Zhuqi County Town

It had only just begun to grow light.

Ye Qin roused Da Niu, who was still in a sleepy daze, and hurried with him along the post road toward Zhuqi County while the morning sun was still mild. Da Niu had eaten some bones and drunk a little water the night before, and was clearly feeling much better. He could walk on his own now.

On the road, Ye Qin told Da Niu they were going to the county town to see if he could get recruited into the Herb Gathering Hall. Da Niu was thrilled and readily agreed to go.

Though they were in the wilderness, a post road led straight to Zhuqi County, and they occasionally saw carriages along the way, so the journey was not difficult.

At noon, under the blazing sun, they found a place to rest and dug up some tree bark and grass roots to fill their stomachs.

When it cooled off a little in the afternoon, the two continued on their way.

Before dusk that day, two gaunt figures appeared outside the eastern gate of Zhuqi County Town.

Zhuqi County was the most desolate and remote of the eight counties in Ping Province of the Wu Kingdom. More than a hundred thousand people lived in the county town. Within a thousand li of the town were over a dozen small settlements; nearly everywhere else lay deep mountain gullies, perilous peaks and ridges, and streams and rivers.

The area's grain yields were low, but the deep mountains grew abundant rare wild medicinal herbs. The herbs of Zhuqi County were famous throughout Ping Province. The county town had naturally become one of the Medicine King Gang's major sources of wild medicinal herbs, and the gang had established a Herb Gathering Hall there specifically to collect them.

This year's severe drought had not reduced the number of outsiders coming to Zhuqi County Town. Carriage after carriage passed through the gates. There were wandering martial artists carrying blades and swords, merchants with bundles on their backs, performers and acrobats, farmers and woodcutters. The place was bustling.

In particular, word that the Herb Gathering Hall was recruiting a batch of Herb Gathering Apprentices had quietly spread to nearby towns. Some country folk had brought their children to apply, hoping they might land a place at the hall and earn a bite to eat.

Bathed in the setting sun, Ye Qin looked at the county town's low walls, overgrown with vines, and its battered gate. A few slovenly, down-at-heel guards lounged at the entrance. His heart stirred. He had come back here.

"Hyah! Move aside, you blind fools!"

A donkey cart pulled by two strong, sturdy donkeys came trotting toward the gate. An old country gentleman in his sixties or seventies sat in the cart, wearing a fine silk-and-cloth robe. He waved a bull-tail whip and shouted at Ye Qin and Da Niu, who were in the way.

The cart raced past so quickly that it nearly hit them.

Ye Qin hurriedly pulled Da Niu aside.

A chubby boy of ten or so suddenly stuck his head out of the cart. He had the slick, oily look of a country gentleman's son. His eyes rolled as he spotted Ye Qin and Da Niu. He immediately spat at them, then grinned and clapped his hands, laughing. "Bull's-eye! Bull's-eye! Father, did you see? I hit two mangy dogs with my spit!" The old gentleman didn't even glance at Ye Qin and Da Niu, only praising the little fatty.

The donkey cart then stopped near the gate. The guards didn't inspect it and let them in.

Ye Qin glared fiercely at the little fatty, then quickly lowered his head. He didn't dare speak up, biting his lip and swallowing his anger. In the countryside, the gentry held all the power. They owned the best and most land and forests, and kept many servants and slaves. All the tenant farmers and hunters depended on them for a bite to eat. Ye Qin and Cheng Daniu were both country hunters and tenant farmers by birth; they didn't dare offend the gentry.

Ye Qin had once gone into the mountains with his father to hunt jackals, so he had a wild streak and dared to glare at the little fatty. Cheng Daniu didn't even dare look up. He kept his head down, and only wiped the spit off his face after the cart had entered the town.

After such rotten luck, Ye Qin had no desire to keep looking at the town gate.

Blending into the crowd, Ye Qin and Da Niu slipped into the town.

In this sweltering heat, the guards might question a few unfamiliar, burly martial artists, but they couldn't be bothered to deal with a few ragged children sneaking into town.

"Brother Qin, I haven't been here for a few months. I didn't expect the county town to still look the same. It's so big and beautiful!"

Da Niu exclaimed excitedly.

Two impressive main roads ran across the entire town, one from north to south and the other from east to west. The shops along them belonged to wealthy households, and quite a few belonged to the Herb Gathering Hall. There were restaurants, teahouses, inns, martial arts schools, academies, mansions, and gardens, one after another.

The county office was in the northeastern district, where some gentry, local tycoons, wealthy merchants, and rich households lived. The northwestern district was home to the Herb Gathering Hall, along with the headquarters of other powerful groups and small martial arts gangs. The southeastern and southwestern districts were mostly residential areas, where ordinary people in Zhuqi County lived.

As evening came and the weather gradually cooled, residents began coming out to stroll and do business. The town grew lively. It was full of people, nothing like the wilderness, where half a day could pass without a single person in sight.

Before entering town, Ye Qin had been as excited as Da Niu.

But once they were inside, Ye Qin wasn't excited at all. Instead, he grew more and more cautious. A few months earlier, they had offended a gang of local thugs here. Who knew whether those thugs were still holding a grudge against them?

Leading Da Niu, Ye Qin carefully avoided anyone who looked like a thug or a hooligan. He didn't stop to watch the busy streets, but kept his head down and hurried toward the northwestern district. When he spotted local beggars, he didn't dare stop for even a moment, rushing past in case they harassed or beat him.

On the way, a few hooligans headed toward them, frightening him badly. He ran as fast as he could to the northwestern district, and only then did the hooligans give up chasing them.

There were far fewer people in the northwestern district, and ordinary residents were seldom seen there.

Most people were martial artists dressed in tight-fitting clothes, with sabers at their waists or swords on their backs. They rode horses and were agile, burly, and fierce. Just looking at them was enough to tell they were not to be trifled with; any one of them could crush the two boys.

With so many martial artists around, there were few hooligans or beggars in the northwestern district.

Fortunately, these martial artists were always in a hurry, as if busy with important business. Unlike hooligans and thugs, they didn't like wasting time bullying beggars. They had no interest in beggars and wouldn't spare them even a glance.

Ye Qin and Da Niu arrived in front of the Herb Gathering Hall's headquarters. It was a huge estate covering several hectares. From the outside, it was impossible to tell how large it was within. Two stone lions, each weighing a thousand jin, stood majestically by the entrance. A pair of copper rings on the gate looked incredibly heavy.

A notice was posted by the entrance. It said something, but Ye Qin couldn't recognize a single character.