"I don't have any copper coins, but I've got plenty of silver."
Zhao Han took out a tael of silver, eyed the gold in the corpse's hands, and prepared to trade it for the silver.
But he soon hesitated.
What if the corpse rises? What if it grabs me? And what if it has Corpse Poison—how would I deal with that?
To be safe, Zhao Han took out the Hook snake's tool, ready to hook out the gold.
But as soon as the hook reached the gold, the corpse—whose hands had been cupped around it—clasped both hands together and clamped down on the tael of gold like an iron vise.
"Damn, it's not completely dead yet." Zhao Han cursed under his breath. Fortunately, he hadn't reached in himself. If it had grabbed him, he'd have been in serious trouble.
And if it had Corpse Poison, he wouldn't even have anywhere to cry about it.
"So you really think I can't deal with you?"
Zhao Han took Lime powder out of the System Space, then took out some water.
He sprinkled the Lime powder over the corpse and poured the water on top.
"Sizzle, sizzle..."
The corpse's skin began to sizzle at once, and even gave off wisps of white smoke.
It was because the heat released was so great that the temperature rose too high.
As the lime continued to give off heat, the corpse began to tremble. Its hands seemed on the verge of losing their grip on the gold.
Zhao Han reacted in a flash and hooked the gold out.
As soon as the gold came free, the chill eased. But the ghost's body began to tremble more and more, as if it were about to stand upright.
Zhao Han hurriedly tossed the tael of silver in his hand into the ghost's palm. It immediately fell still.
This so-called formation had been based on swapping gold and silver. Silver countered ghosts, so the formation was broken just like that.
Zhao Han could clearly feel the chill around him lessen and the temperature rise quite a bit.
"I picked up a tael of gold for free. I'd say my luck's pretty good." Zhao Han tossed the gold around in his hand and smiled easily.
Because of the formation, the corpse in this grave counted as a Lesser Ghost.
It was also a mindless Lesser Ghost, the kind that was an Earthbound spirit.
Its resentment wasn't very strong, though, and it hadn't given rise to a resentful Ghost soul. So it wasn't much of a threat; it could only use the low-level Ghostly Technique known as the Ghostly Wall.
Even an ordinary person could break the technique if they figured out the key.
As long as they didn't run into a Lesser Ghost that could take physical form or had developed its own consciousness—that is, resentment—there wouldn't be much of a problem.
After taking the gold, Zhao Han wrapped the corpse in its straw mat again, put it back in the grave, and covered it with earth.
That made this haunted place a dead site.
As for who the corpse had been in life, he was probably an ordinary person. The straw mat was proof enough.
Why he'd been used in a formation was anyone's guess. Perhaps he'd offended someone.
Carrying the gold, Zhao Han continued on. This time, he didn't run into the Ghostly Wall again.
He found a hollow tree, crawled inside, and spent the night there, planning to set out again in the morning.
Earlier, he'd pretended to head south in front of the Mine. He didn't know whether he'd managed to fool the people there, but it probably worked.
As it turned out, he had.
News of Wang Bao and Wang Liang's deaths spread through the Mine. The killer was Zhao Han, who'd only just been promoted to elite gang member.
This enraged Li Dalong. Wang Bao had been his trusted subordinate, a follower he'd relied on and valued.
He immediately sent Liu Gang to hunt Zhao Han down. Liu Gang had to bring back either a live man or a corpse. If he failed to catch him, he'd lose his position as a squad leader.
Liu Gang was forced to work through the night. He took more than twenty men and pursued Zhao Han along the southern highway.
It hadn't rained, so the ground was neither muddy nor marked with footprints. Liu Gang had no idea he'd been fooled.
Besides, Blackwater County was the Poisonous Snake Gang's stronghold. By ordinary reasoning, Zhao Han would never head there.
It would be like escaping the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's mouth.
At dawn, Zhao Han had slept for only three or four hours before he had to get up and continue on his way.
He took out some flatbread and water from the System Space and ate as he walked.
