The most urgent thing for Li Qiang now is to find someone, anyone will do, he has been walking in the primeval forest for many days. Along the way, he saw towering trees, overgrown with weeds, and thick shades that blocked the sun. It was gloomy and often he could not see a ray of daylight after walking ten miles or eight miles. Instead, he could often see some unknown wild animals and birds.
Li Qiang kept exclaiming, the pollution-free environment and the wonderful scenery made him very happy.
Finally walked out of the forest.
Rubbing his eyes, Li Qiang saw a city in disbelief.
He stood for a long time and felt that his tears were about to fall. Looking at this city from a distance, there was a feeling of both strangeness and familiarity. The style of the city wall was unexpectedly like that of ancient China, with blue bricks, square-hole arrow slits, arched round gates, and flying rafter bell towers. There were pedestrians walking on the road in the distance.
Li Qiang thought about it and felt that it would be better to dress up as a tourist. He took out a large backpack, stuffed it with random things, and tied his long hair with a long ribbon.
Li Qiang wore coffee-colored half-waist hiking boots, jeans, a dark red shirt with a vest, and carried a backpack on his back, walking towards the city gate with excitement.
When he reached the city gate, Li Qiang felt even more strange. Looking around, there were dozens of men, women, old and young following him, staring at him like they were watching a monkey trick. Li Qiang kept nodding and smiling, but as soon as he approached them, without waiting to ask questions, these people were like frightened rabbits and immediately scattered. But after walking away for dozens of steps, they followed him again, pointing and laughing from time to time.
Judging from the way these people were dressed, Li Qiang couldn't be sure which dynasty of ancient China they were from. What was certain was that they must have been from the Ming Dynasty or before, because Li Qiang was very familiar with the clothes of the Qing Dynasty people after watching them in TV dramas.
Although he couldn't communicate with them, Li Qiang still heard their whispers thanks to his extremely sharp hearing. It was the dialect of Hangzhou and Jiaxing.
Li Qiang was excited. You know, he had studied in Zhejiang and spent four years in Hangzhou. He could understand almost all the dialects in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
At the city gate, Li Qiang was stopped by four soldiers with long swords on their waists.
"Who are you? Bring me the 'pass'." One of the leaders said. The four soldiers were also curious and looked him up and down.
Li Qiang couldn't help laughing, "Great, I can understand it." Li Qiang spread his hands and smiled, "Brother, I came from a faraway place and wanted to go into the city when I passed by." He used the Hangzhou dialect.
The four soldiers were very surprised and gathered together to discuss in a low voice. One of them turned around and ran quickly towards the city. The leading soldier was very respectful and saluted, saying, "Dear guest, please follow me and take a rest first. I have sent someone to invite the prefect."
"You're welcome, you're welcome." Li Qiang was very surprised and thought, "I didn't say anything just now. The difference in attitude is too big."
Li Qiang did not say anything, but he spoke the authentic Hangzhou dialect, which is a special language for the royal family and nobles here. Only the royal family and nobles can't learn and speak it. Li Qiang didn't understand it until later.
"Big brother, what's your surname?" Li Qiang wanted to get close to him.
The leading soldier replied in a panic, "I dare not, no need to be polite, my surname is Hua."
Li Qiang suddenly realized that there seemed to be a strict hierarchy here, and it was really unpleasant to hear the soldiers calling him a villain. People who grew up in modern society are used to the concept of equality for all.
What Li Qiang lacks most now is information. The Jade Pupil Slip only records things related to the world of cultivation, and there is no information about the secular world. "Brother Hua, what is the name of this city?" Li Qiang began to get the information he needed.
Li Qiang called him Brother Hua all the time, and the soldier was at a loss. He wanted to tell him about the situation of his three generations of ancestors, so he answered ten questions with one question. Li Qiang slowly learned some basic information.
This city is called "Hanlin", which is close to the "Sigh Forest" (the forest that Li Qiang walked out of). It is the first capital built by the "Gu Song State". The Gu Song State moved its capital about three hundred years ago. After the move, the city gradually fell into disrepair, and the population also decreased from more than 700,000 in its heyday to more than 200,000 now.
