"Sorry, sorry, I really didn't see the Flowing Ferryman's carriage below."
Ming Sha apologized in a hurry. In the Everlasting Realm, the hierarchy was very strict. Although the strength of the Flowing Ferrymen was not great, the beings behind them were too powerful for them, mere Ming Sha, to provoke.
The coachman sneered at the Ming Sha in front of him.
"Hmph! You damaged my carriage during your fight and must compensate me for my losses!"
"Compensate, compensate, compensate. How much do you need, and I'll pay it. "The Ming Sha said with a fawning smile, not daring to retort at all.
Seeing this scene, let alone Fang Ming, even Nannan's usually expressionless face was filled with shock.
Who exactly was this coachman?
Hearing the Ming Sha's submissive words, the coachman's eyes flickered slightly.
"If you compensate me with three thousand Sha's resentment, I'll let you go."
Three thousand Sha... The Ming Sha's heart ached at this number. Here, Sha referred to the unit of measurement for resentment. One Sha meant all the resentment contained within a ferocious Sha. Three thousand Sha could even create a half-冥煞 out of thin air.
But since things had come to this, it could only pay.
"Hahaha, Qing Lei, why are you on the ground and not daring to go up?" Suddenly, just as the Ming Sha in front of him was feeling the pain, another massive Ming Sha descended from the sky. Upon closer inspection, wasn't it the guy who had smashed down the first time?
Qing Lei's heart leaped with joy when he saw his opponent descend. "Haha, it looks like I won't have to bear this three thousand Sha. He's definitely involved in this fight with me!"
"Bai Feng, look who this is!" Qing Lei looked up at the sky and smugly pointed at the coachman.
"Hmph, a mere fierce... Huh? What the hell! A Flowing Ferryman? How did you get involved with it? Goodbye!" Bai Feng, with quick eyes and hands, immediately tried to flee upon seeing the Flowing Ferryman below.
"If you run, you're finished. It's already recorded us. Believe it or not, if you run now, you'll be dead within an hour," Qing Lei sneered.
Little brat, still trying to run? I'll scare you to death.
Bai Feng immediately deflated upon hearing this and could only reluctantly descend from the sky, coming before the coachman with a fawning smile. "Flowing Ferryman, you've worked hard."
The coachman glanced at him. "Three thousand Sha compensation each, or be prepared for my report."
Qing Lei: "..." Damn it, this isn't how it's supposed to be played!
Wasn't it supposed to be three thousand Sha compensation split equally? How did it become three thousand Sha each?
Bai Feng didn't know the full story, but seeing the dilapidated carriage and the traces of attack left on it, he knew it was the collateral damage from his and Qing Lei's fight that had affected the Flowing Ferryman. He could only look at Qing Lei with heartache.
Damn it, where else could you fight but here? You're done for.
"Can it be a little less?" Bai Feng asked cautiously.
"Hmm?" The coachman glared. "Can your life be a few days shorter?"
Bai Feng immediately backed down. "No, no, no, I'll pay immediately."
After speaking, he took out a Sha Seed the size of a fist and handed it to the coachman. Seeing that there was no room for negotiation, Qing Lei dejectedly took out a similar Sha Seed and handed it to the coachman.
The coachman took the two Sha Seeds, looked at the information inside with satisfaction, and waved his hand. "You can go. Be careful next time you fight. If you provoke someone you can't afford to offend, you might lose your life."
"Yes, yes, yes. Thank you for the reminder, Flowing Ferryman." The two Sha bowed and scraped, then left, pinching and kicking each other.
The coachman turned around and came before Fang Ming with a fawning smile. "My lord, you've been frightened. This is the resentment offered by those two ignorant fellows. Please accept it."
Saying this, he cupped both hands, holding two Sha Seeds containing resentment, and handed them to Fang Ming.
Fang Ming looked at him. This guy was truly adept at handling things, even more shrewd than humans.
However, it was better to accept what was given for free. Who didn't like getting something for nothing?
With this thought, Fang Ming took the two Sha Seeds and asked, "How do I use these?"
The coachman quickly explained, "These Sha Seeds don't have any special abilities. They only have the function of storing information, somewhat like a bank card in human society. With this, you can use it in various cities in the Everlasting Realm."
"You know about bank cards?" Fang Ming was surprised.
"This humble one only knows some things about human society and occasionally returns to reality to observe," the coachman explained.
Fang Ming felt a faint unease hearing this and couldn't help but ask again, "Is your Everlasting Realm always familiar with human society?"
The coachman nodded affirmatively. "Understanding human society is a must for the Everlasting Realm. There are even specialized teams that return to reality every year to gather information."
"Is that so?" Fang Ming rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. Was the Everlasting Realm doing this because of what he saw in the Blood Kin King's tomb, the war scene? It was likely that the Everlasting Realm wanted to invade human society!
