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Chapter 79 Entering the City (Seeking First Subscription)

That young man was none other than Zhou You.

After killing the wolf demon and tricking Lady Bone, he encountered no further setbacks on his journey and arrived in Changhua County without any further trouble.

However, no one expected that there would be far more refugees trying to enter the city than he had imagined. There was nothing he could do but queue up from morning until now.

Then this happened.

The old Taoist priest's mocking voice rang out from inside the pocket.

"Tsk tsk tsk, my good disciple, I find you quite strange. You are ruthless to wolf demons, but you always want to help these weaklings. It's like you are two different people. No, are you out of your mind?"

—Whether it was my imagination or not, the closer we got to Youtai Mountain, the more venomous the old Taoist's words became.

Zhou You simply smiled.

"I also want my master to know that my mind has always been perfectly normal. It's just that I've believed in two sayings since I was a child: one is that evil must be eradicated, and the other is that one should help those in need. We should use the butcher's knife against the wicked and help the weak whenever we can. Also, I think most people would do the same in that situation."

The old Taoist priest was taken aback, but he quickly asked another question.

"Fine, whatever you want. Anyway, we've reached the county town now, so we don't really need that meat anymore. But what do you plan to do next, my disciple? Once we pass Changhua County, we'll be at Youtai Mountain. After you sew your master's head back up, do you plan to stay on the mountain to cultivate with your master, or do you want me to remove these hidden dangers from your body and then you can leave this place on your own?"

"."

Zhou You paused for a moment, glanced at the bag containing the old Taoist's head, and then gently shook his head.

His expression was somewhat indifferent, yet also somewhat regretful.

"It depends on the situation, but I'll probably leave. After all, Cangzhou is now a place of chaos, so it's better to stay away if possible."

"That's quite a pity. Someone of your talent and virtue would be perfect for our Yun Jing Dao."

Time passed as the two chatted idly, and after about an hour or two, it was finally their turn in the queue.

There were two soldiers guarding the city gate. Perhaps because of the heat, they were not wearing armor. Unlike the emaciated refugees around them, these two had rosy complexions, as if they had been well-fed all day.

But Zhou You still discovered a problem.

People who subsist on Tai Sui often have an oily sheen, like the skin of a ripe fruit. The caravan members all looked like this, but these two soldiers didn't have this sheen; they looked as if...
What is the typical behavior of a normal person who always eats normal food?
How strange! How could there be such a person in a year of severe drought?

Zhou You suppressed his doubts and stepped forward.

The soldier on the left was engrossed in the documents, not even glancing at them, while the one on the right merely looked up and casually asked a question.

"Name?"

"Travel around".

"Where did you come from?"

"Mang Village".

What are you going to do in the county?

"Passing through the county town, I went to visit some relatives outside the prefecture."

This time, it was the soldier who had been buried in his documents who looked up.

He looked Zhou You up and down, and seeing nothing unusual, he slowly spoke.

"The county magistrate stipulates that if you want to go to the city, you need to use documents. After registering here, you still need to apply at the yamen (government office), do you understand?"

Zhou You had already heard about this from the old Taoist priest, so he smiled and nodded.

"Of course I understand." So the soldier called to his companion, then wrote something down on a piece of paper, and then gestured towards Zhou You with his chin.

"The city entrance fee is two large sums of money. If you don't have it, you can pay it off, but you'll need to work at the meat stall for a few days to pay it off. Also, for safety reasons, I need to check your package. Is that alright?"

Zhou You neatly spread his hands, indicating that it was up to you.

But the soldier didn't search carefully at all. He just casually flipped through Zhou You's luggage as if he were just going through the motions, and then turned his attention to the pocket at his waist.

The thing was bulging and seemed to contain quite a lot of things.

A hint of greed flashed across the soldier's eyes.

"What's in there? Let me see it."

Zhou You's expression remained unchanged; he simply picked it up casually and then left the bag open.

The soldiers glanced inside and then looked disappointed.

The bag contained nothing but a large pile of pungent, fishy-smelling dried meat.

These things might be incredibly valuable elsewhere, but the problem is this is Changhua County, a place where there's an abundance of Tai Sui meat. This bag of meat simply won't fetch a very high price.

The soldiers guarding the city still grabbed a piece, chewed it in their mouths, but immediately spat it on the ground.

"This is dog meat? But you've prepared it so badly it tastes awful!"

Zhou You's smile remained unchanged. He first handed over two large coins, and then replied with a smile.

"So that you may know, sir, this is a stray dog ​​I killed on the road. There weren't any cooking facilities around, so I just salted it. I'm so sorry it's not to your taste."

Hearing this, the soldier had nothing to say and could only wave his hand.

"Alright, you can go now, next one—"
-
The old Taoist's voice rang out again after they entered the city.

"You're quite clever, knowing there might be a checkpoint, and you hid me and the jade chime beforehand—but could you find a better place? The stench of this pile of cured meat is making me want to vomit!"

Zhou You laughed.

“Master, apart from this pile of meat which can be concealed, the rest of the place is too easy to spot. Besides, I specially sewed it into the lining for you, so you didn’t directly touch the meat. You shouldn’t have reacted so strongly.”

The old Taoist hesitated for a while, then finally let out a cold snort.

"Alright, your master is magnanimous and won't hold this against you. But what are you planning to do next? Go straight to the county government office and use your silver tongue to figure out how to get a travel permit, or try to find a way to bribe them with money?"

"Master, I'm just good at talking, not the kind of con artist who can talk the dead back to life. Besides, I'm an outsider, and I don't know anyone in this county. Where am I supposed to find someone to bribe?"

"So what are you planning to do, sneak out? Let me tell you, my Taoist temple is surrounded by towering mountains. The only way to get there is by taking the main road. And although these guys say they can apply, they won't actually give out a single one. What kind of brilliant plan do you have?"

Zhou You simply smiled.

"It's not some divine strategy; ultimately, it's just using someone else's name as a pretext—but that's a matter for tomorrow. As for now..."

Zhou You looked up at the sky.

Perhaps because the queue had been so long, the daylight was about to fade and dusk was approaching.

"Let's find a place to eat first."

　多谢vvbnghjh的5000点打赏，多谢书友20220803074213165的100点打赏，多谢书友20180706192312622的100点打赏。

　　Many thanks.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)