Gangs Within the County

It was the time when the villagers were heading out to work in the fields one after another.

When the villagers saw Lu Shaolin, it was as though they had seen a ghost or god, and they all hurriedly kept their distance.

Lu Shaolin did not mind. With the iron spear resting on his shoulder, he strode toward the village entrance without looking aside.

The Great Xia Dynasty could be considered peaceful and prosperous. Aside from the havoc wrought by demons and monsters, there were no bandits in Ping County who blocked the roads to rob travelers.

The ten-li journey took Lu Shaolin roughly an hour.

The gates of Pingshan County Town ahead buzzed with voices. Quite a few people, like him, carried weapons.

Because strange demonic incidents occurred from time to time, the Great Xia Dynasty was extremely open regarding weapons. Other than armor and powerful crossbows, civilians faced no restrictions!

However, weapons were forbidden within the town. Any violator would be executed on the spot by the patrolling city guards!

Lu Shaolin gripped his spear, his eyes full of curiosity as he headed toward the gates.

The city guard at the entrance merely gave him a brief glance before looking away.

With his experience, he could tell at a glance that this was a country youth who had come to town to see the sights.

After entering the county town, Lu Shaolin heard cries and calls rising one after another.

"Steamed buns! Fragrant, piping-hot steamed buns!"

"Buns! Big buns with thin skin and generous filling!"

"Candied hawthorn skewers, sweet and delicious! Two strings for one coin!"

"Wontons!..."

The aromas of every kind of food flooded his nostrils. Lu Shaolin, whose appetite had already greatly increased, was instantly hungry and walked over to a bun stall.

"Little brother, how about some buns? My shop's buns are famous far and wide—the finest in Pingshan!" the owner greeted him enthusiastically.

"Give me five!" Lu Shaolin said, swallowing as he looked at the fist-sized buns.

"Right away!" The owner beamed and swiftly wrapped five buns in oiled paper before handing them to Lu Shaolin.

"Little brother, five copper coins!"

"Mm, here you go!" Lu Shaolin counted out five copper coins and handed them over.

Taking the buns, Lu Shaolin began eating. Each one took only two or three bites. Before he had even left the street, all five buns had gone into his belly!

After lightly patting his stomach, Lu Shaolin turned onto another street.

In his memories, his former self had come to the county town with his father several times, and his father had roughly introduced the layout to him. The coffin shop was on another street.

Upon reaching a rather deserted street, Lu Shaolin spotted the coffin shop at the very end at a glance.

When he arrived at the coffin shop, the clerk was sitting in a chair, dozing off.

This trade was different from others, after all. You could not stand outside the shop shouting to draw in customers.

Entering the shop, Lu Shaolin woke the clerk. After some haggling, he ordered a pine coffin for two taels of silver, with delivery included!

He agreed with the clerk to return at noon and ride the donkey cart to Panshan Village.

He also asked the clerk about martial halls and learned that there were two in the county town: Four Seas Martial Hall and Ping Mountain Martial Hall.

After finding out where they were, Lu Shaolin headed toward the nearer Ping Mountain Martial Hall.

After walking for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Lu Shaolin found Ping Mountain Martial Hall.

A large plaque hung above the martial hall's gates, making it impossible to miss.

All manner of shouts and battle cries came from within, presumably from apprentices practicing martial arts.

Lu Shaolin straightened his coarse cloth clothes and walked inside.

The moment he entered, a rough voice sounded from the side. "Kid! Here to learn martial arts?"

Lu Shaolin turned and saw a burly man around 1.8 meters tall staring at him.

The man had a sallow complexion, thick brows, and large eyes. He was only about twenty-five.

"That is correct. May I ask who you are, brother?" Lu Shaolin said with a cupped-fist salute and a smile.

"What brother-this, brother-that? I'm the martial hall's senior disciple. Are you here to learn martial arts or not?" the man asked impatiently.

"How much is the tuition?" Lu Shaolin smiled, unconcerned.

