Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 47 Chaos Abounds
Yang Jing didn't know what Liu Maolin was thinking. After listening to what the old curator Liu said, he also came over and looked at the map carefully.

The map clearly shows the route and marks several villages where you can rest.

He nodded and said, "Okay, let's follow this route."

The three of them went into the inner room and chatted for a while. Not long after, the sound of carriages and horses came from the courtyard outside the storeroom. It must have been that the guards had loaded the medicinal herbs onto the carriages.

Yang Jing finished his tea, straightened his clothes, stood up and said, "It should be about time. I'll set off and try to get back before it gets completely dark."

Both the old curator Liu and Liu Maolin nodded.

Liu Maolin and Yang Jing came out of the inner room and into the courtyard. The convoy was ready to depart at any time.

At the very front of the convoy stood three burly guards, all of whom were captains of the Liu family's guards and experts of the Ming Jin level, indicating that the medicinal herbs being transported were indeed extremely valuable.

Two of them looked tired; they had just finished an escort mission with Liu Maolin not long ago, and now they had to rush to Jinhe County again.

Liu Maolin instructed the three Ming Jin guard captains, "Gentlemen, this mission is of great importance. You must follow the orders of Guest Elder Yang on the way and do not act on your own."

All three nodded in agreement.

Although Yang Jing is very young, much younger than the three of them, he is a master of internal energy. They had sparred with him before, and even if the three of them were tied together, they would not be a match for him and would be easily defeated. They would respect Yang Jing without Liu Maolin's special instructions.

Yang Jing stepped forward, mounted a strong black horse, glanced at the fully prepared convoy, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the sword at his waist, and said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

With Yang Jing's command, the convoy of dozens of people from Liu Family Medical Clinic slowly drove out of the clinic's gate.

Yang Jing led the convoy carrying important medicinal herbs from Liu Family Medical Clinic out of Yuhe County and headed north.

Yuhe County is located in the south-central part of Jintai Prefecture. Both the destination, Jinhe County, and the capital of Jintai Prefecture are located to the north of Yuhe County.

Leaving Yuhe County, one sees refugees everywhere.

The tragic scenes sent a chill down Yang Jing's spine.

During this period, Yang Jing has been almost entirely focused on martial arts training. This is partly because he recently broke through to the Dark Force level and is full of energy, and partly because he is preparing for the upcoming training ground test.

Liu Maolin also knew that Yang Jing had been practicing martial arts like crazy recently, so he hadn't assigned Yang Jing any of the usual escort missions.

Therefore, Yang Jing learned about the situation outside the city from other people.

Seeing it with his own eyes now, Yang Jing couldn't help but feel a tightness in his chest.

"Isn't this just a living, breathing chaotic world?"

Yang Jing frowned, considering that he still had to bring his family to the city, otherwise he would really be worried.

This matter must be addressed immediately after the training ground test.

As for my grandfather, if he really doesn't want to, then I'll have to use force; I'll have to tie them up and bring them into the city.

The caravan traveled north.

Yang Jing discovered that as the carriage traveled north, although there were many refugees on the road, their numbers were much smaller than those in Yuhe County.

Perhaps it was because of the war that broke out in Caozhou that many people from Caozhou were displaced and fled eastward. Jintai Prefecture was one of the prefectures in Jeju that was closest to Caozhou, and Yuhe County was located in the south-central part of Jintai Prefecture, which was also relatively close to Caozhou.

In contrast, the situation in northern Kintae Prefecture is much better.

The journey was not smooth sailing.

In this day and age, refugees are everywhere and bandits roam the land.

Halfway there, Yang Jing and his companions encountered two groups of bandits who tried to stop them, but they were all just a bunch of rabble.

Yang Jing did not use his full strength, but easily defeated the bandit leader. Then, the three Ming Jin masters and other guards cooperated and easily scattered the bandits. The caravan suffered no losses, and the medicinal herbs were naturally intact.

By the time the medicinal herbs were safely delivered to Jinhe County and handed over, it was already dusk.

Yang Jing dared not delay and immediately led his team back, finally entering Yuhe County just as it was getting dark.

Yang Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief the moment the convoy entered Yuhe County.

Along the way, although they encountered two groups of robbers, neither of them were particularly powerful.

Yang Jing's biggest worry was still the Flying Horse Bandit.

The Flying Horse Bandits were incredibly agile. Several times the imperial troops were dispatched, but they were all outmaneuvered by the Flying Horse Bandits, and seven or eight soldiers were even killed.

Today, the Flying Horse Thief's reputation has spread throughout the entire Yuhe County.

