Chapter 2044 - 2042: Revisiting Old Haunts (EPIC Released a Shark-Eating-People Roleplay Game)

Above is Heaven, below are Suzhou and Hangzhou.

When Fang Zheng walked down the gangway, what he saw was a mesmerizing and tranquil view of Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Fang Zheng had considered all aspects from the beginning of the plan because he knew the consequences of heavy industrialization. He didn’t want Chang’an to become a city shrouded in mist, so he placed heavy industries in relatively remote places. However, even so, smoke could often be seen within Chang’an City.

But the situation in Suzhou and Hangzhou was much better, with beautiful landscapes and fresh air. Walking down the gangway made him feel much more comfortable. Fang Zheng stretched lazily and then came to the front of the dock where a carriage was already waiting.

"Excuse me, are you Young Master Fang?"

Seeing Fang Zheng approach, an attendant quickly ran over and inquired. Due to the widespread use of steam power in this era, telephone and telegraph communications have become commonplace. At least throughout the country, telephones were no longer rare items. Public phone booths were available at street corners, naturally leading to a variety of businesses emerging from them.

For instance, the attendant now receiving Fang Zheng was contacted in advance by Fang Zheng through a phone booking—a process which finally gave Fang Zheng a slight sense of modern society.

"Yes, that’s me."

Facing the newcomer, Fang Zheng nodded, and the latter quickly revealed a warm smile.

"Please get on the carriage, the shopkeeper has been waiting for you and we have prepared the best number one room for you. This way please..."

As he spoke, the attendant led Fang Zheng into the carriage, and the driver drove off from the dock, heading along the street.

Still can’t get used to it.

Sitting by the window and looking at the bustling street scene, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. Inside the palace, perhaps to maintain tradition, most buildings hadn’t been modified except for some relatively convenient devices, retaining their original forms mostly. So while inside the palace, he could still retain a bit of the ancient societal feeling.

However, once he stepped out of the palace gates, the surreal mix of fantasy, technology, and supernatural atmosphere on the street immediately disoriented Fang Zheng, not knowing what era he was blown into.

Most places still remained the same, reminding Fang Zheng of his time in the World of the Immortal Sword, where he met Lin Yueru and Bai Suzhen, along with Qing’er... Now it’s certainly impossible. After all, there is no Gold Mountain Monastery in this world, nor Fahai the bald head.

Along the way, Fang Zheng casually chatted with the driver who picked him up. After all, chit-chatting is a basic skill of taxi drivers, and this driver was no exemption—when a guest is willing to chat, naturally they speak openly. Just like all taxi drivers, he liked to complain about the county office and magistrate, saying sometimes they act irresponsibly, complaining about trivial matters and household concerns.

For instance, the driver complained about being charged a road maintenance fee monthly, although the amount wasn’t much, he thought it was just the government officers exploiting excuses to embezzle...

To this, Fang Zheng naturally chuckled. From the driver’s perspective it seemed so, but in fact, road cleaning and maintenance at this time was much more troublesome than later. After all, horses are living beings, while cars are dead objects; you can’t see or touch the car’s exhaust but horse manure everywhere is quite problematic.

Moreover, due to urban expansion and transportation enhancement, these issues became increasingly prominent, so charging a road maintenance fee was understandable. Otherwise, if a city were covered in horse manure, how would life go on?

Of course, the driver’s perspective would be different.

Additionally, the driver shared some amusing stories with Fang Zheng, such as a street fight between disciples from Mount Hua Sect and Hengshan Sect over a woman, resulting in both being taken away by government officers while the woman they fought for ended up in the arms of a wealthy young master...

Hmm, this is the kind of story Fang Zheng was eager to hear, intriguing indeed.

After listening to the driver’s idle talk all the way, Fang Zheng arrived at a "five-star" inn by West Lake. As he stepped down from the carriage, an assistant immediately approached to attend to him.

"Welcome, honorable guest. May I inquire whether you wish to retire to your room, or have some tea? We have a storyteller narrating the tale of ’General Luo’, and there will be a performance by the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe afterward..."

"Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe?"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but pause, glancing curiously at the assistant, who nodded in response.

