Chapter 321: Strolling Through the Demon City

Eternal Slumber City, though located within Northern Huangtian and inhabited by demons, had a surprisingly large human population.

According to that dark-skinned man, Eternal Slumber City was different from another ancient city in Northern Huangtian—Demon Capital. The demons here did not indiscriminately eat humans. As long as one could find a place of shelter, it was possible to survive in this city.

Years ago, before Great Wu had fallen into chaos, most of the people who came to Northern Huangtian were criminals who had committed serious offenses in Great Wu.

These fugitives, wanted by Great Wu, had no other choice but to flee to Northern Huangtian.

Granted, escaping to Northern Huangtian did not guarantee survival, but staying behind and getting caught by the authorities meant certain death…

Later on, as Great Wu descended into turmoil, many refugees, through word of mouth, heard that in Eternal Slumber City, as long as one was willing to work as a laborer or had a craft, they could at least earn a meal.

If one was lucky, they might even gain the favor of the demons and be granted a cultivation method.

Because of this, many desperate refugees with nowhere else to go set their sights on Eternal Slumber City.

Yes, there were demons here, but were there not demons in Great Wu as well?

Besides, when one was on the brink of starvation, who cared about demons anymore? At worst, they’d just get eaten—better than dying as a starving ghost…

The first two groups of people came to Eternal Slumber City for survival, but there was yet another group—one driven by profit, ambition, and desire.

These were none other than the high-ranking officials and nobles of Great Wu.

The dark-skinned man did not know much about this group, only that such people also made their way to Eternal Slumber City for reasons unknown…

After sorting through everything the dark-skinned man had told him about Eternal Slumber City, Gu Ning’an finally arrived before the gates of this ancient city.

The city gates stood wide open, unguarded. The towering walls bore the marks of wind and sand, their bricks weathered with time.

Above the entrance, three bold words—Eternal Slumber City—stood prominently. The strokes were powerful and commanding, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura the longer one gazed upon them…

Stepping into the city, Gu Ning’an followed the main road, observing everything along the way. To his surprise, it was not too different from human cities he had seen before.

Street vendors called out their wares, porters hauled goods, and shop attendants stood outside, inviting customers in…

If not for the fact that the people here were not actually human, and that many of them wore loose robes to conceal beast heads atop their human-like bodies, Gu Ning’an might have found it difficult to distinguish between a human and a demon city at a glance.

When the long main road finally split into two paths, he chose the left one. However, after walking only a few steps, he spotted an establishment of pleasure and entertainment.

Gu Ning’an was neither surprised nor unsurprised that the demons ran such a business.

As he passed by the brothel’s entrance, a group of “beauties” dressed in sheer silk gowns immediately surrounded him.

They all looked “very beautiful”, though in reality, their appearances were heavily enhanced with rouge and powders, along with illusion spells.

Some of the demons hadn’t even fully transformed—human faces adorned with pig snouts, scales, or fangs—yet they still fluttered their eyes at him seductively.

Of course, they were unaware of this. After all, their illusion spells were quite advanced, nearly impossible for most people to see through.

Unfortunately for them, Gu Ning’an’s eyes could pierce through even the illusions set by true immortals—what chance did their glamour spells stand?

Shaking off the group of brothel demons, Gu Ning’an turned and headed down the right path instead.

Not long after, he came across an inn named “Taste of Freshness.”

As soon as he stepped inside, a shop attendant greeted him.

To his surprise, the one welcoming him was a sallow-skinned young man. Though the boy carried a demonic aura, he was unmistakably human.

A human working as a shop attendant in a demon city, yet pretending to be a demon—it was quite an unusual sight.

“Welcome, honored guest! Please, come inside!”

The young attendant bowed with a smile and led Gu Ning’an to a shady corner seat.

“Are you here for a meal or looking to stay the night?”

“I’ll just have something to eat. What dishes do you have?”

“I’d recommend some of our specialty dishes—charcoal-grilled pig’s trotters, boiled pork ribs, and chilled pig’s ears… All of them taste excellent.”

Hearing the menu, Gu Ning’an couldn’t help but ask, “Why is everything pork? Do you have any vegetarian dishes?”

“I suppose this is your first time in Eternal Slumber City. In this region, pork is the easiest to raise, while other types of meat are much harder to come by… As for vegetarian dishes, our little establishment only has two options.”

“One is stir-fried sea buckthorn, and the other is pickled sand dates.”

As soon as the young waiter finished speaking, Gu Ning’an nodded and said, “I’ll have both vegetarian dishes. It’s too hot today—I don’t really feel like eating meat.”

“Alright, that’ll be eight qian of silver in total,” the young waiter said, rubbing his hands together.

Hearing that two plates of vegetables cost eight qian of silver, Gu Ning’an was momentarily stunned. But after a second thought, he realized that in the desert, plants were scarce, and edible ones were even rarer—so it made sense for them to be pricey.

One more thing to note: gold and silver were universal currencies, even in Northern Huangtian. The demons in both cities lived in a way similar to humans, so they needed money to buy supplies from outside Northern Huangtian.

As for the two true immortals guarding Northern Huangtian, their primary role was to prevent two great demons and large numbers of demons from leaving the region. However, demons below that level could still find ways to sneak out. If they were too afraid of encountering a true immortal, they could always have humans from the city go out and buy supplies for them.

After taking the silver, the young waiter said, “Please wait a moment,” and quickly left.

Not long after, the two vegetarian dishes were served. Gu Ning’an took a small bite of each and found that both had a decent texture—one was light and fresh, while the other tasted like pickled vegetables.

Taking out a thin flatbread from his travel pack, Gu Ning’an used it to eat the two dishes.

At that moment, a burly man entered the inn. He was clad in a black short-sleeved shirt, with a short blade tucked at his waist.

A deep scar ran across his face, stretching from his forehead down to his cheek—like a ferocious centipede crawling over his features.

After glancing around the room, the man strode up to the front counter and called out, “Innkeeper! Is the innkeeper here?”

“I saw the notice posted at the entrance—you’re hiring waiters, right? I’m here to apply for a job!”

Receiving no response after his first call, the burly man impatiently knocked on the wooden counter twice—”Bang! Bang!”

“Stop knocking. Wood is expensive in Northern Huangtian.”

“If you break it, you’ll have to pay quite a bit of money.”

Before the person even appeared, their voice had already reached the room.

A moment later, a mature woman emerged from the second floor of the inn. She wore a dark red dress, her hair styled into an elegant bun, secured with a gold hairpin. Her every movement exuded a mature woman’s charm.

She gracefully descended the worn wooden stairs, first glancing at Gu Ning’an, before shifting her gaze to the burly man at the counter.

With a faint smile, she asked, “Did you read our inn’s hiring requirements carefully?”