A horse as a reward?
The moment these words were spoken, the other refugees' eyes gleamed green. Having lost their land and homes to the war, they had been hungry for far too long. How could they still care about Feng Kingdom's laws forbidding the slaughter of horses and cattle?
Yet some refugees stared fixedly at the Beggar Child among the crowd who knew how to enter the city. Held back by Li Qing's intimidating presence, they did not dare do anything for now.
Not just Li Qing—even they wanted to enter the city. Outside its walls, only a dead end awaited them.
If they could get inside, there might still be a path to survival. Whether through stealing, robbing, cheating, or begging, they would surely find more food than they could in the desolate wasteland beyond the city.
The Beggar Child wiped the pitch-black grime from his face. A trace of hesitation flashed through his eyes, only to be replaced by resolve.
He dropped to his knees and said, "I don't want a horse. I want you to accept me as your disciple. I want to practice martial arts too!"
This surprised Li Qing somewhat. He frowned slightly and asked, "And what if I refuse?"
The beggar boy knocked his head against the ground and said in a low voice, "Then I'll still tell you how to enter the city. I only hope that you will keep me by your side and let me serve you!"
Li Qing smiled. Sweeping his gaze over the refugees around him, he said lightly, "Everyone, those bandits committed countless evils. I'll take one of the remaining four horses for the road. As for the other three, divide them among yourselves as you see fit!"
After saying this, Li Qing beckoned to the beggar boy in the crowd. Then he turned around, took hold of a horse's reins, and strode away with easy grace, leaving the remaining refugees only his retreating back.
Hearing this, the other refugees no longer cared about anything else. They immediately began fighting fiercely over ownership of the three horses, and the scene became incomparably chaotic.
Seeing Li Qing beckon to him, the beggar boy hurriedly got to his feet and followed after him with delight written all over his face.
On the official road leading to Wangyuan City, Li Qing mounted the horse. Though he did not know much about riding, his martial strength was enough to tame this poor horse.
The little beggar walked ahead, leading the horse by its reins, looking every bit like a servant.
"Tell me, what's your name?" Li Qing asked casually.
"Young master, my name is Qi Kang!"
Li Qing nodded from atop the horse, then asked the question that concerned him most. "Speak. What way do you have to enter the city? Why didn't you go in yourself, instead mixing in with a group of refugees?"
Qi Kang gave a bitter smile. "Young master, it's not that I didn't want to enter the city. I simply didn't have the ability!"
"Besides the city gate, Wangyuan City actually has a hidden entrance. Before, many people used that opening to sneak into the city in order to avoid the entry tax!"
"Unfortunately, war broke out recently. The people who had already entered through that opening, afraid that it would be used again, actually sealed it from the inside with heavy objects!"
At this point, Qi Kang gritted his teeth and said, "If not for that, my family would have entered the city long ago. They would never have died in the chaos of war."
Hatred seeped through Qi Kang's voice. His eyes reddened as the sight of his family's tragic deaths once again rose before him.
The boundless yellow sand was once more swept up by the wind, blotting out the sky and sun as the light abruptly dimmed.
Ahead stood the mighty frontier city of Feng Kingdom. Its mottled walls rose silently, carrying the weighty presence of a great mountain. This was undoubtedly an impregnable defense.
Wangyuan City occupied a natural stronghold, its walls linking directly to steep and rugged mountain ranges. To reach the heartland of Feng Kingdom, one could only find a way through this mighty pass, easy to defend and difficult to assault.
Towering, unbroken mountains and solid, heavy walls shut out the harsh environment beyond the frontier. Further inside lay the picturesque Feng Kingdom, with its pleasant climate and flourishing life.
Only when the sky gradually darkened did Li Qing have Qi Kang continue leading the way to that sealed entrance.
"Young master, this is the place."
Using the cover of night, Qi Kang led Li Qing to where the city wall joined the mountains. Far from the city gates, this was a blind spot in the patrol routes of the city guards. With the night so deep, no one could possibly discover them.
The entrance Qi Kang had mentioned was actually a crack—a fissure naturally split open from the ground, barely wide enough for one person to pass through.
It differed from what Li Qing had imagined. He had thought there was an opening in the thick city wall through which people could pass.
But merely thinking about it made it clear that was impossible. If such a thick city wall truly had an opening cut into it, it would likely have been repaired at once.
Li Qing crouched down and examined the narrow fissure in the ground, confirming that it had formed naturally.
"Mm, not bad. It's a pity the horse can't be brought into the city." Saying this, Li Qing removed the luggage bundles hanging from the horse and crawled alone into the fissure.
Inside, it was pitch-black and not even tall enough for a person to stand upright. One had to walk bent over, making it extremely strenuous. Yet precisely because the crack was so narrow, it was well hidden, and few people knew of it.
By the time he reached the middle, Li Qing had to turn sideways to continue forward.
Qi Kang soon followed him in. His thin body moved through the crack with ease.
"Young master, further ahead is the city interior. But there's a wooden board above, pinned down by a stone slab. There's no way to push it open!" Qi Kang whispered in the darkness.
Just as expected!
Li Qing reached the end of the fissure, where even accommodating one person seemed difficult.
Thus, anyone who came here could only rely on their own strength to push aside the stone slab covering the opening above.
Knock, knock, knock!
Li Qing rapped the wooden board above with his hand. It gave off a solid sound; it truly had been pressed down tightly.
To ordinary people, this board was a real mountain, and in such a cramped space, it was difficult to exert any force. Pushing it aside was simply impossible.
Of course, that was only for ordinary people.
The people who had covered this opening had never considered that a powerful martial artist would enter the city through such a fissure.
Li Qing immediately braced both hands against the wooden board overhead. Tilting his head, he pressed his head and one shoulder against the board.
"Hmph!"
Outer Strength erupted. Li Qing's power suddenly surged, and his slightly crouched body forcibly lifted the heavy wooden board.
When he straightened up, everything above his neck had already emerged from the ground, allowing him to clearly see the surroundings.
It was a relatively secluded part of Wangyuan City. After confirming that no one was nearby, Li Qing quickly moved the heavy board onto the ground beside him.
With the board no longer blocking the way, Li Qing leaped up and sprang out of the fissure.
Several millstones had actually been pressed firmly onto the board, tightly secured with hemp rope.
Looking at this scene, Li Qing could not help twitching his mouth. No wonder it was so heavy.
Qi Kang also climbed out nimbly. Seeing what lay atop the board, fury once again welled up in his eyes.
Ignoring Qi Kang's anger, Li Qing immediately moved the board, still bound with the millstones, back into place and sealed the opening tightly again.
"Let's go."
Li Qing said this calmly, then looked toward the distant clusters of buildings. Excitement surged uncontrollably in his heart.
After so long, he had finally returned to a normal civilized world once more!