.

The royal city is not large; it is the smallest of the seven districts, covering just over a thousand square kilometers. But to be honest, it is more of an enormous military fortress than a 'royal city'.

Wang Wu saw a large number of bunkers and turrets there. Large buildings with a military style could be seen everywhere in the area, and their defensive capabilities looked terrifying.

After entering the city, Wang Wu chose to go to the western part of the city, also known as the 'port area'.

Xigang District, that's what this place is called here. As soon as Wang Wu entered, two people came up to him.

"Oh! What a handsome husband!"

"Sir, you look unfamiliar. Do you have a reservation at an inn? My Wang's Inn is the best in this Xigang district..."

Two people came before Wang Wu, a man and a woman. The man was plain-looking, while the woman was heavily made up but had an excellent figure.

"No need, I just came here for a stroll."

Wang Wu smiled and declined their sales pitch, then quickly walked past them and continued on his way.

The two were not from the same inn, because they were vying to get to Wang Wu. As soon as the woman exclaimed, "What a handsome husband!" the man immediately interrupted her and started promoting himself.

However, it is clear that Xigang District is a place with a very strong commercial atmosphere. In fact, it is not just here, but the entire Yingdu is a city with an extremely strong commercial atmosphere.

Shops and merchants are everywhere, and the city's prosperity attracts a large number of tourists from all over the country and the world.

Although there are only three countries, the Great Zhou and the Eastern and Western Wei, oh right, we can't forget the surrounding small countries, they certainly count as well.

So there are quite a few people from the surrounding area who come here. Moreover, Yingdu is not located in the center of the Chu state, but is close to the border of the empire, somewhat like a certain dynasty in my hometown.

As for the modern era, although modern society inherited the same capital as the previous feudal dynasty, it's best not to compare it with that one because the art style is different.

However, such things are not important. In short, the first place Wang Wu went to after entering the West Port District was Red... ah no, it's nothing.

After arriving at this place, he first toured various parts of Xigang District, getting a general feel for the local customs and culture. He had to admit that the people of Chu were indeed more open-minded than the people of Zhou in this respect...

Well, I digress. In short, Wang Wu quickly chose a hotel to stay in. It was a relatively high-end hotel in the Xigang District, and it was also a... well, a restaurant.

High-end restaurants, upscale eateries, the waiters are all good-looking... I've digressed again.

In short, the hotel Wang Wu went to was the best hotel he had ever experienced so far. Although he had never stayed in a hotel many times, it didn't matter.

Because he was staying in the highest-class room, the hotel even assigned him a maid, and to Wang Wu's surprise, the maid was indeed a monster.

Monsters were commonplace in the State of Chu, and could be found in every industry.

How to attract more customers to your shop? The answer is to invite a yokai (supernatural being). The benefits that a super-handsome yokai can bring are far beyond what ordinary human shop assistants can achieve.

Although monsters are known for their chaotic private lives, this is not a problem for the people of Chu.

Because the State of Chu was a place with a very open social atmosphere, the wealthy and noble families in Chu were even more unconventional in their private lives than monsters.

This is not an exaggeration. In fact, compared to some nobles, monsters might be considered conservative. After all, monsters treat such things as a daily activity like eating and drinking, but they don't have any particularly outrageous fetishes.

And even if there are some, they are usually types that ordinary people can completely accept, unlike some nobles...

Well, to be honest, it's just too outrageous.

The State of Chu had a noble family, and a large one at that. These noble families had long histories, many dating back to the Shang Dynasty. As the elite class in human society, they often developed some truly extraordinary and remarkable innovations.

As for how incredible they are, well, there's nothing they can't do.

But this is quite normal, because nobles, from ancient times to the present, from their hometowns to this place, have always given the public this impression.

As a privileged class, the so-called 'aristocratic spirit' is mostly just something this group uses to glorify themselves and to fool the lower classes and commoners.

You can't say there aren't individuals who perfectly embody the spirit of nobility, but for the vast majority of people in a country, nobility as a class is not a good thing.

After all, the things that the nobles of a certain country did before their deaths, as well as the things that the powerful families and landlords of their hometowns did in ancient society, were all recorded.

