Xie Zhe and the others followed Shen Wujun all the way until they passed by a special small town.
The reason why this place is special is that in addition to human men, women, and children, there are also many strange people coming and going on the street. They are not even enough to be called human beings. Those people were very strange. Many of them had brightly colored eyes and hair. I don’t know how they were dyed. But when they saw some "weirdos" with tails, exposed ears, and even three heads and six arms, they clearly realized that the previous guys in colorful and strange clothes were also monsters like the latter. Among these special groups, one or two tall Shuras can also be seen.
What's even more amazing is that none of the residents looked at them with abnormal eyes.
"I have long heard that in the South, monsters can live with ordinary humans. But I thought that at most the monsters would turn into human forms and blend in, and then people would be less likely to investigate the monsters' flaws... I didn't expect it to be more serious than the monsters. I think it’s more normal. They don’t even need to hide it at all.”
Han Chang said as he walked, his eyes constantly lingering on the same kind of people. Those of the same kind didn't do anything special when they saw him. Occasionally, someone would treat him as a foreigner and look at him twice. Wenying looked more "blatantly". Moreover, she paid special attention to some details. Many business owners are also monsters, and their work is as natural as humans. Even many products and actions are mixed with elements of sorcery. The flower demon over there seems to be selling weirdly colored drinks, the insect demon here is selling poison controlled by the imperial court, and in the blacksmith shop further away, Shura and humans work together. As for the language, some words they didn't understand well, some words they barely understood, and some words were no different from the official language of the imperial court. Presumably it is the impact of business on this island country.
"The tolerance for monsters here is much higher. But this is not the case after the war." Kanna-kun explained, "Thousands of years ago, because each false god governed his area in a completely different way, people had a very different attitude toward monsters. Opinions vary greatly. People in some places hate monsters with all their heart, while people in other places have been able to coexist peacefully with foreign races since then. There is no supreme leader in the southern country now. Just like you, there are There are village chiefs, county chiefs and the like, and there is an organization similar to a yamen above them. But the things they manage are more complicated than the yamen, ranging from murder and arson to trivial matters. To this day, it is actually considered harmonious. They probably had a long time ago I realized that in fact, no one needs to rule here... Think about it, whether to choose a monster or a human, I'm afraid we can't even reach a consensus. Both humans and monsters are well aware of war. Terror. Therefore, such peace will be maintained in the Southland - and only in the Southland."
Sure enough, such a stable society has no historical value to the land where Xie Zhe and his family were born. The current situation in the South also has its own historical origins. For humans or demons, more than a thousand years is not too long. Many races have continued to live on, along with their past customs. More than a thousand years is not too short. Families and countries rise and fall, dynasties change, not to mention the many things that happen to all living beings. small changes. Lord Kanna told them that in the land of the South, humans and monsters were not as harmonious as they are today. There have been monsters here that bullied humans, and there have also been people who killed monsters. The current harmonious situation continues the tradition of humans and demons living together in the past, but the relationship between the two parties has changed several times before reaching the current balance.
Xie Zhe saw that Mr. Shen Wu was rarely willing to talk so much, so he curiously asked the question in his mind.
"Then what's the big difference between the terrain in the South now and when you came here?"
"A thousand years is enough to change many things. The vicissitudes of the sea are not the same. Even if there are giant dragons entrenched under the archipelago, all that has changed is the layout and orientation of the islands. However, the level of the lake water level, the erosion of the terrain by the river, The migration of forests and meadows due to climate change and human activities must be different from that time. But it has been so long, and I can’t remember anything. When I come here, I am no more familiar than you.”
As he spoke, Kanna-kun did not slow down his pace, and several people also listened and walked together, barely paying attention to how far they had walked. Especially when it came to Wenying, she was so focused that she stepped on Hanshang's heels several times. She seemed to have many questions, and because she was reluctant to interrupt Kanna-kun's narration, she never found a chance to ask them. It wasn't until a few people passed by a pot-making shop that she caught the pause in Kanna-kun's words and asked her curiosity:
"I have heard many stories about the God-killing War, and both of them are very exciting. What about the companions who fought with you at the beginning? After so many years... how have they become?"
Jiao Mo looked at Kanna Wujun's back with some worry. Naturally, Jiao Mo remembered his companion, even vividly. These words might stimulate his nerves to a certain extent, so Jiao Mo felt a little uneasy. However, according to his temperament, when faced with such a question, he may not answer it seriously, and he will not take it seriously.
"How's it going? They're all dead."
"Eh……"
"They are all human beings," Kanna-kun glanced at Zhu Guopu, "How can they survive until now? Oh, one of them was a Six Path Impermanence, but he also died. Some of the others died because he had feelings for Some of the thin hometowns will stay here forever.”
