Yefutidaolu

Chapter 280 Watch
Gao Jian and Yang Ling rode the strange beast and headed towards Yongning region.

The 'leopard-tiger' imbued with the aura of a Qilin was incredibly fast, to an astonishing degree. To say it could travel 10,000 li a day would be an understatement; it could even reach 15,000 li a day. Moreover, it didn't appear to be running at full speed, but rather just running at a normal pace.

However, if Zou Long also transforms to the second realm, he should be able to achieve this level as well. Looking at it this way, Tianma does have some skill.

Looking at it this way, it only takes two or three days to reach Yongning, which is really fast.

On the road, as they rode on the back of the strange beast at breakneck speed, Yang Ling asked Gao Jian, "Mr. Gao, besides building border defenses and bolstering the frontier, what other tasks do you have in Yongning?"

"That's all. If I had to say there's anything else, it would be gathering enough military rations and collecting enough taxes to fund the military. Considering the number of people stationed at Yongning Border, if there are 10,000 people, and 10,000 cultivators at the first level, it would require about 700,000 gold coins a year. But 10,000 people is definitely not enough. Add to that the miscellaneous auxiliary troops of 60,000 to 70,000 people, and the logistics troops, and it would cost about a million gold coins. Then there's some grain, which isn't much. We can manage to get enough rations for about 100,000 people."

"A million gold...where are we going to get it?" Yang Ling's hands trembled slightly.

"As for other parts of Liangzhou, since it's a tax, the entire Liangzhou area should be affected. The aristocratic families will each symbolically contribute around 10,000 taels of gold. With over a dozen aristocratic families in Liangzhou, that's over 100,000 taels of gold. And the rest will naturally be taxed from the common people," Gao Jian said.

Upon hearing this, Yang Ling took a deep breath.

But he didn't continue speaking, nor did he try to persuade Gao Jian; he simply silently continued on his way.

Before long, a day had passed, and the sun had already set. Surrounded by mountains and forests, the low-lying areas around the town had already darkened, but the setting sun could still reach some of the higher places, casting a ray of red light through the gaps in the leaves.

“There should be some villages nearby, sir. Why don’t we rest for the night and proceed tomorrow? We should reach Yongning by tomorrow afternoon,” Yang Ling suggested.

"Okay, let's rest for the night then." Gao Jian naturally had no objections and nodded in agreement.

Yang Ling was very fast, or rather, the strange beast was very fast; in just a few minutes, they found a village nearby.

This is an ordinary village in the Divine Dynasty, almost the 'typical' kind.

In the middle of the village, a dilapidated road stretches out, seemingly leading to any point in the small village.

However, this is actually the opposite of cause and effect. It's just that there was no road at the beginning, and the villagers often walked between the various buildings, so they wore out a path.

That's why the road is maintained entirely by foot traffic every day, making it quite difficult to walk on.

The houses here are mostly dilapidated, and the buildings are haphazardly crammed together without any planning. They don't look like a fixed town at all, but rather like a nomadic people's winter campsite.

Most of these villagers are farmers, and they build their houses not far from the main road. This is not only convenient for their own travel, but also because they occasionally encounter passersby who come to buy some crops as food on the road, and it is also easier for merchants to reach this place.

Merchants are very important to this kind of village. For ordinary villagers, they may never leave their birth village more than 100 kilometers away in their entire lives, so the existence of merchants is quite necessary. They can take away the surplus things from the village and bring things that the village does not have.

Yang Ling arrived at the village with Gao Jian, then slowed down, dismounted, and led the leopard and tiger slowly into the village.

It wasn't a big commotion, but it still attracted a lot of attention.

The villagers put down their goods and turned their attention to the area. They cautiously approached, pointing and whispering, but then panicked. Some knelt down, others ran away, and many chose to hide in their small huts.

However, Gao Jian pretended not to see it. He looked around to see if anyone would talk to him. He thought that the village chief and the neighborhood head should not ignore someone like him.

Sure enough, a short while later, an elderly man, dressed in slightly newer and better clothes, rushed over from the other side of the village. Ignoring the dirt on his clothes, he knelt down on the ground with a thud: "Greetings, Immortal Master! This is Baikuang Village. I am the village chief of Baikuang Village. May I ask where you come from, Immortal Master? So that I may report to the county town!"

