Chapter 474: Chapter 470: A Different Beijing_1
 

Martial Artist Fang was taken aback, glanced at the opposite side, and said no more.

After consuming two pieces of dry food, Yingbao wrapped herself in a cotton robe and pretended to sleep, in reality, she was communicating with Xuanwu, asking about the state of this world.

The night passed without words, and the snow ceased the next day.

Yingbao dared not sleep deeply, she rested lightly, and as soon as dawn broke, she rose.

Surprisingly, Martial Artist Fang could also stand, albeit with a slight limp.

The rest of them also stood at the temple entrance and looked outside, seeing that the snow was knee-deep, they hesitated whether to continue their journey (or not).

However, if they didn’t leave, the food they had brought was limited and wouldn’t last many days.

Just as they vacillated, they suddenly heard a middle-aged man asking, “Are all of you also preparing to go to Beijing?”

The eldest brother of the Sheng family turned his head and nodded.

“I’m also going to Beijing. Could you give me a lift? Once we arrive, I’ll surely repay your kindness.” Actually, Master Fang would rather the girl, Yingbao, give him a ride, but she didn’t pay any attention to him at all.

The eldest Sheng brother thought for a while and asked, “Sir, are you a resident of Beijing?”

Master Fang nodded, “Yes, I’m from the Royal Palace of Rui in Beijing. I was staying in this temple while returning from an errand when I was inadvertently caught up in a skirmish between a group of martial artists in the middle of the night and ended up being buried under a stone statue.”

Surprised, eldest Sheng brother exclaimed, “There was a fight amongst martial artists here?” Some martial artists could be very domineering; anyone who provoked them would surely meet an awful end.

“They were just passing by and have left by now.” The people who buried me seemed like warriors going into the deeper mountains to collect spiritual medicine. They started fighting over unequal distribution and ended up damaging the stone statue. I was resting under the statue at the time and got buried before I could move away.

Eldest Sheng brother sighed in relief and began discussing with his younger brother, “This man says he is from the Royal Palace of Rui in Beijing, and wants us to take him there. What do you think…”

“Well, let’s give him a ride. It’s on the way anyway,” second Sheng brother said casually, considering there was no loss to them anyway.

Eldest Sheng brother appeared a little hesitant and said in a low voice, “The snow outside is so deep, who can carry him?”

Leaving aside the deep snow, even if there was no snow, they had to carry him the entire journey. Wouldn’t they die of exhaustion?

“Don’t we have the little sister? She’s strong; she can carry him.” The second Sheng brother said carelessly.

The woman nearby hurriedly said, “The little sister, she is gone!”

Everyone turned around and indeed, the fool had already walked out quite far wearing a man’s padded jacket.

“Little sister! Come back!” Both the elder and second Sheng brothers panicked and yelled loudly, but the tiny figure turned around a corner and disappeared.

…

Yingbao walked fast and quickly avoided the group.

She inquired from Xuanwu while directing herself.

After walking for a stretch, she came across a village, where a few children were playing with snow at the doorway.

She approached and asked one of the children, “Does anyone in this village own a horse? I would like to hire a carriage.”

The child stared at her for a moment and then ran back home.

Soon, a villager came out and asked, “You need to hire a carriage?”

Yingbao nodded, “Yes.” She actually preferred to buy a horse, but farmers were not usually willing to sell their horses, unless the price was excellent.

However, if she offered a high price, she might attract undesirable attention, and she might even be plotted against before she left the village.

As she did not know much about this world, she was of the opinion that not creating additional issues would be best, so she could only propose to hire a carriage.

“Where are you going?” the villager asked.

Yingbao estimated the direction, “Beijing”. It was close to Beijing, so she just said she was going there.

The villager looked the young girl up and down and began rubbing his chin. “If you’re going to Beijing, the trip will cost fifty taels of silver.”

Yingbao replied, “That’s fine. But I only have five taels on me. Once we reach Beijing, my father will give you the remaining forty-five.”

The villager was sceptical, “What if your father doesn’t pay?”

Yingbao picked up a block of wood that a child had left on the ground and firmly squeezed it. The wooden block crumpled into dust. “My father runs a security agency in Beijing. He is a man of his word.”

Seeing a thin-looking girl crush a thick block of wood bare-handedly, the villager was suddenly astonished and began to believe her words somewhat.

Who could afford to buy expensive spiritual medicine, just for a girl to open her meridians, and then let her train her body and practice martial arts, but a well-off family?

“Alright! It’s a deal!” The villager finally made up his mind to take on this one-off business.

