A person sacrifices himself to become a saint in a chaotic world of martial arts.

Chapter 141 Entering Qingyuan County

The turmoil in Fengshan County had not yet reached Qingyuan County.

Su Bai moved with the crowd to the city gate and was questioned.

The sun was setting in the west, and the light was no longer so intense.

The light inside the city gate dimmed; it took a while for the eyes to adjust as one moved from light into darkness.

After entering the city, the view suddenly opened up.

The streets were wider than I had imagined, paved with blue bricks, and although there were some potholes, they were still neat.

Shops lined both sides of the street, their wine and tea flags fluttering in the breeze, while vendors carrying loads of goods hawked their wares along the way, their calls rising and falling in a continuous chorus.

Pedestrians and vehicles came and went in an endless stream, the sounds of mules and horses' hooves, the creaking of cart wheels, and human voices all mixed together.

The noise was overwhelming, a mixture of various smells: the aroma of roasted wheat flour from the pancake stall, the bitterness from the herbal medicine shop, the stench of mules and horses, and the fragrance of cosmetics wafting from who-knows-where.

Su Bai led the horse for a while, his pace neither too fast nor too slow, the reins loosely held in his hand, the obedient green horse following behind, its hooves making a crisp sound on the blue bricks.

Fenjiang County is considered prosperous, but compared to this place, it seems rather deserted.

Qingyuan County is truly a vital hub on the trade route, attracting a large number of merchants and people from all walks of life.

He looked at the group: merchants dressed in silk, smiling broadly with shrewd eyes; mountain folk carrying bamboo baskets, their faces weathered and their expressions reserved; wandering swordsmen, heads held high, their eyes wary; and groups of women and children, laughing and playing.

Su Bai withdrew his gaze.

He knew the location of the Garrison Command: just go straight into the city, past three intersections, and it's in the alley next to the City God Temple. The letter had already been sent; they should have received the news by now and know that he, the new Chief Envoy, would be arriving soon.

But he doesn't plan to report for duty immediately.

Seeing this, Sun Hou couldn't help but ask, "Sir, aren't we going to the Zhenfu Division?" He blinked a few times, his face showing some doubt.

Su Bai glanced at him: "What's the rush? Let's look around first."

Sun Hou grinned: "Alright, let's take a look around first."

Su Bai didn't say anything, and continued walking forward with his horse.

Shouts rose and fell from both sides of the street, and the crowds thronged, some haggling over prices, others laughing and talking loudly.

Several idlers squatted in the corner, laughing so hard they were doubled over; two men in short brown clothes huddled together, talking and looking around.

Su Bai walked through the bustling crowd, his gaze calm and his steps unhurried. The hooves of his green horse rang rhythmically.

There was a tea stall on the street corner, with a few benches around a table made of a door panel. Several men were sitting around it, drinking tea and chatting. The cloth awning was whitened by the sun, and there were a few tears along the edges.

As Su Bai passed by them, he overheard a few fragmented words: "I heard the new chief inspector is arriving soon?" a man in a gray cloth shirt said, holding a teacup.

"That's right, I reckon it'll be in the next few days," chimed in a bearded man nearby.

"Heh, another one who's not afraid of death." The man in the gray shirt sneered and slammed his teacup on the table.

"Shh, keep your voice down, are you out of your mind?" The bearded man quickly waved his hand.

Su Bai walked past the tea stall without stopping. The words of those people were carried away by the wind and mixed into the noise of the street.

Sun Hou followed behind, but his ears were perked up, and he wrote down every single word of those words.

He glanced at the tea stall without making a sound, then quickly looked away.

As the sun gradually slanted westward, the light softened, casting long shadows on the ground. The streets of Qingyuan County remained bustling with people, even more so than before—the vendors' shouts were louder, and the haggling more intense.

Su Bai led his horse at a leisurely pace, as if he were looking for a suitable inn, or perhaps admiring the scenery of the city.

His gaze would occasionally sweep over a shop sign, occasionally fall on the face of a pedestrian, and occasionally look towards the gray eaves in the distance.

In the distance, in the direction of the Zhenfusi Yamen, a gray building with upturned eaves can be vaguely seen, standing silently in the twilight.

The building's silhouette was taller than the surrounding houses, yet it was gray and inconspicuous.

That's where he's going.

but not now.

Su Bai withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward. At the end of the street, a shop with a sign that read "Yuelai Inn" came into view.

The shop wasn't big, but it was very clean. The waiter at the door was greeting customers with a smile. He had a white cloth tied around his waist and was bending down to lead a customer's horse.

Su Bai glanced at it, then led his horse over. The sleigh snorted, its hooves making a crisp sound as it pounded on the blue brick pavement.

Su Bai sat down.

He was still thinking about the situation in Qingyuan County.

He stood on the main street of Dongcheng District, watching the flow of people coming and going, and felt a sense of emotion.

The afternoon sun slanted down, making the bluestone pavement slightly warm.

The street was much more bustling than he had imagined. Shops lined both sides, including silk stores, grain shops, medicine shops, and pawnshops, one after another.

