Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Zhuang Xing noticed the prefect's gaze. The prefect was not actually looking at the people of the Western Barbarians, but at the boy who was hailed as the "God of Sheep" by the Western Barbarians.

The existence of the Sheep God was no secret, and the Western Barbarians did not intend to hide it. The prefect seemed to have accepted it readily, or perhaps he had learned a lot from his interactions with the Western Barbarians.

In short, the meeting went much more smoothly than expected. The prefect gladly agreed to let the monsters enter the city. Of course, he did not completely let them go free. He required that they be accompanied by Taoist priests or servants and not to move around at will. After entering the city, they were also advised not to speak human language and to tour the city in a carriage or boat.

"Bai Yu, Chu Sheng, I'll leave this matter to you two," the prefect said. "The guests are about to return to the Western Regions. His Majesty has issued an edict granting permission for this, hoping they can return home safely. I need to go back and make some more preparations. If this wolf demon matter can truly bring some assistance and help open up trade routes, it would be a great achievement. It would be best if it could be accomplished."

"Understood, Your Excellency." Bai Yu and Chu Sheng nodded in unison before seeing the prefect off onto the carriage.

Chapter 334 Demons and Yidu

After lunch, Bai Yu summoned three carriages, which stopped in front of the courtyard.

The cat demon, dog demon, and fox demon each squeezed into a carriage, with curtains on both sides to shield their faces from the wind, through which they could peek at the scenery outside.

Before setting off, Zhuang Xing introduced the wolf demon to the Westerners.

The young man from the Western Regions bowed according to the etiquette of the Dayu people. After half a year, his Dayu language skills had improved a lot. Although he still had some accent, he was able to have normal daily conversations and no longer spoke in individual syllables.

"We meet again," the boy said.

When Zhuang Xing made eye contact with him just now, he felt that Zhuang Xing had not forgotten him.

Zhuang Xing smiled and returned the greeting: "I never expected to see you again, brother."

The boy nodded slightly and looked at the wolf demon behind Zhuang Xing.

Before he arrived, Bai Yu gave him a brief explanation. He was preparing to return to his hometown and bring back what he had learned in the past six months. If he could persuade these wolf demons to accompany him and act as his protectors, that would certainly be a good thing.

He was not afraid. The Western Barbarians were used to living with demons. Unlike the Dayu people, they did not cultivate the land. The Western Barbarians spent their lives migrating. They lived with cattle and sheep, and with horses and dogs. They had sheep gods, cattle gods, and horse gods.

The wolf is their totem. There is a clan of warriors who live with the wolf pack. They are the clan's heroes. The boy had seen those heroes on the grassland. But the three-headed wolf demon in front of him was taller and more majestic than the wolves of those heroes in his memory.

"These three are the captains of the wolf demon clan," Zhuang Xing introduced.

The boy knew what a centurion meant. In the Western Barbarian lands, a warrior who could lead ten soldiers was one in a hundred, and the same was true for a wolf pack. He treated the three men before him with utmost respect and offered them the highest honors.

"Are you a Westerner?" the wolf demon asked.

“Yes,” the boy replied.

How long does it take to get from here to the Western Regions?

“We traveled for two hundred days to reach the north of Dayu,” the boy said. “But at that time we didn’t know the way and it was very difficult. Now I know a shorter route and we have experience. I think this time we can get back in one hundred days, or maybe even faster.”

"They said if we come with you, we'll have meat to eat. Is that true?" the wolf demon asked.

“The Western Barbarians are better at raising cattle and sheep than the Dayu people,” the boy said. “If we manage to reach there safely, we will have enough meat to treat you.”

“If you can help build the trade route, the Dayu people will reward you with meat,” Bai Yu interjected. “But the condition is that you use your strengths to find out the dangers on that route and protect the exchanges between the Western Barbarians and the Dayu people.”

“My clan and I sincerely invite you to join us,” the boy said. “My homeland is in dire straits, and if we can trade with the Dayu people, we can live a better life.”

“But we still don’t know what we’ll encounter on that road,” the wolf demon said. “A hundred days’ journey is too far. We’ve never done a hundred-day hunt before. This isn’t something we can decide on easily.”

