Chapter Thirty-Four On The Road

  No wonder Tang Zheng was stunned, this maid had a tall and slender figure, a melon-seed face, curved eyebrows under which were a pair of big eyes that were both black and bright. Her small and delicate nose was slightly upturned, her mouth was not large, her lips were thin and naturally pink, looking extremely enticing, especially the two dimples on her face that made her look sweet and lovely.

  Xiao Ziyang looked at Tang Zheng staring intently at the maid's eyes, and couldn't help but want to laugh. This Tang Zheng looked quite handsome and refined, but his eyes were extremely dull and yellowish, making him feel very mismatched with his appearance. But now his eyes had become extremely bright, as if they could burst into flames at any moment.

  It wasn't until the maid left the hall that Tang Zheng withdrew his gaze. He saw Xiao Ziyang smiling at him, and with a rather embarrassed smile, he said: "I've made Chen brother laugh, I have a weakness for beauty, and I've suffered a lot because of it, but even if I die, I won't be able to change this habit."

  Xiao Ziyang burst out laughing, "Food, color, and sex are all human nature. What man doesn't have a good eye for color? Brother Chen makes no secret of it, he's just being true to his nature. Why would I laugh at him?"

  Xiao Ziyang was about to ask him to talk about the legend of the immortal, but found that he suddenly became absent-minded, his words were incoherent, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself. Although it's said that men can't help but be fond of beauty, this one seemed a bit excessive.

  Tang Zheng hastily ate a few mouthfuls of food and then stood up to bid farewell. Xiao Ziyang felt a bit strange, but didn't pay much attention to it.

  After finishing the six dishes with rice, Xiao Ziyang walked out of the restaurant under the surprised and contemptuous gaze of his companions, and came to the deck at the bow of the ship.

  He was strolling on the deck, gazing at the sail shadows on the river surface, and marveling at the advanced water transportation of Western Liang when he suddenly saw Tang Zheng observing the upper-class cabin on the second floor from a corner of the wide deck at the bow. The way he dodged and weaved with his eyes made his rather handsome face look extremely lewd, especially the gleaming eyes that seemed very lustful. Xiao Ziyang felt a wave of disgust in his heart and did not want to have any further dealings with this person, so he turned around and walked towards his own cabin.

  At this moment, the door of a cabin on the second floor suddenly opened, and a young man in Chinese clothes with a sword walked out. He had sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, a high nose bridge, a slightly forward-pointing chin, dark skin, and a face that not only looked quite handsome but also gave people a feeling that this person's character must be very strong-willed.

  He seemed to feel Xiao Ziyang's gaze, so he turned his head to look at Xiao Ziyang, who responded with a friendly smile. He also slightly curled up the corners of his mouth and nodded slightly towards Xiao Ziyang.

  He suddenly seemed to have a feeling, and looked to the other side. Xiao Ziyang followed his gaze, and saw that Tang Zheng was hurrying towards the distance, with a hint of panic in his footsteps.

  Watching Tang Zheng's fleeting figure, Xiao Ziyang shook his head and turned back to his own cabin. After a brief rest, he began to cultivate according to the "Purple Jade Smoke".

  In the following days, Xiao Ziyang didn't see Tang Zheng again. He seemed to be hiding in his cabin and never came out.

  Half a month passed in the blink of an eye during Xiao Ziyang's arduous cultivation.

  The SS Andes was berthed at a massive dock many times larger and busier than the Jiang'an Wharf.

  This is the Xiang'An City, the capital of Chu Prefecture, which is known as the hub of the seventeen states of Western Liang. Xiang'An City is one of the largest and most prosperous cities in Western Liang, second only to the imperial city of Jin'An. Its prosperity far surpasses that of Jiang City.

  …………

  At this time, Xiao Ziyang was in the most prosperous street in the center of Xiang'an City, slowly tasting wine in the largest tavern, called Zhishan Building.

  The Zhishan Building occupies a vast area, taking up one quarter of the entire block, with a length and width of over 50 zhang. The main building is located at the corner of this block, with a square shape, measuring over 20 zhang in both length and width. The building has seven floors, each with a height of two zhang. This towering building, like a mountain, even shocked Xiao Ziyang, who thought he had seen it all.

  Xiao Ziyang, who had changed into a set of fine clothes, was now sitting at the window seat on the third floor of the Zhishan Building. If he went any further up, even Xiao Ziyang, who had spent a small fortune that would be enough to kill several people, felt that the prices were unacceptable.

  He gazed out of the window at several buildings nearby that were no shorter than the Zhiji Lou, and sighed in admiration at the prosperity of this city.

  The alley where the Zhishan Building is located is called Qingyang Alley, and the four streets facing Qingyang Alley that can accommodate twelve horse-drawn carriages are the most prosperous places in Xiang'an City.

  Qingyang Alley has no residents, and three large shops and Zhiyuan Building occupy most of the space in this alley.

  These three shops were Baoguang Building, which specialized in jewelry and jade, Huisheng Building, which operated a pharmaceutical business, and Mingsheng Building, which sold weapons; the main buildings of these three shops were similar in height to Zhishen Building. When Xiao Ziyang was strolling around, he found that there was a glowing pagoda logo on the lower right corner of the signboards of these four shops.

  Xiaoziyang only found out after asking Xiao Er that these four shops were all under the name of Qingyang Temple, and it wasn't until then that Xiaoziyang truly understood why even a minor servant from Qingyang Temple could command respect.

  Jin Dao Biaoju was just a small escort agency in a county town, and its business only extended to nearby Qingzhou, Gan Zhou, and Jin Zhou. These three states were not considered wealthy or prosperous in the Western Liang region. Xiao Ziyang, who had just arrived in Xiang An, seemed to be lingering on with a sense of reluctance to leave.

  After lingering in Xiang'an City for three days, he left this first-class prosperous metropolis of the Western Liang Empire and headed south.

  Chu State is located in the south-central part of Xi Liang Country, with half of its northern territory situated on the fertile Jiuhu Plain. Its northern border adjoins the largest lake on the Jiuhu Plain, Mengxiang Lake. The land here is fertile, rich in aquatic products, and has convenient water transportation, making it the most prosperous area in all of Chu State. Xiang'an City is located on the shores of Mengxiang Lake.

  In the southern part of Chu Prefecture, the terrain gradually rises, and hills and mountains become more numerous. Its southernmost part gradually extends into the residual mountains of the Miro Mountains, with steep mountains and precipitous ridges becoming increasingly treacherous and barren. The southern mountainous region of Chu is notorious throughout Western Liang for being a poor and rugged area.

  Xiao Ziyang's trip to Chu Prefecture was not aimless. He remembered that when he was young, his father, who was a scholar, often read a book called "Chu Prefecture Geography" rather than classics or historical books.

  When he was young, he often secretly looked at this book behind his father's back. He hoped to find the secret in this book that could make his father sit still for an afternoon. He secretly read "Chu State Geography" more than a hundred times, and even secretly bought another copy from the county town bookstore to compare them, but still couldn't find anything special about this book.

  When he took out the purple gold ape pendant that day, when he heard the pawnshop attendant mention the name of Chu State, the image of that book suddenly appeared in his mind, and he suddenly understood!

  That "Chu Prefecture Gazetteer" which had been flipped through countless times by Father was undoubtedly extremely worn out, and the most worn-out part of it was undoubtedly the chapter on Zhongping County, and in Zhongping County, the most tattered page was none other than Longxiao County!