Demon, come and cultivate for me.

Xie Ning stood on the city wall, silently watching Zhou Chu's departing figure.

She got up before dawn, got ready, and rushed to the city gate to see Zhou Chu off. But when she saw the Crown Prince appear in plain clothes, she knew she shouldn't be there.

The search for the Emperor's Seal in the south was a secret operation, so the Crown Prince could not possibly give them a grand send-off.

But the fact that the Crown Prince personally rode here early in the morning fully demonstrates that he attaches great importance to this matter.

The Crown Prince told the three that the Imperial Seal would determine the future of the world. If the Yan Kingdom could obtain it, it would surely stand out from the other kingdoms, become the hegemon of the world, and even unify the country.

The journey is fraught with peril, and even if we successfully find the Emperor's Seal, bringing it back will be a major challenge.

If other countries find out, they will definitely plunder along the way at all costs.

At this point, the Crown Prince showed a rare expression of worry.

He said that if it was impossible to bring the Emperor's Seal back, it should be destroyed rather than fall into the hands of another country.

At this moment, Mr. Cheng whispered a reminder: "Your Highness, we've already gone ten miles out of the city; it's time to go back."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince nodded, dismounted, and bowed to Zhou Chu and the other two: "Gentlemen, the future of Yan is in your hands."

Upon seeing this, Zhou Chu and the others hurriedly dismounted and bowed back to the Crown Prince, saying, "We will certainly not fail in our mission."

……

The crown prince stood there, watching Zhou Chu and the others' departing figures, motionless for a long time.

Only after their figures had completely disappeared did the Crown Prince, urged by Mr. Cheng, mount his horse and return to the city.

Mr. Cheng rode his horse alongside the Crown Prince, trailing him by a horse's length, and asked in a low voice, "Is Your Highness worried about Zhou Chu and the other two?"

"Where did Mr. Cheng say this?"

"Princess Zhaoji is a member of the royal family. Chidingzi has always been by your side, and you have sent him to travel south with them. This..."

"Mr. Cheng, you are overthinking it. As the saying goes, if you don't trust someone, you won't use them; if you use someone, you won't doubt them. If I didn't trust them, I wouldn't have sent them."

It would be too dangerous for Princess Zhaoji to stay in the capital; it would be safer for her to go south.

"Chi Dingzi is a peerless assassin. If he follows me north, he won't be able to use his talents on the battlefield. It would be better for him to go south with them; that would give them a better chance of winning."

"The Crown Prince has thought things through very well," Mr. Cheng said, and then fell silent.

One important reason why Zhou Chu and the other two were chosen to go south was that they were not from aristocratic families, had no foundation, and would not be bound by any family.

The allure of the Emperor's Seal was so great that not only royal families from various countries desired it, but powerful clans were also tempted by it.

If the Xie family, whose influence in the Yan state was second only to the royal family, were to obtain the Emperor's Seal, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't harbor any improper thoughts, given the precedent of the Zhao, Wei, and Han families dividing Jin.

……

How did the promised treasure-hunting trio turn into a five-person team game?

Zhou Chu looked at Princess Zhaoji, dressed as a soldier, and the red-clad man who had been following the Crown Prince, and couldn't help but scratch his head.

One of them is a tight-lipped person, you can't get a word out even if you kick him three times.

One is a scheming woman with paranoia who is also impossible to kill.

With these two around, this trip is destined to be anything but comfortable.

The route south was to leave the State of Yan, enter the State of Qi, pass through the State of Lu, enter the State of Chu, and finally reach the Baiyue.

The five traveled day and night, crossing mountains and valleys. Along the way, they encountered several ignorant little demons, all of whom Zhou Chu dealt with easily.

The souls of these lesser demons range from a few decades to two or three hundred years. Even if several of them were combined, their lifespans would not exceed a thousand years, which is not enough for Zhou Chu to deduce the cultivation technique. They could only be temporarily stored away for other uses.

On this day, the five people crossed the border between Yan and Qi and entered the State of Qi.

Unlike the Yan state, which was characterized by herding in the north and farming in the south, the Qi state had a large number of merchants.

The State of Qi bordered many other states. Its terrain was flat and its roads were extensive. Goods from various countries were often gathered and transshipped in Qi before being sold to neighboring countries.

Therefore, Qi's commerce was more developed than that of other states.

After entering the State of Qi, caravans and escort agencies lined the official roads in an endless stream.

This also meant that Zhou Chu and his group of five could no longer gallop at full speed, and could only follow the rules and move slowly behind the traveling group.

In a whole day, they had only traveled about fifty li.

In the evening, Zhou Chu and his party entered Changcheng, the northernmost city of the State of Qi.

As its name suggests, Changcheng was indeed more prosperous than many other cities in the Yan Kingdom.

Long queues formed in front of the city gates as people entered the city, undergoing inspection by the soldiers at the gates one by one, and paying a certain percentage of the city gate tax according to the amount of goods they carried.

Zhou Chu and his companions were visiting the State of Qi for the first time and were unfamiliar with its customs.

Fortunately, Chen Xiangzi reminded them, so they didn't have to keep queuing behind the caravan.

The five people entered the city from the sidewalk on the right.

The city is lined with shops, offering everything from clothing and food to housing and transportation.

Itinerant vendors set up stalls along the street and shouted their wares.

Even in the capital of the Yan Kingdom, there was no scene as bustling and prosperous as this.

After wandering around the streets for a while, the group lost interest and decided to find an inn to stay in.

Zhou Chu and his companions weren't too picky about the inn; as long as it provided shelter from the wind and rain and was clean and bright, that was fine.

Zhao Ji disagreed. She packed the clothes, shoes, rouge and powder she had bought along the way into a large bundle, hung it on the horse's back, and said, "I can't sleep in this kind of shabby inn. You can stay there yourselves. I'll go find a better inn."

Having said that, he led his horse forward alone.

Zhou Chu ignored her; he was so tired that he didn't want to walk another step and could fall asleep the moment his head hit the bed.

We found a nearby inn, but when we went in and asked, we found out that it was already full.

Left with no other choice, they had to go out and continue searching.

As a result, they searched for several inns, but they were all full.

Just as the group was wondering what was going on, Zhao Ji returned with her horse, her face showing seven parts displeasure.

It seems she hasn't found an inn to stay in either.

After inquiring, I learned that these past few days have been the last major market day in Changcheng before winter, and also the largest market day in terms of trading volume.

In a few days, after the north wind picks up and the weather turns freezing cold, merchants from all over will go back and come back next spring.

Therefore, all the hotels and inns here have already been booked.

If you want to find a place to stay, you can only go to the inn outside the city.

That place was for passing caravans to stay in; there were no decent guest rooms, just large communal sleeping areas.

A room can accommodate a dozen or even dozens of people, and most of the people living here are hard laborers and small merchants with small profits.

It's okay to stay in this kind of place right now, but if it were a couple of months ago when the weather was hot, the smell of sweat, feet, body odor, and other odors mixed together could make someone with a low tolerance for it faint.

Having grown up in the deep palace, Zhao Ji had never heard of such a place before, and she frowned as she listened.

Is this a place fit for human habitation? Even the royal livestock quarters sound better than this.

She made up her mind that even if she had to sleep on the street, she would not stay in a place like this.

Finally, Zhou Chu suggested, "If we really can't find an inn, we should look for a private residence and give the owner more money to get by for the night."

The group agreed that the matter was feasible and thus approved his proposal.