章 5: Chapter 3: Cang Le City_1
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The capital of Cang Qin Country, Cang Le City, was bustling. Ning Cheng had many memories of Cang Le City, but for Ning Cheng, this was his first real time walking its streets. Cang Le City gave Ning Cheng the feeling of being busy yet carrying a sense of aged decay, much like an old man whose strength was gradually fading away, somewhat unsteady on his feet.
The streets of Cang Le City crisscrossed, with many smaller streets extending from each spacious main thoroughfare, intersecting with each other like a spider's web.
On either side of the streets, there were all kinds of shops. Many sold items that Ning Cheng had never even heard of, let alone seen. The most common shops were those selling and purchasing materials from ferocious beasts, low-grade spiritual grass, and some weapons. The more upscale shops offered Dan Medicine and magical instruments.
As for the numerous inns, ordinary clothing stores, and brothels, they were too numerous to count.
The architecture of Cang Le City was diverse; there were not only pavilion-style buildings but also western-style castle constructions. These varied structures mixed together, making the whole city seem a bit incongruous.
Ning Cheng stood at the entrance of a shop selling ordinary weapons and took a look. He saw a very ordinary long knife priced at one Gold Coin. And all the wealth Ji Luofei had given him totaled only fifty Silver Coins. A hundred Silver Coins could be exchanged for one Gold Coin. In other words, his entire wealth was only enough to buy half of this plain long knife.
As for those shops selling magical instruments and Dan Medicine, Ning Cheng didn't even bother to look inside. He knew that few of them took Gold Coins, as they mostly dealt in gathering stones. A single gathering stone could be exchanged for a hundred Gold Coins, and even when the Ning family was still around, gathering stones were considered a luxury item for them.
Among the crowd on the streets, there were hunters clad in various weapons. These people usually carried a faint smell of blood, evidently having returned from a life of slaughter out in the wild. Although they appeared fierce, they were the most welcomed in Cang Le City because they were generous and hardly haggled over prices.
These hunters lived life on the edge, and except for a few with the qualifications to cultivate, most of them adopted a live-for-today attitude. The Gold Coins and wealth they acquired were spent on enjoying life, frequenting not only bustling inns but also spending their Gold Coins in the brothels of Cang Le City.
While Ning Cheng was still marveling at the myriad of bustle in Cang Le City, a sharp cry came from the end of the street. A young man in white clothes, riding a white unicorn, was galloping toward him from the distance. From afar, he looked like a flash of white lightning.
People on the street quickly dodged to the sides, and those who couldn't get out of the way in time were sent flying by the white unicorn. The swift white figure arrived in front of Ning Cheng in the blink of an eye. With Ning Cheng's already sharp reflexes and his body slowly recovering, he reacted almost instantaneously upon seeing the white flash.
Just as Ning Cheng was about to step back, he saw a small boy still standing in the middle of the street, looking somewhat panicked. By this time, those quick to react on the street had already stepped back, and those who were slower were beginning to move, but the small boy was clearly not going to escape from the swiftly approaching unicorn.
With a swift backhand motion, Ning Cheng picked up the small boy and pulled him to the edge of the street. As he barely cleared the way, the white unicorn roared past where Ning Cheng had been standing, the wind from its passage causing a stinging pain in the corners of Ning Cheng's eyes.
Seeing the small boy unharmed, Ning Cheng took a breath of relief, his mind still wondering about the unicorn and considering if it might have been an uncontrollable beast rampaging through the street.
At that moment, the unicorn, which had just been running wildly, suddenly stopped. Not only that, but it also turned around and walked up to where Ning Cheng was standing.
"Dare to spoil my fun? You're looking for death..." The white-clothed man sitting on the unicorn had already lashed out with his whip towards Ning Cheng as he spoke.
Ning Cheng immediately tried to dodge but soon found that he couldn't evade the whip at all. The whip carried an invisible force that oppressed him, making it impossible to avoid in time.
A sense of dread sank into Ning Cheng's heart. Before he could think any further, a force had already lifted him off his feet. The next moment, the whip passed right in front of his eyes, even catching the edge of his clothes.
Someone had saved him, Ning Cheng realized instantly. At the same time, he understood that the unicorn's dash through the street had been deliberate. The owner of the unicorn actually found pleasure in hitting people, and by taking the small boy away, Ning Cheng had deprived him of the joy of striking another victim.