Although landlords were not part of any banner system, they were not fundamentally different from nobles in terms of their animalistic nature.

Or rather, there's no difference, it's just a matter of how many privileges one possesses.

Some people in modern society are living too well, and they actually try to speak out for this class. It can only be said that they have become addicted to being tenant farmers and long-term laborers.

Or perhaps they felt that their family was also able to eat at the same table with those people at that time.

Of course, it's also possible that one's own family was indeed part of that group at that time.

Let's go back to the hotel.

Wang Wu's maid was a female demon. Although she was a demon, she was basically no different from a human because she had lived in human society for many years.

Wang Wu used to dislike these kinds of monsters, because the monsters in the Zhou Kingdom who had lived in human society for a long time often forgot that they were actually monsters, and thus developed contempt for their fellow monsters who lived in the monster society.

He had no problem with his fellow demons who lived and grew up among humans, but he had a lot of problems with these traitorous beasts who forgot who they were and discriminated against their own kind.

However, his maid was not this type of monster, and she had always been like this, not because of the Heavenly Palace.

For him, an Earth martial artist, the type of a person or monster is something he can tell at a glance, without needing to spend much time on long-term observation.

Xiaoqian is the maid's name; she has no surname.

"Young Master Wang, have you ever heard a rumor about Sihanoukville?"

In the living room of the guest room, Xiaoqian finished serving Wang Wu the dishes, then sat down next to him with a smile, resting her chin on her hands and looking at him as she asked.

"What rumors?"

Wang Wu took a bite of food and handed Xiaoqian a pair of chopsticks, saying, "You eat too, don't be shy. We're from the same clan, there's no need to be so polite."

"Same, same race!?"

Wang Wu did not intentionally inform others of his ethnic customs, nor was he required to state his ethnicity when registering to enter the city, so he did not say so.

However, because of the aura and energy he exudes, most people would not associate him with the demon race.

Therefore, when Xiaoqian learned of Wang Wu's demon identity, the entire demon race was stunned for a moment.

"What, you don't believe it?"

Seeing the expression on her face, Wang Wu didn't say anything more, but simply activated a partial transformation form.

Horns pierced the skin, and an exoskeleton covered the entire face. When Xiaoqian saw Wang Wu in this form, her expression changed from stunned to surprised.

Then comes joy.

"Major Wang! You, you're actually, you're actually one of my clansmen!?!"

Xiaoqian's face flushed with excitement. She grabbed Wang Wu's hand and exclaimed excitedly, "Wow! It really is! It really is my kin!!!"

"That's wonderful, that's really wonderful!!"

"What's wrong? Why are you so agitated?" Wang Wu was puzzled when he saw Xiaoqian suddenly become extremely agitated, but the next moment, when she pressed her whole body against him, he roughly understood.

Before that, he and Xiaoqian finished off the food on the table and cleaned up the dishes.

Xiaoqian is a demon raised by this restaurant called Tianxianglou. She grew up in this restaurant since she was a child.

She was not a born demon, but rather transformed from an animal, and her true form was a rat.

The white mouse: Chu is located in the south, so the mice here are generally large. Xiaoqian is an albino mouse, so the hotel owner keeps her as a pet.

Then she took human form, of course, during the time when the restaurant was managed by the current owner.

As for the landlady who raised her, the lifespan difference between humans and demons is simply too great. Therefore, despite using many methods to prolong her life, she still passed away twenty years ago.

The restaurant was then passed down to her son, who is now the owner.

Her transformation occurred ten years ago, which did not surprise the landlady's son, because this thing could live longer than his mother; an ordinary rat could not live that long.

There were other monsters working in the restaurant, so after Xiaoqian transformed into human form, she naturally became one of the restaurant's maids.

Of course, she was different from ordinary maids. The boss treated her like family. If she hadn't asked for it herself, she would never have become a maid.

Even as a maid, she wasn't the kind of person who... just knew what she was doing.

But no matter what, she is, after all, a monster, and a very traditional one at that.

However, to Wang Wu's surprise, this woman had no experience.

Not at all.

(End of this chapter)