Dam Market

The dirt road had been packed hard by years of foot traffic, but it was still full of ruts and potholes.

A mere four kilometers had already left Lin Hao and the others looking somewhat travel-worn.

Makeshift shacks had begun appearing on either side of the road ahead. Children played by the roadside, and they could even see someone taking a shit in the weeds.

There had been no sign of trees along either side of the dirt road, only clumps of weeds at most, with the occasional old stump worn smooth by the years.

"The broadcasts mentioned that although this world has celestial masters of the Daoist Order and holy monks of the Buddhist Order, it doesn't have martial arts sects. Just various gangs, merchant associations, escort agencies, martial arts schools, and martial academies. The Grain Transport Gang and the Salt Gang are the biggest.

"But each town also has other local gangs depending on its circumstances, like the Horse Gang, the Firewood Gang, and petty gangs that collect protection money..."

Looking at the bare roadside, Lin Hao could roughly guess what had happened. Years of woodcutting had probably stripped the area around Dam Market of trees. They had already passed several people dressed as woodcutters heading toward the distant forests.

Firewood came first among the seven daily necessities-firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea-which showed both its importance and how much people used. Aside from occasionally taking a little suck from Zhao Xiaowen, Lin Hao hadn't had anything warm to eat in ages.

"That old man also said the Firewood Gang is a fairly sizable force in Dam Market. There's also the Beggar Gang, the Fishermen's Gang, the Vegetable Gang, and so on. Most of the time, the place maintains its balance through these gangs and martial arts schools keeping each other in check."

Zhao Xiaowen unconsciously moved a couple of steps closer to Lin Hao. The shacks around them were growing more numerous, and quite a few people had turned to look at them. To avoid trouble, Zhao Xiaowen and Nie Yi had deliberately smeared dirt on their faces, but their bearing was still utterly different from that of ordinary peasant women.

"Not needing travel papers to enter Dam Market has its advantages, but it certainly has its drawbacks too."

Lin Hao could already sense that someone had set their sights on the four of them.

Several teenage beggars kept taking turns following them along the roadside, occasionally slipping between the shacks. One young beggar with a particularly vicious-looking face had already appeared several times.

"Dam Market has over a hundred thousand residents, and during harvest and grain-shipping season, that can rise past two hundred thousand. It's no smaller than Wei'an County. There's a Grain Oversight Office here, but normally it only has one registrar, a few clerks, and a dozen or so bailiffs to keep things running.

"Officials from Yong'an Prefecture's Grain Oversight Circuit only arrive during the harvest. Normally, they don't handle everyday affairs. If something really needs to be reported to the authorities, the procedure is to go to the Wei'an County government office first, then have them send people over. Unless it's a major case, the local gangs usually handle it themselves..."

Lin Hao frowned at the young beggar's vicious, wolfish gaze beside them.

The broadcasts had said that outsiders without a local clan to back them were easy targets for harassment and bullying. He had thought he was mentally prepared on the way here, but the situation was worse than he had expected.

In an ancient society without surveillance cameras and with barely any law enforcement, public safety really was far worse than he had imagined.

Forget ancient times-even Eastland, famous for its public safety, had its share of disorder before nationwide surveillance coverage and the two major crackdowns. Places like America were even more extreme.

If even modern society was like that, the outlook for an era like this certainly wasn't promising...

Imperial authority didn't reach the countryside. Problems in the nearby villages were settled by respected village elders, and Dam Market was much the same.

The gangs and martial arts schools could all serve as places to "hear cases," maintaining order in Dam Market.

Ordinary travelers probably wouldn't have had much trouble. Clearly, Lin Hao and his group’s clothing, the packs on their backs, and the two women with them had first drawn attention.

"Pick up the pace. We'll go straight to the martial arts school."

Lin Hao tightened the backpack on his back. He had originally wanted to ask around Dam Market some more and check out all three martial arts schools to compare them.

Now, to avoid trouble, their best option was to hurry to the Wu Family Martial Arts School, the closest one to Dam Market's northern market area.

He hadn't expected this kind of risk in broad daylight. He wasn't sure whether they wanted to find out where the group would be staying or had something else in mind...

A Blue Stone Bridge had appeared at the far end of the dirt road. An artificial flood-diversion canal ran beneath it, and beyond the canal, the mud houses and shacks gave way to more elegant wooden buildings.

