Chapter 162: Nanshan Village

Successfully shaking off the tracking of the fifth-rank Snow Ape demon, Du Long did not dare to linger along the way. He pressed forward northward at full speed for several consecutive days, all to avoid those elusive low-rank flying birds as much as possible.

Due to the desperate rush over the past few days, Du Long had no spare mind to hunt for demon beast groups. The result of continuous high-speed travel was that they had no idea where they were currently located within the Forest of Demon Beasts.

Although the spirit guide beauty could calculate their approximate location, the constant changes in direction earlier to evade the tracking of those low-rank bird demons had caused the margin of error to grow larger and larger. Consequently, she was now unable to determine their exact coordinates.

To find the correct direction and avoid accidentally straying into the dangerous inner regions of the Forest of Demon Beasts, they consulted and decided to head north-northeast to escape this uninhabited zone, preferably finding humans to clarify the route so the spirit guide beauty would have a reference point.

Racing full speed ahead in the north-northeast direction for another two days, the surrounding forest environment underwent a dramatic transformation. The lush primeval forest had now grown somewhat desolate.

Many mountain peaks stood bare and bald. Aside from white snow-capped mountains, there was only a gray-black, desolate landscape, with virtually no green vegetation to be seen!

After continuing forward in this direction for yet another day, as far as the eye could see lay a vast, barren plain. Along the way, even the demon beasts had become scarce. Gazing at such a desolate scene, Du Long asked in surprise and doubt, "We haven't ended up in the Northwest Great Wasteland, have we?!"

"Ten to one, this area is indeed the Northwest Great Wasteland! I just don't know whether our location falls under the jurisdiction of the Haotian Empire or the Northwest Barbarian Hu Kingdom," Princess Huofeng murmured in response.

"Since we've entered the Northwest Great Wasteland, we must be close to human settlements. Let's go! Keep moving forward, and we should find an inhabited village or town very soon!"

The three of them and the spirit beast continued their rapid advance. Sure enough, after a little less than half a day, they spotted a village in the distance with wisps of smoke curling upward. Drawing closer, they saw that the village was enclosed by a thick earthen wall, which clearly served as its most crucial defense line.

A few fully armed humans could be seen patrolling atop the earthen wall. Upon seeing Du Long and his companions riding a demon beast and appearing outside the village gates, the entire village immediately echoed with the sound of blowing horns.

Soon, a middle-aged man with a large beard appeared above the main gate leading a squad of robust, sturdy men. The bearded man shouted in a strange dialect, "％￥＃％￥＃"

Looking in bewilderment at the fully armed men atop the earthen wall, the three of them were struck dumb on the spot. Not only could Du Long not understand a word these fellows were saying, but even the spirit guide beauty was at a loss regarding this peculiar dialect.

"I am Du Long, Lord of Fengli County in the Haotian Empire! May I ask if any of you speak the common language of the Starry Sky Continent?!" Du Long had no choice but to shout loudly at the men on the wall.

"Lord Du Long! I am the village chief of Nanshan Village in the Barbarian Hu Kingdom. From what I know, the direction you came from is the Forest of Demon Beasts. May I ask if Lord Lord has come from the Forest of Demon Beasts?!" The bearded man spoke again, this time using the most common language of the Starry Sky Continent. Sure enough, this place was indeed within the territory of the Barbarian Hu Kingdom in the Northwest Great Wasteland.

"That's right! We got lost inside the Forest of Demon Beasts and accidentally ended up here, so we came to ask for directions! We harbor absolutely no malice! I hope the village chief can do us a favor!" Du Long squeezed a smile onto his face and replied loudly.

"Haha! To be able to walk out of the Forest of Demon Beasts alive, Lord Lord must be a respectable powerhouse! Our Nanshan Village welcomes Lord Du Long, but... is the demon beast under your command well-behaved? I hope it won't hurt my villagers..." The bearded village chief clearly had some reservations about the large lion.

"Village Chief, rest assured! This is a spirit beast I raised. Without my command, it will not casually harm any human!" Du Long proclaimed loudly, offering his guarantee.

"Very well! I can see that Lord Lord and the two fairy-like maidens must be kind-hearted folks, and our Hu Kingdom trusts you! Men, open the gates and welcome the honored guests!" With Du Long's guarantee, the bearded village chief, whose name was Hu Guo, immediately gave the order.

Soon, the heavy gates were slowly pushed open, and Hu Guo led his men out to greet them: "Welcome, Lord Du Long, to Nanshan Village!"

"Hehe! Brother Hu Guo is too polite. If you don't mind, you can simply call me younger brother Du Long!" Du Long exchanged pleasantries with a smiling face.

"Haha! I like younger brother Du Long's personality! Then I won't stand on ceremony and will take advantage of being a few years older!" Hu Guo laughed heartily and readily, clearly finding Du Long's words entirely to his taste.

The group strode into the village, and a distinctly exotic style unfolded before Du Long. Most of the houses in the village were built from rammed earth walls, featuring round arches and circular structures—everything differed vastly from the square dwellings of the Haotian Empire!

The sudden visit of strangers seemed to be a very rare occurrence for this small village. Many men, women, and children of the village ran out to watch three handsome men and beautiful women riding majestically past on a giant lion.

