Prefectural City Situation
At the same time Lin Qing set off, all the selected genius Martial Artist from the 128 prefectures in Shichuan Prefectural City embarked on their journeys.
In an instant, heroes gathered, and the news spread rapidly throughout the Prefectural City, causing quite a stir.
In a large hall in the Prefectural City, a middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes and with a plump figure sat in a chair, holding a pair of jade walnuts in his hands.
"Master Luo, breaking news! The Martial Artist selected by the Soul-Calming Office from 128 counties will arrive in the Prefectural City soon." An old man beside him bowed and reported.
The middle-aged man sitting in the chair was named Luo Wandeng, the current head of the Luo Family.
"Have you figured out what happened to the Han Family in Jiangyin County?" Luo Wandeng asked in a deep voice.
"Master, we've figured it out. The items in the Han Family's Hidden Chamber have indeed fallen into Lin Qing's hands. According to the rules, whoever has the Land Deed is the owner of the shop. If Lin Qing demands it back, we must return it," the old man said respectfully.
"Give them back?" Luo Wandeng's face darkened. "Those five shops have been managed successfully by my Luo Family. There's no such thing as one generation planting trees for another to enjoy the shade. So what if he has the Land Deed? He's just a peasant with no background. Even if he has some Talent, he's still a worm in my eyes. The prefectural Prefectural City has no shortage of geniuses. In half a year, there will be countless others who will fade into obscurity."
"Master, Lin Qing has a Soul-Calming Office Gold Token, which was bestowed upon him by Wang Ling, so..." The old man did not finish his sentence.
"Wang Ling?" Luo Wandeng frowned. "This is a bit troublesome."
Wang Ling's fearsome reputation was known Prefectural City, and he didn't want to provoke him.
"Sir, in my opinion, there's no need to worry about this. During the Prefectural City assessment, the holder of the Gold Token will face challenges from other geniuses. He has to hold his ground. If he can't, Wang Ling will abandon him without hesitation. At that time, he'll dare to demand the shop from us with the Land Deed." The old man said, making a throat-slitting gesture. "Just secretly eliminate him. Chief Song has done this many times before."
"What if he can hold out?" Luo Wandeng asked again.
"That's troublesome. Wang Ling is extremely protective of his own and acts recklessly without regard for the consequences. It's not worth offending him for a few shops," the old man pondered.
Luo Wandeng frowned deeply. "Those shops, once they've fallen into my hands, there's no reason for me to give them back. I don't care who they are, go down and think of a way to hold onto them."
"Yes, sir." The old man turned to leave.
"Wait, go to the Blossom Hall and invite a few of the most beautiful courtesans over. I'm in a very bad mood today," Luo Wandeng said in a deep voice.
"Please wait a moment, sir, I'll be right there," the old man replied.
"The Luo Family, one of the thirteen major Lineage of Shichuan Prefectural City, rose to prominence through brothels, but has now declined and ranks twelfth."
Inside the carriage, Lin Qing had nothing to do, so he held a book called "The Shichuan Prefectural City Gazetteer" and studied it carefully.
This book was given to me by Master Ma before I set off. He said that he sent someone to the Prefectural City to buy it back at a high price. It contains detailed information about all aspects of the Prefectural City, and the most valuable part is the introduction to the power structure of the prefectural Prefectural City.
Lin Qing's biggest concern was the Luo Family. He still held five Land Deed in his hands. If he could get the shops back from the Luo Family, he would immediately receive a large sum of money, which was no small amount.
"Logically, whoever holds the Land Deed should own the shop, but I'm afraid the Luo Family is unreasonable and will bully others by abusing their power!" Lin Qing thought to himself.
As I was pondering this, the carriage stopped.
"Rest for half an hour before setting off again!" came the man's rough, loud voice from outside the carriage.
"Yes, sir!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Qing lifted the carriage curtain, jumped down, and a man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a burly build, and a gentle smile walked towards him. It was Li Ping.
On this trip to the Prefectural City, I am accompanied by two people: one is Li Ping, and the other is Ma Ziye.
