County Town

"Young Brother Zhong, if you have any instructions, just send someone to Locust Flower Lane. This old man will never dare refuse."

"You're too polite."

They parted ways at the city gate. Zhong Lin took Little Shi by the hand and stepped into Black Mountain County's county town.

The moment they entered, they felt the bustling liveliness within. Hawkers' cries, shouted calls, arguments—every sound reached their ears.

As they walked into town, the city residents showed no surprise at the two brothers, as if they had long grown used to refugees.

At first, they would still lend a hand when refugees appeared. But as more and more refugees came, they could only turn a blind eye. In these times, no family had it easy; they could only tend to their own little patch of land first.

Zhong Lin led Little Shi straight to an open-air noodle stall.

"How much for a bowl of noodles?" Zhong Lin asked.

"Five Big Coins for a bowl of noodle soup. One Big Coin for each flatbread."

The noodle stall owner showed no contempt for the brothers' ragged clothes and still greeted them with a smile.

"Two bowls of noodle soup and three flatbreads," Zhong Lin said with a smile.

"Pay first."

Refugees had apparently eaten without paying before. It seemed this owner had learned his lesson.

Zhong Lin took thirteen copper coins from his robes and slapped them onto the table. The owner immediately became much more enthusiastic.

"Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment."

The two bowls of noodle soup arrived quickly. They were merely noodles boiled in plain water, with no seasoning beyond a sprinkle of salt. The flatbreads, however, carried the toasted fragrance of wheat, making one's mouth water.

The two had spent the past few days exposed to the wind and sleeping in the open. Though they lacked no meat, they had been short on carbohydrates. Now, after swallowing a bowl of steaming hot noodles, they immediately felt their whole bodies loosen and clear.

"Are you full? If not, we can order more." Zhong Lin smiled at Little Shi, who had drained the last mouthful of soup from his bowl.

Little Shi patted his swollen belly, his face brimming with contentment. "I'm full, Second Brother. Can we go look around?"

Children truly forgot quickly. Yesterday's slaughter had already been replaced by the bustling sights of the county town today. Little Shi now only wanted to stroll around and play, his face full of excitement and curiosity.

"Let's go."

Zhong Lin held Little Shi's hand to keep him from running off too fast. The two walked down the streets, their gazes sweeping everywhere.

The county town was far livelier than Zhong Lin had imagined. Vendors lined both sides of the streets, selling all manner of things—fruit and tea drinks, cloth along with tailoring services, steamed buns, stuffed buns, and meat soup, wine, women's hair ornaments and hairpins, children's toys, sugar figurines and Sugar-coated Haws...

The scattered stalls were a dazzling sight.

Zhong Lin bought Little Shi a skewer of Sugar-coated Haws as well. Little Shi gnawed on them while darting about excitedly. If Zhong Lin had not held onto him, who knew where he would have run off to by now.

Of course, not everything was beautiful. While wandering the streets, the two also saw people in East Market "planting a marker and selling themselves."

Refugees who flooded into the county town would fare all right if they had strength or a useful skill. If they had neither, women in particular were more often sold into wealthy households as servants.

If there had been any choice, no one would have wanted to become another's slave. But they had no choice. What did it matter if they became servants or maids? At least they could stay alive.

After nearly two hours, Zhong Lin had figured out the county town's general layout. Only when dusk was approaching did the two find an inn and settle in.

A private room was out of the question. It was a communal sleeping hall—simply put, a rather large room, larger than a basketball court. There were no beds inside. Instead, layer upon layer of straw covered the floor. The entire room could hold several hundred people. Once inside, one merely had to find a spot and lie down to sleep. It cost only three Big Coins for the night.

The two chose a spot in the corner and lay down. Little Shi quickly drifted into dreamland.

Many others had also checked in not far from Zhong Lin. Some lay down to sleep, while others sat directly on the floor. An infant's wailing came from a corner, and a woman had no choice but to turn her back to the wall, undo her clothes, and nurse the child.

Enduring the various odors filling the room, Zhong Lin pondered his future path.

Since he knew this world had martial cultivation, he could not possibly let such an opportunity slip by. However, he had also learned from Cui Xian that the easiest and most convenient way to learn martial arts was to pay to enter a martial school. Yet the expenses involved were no small matter.

Zhong Lin had some silver on him: what his former self had saved, the Funeral Gift Money given by the villagers of Summer River Village, and what he had taken from Mountain-Suppressing Tiger. Together, it came to nearly nine taels.

That amount was nowhere near enough to enter a martial school and train, so he still had to increase income and reduce expenses!

So what I need to do now is establish myself first, then earn money. Mm, and learn to read as well, Zhong Lin thought.

Zhong Lin had a martial arts manual in his robes, but he did not dare practice from it. Who knew whether those written explanations contained other important details? If he practiced incorrectly, it would be troublesome.

As he thought, a wave of drowsiness washed over him. He yawned and fell asleep.

They had traveled through the wilderness these past few days, taking turns standing watch every night and only sleeping a little during the day. They were severely sleep-deprived. Now that they had finally reached the county town, his mind relaxed, and he could no longer hold on.

Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, Zhong Lin was awakened from his deep sleep by a burst of commotion.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the guests in the communal sleeping hall had already risen and left the inn. Zhong Lin yawned as he sat up from the straw.

He felt around himself. His money pouch was still there, and he had not encountered any thieves.

He woke Little Shi, and the two went to the courtyard to wash their faces with well water. Their drowsiness vanished at once.

"Come on, let's get something to eat first."

The inn provided breakfast, but they had to pay for it themselves. The two ordered two bowls of rice porridge and five large vegetable buns, then wolfed everything down until they were full.

"Innkeeper, may I ask you something? My brother and I fled here from disaster and want to find somewhere to settle down. Renting rooms at an inn every day isn't a long-term solution. Do you know anywhere that rents houses? It doesn't need to be large, just enough for the two of us to live in."

Zhong Lin set down his bowl and asked the innkeeper, who had come over to clear away the dishes, with a friendly smile.

"Renting a house?"

The innkeeper looked the two brothers up and down. One was a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth, bringing along a younger brother of four or five.

"You fled here from disaster? You have no relatives in town?"

"No. It's just the two of us."

"What requirements do you have for a rental?"

"Nothing much. It only needs to give the two of us a place to stay. The cheaper, the better," Zhong Lin said with a smile.

"I see! I do know of a place, but the rent..."

"Don't worry, Innkeeper. We may be refugees, but we're not beggars. We still have some money on hand."

"That's good, then." The innkeeper nodded. "Sit for a while. Once I finish cleaning up, I'll take you over to have a look."

"Thank you, Innkeeper."