Wen Wen walked up to Chun Ling and poked her forehead with a finger. Her brow immediately became red and swollen, and she squatted on the ground, clutching her head and making pig-like squeals.
"The feel of this finger poke is very real, and her reaction is perfectly normal."
"Am I in an illusion?"
"But no matter how hard I try, I can't find any flaws... Or have I been teleported to a special space?"
Wen Wen, pinching his chin, extended his senses like a giant octopus. As the range spread to its limit, the perception circle gradually stretched from a large circle into an ellipse. Only when the perception distance reached its limit did Wen Wen retract it.
"With my full power, my perception range is enormous. Most independent spaces have distance limitations. If it's an illusion, I haven't found any flaws. This place is quite interesting."
Then Wen Wen immediately tried to enter the containment facility, but it remained unresponsive.
He activated the Disaster Containment Facility again and found that its abilities were still functional. However, he couldn't retrieve items from it or enter it.
This made Wen Wen much more vigilant. It indicated that this place possessed the ability to interfere with the containment facility. Based on his past experience, any place that could interfere with the facility was not to be trifled with, so he needed to be extremely cautious.
Wen Wen shifted his gaze back to the howling Chun Ling. After a moment's thought, he took out a silver ingot and tossed it to her.
"You're the first person I've met here. Take me to your room, and let's chat. I'd like to understand the environment here."
This silver was something Wen Wen had acquired from Gong Bao Ding's room in the containment facility. At the time, he had found some gold and silver.
The gold, being of high value, had already been spent by Wen Wen, while the silver had been gathering dust in a corner. He hadn't expected it to be useful here.
Whether this place was an illusion or an independent space, it looked like a scene from a historical drama. In such a setting, using silver ingots should be perfectly acceptable.
Chun Ling took the silver ingot, bit it, and then stuffed it into her small purse with a delighted grin.
Wen Wen, with his sharp eyes, saw that the purse contained some copper coins, a small amount of broken silver, and a complete silver ingot.
This complete silver ingot was of the same design as the one Wen Wen had given her!
"What does this tell me? That this is the Huá residence in ancient times."
Wen Wen's knowledge of history was only at an average level, and he couldn't discern anything from the architecture or clothing.
After receiving the silver, Chun Ling's headache disappeared. She giggled foolishly; this was her first bit of business.
Although the guest in front of her was dressed abominably, had a hairstyle not much better than a monk's, spoke with a bizarre accent that could drive one to madness, and oh, his eyes were very small...
But... he paid well!
This silver ingot was at least ten taels, making him a rare big spender even in the entire Wen Xiang Tower.
Despite its pleasant name, Wen Xiang Tower was merely a low-class brothel. Normally, two to three hundred copper coins would suffice for a night of pleasure. A generous patron like Wen Wen was truly uncommon.
Although Chun Ling's purse contained a silver ingot, it represented her entire savings.
While historical dramas often spoke of hundreds or thousands of taels, in reality, an ordinary family's monthly income was only one or two taels of silver.
As the two were about to enter, the madam, holding a small handkerchief, watched Wen Wen with a smile, signaling him to pay a bit more.
Wen Wen casually tossed another silver ingot over before taking Chun Ling upstairs.
When consuming services in a brothel, one couldn't just pay the courtesan; various miscellaneous services also came with a price.
After Wen Wen and Chun Ling left, the madam, holding the silver ingot, couldn't help but cry.
Chun Ling, the good-for-nothing, was finally making money for her...
...
After three hours of conversation with Chun Ling, Wen Wen finally had some grasp of his situation.
This place was Hou Lie County, belonging to Haishui Prefecture, Gandao Province, of the Great Sòng Dynasty. It was an obscure small county town.
The current emperor, Zhao Qiyun, was seventy years old this year. In recent years, he had neglected state affairs, leading to the gradual decline of the Great Sòng's national strength.
Wen Wen spat out his drink when he heard the name of the place, finding it too fitting for his own critical view.
However, after Chun Ling's explanation, he found the place name somewhat acceptable.
The dynastic name 'Sòng' was derived from the meaning of people united as one.
As long as the Great Sòng was united, everyone would have clothes to wear and food to eat, could resist foreign tribes, and all nations would pay tribute!
But while the meaning of the name was good, its implementation was not so easy.
The emperors of the Zhao family were all eccentrics; some liked painting, some liked raising pets, some liked being stonemasons... but very few were diligent emperors.
Zhao Qiyun, with his roots already in the soil, still sought to amuse himself with young palace maids daily, claiming it was for cultivation...
If Wen Wen were a palace maid, he would definitely find an opportunity to tie up that old lecher and poke him to death with needles.
Because these eccentric emperors neglected state affairs, even small countries dared to bully the Great Sòng. Thus, the character 'Sòng' in the Great Sòng Dynasty acquired a new meaning.
That is, weak and easily bullied!
Of course, Wen Wen was not interested in the rise and fall of ordinary dynasties.
What concerned him was that this world's history had a striking overlap with the history of the Federation, an overlap so profound it was like that of twin brothers.
If 'Sòng' were changed to 'Sòng', Zhao Qiyun to Zhao Qiyun, and recent major events were compared, it would be exactly the same!
Such a situation could hardly be a coincidence, so Wen Wen tentatively concluded that this world had a significant connection to ancient Federal history.
What bothered Wen Wen even more was how he had arrived here.
He usually read novels about transmigration, so he could accept situations like being sucked into a toilet while using it, being hit by a car while saving a child, or suddenly appearing in a foreign princess's bath while bathing...
However, at that moment, he had been about to apprehend Zhu Pengpei. His consciousness had been completely clear, and the next instant, Chun Ling's handkerchief had hit his face.
Before arriving here, Wen Wen seemed to have heard the sound of a door opening.
At the center of Yuliannu, there was a giant bronze gate, and the reason for his arrival was likely that this bronze gate had been opened!
Therefore, his immediate priority was to find a way to leave this place.
No matter how many mysteries this world held, Wen Wen still wanted to return to the Federation. At least in the Federation, he could watch short videos on his hunting terminal...
But he had no clue how to return.
He also didn't know if only he had arrived here, or if others had come with him.
If he was the only one, then finding a clue to return would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. If everyone had come together, then Wen Wen only needed to find Wai Long, and he might find a clue to return!