Fantasy: Immortality Begins with Absorbing Demons

Chapter 292 The Choice (Part 2)

only…...

Han Yi still felt some uncertainty; was this really the best choice...?

However, he doesn't have a better option right now...

The carriage traveled along the gray-yellow official road, with potholes appearing here and there, making a 'plop plop' vibration sound.

The sun gradually set, leaving only a sliver of its tail.

The crows cawed and took flight, seemingly startled by the sound of the turning wheels. A few black feathers drifted down from the sky, and the sunlight shone on them, making them look like a disaster falling from the heavens.

To the west, the blood-red setting sun shone on the slowly advancing convoy, casting long shadows that resembled people fleeing disaster.

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Thirty li southeast of Anyan City lies the official road.

In the dead of night, the moonlight was like a veil, and the sickle-shaped moon hung silently in the sky, as if shrouded in a layer of haze, indistinct and unclear.

Near the official road, a ring of carriages formed a protective circle. Outside the carriages were servants repairing wheels and feeding the horses, while in the center was a bright campfire.

Crackling!

Two racks were placed on the fire, with dozens of skewers skewered with chunks of meat on them. Golden, translucent grease dripped from the skewers into the flames, causing them to crackle and pop.

"I never expected Brother Han to have such skills!" By the fire, the mountain-sized Fatty Zheng ate with skewers in his hands, his mouth dripping with oil.

He was a glutton who boasted that he had tasted all the delicacies in the world.

But Han Yi's barbecue skewers instantly won him over, even arousing his appreciation for talent.

Since they would be living together for a long time, Han Yi simply gave up the alias Yuwen Sheng and reverted to his real name.

Anyway, Han Yi and Fatty Zheng are now in the same boat, so there's no need to hide their names. Being honest will only increase mutual trust.

“When you live alone for a long time, you’ll always develop some special skills. At the very least, you need to eat well…” He remained calm, his left hand flipping quickly while his right hand carefully sprinkled the secret spices.

A rich aroma of roasted meat, combined with the pungent smell of spices, fills the air.

The aroma caused a stir among the surroundings. Many servants outside the carriages secretly swallowed, and some even peeked through a crack in the curtains of a few carriages. The carriages were mostly filled with women who were eating inside, as it was inconvenient for them to get out.

"Not bad, Brother Han Yi, we're truly kindred spirits!!!" Fatty Zheng let out a deafening laugh, stuffing his mouth full.

Han Yi and his group set off at dusk and walked until late at night, but they had only covered a dozen or so miles.

By evening, everyone was exhausted from the journey, and the roads were pitch black, making it impossible to see anything. They had to stop and rest.

Although we didn't encounter any troubles or ridiculous incidents like bandits or robbers along the way.

But Han Yi still felt a little impatient...

It's so slow!

Along the way, one concubine needed to use the restroom, another felt stuffy and wanted to get out of the carriage for some fresh air, and even Fatty Zheng would stop to eat from time to time.

In just a short while, from dusk to night, including this meal, this is the third meal I've had while parked today.

"Fatty Zheng, at this rate, when are we going to get to the prefectural city?" Han Yi asked impatiently.

"Oh dear, this is slow! I've eaten far less to make up for lost time. I used to eat at least eight meals a day, but today I've only eaten five!" Fatty Zheng complained bitterly, crying out his grievances.

"Too slow! If you keep dawdling like this, you might not even reach the prefectural city in a year!"

Han Yi didn't mince words. An'yan City was not close to the prefectural city; it was at least a thousand miles away.

Although life in this carriage is quite nice, with good food and drink, servants to wait on you, and plenty of monster meat resources, if this pace continues and you keep traveling around every day, by the time you reach the prefectural city, the monster meat in the carriage will probably be rotting and smelling bad.

"Brother Han, don't be in such a hurry! You can't rush things!" After eating and drinking his fill, Fatty Zheng picked up the fruit that his fifth concubine had peeled and laughed. "Once we get past this official road and reach South Lake, we'll be on the boat soon."

"Nanhu Marsh?"

"Indeed, the waterways here are intricate and stretch for hundreds of miles, making it the most troublesome part of the journey. Once we pass South Lake, the rest is just crossing a few mountains and passing a few monster lairs..."

Fatty Zheng ate the juicy fruit and began to explain.

"Troublesome? Could you elaborate?" Han Yi asked.

“Hmm…” Fatty Zheng pondered for a moment, “The South Lake Marsh system is vast, with undulating waters and unpredictable waves. In addition, there are many water bandits and mountain bandits in the area, and news of water bandits committing atrocities comes from time to time…”

"But Brother Han, rest assured, I have already arranged for backup on the shore, so you can rest easy!"

Fatty Zheng chuckled at the solemn expression on Han Yi's face. Before reaching Nanhu Marsh, it was still within the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and there were still official roads and post stations, so there was still some order.