"Lin Qing, I'm going to go to the nearby woods to get some wild meat. I've been eating nothing but flatbread for the past two days, and my mouth is so bland it's practically spewing out birds' breath," Li Ping smacked his lips and called out.
"Brother Li, be careful and don't go too far," Lin Qing said.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Li Ping said, picking up a bow and disappearing into the nearby woods.
Lin Qing found a large rock at the foot of the Yellow-Earth Slope, sat down, took a big bite of rice cake, and then gulped down several mouthfuls of water.
The rice cakes were hard and had very little salt; they were dry rations that Han Ying had prepared for him before he left, barely enough to fill his stomach.
"Lin Qing, stop eating your coarse rice cake and eat this!"
Ma Ziye jumped down from a carriage next to her, walked to Lin Qing's side, and stuffed a piece of beef jerky into his hand.
"Thank you, Miss Ma," Lin Qing replied.
"Just call me Lady Ma, I love hearing that," Ma Ziye said, patting her chest.
"Uh, Miss Ma, I understand." Lin Qing quickly corrected himself.
After spending the past few days with her, he felt that Ma Ziye was really innocent and didn't have any of the arrogance of a rich kid. On the contrary, she was quite naive.
Look at her current attire: dressed in black, carrying a long sword, wearing a bamboo hat, and with a black veil hanging down her head. At first glance, she does indeed have the air of a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world.
Lin Qing had asked her why she did this before. Ma Ziye said that she had always wanted to be a chivalrous heroine in the world of storytellers since she was a child, because she thought it was very cool. However, her father would prevent her from doing so. Now that she was finally free, she naturally wanted to experience it for herself.
After hearing this, Lin Qing felt even more favorably disposed towards Ma Ziye. People like her would be comfortable to be around, without too much scheming or backstabbing.
At that moment, Ma Ziye plopped down on the rock next to Lin Qing, tore off a large piece of beef jerky, stuffed it into her mouth, and chewed it heartily, her cheeks bulging out like a hamster.
"Miss Ma, there's no need to eat in such a hurry. Fifteen minutes is more than enough," Lin Qing reminded her.
"You don't understand. For people from the martial arts world, the most important thing when eating is to be bold and unrestrained. Those who eat in small bites are ladies from noble families," Ma Ziye said vaguely.
As she spoke, she untied the gourd from her waist and gulped down several mouthfuls of wine, then began to cough violently.
"Never drunk alcohol before?" Lin Qing asked.
"No, no, my father won't allow it." Ma Ziye wiped the wine from the corner of her mouth.
At that moment, accompanied by a sparse sound of footsteps, Li Ping returned, empty-handed.
"I can't even find a rabbit in this forest. Well, I guess I'll just have to eat dry rations," Li Ping said helplessly.
"Eat this." Ma Ziye also stuffed a piece of beef jerky into Li Ping's hand.
"Thank you very much, Aunt Ma, uh, thank you very much, Heroine Ma!" Li Ping said.
In a short while, the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill and returned to their carriages.
Lin Qing sat in the carriage, continuing to carefully study the Ishikawa Gazetteer.
After that, apart from necessary physical activities, he spent all his time reading, having already read through the entire Ishikawa Gazetteer from beginning to end, memorizing all the valuable information within.
"The situation in the Prefectural City is indeed complex and complicated." Lin Qing closed the book, silently recalling its contents, and couldn't help but sigh.
The forces in the prefectural Prefectural City can be summarized as Three Sects and Thirteen Families factions and thirteen large Lineage.
Above these sixteen forces are two top-tier powers: the Soul-Calming Office, one overt and one Yinyuan Sect, one righteous and one evil. Below them are even more complex forces, too numerous to list.
These forces are intertwined, sometimes hostile, sometimes allied, a gathering of heroes and powerful figures, making the situation more than ten times more complex than that in Jiangyin County.
Just as I was pondering this, a hearty shout came from outside the carriage.
"We've arrived at Shichuan Prefectural City!"