Free Web NovelChapter 314: Chapter 43: Sights on the Road
The funeral procession was rich with local folk customs, prompting Wang Ping to get up and walk to the window for a closer look.
Leading the procession and clearing the way was a squad of Government Soldiers. They wore red robes over their armor, embroidered with a pattern of fiery clouds.
One glance was enough to tell that the deceased was from an immensely wealthy and powerful family. Not only could they hold a grand procession down the main street with an escort of Government Soldiers clearing the path, but more importantly, their garments were even permitted to bear the emblem of the True Yang Sect.
Amidst the squad of Government Soldiers were two young men wearing red masks, their bodies slathered in red dye, and clad only in shorts. They performed an unfamiliar dance as they walked, and with every leap, sparks flew from their bodies. They looked like two wild beasts fresh down from the mountains.
Following the Government Soldiers were the family members. The man in the lead wore the formal robe of a Second-Grade Military Officer, yet on his head was a Daoist’s topknot crown, pinned with a wooden hairpin. The armband on his right sleeve was embroidered with a fiery cloud pattern. Behind him, the family’s younger generation was split: half wore the Daoist Robes of the True Yang Sect, while the other half wore Military Officer’s Robes.
"Are the suonas playing the wrong song? This feels more like a wedding procession." Yu Lian’s little head poked out from the sleeve as she peered curiously at the distant procession. The moment she spoke, she ducked back inside as a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in!"
The person who entered the private room wasn’t the young waiter from before, but an older attendant. He politely placed the tray and wine pot he was carrying onto the table. On the tray was sliced cured sausage, still steaming warmly.
After setting the items down, the attendant shut the door to the private room and said, "Daoist, please, help yourself."
Wang Ping pointed to the small tea table by the window. "Bring them over here."
"Yes!"
The attendant brought the tray and wine pot over to the window and set them down. Noticing the procession outside, he explained in a low voice, "That must be the old matriarch of the Governor’s Mansion who passed away. I heard she lived for over two hundred years. That man there is our Governor General. He’s also an outer disciple of the True Yang Sect and has already reached the Entry-level of cultivation."
He gestured subtly toward the man at the front of the family’s procession. Many eyes were on the Governor General at that moment, so the small movement went unnoticed.
Behind the family members was a massive coffin, so large it required more than a dozen burly men to carry. Flames danced atop the coffin, and within them, an old woman in magnificent robes performed the same dance as the two young men. The fire didn’t burn the old woman, nor did it scorch the coffin; it seemed to be an illusion.
"The Governor General’s ancestors are from a place on the Far East Continent called the Lu Yang Country. I’ve heard they have a custom of dancing with the deceased to send them off. This time, however, the Governor’s Mansion is doing things differently. They probably consulted with Cultivators from the True Yang Sect and modified their tradition a bit."
After listening to the attendant’s explanation, Wang Ping was suddenly struck by how vast the world was, and how he had only seen the tip of the iceberg. The funeral procession had drawn near by now, and the sound of the suonas filled his ears.
’I have to go to Shangjing!’
Wang Ping closed the window. His eyes swept over the three-ring emblem of the Qianmu Temple’s Internal Affairs Department on the wine pot. With a light flick of his finger, an imperceptible wisp of Wood Spirit Qi emerged, completely silencing the noise from outside.
"There are four routes from Dalincity to Shangjing. The first is the imperial highway. A horse at full gallop can make the journey in seven days at the fastest, while it’s just over a month on foot. However, you’re required to check in at posts every hundred li along that road."
"The second is the waterway along the Chiyan River. Since you’d be going upstream, there are Flying Boats from Lishui Prefecture, common double-oared vessels, and official boats pulled by trackers. I have some connections, so I could get you a spot on an official boat. That would take anywhere from half a month to a full month."
"The third is the sea route. You can follow the merchant sea vessels north. After half a month, you’ll arrive at North Port in Qingpu Road. From there, it’s only another twenty days to Shangjing."
"The fourth route is the main public road. It connects all the important northern cities, which is precisely why it’s somewhat roundabout. It takes at least three months on foot, and you can’t ride a horse because parts of it are built along cliff edges, with many sections going up and down mountains."
"Haven’t they built a more direct route?" Wang Ping asked.
"They have not."
"Alright, I understand. You may go." Wang Ping picked up a slice of the cured sausage and put it in his mouth. His brow furrowed. It was sweet.
As the attendant left the private room, Wang Ping dispelled the sound-dampening barrier. The sound of suonas drifted in again, though not as loud as before. He pushed open the window and saw the ground littered with spirit money.
Yu Lian poked her head out of his sleeve, first sniffing at the yellow wine, then flicking her forked tongue out in disgust. Next, using her Water Spirit Qi, she guided a slice of cured sausage into her mouth. "It’s quite delicious!"
"..."
When it came to matters of taste, Wang Ping and Yu Lian could never see eye to eye.
After eating and drinking his fill, Wang Ping left the inn. The Governor’s Mansion’s funeral procession had long since passed through the city’s south gate. Using the seeds he had scattered earlier to find his way, he headed straight for the north of the city.
He chose the main public road. He wanted to see for himself what the world under the Divine Dao was really like.
「Half a month later.」
Wang Ping finally left the plains of the Liangjiang region, following the main public road into Yunjiang Road.
Yunjiang Road was a region jointly ruled by the Court and the True Yang Sect. It was also the buffer zone between the Shangjing Fourth Road and the domain of the True Yang Sect.
Upon first entering Yunjiang Road, it felt no different from Qianjiang Road. The buildings and clothing were still predominantly bright red, and people everywhere worshipped Lieyang True Monarch, though now he was worshipped alongside the Emperor.
But as Wang Ping ventured deeper into the heartland of Yunjiang Road, the bright red buildings and clothes grew scarce. The prevalent sacrificial rites also changed, and various ancestral halls appeared. Large clans had a main ancestral hall, with many smaller halls for their various branches.
Along the way, villages, towns, and even entire county seats were organized around clans!
Wang Ping also saw enslaved humans and demons. Their bodies were marked with a special Divine Technique Formation, created and maintained by the clan hall’s ritual master. If any of them escaped beyond a certain distance from the hall, the Divine Technique Formation would automatically activate and kill them.
What concerned Wang Ping was that these enslaved humans and demons possessed no spiritual essence. Normally, such a condition was only found in the dead. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that all their spiritual essence was locked away within the Divine Technique Formation. Breaking these arrays wouldn’t be difficult; for Wang Ping, it would take but a single thought.
For these serfs, however, it was an impossible task.
’But if that’s the case,’ he thought, ’should someone with ill intent decide to act, the entire Shangjing Region could be plunged into turmoil in an instant...’
The very thought sent a chill down his spine.
「More than ten days later.」
Wang Ping reached the border between Yunjiang Road and Pingzhou Road, where he saw the much-fabled Bin Pass. It was situated in a narrow mountain ravine, the only passage to Pingzhou Road for three hundred li in any direction. The alternative was to fly, as it was surrounded by continuous mountain ranges.
The magnificent pass truly lived up to its name, but the scene at its gates was like something out of Purgatory.
When Wang Ping arrived, he saw the garrisoned soldiers using members of the Demon Race for a living sacrifice. The object of their worship, naturally, was His Majesty the Emperor.