Yang Jing wasn't sure what would happen if he encountered the Flying Horse Bandits. He had considered it in his mind. If he really did run into them, he would do his best. If all else failed, he would have to run away. With the Thunderous Leg technique, he could easily disappear into the mountains or reed marshes, and the Flying Horse Bandits might not be able to catch him.

Although he felt somewhat guilty for losing the medicinal herbs and letting down his senior brother Liu Maolin and Master Liu, Yang Jing would never risk his life for a few herbs and a sense of guilt.

In such chaotic times, if he dies, what will happen to his grandparents and mother? And who will search for his father and uncle?

Fortunately, he followed the route set by Master Liu before setting off and did not encounter any flying horse bandits.

However, Yang Jing felt that this was not a long-term solution. The Flying Horse Bandits were swift and highly mobile, able to evade them three or five times. As long as the Liu Family Medical Clinic continued to transport medicinal herbs to Jinhe County and the prefectural city, they would have to face the Flying Horse Bandits sooner or later.

However, for now, we can only let it drag on like this.

It is said that there are more than one master of internal strength among the Flying Horse Bandits, making them extremely powerful. However, there have been bandit groups stronger than the Flying Horse Bandits that have been wiped out by the imperial court in the past.

Yang Jing estimated that once the imperial court had the time and was truly determined, eradicating the Flying Horse Bandits shouldn't be too difficult.

When the caravan arrived at Liu's Medical Clinic, the clinic's old steward was already waiting at the door.

After the handover was completed, the old steward handed Yang Jing a heavy money bag, saying, "Young Master Yang, you've worked hard. This is a reward of ten taels of silver. Please accept it and follow the rules."

Yang Jing smiled as he took the money pouch, weighed it in his hand, and nodded, saying, "Thank you."

After completing the handover of his mission, Yang Jing immediately bid farewell to the old steward of the clinic, picked up his money bag, and left the clinic, heading towards his own courtyard in Tongyi Lane.

As he walked back, Yang Jing reflected on what he had seen and heard during the day, as well as his insights from fighting the two groups of robbers.

As night fell, Yang Jing returned to the small courtyard of Tongyi Lane, filled with blue bricks and gray tiles. The evening breeze of August carried the lingering heat of late summer, rustling the leaves in the corner of the courtyard.

Yang Jing took a cold shower and went into the kitchen shirtless.

He placed the casserole on a small clay stove, cut the bear meat into large chunks, and stewed it with ginger slices and angelica root. The bubbling sound of the broth was particularly clear in the quiet courtyard.

After it was cooked, he sat on the stone bench in the courtyard with the large, rough porcelain bowl in his hand and began to eat heartily. Although the taste was not as good as the chef's cooking at Fu Man Lou, Yang Jing was still quite satisfied. At least it was stewed until very tender, the meat chunks melted in his mouth, and the warm meat juice slid down his throat, quickly bringing a familiar warmth to his lower abdomen.

This is due to the nourishing effects of wild animal meat.

After eating two pounds of meat, Yang Jing patted his slightly bloated belly. When he stood up, his joints made a slight cracking sound, a sign that his muscles and bones were being nourished.

Chaos, bandits, and martial arts trials—these things were like a whip lashing Yang Jing's back, making him dare not linger and constantly thinking about practicing martial arts to become stronger.

Fortunately, he had the panel, which allowed him to clearly see the effects of each martial arts practice and his daily improvement, giving him even more motivation to practice.

Yang Jing took a deep breath, walked to the center of the courtyard, and firmly planted his stance. The wind from his Mountain-Crushing Fist swept across the ground, stirring up dust.

The first move, "Splitting Stone," was unleashed, the fist striking the air with a sharp whistling sound.

When the seventh move, "Collapse Clouds," landed, the stone mill in the corner of the courtyard trembled slightly.

An hour later, beads of sweat on Yang Jing's forehead fell to the ground, spreading into a small dark patch.

After taking a short break, Yang Jing switched to practicing the Surging Waves Kick.

With a swift movement, his feet moved like a woven tapestry, and the dull thud of his kicks striking the tree trunk startled the night birds perched on the branches.

He deliberately channeled his inner strength into his toes, and each kick subtly echoed the rhythm of 'waves crashing against the shore'.

Yang Jing didn't finish his practice until the moon was high in the sky.

The cool well water washed over my body, dispelling the sticky sweat.

Lying on the hard bed, Yang Jing slowly closed his eyes, and the scene of the military examination seemed to appear before his eyes.

Three days later, early in the morning.

As the morning light just shone over the archway of Tongyifang, Yang Jing let out a burp, left his courtyard, and headed towards the martial arts school in Chengpingfang.

The ginseng slices mixed with the astragalus root, still warm from the decoction, combined with the tender bear meat weighing over a pound, created a warm current that spread throughout his limbs, making his steps lighter.

