Chapter 69: Dongmu County

  Du'aniu was taken aback by Su Feng's question and paused for a moment, looking at Su Feng and Gao Qiao with some hesitation.

  As the wind glanced at him hesitating, he didn't say much, just paused for a moment, and then turned his head back, walking towards the dock below. It wasn't until then that Ah Niu suddenly reacted, apologized to Gao Qiao, and hastily chased after Su Feng's direction.

  As the wind heard the footsteps closely following behind, the corner of his mouth only rose slightly, and he didn't say anything. However, no matter how intelligent or resourceful Ran Feng was, he absolutely did not expect that Du A'niu would follow him to venture into this unfamiliar environment, and it wasn't really because he had been persuaded by his words that broke through the closed door of his mind.

  Du A Niu's only specialty is observing people's demeanor and conversation. Su Feng has been from a prominent family since childhood, and his temperament and demeanor are not ordinary. Moreover, he later learned martial arts, which added to his elegance and closeness to nature, something that ordinary people cannot imitate even if they try. As for A Niu himself, going to the Gao Bridge household with his abilities would be a dead end, but following Su Feng is different. Su Feng's martial arts skills are evident, and the day he rises to prominence won't be far off. Once Su Feng gains importance, as his follower and brother, how could their status be any lower?

  Thought Ah Niu had really changed his mind, but unexpectedly almost caused big trouble later on.

  Koukyou stood quietly on the deck, seemingly unaffected by the surrounding commotion and excitement. A person emerged silently from the shadows behind him and whispered in his ear in Japanese, "This young man is absolutely a master, letting him go like this, isn't it a waste?"

  Takahashi smiled casually and replied in Chinese, "It doesn't matter, he's just going around in circles anyway."

  At this time, Suzaku had already taken A Niu down from the boat to the dock with the wind, and the surroundings were so noisy that they wouldn't hear what Gaoqiao was saying on the deck.

  The two of them landed on the ground, and the people from Fusang who had come to welcome the messenger ship saw their purely Chinese clothing and immediately surrounded them, chattering away in a mixture of words and gestures.

  "There are so many people here, are they all welcoming us? What are they saying?" Ah Niu was surrounded by so many people for the first time and couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

  He furrowed his brow, and he had only learned the language of Fusang for less than a month with Mr. Takahashi, and even if it was the same words, when put in different people's mouths, the sound would be quite different. Fu Sheng carefully considered for a long time before hesitantly responding with a sentence in not-so-standard Japanese, pointing his hand in the direction of Mr. Takahashi. Then he said to Ah Niu: "I didn't fully understand either, it seems like they're asking if we arrived safely in Datang and what we brought back from there."

  As soon as he finished speaking, the people around him immediately dispersed and went towards Mr. Gao's side.

  But some of the remaining people muttered again, their eyes gazing at Su Feng with even more admiration.

  "What's going on again?" Ah Niu leaned against the wind, seemingly a bit frightened.

  "I just said that we are not envoys of the Tang Dynasty, but rather people from the Central Plains. I didn't quite catch what they were saying, roughly it was something about welcoming us and other things, seemingly they have a deep admiration for the Great Tang." Xun Feng leaned in and whispered to Ah Niu.

  It seems that someone in the crowd noticed that Su Feng was not proficient in Japanese, so someone stepped forward, gesturing and speaking slowly. "You're saying... you want us to... stay as guests? And... tell about... China... your country?" Su Feng watched the gestures and guessed at the meaning. He roughly understood what they meant.

  Looking at their attire, all made of coarse hemp simply woven, compared to the silk of Central Plains Jiangnan, it is simply heaven and earth. From this point alone, Fusang's backwardness and poverty can be seen.

  But in the eyes of each and every one of them, there was a glimmer of longing that made my heart skip a beat at that moment. To say that Zhongtu and Fusang are different is an understatement - it's like comparing heaven and earth. Decades ago, Fusang had already started a nationwide trend of studying Eastern culture, which was a manifestation of their desire for progress and development. And the message conveyed through the eyes of the people surrounding him was precisely this.

  But looking back at the great Tang Dynasty, wasn't it magnificent to dominate the world and have all nations come to pay homage? However, from the ruler who indulged in idleness and extravagance, to the common people who thought themselves to be living in a strong and prosperous era, none of them took the world seriously.

  How long can Zhongtu's prosperity last? One hundred years, or one thousand years? And after that period of time, which will be stronger, Zhongtu or Fusang?

  Just as the wind was lost in thought, an old woman who looked very elderly also came to the edge of the crowd. When they saw the old man coming, the people around them reacted strangely, as if they had seen something they didn't want to see, and they all made way for her, allowing the old woman to easily reach the wind and his companions.

  "Guests from afar, you must be tired from traveling such a long distance. Come and rest at my place." She surprisingly spoke perfect Mandarin!

  Not only did Ah Niu not expect it, but even Sui Feng didn't think of it either.

  The old woman looked at the two of them and laughed in a hoarse voice: "You two don't need to suspect me, I'm just running an inn in this Dongmu County, I'd like to invite you two noble guests to my inn as guests." Su Feng was slightly better, but Ah Niu had the words "doubt" and "suspicion" carved on his face.

  Su Feng and Du A'niu both had thoughtful expressions on their faces, without responding.

