Chen Zhengyang looked at Fang Yuan with a gentle gaze and asked, "Little brother, do you still have a travel permit on you?"
Fang Yuan shook his head, his expression calm. "That travel permit was settled along with those filthy matters. Now, I'm truly a refugee."
He knew full well that having left Fang Family Village like this, without legitimate relocation papers issued by the authorities, he was a refugee by law.
Yet Chen Zhengyang merely waved a hand dismissively, his tone easy. "No matter."
He then turned, his gaze casually sweeping over Wang Laogun, the captain of the city guard who was preparing to sneak away,
his voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable force:
"Captain Wang, tell me. Can my little brother enter Qinghe County today?"
Having been called out, Wang Laogun jolted all over. He hurried over at a trot, his face piled high with a fawning smile, his waist bent so low it seemed ready to snap.
"He can enter! Of course he can enter! Anyone recommended by Master Chen—how could there be any reason they couldn't enter?
"Just now... just now was all a misunderstanding. It was all those murderous bastards from Black Tiger Hall stirring up trouble! This young man is clearly an honest fellow!"
As he spoke, he secretly wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
Chen Zhengyang no longer looked at him and instead said to Fang Yuan:
"Since you have nowhere to go for now, would you be willing to stay at my Martial Arts School?
"There are quite a few miscellaneous tasks around the school on ordinary days—sweeping the courtyards, moving equipment. We always need extra hands.
"It may not be easy work, but it will give you a place to settle, shelter from wind and rain, and