Various fabrics hung at the entrance of the silk shop, and the silk fabrics swayed gently in the wind.

The shop assistant at the herbal medicine shop was slicing astragalus with a cleaver, his movements even, and the aroma of the medicine wafted across half the street.

Peddlers carrying loads, porters pushing carts, and traveling merchants on horseback weaved through the streets. The peddlers' shouts were drawn out, the porters hunched over pushing their carts, the axles creaking, and sweat streamed down their backs.

Occasionally, one could see a few ornately decorated carriages rolling along the cobblestone road, their wheels making a dull thud as they churned over the cracks in the stones. The carriages were adorned with different emblems—the Wei family's blue wolf, the Wu family's cloud pattern, the Wan family's copper coins, and the Xie family's silver shuttle.

Such an atmosphere in such a small county town.

Su Bai stood by the roadside for a moment, squinting slightly. The sunlight was a bit dazzling, so he raised his hand to shield his eyes, and dappled sunlight filtering through his fingers fell on his face.

The documents he had retrieved from the Zhenfu Division's archives the previous night flashed through his mind—those yellowed pages, densely written in small characters, and vermilion seals pressed into the corners. He already knew the distribution of power in Qingyuan County by heart.

Three major families, four major gangs, plus a chamber of commerce alliance. This is the publicly recognized top-tier power.

The Wei family was a powerful local force. Their ancestors had served as officials in Fengshan County, and although they later declined, their influence remained.

The Wei family's old residence covers an area of ​​30 mu (approximately 2 hectares), with three courtyards and three entrances. The blue bricks on the martial arts training ground in the backyard have been worn down.

Now, the old master of the Wei family, Wei Zhengshan, is a master in the middle stage of the True Qi Realm. He is sixty-seven years old this year. It is said that he still practices his fist every morning. The wind from his fist can make the locust tree leaves fall down from three zhang away.

He had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Wei Yan, was a merchant in the county town and was said to have dealings with the clerk in the prefect's office.

The second son, Wei Heng, was in charge of household affairs and was a smiling tiger;

Wei Wu, the third son, is a martial arts fanatic and is said to be close to breaking through to the mid-stage of the True Qi Realm.

The family has seven or eight experts at the early stage of True Qi Realm, plus a group of bodyguards they keep, making them significantly stronger than the other three families.

The Wu, Wan, and Xie families are slightly inferior, but each of them has a mid-stage True Qi Realm expert and four or five early-stage experts.

The Wu family started out as a grain merchant, and their warehouse was located north of the county town, consisting of a row of more than twenty large warehouses.

The Wan family ran a pawnshop and a money exchange, and most of the money in Qingyuan County passed through their hands.

The Xie family has a long tradition of weaving, with dozens of looms in the west of the city, and the brocade they produce can be sold as far as the county seat.

The four families intermarried and formed a complex web of relationships. They were wary of each other, yet jointly controlled the fields, grain production, and some trade routes in Qingyuan County.

The three major gangs are rooted in the city. The leader of the Golden Knife Alliance, "Golden Knife" Luo Lie, is in the mid-stage of the True Qi Realm and has seven or eight leaders in the early stage of the True Qi Realm under his command.

This man was a swordsman in his early years. It is said that he worked as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) in the Northwest when he was young, killing people. Later, he came to Qingyuan County and started his business by carrying goods at the dock.

The golden-backed chopping knife he wielded weighed forty-eight jin (approximately 34 catties), with seven copper nails inlaid on its back. It gleamed with golden light when he wielded it, hence the nickname.

Nowadays, seven or eight out of ten docks, porters, and carriage companies in Qingyuan County have to be mindful of the Golden Knife Alliance's wishes.

The Iron Palm Gang and the Blood Blade Gang are slightly weaker, each with only two or three members at the early stage of True Qi Realm.

However, their influence is widespread, controlling all walks of life, including gambling dens, brothels, teahouses, and taverns. They are the most well-informed and use the most insidious methods.

As for the Chamber of Commerce Alliance, it was a behemoth comprised of twenty-three smaller chambers of commerce. In terms of the number of True Qi Realm experts, there were eighteen early-stage and one mid-stage expert, which combined exceeded the number of the three major families.

But Su Bai knew from the information that the power of discourse within this alliance was fragmented: salt merchants and cloth merchants fought, grain merchants and tea merchants vied for power, and people from the north and south argued.

At the monthly alliance meeting on the first day of each month, it's common for arguments to escalate to the point of banging on tables and smashing teacups. When it really comes down to it, it's no wonder they can't stick together as a cohesive unit.

"Ten years ago, Qingyuan County didn't have so many True Qi Realm experts."

Su Bai recalled that sentence in the dossier, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. At that time, Qingyuan County was just an ordinary county under the jurisdiction of Fengshan Prefecture. The three major families had not yet become powerful, and the head of the Zhenfu Division in the city was only at the Divine Power Realm.

Of course, the most important factor was that trade routes were not yet established at that time. The so-called three major families had only just begun to settle in Qingyuan County.

