Chapter 65: Chapter 64: Stand Still and Get Beaten

Seeing the eager looks in their eyes, Wu Chen didn’t hold back and gave them each pointers.

How much they could actually grasp, however, was up to them.

For him, it was just a way to kill the boredom on the road.

The next day at noon, two horse-drawn flatbed carts arrived, having rushed from Black Stone City.

The party handled the massive Bear’s corpse, collected the scattered medicinal herbs, and the wagons creaked on their way toward Fenglin County.

The caravan’s wagons were much slower than a lone rider, and it took a full seven or eight days for them to finally emerge from the forest.

The rosy sunset illuminated the clear air and the refreshing breeze.

The distant landscape stretched out before them.

A city wall, rising from the plains, came into view. This was Wu Chen’s intended stopover.

Fenglin County.

"It looks to be about two or three times larger than Black Stone City."

From his horse, Wu Chen gazed at the ancient city of Fenglin County, estimating it could hold a population of thirty to forty thousand.

Recalling what he had been told about the prominent families within Fenglin County, and considering its sizable population, he figured a city like this would naturally give rise to all sorts of businesses.

He looked toward the lean old man leading the caravan, Sun Cang, and asked curiously,

"Sir, are there any martial arts halls in Fenglin County?"

"Yes, three of them!" Sun Cang had been in Fenglin County for over a decade and knew the place like the back of his hand, so he immediately gave an exact number.

Wu Chen nodded. "And what realm are the masters of these halls?"

He spoke openly, not bothering to lower his voice, so the dozen or so people in the caravan all heard him. Their expressions froze for a moment.

’Asking about the hall masters’ realms right off the bat... is he planning to challenge them?!’

They exchanged glances, recalling the sight of Wu Chen sending the Bear flying with a single kick before beating it to death with his bare fists.

And with just a few casual pointers, everyone’s skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

’It seemed that if he really was here to challenge them, the masters of those three halls would have no choice but to stand there and take a beating!’

But that was none of his business. Sun Cang began to explain to Wu Chen,

"The master of Chen’s Boxing Hall is Chen Yang. He practices the ancestral Thunder Fist and has reached Three Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm."

"The master of the White Horse Martial Arts Hall is Qiu River. He is also at Three Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm."

"And the Zhenyuan Martial Arts Hall’s master is Wang Dewang. He broke through to Five Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm three months ago."

After Sun Cang finished describing the three martial arts halls, Wu Chen nodded. Then he saw the old man lean in and whisper,

"Young Master, of the three, Chen Yang is the weakest. If you’re planning to challenge a hall, you could start with Chen’s Martial Arts Hall."

Wu Chen just smiled without replying. He knew they had gotten the wrong idea.

He had no intention of challenging any halls, of course.

He was simply using their strength levels to gauge the local standard. Since even a Four Meridians expert in the Meridian Passage Realm could open a hall and teach Martial Arts...

...then he estimated the other major families in Fenglin County would be of a similar strength.

The reason he’d asked about martial arts halls was that he had seven hundred taels worth of silver banknotes and wondered if he could buy a couple of Meridian Passage Realm Martial Arts manuals from one of them.

After all, that was how martial arts halls made their money.

If he couldn’t buy any, he could of course trade for them using his "Bone-Eroding Wind Blade Stance" and "Swift Swallow Plucks a Leaf Step Stance."

’As for whether they had the ability to hold on to those two Martial Arts, that wasn’t something he, as the seller, needed to worry about.’

Amid the creaking of wagon wheels, the party arrived at the gates of Fenglin County.

Just as in Black Stone City, the base of Fenglin County’s walls was swarming with refugees, and in even more horrifying numbers.

As far as the eye could see, there was a dense crowd numbering over a thousand, and that was just in this one section of the wall.

He estimated the total number of displaced people was likely three to four thousand.

Fortunately, however, wealthy families from inside the city had set up soup kitchens outside the walls.

Although the rice in the large iron cauldrons was sparse—it was little more than watery gruel—it at least gave the displaced a hot meal to eat.

’The Blood Slaughter Sect is generous, I’ll give them that. But they’re just fattening pigs for the slaughter...’

Wu Chen shook his head and was about to look away when he saw a familiar figure.