"My lord, shall we continue our journey?" the coachman inquired.
"Yes, let's go."
The carriage started moving again, and Fang Ming sat inside, pondering the purpose of the Everlasting Realm.
Judging by that war, the Everlasting Realm was not trying to occupy human living space. His previous guess was that they were trying to collect resentment, but now it seemed that the Everlasting Realm had a constant source of resentment, so there was no need to obtain it through war.
Then, what was the Everlasting Realm after?
Fang Ming thought about some views on war in human society. Wars were waged for at most two reasons. The first was to seek more living space and resources, which was the common cause of most wars.
The second, which was rather cruel, was to consume the excessive "undesirable groups" within their territory, such as the old, weak, sick, and disabled, as well as low-productivity lower-class groups. Through such consumption, they could quickly balance resource allocation within the territory and reduce conflicts.
By deduction, the Everlasting Realm was likely focused on the second reason, consuming a large number of useless Sha Seeds and ferocious Sha! No wonder the strongest beings on the battlefield back then were all ferocious Sha.
The carriage continued to travel for half a day, and Fang Ming didn't know where he had arrived.
"My lord, there's an inn ahead. Shall we rest for a while? The carriage also needs repairs," the coachman asked cautiously from outside the carriage. "Alright, let's take a break." Fang Ming replied.
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of a building that looked like an ancient inn. The surroundings were empty, with only this building apart from the carriage. In front of the inn, five or six similar carriages, all belonging to Flowing Ferrymen, were parked neatly.
The coachman told Fang Ming the time of their next departure and then left to find someone to repair the carriage.
Fang Ming brought Nannan into the inn. The lobby of the inn had more than a dozen tables, and several powerful Resentful Sha were eating. Fang Ming glanced at their food, which consisted of bloody chunks of meat, and immediately lost interest.
To put it bluntly, even the food made by Qingmian was tastier than this.
At this moment, a human-looking waiter ran over and politely asked, "Guest, are you here for a meal or lodging?"
"We'll eat and leave soon."
"Certainly, this way please." The waiter led Fang Ming and Nannan to an empty table and then presented a menu for Fang Ming to choose from. "White-Eyed Sha Eyes, Long-Bearded Sha Tentacle Chunks, Eight-Skulled Sha Head."
Fang Ming stared at the menu in silence for a long time. Were there no normal dishes at all?
Just as Fang Ming was hesitating, a four-armed Ming Sha walked in from the door, seemingly carrying something.
"Waiter, where are you? Let me see if this can be exchanged for some wine money." Saying this, he threw the item in his hand to the ground with a dull thud. The surrounding Sha looked, but could see nothing.
Fang Ming's gaze was also drawn over, and he immediately felt a familiar aura.
Number One?!
That's right, what the four-armed Ming Sha threw on the ground was Number One, but its condition was not good; it looked like it was on its last breath. If the Ming Sha hadn't kept it alive for money, it would have probably been beaten to death.
"How did this guy get caught by a Ming Sha?" Fang Ming rubbed his forehead.
Nannan added from the side, "Too weak."
The waiter heard someone call him, apologized to Fang Ming, and then came before the four-armed Ming Sha, squatted down, and felt around. Indeed, he felt something. The waiter then injected a surge of resentment into Number One's body.
Number One's form was revealed, and the surrounding Sha were astonished. There was actually something there, and it was just a fierce Sha, yet it could deceive the eyes of most of the Ming Sha here!
"Special ability, a promising seedling," the waiter said with satisfaction.
"How much is it worth?" the four-armed Ming Sha asked expectantly.
The waiter held up two fingers.
"Two Sha?" The four-armed Ming Sha was somewhat disappointed, thinking it could fetch a lot. He had been excited for nothing.
"Two hundred Sha," the waiter said calmly.
"Two hundred?!" The four-armed Ming Sha was overjoyed. Good heavens, he just picked this thing up on the road, and it was worth so much!
"Excuse me," Fang Ming said, having appeared beside the waiter at some point. "Brother, how about selling it to me for five hundred Sha?"
The waiter frowned upon hearing Fang Ming's words. This person was being a bit too much, poaching his business.
The four-armed Ming Sha's eyes lit up even more. "Haha, if you can afford the price, what's wrong with buying it from you?"
Fang Ming smiled slightly, then said apologetically to the waiter, "Apologies, brother, I know this ferocious Sha. He's a friend of mine. I'll have to break up your business. To compensate, I'm willing to pay you an additional two hundred Sha."
As a newcomer, Fang Ming really didn't want to make enemies in this world, so he decided to pay for peace, as the money was gotten for free anyway.
The waiter's stern face softened upon hearing that he could get an extra two hundred Sha for free. "No trouble. Since he's your friend, you can take him."