Nan Xun sternly said, âIf the sudden appearance of things that donât exist in this world can attract Heavenâs attention, then wouldnât Heaven already have taken notice of me laying down spiritual arrays for a full ten years in the last world?â
Little Eight burst into tears. âI donât believe it!â
Nan Xun comforted him. âItâs okay, donât be afraid, Iâve found out that as long as it doesnât affect the main story line of this world, Heaven wonât care about us. Furthermore, didnât you always tell me that you void beasts are Heavenâs darling? Heaven treats you as its child. Itâs your daddy, how can it be willing to destroy you?â
Little Eight felt much better after hearing this, but he still didnât dare to believe her. Daddy Heaven might have already found him and Nan Xun. Would it still turn a blind eye to his way of doing things?
But when Little Eight thought about it, he also understood that what he was doing wasnât something bad. Heaven only wanted each world to be in a balanced state. If a big boss villain with an evil value of 100 appeared, it would arrange a fated child to annihilate them. But if someone else stealthily eliminated the big bossâ evil value and achieved balance through another method with the same result, then Heaven naturally wouldnât care about how they did it.
âNan Xun, say, if grandpa and the fated child stood side by side, who would Heaven choose?â Little Eight asked with some expectation.
Nan Xun immediately satisfied him. âOf course it would be you. You already robbed some of the fated childâs merit value, but I havenât seen daddy Heaven punishing you.â
Little Eight was so happy that he changed Nan Xunâs attire to coarse linen clothing in the next second.
Nan Xun: âŠ
What about the silk clothes or phoenix robe? Okay, the coarse linen cloth aside, why would it be coarse linen cloth with patches?!
Little Eightâs explanation was like this: âYouâre still a beggar now ah, you shouldnât break your character design oh.â
Nan Xun cleaned herself up and looked at her reflection in the small river.
Sure enough, she was a beauty ah, but she was only thirteen years old now and hadnât fully grown up yet. Wait until she grew up later, she would be a great beauty who could bewitch any man.
âLittle Eight, why do I think that these eyes are naturally bewitching? You see, the corners of the eyes are raised up like a catâs; one glance and itâd look like sheâs being seductive.â
âHehe, why do you think this grandpa chose such a little beggar?â
The current Little Eight was very cocky. âThe original Li Yunduo would eventually be the star of Drunken Moonâthe top brothel in Nanyun Kingdomâs Imperial City at the time. Later, cough~ later, she was taken in by the seventh prince of Donglin Kingdom for his personal use. She was responsible for probing information about Nanyun Kingdom. A gu was placed inside her by big boss in the end and she stabbed herself to death because she couldnât stand the pain of ten thousand worms gnawing at her heart.â [T/N: gu is a legendary venomous insect / parasite]
Nan Xun: âŠ
Thatâs brutal.
Facts have proven, if you donât have the capability, then donât dare try to do it; otherwise, you will die a miserable death. Not everyone had the capital to fight against the big boss ah.
Nan Xun finally managed to enter the city after changing her clothes and freshening herself up.
The current Nanyun Kingdom had opened its gates widely, welcoming people from all over the world to visit or do business. If this wasnât the case, Nan Xun really wouldnât be able to enter.
Entering the Imperial City was done, but Nan Xun had another important matter to be dealt with: she was hungry. She was really too thin and small right now; even if she wanted to become a waitress at a random inn, she reckoned that no one would hire her.
Little Eight immediately offered his support. âYou can go to brothels and serve tea and water ah. Youâre a beauty in the bud, the brothel-keeper surely will hire you.â
Nan Xun rolled her beautiful eyes. âWaiting to be fattened for slaughter?â
Nan Xun was preoccupied with ways to make a living while looking at the streets of Nanyun Kingdom.
She hadnât seen the other three countries so there was nothing to compare them with, but the streets of Nanyun Kingdom were very busy and lively, with many shops and crowds bustling about.
Her looking around made it obvious that she was an outsider, but the people there didnât look strangely at her.
âLittle girl, are you from outside?â asked an auntie selling rattle drums, with a kind and friendly appearance.
Nan Xun glanced at her. This woman was about forty or so. Her face was good, and she looked like an honest person.
âAuntie, I came from Beiwu Kingdom to seek refuge with relatives. I heard that Nanyun Kingdom is prosperous and strong, it seems that itâs the truth after all. I donât know the local customs here. Auntie, can you tell me briefly so I wonât offend anyone?â
Seeing that Nan Xun was well-behaved and good looking, along with her pleasant words, that auntie smiled and waved to her, motioning her to come closer.
Nan Xun walked to the front of her stall and shook a rattle drum ârat-a-tatâ, it was quite funny.
The auntie smiled and said, âLittle girl, this Imperial City is unlike your countryside in Beiwu Kingdom. It has some rules to abide by, but thereâs no need to be too cautious. Thereâs our State Teacher. Honesty prevails throughout common people. As law and order makes society stable, there wonât be any robber or tyrants who bully girls on the street.â
Nan Xun sighed with admiration. âThis State Teacher is really amazing ah.â
The auntie became more amicable to her. âLittle girl ah, youâre so lucky, itâs said that State Teacher will go out for a parade today. You can see his palanquin! Just look at the inns on both sides of the road. The second floors are all fully booked just to catch a glimpse of his graceful bearing.â
Nan Xun looked towards the buildings on both sides and she saw that no matter whether it was a tea house or an inn, they were all packed full of people.
Aunt reminded, âLittle girl, remember, you need to greet piously when you pass the State Teacherâs palanquin. Donât look up; if you commit blasphemy against the State Teacher, youâll be cursed by the gods and end tragically.â
Nan Xun nodded, thinking that Nanyun Kingdomâs people had been brainwashed by this State Teacher.
She thought that he must have spread his extraordinary power and immortal skill around, because it was unexpected that the people of Nanyun Kingdom not only didnât fear him having sorcery and venomous insect techniques, but instead treated him with high regard.
Rumor had it that someone bumped into State Teacher once. Later, that personâs whole family didnât end well. Hearing this, everyone only applauded and praised, not at all feeling that there was something wrong.
In the eyes of Nanyun Kingdomâs people, anyone who offended State Teacher deserved to die.
Wuu~
A horn suddenly sounded from far away, and in the twinkling of an eye, the people around changed their expressions, just like the auntie that was speaking with fervor just now.
Everyone bowed, their heads bent down firmly. Their whole posture showed deep veneration.
In a mere second, the area became silent except for the sound of excited breathing.
Nan Xun hastily squeezed inside the crowd, relying on her small body to pass through a space between two people in front of her until she could openly look at the street.
She saw four rows of Imperial Guards with swords at their waists from afar at the outer side, striding proudly ahead in her direction. The procession was really, extremely long.
Further inside, there were twelve to twenty young men encircling a big sedan chair in the middle, carrying goblets filled with gu, or sprinkling water around them with long leaves and grass moistened with water from some vases.