Cloth banners hung outside many of the buildings, bearing writing that resembled small seal script.

But the Earth Will could only facilitate spoken communication without leaving a trace. Lin Hao couldn't recognize a single one of these characters, though he guessed they probably meant things like "wine," "inn," or "cloth."

As they approached the Blue Stone Bridge, Lin Hao saw the vicious-looking young beggar again. Their earlier movements through the shacks in separate groups seemed to have been preparations for something.

At this point, there were noticeably fewer pedestrians in front of the Blue Stone Bridge.

The handful of farmers heading into town also lowered their heads and quickened their pace, as though they knew something was about to happen and didn't dare get involved. All the nearby shacks had shut their doors too.

Seven or eight ragged figures emerged from the gaps between the shacks, blocking the road ahead and behind.

Standing in the middle at the front was a street thug dressed considerably better than the others. He seemed to be their leader, and the vicious-looking beggar stood beside him.

Although the men surrounding them wore rags and carried only thin sticks for driving off dogs, Yi Feng and the others still felt a weight settle over them.

Fortunately, after a month in the apartment building, they had already seen plenty of life and death. Even Zhao Xiaowen and Nie Yi had stabbed Madmen with homemade spears and wouldn't go weak at the sight of blood.

Tempered by life-and-death experiences, they weren't about to be frightened by these seven or eight scrawny fellows. Aside from their grim expressions, they remained calm, each drawing a backup weapon. Their presence was no less imposing.

"Don't bring disaster down on your own heads."

Once the other side had made their hostility obvious, Lin Hao didn't immediately rush forward to kill them as he would have with Madmen. Instead, he slowly stepped out and spoke in an even tone.

Before the other side could speak, he stamped hard on the dirt road.

Bang!

The packed dirt instantly cracked, throwing up a cloud of dust.

With the enchantment on his three-kilogram heavy hiking boots and the [Ice Shatter] modifier, Lin Hao easily produced a striking visual effect with this seemingly simple movement.

The oldest beggar, the street thug who had been blocking their way with a careless swagger, instantly changed expression. He then lashed his thin stick at the vicious-looking beggar beside him.

"Some eye you've got!"

The blow split the clothing across the young beggar's back, revealing a bloody welt, and sent him

tumbling to the ground with a pained groan.

"Please move aside."

Lin Hao had killed dozens of Madmen, if not a hundred, as well as a few living people foolish enough to cross him. He had seen all kinds of bloody scenes, and this childish display didn't even make him blink.

Zhao Xiaowen and the others also remained remarkably calm and composed, adding an invisible pressure of their own.

The beggars didn't even leave a threat behind. They merely clasped their hands in salute and scattered.

The report had been that some outsiders with loose, untrained footwork had appeared, carrying bags of all sizes and accompanied by attractive women. They had come to test them out.

As it turned out, outsiders capable of making the long journey here really weren't easy prey.

Otherwise, they would probably have been picked clean long before reaching this place.

They had thought these people had become separated from a larger party, giving them an easy opportunity. Now it seemed they had misjudged them.

Although the people backing them had some influence in the market, they couldn't control everything-not when the market had maintained a stable balance all this time. Briefly blocking a road and quickly dealing with a few outsiders was one thing, but if the affair escalated, they would be in trouble too...

The same applied to Lin Hao. This was, after all, an unfamiliar world with rules of its own. Charging in with brute force and killing in broad daylight as he did with Madmen would probably bring even greater trouble.

They were still stumbling around in the dark, with much they didn't understand. Even a mighty dragon wouldn't challenge the local snake, and he hardly qualified as a mighty dragon.

His enchanted equipment gave him brute strength, but his fighting skills came entirely from the month of killing Madmen in the apartment building, learning on the fly.

Being able to bluff them into backing off for now was good enough.

"Possessing something valuable can be a crime in itself. They may not know how much we're worth, but we still need to find somewhere to stay quickly."

The broadcasts had recommended using the silver they had scavenged to pay a martial arts school for room and board. Such schools usually had some local influence, and when recruiting outsiders, they generally avoided blatant exploitation, preferring a steady, long-term income. So far, their average reputation was above par.

Aside from being a little expensive, they had almost no drawbacks. They actually did what they were paid to do.

After what they had just encountered, there was no need to hesitate any longer...