Super System in the Early Tang Dynasty

Before long, the oil and salt the monk had brought were gone, and the wine was all gone. Although the head monk was somewhat greedy, he was ultimately resolute, and that morning he left alone.

In the past few days, Li Xingzhi had learned from the high monk that this place was in the Tanzhou area, and Changsha was nearby. This surprised and delighted Li Xingzhi, because he had spent six years in Changsha in his later life, so it could be considered his second hometown. Although it was more than a thousand years earlier, it was still more familiar and dear to him.

The area encompassed by Yu Gong (a historical text) was part of Jingzhou. During the Spring and Autumn Period, it was part of Qianzhong, the southern border of Chu. After Qin unified the country, it divided the sandy areas south of Qianzhong into Changsha Commandery to govern Xiangchuan. According to Dongfang Shuo's records, "The southern commandery has the Wanli Sha Temple, stretching from Xiangchuan to Donglai, a distance of ten thousand li, hence the name Changsha." From the Han to the Jin dynasties, it belonged to Jingzhou. Emperor Huai divided the commanderies of Xiangzhong in Jingzhou to establish Xiangzhou, bordered by the Five Ridges to the south and Dongting Lake to the north. Since the Han and Jin dynasties, it has been an important town. In the ninth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty, after the conquest of Chen, it was renamed Tanzhou, taking its name from Zhaotan. Tanzhou served as a first-level administrative unit, representing most of Hunan and parts of Hubei in ancient times; it also served as a second-level administrative unit, encompassing present-day Changsha, Zhuzhou, Yueyang South, Yiyang, and other areas.

In the first year of the Zhenguan era, the empire was divided into ten circuits and 360 prefectures. Tanzhou belonged to the western circuit of Jiangnan Circuit, and Changsha was the political center and prefectural capital of Tanzhou. In ancient times, the political center was often also the economic center. Changsha was located at the confluence of the Xiang and Liu rivers, with flat terrain, fertile land, and abundant rainfall. In later generations, the Hunan and Hubei provinces became populous provinces and granaries of the empire. Although the economic center is still in the north, the Tanzhou area still enjoys abundant food. The great chaos has been quelled, and although small groups of bandits still exist, they pose no major threat. The people here live in peace and prosperity!

Early the next morning after the senior monk left, Li Xingzhi and Xiao Gou Dan practiced the portion of the Yi Jin Jing that the senior monk had taught them, stretching their muscles and bones, before setting off for Changsha. Although they weren't far from Changsha, the journey, with its frequent stops, still took them nearly an hour. Upon reaching the city gate, they found a large crowd queuing to enter.

Having just truly come into contact with this world for the first time, Li Xingzhi was quite curious about everything.

He first examined the city wall, only to find it wasn't particularly tall, about the height of a person. Built of rammed earth, it was uneven and pitted; a single kick could knock down a clod of earth. The city gate was also quite rudimentary. From what he had learned in recent days, Changsha was already considered a major town in the south! Li Xingzhi quickly lost interest after his brief look.

He then turned his gaze to the people queuing up. Many wore headscarves and short brown clothes, unlike the crowns and blue robes Li Xingzhi had imagined. The peasant women, though poorly dressed, were less particular, while the better-dressed wore short blouses and high-waisted skirts, somewhat resembling the clothing of a certain "toothless" ethnic group from later generations. Their clothes were not brightly colored, mostly dark yellow, blue, or black. Among these people, even coarse linen clothes were considered decent, and their attire was relatively neat; at least their spirits were good.

While Li Xingzhi was sizing up others, he didn't realize that they were being observed as well. After all, although his and Gou Dan's clothes were tattered, they were extremely clean and tidy. Coupled with Li Xingzhi's unique demeanor and composed attitude, it was easy to avoid attracting attention. Under Li Xingzhi's subtle influence, Gou Dan's overall aura was slowly changing. They themselves didn't realize it, but to outsiders, it was a significant difference.

Upon entering the city, the city guards merely glanced at him briefly, offering no harassment or the awkwardness Li Xingzhi had anticipated—no need to pay an entrance fee. Inside, he noticed that most houses were made of wood; a fire, coupled with strong winds, would easily destroy any connected houses, leaving no survivors. This was why night watchmen sang "Beware of fire—the weather is dry—" every night from 7 PM to 3 AM, a siren often seen in television, movies, and novels. Li Xingzhi observed that ancient houses were divided into wards, connected by roads, presumably not only for convenience but also for fire prevention, theft prevention, and maintaining order. The so-called curfew only prohibited walking on the roads between wards; one could still walk within the ward itself.

Upon arriving in the city, Li Xingzhi and Little Dog Egg were unsure which way to go. Based on Li Xingzhi's experience from his previous life, they naturally followed the majority of people, turning left and right until they easily reached the edge of the market. However, the market wouldn't open until noon, and they were both hungry from the journey, especially Little Dog Egg, who was particularly prone to hunger and ate a lot. Just as Li Xingzhi was about to eat his lunch early, a greasy, yellow hand reached out with a golden, shiny sesame flatbread.

"Little Dog Egg, why haven't you come here for some cakes for over half a month?" The voice was rough but the tone was a bit strange.