"Perhaps I can slowly tell you about what we've encountered," the boy said.

“Alright, you can speak first.” The wolf demon nodded. “After you’ve finished speaking, we’ll make a decision.”

The two sides communicated without any obstacles, so they went aside to discuss the matter in detail.

The boy was not afraid of the wolf demon at all. Even when three wolves the size of calf stood in front of him, he remained unfazed.

"Yunling, I'm worried they might have some disagreements later. Could you watch over things here for a while?" Zhuang Xing whispered in Yunling's ear.

Yunling glanced at the carriage parked in front of the door and said softly, "Go into the city, I'll wait for you to come back here."

Thus, one of them stayed at the residence while the other accompanied the monster into the capital.

In the afternoon, the city gates were bustling with a constant stream of carriages and people coming and going.

The three carriages carrying the monsters lined up in the procession and easily entered the city.

There were no officers or soldiers inspecting the carriage; it was simply a horse-drawn carriage escorted by constables.

Zhuang walked at the very back of the group. He wasn't in a car, but he could still hear what was happening inside.

The monsters were peeking through a corner of the curtain, secretly watching the bustling city. The ancient buildings and streets, the noisy shouts, and the footsteps on the stone slabs were all new to them.

Bai Yu and the old fox sat in the same carriage, with her husband on one side and a group of fox demons on the other.

"Are you afraid of monsters?" Bai Yu asked Chu Sheng.

Chu Sheng shook his head: "I'm not afraid."

"Is it because of that old mandrill?" Bai Yu asked.

She had heard the story. To this day, many people have forgotten that the story was originally told by Chu Sheng, a child who was abducted. However, the story has spread widely and is already well-known to everyone.

Chu Sheng nodded and said, "Sometimes, humans are more terrifying than demons. I am not afraid of demons, I am only afraid of demons that do evil."

Bai Yu reached out and touched Chu Sheng's forehead, then chuckled softly, "That makes sense."

When the old fox returned to Yidu, it didn't know what the couple was talking about. It only heard "old mountain demon" and asked, "Miss Baiyu, what is the origin of that old mountain demon? Which demon king is it?"

Bai Yu paused for a moment and said, "This is a story that is circulating in Yidu, but it is not made up. It is something that happened in the past."

She thought for a moment, looked at the layout of the streets and alleys, and murmured, "I remember there's a teahouse over there where people perform opera every afternoon. It's a good idea to go and take a look."

Bai Yu beckoned, and the servants below listened intently. They went to the front and spoke a few words to the coachman, after which the carriage changed direction and stopped in front of a teahouse.

The area in front of the teahouse was bustling with activity, with a makeshift stage set up under a canopy.

On that stage, they were singing the well-known story of "The Lucky Star Descends to Slay the Demon Thief."

Zhuang Xing felt a deep sense of familiarity watching this performance, after all, he was the protagonist himself, so it was hard for him not to feel a connection. He wondered what version it was now after nearly ten years of iterations. He listened to the performance with great interest, while the fox in the carriage also watched the human drama closely.

"Is this what opera is?" the fox asked.

Bai Yu said, "The play they're performing is about that old mandrill."

The old fox seemed to be deep in thought, observing carefully.

It traveled for eight days, never forgetting Bai Yu's words.

Using "magical arts" to act...

Seeing this scene, it seemed to have gained some insight.

The person on the stage was dressed in strange clothes and had makeup on his face, pretending to be a mandrill. His strange cries were not the sounds of a mandrill at all, nor did he have the shape of a mandrill. In fact, his imitation was full of flaws.

It thought that if this person went into the mountains and encountered a mountain demon, with such an exaggerated appearance, the mountain demon would probably not consider him one of their own. Either he would be scared away by his loud cries, or he would see through his bluff and come forward to rip out his heart, rip out his lungs, and eat him.

However, I didn't expect so many people to sit around the stage and watch these people perform.

The old fox rested his paws on the windowsill, looking at the crowd sitting under the green tiles and outside the eaves of the teahouse. He couldn't help but sigh, "There are so many people, it's impossible to count them all."

