Chapter 348: Chapter 297: Local Customs and Traditions
The local customs were even more simplistic than Du Chengfeng had imagined.
When Du Chengfeng led this group of a hundred or so bandits toward the earth-rammed city walls, the guards naturally shot arrows at them. However, Du Chengfeng was a pacifist and understood that, in his current posture, it seemed he was there to invade and loot the city—fortunately, after he caught twelve arrows barehanded, the guards on the city wall finally decided to have a friendly chat with him.
So, he expressed his intentions and explained that these bandits were already willing to reform and just hoped the people in the city could give them a chance to exchange work for food.
Thus, despite repeatedly explaining that he was just passing by and doing a good deed, he still received over a dozen bags of barley, several bags of dried meat from some unknown animal, several skins of water and mild wine, and a box of gold.
"Ah, what a wonderful place."
Looking at the pile of food in front of him, Du Chengfeng deeply felt the peace and harmony of this land.
"These people are too generous. I’m just bringing some bandits over for labor reform, is there really a need to be so courteous? Even giving me gold... hmm?"
He took a gold bar from the small box and weighed it, his expression immediately changed.
"This weight, they dare try to cheat me with fake gold! These beasts..."
"It’s not that; they didn’t deceive you."
Just as Du Chengfeng was about to turn around with the goods to find trouble, Swordsman Wu Zhao sighed and stopped him.
"This thing can indeed be called gold, but in your understanding, it should be called bronze... don’t look at me like that, in such an environment, bronze is more useful than gold."
"Can bronze really be more useful than gold?"
Du Chengfeng’s first reaction was that Wu Zhao was talking nonsense, but he quickly slapped his own head.
Indeed, it was his instinctive thinking that considered gold as valuable currency, but that doesn’t mean the locals thought the same way—as Wu Zhao said, bronze was indeed more useful than gold. At least weapons like swords and axes forged from bronze were genuinely lethal.
"Gold at most just looks good, and because it’s relatively soft, it’s easier to process as an ornament, but properly alloyed bronze can be used for so many things. After remelting, it can be used to make tools or weapons, and if there’s enough material, even armor can be made."
Da Lang Wu Zhao also began to introduce to Du Chengfeng the local customs of this bronze age.
"So, by giving you gold, they’re actually cheating you. That stuff isn’t so easily spent, whereas this chest of bronze is real hard currency. In your later understanding, it could be used like money."
"Ah this..."
Du Chengfeng was speechless.
This was the real local culture, and the real difference between the two environments.
It was at this moment that Du Chengfeng truly realized he hadn’t just traveled from one place to another, but rather, from one world to a completely different one.
Strangely enough, when he first arrived at Yang Family Fort, he didn’t have this feeling. Back then, he assimilated almost instantly, like a drop of water merging into the ocean. In just a short time, he found work at Yang Family Fort. Within days, he had a stable income, and in the months following, he was about to settle down there permanently.
But now...
He couldn’t fit in.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to get close to those barbarians-looking guards, but even though the other party was respectful, there was always an unmistakable wariness in their eyes—in such circumstances, he naturally couldn’t stay any longer.
"So, going back is probably going to be a bit tricky."
Hearing Du Chengfeng lament this, Da Lang Wu Zhao also sighed.
Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but turn his head.
"Do you have a way?"
"A stupid way at best."
Da Lang Wu Zhao shook his head.
As for this stupid way, it wasn’t really complicated when you put it into words. It was simply going back the way they came—they had their staff and hadn’t forgotten the procedure. If anything was lacking, it was that "Peach Blossom Spring."
"In that place collectively imagined by people, the power of the demon in one’s heart could be strengthened. The reason we can’t go back is because we’re missing this necessary environment."
Swordsman Wu Zhao briefly explained the current situation.
"So to go back, we just need to recreate this environment, rebuild a place collectively imagined by people, and then we can return."
"This..."
Du Chengfeng fell into silence.
It seemed simple enough. After all, if an ordinary person like Tao Wuli could do it, how could these powerful warriors not succeed?
They truly couldn’t.
This place imagined by the collective—how many people does "collective" mean? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? Thirty-five thousand? A hundred thousand? A million? Without an accurate number, who knows what kind of workload this would entail—of course, if it were just a numbers issue, it might still be within an acceptable range. The most important thing now, however, was that the locals rejected them.
They thought of the locals as another race, and the locals similarly saw them as foreigners. These natives were full of suspicion and didn’t necessarily believe what they said, so how could they possibly force a fantasy into existence by telling stories as Tao Wuli did back then?
Although Du Chengfeng and Wu Zhao were disadvantaged by their lack of cultural expertise and storytelling skills, they were still well-versed in the Yin rituals, so even if their stories were poorly told, they could make people believe they were true—however, all of this was premised on people being willing to listen to them.
If the locals weren’t willing to listen, what could they do?
"There is a way; it just depends on whether you’re willing to do it."
As they said this, the three Wu Zhaos looked at Du Chengfeng together.
Their subtle gaze gave Du Chengfeng the creeps.
"What are you planning to do? You’re not going to make something weird, are you?"
"It’s nothing like that, nothing like that."
The three Wu Zhaos looked up and down at the tall and even overly imposing Du Chengfeng, nodding continuously.
"I don’t mind, but you do want to return, right?"
"Of course, my pot is still stewing meat."
Du Chengfeng naturally nodded.
"So what exactly do you want to do? Let me be clear, I’m not doing anything bizarre."
"It’s nothing like that; it might even be a good thing for you."
Da Lang Wu Zhao thought for a moment and then spoke.
"Are you interested in experiencing what it’s like to be a god?"
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