Jiao Mo was a little surprised, but at the same time he felt inexplicably relieved. Kanna-kun can say these words calmly now, probably because he has really come out. Those regrettable things will eventually fade away over time, and the remaining memories are the highest respect for them. Some people will never die as long as there is one person in the world who remembers them.
As for why they stopped in front of the pot shop, Kanna-kun could give a reasonable explanation. The boss is an elderly human man with age spots on his face, leaning crookedly on his chair while holding a cigarette. A man was busy, banging on a pot. He is a tall Shura with a big blue beard and sweats profusely. This figure can remind Kanna-kun of a person in a trance. Even though thousands of years have passed, they are definitely not the same person, but certain characteristics still remain in his impression, very thin, but vivid at this moment.
According to Kanna-kun's introduction, based on the current area of the island, it would take at least twenty-seven or eight southern countries to equal the land area of their hometown. And the population of the southern country is even sparser than theirs, even if the monsters integrated into human life are included. However, given that there are relatively more mountains, rivers, deserts, swamps and other terrain that is not suitable for human habitation, the population of the town is still relatively dense. In this way, they traveled to many places and saw many scenery that felt similar to their hometown, but not the same. However, accidents still happen from time to time. When passing a city in the desert, Kannawu-kun was hit with a stone.
It's not as serious as it sounds.
The specific situation is that they are walking on the road normally. The buildings here are all pure white, without flaws, and are said to be made from a special local mountain stone. Transporting the stones from the mountains to here is not an easy task, which is really amazing. Xie Zhe was discussing the buildings here with them. Shen Wujun was walking in front wearing a curtain hat, and suddenly he was hit by a stone. Even though the pebbles were only the size of quail eggs, it would be really painful if they hit someone. After he was hit, he stopped silently. Others were a little flustered when they saw it. Han Chang even took two steps towards the culprit and issued a threat.
"You brat! You really don't have a tutor!"
Yes, that was a child, less than ten years old. When he stepped forward to scold him, the boy was suddenly carried away by a woman, so fast that her face could not be seen clearly. That was probably her child, and she knew she was in the wrong, so she ran away in despair.
"Not even an apology!" Wenying said angrily towards the back.
Jiao Mo frowned, walked to Kannau Jun and asked concernedly, "Are you okay?"
"Can't die." He just said.
Xie Zhe was shocked. He originally thought Shen Wujun would be very angry, but he was not. It would be better to say that this kind of blandness was his reaction. But along the way, they didn't encounter much trouble from the locals. Why would they be attacked when they got here, let alone a child whose hair has not yet fully grown. Although many people looked at them with alert or curious eyes, this was the first time for such a blatant provocation.
"How could anyone do this?" Xie Zhe lamented, "Are there still uncivilized barbarians here?"
"Look at how they are dressed, do they look similar?" Shen Wujun shrugged and said, "But it's not surprising. People here are very wary of people like me who wear black curtains. After all, there are still people in the South. There are a few extremists who think I drove away their god. Of course, I didn't have this hat in the past, and they must have heard the rumors and know that I deliberately dressed like this."
"How come there are still people like this?" Qianying was surprised.
"There are people of all kinds in the world." Han Chang sighed, "Alas..."
"Then kid, why are you so sure it's you? There are many people wearing curtains here."
Kannau Jun turned around and glanced at him through the black gauze curtain. He didn't know what his intention was, but Xie Zhe felt a little guilty. It seemed that he didn't want to answer this question, but Jiao Mo said it for him.
"In order to prevent wind and sand from entering the mouth and eyes, most people here do wear gauze curtains, just like the woman just now. However, black things are easy to heat if they are exposed to the sun for a long time, so they will choose white cloth with better light transmittance."
I see. No wonder Shen Wujun didn't want to explain such a common sense question. Xie Zhe should have thought of it. He coughed awkwardly and continued on the journey to Shiyue Mountain with his friends. It is said that the Great Rift Valley where the Tengu lived is located in the Shizuki Mountain, and the mountain has not changed its name to this day. Probably, it's because there is such an allusion here.
On the way, Kanna-kun asked someone to borrow a pen and paper, scrawled something on the paper, and stuffed it into an envelope. Because he only wrote a few strokes and his speed was so fast, it was impossible to guess how complete the message he could leave behind.
"Who are you sending the letter to?"
"Those who recognize the door," Kanna-kun said, "If you want to enter the Tengu Tomb, you must not break in rashly. You cannot believe all the rumored curses, and you cannot not believe them all. Only those who are truly concerned know how to do it."
"You mean Mr. Shuangyue?" Wenying seemed to have guessed the candidate.
Several people nodded in unison. After all, it seems that no one can summon Tengu except her.
Jiaomo said with some doubts: "But is Shuangyue-kun familiar with the Tengu Tomb of Shiyue Mountain? Has she ever been to the Southern Kingdom?"
"Her Tengu should know something."
