The capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Dongjing Bianliang!
The place where Wu Pifu and the others appeared was on a hillside, just in time to catch a glimpse of a corner of the city, which was naturally Bianliang City.
"This should be Niu Family Village nearby. Little Mute is buried by the peach grove below. When spring comes next year, it will surely be beautiful there, and I believe Little Mute will be very happy," Wu Pifu said, looking down.
Wu Pifu had previously told the two about his experiences in the Mud Buddha Yaksha Dream World.
Ya Ma Dai, carefree and unbothered, casually remarked, "Then when the peaches are ripe, let's gather some to bring back to Gaia."
Xu Shilan kicked Ya Ma Dai, then walked over to Wu Pifu and said softly, "The deceased has passed, but at least you are still alive. You remember her, and with annual offerings, she will surely find peace."
Wu Pifu nodded silently, and his companion, Qiu Qiu, flew straight down towards the peach grove.
Wu Pifu shouted, "Don't fly too far! We are going to Bianliang City; be careful not to lose us later."
Qiu Qiu chirped twice and quickly disappeared from sight.
Ya Ma Dai stroked her chin thoughtfully and said, "That bird... seems to have gotten fatter?"
Wu Pifu nodded affirmatively.
He noticed that Qiu Qiu had indeed grown a bit larger, though he couldn't tell if it was from absorbing demon cores or from eating wild boar demon meat.
Xu Shilan sighed again, feeling that these two were really unreliable during non-combat times.
With her leading the way, she took the two down the hillside towards the official road.
The three of them, along with Qiu Qiu, walked along the official road, observing the bustling crowd around them.
As they approached the city, they even felt a sense of congestion on the road.
The liveliness here was far beyond that of the Peace Hotel Dream World.
Wu Pifu and the others were all dressed in maintenance personnel uniforms.
Although they weren't exactly space suits, they were tight sleeves and shorts, which would have been considered strange attire in ancient times.
However, amidst the crowd, they didn't stand out at all; there were all sorts of odd outfits, including theatrical costumes, martial attire, juggling clothes, and even people dressed like sumo wrestlers, as well as monks and Taoists.
There were also many foreigners with red, yellow, and brown hair.
"Is the Song Dynasty this developed?"
Xu Shilan and Ya Ma Dai were both stunned.
Even though they weren't well-versed in history, they knew that during the Third War, human civilization had essentially been interrupted.
However, they at least understood that before the Industrial Revolution, human civilization was quite backward and barren.
They never expected to see a scene like this.
Wu Pifu, on the other hand, was full of anticipation and appreciation.
He said, "In ancient times, China was indeed much more developed than other regions and countries, especially during the Song Dynasty, which is famous for its cultural and economic prosperity, aside from territorial expansion."
Ya Ma Dai scratched her nose and asked, "What about territorial expansion?"
"Apart from territorial expansion."
"What about combat?"
"Apart from territorial expansion."
"And…"
Wu Pifu and Ya Ma Dai were joking around as they got closer to the city gate.
Xu Shilan's expression turned hesitant as she softly asked, "With so many non-white people around, I assume this Song Dynasty doesn't fear 'foreigners' like the Qing Dynasty did, right? How should we enter the city?"
Wu Pifu was momentarily stunned, suddenly recalling that in ancient times, there were things like travel permits, right? Although they weren't as formal as modern identification documents, there were household registrations and travel permits.
The control over population movement might even be stricter than in later times.
The three of them were completely blank in this regard, so what kind of travel permits could they present? It seemed they might not be able to enter Bianliang City after all.
However, as they approached the city gate, they saw that the many passersby on the official road were casually entering and exiting.
The dozen or so guards at the gate looked more like ceremonial guards or order maintainers, not even bothering to question anyone.
The three were astonished.
Following the crowd, they entered the city and found themselves surrounded by throngs of people.
There were also many lanterns being set up.
It was around two or three in the afternoon, and the sounds of shouting, selling, performing acrobatics, playing with paper figures, and even sumo wrestling filled the air.
The entire Bianliang City was bustling with activity, truly resembling a scene from the Qingming Shanghe Tu, depicting ancient prosperity.
"This isn't right; is this really the Song Dynasty?" Wu Pifu found it hard to believe.
He looked around and spotted a small stall selling cool tea by the roadside.
He approached the elderly vendor and clasped his fists, saying, "Old sir, what day is it today? Why is it so lively?"
The old man was happily watching the lanterns hanging from a shop in the distance.
Upon hearing Wu Pifu, he turned to look at him, sizing him up, and then glanced at Ya Ma Dai and Xu Shilan who were following him.
Still smiling, he said, "Young man, have you just returned from the sea? You don't even remember the Lantern Festival in your hometown?"
Wu Pifu immediately understood and smiled at the old man, saying, "Indeed, I've been away for too long. Thank you, old sir."
The old man stroked his beard and poured three cups of cool tea for Wu Pifu and the others, saying, "The emperor is wise and has honored Guo Shengren as the national teacher. For the past two years, the weather has been favorable, and the northern Liao barbarians have been defeated. I heard they are about to be exterminated. This year's Lantern Festival is especially lively. The emperor has decreed a seven-day nationwide celebration, with no restrictions on the night. Otherwise, how could your two barbarian companions easily come to my Dongjing Holy Capital?"
Wu Pifu felt puzzled but didn't show it on his face.
He drank the cool tea in one gulp and thanked the old man again.
The three continued walking along the street.
Xu Shilan said as they walked, "It seems to be a prosperous era. This is great; it's easier to do business in prosperous times. We should buy two buildings in Bianliang City. Ya Ma Dai and I will set up a sanctuary. Next month's gold will be used in this dream world. With capital, my two younger brothers will see how I manipulate the winds and clouds."
