Chapter 430: Yubin City
Qi Han rode Zhui Yun, which had changed into flight mode, pushing at full speed for an entire day. Only just before the sun was about to set did he finally arrive at Yubin City.
This coastal city within the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire was, in fact, far from ordinary.
Along the empire's vast coastline, it stood out like a shining pearl, its status not unlike that of Shanghai in China on Earth in his previous life.
The reason for this lay largely in Yubin City's unique geographical location.
The city sat on a peninsula. Viewed from above, it looked like a pearl grown out of the Douluo Continent's coastline. Nearly its entire boundary consisted of coastline, with only a small portion connected to the mainland.
Its origin was equally peculiar. A thousand years ago, Yubin City had been an island, which slowly drifted over and eventually became part of the Douluo Continent.
This was something the locals loved to talk about, and many even joked that if another continent as large as the Douluo Continent were to drift over as well, wouldn't housing prices have to drop?
Yubin City's extensive coastline also brought vigorous growth to its shipbuilding and maritime transport industries, allowing it to rise rapidly and become a major maritime transportation hub on the Douluo Continent.
For the people of the Douluo Continent, the ocean was a life-forbidden zone ravaged by sea spirit beasts. However, the sea spirit beasts in the nearshore waters were not particularly strong, making navigation still possible.
Qi Han landed some distance outside Yubin City on a secluded path. After patting the mane at the back of Zhui Yun's neck, which had returned to its normal form, he said, "Zhui Yun, thanks for your hard work on this journey."
He had originally planned to take a short rest midway to avoid tiring Zhui Yun too much.
But perhaps because it had been so long since it last soared freely through the skies, Zhui Yun seemed to possess boundless energy and had flown the entire way without stopping.
Its horn lightly touched Qi Han's forehead, and even now its voice carried a hint of lingering excitement. "I'm not tired. I haven't been out to play for a long time."
"When we get back, I'll still let you enter the little world from time to time," Qi Han said, his eyes softening.
"That works too, hehe."
"Meow~"
Pururu wriggled out of Qi Han's arms, climbed onto his shoulder, and lay there, gently rubbing its face against Qi Han's cheek.
I want to go to the little world too!
Although Pururu still couldn't speak, after spending so much time together, Qi Han could roughly understand its meaning. He chuckled and stroked Pururu's head. "Alright. In the future, I'll have Ru Yi take you there."
Both Pururu and Zhui Yun could enter the system's little world. Ironically, Qi Han himself, as the system's host, didn't yet have permission to enter because his chef level hadn't reached the required threshold.
This left him rather helpless.
After growing up for so long, he still hadn't seen what the little world actually looked like.
Leading Zhui Yun and carrying Pururu with him, Qi Han followed the flow of people into Yubin City.
Although this city was his destination, the Azure-Scaled Dragon Eel was not located here. To kill an Azure-Scaled Dragon Eel as required by the quest, Qi Han would need to rent a ship in Yubin City and then head out to the sea areas where the creature was known to appear, figuring out a way from there.
This undoubtedly increased the difficulty of the task.
"Hello, may I ask where the largest ship-rental place in Yubin City is?"
After entering the city, Qi Han soon stopped a passerby who looked like a local and asked.
The answer he received, however, left him quite surprised.
"The Feng Clan Convoy?"
He hadn't expected the Feng Clan Convoy to have side businesses in Yubin City—much less to be the largest one there.
That genuinely surprised Qi Han.
After all, he had never imagined that an escort convoy and ship rentals could be connected at all.
But thinking about it more carefully…
Good grief—aside from switching to a different mode of transportation, there really wasn't much difference at all.
Since that was the case, there was nothing to hesitate over. Qi Han had patronized the Feng Clan Convoy more than once already. The last time, the convoy's manager, Feng Lingyue, had even given him a VIP card that granted a forty-percent discount at escort convoys across the continent.
"Let's go, Zhui Yun. We're heading to the Feng Clan Convoy."
Following the direction indicated by the passerby, Qi Han made his way toward the Feng Clan Convoy.
"Meow!"
"Ah, almost forgot to count you in as well. Come on, Pururu."
…
"Mr. Qi, welcome to the Feng Clan Convoy."
After Qi Han presented his VIP card, the attendant led him into a quiet room to enjoy Yubin City's specialty, Sea Jade Tea. Before long, a well-dressed young man with an air of refinement entered, his expression exceptionally warm.
"Hello. I need to rent a ship to head to the nearest sea area where Azure-Scaled Dragon Eels live," Qi Han stated his request directly, without excessive pleasantries.
"As expected of Han Shi's owner—Mr. Qi is here for the Azure-Scaled Dragon Eel?" A flash of surprise crossed the young man's face, but it quickly turned into an expression of just as I thought. "Among sea spirit beasts, the Azure-Scaled Dragon Eel is one of the rare ones with exceptionally delicious meat. It's only natural that it would catch Mr. Qi's eye."
Yubin City might be prosperous, but there weren't many things left that could attract someone like him.
The young man wasn't surprised—but Qi Han was.
Yubin City was this far away, and there were still people who recognized him?
He suddenly looked up and studied the young man more closely, finding his features somewhat familiar. "What's your relationship with Manager Feng Lingyue?"
"She's my cousin," the young man replied with a slight smile, seeming to see through Qi Han's confusion. "There's no need for Mr. Qi to be puzzled. Han Shi's reputation reached Yubin City quite some time ago. There are even several restaurants here that serve egg fried rice now. On top of that, every VIP card issued by my cousin is registered with its owner in the convoy, so recognizing you wasn't difficult."
So that was how it was.
Qi Han suddenly understood and stopped dwelling on the matter. "Can your convoy's ships meet my requirements?"
"When would Mr. Qi need to depart?"
"Tomorrow morning." Qi Han glanced at the darkened sky. It was already night, so setting out to sea was naturally impossible. And with only five days allotted for the quest, he needed to leave as early as possible.
Better early than late.
"No problem." After a moment's thought, the young man smiled and said, "Tomorrow morning, the Feng Clan Convoy will arrange a small vessel to depart exclusively for you. The ship will be staffed with a very experienced boatman to handle navigation. He also has four-ring cultivation, so his personal safety won't be an issue. How does that arrangement sound to you?"
"Hunting sea spirit beasts does involve a certain degree of danger. The Feng Clan Convoy does not provide protection services of that nature. If needed, Mr. Qi could check the Mercenary Guild in Yubin City."
"No problem." Qi Han nodded. He was quite satisfied with being able to depart alone—given his special requirements, sharing a ship with others would likely be troublesome.
As for hiring mercenary protection, he had no such need either. After all, the system quest required him to complete the kill independently.
"Since Mr. Qi is visiting Yubin City for the first time, this is a general map of Yubin City—a small gift from the Feng Clan Convoy." The young man handed him a scroll. "It marks the locations of many inns, as well as all the ports in Yubin City. Tomorrow morning, Mr. Qi simply needs to head to Port Twelve to board the ship and depart."
"Thank you." Qi Han accepted the scroll, a look of delight appearing on his face. He had been wondering where to find a hotel for the night.
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