Along the way, the street scenes exuded a somber atmosphere.

In the corners of the walls and under the eaves, many refugees huddled together, each one pale and emaciated, their tattered clothes unable to conceal their bony frames.

It should be noted that this area is already considered to be near the core of Yuhe County. Further in is the inner city.

The Tongyi Ward and Chengping Ward areas have seen a surge of migrants, and the other wards and markets further out have even more migrants.

Under the scorching August sun, these refugees moved into the shade, leaning weakly against each other with vacant eyes.

"It's really tough when it gets cold."

Yang Jing sighed inwardly and shook his head slightly.

For now, at least we can survive on the warm sunshine, but once the cold autumn winds blow, the streets will probably see many more corpses every day.

As we were walking, a noisy conversation came from nearby, with some accents from other places.

Jintai Prefecture and Caozhou are relatively close to each other, and their accents are somewhat similar, but it is still easy to hear some differences.

Yang Jing paused slightly and looked in the direction of the sound.

Under the locust tree at the street corner, a dozen or so ragged refugees were gathered, talking amongst themselves. Their accents clearly indicated they came from the Caozhou area.

He subconsciously slowed his pace, took two steps back diagonally, and hid behind an old elm tree.

Compared to ordinary people, martial artists who have reached the level of internal strength have much better hearing and eyesight. Yang Jing has now broken through to the level of internal strength, and his hearing is far superior to that of ordinary people. Even from several meters away, those words can be clearly heard by him.

"The Song army went berserk, capturing Qinghe County. On the day the city fell, the fire burned for half the night."

“Our village belongs to Qinghe County. When we heard the noise, we ran east. We were the fastest runners. Those who were a step slower were all gone.”

"The Caozhou army did manage to hold them off at Yunmeng Mountain, but the casualties were too heavy. I heard that the corpses of the soldiers at the front line were piled up like mountains."

"My cousin works in the Caozhou army. Last time he sent someone to tell me that their food supplies are almost gone. What are they going to use to hold them off?"

These words were filled with terror and despair, like a dull knife repeatedly cutting into Yang Jing's heart.

Yang Jing had learned about places like Qinghe County and Yunmeng Mountain during his investigations, as they were part of the most intense and brutal area of ​​the Caozhou war. His father and uncle were both escorting supplies to the front lines of Caozhou with the imperial army.

"I hope my father and uncle aren't in Qinghe County or over there in Yunmeng Mountain," Yang Jing clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

He stood behind the tree, watching the hunched backs of the group of refugees from Caozhou, remaining motionless for a long time, his heart heavy and anxious.

After a moment, he took a deep breath, loosened his fist, and prepared to head to the martial arts school.

Yang Jing's gaze had just left the group of Caozhou refugees who were talking when he caught a glimpse of several men gathered in the shadows at the street corner.

They wore short-sleeved shirts with bulging waistbands, their eyes darting around, glancing at passersby from time to time. That slickness and ruthlessness of street thugs was a unique quality of gang members.

Over the past few months, Yang Jing has been forced to deal with gangs many times, and has gained a relatively deep understanding of the various gangs in Yuhe County. He can see through the true nature of these low-level thugs at a glance.

Yang Jing noticed that the guys seemed to have made a decision, so he immediately stopped and shrank back against the wall, intending to observe for a while.

One of the men, dressed in a silk blouse and looking like a leader, walked straight toward a jewelry shop on the side of the street.

When he lifted the curtain and went in, Yang Jing vaguely saw a richly dressed woman in the shop, holding two pearl hairpins and gesturing with them at her temples.

Before long, a sharp 'smack' suddenly rang out from the shop, followed by the man's angry shout: "Do you understand that I told you not to buy it? Do you think all the money in your house grows on trees?"

The sound was quite loud, and pedestrians on the street turned to look at it.

Yang Jing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. Then he saw the man in the silk short shirt come out of the shop, clutching two pearl hairpins, his face still showing anger. The pearl hairpins were dazzling and obviously very valuable.

Inside the shop, the elegantly dressed woman covered her slightly swollen cheek, stunned for a moment. The sudden turn of events left her speechless.

But soon, as she looked at her empty hands, a woman's cries rang out from inside the shop: "Robbery! Someone's stealing things!"

Then came the panicked voices of the shop assistants and maids, "Madam, isn't that your husband? What?"

"Who is his husband? Bah, he is not my husband! I don't know him!" The woman's voice was both urgent and angry.

Immediately afterwards, a chaotic commotion erupted in the shop. Several servants ran out of the shop carrying sticks, but the man in the silk shirt had already disappeared.

(End of this chapter)