Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 165 - 140: The Strange Shengshan County (Combined)

Chapter 165: Chapter 140: The Strange Shengshan County (Combined)

Xu Yuan learned for the first time that the Heavenly Word Mantra also contained the "Scram" incantation.

As soon as he finished speaking, a force struck him, sending him flying out of the cave.

Perhaps as a deliberate act of revenge, Tianyan imbued the force with a special power that kept Xu Yuan spinning in the air until he crashed into a bed of warm fragrance and soft jade.

Ran Qingmo caught him in midair, a hundred meters above ground. Her clear, tranquil eyes slightly lowered as she asked in a gentle voice,

"Are you... alright?"

"....."

When he regained his senses and looked up,

the full moon was in the sky, and her long hair, flowing with the wind, seemed to be edged with silver. She was so peacefully beautiful that she seemed beyond the grasp of mere mortals.

Xu Yuan suppressed his dizziness and circulated his cultivation technique twice, then managed a smile at her,

"It’s nothing....."

"...."

Ran Qingmo hesitated slightly and glanced in the direction of the cave.

And that glance met Tianyan’s golden eyes.

The slender figure stood alone at the mouth of the cave, her gaze cold and indifferent as she stared at the two of them in the air.

One glance felt like an eternity.

In the end, it was Xu Yuan who first broke the silence, because he felt if he kept looking, something else would happen,

"Ran Qingmo, let’s go. Tianyan is injured, she won’t chase us until she’s healed. We have enough time to escape."

Ran Qingmo withdrew her gaze and looked down at him in her arms,

"Oh....."

"Okay, we better hurry....."

Before he could finish, she, dressed in black like ink, pursed her lips and simply let go of him.

"......" Xu Yuan.

...

...

As the snow began to melt, tender green shoots sprouted from the branches.

By the side of the imperial road, a woman dressed in black stood out with her exceptional figure. She wore a masked hat, and only the contours of her tall and graceful body could be seen through the falling veil. Beside her was a handsome young master in brocaded robes.

Xu Yuan observed the passersby around him.

Because for some unknown reason, Big Ice Lump had been completely unwilling to fly with him these days, and without a map, the two of them had wandered in the Wanxing Mountain Range for nearly a month before finally making their way out.

Upon encountering an imperial road and following it to this point, this was the scene they came upon.

The imperial road was bustling with travelers, though few were commoners; most were merchant caravans or wandering warriors and mercenaries, and on the clothing of many were dried traces of blood.

Xu Yuan surveyed the area and gently shook his head.

He wondered how much of the blood was from humans and how much from demonic beasts.

It seemed that because of the tumult caused by the Demonic Beasts in the Wanxing Mountain Range, this place wasn’t very peaceful either.

The imperial roads of the Dayan Empire were prosperous, extending in all directions, almost reaching every town in Dayan, and were as broad as the highways of his previous life.

The people of this world also understood the truth of "Want to get rich, build roads first."

The comprehensive network of imperial roads and the prosperity brought by canal transport directly influenced the bustling trade routes, fostering the growth of various merchant alliances.

However, the supernatural aspects of this world meant that there was absolutely no fertile ground for capitalism to root in.

No matter how prosperous the merchant groups and guilds, they were nothing more than dogs under the supernatural powers.

Of course, perhaps one day a powerful hero might descend from the skies.

As they continued on the journey,

the "refugee camps" that gradually appeared on both sides of the imperial road soon caught Xu Yuan’s attention.

This wasn’t the first time Xu Yuan had seen such a refugee camp.

Along the way, the local governments would sprinkle a powder called Monster Repellent Powder.

This powder, refined from special organs within the bodies of high-rank Demonic Beasts, could emit a strong scent that frightened and deterred low-rank demon beasts. It served as a means of driving them away.

In addition, the local Skywatch offices had to regularly organize patrols along the imperial roads within their jurisdiction to ensure unimpeded travel.

The Dayan authorities placed much greater emphasis on the maintenance of the imperial roads than on the towns themselves.

And so, it led to an ironic fact—

When evil spirits plagued the towns, it was difficult to allocate manpower for control; yet the imperial roads remained unobstructed.

As a result, those who had their homes destroyed by demonic beasts and evil spirits flocked to the sides of the imperial roads and gathered there, constructing makeshift shelters of wood that were almost everywhere along the roads.

For these refugees,

the imperial road was safe, a place where they could temporarily survive.

Walking on a side path, Xu Yuan sighed softly.

He could clearly see the dirty and chaotic conditions between the shacks, the sight of several bloodied men wielding knives dragging another bare-chested man into a hut, a few emaciated children continuously beating another child protecting his food, and he could see the withered arms buried under the snow...

If he hadn’t left the city, Xu Yuan might never have witnessed such scenes in his life.

The bustle and tranquility within the towns of Dayan were built upon countless bones.

The Dayan Empire was too vast.

So vast that even if parts of it were rotten, it still thrived.

An hour later,

Looking at the refugee camps that still stretched as far as the eye could see along both sides of the imperial road, Xu Yuan couldn’t help but frown slightly.

It was too much, too vast.

The refugee camp was too large. Even considering its proximity to a water source, which would justify a large size, it couldn’t possibly explain such an immense scale, could it?

This camp was much larger than any he had seen on his travels, several times over.

Many of the newly erected makeshift wooden shelters indicated recent construction.

Were these refugees all displaced due to the rampage of Demonic Beasts in the Wanxing Mountain Range?

But wouldn’t gathering so many refugees in one place lead to trouble?

A feeling that something was amiss began to spread through Xu Yuan’s heart....

After some time passed,