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"Every village does this," Rong Ming took over the explanation, "The village or patriarch must be a strong person, and he needs to have a group of experts around him so that they can fend off other villagers. If a village loses its experts, they will lose their land. Stronger villagers will take it."
Although this was very unfair, Yan Xiaobao had no choice but to clench his fist and nod. This was completely different from the village he ca from. This world was entirely different from the one he ca from.
"Your village is special," Bubu suddenly said, "Not many villages can survive in their way, so it’s important that you don’t tell anyone the location of your village. These families might go there and take it by force."
Yan Xiaobao nodded again because he understood the importance of keeping quiet. Now it made sense, he understood why his village didn’t even have a na.
The landscape occasionally shifted from crop fields to pastures. As Rong Ming had ntioned, the entourage continued to traverse several villages, and Yan Xiaobao noticed that each village had equipnt to cultivate. Every one of these villages showed great respect for the Rong family’s entourage.
Liluo City was closer than Yan Xiaobao expected. The entourage traveled most of the ti, during which the young boy saw towers in the distance. The closer they got, the more the city revealed itself.
The city bore a striking resemblance to the ancient cities Yan Xiaobao had studied in his old world. The entire city was surrounded by a twenty-ter-high black stone wall. The wall looked thick, with guards stationed atop it. A gate four ters wide and eight ters high was opened at the end of the road, guarded tightly by guards with the emblem of Liluo City on their chests.
The buildings inside the city seed similar to Chinese architecture from the Tang Dynasty. Yan Xiaobao could see several great pagodas on the high walls, topped with multiple yellow roof tiles.
As they got closer to the city, it beca harder to see the buildings hidden behind the gigantic city wall, but Yan Xiaobao felt a sense of mystery about the elents. The architecture was very familiar, yet at the sa ti, everything was different from what Yan Xiaobao knew.
Riding on magical beasts, it took less than a day to travel to Liluo City. However, the sa journey took Hui Guang and the other n two days on foot.
As he looked at the city before him, a sense of awe quietly crept into Yan Xiaobao’s heart. This place would mark the beginning of a new life for Yan Xiaobao and Lan Feng.
Suddenly, a loud noise crossed the sky, dragging the young boy out of his inspiring thoughts.
"The young Master has returned!" a guard shouted from above the city wall. Bu Huang, Rong Xing, and Rong Ming nodded to the guard and slowed their pace as they entered the bustling streets through the seven-ter-thick city gate.
In ten years, Yan Xiaobao’s eyes had grown, and he had realized his first return to the civilized world.
"Tonight we will hold a feast," Rong Ming said with a smile, noticing the excitent in Yan Xiaobao’s eyes, "Tomorrow we will go to the Royal Art Academy, where you will take the entrance exam."
The sun rose, casting beautiful tones in the sky and promising a day of clear weather. Yan Xiaobao admired the breathtaking view from the window while feeling joy in his heart. No matter where he was, sunsets were always beautiful.
It was his first ti in a city in ten years. However, this city bore no resemblance to the multicultural and technological world he once knew, everything was new to him. Watching the sunset reminded him of the place they arrived at the day before.
The Rong entourage arrived the day before and traversed the city. Along the way, Yan Xiaobao saw many shops and stalls, and even markets owned by different noble families within the city.
However, due to their fast-paced travel, Yan Xiaobao did not manage to observe well, and everyone in the city gave way on the crowded roads to let the City Lord’s guards and the Rong twins pass undisturbed.
Arriving at the City Lord’s mansion greatly surprised Yan Xiaobao. His mansion was very much like a Chinese palace.
It had many buildings, so surrounded by walls, others by moats. So were storerooms, others towered buildings, and even four pagodas could be seen within the outer walls.
As Yan Xiaobao walked through the gates, he noticed that every building had its own courtyard. So appeared to be small businesses, while others were residential areas. Between these different types of buildings were beautiful gardens and exquisite statues.
In the center of the palace stood a large building, erected on a hill with hundreds of steps leading to its entrance. It looked similar to the Taihe Palace in the Forbidden City that Yan Xiaobao had seen. The difference was that this building was erected on a hill, at least twice the size of the Supre Harmony Hall, but the building itself wasn’t as large.
"This is the city hall," Huang Bu explained, "where all matters related to the city are decided."
Yan Xiaobao nodded, realizing that a city under its protection had an insane amount of land, definitely requiring a rather large hall to accommodate every scholar and governnt official working for the city.
Bu Huang, Rong Ming, and Rong Xing were heading towards another large gate, which they called the East Splendor Gate, strictly controlled by experts from Duke University.
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