Free Web NovelLin Yu and Li Nian, carrying their two brass turtles, quickly set off on the path to the "Xinglin Medical Hall" following the vendor's directions.
"Zhu Qiansi isn't as famous as I imagined," Li Nian said calmly, hands tucked into her sleeves and the newly purchased brass turtle perched on her head. "From what that puppet described, I thought she'd be as renowned in the Prison Mountain Realm as the sun that people worship—everywhere with townsfolk singing her praises out of gratitude." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"In a town of a million people, even the most famous fortune-teller couldn't reach that level," Lin Yu said helplessly. "Besides, that puppet was clearly biased, exaggerating things and trying to whitewash Zhu Qiansi's image... Otherwise, if seventy to eighty percent of Willow Town's million residents were all entangled by Causality Silk, did she personally divine fortunes for every single one of them?"
"Even at the lowest estimate, that's seven hundred thousand people—she lived in Willow Town for about a decade, and if we're generous with four thousand days, she'd have to tell fortunes for a hundred and forty-five people every single day without a break."
"Willow Town managed to become the largest town in the Two Mountains, Six Hells back then all because she single-handedly boosted the GDP through fortune-telling, huh... that's one way to stimulate the internal economy."
As Lin Yu spoke, Li Nian let out a stifled laugh.
"That's true... that puppet's words about its master were nothing but embellishment and rose-tinted filters. We definitely can't take everything at face value."
"Still, the fact that a random street vendor could tell us about Zhu Qiansi actually proves she was quite famous."
As Li Nian spoke, Lin Yu nodded.
The two walked briskly through Willow Town's streets, heading steadily toward the Xinglin Medical Hall.
Admittedly, the vendor hadn't recommended the Xinglin Medical Hall at first not because he hadn't been paid and was therefore being half-hearted or falsely enthusiastic.
It was simply because...
The Xinglin Medical Hall really wasn't close to them.
Lin Yu and Li Nian were at the far north end of the town, while the Xinglin Medical Hall was located in the southwest.
While it didn't require crossing the entire town, it still meant traversing most of it.
Willow Town was a fairly large settlement—home to a million residents without feeling particularly cramped, already earning it the title of the largest in terms of land area within the Two Mountains, Six Hells.
Finding such a livable area in a place like the Fire Hell was simply impossible—so as Lin Yu and Li Nian passed several streets in northern Willow Town, they soon spotted simple formation patterns and talismans carved into stone stelae standing along both sides of the road.
Though not as effective as proper formations or talismans written on yellow paper, and insufficient to completely cool the sweltering Willow Town, they at least kept the temperature from reaching lethal levels.
Especially now, in the evening outside the summer season, the heat was barely noticeable at all.
Carving these things wasn't particularly difficult, nor did it consume much energy, but the sheer quantity still made one sigh in admiration.
"No wonder Willow Town back then was truly in a league of its own in the Prison Mountain Realm..."
No wonder Zhu Qiansi had her eyes on this place... If she had taken this town as her "foundation" and "talisman," she would have been practically invincible in the Prison Mountain Realm.
No, in fact, Zhu Qiansi had already achieved that at the time.
It was just that this demon had underestimated the Taiqing Sect's founder's resolve—who would have thought the founder would be willing to sink the entire Willow Town just to kill her?
That took the kind of determination that could cut off one's own arm to save the body.
Li Nian had the same thought as Lin Yu and sighed, "Being able to just sink a town like this on a whim—that Taiqing Sect founder is really something... how is that any different from blowing up Haicheng just to kill the 'Diviner'?"
"It's still a bit different. The 'Diviner' might not be a good person, but he's still human—his potential threat doesn't compare. The situation in the Prison Mountain Realm is very special; our world can't be compared."
Li Nian nodded. "True, the Prison Mountain Realm ranks among the cruelest and most ruthless of the Six Realms... but if you really wanted to make an analogy, there is one."
Lin Yu looked at Li Nian with curiosity.
"What analogy?"
"Well, of course—"
"Alright, you don't need to say it. That's a bit too dark."
Lin Yu cut her off.
He already knew what Li Nian was about to use as an example.
As they talked, the two had already reached the depths of Willow Town.
This part wasn't as lively as the northern section—where vendors and market stalls dominated—but rather seemed like a residential area, full of houses and homes with a strong sense of daily life.
And this area had a bit of a "wealthy district" feel to it. The houses had high walls and tall eaves, window lattices and roof tiles carved with ornate patterns, and large double doors guarded by stone lions, all looking quite grand.
Most of these houses came with courtyards, many of which were fairly spacious.
While in the Fire Hell it was impossible to have little bridges over flowing streams or bamboo, plum, orchid, and chrysanthemum gardens, one could still vaguely see through the carved windows some woody green plants that could survive in the Prison Mountain Realm, looking quite decent, along with a few piled rockeries. freewebnovel.cσ๓
"These wealthy householders three hundred years ago in the Prison Mountain Realm had quite refined tastes... Even considering that Willow Town was the most prosperous town, this level of 'elegance' is surprising," Lin Yu couldn't help but remark, recalling Shen Bingmiao's materials. "It seems that claim about the Prison Mountain Realm having had a 'unified dynasty' over a thousand years ago isn't baseless."
According to Shen Bingmiao's records, about a thousand years ago, the Prison Mountain Realm's environment, though harsh, hadn't reached today's extremes. Demons were rampant but hadn't yet overwhelmed humanity, so the various regions weren't completely fragmented...
Exchanges between towns and other human settlements were more frequent, and there was even a centralized dynasty born.
Unfortunately, one day, a violent upheaval shook the entire Prison Mountain Realm—Righteous Sun Mountain grew hotter, Ninefold Cold Mountain grew colder, the dynasty quickly collapsed, and demons ran rampant everywhere.
Gradually, the Prison Mountain Realm became what it is today.
Unlike Lin Yu's reflections on the rise and fall of eras, Li Nian looked at these wealthy families' courtyard villas, rubbed her hands together, and voiced a completely different sentiment.
"I feel my fingers itching. If we weren't in a hurry, I'd really want to go in and do some grave robbing..."
As Li Nian sighed, Lin Yu turned to look at her.
"This is a 'Phantom Realm'... maybe we can't take anything from inside!"
"Oh, I've told you, I steal things not for the result—the process is what matters most," Li Nian said with a slight smile. "It's a personal hobby, pure passion... For example, look at that young lady's hairpin. Seeing her makes me feel like a mountaineer seeing K2—I want to climb it, simply because the mountain is there."
Lin Yu sighed helplessly. "Don't make stealing sound so noble."
His gaze shifted to the young lady from that household, who was just then boarding a carriage to go out, and then froze.
"Wait... we need to stop her!"
"Oh? Do you want that hairpin too?"
"What hairpin—don't you see? That young lady is the Seagull!"
