Arriving at Hequ County, Already Being Targeted?

One Inner Strength Realm martial artist, four Strength Refining Realm martial artists, and twenty experienced guards—with such a force, even though the dozen or so carriages loaded with goods were clearly worth a fortune, no blind fool of a bandit dared come rob them along the way.

Whether they could succeed or not aside, making an enemy of the Shi Quan Merchant Association was no good thing, especially within Hequ County's territory.

The Shi Quan Merchant Association had five merchant convoys with this kind of lineup alone, which showed just how formidable it was as one of the county's Four Great Merchant Associations.

The carriages moved quickly, and the journey of over a hundred li was completed before nightfall.

Looking at the three-meter-tall stone walls before him and the three words "Hequ County" above them, Chen Mo stepped down from the carriage after already bidding farewell to the merchant convoy. A smile appeared on his face as he sighed inwardly:

"I'll be staying here for some time from now on."

After paying one copper coin for entry, Chen Mo walked the streets of the Outer City, observing the state of the County Town.

Compared to Chen Family Village, the County Town was far more prosperous and crowded. The area around the city gates in particular was bustling, with all kinds of carriages, horses, and pedestrians coming and going.

But to Chen Mo, a transmigrator, it was still far too backward.

Hequ County's Outer City was divided into three areas. The outermost was the Slum District, the area with the largest and densest population in the county, as well as the worst public security. Chen Mo saw no fewer than three brawls just passing through it.

The middle area was the Commercial District, where shops stood row upon row and the streets were much cleaner and wider.

The area closest to the Inner City was called the Inner District, primarily occupied by the major gangs and Martial Arts Schools.

In Hequ County, having money did not guarantee one's safety. If an ordinary person possessed too much money, it would instead invite disaster.

Only strength could make one stand above others.

Still, this was a County Town, so some rules remained. In the Slum District, as long as things did not get too out of hand, the authorities would not bother even if a person or two died. But the other districts were different; officials patrolled and maintained order there.

Thus, fights frequently broke out in the Slum District. Open private clashes between gangs and Martial Arts Schools were generally conducted there. As for secret struggles, no one could control those.

As long as it was done discreetly enough, went undiscovered, or one left before being discovered, one could do whatever one pleased.

In a place like this, Chen Mo had no sense of security whatsoever.

The sky had already darkened. Chen Mo found an inn in the Commercial District that looked fairly decent. He did not foolishly book an upper room; he understood the principle of not flaunting one's wealth. Even though few people in the Outer City could threaten him with his current strength.

Still, it was never wrong to be cautious. So he only rented an ordinary room and paid extra for hot water, planning to take a hot bath that night.

With lodging settled, Chen Mo carried all his money with him and found a restaurant. He sat by the window, ordered four dishes—three meat and one vegetable—and watched the street as he ate.

Unlike what he had expected, the County Town clearly had no curfew. There were still quite a few people out at night, the various shops remained open, and cooking smoke curled up from every household, brimming with the warmth of everyday life.

Taking it all in, Chen Mo left the restaurant after eating his fill. He made a round of the Commercial District to familiarize himself with the place, then, rather than going to the Slum District to make trouble for himself, headed to the Inner District where gangs and Martial Arts Schools gathered.

He successfully found the Zheng Family Martial Arts School. Even from outside its gates, he could hear shouts from within. They were still training at night—no matter where one was, there were always people grinding themselves to the bone.

Chen Mo did not enter. For the time being, he had no plans to join a Martial Arts School. He walked through the entire Inner District and discovered that there were five Martial Arts Schools in the Outer City, each separated from the others by at least one street.

As for gangs, he found only two. However, some smaller gangs were based in the Slum District, so their exact number was impossible to know.

Though the Inner District was said to be where gangs and Martial Arts Schools were located, it also had quite a few shops. From time to time, people could be seen galloping madly on horseback out of the Inner City. Pedestrians quickly scattered aside, not daring to obstruct them.

Those should have been the county's powerful and wealthy people.

Dressed in rough linen clothes, with an unremarkable build and looks nowhere near handsome enough to shake heaven and earth, Chen Mo deliberately stayed toward the back of crowds. He was not particularly conspicuous as he seemingly wandered aimlessly through every part of the Outer City except the Slum District.

By the time Chen Mo began his return journey, it was already the Hai Shi second watch, the period after nine at night and before eleven.

The exact time was impossible to know. This world did not have clocks.

Chen Mo had originally wanted to take a look at the Inner City, but soldiers guarded the way, and he could not enter.

In Hequ County, one had to obtain an Inner City Official Permit, something akin to a passport, to enter the Inner City.

