Chapter 125: Chapter 1: Hedan

Hedan, renowned as the City of Abundance on the Dao Yuan Continent, the royal capital of Moncalleta, under the rule of the Just King Ola the Eighteenth, has become the largest trade city in the Eastern Continent of Dao Yuan, attracting merchants, adventurers, and many immigrants chasing dreams and new worlds from all over the world to build this pearl of Moncalleta together.

Freedom, democracy, wealth, literature, art, philosophy, and the highly respected chivalric spirit, all kinds of categories bloom and flourish in the affluent Hedan. Over thousands of years, innumerable extraordinary talents, artists, and philosophers were born here, forging the kingdom’s glorious and long-standing history. As the center of power, economy, and culture of Moncalleta, everyone who arrives here falls in love with this city.

This is a city even the gods cast envious gazes upon, under the protection of the powerful Earth Mother Goddess of the Moncalleta Kingdom.

Li Xin chose to temporarily lie low in Moncalleta, which has relatively good relations with the Li Long United Kingdom. Arrangements have been made at the Celestial Capital, where Kathy has become Xueyin’s godmother, and now Lin Fei and Xueyin live together with Kathy. Xueyin’s liveliness and Lin Fei’s gentle tolerance also become a spiritual haven for Kathy, helping her maintain her core in the face of many secret events involving the Night Patrol.

The Moon God’s Court is still investigating, and a new Archbishop will arrive at the Celestial Capital, complicating matters as they involve the most mysterious Seven Stars Travel Group “Song of Hell” on the Dao Yuan Continent.

Black Rose suffered a significant blow this time; whether it’s Luo Xue, Lu Shuai, or others, this four-nation competition showed them the gap, namely that the common nature of life is the vast difference between dreams and reality. The best part about being young is that everyone quickly moves on from discouragement.

In fact, on the path forward, the sooner you understand yourself, the sooner you can get on the right track. Luo Xue remains the President of Black Rose and will continue fighting with a base team including Lu Shuai, Huerta, Roland, Nan Kai, and Fei Ruolin. Of course, expanding the recruitment for Black Rose is necessary, needing more fresh blood, instead of sticking to old ways, making Li Xin’s departure quite regretful.

Luo Xue knows more than others, and she vaguely guessed that Li Xin might be involved with the worm incident. The higher-ups have remained silent, including her father. Karesi’s words made her think a lot about the events from the Secret Castle to the Celestial Capital that she missed.

In the gang incident, she only managed to preserve Li Xin’s identity at the Canon Law School but didn’t strongly support him staying with Black Rose. If he had stayed, would the outcome have been different?

…

Hedan, as one of the largest cities on the Eastern Continent of Dao Yuan, has a population of millions. The city is divided into the Inner City, Middle City, and Outer City, encircled by three rings, with a considerable population gathering in the Outer City, especially foreign immigrants.

The Saint George District of the Outer City, is the most famous immigrant district in Hedan, with half of its population composed of immigrants from various Eastern Continent countries, contrasting with those heading to Li Long. Saint George’s immigrants mostly have a certain fortune or robust health and some skills, for various reasons coming here.

There are also some with special talents that they couldn’t utilize in their original places, but in Hedan, they can find opportunities. It’s said to be a place where talents can blossom, and yes, it’s also a holy land that artists yearn for.

I used to think the population of the Celestial Capital was substantial, but compared to Hedan, it’s indeed quite small. The market is filled with a wide array of goods brought by ships from all over, and fishing is also very prosperous. From a certain perspective, the richness in resources has indeed solved many problems; prosperity can stimulate the development and progress of other industries and public thinking, having absorbed Hex-Tech and Luthor’s ideas, making Hedan a more all-embracing place.

Li Xin spent over a month on the ship to get here, and this trip turned his stomach upside down. He couldn’t believe he got seasick—what a nightmare! He took a long time to adjust. On the journey, Li Xin didn’t bring much, just a few clothes and personal belongings, Old Luo’s Demon-Sealing Saber, and the Moon God Badge, and 1,000 Lira, secretly slipped to him by Aunt Fei. Initially, he thought it was unnecessary — with his strength and wisdom, would he starve?

Without that thousand Lira, he would have become the first transmigrant to starve to death. The ticket was just for the ticket, and the food on board was outrageously expensive. This was even after Li Xin secretly went down to the sea to catch fish to sustain himself. In the later stages at the Celestial Capital, he had somewhat enjoyed a life of luxury, and suddenly returning to poverty was quite a shock, plus he had to leave some property behind after arriving in Hedan. He couldn’t really resort to begging — what if there were no beggars here, that would be troublesome too.

I used to think the world is so big, I should go out and experience it. Now that I think about it, staying at home is the most comfortable when you’re broke.

Now, he is working at an inn in Saint George. The inn’s name is “Lirong,” perhaps implying a carp leaping over the dragon gate. It’s a typical boarding house where, in the event of a fire, it becomes a crematorium instantly. Many travelers’ first stop is to settle here, and in Saint George, it’s quite famous. Despite the simple conditions and some risks, it focuses on cost-effectiveness.

The owner is a kind, burly woman who can crush rocks on her chest and has arms like a horse trotting… sister. At first, when she saw Li Xin, she thought he was a beggar. Here, believers of the Earth Mother Goddess are generally charitable, like offering a hearty punch. But upon hearing Li Xin came from Li Long, she took him in.

A very small single room, about the size of a restroom, but Li Xin’s not too burly, so he can fit in. Fifty Lira a month; when he got off the ship, he had 650 Lira left, living frugally for a while.

In the Hedan Outer City, basic living expenses are roughly 1.2 to 1.5 times those of the Celestial Capital Inner City, which truly opened Li Xin’s eyes. He’s returned to the days of being able to see but not afford food. In bustling Hedan, there’s a large labor shortage, especially for manual labor. As long as you have hands and feet, you can at least carry packages at the docks; working hard won’t starve you. Of course, if you have talent, that’s another matter. Many painters, bards, and strategists like to come to Hedan to try their luck. Once recognized or if they become famous, they’ll strike it rich.

This is the most art-focused nation; currently, the Li Long United Kingdom ranks second. This is mainly thanks to Grand Governor Luthor. However, after his death, his policies dissipated, and now Li Long has many uncertainties and hidden turmoils.

Stability is also a reason many people come to Hedan, where many families have been established for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Therefore, Li Xin chose to carry packages.

Li Xin carried the packages quickly, steadily, and more in quantity, quickly gaining the favor of the foreman. They prefer this kind of worker who does a good job and talks little. The foreman took a bigger cut, so a regular worker usually earned two Lira a day, whereas Li Xin could earn over three. Calculating this over a month, it was barely enough to make ends meet.

Lirong Inn’s accommodation fee includes meal service, offering discounts to guests. Although the food is horrendous, it barely fills the stomach. Overall, it’s still much better than the Underground City.

The landlady of Lirong Inn is plump, looking in her forties, but reportedly only thirty. Li Xin can vaguely see her past glory from twenty years ago. Here, she is the absolute boss, with a notably fierce personality and incredible strength, nicknamed Dragon Mother.

“Little Li, you’re back. You could actually be a bit smarter with your looks.” Dragon Mother said as she casually patted Li Xin, who had just returned from carrying packages.

“`

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep