In the ancient land of Xuemang, only scholars can establish a family.
The smallest family is the Tongsheng family, and the strongest family is the Daru family.
However, there has been no great scholar in the ancient land of Xuemang for many years, and the family with the highest status at present is the university scholar family.
In the ancient land of Xuemang, everyone is a member of a certain family. If you are not a member of a family, you cannot survive in the ancient land of Xuemang.
The State of Shengyuan Continent has its own national laws, and the Holy Academy has its own rules, but in the Ancient Land of Xuemang, there is only the clan law, that is, the clan's laws. Some clan laws are extremely strict and constitute the most basic rules of the Ancient Land of Xuemang.
"I heard that after three days of entering the Blood Mang Ancient Land, one will be affected by the Blood Mang Ancient Land and will have a certain degree of mental confusion. Only by eating dragon-patterned rice can one resist it. The people of the Blood Mang Ancient Land have lived here for generations, and their blood has undergone subtle changes, which can resist some of the power of the Blood Mang Ancient Land."
Pingbu Qingyun moved very quickly and soon arrived near the town. Fang Yun lowered his head and observed carefully.
Unlike ordinary towns in Shengyuan Continent, the towns here are tightly surrounded by walls, with only four gates in the east, west, south and north for entry and exit. There are nearly a hundred arrow towers within the four walls, and many soldiers are training behind the walls.
The whole town has about four or five thousand houses and a population of about fifteen to twenty thousand.
Fang Yun nodded slightly. This town was almost the same as the previous records. Due to the frequent harassment by bear monsters, at least one-tenth of the people in the Xuemang Ancient Land usually serve as soldiers. Once a battle breaks out, all the people will become soldiers, even teenagers will join in as auxiliary soldiers.
Fang Yun descended and landed in front of the gate. He saw the words "Yunzhen" written above the main gate. These two words were powerful and vigorous, and one could tell at a glance that they were the work of a famous artist of at least the third level.
Ten guards were stationed on both sides. The leading sergeant looked at Fang Yun's robe carefully, was stunned for a moment, and hesitated for a few breaths. He clasped his fists and said, "I greet Mr. Hanlin. Are you from outside the Xuemang Ancient Land?"
Fang Yun smiled and said, "I'm from Shengyuan Continent."
The expressions of these soldiers changed slightly, and some of them even frowned slightly.
The sergeant asked with a smile, "What are you doing in Yun Town? Have you made an appointment with others to look for rice? Would you like me to report this to my family's Hanlin clan leader?"
"Uh... I'm just passing by. I'll leave after a short rest." Fang Yun didn't expect that now is the season to look for dragon-patterned rice.
Generally speaking, the master of a city is a university scholar, and the master of a town is a Hanlin. There is no concept of village in the ancient land of Xuemang, because a village that is too small cannot survive.
The sergeant immediately made way for him and said with a smile, "I understand. Please do as you please, sir."
Fang Yun nodded and entered Yun Town.
There were people walking on the street, including women carrying wooden basins and clothes, children running around, scholars walking in square steps, and vendors selling things along the street.
When some children saw Fang Yun approaching with a smile, they shyly ran away.
Fang Yun strolled on the gravel road in Yun Town and found that the people here, like the soldiers, had a faint red light in their eyes. This was a sign of being born in the Blood Mang Ancient Land. Such people had a certain resistance to the power of the Blood Mang Ancient Land. However, it was precisely because of this red light that these people had a bad temper and were easily angered. Therefore, literary warfare was prevalent in the Blood Mang Ancient Land.
Apart from this, Fang Yun discovered that these people were no different from ordinary residents of the Shengyuan Continent. Their clothing and other habits were all normal.
Fang Yun felt relieved. It seemed that this place was not as scary as the outside world said.
Fang Yun looked up at the sky. The thick light red clouds were still there, which made people who were used to seeing the clear blue sky feel a little uncomfortable.
Fang Yun walked and observed the shops on both sides, and found that the high-quality goods here were extremely scarce, not to mention compared with the current Ning'an County, even compared with the ordinary counties in Shengyuan Continent, there was a huge gap.