The population of the Gu Song State is about 70 to 80 million. Among the three major countries in the "Green Basin", it is a relatively weak country. The other two countries are "Li Tang State" and "Da Han State". Among these three countries, Da Han State is the most powerful.
There are some small countries in Tianting Star, distributed in some places with extremely harsh natural conditions. The more famous ones are "Wangming Country" in "Storm Plain", "Qingfeng Country" in "Red Rock Fossilized Mountains", etc. There are also some famous ethnic groups, including Qin, Wu, Chu, Xia, Shang, etc.
Li Qiang understood that the Song Dynasty must have been established by people who migrated from Earth during the Song Dynasty. Other countries and ethnic groups should be the same.
Li Qiang also learned that in the Green Basin, the most fertile land on Tianting Star, the three countries have been fighting endlessly, and wars have occurred every ten years. Each country wants to destroy the other and unify the Green Basin, but has never succeeded for various reasons.
The main reason is the intervention of the cultivation world. The royal nobles of each country and every famous ethnic group are inextricably linked to the cultivation world. Among these royal nobles, many are cultivators.
The soldier also told Li Qiang that the prefect of Hanlin City was Feng Kaiyun, who was born a juren. He was probably demoted to this remote city because he offended someone. The garrison officer was Tong Fangzhen, who was promoted by accumulating merit and was born in the army.
"The prefect has arrived!" a soldier reported.
Li Qiang looked up and saw two rows of yamen runners holding water and fire sticks, and the four people in front holding two cards of "silence" and "avoidance" respectively. A four-person official sedan chair was slowly approaching. Li Qiang almost laughed out loud, thinking: "Wow, this is too exaggerated, such a big show, I really seem to have returned to ancient times."
The sedan chair stopped in the distance, the sedan chair carrier lowered the pole, and the yamen runner beside the sedan chair hurriedly lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, and a middle-aged man walked out of the sedan chair. He put his hand on the shoulder of a yamen runner, stamped his feet, retracted his hand and twisted his beard to look at Li Qiang, a flash of surprise in his eyes, then a smile piled on his face, and walked slowly towards him with a square step.
Li Qiang was also carefully observing the highest official of Hanlin City. He had a square face, two dark eyebrows, thin lips, three long beards, and an eagle-hook nose. He was obviously a man with deep thoughts. He wore a blue official uniform, a jade belt around his waist, and two official wings dangling flatly behind his hat.
Li Qiang thought it was too funny. He went to meet him, and the first sentence he said scared the yamen runners. "Haha, you must be Brother Feng Kaiyunfeng! I am Li Qiang, please take care of me when we meet for the first time!"
The soldier surnamed Hua thought to himself: "So this lord calls everyone brother, no wonder he calls me that too."
Feng Kaiyun was stunned, but he did not dare to neglect him. He said: "I did not know that Lord Li was coming. I am sorry for not welcoming you. Please forgive me! Please forgive me!" He thought to himself: "Why is his court official language so awkward?"
Li Qiang's next move almost scared the yamen runners to death.
He stepped forward and patted Feng Kaiyun on the shoulder, smiling: "Don't be polite. Excuse me, I just want to go into the city to take a look, it's okay, Brother Feng, you don't have to accompany me, just tell me where the hotel is."
Feng Kaiyun's doubts grew bigger and bigger, and he asked: "Wait! Please show me your official documents, so that I can prepare for official business." The atmosphere suddenly became a little tense.
Li Qiang felt puzzled and asked: "What official documents? I don't have any official documents, weird."
The soldiers slowly surrounded him.
Feng Kaiyun shouted: "How dare you! How dare you pretend to be a royal noble? Tell me, what do you do?"
Li Qiang also got angry: "Asshole! What the hell, when did I pretend? What do you care about what I do? Damn it." The more he scolded, the angrier he got, and he didn't know why he was furious.