Li Xingzhi looked up at the sound and saw a man with a long beard, whose appearance was somewhat different from that of ordinary Han Chinese. He had a high nose, deep-set eyes, a dark yellow complexion, and a smiling face. He wore a shawl that revealed most of his arm and was pushing a small cart. Li Xingzhi then looked at what the Hu man was holding, which was the same kind of flatbread he had eaten when he first arrived here.

Just then, a small hand reached out, ready to grab the pancake, but stopped in mid-air and hesitated before pulling back.

Just as Li Xingzhi came to his senses, he saw Little Dog Egg staring at him.

"We've already eaten, so one more won't make a difference," Li Xingzhi thought to himself, and nodded.

Seeing that Li Xingzhi nodded, Little Dog Egg took the cake from the Hu man's hand. After looking at it, he prepared to hand it to Li Xingzhi.

While Li Xingzhi was sizing up the Hu man, the burly Hu man was also sizing up Li Xingzhi.

The bearded, burly man from northern China was named Kui Xishi. Originally a nomadic tribe from the north, he had heard of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and, finding life there too difficult, left his parents and brothers to seek a living there. However, there were too many nomadic people in the north, and doing business there was not profitable. He eventually arrived in Tanzhou, where he stayed for several years. Here, however, he lived a stable life. Although he was not wealthy, he no longer had to worry about having enough to eat. Therefore, he was very grateful to the Tang emperor and to the Tang Dynasty. He often gave food to beggars on the streets whenever he had extra money, saving them from hunger.

Kui Xishi found it strange. He had met Xiao Yazi and Xiao Gou Dan before. He only knew that Xiao Yazi came from the north, but he didn't know where he came from. As for Xiao Gou Dan, he had heard that his family had been ravaged by bandits, leaving him all alone. He felt sorry for Xiao Gou Dan and often gave him food. However, after Xiao Gou Dan started working with Xiao Yazi, he came less often, and recently he hadn't seen him for almost a month. He thought something bad had happened to him. Today, Kui Xishi saw that although Xiao Gou Dan's clothes were tattered, they were quite clean. He was full of energy and had a rosy complexion. His small body had even gained some weight. Xiao Yazi surprised him even more. Although his clothes were tattered, they were very clean, and his face was fair and clean. If it weren't for Xiao Gou Dan being with him, and the fact that he had seen Xiao Yazi several times before, he would have almost not recognized him. In particular, their overall demeanor was truly extraordinary, which was why he spotted the two of them at a glance in the bustling crowd.

Seeing the pancake that Xiao Gou Dan was about to hand out, Wei Xi Shi took another pancake out of his pocket and handed it to Li Xingzhi. Li Xingzhi didn't stand on ceremony and took it and ate it.

The three chatted casually until noon, when the city had reopened. Li Xingzhi and Xiao Gou Dan, unsure of where to go, followed Wei Xishi.

Li Xingzhi walked and looked around. Markets in the Tang Dynasty were divided into several or even hundreds of rows, with shops selling similar items clustered together in adjacent rows. He was almost at Kui Xishi's shop. The shop wasn't large, and the door wasn't open yet. The surrounding area was filled with food stalls, as well as some large inns and restaurants, the wine flags fluttering outside the restaurants particularly eye-catching.

Li Xingzhi wasn't in a hurry to do anything. He and Xiao Gou Dan helped Wei Xishi open the door and arrange everything. Then Wei Xishi handed each of them a cake, which Li Xingzhi accepted without hesitation. He figured he would return it eventually. He was confident because he had a cheat device.

After nearly a month of living here, Li Xingzhi has gradually integrated into this world and this era.

In the days since he transmigrated, Li Xingzhi has been frantically doing things to gain experience in order to survive in this strange world. He even kills every animal he sees. In addition, he cooks like crazy, so his experience gain is not slow. It's just that the experience gained from killing is a bit of a rip-off.

The little dog, Egg, had eaten so much that its face was rosy and it seemed to have grown taller, becoming even more lively and adorable. Leaving Kui Xishi's shop, Li Xingzhi took Egg for a stroll through the city. Li Xingzhi wanted to find something to do; although he wasn't hungry or thirsty living in the temple, resetting the system's experience points to zero was still a long way off.

Arriving in this unfamiliar era made Li Xingzhi feel insecure. His only hope now was for the system to officially activate. To this end, he spent his free time at the small temple cooking like crazy. It was precisely because of this that he made the turtle soup so well, which even attracted a big-bellied, big-eared monk.

He walked with the puppy, Egg, until the sun was almost setting before remembering to go back. Seeing Egg's exhausted face, yet still stubbornly following him without a single complaint, he felt a pang of guilt.

When I got back to Big Beard's shop, I was about to say goodbye, but I didn't expect that Big Beard had already packed up and was ready to leave. Looking at the sky, it was almost time for the market to close!

"Yazi, and Little Dog Egg, you're still here! I happen to have a few unsold flatbreads here; take them home and eat them." I saw the steaming, crispy flatbreads he handed me. The faint aroma of meat made them clear they weren't unsold. I was quite moved and marveled at the simplicity and honesty of the people in the Tang Dynasty. Later generations may not lack good people or kind-hearted individuals, but few dare to do good deeds anymore. Some ordinary little things from the past have become model acts on television and in newspapers!

Li Xingzhi and Xiao Gou Dan, each with a biscuit in their mouths, walked back beside Wei Xishi, still looking around with unwavering determination.