I Have a Golden Crow

Shanhe Region, located in the northeastern part of the East Persian Realm.

When Du Yu arrived here by plane, gazing out at a world of white, his mind was utterly blank.

Snow was falling in flurries, wrapping the earth in silver.

This scene had nothing at all to do with the revelation image Du Yu had seen!

For a moment, Du Yu even wondered if he’d come to the wrong place...

As the plane taxied down the runway and came to a stop, the cabin door automatically opened, and Yang Qingqing was the first to step out.

Below stood several soldiers waiting to receive them, dressed in snow camouflage, with blue berets and white gloves—a stark contrast to the Demon Spirit Soldiers back home.

Du Yu was used to seeing the ”military green camo” uniforms of Demon Spirit Realm garrisons; suddenly seeing something new was truly eye-opening.

Honestly, they looked pretty cool!

At the front was a young male officer, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a dignified bearing.

He gazed at the master and disciple coming down the steps, immediately stepped forward, and gave a textbook salute: ”Greetings, leaders from the Book House.”

”Hello.” Yang Qingqing nodded with a smile and extended her right hand.

The young officer’s gloved palm shook Master Qing’s hand lightly: ”Ms. Yang, I have been ordered by my superiors to assist you both with all activities here in East Persia.

My name is Yao Muzi, you can just call me Xiaoyao.”

”So polite, Battalion Commander Yao.” Yang Qingqing clearly knew exactly whom they were meeting.

Don’t be fooled by how relaxed she looked during the flight—in reality, the Rotten Wood Body garrisoned in the Twenty-Ninth Bureau was in control of the whole mission.

Yao Muzi nodded to the two of them. ”Please get in the car, we’ll head back to the camp first.”

As an employee of the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, Du Yu might just be a cog in the machine, but to outsiders, he was indeed considered a ”leader.”

Just like at last term’s final exam—Book House staff were all exceedingly polite to him...

The master and disciple boarded a jeep and, amidst driving snow, left the small airport behind.

In the back seat, Du Yu watched the snowstorm outside, brow furrowed ever more tightly.

He tilted his body slightly, shoulder pressing against Master Qing’s, and a layer of Demon Soul shimmered: ”Master Qing, there’s no snow at all in my revelation image.

Whether it was a deep mountain bamboo forest or a war-torn city, there wasn’t a hint of snow.”

Yang Qingqing pondered for a moment, also responding via Demon Soul: ”That’s even better.”

Du Yu: ”How come?”

Yang Qingqing: ”This narrows our search area. The place where the Tai Sui Thunder Bamboo was lost probably wasn’t covered in heavy snow.”

Hearing that, Du Yu’s heart leapt: ”Makes sense!”

Elder Yinsuo was adamant that master and disciple should head west; clearly, it was only recently that they found the Tai Sui Thunder Bamboo.

The East Persian Realm is generally high-altitude, and in November it’s bone-chillingly cold. After such a heavy snow, it would be almost impossible for the snow to melt quickly.

And as time passed and deep winter set in, temperatures here would only drop further!

Though East Persia wasn’t as vast as Shaohai Province, it was still a whole nation—searching blindly would be no easier than finding a needle in a haystack.

Now, the master and disciple just needed to head to wherever it hadn’t snowed!

The more Du Yu thought about it, the more convinced he became, and since his shoulder was pressed to Yang Qingqing’s, she of course noticed his excitement.

Yang Qingqing couldn’t help but raise the corners of her mouth and turn to look out the window, too.

This heavy goose-feather snow felt almost like a blessing from the heavens.

It seemed even the gods were helping Great Xia, hoping these two would recover the precious National Treasure.

As the jeep returned to the camp, Du Yu found himself amazed yet again!

The camp gates were imposing and solemn, security checks were strict to the extreme, but inside the base, it was full of signs of everyday life?

Logically, a military camp should be a very serious place—you’d never find civilians wandering around.

Yet inside this small city-like base, the number of East Persian civilians outnumbered the Great Xia soldiers!

Compared to the worried faces of the adults, the children were all laughter—faces red with cold, rough-housing and rolling in the snow.

If Du Yu didn’t know the true state of this country, he might have been fooled by such a happy scene.

”It’s really beautiful,” Du Yu said, breaking his silence for the first time in the car.

As the vehicle rolled slowly along, he saw a pair of East Persian children by the roadside, building a snowman.

The boy had a mop of natural black curls, pale skin, huge eyes, and a high-bridged nose.

Simple clothes, but there was no hiding his latent ”Sea King” charisma.

If you sent him to Great Xia for a livestream, he’d drive thousands of girls absolutely wild, wouldn’t he?

And the girl beside him, her looks needed no elaboration—she was like a living porcelain doll...

Yao Muzi looked out at the window, his stern face softening a little: ”Yes, very cute.”

Sadly, such a chaotic land didn’t deserve children with such pure, vibrant souls.

Of course, that last comment Yao Muzi kept to himself—in his position, he’d never say it out loud.

”We’ve arrived, leaders. Please come with me.” Yao Muzi, meticulous as always, maintained perfect posture and respectful formality at all times.

He took them into an office building, where they found an empty office nearby.

After two soldiers brought in tea and left, Yao Muzi asked, ”What tasks do you have next, leaders? If you tell me, I’ll arrange everything for you.”

Yang Qingqing: ”Can we gather all available weather data for East Persia?”

”Of course, just a moment please.” Yao Muzi gestured to the guard at the door.

While the data was being collected, Du Yu asked, ”Battalion Commander Yao, from what I understand, it’s not easy to get a hold of an East Persian totem—Yue Mountain Lion?”

”Correct.” Yao Muzi nodded, ”Even though East Persia is fractured within and all sorts of factions oppose each other, when it comes to two things, everyone stands united.