A young woman was weaving through the crowd of displaced people, handing bowls of gruel to those too weak to walk.

Liu Wei, busy ladling out gruel, sensed someone’s gaze on her. She turned to look but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

The caravan slowly entered the city, but the enormous Bear carcass, which required two horses to pull, inevitably drew countless stares:

"What a massive Bear!"

"The Lin family hunted such a massive beast?"

"They must have lost quite a few men to bring that down!"

...

Ignoring the murmurs from the crowd, Sun Cang instructed the caravan to proceed to the Lin family estate while he went alone to an inn within the city.

To avoid attracting attention, Wu Chen hadn’t entered with the caravan. Instead, he had gone ahead into the city and arranged to meet Sun Cang at this location.

"Please wait a moment, Young Master. The silver banknotes will be delivered shortly."

Inside the private room, Wu Chen nodded without saying much, simply savoring the dishes on the table.

He would occasionally glance out the window at the bustling street below, filled with crowds and the unceasing calls of vendors.

’This place is leagues better than Black Stone City.’

’There are even armored soldiers on patrol.’

’Whether they’re useful or not, at least they provide a sense of security.’

Wu Chen saw armored soldiers armed with longspears moving through the crowd.

However, these weren’t the famed Black-Armored Soldiers of Qingzhou, just ordinary foot soldiers. They wore gray leather armor made from some unknown beast hide.

While they were a far cry from the Black-Armored Soldiers, they were sufficient to deter petty criminals in a small city like Fenglin County.

Sun Cang kept Wu Chen’s cup full. He had already paid for the meal and was now regaling Wu Chen with interesting tales about Fenglin County, playing the part of a gracious host to create a pleasant atmosphere.

Before long, a knock came at the door of their private room.

Sun Cang figured it must be someone from the caravan, here to deliver the silver banknotes now that the Bear had been handed over to the estate.

He quickly got up to open the door and let the visitor in.

But when he got a clear look at the newcomer, he froze.

"Eldest Young Master?"

He had expected a subordinate to deliver the silver banknotes, not Eldest Young Master Lin himself!

But then he remembered the incident at the estate. Of course Eldest Young Master Lin would come to pay a visit upon hearing that an expert capable of killing a Bear bare-handed had arrived in Fenglin County.

A bitter look crossed Sun Cang’s old face. As a veteran Guard of the Lin family’s caravan, he too was worried about the situation at the estate.

But he knew very well that Young Master Lin was being too hasty, too rushed.

’A powerful man like Wu Chen has his own way of handling things. How could he possibly agree to help after just a few words?’

’Besides, the man has just arrived and hasn’t even had a moment to rest. It’s improper to show up asking for favors already!’

Lin Gaoyuan paid no mind to Sun Cang’s surprised expression or his frantic signaling.

Seeing Wu Chen inside, eating and drinking, he knew this was the person he was looking for.

He hurried over.

"I am Lin Gaoyuan of the Lin family. Thank you, Young Master, for lending your aid to our family’s caravan. This is just a small token of our gratitude. It’s not much, but I hope you will accept it."

Lin Gaoyuan’s posture was extremely deferential.

Wu Chen glanced up and saw Lin Gaoyuan holding out five gleaming yellow banknotes. This must be the payment for the Bear.

But the amount was far greater than the three hundred taels Sun Cang had mentioned. Wu Chen was taken aback for a moment, not understanding the man’s intention.

Then Lin Gaoyuan continued,

"I’ve prepared a lavish banquet for you in a private room on the third floor, Young Master, complete with beautiful companions. I hope you will..."

At this, Wu Chen finally understood the unspoken intention.

’We’re strangers who only just met. He could have just sent the payment. There was no need for a young master of the family to come in person, let alone arrange such an over-the-top reception.’

’He must be here to ask for a favor.’

"Young Master Lin, killing that beast was a trivial matter."

Wu Chen waved a hand, refusing Lin Gaoyuan, and took three hundred taels worth of silver banknotes—his rightful payment—from the young master’s hand.

He stood, picked up his black saber, and turned to leave the room, saying as he went,

"Besides, I’ve already eaten."

"So I won’t be joining you."

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