"Hey, why are you kneeling down?"
The purple flames brought by the inner armor of the starry sky came out again, and in an instant Li Qiang's clothes turned into ashes again, which was caused by anger.
Feng Kaiyun was so scared that he was sweating and knelt on the ground. He knew he was in big trouble.
Because only the royal family could cultivate "heart armor", and it was always kept secret. He thought: "Oh, I can't save my head this time."
Feng Kaiyun paced back and forth in the study, twisting his beard with his hands. He was still afraid until now. Fortunately, Li Qiang did not blame him, otherwise he would not know how to deal with this deadly situation.
His chief lawyer Cheng Zizhong also bowed his head in thought.
"Master, Chunxiang from the guest room wants to see you. She said she has something to report." A young servant in green clothes said with a bow.
"Quick, let her in!"
Feng Kaiyun looked a little flustered. The lawyer Cheng Zizhong said, "Master, calm down. I don't think Mr. Li is the kind of person who is difficult to talk to."
Feng Kaiyun sighed, "Master, I am confused. You have to help me control it."
"I, Chunxiang, kowtow to you, Master."
"Tell me, what's the matter?"
Chunxiang knelt on the ground and replied, "Mr. Li is going to the street. Sister Qiuxiang is dragging him to talk. I dare not make the decision. May I ask you, Master, what should I do?"
Chunxiang, kneeling on the ground, couldn't help laughing. She had never seen a guest like Mr. Li. Young and handsome, he chased the four maids who served him, calling them sister and younger sister, without any respect for age, and was very funny. He also gave them candies that they had never seen before, which were so delicious. Licking his lips, he thought about the bag of candy in his arms, and when he had time, he would ask someone to take it home so that his parents and brothers and sisters could also taste such good things.
"Chunxiang, go back first and tell Master Li that we will be there soon."
"Yes, Master." Chunxiang was eager to go back quickly, slowly left the study, turned around and ran away.
"Old Master, let's go together."
Feng Kaiyun was really afraid of seeing Li Qiang, Cheng Zizhong encouraged him, "Master, no matter what Lord Li asks, agree to it first. We must be careful to serve him and never offend him again. I don't think Lord Li will stay for long."
Feng Kaiyun understood Cheng Zizhong's meaning. As long as Li Qiang was satisfied in Hanlin City, he would spend any price. When he was satisfied and left, nothing would happen.
Li Qiang was not an unreasonable person. After living in the VIP room of the prefectural government, he no longer cared about Feng Kaiyun's rudeness. Although he didn't quite understand why Feng Kaiyun was so afraid of the inner armor of the starry sky, he was still satisfied that he could eliminate the hostile state. After all, fighting was very troublesome, and it also violated his original intention of wanting to travel freely in Tianting Star.
After changing into the new clothes sent by Prefect Feng, he hurried to the street. He was very curious about everything. Seeing four little maids stopping him, Li Qiang couldn't help but joke with them.
Feng Kaiyun came to the guest room and stood outside. He turned around and waved at Cheng Zizhong, signaling the old master to go in first. Cheng Zizhong nodded and was about to go in. A burst of laughter came from the room, and the two stopped at the same time.
"Sister Qiuxiang, don't pull me. I'm just going out for a walk. Why are you so nervous?"
"Master, please understand my difficulties. Sister Chunxiang said that the master will be here soon. Can you wait a little longer?"
"How many times have I told you, don't call me master, call me brother, I love it."
Feng Kaiyun felt his bones were soft, thinking: "This Lord Li is so frivolous and doesn't follow the rules. This, this is too much." Thinking about it, there was nothing he could do to him, but he couldn't listen any more. He coughed and pulled Cheng Zizhong into the room.
Li Qiang was sometimes thin-skinned and sometimes thick-skinned. Seeing Feng Kaiyun coming in, he deliberately wanted to annoy him, so he greeted him with a playful smile, stretched out his hand and grabbed his hand, and said with a smile: "Big brother, you are finally here. I want to go shopping, and the little sisters insist on waiting for you. Are you going to accompany me?"