Along the way, he practiced Black Wolf Fist ten times.
After walking for about three hours, Zhao Han reached the outskirts of Blackwater County.
He studied the county gates. There didn't seem to be any Poisonous Snake Gang members secretly keeping watch.
Only the county soldiers were collecting entry fees from the people coming in from the surrounding countryside.
Glancing at his clothes, Zhao Han smeared some dirt over himself and messed up his hair until it looked like a bird's nest.
But then the entry fee stumped him.
He only had silver and gold, no copper coins.
He wasn't stupid enough to pay the entry fee with silver.
Forget it. I'll see if I can get away with paying in food.
Zhao Han took two flatbreads out of the System Space, tucked them into his clothes, and slowly shuffled toward the city gate with his back hunched.
He joined the end of the line and waited patiently.
A few minutes later, it was his turn.
The county soldier looked down his nose at him and waited in silence.
He was obviously waiting for Zhao Han to pay.
Zhao Han put on a pitiful expression and pleaded:
"Sir, bandits robbed me on the road. They took all my money, and I had no choice but to come to Blackwater County to seek refuge with relatives. Could you make an exception and take pity on me? Please let me in?"
"Hmph. That's the law of the Great Zhou Kingdom. Man or dog, everyone has to pay three copper coins to enter the city. If you don't have any money, go back where you came from. Don't waste our time and keep us from collecting fees."
The county soldier at the gate waved Zhao Han away like a fly.
Want to enter the city without money? Not a chance.
Zhao Han felt a pang of sorrow. So the entry fee was actually the law of the Great Zhou Kingdom. That explained why the whole realm was in chaos.
You had to pay just to enter a city. If things weren't chaotic, what would be?
"Sir, I still have two flatbreads. They're all the food I have. You can have them. Please, take pity on me and let me in."
With an expression of helpless resignation, Zhao Han took out the flatbreads and handed them over.
"Well... I suppose that'll do. Hand them over!"
The county soldier's eyes lit up. Those flatbreads were pretty big; one was worth two yellow-flour steamed buns.
A yellow-flour steamed bun cost one copper coin, but prices had gone up recently, and now they cost two.
Two flatbreads were worth eight copper coins. He'd just scored five for free.
He immediately snatched the flatbreads, then stepped aside to let Zhao Han through.
Zhao Han thanked him. "Thank you, sir. Thank you!"
"Get moving. Don't stand around in the way and keep me from collecting the entry fees."
"Yes, yes... I understand!"
Once inside, Zhao Han found an alley and straightened out his clothes. Then he went to a Clothing store and bought a black martial outfit to wear.
He also used the cold water in a vat in the Clothing store's back courtyard to wash his hair. In no time, the beggar had become a young Martial Artist.
Clothes made the man, just as a saddle made the horse. When Zhu Yuanzhang put on fine clothes, he was no longer Zhu Chongba. Zhao Han understood that saying all too well.
He checked his reflection in the shopkeeper's bronze mirror and was fairly satisfied with the black martial outfit, though it had cost quite a lot: a full five-tenths of a tael of silver.
One-tenth of a tael was a hundred copper coins, so five-tenths came to five hundred.
Clothes cost far more than food.
After all, in ancient times, a single garment was often worn by three generations. Even after its owner was gone, the clothes remained.
That spoke both to the clothes' durability and to how carefully ordinary people saved their money.
"Shopkeeper, may I ask if anyone in the city sells pythons?"
Zhao Han's question stunned the shopkeeper.
"You—you want to buy a python?" the shopkeeper asked, trembling.
This was the first time he'd ever heard of anyone wanting one.
Were pythons that easy to come by?
Even if you could buy one, could you afford it?
"That's right. Do you know where I might find one?"
"I've never heard of anyone selling one. I only know there are a few shops selling wild beasts near the East Gate. They've got plenty of snakes, even venomous ones, but I've never seen a python."
"Then thank you for the information."
Before you continue