Ancheng.
This was a county town with a population of no more than tens of thousands.
A carriage drove up to the city gate. The coachman handed a few copper coins to the guards at the gate, and then the carriage slowly entered.
Inside the carriage were a young girl in her teens and a little boy of seven or eight.
After entering the city gate, the sounds of bustling and hawking were incessant.
"Yang Ge'er, we've arrived at the county town." The little girl lifted the curtain and excitedly shook the little boy beside her.
"..." Chen Jiuyang remained silent.
The little girl chattered, "Yang Ge'er, why don't you like to talk? Uncle Chen back then thought you were possessed by demons and ghosts, and even invited monks and Taoist priests to perform rituals for you."
Chen Jiuyang still didn't speak.
"The doctor said you have insufficient Yang energy and need to spend more time in lively places."
"Uncle Chen entrusted you to me today."
Chen Jiuyang looked through the gap in the curtain at the crowds on both sides of the street shouting and selling goods. A sense of inexplicable joy and security welled up within him.
The hustle and bustle of the human world were the most comforting.
Perhaps it was like this?
The doctor might have been right; he felt better in crowded, lively places.
Coming from the twenty-first century, he had never been fond of socializing or speaking, nor did he care for external things or delicacies. His only hobbies were to space out in crowded places and read books in deserted ones, existing in a state of detachment and desirelessness.
He had originally thought he had transmigrated to ancient times, but this society was unlike any dynasty he knew. His family's financial situation in this life was quite good, but there wasn't a single book in the house, and this society didn't even have a civil service examination system.
After leaving the city, every mile or two, there were villages with signs of human habitation.
"Yang Ge'er, Li Yatou, I'll only take you this far. Remember to come back before sunset; we need to leave before the city gates close," the coachman uncle said to the two of them.
"Got it." Li Yatou took Chen Jiuyang's hand and walked into the city.
Chen Jiuyang had been reborn into this society for seven or eight years, and this was his first time entering the city.
As they passed by, many women were out and about, and the social customs were similar to the Song Dynasty.
Li Yatou led Chen Jiuyang to a three-story wooden building. A plaque hung above the main entrance: Yuan Yi Ju.
"Li Yatou is here! Perfect, Old Mr. Guo is about to tell a story, and there are still seats in the hall. Hurry up and go," a young servant greeted Li Yatou familiarly.
Li Yatou whispered, "Yang Ge'er, some of the fish from your family's lake are sold to this restaurant."
Chen Jiuyang nodded.
Li Yatou led him into the hall. An old man with a white beard and full of energy had just taken his seat on the stage.
Many people were seated below, while there were private rooms upstairs, from which occasional laughter could be heard.
The servant who had greeted them earlier walked over, placed a plate of salted peanuts and a pot of tea, and took fifteen copper coins from Li Yatou.
Chen Jiuyang surveyed the place. The decor was excellent. Most of the guests were young people, some in coarse clothes, others dressed impeccably and properly attired, holding fans and tapping them lightly, appearing elegant.
The old man on the stage took a sip of honey pomelo tea to moisten his throat, then struck the striking wood heavily. His voice was clear and resonant, "Today, I will tell you all a story about ghosts and monsters I encountered when I was wandering the jianghu in my youth."
The audience's eyes lit up, and the chatter ceased.
"We are in Qingcheng. Two thousand li away from Qingcheng is Hengyu City, with a population of over a million, a city controlled by the Mu Lin tribe. One day, a family of four was suddenly found dead in their home. As a guest constable, I went with my colleagues to investigate the truth. After a month, we found nothing, but every night, there were tragic screams from that place. A friend of mine went there at night and was also killed on the spot..."
"...It wasn't until a martial arts master from the Mu Lin tribe intervened that the ungrateful snake demon was killed!"
The story lasted for five or six hours, ending only as the sun was about to set. The plate of salted peanuts had long been finished by the old man and Li Yatou.
The old gentleman struck the striking wood heavily, and the audience was jolted back from the story. Many were pale with fright and covered in cold sweat.
"The story ends here. Esteemed patrons, it is getting late, please return. I will tell stories again in a few days."
Li Yatou's cheeks were flushed, and her forehead was beaded with cold sweat. She held Chen Jiuyang's hand and walked out of Yuan Yi Ju, hurrying towards the city gate. They managed to get into the carriage and leave the city just before it closed.
"Yang Ge'er, wasn't today great?"
Li Yatou finally recovered her senses and said proudly to Chen Jiuyang in the carriage.
Chen Jiuyang nodded slightly. The story told by Old Mr. Guo had shattered his worldview.
There were demons and monsters in this world!
Hengyu City, two thousand li away, had a population of millions. Considering the surrounding population, it must be six or seven million?
With such power, they hadn't established a kingdom?
The Mu Lin tribe had martial arts cultivators?
Many questions arose in Chen Jiuyang's mind.
The carriage traveled for half an hour and returned to Chenyu Town.
Chenyu Town was built by the lake, and this lake belonged to Chen Jiuyang's family. Locals who wanted to use water for irrigation or catch fish had to deal with Chen Jiuyang's family, hence their comfortable life.
Li Yatou, being naturally lively, was a maid hired by his mother, Zhang Xiuzhen, to take care of him. There was no master-servant contract between them. In a few years, when Li Yatou reached marriageable age, she would leave the Chen residence.
The Chen residence was not large, occupying about seven to eight hundred square meters. There was a main hall for dining, the east wing housed their family, the west was the kitchen, the south was the storeroom, and the north was where people like Li Yatou lived.
Approaching the main hall, a middle-aged man dressed in white, wearing a silver coronet, and holding a folding fan with a jade handle, fanned himself gently. He looked rather greasy and ostentatious.
This middle-aged man was Chen's father.
"Yang Ge'er is back. Yatou, how was today?" Chen's father asked in a deep, refined voice.
If one didn't know he was illiterate, others might mistake him for someone from a noble family.
Li Yatou replied, "Uncle Chen, Yang Ge'er was very engrossed in the story today."
"That's good. Yang Ge'er, have dinner." Chen's father closed his fan and sat down at the dining table.
Zhang Xiuzhen, in her thirties, was very well-preserved. After serving them all rice, she sat down to eat.
Chen Jiuyang ate one bowl of rice and stopped. Zhang Xiuzhen asked, "Yang Ge'er, why aren't you eating?"
Chen Jiuyang replied, "I ate quite a few salted peanuts this afternoon, so I'm not very hungry."
Chen Jiuyang's words astonished everyone. In his life since birth, Chen Jiuyang had spoken fewer than ten times!
"My body is very normal and healthy; you don't need to look at me like this."
Zhang Xiuzhen's expression was a mixture of surprise and joy, then softened. It seemed bringing her son into the city to play was the right decision.
Chen's father laughed heartily, "Let's see who dares to talk about my son in the future."
In this world, every child, upon birth, had to be held up to the sunlight to check the thickness of their soul. The denser the shadow cast on the ground by the sunlight, the longer the child would live and the brighter their future.