Everything changed with the opening of the Annam trade route. That new trade route came from Annam in the south, passed through Qingyuan County, went north, and went straight into Fengshan County.

Spices, ivory, rhinoceros horn, and pearls from Annam were transported in cartloads from the south; silk from the north...

Porcelain, tea, and medicinal herbs were transported there, truckload after truckload.

In just a few years, countless goods, money, and people poured in along this trade route, attracting countless profit-seekers.

Families from the county town sent branches, gangs from other places set up territories, and all sorts of people, including independent cultivators, bodyguards, merchants, and swindlers, gathered here.

This has led to the current situation where these eight companies coexist.

Interests are intertwined, they are in conflict, and the relationships are complex.

Looking at the carriages with different emblems on the street, Su Bai suddenly felt that this small county town was even more lively than Fengshan County. In the county town, the rules were already set in stone, and it was obvious who was strong and who was weak.

But in Qingyuan County, everything is still changing, still in flux, and still being reshuffled.

He looked away and continued walking forward.

The street was crowded, so he squeezed past several peddlers carrying loads.

As I passed by a teahouse, I heard a noisy argument coming from inside.

Through the half-open door, one could vaguely see two groups of people facing off—one with the Iron Palm Gang's black handprint embroidered on their sleeves, and the other with the Golden Knife Alliance's yellow belt around their waist.

Su Bai glanced at it briefly before continuing on his way. He didn't stop walking, nor did he turn his head.

The records of the Zhenfu Division clearly state that while the eight factions dare not openly oppose the Zhenfu Division, their private struggles have never ceased.

Fighting over a street today, snatching a shop tomorrow, and getting into a brawl over a woman the day after are all common occurrences.

As long as no one dies and no innocent civilians are harmed, the Zhenfu Division is too lazy to bother with it, nor is it necessary to.

What really bothered him was something else.

The Zhenfu Division of Qingyuan County was the nominal but true overlord.

Aside from the chief constable who died earlier, there was another deputy constable surnamed Qin, who was at the late stage of the True Qi Realm and was the most well-known expert in the entire Qingyuan County.

Ten years ago, I chased a heretical sorcerer all by myself for three hundred miles, and finally killed him on the border of Annam, returning with his head.

The county's General Garrison Command is divided into four district garrison commands in the east, west, south, and north. Each district is overseen by a mid-stage True Qi Realm cultivator—this was a special adjustment made by the Fengshan Garrison Command to suppress the increasingly chaotic situation in Qingyuan County.

There are more than ten True Qi Realm experts in the entire company.

This number, taken alone, is not small.

But Su Bai had done the math: excluding the support from the county seat, the Qingyuan County Garrison Command's own forces alone couldn't even suppress the Chamber of Commerce Alliance, which had eighteen members in the early stages.

That's why they sent me down.

Su Bai knew this in his heart, and paused slightly in his tracks.

Fengshan had long realized that the situation in Qingyuan County was unstable and that they needed to send in more capable fighters to stabilize the situation.

He, at the late stage of the True Qi Realm, was the undisputed number one expert in the entire Qingyuan County.

"You came to the right place."

The thought popped into Su Bai's mind, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Back in the county town, he was just one of many experts, above him were Zhen Gang Realm envoys, patriarchs of various families, and unfathomable old monsters.

When you go out to run errands, you have to bow your head and give way to those people, and you have to be careful when you speak to them.

But once you get to Qingyuan County, the late stage of True Qi Realm is already a challenge.

But he quickly suppressed his smile.

A late-stage True Qi Realm cultivator can run rampant in Qingyuan County. But this is likely only their apparent strength.

"The overt strength of other forces is not to be relied upon," Su Bai reminded himself. "The monsters and demons operating behind the scenes are what we really need to be wary of."

With the opening of trade routes in Annam, not only legitimate merchants flocked in.

The wicked, the demonic, and the desperate outlaws among the rogue cultivators, as well as those scoundrels expelled by the major powers, might be hiding in some corner.

These people don't have their names engraved on the train carriages or embroidered on their sleeves. They blend into the crowd, walk on the street, and when they brush past you, you don't even know if it will be the last time you see them.

Could members of the Rotation Church have infiltrated as well?

Will those hidden masters suddenly appear and cause trouble?

Su Bai had seen too many examples of people capsizing due to carelessness.

Back in the county town, there was a镖头 (镖头 is a type of镖师) who was at the late stage of the True Qi Realm. Relying on his formidable strength, he accepted a镖 (镖师 is a type of镖师) mission to another region.

Before leaving, he drank with some people and patted his chest, saying, "I've walked this road for twenty years, I could walk it with my eyes closed."

As a result, two powerful demonic cultivators suddenly appeared on the way and joined forces to attack, killing the head镖师 (镖头,镖师 is a term used to describe someone who escorts goods) on the spot and causing all the silver to be lost.

It was later discovered that the shipment was a setup deliberately orchestrated by someone.

When the body was brought back, it had a hole the size of a bowl in its chest, and its eyes were still open.