Stepping out of a lavishly decorated building, the sun slowly rose from the horizon as the night passed.
"Time really flies."
Yang Tao stood at the entrance of the Red Romance Bathhouse and couldn't help but sigh. After a full service of bathing, scrubbing, and massage, he felt incredibly comfortable.
"You two can go back now. Call me if anything comes up. I'm heading back first."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan immediately ran to Yang Tao's side and said with a reluctant expression, "Big Brother, when will you be back next time? How about taking your little brother to broaden his horizons again?"
"Broaden your horizons?"
Yang Tao looked Zhang Chulan up and down, then pondered for a moment before saying, "It's not impossible. Alright."
Xu Si, who was nearby, immediately perked up his ears and said, "Brother, take me along too."
"You don't count. I'm taking Zhang Chulan because he's the protagonist and the child of Destiny. You should just go back and honestly sit in your office."
"protagonist? Child of Destiny? Am I that awesome, Big Brother? I knew it, I, Zhang Chulan, am no ordinary person!"
Zhang Chulan immediately put on a pretentious air, as if he was the third most important person after heaven and earth. Yang Tao reached out and slapped him on the back of the head, saying, "The protagonist of a tragic movie is also a protagonist, and there are stories where the protagonist dies in the end."
"Ah?"
"What 'ah'? Let's go, I'll take you to explore the New World. Xu Si, I'll take him out to play for a few days, you can ask for leave for him."
Seeing that Yang Tao really didn't want to take him, Xu Si took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and said, "Brother, you must bring him back in One Piece, don't lose anything…"
"Don't worry…"
Yang Tao waved his hand and left with Zhang Chulan, finding a secluded spot to summon the wooden door and return to the Overworld.
"Big Brother, where are we going?"
"I don't know either."
Yang Tao pointed to another wooden door not far away and said, "Do you see that wooden door? I haven't been to the world behind it either. Let's go together and see the situation. If it's too dangerous, I'll send you back."
Zhang Chulan nodded slightly, his expression becoming somewhat serious. To be honest, Zhang Chulan was quite handsome when he was serious.
Leading Zhang Chulan towards the new wooden door, Yang Tao pushed it open and peeked inside.
Modern, urban, night…
Yang Tao checked the surrounding environment, and after confirming there was no danger, he waved to Zhang Chulan behind him and said, "Come on over, there shouldn't be any danger."
Zhang Chulan immediately stepped out from behind the wooden door and looked around. Seeing the advertisements written in Chinese, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Big Brother, are we back again?"
"No, this is a completely New World."
[World Exploration Value 0.521%]
Yang Tao stared at the three large characters on a gatehouse not far away, a smile appearing on his face.
"I never expected it would be this world."
"This world? Big Brother, do you know this place?"
"Hmm, I do, in a way. Let's go, let's have breakfast first, then I'll tell you about this world."
The sky was dark, and there were few pedestrians on the road. Even if there were, they were hurrying along. Yang Tao led Zhang Chulan towards the distant breakfast shop that had already lit up.
Behind them, the three characters for Rakshasa Street on the gatehouse were clearly visible under the dim light.
The souls in this world seem to be quite numerous.
… …
"Boss, what do you have to eat? Just bring it."
The breakfast shop owner had just set up the pot when he heard someone speak, and immediately smiled, "We just opened, no rush, have a seat first."
"No rush."
Yang Tao smiled and walked into the small breakfast shop with Zhang Chulan, finding a corner seat and sitting down.
As soon as they sat down, Zhang Chulan eagerly asked, "Big Brother, what kind of world is this?"
"What kind of world? It's similar to your world, except here they have not the Outsiders but the Spirit Mediums and Soul Calming Generals. And the Nether here is real, it seems to be called the Underworld, no, it seems to be the Spirit World, anyway, you just need to know that such a place exists."
Zhang Chulan's mouth dropped open in surprise upon hearing this.
"Nether? There really is a Nether?"
"Of course, don't you also have souls in your world? Isn't it normal for there to be a Nether?"
Zhang Chulan thought about it and realized it was true. During the Grand Luotian Ritual, he had already seen Sister Baoer force Tiny's Nasal Qi back, causing his soul to be blasted out of his body.
"Then what are Spirit Mediums and Soul Calming Generals?"
"They're one and the same. Soul Calming Generals are a profession, just like All Heavens Connect's couriers. They are Spirit Mediums chosen by the Spirit World, and they have Guardian Spirits within their bodies. Guardian Spirits usually come from ancient heroes and deities, protecting the descendants of specific individuals with whom they have a bond."
"The strength of a Guardian Spirit is closely related to the strength of the Spirit Medium. It can be said that their strengths complement each other."
At this moment, the boss finished his busy work and came over to ask, "What would you like to eat?"
"Millet porridge and tea eggs, two fried dough sticks. Xiao Zhang, what do you want to eat?"
"Same here!"
The boss heard Zhang Chulan's amusing words and immediately smiled, saying, "Alright, coming right up. Did you two just come back from an all-nighter?"
"You could say that, but it wasn't an all-nighter at an internet cafe."
The boss's face showed a knowing smile upon hearing this, and then he began to get busy.
By the time Yang Tao and Zhang Chulan finished eating, it was almost dawn outside.
After paying, Yang Tao led Zhang Chulan towards the Soul Calming Street. However, Zhang Chulan asked with some apprehension, "Big Brother, are we not using counterfeit money?"
"Heh heh, put your mind at ease. A dozen yuan isn't enough to cause inflation. Besides, even the bank wouldn't be able to tell if your money is real or fake."
The timelines of The Outcast and Soul Calming Street, two worlds, are quite similar, with no significant differences except for the Outsiders and Spirit Mediums.
They returned to the archway of Rakshasa Street.
Rakshasa Street, though named a street, is actually an extremely vast city, and the tall archway in front of them is one of the entrances to Rakshasa Street.
"Xiao Zhang, can you see inside?"
Yang Tao pointed to the empty street inside Rakshasa Street. Zhang Chulan scratched his head and said, "Is there something here? Isn't it just an alley?"
"This is one of the passages from the Human Realm to the Spirit World. The passage between the Human Realm and the Spirit World is a place where some un-transcended wandering souls live, also known as Soul Calming Street. There are many Soul Calming Streets, and where we are standing now is the famous entrance to Rakshasa Street."
Zhang Chulan looked inside the archway, but no matter how he looked, it just seemed like an ordinary alley, with no special feeling whatsoever.
In fact, Yang Tao couldn't see it either.
The entrance to Soul Calming Street is sealed by a special method. Normally, it just looks like an empty street, and only when one walks in does it differentiate between ordinary people and Spirit Mediums.
You can think of it as a special teleportation gate.
Just then, Yang Tao turned sideways and pulled Zhang Chulan aside. A small delivery scooter appeared out of nowhere from the Rakshasa Street archway, whizzing past Yang Tao and Zhang Chulan.
[World Exploration Value 4.251%]
"Can you even ride a motorcycle, you jerk?!"
Zhang Chulan felt like he was almost going to report to the so-called Spirit World.
Screech~
Accompanied by a harsh braking sound, the delivery scooter stopped. Cao Yanbing, sitting on it with a world-weary expression, looked Yang Tao and Zhang Chulan up and down. After realizing they weren't Spirit Mediums, he said indifferently, "Sorry, I still need to buy breakfast, so I'll be going now."
Vroom…
In an instant, the small scooter shot out.