"Ten taels a month."

So expensive! Lu Shaolin was slightly stunned, then continued, "What martial art do you teach? What realm can it reach?"

"Stonewall Art. At most, Perfected Muscle Tempering!"

"Is it an external art?"

"You brat, you want an internal art? Other than the imperial court and the great clans and major gangs, where would there still be any internal arts circulating outside?" the man snapped, glaring.

"All right. Thank you for telling me, Senior Brother. I'll return to study once I have gathered enough silver!" Lu Shaolin cupped his fists again, turned, and walked toward the entrance.

"Hey! You'd better be quick, kid. The martial hall has very limited apprentice slots!" the man called after him.

"All right!" After answering the man, Lu Shaolin headed for Four Seas Martial Hall.

At Four Seas Martial Hall, he made another round of inquiries. It was the same as Ping Mountain Martial Hall: ten taels of silver a month, teaching the external art Golden Body Art, which also only reached Perfected Muscle Tempering.

Never mind the expensive tuition—merely being limited to the Tendon Tempering level could not meet his needs.

He had to obtain the Organ-Tempering Realm in order to repair his damaged internal organs and stay alive!

Looking up at the sky, Lu Shaolin decided to transport the coffin back first. When the cart reached the mountain, there would surely be a road through it!

Returning to the coffin shop, he found that the clerk had already loaded the pine coffin onto the donkey cart. Seeing Lu Shaolin return, the clerk asked in confusion, "Little brother, you came back so early? It's not noon yet."

"I was only asking around, so naturally it was quick. Can we leave now?" Lu Shaolin replied with a smile.

"Of course. Little brother, wait a moment. I'll go inform the shopkeeper." The clerk nodded and walked into the shop.

Before long, the clerk came back out. "It's fine. Little brother, sit beside me, and we'll set off right away!"

The clerk covered the coffin with black cloth, then sat in the driver's seat with a whip in hand. There was just enough room beside him for one more person.

Lu Shaolin stepped up and sat beside him.

Once the clerk saw that Lu Shaolin was seated securely, he cracked the whip with a smack, and the big green donkey began moving on all four hooves toward the town gates.

Before long, the donkey cart left the county town and slowly made its way toward Panshan Village.

"Little brother, I see that you've been deeply troubled. Is it because the martial halls' tuition is too expensive?" Seeing Lu Shaolin remain silent the entire way, the clerk asked.

"More or less. The martial hall's martial arts do not suit me very well either." Lu Shaolin nodded.

"Actually, if you have the courage and aren't afraid of dying, you can choose to join a gang." The clerk glanced at Lu Shaolin's black iron spear.

"A gang? Clerk, tell me more." Lu Shaolin grew interested. I'm fucking close to death already. What am I supposed to fear about dying?

"By joining a gang, you can learn martial arts for free and even receive a monthly stipend. They need people who dare to fight, dare to charge, and fear no death. You only need to obey the gang rules and never violate them!"

"Our Ping County has two major gangs. One is the Blackwater Gang, and the other is the Little Knife Society!"

"I heard that the leaders of these two gangs are both great experts, some kind of Organ-Tempering Realm experts. I do not understand it too well myself, but I hear they're very formidable," the clerk explained with a smile.

"Oh?" A sharp gleam flashed through Lu Shaolin's eyes, and he hurriedly asked again, "Then how does one join these two gangs?"

"Every year at the beginning of spring, the two gangs recruit members. It is already autumn now, so little brother, you can wait until next year to go," the clerk said, flicking his whip.

"Damn it!" Lu Shaolin cursed under his breath.

He had finally caught sight of a lead to an Organ-Tempering cultivation art, yet they were not recruiting anymore!

He had some experience with surviving in gangs, after all. He had been an undercover agent in his previous life, and now he possessed spear mastery at great accomplishment. No matter what, he could have made a name for himself. But now, it seemed he would have to find another way.