Chapter 8: Leaving the City

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“Would you like to buy some live chickens or ducks as backup?”

 

Storing away all the pre-ordered and purchased items, Luo Cheng declined the clerk’s suggestion. After confirming that the items and quantities in his order were correct, he turned and left the store.

Poultry and livestock were usually kept to be used in certain special situations, such as blood sacrifices or rituals. For example, black dogs and roosters. In many places, their blood was truly useful. The blood of chickens and ducks could also be used in places where large-scale blood sacrifices were needed. However, right now, Luo Cheng had no energy to take care of them.

Although he had a portable house—not just a simple one, but a spacious home with a courtyard—he had no time to raise live creatures inside. Besides, he wasn’t even sure if he would succeed in entering that potential secret realm this time.

Walking out of the store, Luo Cheng took a deep breath. Most of the preparations were already done. As long as he went to a store deeper in the street that specialized in selling low-grade talismans and pills—the kind that even ordinary people could buy—and then stopped by a large supermarket in the city, today's tasks would be just about complete.

Luo Cheng stepped down from the store’s entrance and walked into the depths of the alley, following the address he had looked up on his phone.

On the way, as Luo Cheng wandered through the street, the sight of the customers—whether they were cultivators or ordinary people—as well as the attire of the shop owners, made his eyes ache a little.

It wasn’t that these people dressed too flamboyantly to show off their individuality, but rather that their color choices were far too uniform.

—either pure white or pure black.

As for the exact reason, who knows? Or was this some tradition passed down in the cultivation world? Ever since the revival of spiritual energy and the fusion of heaven and earth, cultivators in Huaxia seemed to have a particular fondness of wearing pure white or pure black cultivator robes.

The ones in white often had wide, flowing sleeves. Their shoulders, waists, and other areas had to be adorned with matching-colored trailing ribbons. Those with spell techniques at their disposal would even tiptoe as they walked, as if carrying a personal wind machine, making their entire outfit billow backward in perfect sync—exuding as much immortality as possible.

Some took it even further, deliberately growing out their hair and dyeing it white. From a distance, they looked like wandering ghosts that had slipped past the city’s protective formation and had accidentally floated into town. If seen at night, they could definitely make a child cry from fright.

And those who dress in pure black tones are even more unique. Their clothes must be tight-fitting, with even the collar and cuffs clinging to the body. This is especially true for the waist as—regardless of gender—they must showcase a slender, well-proportioned figure. Their hair must also be black. Their expressions must be cold and stern, and ideally, they should carry a hint of devilish charm for the best effect. A long sword must also hang at their waist, and when they walk, they must exude a mix of menacing aura and mēnsāo. 悶騷 mēn means "dull" or "reserved" and sāo means "flirtatious" or "lively" or "unrestrained". So like restrained flamboyance. This describes someone who appears reserved or serious on the outside but is actually playful, flirty, or wild once you get to know them. It’s often used to describe characters who hide their attractiveness or charm under a cold exterior.  

The phrase came from the idea of someone suppressing their passionate or attractive side until the right moment, making them even more intriguing. The "forbidden desire style" 禁欲系 (jìnyù xì) This refers to a type of character (usually male) who appears cold, self-controlled, and unattainable, making them more desirable. Think of the silent, disciplined swordsman or the brooding CEO archetype.

This term originated from Japanese and Chinese pop culture, where self-denying, emotionally distant characters became a romantic fantasy, especially in anime, dramas, and novels. seems to be an essential trait for this type of person. Even when meeting old acquaintances, they must not smile—otherwise, they would be considered unprofessional!

These two color schemes have remained the long-standing, ever-popular clothing choices within Huaxia. Whether men or women, they all like these two styles when going out. Even in TV dramas, movies, and variety shows, large groups of actors and celebrities wearing the same colors can often be seen.

Fortunately, ordinary people on the streets usually just wear whatever suits them. After all, if everyone looks too similar, it erases their unique individuality. So even though Luo Cheng occasionally encountered these "black-and-white dual fiends" 黑白双煞” (Black and White Dual Fiends) is a modern twist or interpretation to “黑白无常” (Hēi Bái Wúcháng), the legendary underworld enforcers in Chinese mythology. on the streets, their numbers weren't too overwhelming. 

