Chapter 146 - 3.42

The outskirts of the kingdom.

It was rather gloomy, and didn't suit the image that Xi painted itself in. It made her instantly wonder what might have caused it. Upon further inspection, it dawned on her that the items scattered around here, the buildings and structural formations, everything was well suited to a battlefield rather than a merchant country.

"Yes. The part that faces all the dangers is focused here. This place is... where it hurts to see every time I visit." A saddened expression surfaced on He Yiyuan's face, but quickly disappeared. However, she was still able to catch it before it went away.

"I see... So the Land of Xi has to face against this type of threats as well, huh?" Xu Jiaqi's eyes landed on a stray piece of fabric. The fabric was marked with the Empire's insignia. There were also others that had the Bei Empire's symbol on it.

Xu Jiaqi pursed her lips as she huffed. This outskirts that He Yiyuan talked about was in geographical terms, the weakest link that the Kingdom had. It allowed entry from both the Bei Kingdom and the Empire itself if they did seek to infiltrate the Xi.

Although there might have not been any open wars, conflicts were bound to happen. Conflicts that were motivated by desire to profit, to rampage about and steal, and to plunder all the riches from Xi. And the Xi couldn't open a war even if they wanted to declare it because they still lacked military power compared to the two powers that wished to pressure the Kingdom.

A tight situation in both political and geographical manners. It was no wonder that He Yiyuan's expression quickly changed when he got here.

From there, he begun to lead Xu Jiaqi around to meet the higher ups that were in charge of this place. Xu Jiaqi got to see capable generals and leaders roaming about the land, and talking to He Yiyuan about the situation that unravelled within the past period. It was clear that He Yiyuan frequently visited the place, and it was not just because he went out to visit Xian Ruo and coincidentally wished to come here.

Xu Jiaqi observed as the two continued to converse. Whereas she could only watch and hear about the terrors that they spoke about. Bandits, small troops, and others. The death toll in this area was rather high in that sense. Everyday, they were exposed to danger.

"This is the downside of being a Kingdom that was built on nothing but wealth, and the fact that we rose to our status so fast. You must be surprised, en? This is an open secret, to be honest. Most people might only know about the wealth we possess, but there is also this side." He Yiyuan awkwardly smiled as he finished his work after spending all day dealing with the troubles that he had to face.

"...I think it's a regular thing. It's.. a given that something like this would occur." Xu Jiaqi was a little uncertain of what to say. She shrugged as He Yiyuan brought her to the inn that they were going to stay in for the night.

"Well, I suppose. But I do still think that it's a bit crude for them to want to do this. As far as I'm concerned, we the Xi people have never discriminated against anybody when it comes to trading or business expenses. And yet, they still want to do this kind of thing.. because they want profit without actually having the skills to achieve the results." He Yiyuan snorted and said in a mocking tone.

"...Yeah."

The grim place was a bit of a shock to Xu Jiaqi, but she quickly recovered herself and continued on her way. She was rather glad that He Yiyuan didn't just choose to show her the good parts about Xi and showed her this section as well. 

She reached the center days later, after He Yiyuan finished teaching her about certain matters in the outskirts while he was at it, saying that Xu Jiaqi would have to deal with this place too eventually in the future.

From then, she had to settle in the Kingdom properly. He Yiyuan first threw her to the fray without assisting her in any sort of way, unlike what Xie Yongrui did by giving her a title and even announcing that he would be protecting the girl.

Fighting for her own sake, Xu Jiaqi was forced to fend for herself the harsh survival jungle she was in. Here, your worth was decided by how much you were able to bring to the table. Naturally, Xu Jiaqi was met with scorn the first time she arrived.

However, just like the same way she had to prove herself in Xian Ruo, Xu Jiaqi utilized every single one of her skills to get by and came out as a victor. The total time it took for her to do that alone was more than three years by itself. Establishing herself in a foreign country, and being known to be from a different land that was much inferior brought her a lot of unpleasant attention at first.

However, skills were indeed everything here. Xu Jiaqi got accustomed to the line of work she chose to fight for, which was related to both the economic and military side. Although Xu Jiaqi was unable to hold a real position due to her authority being temporary by the contract, Xu Jiaqi still ended up with the honorary title of being a Commander

Of course, it wasn't like she was made to lead a military force or anything like that. The honorary Commander title she had was because of the achievements she had made, and was made shine light to her existence.

Time passed fast when you didn't pay attention to it and was just working your ass day in and day out to further better the conditions of your life. This was what happened to Xu Jiaqi. In the stories she read, the people who got into the same situation as her, namely becoming an agent and having a System to help her transmigrate seemed to have a rather relaxed time reeling men in and not so much in working.

Three years since arriving to the Land of Xi and working hard until she felt like she could pass away, she became a Commander.. She also turned into an adult.