"Yes, this troupe was invited personally by our shopkeeper from the Southern Barbarian region. Their performance is particularly interesting and has become our establishment’s signature feature. If you’d like to enjoy it, we’ll arrange a prime seat for you after dinner..."

"Alright, I’m quite interested in the Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe."

Fang Zheng pondered for a moment and then made a decision. The entertainment options in this world so far were genuinely limited, he couldn’t conjure up cathode ray tubes and film projection technology at this time. Thus, the main leisure activities for the public in this era were either listening to storytellers or watching dance performances from various regions.

After all, Red Mansion was closed, gambling houses were checked, leaving the people of this era with little other entertainment.

"Please follow me, do you have any other requests?"

"Some tranquility, good scenery, not too crowded, and a pot of tea with snacks."

"Certainly!"

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the assistant hurriedly led him upstairs and arranged a prime window-side seat for him. From the comfortable table and chairs at this spot, it was clear that this wasn’t a seat anyone could occupy. But Fang Zheng was a guest with a "Presidential Suite" reservation, so the inn naturally gave him some privileges.

On stage, the storyteller stood at the center, concluding his tale. Fang Zheng listened closely and found it was a fictional general’s story, which wasn’t surprising. Ancient people’s imaginations were no smaller than modern ones, during the Qing Dynasty someone even wrote steampunk novels, depicting Qing going to the Moon and Jupiter for colonization...

Of course, the Qing Dynasty perished long ago.

The storyteller spoke of "General Luo" in a story that qualified as fantasy by modern standards—about a man named Luo San born into a noble house but was weak in physique and despised by family members, then accidentally encountered a fairy, captivated by her beauty and fell off a cliff, inadvertently consuming Genius Treasure, leading to the classic "don’t mock the poor youth" and "revenge is never too late for a gentleman" trope, eventually walking together with the fairy...

On their wedding night, however, General Luo discovered the fairy was actually his half-sister!

And she married him because she loved his father!

Infuriated without measure, General Luo decided to confess to his father, only to be told his daughter had confessed long before, but he had no romantic feelings for her because he loved his son! For General Luo looked almost identical to his deceased wife!

Oh my, such a plot full of twists and turns, truly captivating.

"...Upon hearing his father’s words, General Luo was shocked and angry, shouting aloud intending to fight him to the death, suddenly the door opened, and a shadow mixed with fragrance rushed in, fell into General Luo’s arms. Fixing his gaze, General Luo shivered as he realized the person in his embrace was none other than his childhood friend, his sworn brother! Moreover, to his surprise, his sworn brother revealed an earth-shattering secret at this moment!"

With these words, the storyteller struck the wooden block with force.

"To know what happens next, stay tuned for ’True Maiden’s Tears at the General’s Brocade, Pseudo Tiger’s Parental Affection’!"

"Bravo!!!"

After the storyteller’s narration ended, the audience behind cheered loudly, applauding vigorously. Fang Zheng, after hearing it all, was dumbfounded—such a plot full of ups and downs, shouldn’t that tale have come from ’Ethics and Law’?

Soon, the storyteller retreated, and more spectators gathered, clearly many were eager to witness the so-called "Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe" performance.

Before long, shadows moved from the other side of the screen, ready to start the performance.

Yet, at the moment these people appeared, Fang Zheng, initially lounging like a salted fish in his chair, squinted his eyes instinctively.

There’s a demon aura!

Indeed, at the moment these people appeared, Fang Zheng immediately sensed a faint demon aura, and it wasn’t an ordinary one. As a Time Dragon, Fang Zheng could feel an ancient and prehistoric aura mixed within this demon aura...

What kind of situation is this?

Could there be an ancient period beastification forming a demon?

Is it a Tyrannosaurus? Or a Triceratops? Or perhaps a Plesiosaur?

Surely it can’t be a trilobite refined into spirit!

Fang Zheng knew very well that before he became the Emperor, this world’s history was quite "scientific", it was impossible for those fantasy novels where one awakens to find oneself a Tyrannosaurus and then cultivate for thirty thousand years to occur. Yet, this demon aura seemed to carry a trace of ancient prehistoric times...

Hmm...this is rather intriguing.

With this thought in mind, Fang Zheng also became interested, adjusting his seated posture.

He was curious to see what tricks this so-called Southern Barbarian Song and Dance Troupe was playing?