Xu Shilan spoke with great confidence, and Wu Pifu and Ya Ma Dai could tell she had clearly been successful before and had the capability.
They didn't doubt her words.
Ya Ma Dai, however, retorted, "Younger brothers? Hehe, I’ll scare you to death!"
"Show me! If you don't show me, I’ll look down on you today!" Xu Shilan wasn't shy at all and immediately called out.
This left Ya Ma Dai somewhat at a loss for words, only able to stammer.
At that moment, Qiu Qiu on Wu Pifu's shoulder chirped and tried to fly off to see the commotion.
Wu Pifu quickly reached out and grasped Qiu Qiu, who immediately began pecking at his palm, sounding quite aggrieved.
Wu Pifu said, "There are so many people here; how will you find us later? And what if someone uses a slingshot or something else to shoot at you?"
Qiu Qiu immediately chirped loudly, nodding its head towards the sky.
Wu Pifu looked up and saw a flock of birds flying up and down, with some ancient-dressed maidens on the tall buildings scattering fruits, clearly teasing the birds.
Seeing this, Wu Pifu hesitated for a moment but then released his grip, saying, "But you must be careful. Don't fly into crowded places or areas with many children. Stay away from those with slingshots or bows and arrows, understand?"
Qiu Qiu chirped twice and affectionately bumped its head against Wu Pifu's face before spreading its wings and flying high into the sky.
Once Qiu Qiu was out of sight, Wu Pifu turned to Ya Ma Dai and Xu Shilan, saying, "I may not be very good at history, and aside from looking up some information to argue with others, I'm not familiar with it. But I do know that after the Xuanhe period of the Northern Song, it was the Jingkang period. The Jingkang humiliation... I just don’t know how many years after Xuanhe it was until the Jingkang period. Could it be similar to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, where the peak was suddenly interrupted?"
"And who is Guo Shengren...? It can't be Guo Jing, right?!"
Wu Pifu strained to recall his scant historical knowledge.
He only knew that once the Jingkang humiliation occurred, the Northern Song was declared destroyed, and then Zhao Gou fled south, leading to the subsequent Southern Song.
Could it be that this world, with a baseline reality of 0.7, deviated so much from actual history? Had the Song Dynasty in this world become invincible like the Xianxia Qin Dynasty?
Xu Shilan countered, "Either you remembered your history wrong, or the deviation from the baseline reality of 0.7 is too great. Because everything we've seen along the way has been a scene of prosperity. Other things can be deceiving, but the spirit and demeanor of the people cannot be faked, right? And according to that old man, the north has won battles, and with the economic and cultural prosperity, plus recent victories, especially the extermination of a nation, at least there should be no worries for the next twenty years, right?"
Wu Pifu still hesitated, but from Xu Shilan's analysis, it indeed seemed to be the most reasonable explanation.
He nodded, looking at the bustling crowd around him and the lanterns gradually being set up, feeling moved.
He said, "Then let's find a way to sort out our household registration and say we've just returned from overseas. That can work. After that, we’ll see how to get money and navigate the government channels, finding a way to clear our identities so we can buy two buildings in Bianliang City."
Joy is contagious.
As the three walked through the festive atmosphere, some of the gloom in their hearts gradually dissipated.
They each admired the ancient cultural scenery, looking for places like pawn shops to exchange gold for silver or copper coins.
At that moment, a green shadow quickly flew back and landed on Wu Pifu's shoulder, urgently chirping.
Wu Pifu was taken aback, and his expression immediately turned serious.
He whispered, "Is someone trying to harm you? Point it out, where?"
Qiu Qiu, however, shook its head humanely, still chirping anxiously and pecking at Wu Pifu's collar.
Wu Pifu looked around and then carefully examined Qiu Qiu, noticing it was unharmed.
Hearing its urgent tone, he asked, "Slow down, slow down, don’t rush. What exactly is it?"
Qiu Qiu paused, then let out a single chirp, followed by two consecutive chirps, repeating this three times.
"Little Mute?" Wu Pifu asked in confusion, "Qiu Qiu, are you saying you saw Little Mute?"
Ya Ma Dai and Xu Shilan immediately criticized, "Wait, how did you hear the words 'Little Mute'?!"
Unexpectedly, Qiu Qiu nodded vigorously, doing so three times in succession, then flew up into the sky, hovering for a moment before landing again, calling out to Wu Pifu before taking off once more.
Wu Pifu immediately said to Ya Ma Dai and Xu Shilan, "Wait for me here!"
He then channeled his National Martial Arts qi and blood, activating his Human Immortal Martial Dao blood energy, and quickly squeezed through the crowd, drawing a round of shouts and curses from the passersby.
Wu Pifu paid no mind, focusing solely on pushing forward.
After a while, the crowd thinned ahead, and he saw a vast temple courtyard.
Qiu Qiu continued to fly into the temple, and Wu Pifu found himself facing a high wall.
At this moment, he couldn't care about anything else.
Wu Pifu quickly dashed forward, leaping onto the high wall with several quick steps, propelling himself over five meters high.
Qiu Qiu circled in the air, and Wu Pifu immediately looked in that direction, spotting a girl in palace attire, around thirteen or fourteen years old, bending down to enter a palanquin, with guards and palace maids surrounding it.
As Wu Pifu jumped onto the high wall, the palace girl instinctively turned her head and caught sight of Wu Pifu standing on the wall, several dozen meters away.
She paused slightly, then hurriedly ducked into the palanquin.
"Little Mute!"
Wu Pifu only caught a fleeting glance, but he saw the girl's eyes.
Those were Little Mute's eyes!!
(End of Chapter)