Feng Kaiyun almost got angry and pulled his hand back.
Cheng Zizhong saw that Feng Zhifu's face changed, and hurriedly said: "Sir Li, the governor brought me here to pay respects to you, and secondly, the garrison commander Tong Fangzhen of this city wants to visit you. This government has no intention of neglecting you. Since Sir Li wants to inspect this city, I will temporarily take your place and accompany you. How about it?"
"Who is this...?" Li Qiang looked at Feng Kaiyun.
"Oh, he is the master of this mansion, Cheng Zizhong, Master Cheng." Feng Kaiyun breathed a sigh of relief. He was so angry that he had to accompany him. He bowed and said, "Since Lord Li is eager to inspect this city, this mansion will not force him. Master Cheng will accompany you. I have some official business to attend to. I will welcome you tonight. Goodbye."
"Don't worry, don't worry. I promised to take these little sisters with me to the street. I hope you don't mind, brother."
Seeing Li Qiang stretch out his devilish claws again, Feng Kaiyun was really annoyed and hurriedly said, "Please do as you please, Lord."
The four little maids, Chunxiang, Qiuxiang, Juxiang, and Lanxiang, followed Li Qiang and Cheng Zizhong happily, talking and laughing in a low voice. They didn't expect Li Qiang to really take them shopping.
Cheng Zizhong didn't expect that this Lord Li was like a child. Not only was he disrespectful, but he also spoke as he pleased without any scruples. Cheng Zizhong has been to countless government offices and seen countless officials, but he has never seen such an adult. He thinks it is quite interesting.
Walking into a ready-made clothing store, Li Qiang couldn't help but sigh. Compared with the big supermarkets and shopping malls on Earth, the supplies in this place are so poor.
The shopkeeper of the ready-made clothing store is a fat man with a double chin and a chubby face. His small eyes are shrewd. He ran out from behind the counter with a smile on his face: "Two masters, welcome to our shop. What do you want to see? I will bring it to you right away." The shopkeeper turned around and waved to the clerk: "Hurry up, take out the things, and ask the child's mother to come, there is a female customer."
Cheng Zizhong didn't know what Li Qiang wanted to buy, so he had to tie his hands and look.
Li Qiang smiled and said, "Boss, I want four sets of autumn clothes and four sets of winter clothes." He pointed to the four maids and said, "They are for these four little sisters. It would be best if they are ready-made. If not, just measure the size and make it and send it to me." He glanced at the clothes rack and said, "Bring the black fur cloak."
The shopkeeper took down the black fur cloak and said, "Master, this is a cloak made of the skin of the 'Biqi Beast'. You have a good eye. This is the best cloak in our shop."
Cheng Zizhong was surprised and said, "Is this the fur of the 'Biqi Beast'? It's very famous."
Li Qiang touched the fur and didn't think it was that good: "What 'Biqi Beast', what is it?"
Cheng Zizhong said, "It's a good thing. The 'Biqi Beast' lives in the swamp and is extremely difficult to catch. This fur is impervious to water and can block rain and wind. It is light and warm to wear in winter."
The shopkeeper grinned and said, "Oh, this old man is an expert."
There was a flurry of activity. The four little girls were like dreaming. No one had treated them so well since they were young. They were so grateful that they couldn't express it.
"Okay, I'll buy it. I'll pack it together with the eight sets of clothes I just asked for and send it to the prefectural government office."
The shopkeeper shrank his neck in fear and thought, "Oh my god, it's the government that wants it. If they don't give me money, I'll jump into the river." He was very worried.
"How much?" Li Qiang asked and felt a little uncomfortable: "Oh no, I don't know what kind of money is used here."
"The cloak costs 715 taels, and the eight sets of clothes cost 47 taels and 4 cents, a total of 762 taels and 4 cents of silver." The shopkeeper finished calculating.
Li Qiang turned around and asked Cheng Zizhong, "Where is the jewelry store here?"