Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 34 Outer City
The ancient city gate of Taiping County stands majestically. The weak winter sunlight penetrates the thick clouds, casting dim light and shadows in the gate.

The cold wind surged in from the open area outside the city gate, and wisps of wind continued to seep into the city gate.

The moment Shen Qing stepped into the city gate, the winter chill hit him in the face, causing both Shen Xiaohu and Zhang Shuyuan to shrink their necks involuntarily.

After walking out of the ancient city gate, the cold wind gradually stopped.

The familiar scene appeared again in front of Shen Qing and the other two.

The bumpy ground, the black snow mixed with mud...

The surrounding area is made up of various materials, with densely packed shanties that stretch as far as the eye can see.

The paths between the shanties are narrow and muddy, with the running figures of children and sporadic hawking sounds interweaving in between, adding a bit of reality and noise of life to this bleak scene.

It was already afternoon and there were fewer people entering the city.

Most of the guards standing at the city gate had nothing to do, and there was no other fee to leave the city.

The guards' eyes lingered on Shen Qing for a short while before they retracted their gazes and let him leave.

When they arrived at the shantytown, Shen Qing, who was sitting on the cart, immediately became alert.

He turned his head to look, and saw Shen Xiaohu with a serious face, his eyes kept scanning the surroundings, something was wrong, and reminded him: "Xiaohu, don't be so tense, people will think we have something valuable. Relax a little and be alert in your heart."

"Okay." Shen Xiaohu was stunned when he heard this, and realized that he was a little too nervous. He quickly withdrew his thoughts and did as he was told.

Zhang Shuyuan held the reins in his hand, glanced at Shen Qing and said with a smile: "You are really smart. Anyone in this outer city who sets his sights on you will be in trouble."

"Better safe than sorry." Shen Qing said casually, "When you are out in a foreign land, you are unfamiliar with the place. It is always good to be cautious."

Zhang Shuyuan smiled and waved the whip in his hand: "Go!"

The little horse shook its rump and couldn't help but quicken its pace.

The cart made of a few broken wooden boards, pulled by a slow horse, also picked up speed and kept passing by the doors of one shanty house after another.

On the cart, some rice bought by Shen Qing was tied tightly with hemp ropes and covered with rough linen, but it still attracted a lot of people's attention.

Those people coming in and out of the shantytown, whether they were busy adults or strolling children, would unconsciously slow down their pace whenever Shen Qing passed by, and their eyes would be involuntarily attracted by the goods piled on the cart.

The deeper you go into the outer city, the more people there are.

They looked at Shen Qing openly or secretly, whispered to each other, curiosity and greed flashed in their eyes, as if those goods were a touch of bright color in this chaotic world.

A subtle atmosphere gradually filled the air.

A young man leaning against the door of a shanty, wearing shorts and with his arms folded across his chest.

When Shen Qing and others flashed past him, he put away his casual expression, turned back to the house, and said to a sturdy man in the house: "A stranger just passed by, old man, do you want to do it?"

The sturdy man named Lao Bazi threw away the half-eaten chicken leg, and several boys who had been waiting on the side started to scramble for it like wild dogs.

One of the boys, who was slightly taller, grabbed the chicken leg bone, ran out the back door, and soon disappeared.

The other half-grown children chased after him madly.

"Hahaha." The sturdy man said with a slick smile, looking somewhat proud. He said, "Have you found out the details? Where is he from? Is he related to those big shots in the city?"

"When the stranger went in this morning, Lao Gou asked someone to find out, and he should be back soon."

"Send someone to keep an eye on them. When they are about to leave Qiguai Lane, no matter whether Lao Gou has received the letter or not, we will take action."

"I understand. If you can't find anything after searching for a long time, then he must be a nobody."

The old man nodded and said, "By the way, recently Mr. Ba sent a message saying that Mr. Song is looking for some wild delicacies to give to his young masters to attack Wuguan. You should ask the brothers below to keep an eye on the hunters who come into the city recently to see if they have those things."

"Master Ba said so." The old man showed a look of yearning on his face: "Whoever can find it will be guaranteed to be rich and allowed to enter the inner city." "Old man, tell me quickly, what are the three things?" the young man said in surprise.

The old man said calmly: "Blood bird's nest, jade deer tendon and tiger king whip."

"Alas... I only know about the whip, and I have never heard of the others." The young man said, "I will tell my brothers about this later."

"Well, arrange it as soon as possible."

……

After making a breakthrough in hunting skills, Shen Qing has already mastered some small tricks such as identification and tracking, and is very sensitive to the surrounding environment.

Just now, as they were moving forward and passing through the shantytown, he always felt that every time they passed a certain distance, there would be vague eyes staring at them.

His instinct as a hunter told him that he was being targeted.

Shen Qing lowered his voice and said to Shen Xiaohu and Zhang Shuyuan: "Speed ​​up, we are being watched."

"what!"

Shen Xiaohu exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down. Don't alert the enemy."

"oh oh."

Shen Xiaohu hurriedly calmed himself down.

Zhang Shuyuan, who has always been indifferent, also became serious at this moment.

"Clap clap clap!"

Zhang Shuyuan felt no pity at all when beating other people's horses.

He swung the whip three times in succession, hitting the pony's hindquarters, leaving three bloody marks.

The little horse felt the pain and suddenly sped up and ran forward.

When Shen Qing and the other two passed by a bald man, the bald man called a young boy and said, "Hurry up and tell the old man and the others that the fat sheep will soon arrive at Qiguai Lane."

"it is good."

In a shanty town in the outer city, a young man in straw sandals came running in, rushed in, and said breathlessly: "Old bastard, they are almost at Qiguai Lane. They want to ask you if you want to do it?"

"Is there still no news from Old Dog?" the old man asked the young man in straw sandals beside him.

"not yet."

"Never mind, notify the brothers to take action."

"Okay. I see they don't have much stuff on their cart. How about crippling these three people first and then selling them to the pawnbroker? We can make a lot of money from them."

"You can do whatever you want. Anyway, you can't lose 40% of my share afterwards." The old man's muscles suddenly tensed up, and blood surged throughout his body, causing his muscles to swell. They attached to his body like a tumor, exuding a sense of oppression.

Qi and blood are perfect!

The young man who was speaking took a step back and said hurriedly, "Old bastard, the brothers all know the rules, and your share will not be left out."

"Don't worry, brothers. If anything happens to you, I will stand up for you." The old man gathered his momentum and said, "Go!"

The boy nodded heavily and ran towards Qiguai Lane, his figure gradually disappearing among the numerous shanties.

(End of this chapter)