"Are you really going, Sir?" An Lei asked with a worried expression.
"Yeah. This is a big opportunity, so I have to go." Hao Yu nodded. "You should know what kind of city the Dragon City is…"
"I know. It's just… people don't know how much hard work you've put in, so going to the Dragon City would definitely cause you to be scrutinized by other people." An Lei let out a long sigh.
He couldn't talk it out with his superior anymore.
As An Lei said, he had witnessed how hard Hao Yu had worked in the past few months. Even though his achievement was minimal, he had done a lot of work without asking for credit. That was why An Lei was very loyal to him.
"Ahahaha. You don't have to worry. If I care about those opinions, I would have stopped long ago." Hao Yu chuckled. "But still… thank you, An Lei. I'll leave my matters to you. I don't think it's going to be a short trip either."
"I know, Sir. Please leave everything to me. I won't let you down." An Lei nodded with a determined expression.
After bidding his farewell with An Lei, Hao Yu finally left the main building, finding a carriage that would bring them to the Dragon City.
Leng Xiu seemed to have finished his business with Han Shao and walked out of the building, meeting Hao Yu on the way.
"Sir." Hao Yu politely cupped his hands. However, he noticed that there were numerous gazes locked on him.
Obviously, all of them knew what kind of opportunity Hao Yu had received. They couldn't help but wonder what kind of job Hao Yu had done to receive this kind of favor.
They were envious and had complained to the Magistrate, but the record didn't make sense. It was stated that Hao Yu had contributed a lot to the city. They had never heard much about Hao Yu, so they didn't believe that record, thinking Hao Yu must have bought this opportunity.
Leng Xiu also noticed their gazes and couldn't help but say, "Look at you… extremely popular."
"I think you should change that word to infamous, Sir." Hao Yu chuckled.
"They are the ones who don't know. But I guess, leaving this city will make them realize it a little bit." Leng Xiu shrugged. "In any case, the trip to the Dragon City should take about a week. I have brought you a lot of documents for you to learn, so if you have any questions during the journey, don't hesitate to ask."
Hao Yu was quite surprised that the Magistrate was this generous. He indirectly implied that he would tutor Hao Yu for a week. This might be the biggest opportunity.
"Thank you very much, Sir." Hao Yu lowered his head as if understanding the favor.
"Very clever." Leng Xiu was satisfied and walked toward the carriage. "Let's go."
"Yes." Hao Yu boarded the carriage, noticing An Lei seeing him off from a distance. He just waved his hands until the carriage started moving.
Leng Xiu observed Hao Yu's behavior and asked, "Hao Yu. I'm going to ask you a few things."
"Please." Hao Yu agreed without hesitation.
"First, what do you think about this city? I mean, from the landscape and other things."
"Hmm, the city layout is extremely good. They place it in a way to utilize them to their maximum potential. For example, the Market District in the West District is directly linked to the roads of a few cities. It would be the busiest street, which would bring on a lot of merchants. The east gate only has one road, so there's no big influx of people."
"How about the water? You should know that the water supply is provided from groundwater, right?"
"Yes, Sir. Because there are no nearby rivers, we can only use the groundwater. Luckily, we have several small hills in the area, which is our main source of water."
"In that case, take a look at this…" Leng Xiu took out a city map.
This city was quite blessed as it had a big mountain on the north, blocking anything that wanted to come for them. It had two rivers, which provided the water supply for the rest of the city.
However, Hao Yu noticed something.
"This is…" Hao Yu couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows. "Sir…"
"It seems that you've noticed it."
"Yes. There is only one road to this city. Considering the size of this city, it should host at least twenty thousand people at the very least…"
"Indeed. But because there is only one road, it's not extremely popular. This is the current state of the Dragon City." Leng Xiu sighed.
"Eh? Isn't Dragon City…" Hao Yu was surprised. He heard a lot of things about the Dragon City. It was a popular city that was often visited by cultivators. It was a prosperous city that everyone wanted to visit. However, the area didn't seem to be that good for it to be that popular.
"While the city has a lot of good things, it's simply unreachable by a lot of people. And this mountain over here… is the main reason why it's so popular by the cultivators. There is a Spiritual Vein underneath this mountain, containing a lot of Spiritual Stones, which is the main cultivation resource."
"Wait… Don't tell me." Hao Yu noticed something from his worries.
"Yeah. The previous lord has made an agreement with the cultivators to mine the resources in exchange for a lot of gold. So, we have a lot of money, but because of the area around it, we can't utilize that gold. In fact, the previous lord has been using all that money to buy resources from other cities, making it look like a rich city. But if you take a look at it, the city prosperity is just a lie."
"This…" Hao Yu sucked a cold breath. It turned out the city itself was a ticking time bomb. Once the Spiritual Vein was exhausted, the city would decline to the point that a lot of people would migrate.
"This is the reason why I visit Elder Han. And he actually recommends you… I've heard a bit of your background, saying that you're the disciple of the Wise. So, I want to ask you, what do you think you would do if you have a lot of money?"
"I…" Hao Yu looked at the map with a solemn expression.