Enemies Meet on Narrow Roads

After dinner, it wasn't too late yet, and many of the energetic students couldn't stay still, so they went out for a stroll in groups of three or five.

Tongda Town is officially under the jurisdiction of the government, but it is actually within the sphere of influence of the Hundred Rivers Sect, so it is generally safe. However, in order not to affect their departure the next day, Teacher Tie still requires them to be back before seven o'clock.

In the center of Tongda Town, there is a Great Bell that rings once every two hours during the day, and can be heard almost throughout the entire town. At night, it rings once at the latest at Xu Hour (7 pm), and then the watchman takes over the night watch, and the bell rings again at Mao Shi (5 am) the next morning.

Therefore, the rule is to return at 7 PM, which is before the last bell rings at night.

Of course, even without a bell, many students had their own ways of keeping time. When they first received the Hundred Treasure Box, they could freely set its shape and structure. There were limits to its size, strength, and complexity; they couldn't make anything too big or too hard, nor could they make anything too precise, but they could make relatively simple things. According to many Senior ' experiments, the most complex thing they could make was something like a mechanical watch.

Since most otherworldly technologies are relatively backward and timekeeping is inconvenient, experienced Cultivators often advise their disciples or younger members of their Lineage to set the Hundred Treasure Box as a timekeeping device like a wristwatch or pocket watch after their first participation in Chaos Mission. Luo Jun's decision was a lucky accident.

Since they had nothing better to do, Luo Jun, Lu Fei, Zhao Jian, Xu Yiming went for a stroll in the streets together.

Tongda Town is located at a major transportation hub, with a large flow of people. Goods from Southwestern Branch converge here, making the commerce very developed. Shops stay open late, and the main streets are decorated with lanterns and are bustling with activity.

"How much is this?" Luo Jun picked up a skewer of snacks. The preparation was somewhat similar to candied hawthorn, but the candy was coated with a fruit he had never seen before. Even through the candy, Luo Jun could smell a unique fragrance...

"These are Sour Spirit Fruit from the south. They're sweet and sour, and especially delicious. They're not expensive, only five coins a bunch..."

The waiter inside took out a small scale, placed the silver on it, and weighed it. "Sir, please take a look. It's two taels, six mace, and four li... which is two thousand six hundred and forty cash. Is that all for you?"

"Silver in the Martial World is very valuable. One tael can be exchanged for a thousand coins, which ordinary small merchants can't afford." Lu Fei explained to the three of them on the way, "Your silver is worth at least two or three taels, which is equivalent to using two thousand coins to buy candied hawthorns. Of course, people will find it difficult."

"What are these?" Zhao Jian and Xu Yiming had never heard of these terms before and looked completely bewildered. Lu Fei over, took out his money pouch, and said, "I have some copper coins..."

"Oh dear..." The merchant picked up the silver. "Sir, my business is small, I can't handle so much silver. Why don't you go to the Gathering Treasure Pavilion over there and exchange it for some copper coins... or go to those stationary merchants, they have scales and silver scissors, they can trade silver."

As they spoke, the group arrived at the Gathering Treasure Pavilion. After entering, they found a counter, where Luo Jun handed over the silver.

Luo Jun stopped him, saying, "It's a deal. I'm so happy to have found silver today, so all the expenses are on me... It's only a short walk to the Gathering Treasure Pavilion, we can just exchange some money there..."

"Alright... If the silver is less than a thousand, I'll charge you a five-coin handling fee." With that, the shopkeeper took out a pair of scissors, cut off a piece to put on the scale, and cut again if necessary. After weighing it several times, he handed the remaining silver and a large pile of copper coins back to Luo Jun.

"So many?" Luo Jun picked up the copper coins and found that there was a large string, a small string, and dozens of loose change.

Luo Jun pulled out half a piece of silver. "Give me four skewers!"

Two thousand copper coins were cumbersome to carry, so Luo Jun said, "Give me six hundred and forty."

As he spoke, he pulled the three of them forward.

"This should be enough for the journey." Stepping out of the Gathering Treasure Pavilion, Lu Fei laughed. "If we calculate based on food purchases, one copper coin is roughly equivalent to one Zhendan Coin in the Main World... However, the productivity in the [Martial World] differs from that of the Main World. Food is relatively more valuable here, and ordinary people don't have many expenses besides food, clothing, and shelter. Therefore, labor is relatively cheap. If we calculate based on wages, most ordinary people don't even earn one string of cash a month..."

"These weren't covered in the training, were they?" Luo Jun asked in surprise, "Senior, you know so much!"

Lu Fei laughed and said, "My future ambition is to be an explorer in the Martial World, so I've done some research in advance."

"Amazing!" Luo Jun nodded. Zhao Jian, standing to the side, scratched his head. "But I remember in ancient times it was always one tael and sixteen coins, why is it still decimal here?"

Lu Fei glanced at him. "This isn't ancient times, it's another world!"

As they spoke, the group returned to the vendor's stall and found a girl in a yellow dress buying Sour Spirit Fruit, with several young men following behind her, vying to pay.

She looks familiar... Luo Jun's eyes suddenly widened. Wasn't this Ying Er, the one who caused trouble at the inn?

Lu Fei, Zhao Jian, and Xu Yiming also recognized the girl. They exchanged glances, none of them wanting to cause trouble, and immediately turned around. But Ying Er had already noticed them.

"Stop!"

The girl called out from behind, but the group ignored her and quickened their pace.

Just then, three figures darted out and blocked the way for the four. Looking back, they saw three more people behind them, the same ones who had rushed to pay for the girl.

These men were agile and wielded long swords, their bodies shimmering with a luminous aura; it was clear they were all skilled martial artists.

"Well, I didn't expect to run into you here!" The girl walked past the three young men and stood in front of the four. When she saw the large string of copper coins that Luo Jun was still carrying, her eyebrows shot up immediately. "The money in your hands must have been exchanged for my silver!"

As she spoke, she looked at a tall man beside her. "Senior Brother Wu, they're the people from the inn; they made me lose my allowance!"

Senior Brother Wu snorted coldly and looked at Luo Jun: "Kid, give my junior sister back her money! Apologize to her!"

Luo Jun glanced at the group and chuckled, "Your junior sister was just about to kill someone, it scared my heart out. A little Mental Loss Fee isn't too much to ask, is it?"

As he spoke, he even pretended to be scared, putting his hands inside his clothes and moving them to simulate a heartbeat.

"You smooth talker!" Ying Er was furious the moment she saw him. "Senior Brother, just returning the money isn't enough, I'm going to slap him a hundred times and make him kneel down and kowtow to me to admit his mistake!"

"Junior Sister..." Senior Brother Wu looked troubled. "They are also people from the martial world. Before they left, Master told us not to cause trouble... And what about Senior Sister Liu..."

"Fine, so you really do care more about my senior sister than me!" Ying Er immediately cried out, "So what you said before was all a lie..."

"No... these are two different things..." Senior Brother Wu looked troubled, but Ying Er cried even harder, and the surrounding passersby all looked over. He couldn't save face, and finally glanced at Luo Jun, gritting his teeth and saying:

"Take him down!"

The other junior disciples rushed forward.

(End of this chapter)