Ning Chuan wandered through the forest for a while and found a small pool.
He washed his strip-cloth clothes clean, scrubbed the blood from his body, and headed for the nearest Qingshi Town.
Although Qingshi Town was only a town, high walls had been built all around it, protecting it tightly.
This world was crawling with bandits, so its defenses naturally could not be taken lightly.
"Kid, stop right there!"
Before the city gate tunnel, two burlap-clad brutes were picking their teeth when they blocked Ning Chuan's path.
"Something wrong?" Ning Chuan narrowed his eyes.
"Kid, all four gates of Qingshi Town have been contracted out to our Joint Defense Camp.
Anyone who wants to enter town has to pay five copper coins!" one of the brutes said.
Holy shit, this world really knew how to play?
They had actually contracted out the gates to collect tolls. What a creative revenue scheme.
Just like that other world—draw a box by the roadside and charge parking fees, then still fucking operate at a loss.
"Brother, you've worked hard. I bet your Joint Defense Camp loses money when it settles the accounts at year's end after contracting the gates for toll collection!"
"Huh, kid, how did you know?"
The burlap-clad brute looked utterly bewildered. Even he had only learned of such a top-secret matter by accident.
"Kid, how did you know?"
Ning Chuan leaned closer and said, "If it didn't lose money, how would your Joint Defense Camp Captain afford to take a concubine?"
The burlap-clad brute was even more confused. What the fuck did the Captain taking a concubine have to do with operating at a loss?
"Kid, quit spouting that useless nonsense. If you want into town, pay up obediently!"
"I don't have any money!" Ning Chuan spread his hands.
Ning Chuan's pockets were cleaner than his face; he could not even produce a single copper coin.
A single penny could stump a hero. No matter which world it was, without money, one could not take a single step.
"No money? I think that saber on your back is pretty good. It can barely count as five copper coins!"
A flash of greed passed through the other burlap-clad brute's eyes.
Ning Chuan took the simple saber from his back and waved it in his hand a few times.
"You mean this saber?"
It was the weapon used by the Second Boss of Three Tiger Mountain. Even if it was not a treasured blade, it was at least a fine weapon. This burlap-clad brute did have a discerning eye.
"That's right. Hand it over!"
As he spoke, the burlap-clad brute stepped forward, grabbed the blade, and yanked hard. It did not budge in the slightest.
He pulled harder, yet it still did not budge in the slightest.
"Huh, kid, you've got some strength. If you know what's good for you, let go already!" The burlap-clad brute wore a vicious expression.
A teasing smile appeared on Ning Chuan's face.
"What, haven't eaten? You can't even lift a saber, yet you dare rob someone."
With that, he sent both men flying to the ground with two bang, bang kicks.
He sheathed the saber back on his back and entered Qingshi Town without looking back.
The Second Boss had said that slaughtering Qingshi Town would only take some effort. Since Ning Chuan could kill the Second Boss, he naturally did not fear a mere Qingshi Town.
The two burlap-clad brutes clutched their stomachs and sat on the ground, not daring to make a sound. Their faces shifted from green to purple. Only after Ning Chuan had gone far away did one of them say bitterly:
"Let's go. I suspect this guy is a bandit. Report him to the Captain."
After Ning Chuan entered town, he found desolation everywhere. Many shops had shut their doors tight.
After wandering through several streets, he found a blacksmith shop and sold the two sabers.
Weapons were still valuable. The ordinary simple saber sold for two taels of silver, while the one taken from the Second Boss sold for eight taels and five hundred copper coins.
He found a clothing shop, bought a new set of burlap clothes and changed into them. Then he wandered through several more streets and bought twenty jin of millet, carrying it in a sack.
He then found a general store, bought several waterskins, filled them with water, and tied them around his waist. It cost exactly three hundred copper coins.
Ning Chuan touched the bulging front of his clothes, feeling deeply satisfied, filled with the confidence of a rich old master.
"Who would have thought that I nearly starved to death the day before yesterday, yet in the blink of an eye I've become a wealthy young master with ten taels of silver and another two hundred copper coins!"
After strolling around the city, he found a small restaurant.
The proprietor and waiter both came forward with smiles, but when they saw Ning Chuan dressed in burlap, their smiles immediately faded and turned lukewarm.
Ning Chuan tossed the sack of millet onto the table.
"Proprietor, bring me a table full of your best wine and dishes!"
"Right!" The proprietor and waiter answered together, but remained standing where they were.
"Hurry up. Why aren't you moving?" Ning Chuan asked curiously.
"Well, please forgive us, honored guest. In these famine years, wine and food are a little expensive." Looking somewhat embarrassed, the proprietor rubbed his thumb against his fingers at Ning Chuan.
"Oh, you're worried I can't pay the bill!"