However, this place was a gathering ground for cultivators. Countless cultivators whose ranks are still low or who have just embarked on the path of cultivation particularly favor these two styles of dressing. Now, as Luo Cheng walked through the street, black and white filled his vision in every direction. It felt as if his eyes have malfunctioned, leaving him only able to see in black and white.

After finally finishing his purchases at the last two stores and picking up all his pre-ordered items under this sea of black and white, Luo Cheng left the An Street. Apart from his Qiankun bag being stuffed full, he himself felt much lighter—after all, now that he had confirmed receipt of his goods, he was out of money!

Of course, he hadn’t completely spent all his savings. Even if he wanted to take a gamble, he would never use up everything. He had to keep some funds aside as a "just in case" in case of an emergency.

In fact, Luo Cheng didn’t necessarily have to come in person to pick up his goods today. He could have just rented a compartment at the city's dedicated cargo transfer cabinets and the shopkeepers would place his items there. Then, he could choose a concealed or convenient time to retrieve them. Many cultivators—especially those concerned about safety or with many enemies—frequently did things this way.

However, if he had done that, some items wouldn’t have been available to him as an ordinary person. Besides, renting a compartment… was really expensive! A homophone pun. 柜 (guì, compartment/storage box) vs. 贵 (guì, expensive) These two words sound identical. Right now, all he needed to do was wear a mask and sunglasses to pick up his goods—there was no need to be so cautious just yet.

Although his wallet had flattened quite a bit, Luo Cheng still needed to buy some frozen food for emergencies. So, before night fell, he walked out of a supermarket near the inn. At this moment, he appeared empty-handed, as the frozen food he had purchased had already been sealed with a disposable ice-sealing talisman and stored in his Qiankun bag, inconspicuously looking like a wallet. He planned to wait until early the next morning, after leaving the city and setting up his portable house, before transferring those items into the freezer inside.

With the revival of spiritual energy, it had gradually replaced electricity over the past five hundred years. As a result, even technological products such as refrigerators, freezers, televisions, and washing machines had been converted to spiritual energy-powered versions.

The greatest advantage of using spiritual energy instead of electricity was that—no matter where the user was—they could activate all appliances inside their portable house with spiritual energy. Among them, refrigerators and freezers were especially useful. Although ordinary refrigerators and freezers did not prevent stored ingredients from losing spiritual energy, freezing food allowed it to remain fresh for a long time, making it completely suitable for storing regular food for emergencies.

The only thing cultivators needed to be mindful of was that if these appliances operated using the spiritual energy network within a city, they would still have to pay spiritual energy fees. This applied even to those inside a portable house, as the house itself was inscribed with special formations. Just like the spiritual energy phones that everyone used nowadays, as long as they were within the city's coverage, spiritual energy fees had to be paid. Once outside the city, however, the system would automatically switch to a small spirit-gathering formation, drawing in ambient spiritual energy to power all spiritual energy appliances inside.

Of course, there was another way to power a portable house—by using spirit stones as an energy source.

Luo Cheng's portable house came with two of the smallest first-grade spirit stones as a gift. Don't be fooled by their thumb-sized appearance as just one piece could sustain all the spiritual energy-powered appliances inside for a full three months when in a city, where it couldn't absorb spiritual energy from the heavens and earth for free!

In other words, Luo Cheng didn't need to worry about this portable house's spiritual energy consumption for now. But after half a year, he would have to figure out a way to make some income.

At this thought, he took a deep breath and headed toward the inn to return to his reserved room for the night.

The next morning, Luo Cheng got up early, had a buffet breakfast at the inn, and then quietly registered his departure from the city alone. After leaving the city, he walked along the main road for a while. Once he confirmed that there was no one around, he immediately left the road and went behind some scattered rocks and wild grass near the city. 

There, he flipped his reversible coat to the other side. Thus, the blue coat he wore when leaving the city turned into a black one. He also put on a black hat, and the plain white basketball shoes on his feet were switched to black hiking boots, which were more suitable for cultivators traveling through mountains and forests.