For such an impoverished village, Du Long and his companions could be described as impeccably dressed, despite looking somewhat travel-worn from their long journey.

Especially the two breathtaking, fairy-like beauties, whose stunning appearances left all the villagers staring in wide-eyed amazement, as if goddesses had descended from the heavens.

Du Long and Princess Huofeng smiled and waved to the surrounding villagers from time to time. He only now realized that it wasn't just the guards on the earthen wall who were robust; most of the middle-aged men he saw along the way were a full two heads taller than himself, their bodies wrapped in animal pelts and immensely powerful!

"Brother Hu Guo! I truly didn't expect the citizens of your Barbarian Hu Kingdom to be so robust individually!" Du Long sighed softly in admiration.

"Hehe! In the barren wilderness of the northwest, if one wishes to survive without this sturdy physique, we Hu people would have been wiped out by various demon beasts long ago!" Hu Guo replied with a deep, distant look in his eyes.

"Brother Hu Guo, along this journey, I haven't seen any crops at all. What do you rely on to make a living?!" Nodding lightly, Du Long finally voiced the question that had been puzzling him.

"We generally rely on hunting for a living, followed by mining certain ores and gathering local specialties nearby, which we trade to traveling merchants from the Haotian Empire. With the money earned from this, we exchange for a year's worth of food and daily necessities!"

"Oh! With you Hu people being so strongly built, your appetites must be quite astonishing as well! Under these circumstances, are you able to ensure that all villagers can fill their stomachs every year?!" Du Long inquired further.

Shaking his head, Hu Guo offered a slightly helpless and bitter smile: "How could that be? Every bitter winter, people inevitably freeze or starve to death due to a lack of food. In our Barbarian Hu Kingdom, those with strong physiques obtain more food, while the weaker their build, the less they get. As a result, the strong grow stronger and the weak grow weaker! Every year, people starve because of insufficient food!"

Nodding, Du Long did not say anything further. He had already gathered the intelligence he cared about most!

Following the bearded village chief to his home, a robust middle-aged woman came out to greet them. Hu Guo shouted loudly to her: "Wife! These three are honored guests who have traveled far from the Haotian Empire. Prepare the sand-drilling beast we were allotted as a side dish for the wine; today I am going to treat our distant guests properly!"

"You got it! I'll go prepare it right away!" The robust middle-aged woman cheerfully agreed, then turned to welcome the three of them: "Three honored guests, it's cold outside. Please come sit on the *kang* [1] to warm up a bit. I'll go prepare the buttered milk tea right away!"

"Thank you, Sister-in-law!" Du Long and his companions politely expressed their gratitude.

Accompanied by Hu Guo, they tasted the buttered milk tea unique to the Barbarian Hu Kingdom. To be honest, while the name of this milk tea sounded pleasant, the taste was really nothing to write home about—semi-sweet, lacking sweetness, and carrying a heavy mutton odor.

This was clearly brewed by mixing sheep's milk with certain grass seeds from the Northwest Great Wasteland, without a single grain of white sugar or similar seasonings added. To the people here, white sugar was a precious and rare commodity.

"Hahaha! Younger brother Du Long, the three of you aren't used to drinking this buttered milk tea, are you?! Many traveling merchants from the Haotian Empire couldn't stand it at first either, but after coming more often, they all grew to love this unique flavor! Take your time; I believe after drinking it a few times, you too will fall in love with the most popular buttered milk tea in our Great Wasteland!" Seeing Du Long and his companions frowning, the hospitable northwest man burst into hearty laughter.

"Hehe! Forgive me for making Brother Hu Guo laugh. Drinking buttered milk tea for the first time, I really am a bit unaccustomed to it!" Du Long replied with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

Then, right in front of their host, he flipped his hand to produce a bottle of white sugar and poured some directly into the buttered milk tea. Du Long turned and asked the two women with a smile, "Would the two of you like some white sugar?"

Huofeng naturally handed over her bowl of buttered milk tea without a second thought. After helping her add some sugar, Du Long looked toward Xia Qinglian, only to find the young lady staring blankly at the buttered milk tea in front of her, her expression tinged with a distinct sorrow.

"Qinglian, Qinglian! What's wrong with you?!" Holding the bottle of white sugar, Du Long called out several times before snapping her out of her daze.

"Ah, what is it?" Awakened from her reverie, Xia Qinglian asked with a puzzled expression. Evidently, she hadn't noticed Du Long's bustling about for the past moments.

"Qinglian, what is wrong with you?! What were you spacing out for?! I asked if you wanted to add some white sugar to your buttered milk tea!" Du Long asked with a hint of confusion.

"No, nothing!" Xia Qinglian replied, hesitating as if she had more to say. "Mine doesn't need white sugar. Drinking buttered milk tea without sugar is the only way to taste its original flavor!"

"Haha! This young maiden is right! We people of the Great Wasteland never add any white sugar when drinking buttered milk tea; only then is it authentic buttered milk tea! Some towns close to the Barbarian Hu Kingdom add white sugar to cater to the palates of you Haotian Empire citizens, and as a result, the taste is completely ruined!" Hu Guo explained, shaking his head knowingly.

***

*Translator's notes:*
[1] *Kang*: A traditional Chinese heated brick bed used in northern regions.