Ning Chuan took out his money pouch and slapped it onto the dining table. Two gleaming silver ingots rolled out, and two hundred copper coins scattered across the table.
"Bring it all. I'm not short on money!" Ning Chuan declared with towering boldness.
"Coming right up!"
The proprietor and waiter shouted together and dashed into the inner hall like smoke. Soon, the chopping board and wok spatula clanged wildly, and the aroma of meat drifted out.
At that moment, the eyes of the two burlap-clad brutes hiding in the distance lit up sharply. They exchanged a glance, and one of them hurried away.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Ning Chuan drooled uncontrollably.
At present, he was not much different from a starving ghost.
For this meal, the proprietor and waiter pulled out all the stops, even bringing out their ancestral cellar-aged wine, determined to keep as much of Ning Chuan's silver as possible.
Business at restaurants was poor during famine years. Having finally encountered a fat sheep, how could they not butcher him viciously?
Before long, beef, braised duck, and ham were brought out one after another.
The waiter opened a jar of aged wine, and its rich fragrance instantly filled the room.
Just as Ning Chuan was wolfing everything down and crying out in delight.
In a private room on the third floor of the restaurant across the street.
A group of burlap-clad brutes ate and chatted, the atmosphere extremely lively.
There were only a few plates of pickled vegetables on the table, yet the burlap-clad brutes, eating millet porridge, somehow created the atmosphere of a Manchu-Han imperial feast.
At their head sat none other than Ning the Flayer, the Village Chief of Ning Family Village.
The people below him were all members of Qingshi Town's Town Defense Camp.
Seeing how lively the atmosphere was, Ning the Flayer stood up and cupped his hands.
"Today, I'm happy, brothers. Eat and drink your fill! From now on, we're all brothers!"
Someone sneered inwardly, cursing Ning the Flayer's ancestors for eighteen generations.
That damned Ning the Flayer invites us to dinner, serves only a few bowls of porridge and free pickles, then tells us to eat and drink our fill. A dignified Deputy Captain of the Town Defense Camp is actually this fucking stingy!
Though that was what he thought, his face was full of fawning smiles as he stood and said:
"Congratulations to Lord Ning on your promotion to Deputy Captain. This brother offers you a cup of tea in place of wine. Please look after me in the future!"
Ning the Flayer's face darkened slightly, embarrassment flashing past in an instant as he cursed inwardly.
This man has no sense at all. Why bring up wine at a time like this? Isn't he reminding everyone that I invited them to dinner without serving wine? He's deliberately making me unhappy!
Just then, the private room door creaked open.
A burlap-clad brute hurried in at a jog, his face full of joy as he shouted:
"Captain Ning, wonderful news, wonderful news!"
The men around the table turned around, utterly baffled, staring at the burlap-clad brute and waiting for what came next.
Ning the Flayer asked in confusion, "What wonderful news?"
Could it be that the Captain died, and I, the Deputy Captain, am about to become the real thing? Ning the Flayer fell into a beautiful fantasy.
The burlap-clad brute took several deep breaths, grabbed a cup of tea from the table and drained it in one gulp before saying:
"A kid entered town just now. Who knows what dogshit luck he stumbled into—he picked up two simple sabers, sold them for more than ten taels just now, and is eating at the tavern across the street!"
"More than ten taels?" Ning the Flayer grabbed the brute by the shoulder. At the mention of silver, his eyes shone, and he became extremely excited.
The atmosphere in the private room instantly turned heated as well.
"That's right. I saw it with my own eyes. My older brother is watching him across the street and sent me here to report to Captain Ning."
A group of men rushed to the window. Sure enough, they saw a young man alone in the tavern across the street, enjoying a huge table of food and wine.
Chicken, duck, fish, and meat filled the table. Just then, a gust of wind blew through, carrying over the fragrance of wine and meat.
"Gulp." Smelling the aroma, all the burlap-clad brutes swallowed mouthfuls of saliva.
Then they turned back to look at the porridge and pickles on their own table, and their hearts began to feel unbalanced.
A sharp gleam burst from Ning the Flayer's eyes, and his face bloomed like a flower. He patted the burlap-clad brute on the shoulder with an approving look.
"Very good, you did very well! Other than you two brothers, does anyone else know about this?"
"No one else knows," the burlap-clad brute answered.
"Very good. Keep watching him! Also..." He paused, swept his gaze across the room, and said meaningfully, "There's no need to notify Captain Qu over such a trivial matter."
"Yes," everyone answered, understanding at once that Ning the Flayer wanted to swallow the biggest share for himself.
However, they were happy to see it happen. The more people involved, the less each of them would receive.
Ning the Flayer was extremely satisfied.
He simply did not know yet that when he met Ning Chuan shortly, would he cry—or keep crying?
Before you continue