After Ning Cheng had grasped these facts, his mood grew even heavier. This wasn't Earth; such unreasonable behavior was happening in broad daylight. Saving a small boy meant offending the white-clothed man who sought pleasure in such actions.
The white-clothed man on the unicorn, seeing that Ning Cheng had also been pulled aside, grew even angrier. However, his anger immediately subsided when he saw who had saved Ning Cheng, and his tone became gentle and polite as he said, "Oh, it's Su Jie. He's just a wretched commoner..."
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The man in white on the unicorn had already leapt down while speaking.
"Xian Yuankui, I don't have that good of a relationship with you, and moreover, whether I save a lowly commoner or not is none of your business." A crisp and chilly female voice rang out, and at the same time, a young girl appeared before Ning Cheng, dressed in a pink skirt, and exceptionally slim.
Ning Cheng immediately knew that it was this girl who had saved him. However, he did not step forward to give thanks, because he knew this woman. Her name was Jian Sujie, one could say she was the nemesis of his Ning family. The ruin of his family and his personal downfall were all because of her.
Looking at the pretty and icy face before him, Ning Cheng could no longer remember whether his previous self had ever treated her with impropriety. But he did remember that the former Ning Cheng was extremely fond of her. However, his previous self was also of a not-so-lowly birth. Logically, he should have known the vast gulf between himself and Jian Sujie. Even if he liked her, at most he could only keep it in his heart. He would definitely not be so audacious as to commit any improper act.
Besides, given Jian Sujie's earlier display, even if his previous self were a complete fool, he could not have failed to realize that his cultivation was far inferior to Jian Sujie's. Compared with Jian Sujie, it wasn't just about him committing impropriety, even getting close to her would seem to be quite difficult, wouldn't it? It seems there must be something fishy about his previous self's alleged impropriety toward Jian Sujie which led to his incarceration.
The man named Xian Yuankui faced a rebuff from Jian Sujie, and his complexion immediately took on an embarrassed cast. But then he recognized Ning Cheng and said, "Eh, are you Ning Cheng? You're actually still alive? Junior Sister Jian, this kid..."
Xian Yuankui ultimately didn't dare to address her by her full name again, but his words were once more cut off by Jian Sujie, "This is none of your concern. You just know how to run your tamed unicorn-like Scream Beast through the bustling streets."
After speaking, Jian Sujie turned to give Ning Cheng a cold stare, "If I were you, I'd be hiding in a corner playing turtle, and wouldn't have the face to be out strolling the streets."
Ning Cheng snorted coldly in his heart and ignored Jian Sujie, turning around to leave.
"Ungrateful wretch." Xian Yuankui saw Ning Cheng ignore Jian Sujie and immediately muttered in displeasure from behind.
Jian Sujie saw that Ning Cheng, who usually presented himself in a sycophantic manner, was now ignoring his lifesaver, which caused her to frown slightly. Yet she did not continue to talk with Xian Yuankui, instead she turned and left in another direction.
Having no more thoughts of surviving in this place, Ning Cheng pondered that if one cannot cultivate and lacks strength, then the hopes of survival were indeed slim. How could he have the mood to stroll around now? He needed to cultivate, even if he couldn't cultivate, he still had to find a way.
"Dad, that's the man who saved me," a tender voice sounded from the side. Ning Cheng turned his head to see the little boy he had just rescued from under the unicorn's hooves. Because of the recent events, Ning Cheng had momentarily forgotten about the little boy, yet the boy had remembered him.
At that moment, the boy was being held by a middle-aged man with a face full of scars, evidently the father of the boy.
Expecting the middle-aged man to come over and offer thanks, Ning Cheng stopped, prepared to make some polite remarks. However, to his surprise, the man's expression filled with panic upon seeing him, and the man quickly bowed to Ning Cheng, saying, "Young Master Ning, I'm so sorry, my child is ignorant and offended Young Master Ning. I will take him away immediately..."
Without waiting for Ning Cheng's reply, the man hastily grabbed the boy and retreated quickly, vanishing into the crowd.
Ning Cheng touched his thinned face and shook his head. He did not recognize the middle-aged man, but he could sense that the man was truly afraid of him, Young Master Ning.
Not giving much thought to such a minor incident, Ning Cheng had more pressing matters to attend to. Right now, the most important thing was to go back and cultivate. If he could not cultivate, he had to think of other ways, either to leave Cang Qin Country or to find alternative methods.
(First update posted, requests for collections and recommendation tickets for support!)
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