After changing his clothes, he returned to the main road from a different direction. He lowered his head to check his outfit and felt somewhat relieved, thinking that his appearance now looked quite different from when he left the city and was much more low-key. But then, a sudden thought struck him—wasn't this the same "black and white dual fiends" style he had mocked on the An Street yesterday??

Fortunately, his pants were dark gray, which made some difference. However... "Could this be the true fragrance law?"The phrase 真香定律 ("True Fragrance" Law) comes from a viral moment in 2014 on the Chinese reality show 《變形計》(X-Change), where a rebellious city boy named 王境泽 (Wang Jingze) was sent to experience life in a rural village. At first, he loudly declared:
— "I’d rather die than eat this!"
Shortly after, unable to resist hunger, he ate the meal anyway and, while still chewing, blurted out:
— "真香！" ("So fragrant!")
This moment became an instant meme, symbolizing how people often reject something at first but later embrace it wholeheartedly.


Luo Cheng previously mocked those cultivators for always dressing in black and white, calling them the "黑白雙煞" (Black and White Dual Fiends). But when he later tries to disguise himself, he unwittingly ends up wearing black clothing too, almost blending in with the very group he made fun of.

At this moment, Luo Cheng could only mock himself and laugh it off.

About ten kilometers from the city, along the main road, there stretched one open space after another, relatively empty yet covered with faint mist.

Luo Cheng passed by them one by one, his outwardly cold and indifferent expression hiding a stomach full of complaints and frustration.

This was the so-called public land where cultivators would place their portable houses at a distance not too far from the city. Before coming here, Luo Cheng had known that many spots would already be taken, but he had not expected it to be this full!

From a distance, the entire area seemed completely empty, with no trace of any buildings. Yet, upon approaching, one would notice that each special wooden board erected in front of the empty plots bore a dark red marking—red meant the spot was occupied, while green indicated it was still available.

This stretch of land designated for placing portable houses began about five kilometers from the city and extended outward. Yet, after walking all the way to around ten kilometers, Luo Cheng still hadn’t found an empty spot!

Although there were rules on the time limit for using these empty spaces, rules were dead while people were alive. When Luo Cheng previously searched for related information online, he had entered a relatively professional cultivator forum. There, he had seen various experience posts from "nomadic cultivators" who roamed the outskirts of multiple cities, living like nomads, regularly moving between different city outskirts.

These cultivators specialized in using time differences to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and meditate in such relatively safe cultivation spots. Although they had to regularly move between different cities and calculate when to go where, which was quite troublesome, wasn’t it still better than having no place to cultivate at all?

Some even made agreements with familiar friends, taking turns cultivating in different city outskirts and swapping locations when the time was up. In short, every rule had loopholes. This made things quite troublesome for cultivators like Luo Cheng, who only needed a temporary space to organize his belongings. If he was unlucky, he might circle around all the available spaces near a city and still be unable to find a place to set up his house.

After walking for another half an hour, Luo Cheng finally saw a green sign ahead, making him unconsciously breathe a sigh of relief as he quickly ran over. He had encountered situations before where he spotted an empty space, only for another cultivator searching for a spot to seize it first by riding a spiritual-powered motorcycle and arriving before him.

This time, Luo Cheng finally secured a space without anyone competing for it. Somewhat clumsily, he took out a palm-sized object resembling a crystal ball from his Qiankun bag and placed it in the core area of the space. The wooden sign outside instantly turned red, indicating it was occupied. Then, Luo Cheng stepped back and used another token-like plaque to tap on the ground while pressing his finger against a circular pattern on the wooden sign.

If it were a proper cultivator, at this step, they could directly use their cultivated portable house and enlarge it with a spell. However, Luo Cheng had yet to step into cultivation, so he could only use this special token to operate it. The advantage of this token was that it could be activated at any time without requiring the user’s spiritual power or spiritual energy. The downside was that this thing wasn’t bound. If someone stole it along with the crystal ball, his house would belong to someone else.