Yang Ling looked around and then said, "We are from Liangzhou Prefecture. This is our credentials. We can stay here for the night. We don't need food or service. One room and two beds will suffice."

After saying that, he threw a waist tag over arrogantly.

Gao Jian glanced at it.

Yang Ling immediately bent down and said to Gao Jian on the beast's back, "Mr. Gao, the food here is coarse and the women are ugly. It would be better if you didn't have them serve you food. It's better not to have them."

Gao Jian shook his head: "It's alright, I brought my own food, just eat what I have. As for serving, I don't usually need any service. I'm used to being alone. In fact, I don't need a village. It's the same in the wild. The environment here... isn't much better than in the wild."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "Having houses to shelter us from the wind and rain is secondary. The main thing is that there are people here. People can avoid miasma and dispel evil spirits, which is better for our health."

“That makes sense. Let’s find a place to rest then.” Gao Jian nodded.

It's easy to get sick in the wild, and that's precisely because of this. In the mountains and rivers, all kinds of miasma, foul air, and even other air from heaven and earth, such as wind, rain, dampness, and restlessness, can invade the body, making people uncomfortable and sick.

The sky has its own weather, the earth has its own earth energy, people have their own human energy, demons have their own demonic energy, gods have their own divine energy, and things like summer heat, cold air, earth energy, and wind energy all circulate in various places.

In cities or rural areas, where people gather and all things thrive, demons will feel uncomfortable because the human presence is too overwhelming.

People are less likely to get sick in such places and feel more comfortable there, which is the reason for the 'popularity'.

Where demons gather, there will be a "demonic aura that fills the sky," and people will feel very uncomfortable there. This is the same principle.

On the other side, the village chief, upon seeing this, glanced at the waist token and immediately understood. He then bowed and said, "Please allow me to guide you two officials!"

Gao Jian remained silent, while Yang Ling stepped forward to lead the beast, his previous obsequiousness vanished, and he said blankly, "Lead the way!"

The village chief led Yang Ling to a courtyard, where they saw several women packing up their belongings. They moved quickly and had already carried the things out. One of them was leading several crying children who didn't want to leave home.

The women didn't tolerate it; they kicked and shoved, and soon pushed the babies out, clearing the room.

The leopard-tiger beast was chained outside. Gao Jian dismounted and went into the room.

He has been maintaining his combat readiness these past few days, so he hasn't been practicing his skills.

Unlike other cultivators, they actually improve and restore their state when they practice. They even experience additional states when circulating their energy. Some cultivators circulate their energy 24 hours a day, without ceasing, and never stop at any time.

However, martial arts training requires tempering one's physical body, which essentially involves harming oneself. Therefore, Gao Jian has not been training much recently in order to prepare for potential battles.

There were two separate rooms in the courtyard, so Yang Ling didn't come in; only Gao Jian walked in alone.

Looking around, it was very clean, and the bedding was new, but it was all made of ordinary cloth with no special patterns.

Gao Jian sat on the bed, immediately closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep. This was his usual practice: to rest well before plotting his grand plans.

After all... the Divine Dynasty is too powerful, and the various risks are ridiculously high, so Gao Jian has to plan and do things at all times to strengthen his power. He really doesn't have that much energy to care about the scenery in the middle of the road.

Wanting to oppose the divine dynasty, yet also wanting to find beauty in the middle of the road with a smile, and even wanting to help everyone—perhaps some people can do it, but Gao Jian certainly can't.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Yang Ling's voice came from outside: "Mr. Gao, would you like to come out for a walk?"

Gao Jian opened the door, somewhat puzzled: "Shall we go for a walk?"

Yang Ling then said, "Well, let's take a walk. It's a good opportunity to see the scenery of Liangzhou, isn't it? Staying in the capital all the time can get a bit boring. The land of the Divine Dynasty is so vast. It's a rare opportunity to come here. Wouldn't it be a pity not to take a good look around?"

These words left Gao Jian somewhat bewildered.