  Seeing the worry and suspicion in the hearts of the two, the old woman continued: "You two are new to Fusang, I suppose you're not familiar with everything here. If there's no local guidance, it'll be hard for you to accomplish what you want to do or find who you want to find. Why don't you rest at my inn for a few more days and let me explain all sorts of things about Fusang to you?"

  The old woman seemed to say casually, but both Feng and Ah Niu were slightly shaken. Ah Niu's face also showed a few more awkward expressions, and anyone with discerning eyes could see the tension in his heart. But Feng didn't even bat an eyelid, as if he hadn't seen Ah Niu's abnormal behavior at all.

  She glanced around at the increasingly crowded crowd, and her own very disorganized Japanese language skills. She knew nothing about Japan, just as she had said, it was necessary to find a local person to understand things better. Otherwise, whether it was relying on a certain family or venturing out on her own, it would be extremely beneficial.

  After some thought, the old woman's words were indeed reasonable, so he nodded and said: "Since you're treating me with such hospitality, I shouldn't refuse. Alright then, I'll go over there."

  The old woman chuckled twice, and the wrinkles on her face gathered together like a crowd, even her eyes narrowed to almost invisible.

  "Take care of yourselves, the inn is not far from here, it's just within the county." The old woman said, turning her body around.

  The concept of a county is not exactly the same in Japan and China. In China, a county refers to a much larger area, with only 36 counties nationwide during the early Qin dynasty. There has long been a saying that "10,000 households make a marquis, 1,000 households make a county." In contrast, a county in Japan is much smaller, similar to a town or county seat, and although there are merchants from various places, their numbers are small, and the flow of goods between regions is also very limited. It cannot be compared to the Tang Dynasty's international trade with merchants coming and going freely.

  However, this place is adjacent to a natural good harbor, and the comings and goings of various envoys' ships and merchant ships with the Tang Dynasty are still quite frequent. As a result, all kinds of facilities in the small town are also complete, and the two followed the old woman out of the port and into the town, where they saw crowds flowing, various shops, although not large in scale, but very delicate.

  Not far away, we arrived at the old lady's inn, which had a triangular sloping roof and a style similar to that of Zhongtu, except that the slope was steeper. The entire building was made entirely of wood, without any earth or stone structure. What was most distinctive was that the bottom of the wooden house was suspended in mid-air for half a foot, just like the ethnic groups living in the rainforest on the other side of Dali in Zhongtu. A wooden sign hung outside the wooden house, with two Chinese characters "Wang Tang".

  "Come on in, don't just stand there stupidly." The old lady opened the door and Ah Niu followed her into the house, while Sui Feng was still outside looking around and couldn't help but laugh and remind them.

  It wasn't until then that he came back to himself, and with a somewhat awkward smile, he stepped forward into the store.

  As soon as I entered the door, I found that all the furniture and decorations in the inn were in the style of the Tang Dynasty, which was both familiar and nostalgic. The only difference was that a wooden screen was placed at the entrance, with an idol placed inside the screen. With the wind blowing, I took a quick glance, and this idol's appearance was entirely in the style of the Qin Dynasty of Central Plains. I don't know which god or deity it was worshiping. Maybe it wasn't even a god from Central Plains.

  "I used to run a small inn that was always empty, but then someone gave me an idea to turn it into a Tang Dynasty style hotel. I didn't expect it, but after the renovation, the hotel is packed every day. Many young people from nearby want to experience the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, but it's not easy to get to Chang'an, so they come here instead to get a taste of it." The old lady smiled warmly as she swept the floor.

  The old woman at this age is still bent over and managing such a large store, fortunately someone came up with a method like this. Xiang Feng also had a few points of sympathy in his heart, looking at the unknown god statue in front of him, he casually asked: "Old lady, at your age, why don't you hire someone to share some of the work in the store?"

  The old woman chuckled and swept the ground with her broom, glancing at Su Feng's wooden door and said with a smile: "No need to bother, thanks to the protection of the Heavenly Emperor, although I'm getting on in years, I can still manage. Why bother hiring someone else? Besides, young people these days are all so proud, they wouldn't deign to look at our humble little place."

  The wind only responded with a single sound, but in his heart, he suddenly felt enlightened. It turned out that the wooden statue was actually the legendary Emperor Jimmu of Japan, but why was this emperor dressed in Qin dynasty attire?

  The old woman seemed to have a premonition, raised her head and smiled: "Right, I almost forgot, you came from the Central Plains, don't know if you've heard of Xu Fu, the Taoist?"

  Du Ao Niu was chatting with the old woman about family matters, and didn't pay attention to it. However, Sui Feng suddenly startled, he almost all the way over is related to Xu Fu. Climbing Longtai is like this, the mysterious sword mantra he learned is also like this. Suppressing the urgency in his heart, he pretended to be casual and said: "The Taoist priest Xu Fu was one of the most favored by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of Qin. It is said that he led three thousand boys and girls to the East China Sea to seek immortality. Such a big name, how could you not have heard of it?"

  The old woman lifted her head and smiled kindly, "Then you must not know that in the suburbs of Dongmu County is the tomb of Xu Fu, a Taoist master."

  Xu Fu's tomb is actually in Fusang? Didn't they say that after he went to sea to seek immortality, there was no more trace of him? How could it be possible for a tomb to appear again? Feng Man's face was shocked, and she couldn't speak for a long time.

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