Chapter 335 Treat others with sincerity and connect with them from the heart

After watching a play in front of the teahouse, the carriage continued to circle around the city.

The wooden axles creaked as the carriage carried guests who had never been here before, rolling over moss-covered stone slabs, crossing arched ancient bridges, and weaving through the shadows of the buildings.

Yidu is very large, and it's difficult to see everything in one day. I just strolled around the streets and alleys, and before I knew it, it was getting late and time to head back.

The carriage headed back towards the courtyard outside the city. Zhuang Xing could hear faint sounds inside the carriage; they were the voices of monsters talking.

The monsters on the bus were all visiting such a big city for the first time.

Leaving aside the wolf demons discussed with the Westerners, the cat and dog demons were not highly skilled. Perhaps there were more accomplished elders in their clans, but those on the carriage at the moment were just small spirits who could speak human language. Although they possessed some abilities that ordinary cats and dogs did not have, they were not particularly dangerous.

Apart from the old fox, the oldest of the other monsters probably didn't live past twenty years. Cats and dogs have short lifespans, so twenty years is considered a long life. Those who came here were all young and strong cat and dog demons, around seven or eight years old, with the older ones perhaps in their early teens.

What they are seeing today is a rare experience for them.

Yidu has a population of over 100,000, and all 100,000 people live in the same place.

Even a country bumpkin would be captivated by the scenery of Yidu, let alone the demons living in the mountains.

People in the countryside have never seen one, or at least heard others talk about them, but they've never even heard of a demon.

So this is what the human world is like.

Only after truly witnessing the vastness of this ancient capital did the demons understand just how great the gap between them and humans really was.

It's not just a difference in quantity, but also in cultural depth.

The years and history etched on those bricks and tiles, the profound weight that cannot be expressed in words, the footprints and imprints left by generations over the long term...

Once upon a time, this place was a barren wasteland with nothing.

Because it is located beside a large river, wild grasses grow everywhere, and reeds and cattails can be seen all around, where birds stop and roost.

Until one day, people came here.

Back then, they held spears made of wood and stone, and used animal hides for warmth.

People found a water source and settled there. As the sun and moon changed and time flowed on, people continued to thrive on this land.

On that day, someone built a tent on the wasteland using branches and dry grass to shelter from the rain and wind, and lit a fire. Later, someone used bricks and tiles to build this city wall that we must look up to.

This is a place that demons can hardly reach, but today, they have come here and sensed what has been left behind, and an indescribable feeling has arisen in their hearts.

No wonder humans are said to be the most intelligent of all beings; the demons that come here all understand the meaning of this place.

Even if a great demon were to emerge from the mountains and wreak havoc on the human world for a time, the demon would eventually turn into a handful of dust and leave nothing behind, as if it had never existed. But humans, generation after generation, could add bricks and tiles to the city wall, and even the most ordinary person could leave their own footprints.

...

Before sunset, the carriage drove out of the city wall and returned to the courtyard.

Amidst the chirping of cicadas, cats and dogs jumped off the vehicle, looking around excitedly and sharing their observations with their colleagues.

Looking through the half-open wooden door, one could see the wolf demon and the Westerners sitting opposite each other under the old mulberry tree in the courtyard.

Yunling brewed spiritual tea for both of them. She sat quietly in the middle, with a mosquito-repelling incense burner beside her. The fragrant sandalwood wafted out from the burner's spout, and the afterglow of the setting sun fell on her face, tinging her long black hair with gold, making her look like a fairy who had never descended to earth.

The wolf demon and the Western barbarian seemed to have no conflict and were talking harmoniously.

The things they were talking about were no longer the hardships of the road.

"How will you eat and drink along the way? Will you bring your own livestock, or will you hunt along the way?"

"For the first half of the journey, you can carry beef and mutton to provide for your meals. The second half will be treacherous, and you will need to be wary of monsters and hunt your own prey. We Western Barbarians are all skilled hunters, not idlers. If you hunt extra meat, we can provide it for you. Once you reach the Western Barbarian lands, you can obtain beef and mutton from the clans by virtue of my lord's son. You will then have no more hardships along the way."