Not long after, Fang Yun saw a restaurant called "Mingkeju" and remembered that some wines in the ancient land of Xuemang were made with dragon-patterned rice added during the brewing process. Not only was the wine mellow and rich, it also had extraordinary effects. He was moved and walked into Mingkeju.
Fang Yun glanced at Mingkeju. Its style was very similar to the restaurants in Shengyuan Continent a hundred years ago. Both the shopkeeper and other guests stood up quickly and looked at him curiously.
The waiter in the store came running over, bowed his head and smiled, "Master Hanlin, your presence is a great honor to our store. Please go to the private room on the second floor and take a seat!"
The shopkeeper in black robe walked over quickly and said with a smile: "I will take you to the private room."
Fang Yun nodded and followed the shopkeeper to the second floor. Only then did the guests downstairs dare to sit down.
Going up to the second floor, Fang Yun heard a noise. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw guests in a private room drinking and chatting.
The shopkeeper whispered, "They are scholars passing through Yuncheng looking for rice. They may have drunk too much. If you find it too noisy, I will go and persuade them."
"That's fine. There's no reason why people shouldn't drink and talk in a restaurant. Find me a private room with a window, and a pot of fine wine brewed with dragon-patterned rice."
The shopkeeper looked embarrassed and said, "As soon as I saw your official uniform, I knew you were not from the Blood Mang Ancient Land. Dragon-patterned rice is very rare, and our shop doesn't have that kind of wine. You can only buy dragon-patterned rice wine in Juyun City, which is not far away."
"I see. Then bring out the best wine and six of our signature dishes," Fang Yun said.
"Okay, I'll be right there!" said the shopkeeper and left.
Fang Yun chose a private room to enter. It was just a separated box. The furnishings were pretty good, but the soundproofing was poor. He could still hear several people in the room talking.
Fang Yun did not listen to what those people said. He sat by the window, thinking carefully about what he should do in the next three months.
It is a fantasy to find the fragments of the Dragon Slaying Sword within three months. The correct approach is to safely find enough Dragon Patterned Rice and then resist the mysterious power of the Blood Mang Ancient Land for three months.
Soon, the wine and food came. Fang Yun took a sip of wine, picked up a piece of each dish with chopsticks, and finally stopped touching the wine that tasted a bit strange and picked two dishes to eat.
One dish was mutton from the Xuemang Ancient Land. After being cooked, the meat was still bright red. It had a strong smell of mutton at first, but after chewing, the sweet fragrance gradually overflowed. The other dish was a kind of green vegetable that was blanched in boiling water and was crisp and refreshing.
These two dishes are foods that are not available in Shengyuan Continent, and Fang Yun is very satisfied.
Just after finishing eating the mutton, there was a knock on the door.
"Students from the Ancient Land of Xuemang pay their respects to the Hanlin Master from another land."
"Come in." Fang Yun sat on the chair and turned to look at the door.
When the door opened, six people came in one after another, holding wine glasses, and bowed to Fang Yun together.
"Greetings, Master Hanlin."
Fang Yun stood up, bowed, and said with a smile: "Hello, fellow writers." As he spoke, his eyes swept across the six people, and he made a preliminary judgment based on their expressions, clothing, eyes, movements, etc. The attitudes of the two Jinshi and four Juren were a bit subtle, and they seemed to have some ideas about himself, a Hanlin from a foreign place.
"My name is Yun'ao. Are you the person sent by the Holy Academy to look for rice?" asked a young scholar.
"My visit to the ancient land of Xuemang has nothing to do with looking for rice. I have other missions, so I can't say more." Fang Yun smiled, his meaning was very clear.
Yun Ao was about to ask again when a Jinshi beside him touched Yun Ao and said, "My name is Yun Dan. I heard that a Hanlin scholar was coming here, so I came to toast him. I hope you won't blame us for bothering you. Let us drink first as a sign of respect." After saying that, he raised his glass.
.(To be continued..)