Beijing was a hundred miles away. As long as you walked quickly, you could get there in two days at most. Within two days, you could earn fifty taels of silver. If he didn’t do it, many villagers would likely rush to do it.

So, Yingbao got on a tall horse carriage.

The horses in this world were very tall, and she was not as high as a horse’s back even when standing straight.

The carriage was also tall. The huge wheels spun rapidly, kicking up a mist of snow.

The only issue was that the road was too bumpy, leaving her disoriented.

Luckily, the carriage was equipped with thick straw mats covered in unidentifiable fur. It was only because of this that Yingbao was saved from total disarray.

Two days later, the carriage finally arrived at the gate of Beijing.

The city walls of Beijing were incredibly tall, towering into the clouds.

Countless bizarre beasts pulled sophisticated carriages in and out of the city. One villager turned his head and said, “The carriage needs a hundred copper coins to enter the city, you must pay this amount.”

Yingbao nodded, took out a small silver ingot, and handed it over: “This is five taels, take it first, and I will give you the rest after we enter the city.”

The silver ingot in the form of Yuanbao was internationally accepted, being a precious metal. The villager took it, bit it, saw a tooth mark on it, and then put it away. He then took out a hundred copper coins to pay the entrance fee.

After the carriage entered the city, the coachman asked repeatedly for the location of the escort agency.

Yingbao asked him to stop at the entrance of a shop and took out nine silver ingots for him: “Here, this is the fee for hiring the carriage.”

The coachman was stunned for a moment, then he smiled. He accepted the silver, checked each piece one by one, and stowed them all away. “What about the hundred coins?” he asked.

Yingbao took out a hundred copper coins and handed them to him.

The coachman examined the coins and curiously asked, “Why is the pattern on top different from the ones at my house?”

“I’m just a simpleton,” said Yingbao seriously, “This is the currency we use.”

The coachman seemed both convinced and skeptical, but he still put away the coins and drove off.

Yingbao watched him leave before walking into the store.

This store was lavishly decorated and very imposing. There were even two stone beasts standing at the front door, making it look like a royal family’s mansion at first glimpse.

Yingbao stepped up onto the platform and walked into the store, where she saw a row of tall counters covered in red lacquer.

Various items, unknown herbs, and animal skeletal remains were displayed on the shelves inside the counters.

After looking around, Yingbao asked, “Do you sell body-forging prescriptions?”

The shop assistant glanced at her and asked, “What rank?”

Yingbao asked, “What ranks do you have?”

“We have all ranks from one to nine.” The ranking of a prescription was just like that of the medicinal materials. The higher the rank, the more precious it was, and the more expensive.

“How much for a third-rank prescription?” Yingbao asked. In fact, she wanted to ask about a ninth-rank prescription.

The shop assistant replied, “A third-rank prescription costs a hundred taels of silver. If you buy a full set of herbal materials, the third-rank prescription is free.”

Yingbao was taken aback, then asked, “How much is a set of herbal materials? What Tier Spirit Plant is it?”

The shop assistant gave her a disdainful look: “You’re buying a third-rank prescription and you’re expecting top-tier Spirit Plants? It’s obviously entry-level!”

With a look of impatience on his face, he said, “A full set of third-rank prescriptions, including a set of herbal materials, in total will cost five hundred gold.”

Five hundred gold translated into silver, was five thousand taels of silver.

Yingbao walked out of the store in silence, carrying the two body forging prescriptions she had just bought, one was a third-rank and one was a fifth-rank. She had spent five hundred taels of silver in total. Afterward, she went to the bookstore for a stroll and bought several volumes of the Compendium of Spirit Medicines. The illustrations in these books were in full color and were extremely lifelike.

Not only did these Spirit Medicine books have illustrations of Spirit Plants, but they also had illustrations of animals, bones, shells, and minerals.

Luckily, she had a basic knowledge of identifying medicinal materials. She recognized many of the herbs.

Then, Yingbao went to the horse market and bought a tall steed, as well as a saddle, shovel, chisel, axe, rope, and so on.

Without any further delay, Yingbao bought some cooked food and warming supplies, wrapped herself tightly, rode the horse out of Beijing, and headed straight to a destination dozens of miles away.

This steed was very powerful. A journey of dozens of miles only took slightly more than an hour.

Yingbao tightened the reins and looked at the mountain range ahead, frowning slightly.

There seemed to be a divine temple on the mountain, grand and towering, with a constant stream of pilgrims.

How was she supposed to take a fragment? Was she supposed to smash the statue in front of everyone?