My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1036 Integrating into the New World

As evening falls, the lights of the new coastal city begin to illuminate the scene.

The neon signs lit up one after another, and the glass curtain wall reflected the last trace of orange-red, but the warm yellow light bulbs of the old-fashioned dessert shop on the street corner softened its sharp edges.

The streets gradually became bustling with people. A human white-collar worker in a suit was bending down to help the little rabbit demon girl pick up the scattered cotton candy. Her fluffy long ears brushed against his neatly pressed tie, and in return, the little rabbit demon handed her a tissue with a smile.

The traffic on the cross-river bridge converged into a flowing river of light. On the top deck of the double-decker bus sat several butterfly-like creatures with thin wings on their backs. Their transparent wings trembled gently in the evening breeze. Under the neon lights, the spots of light they clung to swayed and shimmered with the movement of the bus.

On the bluestone pavement of the pedestrian street, an elderly human selling roasted chestnuts poured the freshly roasted chestnuts into a bamboo basket. In the rising steam, a passing tree spirit boy reached out and took the paper bag. His fingertips inadvertently touched the edge of the basket, and tender green shoots sprouted from his withered knuckles.

A middle-aged Taoist priest, dressed in an ancient Taoist robe, stood out from the crowd with his distinctive style of clothing. He walked slowly with the flow of people, taking the steps of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams).

In cities directly under the Demon Alliance, the clothing styles of citizens have become close to modern. It is rare to see people wearing long robes and cloth shoes like this Taoist priest on the streets anymore.

Wherever the Taoist priest went, he inevitably attracted the attention of humans, demons, and the extremely rare demon race.

The gazes of the crowd held a hint of wariness, rejection, and suspicion, much like the stares cast upon someone from a certain promising modern nation whose skin had been exposed to the sun for too long, as they entered a community where few people basked in the sun.

The Taoist was none other than Yun Zhongzi. He was on his way home from get off work, planning to first return to his rented room to meditate for a while and refine the anger accumulated throughout the day, before going out for a stroll to continue observing the customs of the mortal world and collecting irrefutable evidence of the conspiracy that Wen Rui was using to bewitch the masses, seize incense offerings, and plot a shocking conspiracy.

Of course, he also needs to go to the night market tonight to find a discount stall to buy some clothes and change out of his Taoist robe.

With his keen senses, Yun Zhongzi had long noticed that the citizens of this city, regardless of their race, would cast strange glances at people dressed in Taoist robes and dressed as cultivators.

It's like looking at a potential criminal.

On several occasions, Yun Zhongzi did nothing but stroll around in his Taoist robe to observe the people's conditions, and some enthusiastic people even called the police, saying they had seen a suspicious person, which actually attracted the police officers to check him.

Fortunately, Yun Zhongzi had a temporary ID card issued to him by the local City God, and he also got a temporary job as a fortune teller at the City God Temple office in the government service hall, without any difficulties.

But as the police officer was leaving, he gave him a piece of advice: "Don't go shopping in your work uniform after get off work next time, it's not a good look." This almost made Yun Zhongzi's Dao heart explode with anger.

Yun Zhongzi clearly remembered that, whether in the Yin-Shang period or the Zhou period, Taoists, cultivators, and Qi practitioners were all widely respected by ordinary people.

By using one's Taoist identity, wearing a Taoist robe, and going to the palace gate, one can easily have the palace guard announce one's arrival. Meeting with mortal emperors and feudal lords is effortless, and one will be treated as an honored guest.

However, in today's mortal world, the identity of a Taoist priest has become a burden, making them despised.

In the human autonomous region, things were alright, but in the demon alliance's directly administered city where Yun Zhongzi was located, he was only slightly better than a rat crossing the street. He wasn't exactly hated by everyone, but he still suffered a lot of cold looks and disdain.

At first, Yun Zhongzi thought that the Taoist priests were so unpopular because the city's citizens were mostly demons and monsters.

He drew upon his experience in the Lion Camel Kingdom, a land inhabited by man-eating demons, where they naturally harbored hostility and even hatred towards Taoists who slayed demons and upheld righteousness. However, after a period of in-depth understanding and investigation, Yun Zhongzi finally grasped the true reason why Taoists were unpopular.

The large number of demon and monster populations in the city is only one aspect. In the past, there was a period when many sect disciples who didn't know their place relied on their status as cultivators and thought they were superior to ordinary people. They always caused trouble in the demon alliance city, resulting in an extremely high crime rate.

This period did not last long. Soon, the disciples of the major immortal cultivation sects in the mortal world who went out to train were subjected to the harsh realities of society and the iron fist of the dictatorship in the major cities of the Demon Alliance. Their cultivation level and the prestige of their sects were nothing in front of the law enforcement officers of the Demon Alliance.

Although the number of security incidents caused by cultivators is now extremely small, the stereotype remains in the minds of every citizen of the Demon Alliance.

In addition, occasionally one or two cultivators who had been in seclusion for too long and missed the world line switching would come out of seclusion and run to the city directly under the Demon Alliance to act like immortals, which would end up in the social news section, further deepening the Demon Alliance citizens' bad memories of Taoists and cultivators.

Once prejudice takes hold in people's hearts, it's like a mountain, not so easily shaken.

Yun Zhongzi was originally a man of strong will and not someone who would be easily swayed by the opinions of ordinary people. However, considering that he was there to secretly investigate Wen Rui, it was really inappropriate for him to insist on wearing such a conspicuous and taboo outfit.

Today was finally payday. After receiving that meager paycheck, Yun Zhongzi finally had enough money to buy himself a new outfit.

He seriously suspected that his salary was a special grant granted by the young City God out of pity, since the coin-operated computer fortune-telling machine opposite his divination table at the entrance of the City God Temple office was doing much better business than his.

Although he really didn't want to accept this humiliating payment, Yun Zhongzi had no other way to make money. The rent that the City God had paid for the rental house was also about to expire. He had no choice but to temporarily put aside his dignity as an immortal for the sake of a few hundred dollars and get through his current predicament.

……

After spending one hundred meat coins, Yun Zhongzi's appearance underwent a dramatic transformation. He finally replaced his old Daoist robe, which appeared simple but was actually a high-quality immortal robe.

He was wearing casual shorts, slippers, and a floral shirt, looking a bit sleazy.

There was no other way; I was really short of money, so this was the cheapest outfit I could afford.

Yun Zhongzi's fortune-telling stall performed so poorly that he had several conflicts with citizens every month, resulting in deductions from his performance bonus and leaving him only with his base salary.

Although he worked for the municipal government, the salary and benefits of temporary workers were much lower than those of regular employees, and his performance was poor. He was only able to receive a little salary because of the young city god's influence.

Despite his thuggish attire, Yun Zhongzi maintained an air of otherworldly elegance from the neck up, sporting a thick, long beard and a Taoist-style topknot adorned with hairpins.

At first glance, it looks quite trendy and has a fashionable vibe.

In addition, Yun Zhongzi had a very good appearance, with a square and resolute face and a dignified demeanor, which attracted the attention of many female fairies, girls and little witches who passed by.

(End of this chapter)