Bear Valley City.
The gate at the northwestern corner stood wide open, and a group slowly passed through.
Most wore matching clothes, likely members of a mercenary corps.
The group numbered a full hundred, some wearing swords, others carrying sabers, and still others wielding unusual weapons.
Though their weapons differed, they all bore obvious signs of a bitter battle.
Some dragged an arm, while others tottered along on their sole remaining leg, their expressions bleak and their eyes vacant as they stared down the street.
"What happened? How did they end up so badly hurt?"
"Reckon they ran into a prickly opponent."
"Ah, what a miserable sight."
"..."
Li Ping'an and Old Ox watched from the street.
Mercenary corps were uncommon within Great Sui. The emperors of a unified dynasty would not tolerate the existence of such mercenary organizations.
After the mercenary corps passed, Li Ping'an and Old Ox had two servings of beef soup and a few flatbreads at a roadside noodle stall.
Toward evening, night gradually fell over Bear Valley City.
A few bright stars appeared in the east, their pinpricks of light gradually multiplying as a gentle breeze arose.
Beneath the dappled shade of the trees, all was peaceful.
Li Ping'an and Old Ox sat beneath a tree, drinking tea and enjoying the evening breeze.
With only a few exceptions, most cities in Great Sui enforced a curfew at night.
Bear Valley City, however, had no concept of a curfew at all.
That meant Li Ping'an and Old Ox had no need to stay at an inn.
They simply found a secluded spot and sat beneath a tree, drinking tea and eating grilled meat.
Li Ping'an took out the hair, fingertips, fingers, soles... and other parts of the Flying Stiff he had acquired last time, arranging them