Chapter 214: Touching People
At the older man's shout, many people turned to look at Chen Dong.
Chen Dong could sense that everyone in the group was a martial artist. The man who'd called out to him was even a Grandmaster. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Chen Dong didn't want to cause a commotion. It would only make it harder to complete Lord You's mission—and his life depended on it.
So, steeling himself, he said, "I came from outside!"
"Outside? Oh, you mean the real world! I haven't seen you among the new arrivals from the Tian Family," the man said thoughtfully.
Chen Dong winced. 'Looks like this place is divided by clan names,' he thought. He had heard of the Tian Family; they were one of the six great families of Beijing. This must be the Tian Family City.
The corner of Chen Dong's mouth twitched. "I'm not from the Tian Family," he said. "My surname is Chen." He figured this was a safe thing to say, as the Chen Family was also one of the six great families and likely had its own territory in the Qiankun Realm.
The man frowned slightly at his words, then broke into a hearty laugh. "Oh, I get it! You just arrived in the Qiankun Realm, so you want to check out all the different places, right?"
Though he didn't understand, Chen Dong played along and nodded.
The man handed his work to someone else, walked over to Chen Dong, and offered him a cigarette before lighting one for himself. He started chatting as if they were old friends. "This Qiankun Realm... it isn't huge, but it isn't small either. It's natural to be curious when you first arrive. I remember being stunned when I came here. The scenery is something you'd never see in the real world. The two massive moons alone are enough to intimidate anyone."
Chen Dong nodded along.
Noticing Chen Dong didn't have a light, the man pulled out a disposable lighter and handed it to him. "I was just like you back then," he continued. "As soon as I got here, I visited every single city—the cities of the six great families, plus the Central City. How many have you been to, kid?"
Chen Dong cursed inwardly. 'Seven cities in total, and I have to touch everyone in twenty days? How am I supposed to manage that?' He lit his cigarette, returned the lighter with both hands, and made sure to touch the man's hand again in the process. He'd now touched him twice, but the rune on his left hand hadn't reacted. 'Guess this guy isn't Lord Ming.'
'That Lord You, honestly...' he grumbled to himself. 'Not a single clue. How long am I supposed to keep groping around like an idiot? The answer I got from that featherless bird was that it could be anyone. The only thing for sure is that, according to Lord You's divination, Lord Ming is still in this world. He could be a man, a woman, an old man, or even a baby.'
'And the most unreliable part is that the Qiankun Realm is only one possibility. The person could be in the real world, while I'm here searching blindly.'
Chen Dong couldn't help but complain in his head. 'It'll be a miracle if I can find anyone this way!' He silently started thinking of an escape plan.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, a sharp pain shot through his left palm. Chen Dong flinched. The rune reacted to a mere thought. It seemed he had no choice but to diligently search for Lord You's target.
Having decided to get serious about his work, Chen Dong quickly hit it off with the man, and they chatted happily. He learned that the man's name was Tian Hou, and he was in charge of all the meals for the entire Tian Family City.
Each of these family cities was like a Martial Dao sect, where everyone ate, slept, and trained together. Chen Dong also learned that the Qiankun Realm was the true core of Beijing's six great families.
Chen Dong then remembered that he had many cousins in the Chen Family when he was young, but he hadn't seen a single one during his recent visit to the Chen Family Mansion. So this was why.
By intentionally steering the conversation, Chen Dong learned that there were 1,370 members of the Tian Clan in the Tian Family City. Tian Hou knew the exact number because he was responsible for the main meals for everyone in the family.
Besides the Tian clan members, there were also other outsiders in the Tian Family City. Some, like Chen Dong, were just visiting. Others were there to meet friends or discuss important matters.
In total, the population of the Tian Family City wouldn't exceed 1,500 people. Other cities were about the same, with only the Central City being more populous. Not only was a headquarters of the Military Suppression Department located there, but there were also many members of other sects.
This news put Chen Dong's mind at ease. 1,500 people... if he was fast, he could touch them all in a day. But that was just the ideal scenario. People wouldn't let you touch them for no reason, and it would be impossible to even get near those with superior Body Techniques or those in closed-door cultivation.
In that short while, Chen Dong had managed to touch all thirty-two people in the back kitchen. Lord Ming was not among them. This was what Chen Dong had expected; the odds were too low, after all.
In order to touch them, Chen Dong had shaken hands with each and every one of them, using both of his hands and not missing a single person. This led them all to think that this young man, Chen Dong, was a great guy—very enthusiastic. As soon as breakfast was ready, they called him over to eat.
Chen Dong didn't refuse and even offered to help them serve the food.
It was a simple, yet not-so-simple breakfast: two eggs containing Spiritual Qi and a bowl of Spirit Rice Porridge. After his simple meal, Chen Dong's understanding of the Qiankun Realm deepened. The food produced here actually contained Spiritual Qi. Although it was sparse, it was undeniably Spiritual Qi. This was incomparably better than the real world, where Spiritual Qi was so depleted you couldn't feel the slightest trace of it, let alone use it for cultivation. But here, even the food contained it.
After that breakfast, Chen Dong carefully tried to sense the air around him. There was a tiny thread of Spiritual Qi, so faint he wouldn't have noticed it without concentrating. It wasn't as clearly perceptible as it was in the food.
No wonder the great families centered their clans here. This had to be the reason.