Number one is tourism, number two is the Yue Mountain Lion.”

Yang Qingqing sat elegantly on the sofa, legs crossed: ”Go on.”

Yao Muzi: ”This country has been in chaos for ages, its national strength depleted, and resources are extremely scarce—the East Persian state barely has any sources of income.

The three domestic tourist routes are basically the backbone of the economy. Every faction needs that money, so on this question, all organizations are unusually united.”

Yao Muzi paused and continued, ”As long as tourists stay on the approved routes, there’s no real risk to their lives. That’s why group tour prices are ridiculously high.”

Du Yu: ”Yue Mountain Lion is one of the economic mainstays too?”

”Exactly.” Yao Muzi nodded. ”This is the only Demon Beast unique to East Persia. All Demon Spirit Realms and the locations where wild Yue Mountain Lions are found are monopolized by the various factions.

If you want to own a Yue Mountain Lion, you have to buy it from these groups,

and by the exchange rate, a single Yue Mountain Lion goes for over 8 million Huaxia Coin.

The ones rated with particularly high Potential Value? The price is astronomical, and even if you have money, you might not get one.

East Persia is very shrewd about this. They need to control the Yue Mountain Lion population, to maintain the size and quality of the breed, and sustain this lucrative industry long-term.”

Eight million...

Du Yu curled his lip; what a sky-high price.

Well, things rare are always dear, he supposed—Yue Mountain Lion’s the only Demon Pet of its kind, after all.

Truthfully, no matter how unique or rare, if the creature wasn’t strong, no Demon Tamer would flock to own one.

The key is—the Yue Mountain Lion’s high innate Talent and Potential Value, plus it possesses a uniquely rare sound-type Demon Skill; that’s where things get out of control...

The Yue Mountain Lion’s special status matches that of the National Treasure of the Great Xia· Chi Bear.

However, the Chi Bear in Great Xia isn’t for sale; only Demon Tamers who apply, pass a rigorous review, and are judged qualified can obtain a Contract.

Yao Muzi continued, ”The Yue Mountain Lions you buy from any faction will all be specially processed, so you’d better be sure what you want.”

Du Yu: ”Specially processed?”

Yao Muzi made a ’knife-down’ gesture: ”East Persia absolutely forbids any other group or individual from owning a piece of the Yue Mountain Lion industry. Every single Yue Mountain Lion that leaves this country will have its reproductive ability removed.”

Du Yu: ???

You call this your national totem?

This is how you treat your faith, your very totem?

The things people do for money... there’s no end to it...

No kidding, if anyone dared treat the Chi Bear like this, the citizens of Great Xia would make sure they didn’t see the sunrise again!

As they chatted, a strong voice came from the doorway: ”Report!”

Yao Muzi: ”Enter.”

The guard came forward with a tablet and a stack of documents and stopped in front of Yao Muzi.

Yao Muzi handed the tablet to Yang Qingqing then turned to the soldier, ”Go ahead.”

”Sir, northern East Persia is experiencing heavy snowfall. Over the next two to three days, East Persia will keep getting colder, and the snow will cover nearly the whole country—except the southern and eastern areas...”

As the soldier gave his report, Du Yu also looked at the tablet in his hand.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of his previous life in South Korea.

The place was so small, the weather forecast there was ridiculously simple—one or two sentences, that’s it~

They didn’t even need to do their own forecast—just piggyback on Jilin’s weather report and call it a day...

Yang Qingqing reached out a finger and lightly tapped a spot in the southeastern corner of East Persia.

Du Yu nodded slightly as he watched Master Qing’s fair fingertips.

Good, that’s the place!

At the same time, back at the Twenty-Ninth Bureau, Rotten Master Qing was poring over maps, eyes locked onto a particular Demon Spirit Realm.

In the East Persia military camp, Yang Qingqing spoke: ”The Ten Thousand Beasts Tomb Demon Spirit Realm—it’s on one of the tourist routes, right?”

”Yes, leader. It’s a well-known Demon Spirit Realm, on the eastern tour route.” Yao Muzi looked at Master Qing, ”But we have strict regulations—our troops aren’t allowed to leave Heshan District.

If you want to tour the Ten Thousand Beasts Tomb, you’ll have to go with a tour group.

If you travel alone, there’s no way to guarantee your safety.”

”That’s fine.” Yang Qingqing nodded slightly. ”Sign us up with a group, calculate the expenses and let me know.”

Yao Muzi: ”Understood!”

Yang Qingqing: ”The sooner we leave, the better.”

Yao Muzi got up immediately: ”We can go to town now and wait for the tour bus. I’ll handle all arrangements on the way.”

”Let’s go.”

Yao Muzi was a soldier, and Yang Qingqing was a retired officer—both swift and decisive.

They immediately left the office, but just as they were about to leave the building, two soldiers stopped them.

Yao Muzi took two overcoats and handed them to the master and disciple. ”Leaders, it’s freezing out—put on these coats.

Also, all Great Xia tourists are encouraged to wear this. It’s a way to show your identity.

If by chance you’re caught in trouble during your trip, anyone from any East Persian faction who sees you in these coats will show some restraint and hesitation.”

”Thank you.” Yang Qingqing replied politely, accepting the coat.

She draped it over her shoulders and strode outside.

”Leader?” Yao Muzi called softly to the dazed Du Yu.

Yang Qingqing stopped and looked back at her silly disciple, arching an eyebrow.

”Ah.” Du Yu replied, but his gaze still lingered on Yang Qingqing’s figure wrapped in the coat.

So,

The clothes she wore in the revelation image came from here.

Then,

Did Bamboo Shadow Thunder Pool see my future, and then show it to me?

Or did I, following Bamboo Shadow Thunder Pool’s hint, walk myself to this future...