Eternal Sword

Chapter 60: Buying Horses in the East Market
Wu'an County is located to the west of Changze County.

If you want to return to Changze County from Wu'an County, you have to exit from the east gate.

Chen Tang guarded the city wall near the east gate for a whole night, and memorized the patrol patterns, rotation times and locations of the guards all night.

He returned to the inn only when it was dawn.

Fortunately, I started practicing martial arts in this life, and with the help of precious medicinal herbs such as tiger milk, heavenly ginseng, and monkey wine, I still didn't feel tired in the morning after enduring a whole night.

In my previous life, if I didn’t sleep all night, I would feel as if my soul had been sucked away and I would feel listless the whole day.

After not much rest, everyone got up.

Mei Yingxue came early, took Qingmu, Zhiwei and others downstairs to have breakfast, and then took Chen Tang and others for a walk on the street.

Wu'an County is indeed much more prosperous than Changze County.

Here, Chen Tang has already felt the lively atmosphere that only exists in cities.

Peddlers and people selling pulp from carts can be seen everywhere. The streets are much wider, and there are many kinds of shops, inns and restaurants on both sides.

There are also street performers who do things like breaking rocks with their chests, swallowing swords and spitting fire.

The sounds of hawking, shouting and cheering were intertwined together, creating a noisy and lively atmosphere.

Even the blacksmith shop that forges weapons looks much more imposing than Old Sun's in Changze County.

There were a dozen sturdy men inside, with bare arms, muscular bodies, and sweating profusely. They kept hammering on red-hot iron tools, making a clanging sound.

The fat old man and Qing Mu have been traveling around the world for many years and have been to many counties, cities and prefectures. They have long been accustomed to this scene.

Zhiwei just looked around.

These things in front of her also left some impressions in her childhood memories.

The place where she lived seemed to be ten or even a hundred times more prosperous than what it was right before her!
Chen Tang, on the other hand, felt very curious and looked around.

As modern people, we are used to seeing high-rise buildings and steel and concrete. But when we come to this ancient town, find ourselves in the downtown area, and watch the people coming and going, it gives us a different feeling.

Shops on both sides of the street have also been hanging lanterns in front of their doors in preparation for tomorrow's Lantern Festival.

"Where is the Dingpin Training Ground in Wu'an County?"

Chen Tang asked.

"I'll take you there now."

Mei Nianzhi smiled slightly and led everyone towards the East Market.

Before long, they could see in the distance an area surrounded by high walls. The gate was wide and there were several soldiers in armor standing at the entrance, obviously from the military.

At this time, some people were already coming in and out, and the soldiers at the door did not stop them.

Mei Nianzhi explained: "Tomorrow we will start the Shangyuan Festival. Today the training ground is open to the public. You can come and familiarize yourself with the grounds in advance, but you cannot touch any of the weapons inside."

As he spoke, he led everyone into the training ground.

It was extremely spacious inside, and from a distance one could see several weapon racks placed in front.

The most eye-catching one is a whole row of bows and arrows!
Each bow occupies a shelf, on which is marked the number of stone bows it weighs.

There are nine bows in total, corresponding to one to nine stones.

Mei Nianzhi looked at his two sons and disciples behind him and said, "When you participate in the Dingpin tomorrow, don't be reckless. You must start with a stone bow and progress step by step."

"At every Dingpin competition, there are always people who overestimate their abilities and try to pull the Sanshi bow directly, but end up straining their muscles, and in serious cases, even breaking the tendons in their arms."

Everyone agreed, their eyes full of excitement.

It’s a pity that they are not allowed to touch it today, otherwise they would have rushed up to try it long ago.

In the State of Qian, private individuals were not allowed to keep bows weighing more than one stone, and blacksmith shops were not allowed to cast them privately.

Therefore, on ordinary days, people have no chance to touch the powerful bows of two or three stones.

After everyone walked around the parade ground, it was almost noon.

After having a meal at a nearby restaurant, Chen Tang separated from the others and said, "I'll look around here by myself, you guys go have fun."

Chen Tang walked around the East Market for a while and saw a horse market.

Chen Tang had never ridden a horse in his previous life. He was born in poverty and had no chance to ride a horse.

But he had to rush back to Changze County tonight. It was better to ride a horse for more than 200 miles, and he had to ride as fast as possible. "How much do you want to sell the horse for?"

Chen Tang looked around the stable, but couldn't tell which horse was better or which ran faster or farther.

He had no knowledge of horses and knew nothing about them.

"That depends on what you want."

The horse market owner said, "A horse that can travel a hundred miles a day, four hundred miles a day, or a thousand miles a day will definitely have different prices."

"You have a horse that can travel a thousand miles a day?"

Chen Tang's eyes lit up.

If we can travel one thousand miles a day, we can reach Changze County from Wu'an County in less than two hours.

When the horse market owner heard Chen Tang asking about the Ferghana horse, he couldn't help but look Chen Tang up and down and said with a smile: "I don't have any Ferghana horse, but I have something to say, please don't be offended. Even if I have a Ferghana horse, I'm afraid you can't afford it."

"My horses may not look as majestic as the Ferghana horses, but they can still run 800 miles a day! And they are not expensive. Would you like to take a look?"

Walking eight hundred a day?

If I could really walk 800 miles a day, that would be enough.

However, seeing the cunning look on the horse market boss's face, Chen Tang guessed that the man was talking nonsense and was probably trying to trick him.

What happens tonight is of great importance.

Don't buy a horse that can run 80 miles a day, then in the end you have to rely on him to run back home.

Chen Tang's heart moved, and he said, "Which horse are you talking about? Bring it over here so I can have a look."

"okay."

The owner of the horse market immediately turned around and led over a tall horse, which looked quite extraordinary.

But when the horse came to Chen Tang, it seemed to be frightened by something. It suddenly bent its knees and knelt down.

The owner of the horse market was stunned for a moment, then he started kicking and pulling the horse, trying to pull it up.

But the horse seemed to be lying there, unable to get up, its body trembling slightly, and soon it foamed at the mouth and passed out.

Chen Tang said innocently, "Boss, your horse is not good."

The boss of the horse market had a gloomy face.

He knew at first glance that Chen Tang didn't know much about horses, and was thinking of tricking him and making more money.

As a result, my horse was so disappointing that it suddenly fell ill for some unknown reason.

Even a fool can see that this horse is no good.

The horse market owner said, "I'll find you another one."

Chen Tang said, "I'll go to your stable and take a look."

"You can choose."

The horse market owner said.

Chen Tang walked towards the stable.

As soon as they got closer, the horses seemed to sense something and suddenly became a little panicked. They turned their hooves, waved their hooves, kicked wildly, and even tried to break free from the reins.

Chen Tang shook his head and said, "Boss, the horses you raise all have bad tempers. If I ride one like this, I'll be thrown off before I get very far."

"It shouldn't be."

The boss of Ma Shi was confused.

Although these horses are not considered good horses, they are usually quite docile. Why did they suddenly get sick collectively today?
Chen Tang asked again: "Do you have any other horses? If not, I will move to another place."

Seeing Chen Tang was about to leave, the horse market owner quickly said, "Yes! Do you want a gentle one? I have a horse at home that is extremely gentle. Even if there is a tiger or a leopard in front of it, it won't be frightened!"

To be precise, it's not docile, but rather slow to react...

"only……"

The horse market boss hesitated and seemed to be about to speak.

(End of this chapter)