There were five principal streets within Bone Spirit Town, each responsible for a specialized sector maintaining the integral components of the town.
The expansion of each street was equivalent, albeit the quality of services offered or influence over the rest of the city were poles apart from one another.
The Providence Road An Fei had toured could be considered the commoners' district, possessing the greatest number of street-side stalls and small scaled restaurants and stores.
The paving of the road was mediocre at best, with minimal effort placed into maintenance or elevating productivity.
The next street with regards to quality and influence, was the Harmony Road, catering to the whims of the town's clans and business owners.
There, the numerous clans of Bone Spirit Town established their ventures with impunity, with luxury restaurants and pavilions standing on either side of the road.
The Peaceful Road belonged to the reclusive society of cultivators within the town, and An Fei had not been able to gather much information regarding their operations or purpose.
Other than the fact that the street appeared in a format not unlike that of the Providence Road and catered to rogue cultivators, the young girl had not been able to glean anything else from the passerby's conversations.
The Purity Road belonged to the expansive clans whose influence stretched over Bone Spirit Town and the nearby cities.
From the words of the young male and female couple, the Long Yu Pavilion served as the most prominent pavilion within the street, and even the town itself.
The Residential Road was the fifth and most important street within Bone Spirit Town, for it housed almost all of the town's residents who possessed a significance slightly above that of the gatherers.
An Fei discovered that the town possessed an odd legislative that prevented the ownership of private residential areas, causing her to spend the next few moments scratching her head in confusion.
"Five streets, and they all possess a unique feature… huh?"
The young girl sighed and gazed towards the sky, her plain countenance devoid of the excitement she had once anticipated after leaving the Wu Ji Forest.
Even on her first few hours in the Bone Spirit Town, An Fei felt an unquestionable sense of unease rack through her entire body, as though she didn't wish to remain for long.
Sometimes, just sometimes, she even sported the thought of returning to the Wu Ji Forest, for it was peaceful compared to the town in the fertile plains.
An Fei was currently sitting atop the clay tiled roof of a particularly tall house within the Providence Road, her back leaning against the sloped incline of the structure.
When the young girl glanced downwards, she could still spot numerous people dressed in everyday clothes roaming around the street although the sun had clearly fallen.
Night was already approaching without solace, and these people dared to continue roaming around without any lights.
"Xiao Hei, what do you think of this Bone Spirit Town?"
An Fei suddenly asked, adjusting her body to a more comfortable position and placing the leather bag on her abdomen.
The young girl then extended her hands into the bag, her fingers playing with the silky fur of the seven-tailed fox.
Caw!
"I thought so too," the young girl whispered, the pair of scarlet irises flashing with a hint of disdain.
"This Bone Spirit Town isn't welcoming to poor folk, ah."
The little raven ruffled the feathers on its body, its crimson eyes glancing at the young girl with a tinge of curiosity.
After obtaining no reaction, the little creature tapped the clay tiles below its body with a claw, before clambering onto the softer leather bag.
Caw!
An Fei glanced at the night sky brimming with the dazzling flecks of starlight, her heart slightly unsettled at the uncertainties of the future.
Her consciousness promised to obtain a map of the region, and swiftly depart from such a place as to not become involved in its troubles.
The Bone Spirit Town… although the residents called it a town, the young girl considered it akin to a minor city.
The inhabitants along equated to four hundred thousand within a restricted area boxed in by stone walls, and the necessary social hierarchies for a city had already been established.
The existence of the five central streets and their specializations sufficed as evidence of such a phenomenon.
It was only that as a city, the Bone Spirit Town was developing in the wrong direction.
The town's social hierarchy and plane of influence promoted the clans instead of the common people, thus retaining the foundations of family monarchism.
The young masters and mistresses of a clan would develop greatly in their influence over the town and its inhabitants, and become the sole proprietors of the path of cultivation, seizing the Shattered Star Continent's most valuable resource and hoarding it without any remorse…
Whilst the common people would be degraded into servants.
An Fei had little doubt regarding her analysis of the Bone Spirit Town, but all she could care for was obtaining a map that could lead her closer to Jiang'an.
As for the method in obtaining the desired map, the young girl had a clue, though she didn't know whether she should bank her expectations on it.
The Long Yu Pavilion of the Purity Road… perhaps she could find it there?
"Though it requires a prestigious identity to enter, from what I've heard…"
The young girl barked in laughter, her chest rippling from her mirth. With a twitch of her lips, An Fei rubbed the heads of the little raven and the small fox, before returning to the comforts of the Sanctum.
Sleeping in a platinum king-sized bed with comfortable blankets and a heavenly mattress was far more appealing than the open elements and extraordinarily uncomfortable clay tiles digging into her soft flesh.
–
The next day, the young girl ventured into the Providence Road once again.
This time, however, An Fei did not dare buy the candied hawthorn from the smiling man, even if she certainly had copper coins to spare.
The candies appeared nice and succulent in color… but tasted absolutely horrible.
The sour and bitterness of the hawthorn was supposed to be supplemented by the sweet and fluffy taste of the caramelized sugar coating, creating a tangy and sugary treat to enjoy on an evening walk.
Alas… the caramelized sugar utilized by the thirty-three-year-old man tasted just like plain water, perhaps even molded water from its slightly rancid taste.
Furthermore, the hawthorns weren't that fresh as she had expected; the coating had alluded her senses, thoroughly disappointing the gluttonous young girl.
"Meat for the small fox…" An Fei tapped her right arm in thought, her brows furrowing downwards in a delicate arc.
"Perhaps a restaurant in the Harmony Road would be the best approach."
Caw!
The little raven called in assent, shaking its wings to loosen its tensed muscles.
Ignoring the slightly started passerby and their odd glances, An Fei suppressed the urge to smack the loud creature on its head and quickly departed for the Harmony Road.
Harmony Road… did bring along a fresh atmosphere compared to the slightly dull and dim mood of the Providence Road.
The sides of the streets did not contain a single wooden stall, instead lined with proper storehouses and buildings to house the restaurants. Of course, the majority of these buildings were constructed of birch, with a few anomalies here and there, representing the extensive wealth of their owner.
Near the ends of the Harmony Road stood several tall buildings extending to two stories, and An Fei could see droves of people lining up before the doors in expectation.
Compared to the rowdy commonfolk she had spotted in the previous road, the people here… were slightly cleaner and more refined.
They weren't immaculate, but they did convey a sense of elegance.
Perhaps they could count as the white-collared workers from Earth?
An Fei shook the unusual thoughts from her head, electing to explore the Harmony Road in its complete state, as well as obtain food for the small fox.
The young girl wandered around in an aimless daze, her eyes carefully taking in her surroundings with prudence.
The designs… were indeed plain, but sturdy.
The structures of the buildings on either side of the road were confined to rectangular blocks of wood, and the style of decoration had shifted to a subtle detail.
As she walked, An Fei saw numerous engravings on the undersides of the roofs, and some buildings had even used different metals to replace certain unimportant beams to emphasize their wealth.
Such as… the restaurant before them.
"Eight Immortals Pavilion?"
An Fei read with a tinge of bemusement racing through her heart; those types of names weren't commonly found in Jiang'an, the capital of Great Yong, but the people of Bone Spirit Town dared to flaunt such a title?
"Aih, why not," the young girl rubbed the base of her chin, her finger rubbing at the drawstring of the leather bag slung over her shoulder.
"Didn't I promise the small fox some meat? This should do the trick."