What's truly troublesome are the desolate mountains and ferocious beast territories beyond the South Lake Marsh...

Those places are completely beyond the jurisdiction of the imperial court. There are robbers and murderers, man-eating monsters, and some uncivilized barbarians... Those are the most dangerous places, which is also an important reason why Fatty Zheng invited Han Yi.

But Fatty Zheng didn't mention any of these places; he just glossed over them.

“That’s good…” Han Yi said slowly.

... .....

Perhaps it was because Han Yi's words had an effect, or perhaps it was because Fatty Zheng had skipped a few meals, but in the days that followed, the convoy's speed noticeably increased.

Several days have passed, and Nanhuze is now in operation.

In the distance, it's a vast lake, with boats constantly coming and going in the harbor, and waterbirds gliding on the pier. This scene is beautiful from afar, but once you get closer…

"Why does it smell so bad?!"

"You stepped in chicken poop, of course it smells bad."

"Damn it, what bad luck..."

There was a strong smell of sweat from the crowd, the smell of hair from chickens, ducks, cats and dogs, and even a faint smell of rotting vegetables and fruits.

The aroma was incredibly strong, even through the thick carriage curtains.

Han Yi frowned and opened the curtain.

Outside the window, there was a dense crowd, everyone carrying large and small bags, as if they had brought all their belongings.

"They're all people fleeing disaster..." he sighed. A demonic calamity had struck An'yan City, and its reach was expanding rapidly. Naturally, the surrounding population was gripped by fear, and people were moving with their families to safer areas.

In most people's eyes, the prefectural city is probably the best choice.

“Pingzhou Prefecture…” he murmured the name to himself.

Through his conversations with Fatty Zheng over the past few days, he had roughly sketched out the appearance of Pingzhou Prefecture in his mind and learned about his background and influence.

Pingzhou has a total of nineteen cities, with Pingzhou Prefecture being the largest of them.

Pingzhou Prefecture, as the prefectural capital, has a large population and a thriving economy, but it is also a melting pot of powerful and diverse factions.

The largest force among them, similar to that of Anyan City, is primarily controlled by the imperial court. The Pingzhou Army is renowned for its speed and aggression, serving as the pillar of Pingzhou's defenses. Even the most ordinary soldier in the Pingzhou Army is a master of physical training, possessing a strong and resilient physique.

Blood Refining Warriors can only hold positions like squad leader or centurion. Higher positions, such as captain or chiliarch, require a martial artist who has been famous for many years.

As for the commander-in-chief, selection isn't solely based on merit; it also depends on their ability to command troops and lead them in battle. Commander-in-chief positions are appointed directly by the imperial court, but their actual strength must be at least that of a Grandmaster. The Grand General commanding the Pingzhou army, however, must be a Grandmaster!

As for the imperial court, it was the sects and factions. There was a force called Dongshan Society in Pingzhou Prefecture that controlled all sorts of small, chaotic forces within the prefecture.

Next is the Demon Hunting Alliance, which is also the force behind Fatty Han.

The Great Xuan region is vast, and there are too many hidden monsters in the mountains and fields. They also reproduce very quickly. It is time-consuming and laborious to send the imperial army or even special personnel to kill them, and the results are not ideal. However, there are also spontaneously organized monster-hunting forces among the people. Therefore, the Monster-Hunting Alliance came into being.

The Demon Hunting Alliance is essentially equivalent to the imperial court offering bounties; anyone with the ability can hunt down demonic beasts in exchange for rewards.

The remaining forces, such as the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs and the Martial Alliance, are mostly affiliated with the imperial court and are not considered independent entities, so they are not listed separately.

"In short, it seems that Pingzhou Prefecture is just a larger version of Anyan City..." Han Yi sat in the carriage, deep in thought.

Behind both the Dongshan Society and the Demon Hunting Alliance, there is a hidden shadow of support from the imperial court. Therefore, in general, the entire Pingzhou Prefecture is firmly under the control of the Da Xuan Dynasty.

"My lord... get off the carriage..." a servant whispered outside the carriage.

"Hmm," Han Yi replied casually, and got out of the car.

On the turbulent lake, a huge black boat, nearly twenty meters long, was constantly swaying in the wind. At this moment, Fatty Zheng and a middle-aged man with dark skin, holding a harpoon and seemingly the boat captain, were arguing about something.

"Old Yang, this is really unfair of you!" Fatty Zheng said angrily. "I paid a lot of money to rent your boat, and now you're trying to pick up passengers halfway through the journey just to make a pittance?"

“Brother Zheng… this matter really can’t be blamed on this old man…” The boatman was missing a front tooth, and his speech was slightly slurred: “The main problem is that those people gave too much!”

"What?!" Fatty Zheng was even more furious. "How much money did I give you? I, Fatty Zheng, will give you three times the price!"

Who dares to pretend to be rich in front of him? He, Fatty Zheng, has no shortage of money!