Of course, if one dressed extravagantly enough, acted overbearingly enough, and possessed an outstanding enough bearing, one could probably bluff one's way in. Unfortunately, Chen Mo did not currently possess any of those conditions.

Since it was already late, he did not stubbornly insist on entering the Inner City.

That so-called Official Permit probably would not be too difficult to obtain. Once his strength rose in the future, he would not even need to seek one himself—others would take the initiative to deliver it to his door.

The Inner City primarily housed the County Magistrate Yamen, major Lineages, merchant associations, and large Martial Arts Schools. Its prosperity was far beyond anything the Outer City could compare with.

Unless necessary, Chen Mo felt it would be better not to go to the Inner City for now. It was too easy to run into trouble there.

As merely an Inner Strength Realm martial artist, he was not yet capable of handling every kind of trouble.

Mulling over these matters, Chen Mo ate a little late-night snack before setting off for his inn. After turning through several streets, he was already not far from it when his expression changed slightly.

"I've kept such a low profile, yet I've still been targeted."

Feeling somewhat tense, Chen Mo made a prompt decision. He immediately changed direction, came to the entrance of a small alley, swiftly glanced at the people following behind him, and then slipped into the alley.

Seeing this, the two men in short green outfits who had followed him for several streets immediately quickened their pace and chased after him. But the moment they entered the alley, they realized Chen Mo was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?!"

"That brat runs really fast."

"What a pity. Such a fat sheep, and he just got away."

Their faces were full of disappointment. Just as they were about to leave, Chen Mo's voice reached their ears.

"Are you looking for me?"

They turned toward the voice, only to see a wooden club rapidly closing in on them. It slammed heavily onto one man's shoulder.

Crack~

Because Chen Mo had used too much force, the wooden club snapped the instant it struck the man. The man screamed, then was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground.

Gulp~

Seeing his companion's miserable state, the man in green could not help swallowing. A club as thick as a wrist had been broken outright—just how much strength did that take?

At this point, how could he not realize that he had kicked an iron plate?

"Big brother, this is a misunderstanding, I..."

Without giving him a chance to say more, Chen Mo strode forward, grabbed his collar with one hand, and suddenly exerted force, smashing him heavily against the nearby wall.

Chen Mo had held back. Otherwise, the man's head would have burst open.

Although he knew this was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, he still could not bring himself to kill at the drop of a hat.

After quickly searching the two men, Chen Mo found over three taels of silver and promptly left.

Their screams had surely drawn the attention of the surroundings. This was the Commercial District, and he had no desire to get tangled up in trouble.

As for why they had followed him, Chen Mo did not intend to ask closely. With strength like theirs, there was no need to ask.

He had originally planned to make a probing attack. If they proved formidable, he would immediately retreat. Who would have thought these two were so utterly helpless? He really had been bullying them.

Back at the inn, inside his room...

Soaking in the wooden tub, Chen Mo was taking his first hot bath since transmigrating into this world over half a month ago. It was so comfortable that he could not help narrowing his eyes, while his mind replayed everything he had done in the Outer City that day.

He considered why he had been followed.

"Could it have been when I paid for my late-night snack and exposed something?" Chen Mo thought it over and found that this could only be the reason.

Since he was carrying one hundred taels, it was unavoidable that he had revealed some clues while paying. Anyone observant could tell that he had brought quite a lot of money. And from appearances, Chen Mo looked so harmless to man and beast that he had most likely been mistaken for a fat sheep.

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the Realty Agency first and rent a house in the Inner District. Staying at an inn all the time is no solution. If the Inner District is too expensive, a house in the Commercial District will do. Either way, I need a place to settle down first," Chen Mo thought.

That night, in an unfamiliar place, he did not sleep especially soundly.

But with his current realm, even going a night without sleep would not pose much of a problem. The next day, he was still brimming with energy.

Having already basically figured out the Outer City's layout yesterday, he easily found the Realty Agency.

A house with a courtyard in the Inner City cost more than three taels per month to rent. In the Commercial District, it cost two taels, while the Slum District cost one hundred copper coins.

In this world, one tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, while one hundred taels of silver could be exchanged for one tael of gold.

An ordinary family in the Outer City spent only one tael of silver per month, or twelve taels per year.

Rent in the Commercial District and Inner District was quite expensive. The Slum District was certainly cheap, but its public security was too poor, so Chen Mo had no intention of considering it.

In the end, he decided to rent a house with a courtyard in the Commercial District for three months, planning to lie low for those three months first.

After simply cleaning the house, Chen Mo decided to use today's Epiphany opportunity first. Naturally, he would use it on the Turtle Breath Health Cultivation Technique...

At the request of our readers, we now offer the VIP member Ad-free function.

Click to view