Because, at the very beginning, when he had just left Cangzhou City and headed to Baishanjiang Dragon Palace, he had already experienced the magnificent landscape of the Divine Dynasty while riding on the back of a dragon.

It really is... truly spectacular.

However, now all Gao Jian can see are the bloodstains on the magnificent rivers and mountains. Beneath that grand and majestic scenery lies an unspeakable horror, palaces piled up with countless corpses.

Therefore, even in the capital, Gao Jian did not focus too much on the scenery. Now that he has arrived in Liangzhou, he is thinking about how to proceed. After all, he is currently under the scrutiny of the local aristocratic families in Liangzhou, the Taotie tribe, and even the Hu people outside the border.

If they are willing to stay in Liangzhou City and wait for the mission to be completed, that's fine, as long as the Taotie tribe and the Liangzhou aristocratic families finish their business.

Of course, Gao Jian couldn't do that, for a simple reason: he couldn't just sit idly by.

If he does this, it's really hard to say what the Liangzhou aristocratic families might do under his name.

Gao Jian didn't want Liangzhou to be skinned alive every time he came.

So he has to come out. Coming out means encountering danger, and he has to consider contingency plans. He won't have much time to wander around, so he doesn't really want to go, even if it makes him seem a bit 'boring' or 'cold'.

Perhaps noticing that Gao Jian hadn't answered immediately, Yang Ling quickly said, "Mr. Gao, what's wrong with taking a walk? We can stroll around the area and enjoy the scenery of Liangzhou. It might be helpful for you to make your judgment."

"Let's forget about it." Gao Jian shook his head: "As you can probably guess, I have a lot of things to consider, and I probably won't have the time to enjoy the scenery right now."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ling's eyes seemed to reveal a sense of relief and understanding.

Then he advised, "Mr. Gao, you think so much, but don't you want to look at the people and things you're worrying about, and see what they're really like now?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Jian's expression immediately showed surprise.

“You—” Gao Jian looked at the other person, sizing him up.

After Yang Ling felt relieved, he seemed to have gained a lot of courage. He was no longer as timid as before, but said, "Lord Gao, isn't this the reason why you don't want to stay in Liangzhou City?"

"How dare you say that's why?" Gao Jian retorted.

Yang Ling replied, "I brought you here to see your attitude, and the way you have shown me has given me the courage to do this."

Yang Ling explained his plans.

He brought Gao Jian to this village so that the villagers could test Gao Jian's attitude. If Gao Jian's attitude towards these people was not right, then he would not say these words to Gao Jian. However, if Gao Jian showed an attitude of 'indifference' or higher, such as... like now, where he was polite even though he was not helping, then he could appear in front of Gao Jian and say these words.

Gao Jian frowned slightly: "Are you gambling with the lives of the villagers against me?"

Yang Ling shook his head slightly: "Not only that, but also my life. After all... if Lord Gao disapproves of me after I say these words, I'm afraid I'll die here too. It all depends on... whether Lord Gao, the bookmaker, thinks I've won or lost the gamble?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Jian suddenly burst into laughter.

This person is quite interesting.

Then he nodded: "Let's go out and take a look."

Gao Jian hadn't originally planned to go, but then he thought about it—

Isn't this what he came here for?
As Yang Ling said, everything he did was for these people, these things, and these views.

If he doesn't go and see for himself, wouldn't it seem like all his efforts are meaningless?
So Gao Jian followed Yang Ling outside.

The first thing you see is the courtyard.

The yard was empty, with a few chickens scratching for food, but where was there any? They had already dug up and eaten all the little insects hiding underground, so pecking at the ground now was just a waste of time.

Just like the surrounding villagers, it was all in vain.

Sow a single grain of millet in spring, reap ten thousand grains in autumn.

There is no land in the world, and the farmer still starves to death.

After a year of hard work, it seems like I've come up empty-handed, having gained nothing.

After walking a few steps out of the courtyard, I came across two children talking in another small courtyard next door.

A little child wearing a bib asked, "Have you eaten?"

The other man, wearing pants, spat and said, "Eat my ass!"

Then both children laughed, giggling and laughing.

(End of this chapter)