The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

The lake was wide, divided by several small islands in the center. The northern part belonged to the State of Qi, while beyond the islands lay the territory of the State of Southern Han. Luo Yifei looked at the opposite shore and found that, just as Qiao Zhi had said, it was indeed guarded by soldiers.

It wasn't very noticeable from the opposite bank, but once you crossed the island, it became exceptionally clear. A flag hung on the watchtower where the soldiers kept watch, with a wolf clearly embroidered on it.

Qi Yuan took out a flag he had prepared beforehand, which was also embroidered with a gray wolf pattern. The people on the opposite bank raised a green military flag, indicating that they could pass.

Once ashore, the officers and soldiers looked at the documents Qi Yuan had prepared in advance with troubled expressions.

“Three days ago, even without this document, you could have entered the country. However, three days ago, our Southern Han announced to the world that it would no longer accept foreigners. But we cannot stop everyone from entering the country. Some people who are not from our Southern Han can enter the country with a special permit as long as they have paid taxes in our country for more than ten years. You few have this document, so that's fine. But Westerners are definitely not allowed to enter the country.”

Luo Yifei felt a chill in his heart upon hearing this, thinking that if this were a game, he would just run into teammates who were about to team up to level up, but then be forced to act alone.

Luo Yifei was pondering what to do next, whether he should act alone from now on.

Qi Yuan asked the soldiers for a word, then walked to the side with them and quietly handed them a money bag.

"Our small business relies entirely on these Westerners bringing back some novelties from the West. We hope you will be lenient with us."

“Westerners are indeed not allowed to enter the country. I don’t think your friend is a Westerner. He seems more like a person from our Southern Han who has been away from the country for too long and lost his household registration. However, it should still be possible to find him in the household register. Otherwise, you can pay a replacement fee and go to the county government to get the documents renewed.”

Qi Yuan naturally understood what the officers and soldiers meant. Instead of asking how much the replacement fee was, he handed them another money bag.

"Wait a moment, I'll write a letter for you to take to the magistrate of Lanxi County, and he will naturally handle it for your friend."

Qi Yuan nodded, and then took the letter given to him by the officer.

……

The Lanxi River is a tributary of Wanfeng Lake, flowing from north to south into the sea. To the west of the river lies the Nanzhao Kingdom, and to the east, the Southern Han Kingdom. Lanxi County is a county town located on the banks of the Lanxi River.

Since his secret conversation with Lin Quan, the leader of the Red-Clothed Cult, Qi Yuan naturally knew that the key to opening the tunnel was inseparable from the transmigrator. Before the time was right, he was determined to protect the transmigrator.

That day, the otherworldly man named Luo Yifei clearly had a musket in his hand, but he hesitated to fire it due to his soft heart, and was thus captured and taken back by the Red-Clothed Sect. Had he unfortunately fallen into the hands of those demonic sects or offended the government, he would probably have been dead long ago.

Qi Yuan led his group to Lanxi County. Although their destination was the island southeast of Nanhan, they first needed to go west to get the Ministry of Revenue documents for Luo Yifei.

Within the territory of Southern Han, there was no scorched earth like that of Qi, indicating that Southern Han was indeed temporarily spared from the ravages of war. Lost in thought, Luo Yifei soon emerged from the mountains and fields, where patches of green ears of grain seemed to herald a bountiful autumn harvest.

This was the first time Luo Yifei had seen such a large number of buildings since arriving on the Floating World Continent. He looked at this county town and it seemed like he had arrived at the ancient city of Qianmo on Earth. It was in the architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties on Earth, but he saw it in a country called Nan Han in this other world.

Qi Yuan and his group found an inn for the others to stay and rest. Luo Yifei, on the other hand, accompanied Qi Yuan on a tour of the various government departments, making arrangements with each party. Tomorrow, they would need to complete some paperwork, specifying when they left Southern Han and when they lost their household registration certificate.

Luo Yifei knew that the household registration stickers from the Ministry of Revenue were the identity cards of this world, and the household registration records were the household registers. The household registration management in this Floating Life Continent was quite meticulous; even forging documents could be done through official procedures. He wondered how much profit these officials had made from it. He just didn't know if this was only the case in the Southern Han Dynasty, or if the management in the Eastern Continent was all this meticulous. He'd have to ask Qiao Zhi when he got back.

As Luo Yifei was pondering this, he and Qi Yuan returned to the inn. Everyone else had already eaten, and the two of them had dinner on the first floor of the inn, listening to the conversation at the next table about the war.

"Have you heard? The Later Tang has already attacked the capital of Qi, Black Tiger City."

"I've heard that the State of Qi not only failed to fight, but also moved its capital to Mo City in the northwest before the war. With such cowardice, the day of Qi's destruction is probably not far off."

"Yes, the emperor of Qi is also a fool. He spends all day refining elixirs in pursuit of immortality, but he has already turned white-haired and I'm afraid his days are numbered."

"I heard that their Grand Secretary Luo Feng is searching everywhere for elixirs of immortality, hoping to bring their old emperor back to life."

"Not only has the capital been occupied, but the entire southeastern territory is already in the hands of the Later Tang. Why are they still pursuing immortality?"

"Who doesn't want to live forever? But in this chaotic world, it's already a blessing to be able to keep your life."

"I heard that when Free City was besieged by the State of Chu, the State of Qi had an alliance with Free City and should have come to its rescue, but instead took advantage of the situation to occupy Free City, also for the sake of this elixir of immortality."