Divine & Bizarre: Increasing Points to Invincibility-Chapter 416 - 157: Rat Immortal’s Daughter Gets Married! Daoist Priest Fan, Your Sword Looks Familiar! (10,000-Word Mega - , Please Subscribe)_1
Just as Yun Jiuqing had once described to Fan Wu, the central region of the Great Zhou Dynasty was much more prosperous than the Nanjun of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The moment he stepped into the territory of the central region, Fan Wu felt a sensation of new and different experiences unfolding before his eyes.
The most notable change was the imperial road under his feet, which seemed even wider than that of Nanjun.
And it had become smoother than the roads in Nanjun as well.
The merchants traveling on this road were more numerous than in Nanjun. Their attire was more lavish than that of the merchants from Nanjun.
From this alone, it was evident...
The central region, backed by the Imperial City of the Great Zhou Dynasty, was certainly more developed than Nanjun.
And not just by a mere ten or twenty percent!
Moreover, in the central region of the Great Zhou Dynasty, there was an abundance of characters of all sorts. Many people wore extremely bizarre outfits, the kind that at a glance, you would know they were no good-sippers.
By comparison...
The exceedingly tall and burly Fan Wu didn’t attract as much attention here as he did in Nanjun, not nearly as eye-catching.
Though there were still occasional looks of shock, amazement, and surprise... cast upon Fan Wu.
But they were much fewer in number.
Over the past few days, the Nanjun County Prince, who had been tied to the back of Old Blue Ox, had also been allowed to touch the ground briefly. Of course, it was Fan Wu who had initiated this, letting him down to eat and drink a little and then to relieve himself, both number one and number two.
The purpose was also to give the County Prince, who hadn’t bathed for many days, a good washing.
So as not to make Old Blue Ox’s back...
Stink to high heaven.
"Although this isn’t my first time coming to the central region, every time I do, I can’t help but marvel," Yun Jiuqing looked around curiously, watching even though there were no particularly beautiful landscapes near the road.
Then she continued to muse, "It feels like in every aspect, this place is so much better than Nanjun. By comparison, Nanjun is like a child unloved by both its parents."
Actually, this description was quite apt.
After all, the Imperial Court definitely allocated the most funding to the central region within the Dynasty when it came to budgeting for the five major regions.
As for the other four regions—east, south, west, and north—they could only pick up scraps from the central region.
Surviving on the meager funding from the Imperial Court.
Barely developing.
Not starving...
But never fully satisfied.
"The number of cultivators around here seems to be much greater than before. On our way here, we’ve already come across five or six monks and seven or eight Taoists, right? While not all these monks and Taoists are cultivators, at least several of them are."
Yun Jiuqing walked forward and said, "I’ve heard from others that the prosperity of a place can be gauged by the number of cultivators present."
"After all, not every cultivator prefers solitary cultivation; most train within temples or Taoist Temples. And neither temples nor Taoist Temples can exist without the incense offerings of the world’s people."
It was then, Yun Jiuqing suddenly noticed some commotion behind her.
Before she could turn around to see exactly what it was, a man ran up from behind, panic-stricken and still running heedlessly forward.
From the man’s desperate look, Yun Jiuqing could tell that he was engulfed in fear.
This made her rather puzzled, "There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual behind us, so why is this fellow in such a hurry? It’s as if bandits are chasing after him or something."
"Strange..."
She watched the disheveled man scurry forward and then watched, wide-eyed, as he collided with a Taoist Priest who was walking normally because he was so frantic and unsteady.
The Taoist Priest seemed to have some ability; when the man ran into him, he didn’t fall over.
Not only did the Taoist Priest steady himself quickly, but he also swiftly extended his hand.
And steadied the man who had collided with him.
After a glance at the red string around the man’s neck and noticing the small peach wood talisman card threaded on it, the Taoist Priest asked with concern, "Are you alright, layman? From your panic-stricken appearance, it seems... you’ve encountered something strange."
The supported man froze for a moment, then grabbed the Taoist Priest’s robe as if seeing a savior.
With a pleading face he said, "Daoist Priest, save me! You must save me! I can pay you, donate to your Taoist Temple, a few hundred or even a thousand silver pieces, I could even donate several thousand silver pieces!"
"You could tell at a glance I’ve encountered trouble, so you must be a capable person. Please save me! If you Daoist Priest don’t care for money, I could also fund the building of a shrine for you."
"Allowing you, Daoist Priest, to receive the incense offerings of many, and become a famous good samaritan of this land!"
Upon hearing the man’s words, the Taoist Priest frowned, "I am not interested in money or fame. Your words have no appeal to me."
"And the way you speak them so fluently suggests you’ve said them to quite a few cultivators before... Could it be that the trouble you’ve encountered has been dealt with by several cultivators already?"
