The flying ship passed the Cold City and continued to fly for half a day before stopping at a small town called He Gang.
To reach Wangyang City by the Crown Prince River, one needs to transfer to the Sturgeon Dragon Boat, which takes another half day.
It’s not that the flying ship couldn’t go that far, but because north of He Gang is outside of Cyan Thorn’s territory. The public transportation service there is managed by the Demon Race’s Zhendong Trading Company.
He Gang was also built by Zhendong Trading Company, initially just as a cargo transfer point. But as more and more Human Race cultivators came north to practice and search for treasures, it became a town, a resting place for cultivators.
Before coming, Zhang Ze did some homework, gathering information about the northern region from Tang and those of the Demon Race.
However, he felt that listening to them was as good as hearing nothing due to their unreliability.
The Demon Race group from Thousand Mechanism Pavilion were mostly born in East Continent and had long forgotten the north’s appearance. Those who remembered only knew tales passed down from their elders.
As for Tang, he was even less reliable.
He said he only remembers the girls from Water Exchange Workshop as being tender and the houses there as being peculiar, and didn’t pay much attention to anything else.
Zhang Ze looked at the houses in the town and found them indeed peculiar.
All were built of brick and stone, square and orderly like warehouses, with simple facades, only a sign beside the door without any unnecessary decorations.
He Gang’s tallest building was the bell tower in the town center, built by Zhendong Trading Company.
Zhang Ze thought it might be the company’s hobby; they seemed to build a bell tower in every town they visited, as if marking attendance.
So Zhang Ze took out his small walnut camera and snapped a photo of the bell tower, then sent it to the group.
"What’s our next move?" Zhang Ze asked, pretending as if it was his first time traveling far.
"The Sturgeon Dragon Boat leaves in the afternoon, and there’s nothing to do now." Qiu Jidan, who handled all the travel expenses, said.
With nothing else to do, Zhang Ze thought about exploring the town with Lin Feng, but Qiu Jidan seemed to be planning something, leaving Lin Feng behind.
Lin Feng looked at Qiu Jidan, "Is there something?"
Qiu Jidan, of course, had nothing; he just didn’t want Lin Feng to follow Zhang Ze. He feared Lin Feng, a leader of the Demon Path to the core, would corrupt the pure Zhang Yida.
He gave Lin Feng an awkward smile and started some idle chat.
Lin Feng was somewhat baffled, only occasionally responding.
Due to boredom, Lin Feng opened his small walnut camera and saw Zhang Ze’s photo in the group.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Feng gave Zhang Ze a like.
As for Zhang Ze, he was happy alone, strolling freely; leaving the inn, he headed towards the street where Zhendong Trading Company was located.
Regarding the Divine Pill Gang, Zhang Ze felt he couldn’t rely solely on Qiu Jidan; one must have some initiative.
Zhendong Trading Company had been operating in the Northern Territory for years; they should have more knowledge about the Divine Pill Gang.
Zhang Ze entered a shop under Zhendong Trading Company, selling herbal pills. Just as he was about to speak, he stopped upon seeing the shop owner’s face.
The shop owner was a fox.
Unexpectedly, she looked very similar to certain two individuals.
Though her face was identical to Sister Bai and Little Yingchun, her demeanor was vastly different.
This fox wore crystal chip glasses, her hair simply styled into a bun with a few brushes used as hairpins, dressed casually with a blue long dress underneath and a fur cloak over her shoulders.
She was immersed in reading a scroll, full of literary girl’s aura.
But the most significant difference was her chest; unlike Sister Bai and others’ voluptuousness, this fox was as flat as Lily.
However, she was quite tall.
Perhaps Zhang Ze stood at the door for too long, letting the Outer Sect’s wind blow in; the fox twitched her ears displeasedly, "Close the door."
After that, she lowered her head to continue reading, showing no intention of conducting business.
Zhang Ze’s prepared pleasantries became useless; he thought for a moment and directly asked, "Do you know Sister Bai?"
"You know my little niece?" The fox raised her head, looking at Zhang Ze in confusion.
Zhang Ze intended to ask how to address the fox, but she seemed to misunderstand.
"I’m eighteen, just have a higher status." The fox adjusted her glasses, speaking earnestly.
"I meant to..." Zhang Ze’s words were once again interrupted.
"I’m really eighteen!" The fox got agitated, her tone rising; she seemed very concerned about this.
"Calm down, I just want to know how to address you," Zhang Ze spoke quickly this time to avoid interruptions.
"Bai Tao." The fox blushed slightly, stating her name, and the shop fell silent.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Bai Tao set down her book and asked, "Would you like to buy something, I’ll give you a discount?"
Zhang Ze casually picked a few unfamiliar herbs from the medicine cabinet, and after paying the Spirit Stones, he nonchalantly asked a question.
"I heard people outside talking about the Divine Pill Gang; what do they do?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Tao frowned, her tone became harsh, "I don’t know, I don’t like those people; go ask elsewhere."
After that, Bai Tao stopped responding to Zhang Ze and dropped the curtain over the counter, as if telling him to leave and not interrupt her reading.
Looking at this literary fox whose personality was completely contrary to her appearance, Zhang Ze said nothing more and left the shop directly.
As long as this Divine Pill Gang truly exists, that’s enough; it would be troublesome if it’s like Cold City.
This street had many shops, he could simply ask another.
Walking a few steps, Zhang Ze looked at the bag of herbs in his hand and posted a message in the group [Invincible Lily Number One in the World].
[I’m in He Gang, does anyone want me to buy anything?]
Then he saw a flood of eclectic and chaotic requests.
[Fuji: Can you buy some Warm Fruit, I want to try them]
[Lily: See if there are any new cultivation techniques there, hopefully explosive ones]
[Tang: Anything’s fine]
Zhang Ze felt he was redundant to ask.
Thinking about the Divine Pill Gang affairs, Bai Tao felt increasingly troubled, so she set down the book she was halfway through, "Taoist Path to Heaven," tightened her cloak, and left the shop.
By the dock of He Gang, when the Sturgeon Dragon Ship was about to depart, Zhang Ze arrived finally.
While shopping, Zhang Ze indeed gleaned much information; that gang was actually not called Divine Pill Gang.
It was Divine Egg Gang.
Using Demon Race slang, it was an even more awkward name.
This gang only operated around Wangyang City, predominantly composed of Demon Race members, identified by the metal arm brace they wore on their right hand.
They have no so-called legacy, each member practices their own paths, but supposedly the Gang Leader is very strong, said to be Nascent Soul, or Golden Core Great Perfection.
However, one sure thing was that the gang’s reputation among the Demon Race was excellent.
"But what’s with that literary fox? She seemed to dislike Divine Egg Gang; is it her issue, or is it Divine Egg Gang’s?"
"Didn’t hear those demon folks mention anything about the woods..."
Following behind Qiu Jidan, Zhang Ze contemplated, arriving at the spot where the Sturgeon Dragon Ship docked, he felt someone was watching him.
Looking up, Zhang Ze saw Bai Tao standing at the ship’s bow.