The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

Baishantun is not far from the county seat.

Although he was carrying dozens of kilograms of things, it wasn't too strenuous for Qin An, and he soon arrived near the county town.

The city gate of the county town was much thicker than the wooden fence of Baishantun. The gray bricks and stones were neatly stacked, and the two characters "Xingye" on the lintel exuded a sense of vigor.

The soldiers guarding the city carried swords and scanned the pedestrians coming and going with wary eyes.

Seeing Qin An carrying a piece of roe deer meat, he only frowned slightly, but didn't ask any further questions before letting him into the city.

As soon as you step through the city gate, a cacophony of noise surges in like a tide.

The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, haggling over prices, and children playing mingled together, creating a stark contrast to the tranquility of Baishan Village.

Shops lined both sides of the street, cloth shop signs swayed in the wind, and the aroma of wine wafted from the taverns. Occasionally, a horse-drawn carriage would pass by, its wheels making a "gurgling" sound as they rolled over the bluestone pavement.

Qin An took a deep breath, suppressing the slight curiosity in his heart.

He was now dressed in a patched-up coarse cloth outfit, covered with a rough tanned animal hide, and carrying a heavy load of roe deer meat on his back, making him stand out in the crowd.

But he didn't care about any of that; he just wanted to sell the meat as soon as possible so he could get money to buy things.

Following the directions he had inquired about on his way there, he headed straight for the city market.

Many vendors along the way cast curious glances at him as he carried wild game, and several restaurant staff came up to inquire about the price.

Qin An simply shook his head; he already had a goal in mind.

As Chen Han had mentioned before, Chang Yu's family were meat sellers; they owned a shop in the county town and were quite a large and successful family.

Putting everything else aside, the supplies Chen Han sent earlier did relieve some of his immediate crisis.

This kindness deserves our gratitude!

Although Qin An had sold some wild game in the county town before, it was only some small items, and he was too embarrassed to go to the Chang family.

In that case, it wouldn't be repaying a favor, but rather being taken care of by someone.

But now a whole roe deer is different; it's a hot commodity and can help people's businesses.

Instead of haggling with people at the market, it's better to sell directly to the Chang family.

As he was walking, three figures suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

The leader was a pockmarked man with a smirk and a malicious grin.

Two men with their hats askew followed behind him, their eyes darting around, clearly not good people.

"Hey, where did this country bumpkin come from, carrying so much meat? Planning to go to the city to find some women and have some fun?" the pockmarked man said sarcastically, reaching out to pat the roe deer meat. "Let me see if this wild animal is fat enough."

Qin An stepped aside, his brows furrowing slightly.

He didn't recognize the three men, but their tone was full of provocation; they were clearly there to cause trouble.

"Get out of the way!" Qin An's voice was low and tinged with impatience.

"Oh ho, you're pretty cocky, aren't you?" The pockmarked man laughed exaggeratedly, as if he had heard a joke. "Kid, do you know whose territory this is? In Xingye County, you're the first person to dare talk to me like that."

Another tall, thin man came over and pointed at the roe deer meat, saying, "This meat looks pretty good. We haven't had any meat today, so why don't you give it to the three of us?"

"That's right, since you're just a country bumpkin, it's a waste to keep such good meat. Why not give it to us to have with our drinks?" The short, fat man chimed in, his eyes full of greed.

Qin An's gaze turned cold.

With his already outstanding and eye-catching figure, and his hunter-like appearance, it was clear to anyone with eyes that he was not someone to be trifled with.

These kinds of scoundrels are best at bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Why would they suddenly come looking for trouble when there's no grudge between them?

He instantly sensed something was wrong, and without making a sound, he scanned his surroundings. Soon, he spotted a familiar figure near a tea stall not far away.

Zhao Erhu was holding a teacup, seemingly drinking tea, but his eyes kept glancing over here out of the corner of his eye, and a faint, cold smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

In an instant, Qin An understood.

These three scoundrels were clearly hired by Zhao Erhu.

Having been rebuffed by himself outside the village last time, Zhao Erhu probably still harbors resentment due to both old and new grudges.

Now that he's come to the city to sell meat, he wants to use these hooligans to cause trouble.

Having figured this out, Qin An's anger subsided considerably, replaced by a chill. Zhao Erhu was clearly trying to stir up trouble.

If he couldn't help but fight with these hooligans, Zhao Erhu would immediately jump out and arrest him on charges of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he couldn't very well lay a hand on him, who was dressed in official robes.

If we surrender without resistance, we'll be at his mercy.

"I need to sell this meat for money; I don't have time to waste with you all," Qin Anqiang said calmly, suppressing his anger.

"Sell it for money? It doesn't matter who you sell it to!" The pockmarked man stepped forward, almost touching Qin An, a stench of rancidity wafting from him. "I'll buy it today, fifty coins, this meat is mine!"

Fifty coins?

Forget about roe deer meat, you can't even buy half a pheasant.

This isn't buying, it's robbing!

Pedestrians around had already stopped and were watching the commotion from afar, whispering amongst themselves.

"It's Wang Mazi and his gang again, bullying outsiders."

"That kid looks pretty burly, he's probably not someone to mess with."

"So what if they're not easy to mess with? Didn't you see that Constable Zhao was over there but didn't come over? He probably took bribes from Wang Mazi and his gang."

"..."

Listening to the surrounding discussions, Qin An felt even colder.

Zhao Erhu had a clever plan; he wanted to clean himself up but didn't want to get his hands dirty.

He slowly lowered the roe deer meat from his back, and the meat hit the ground with a "thud," kicking up a cloud of dust.

He cracked his knuckles, his eyes suddenly sharpening, and a murderous aura emanated from him.

For the past month, he has been fighting wild animals in the mountains, his hands are stained with blood, and he has long been tainted with a menacing aura that keeps strangers away.

The deliberate release of this power immediately caused the three hooligans' expressions to change slightly.

Wang Mazi instinctively took a half step back, then, feeling he had lost face, he retorted, "You... what do you want to do? You don't dare to lay a hand on me, do you?"

Qin An didn't speak, but stared intently at them, his eyes like those of someone looking at three lambs to the slaughter.

The tall, thin man and the short, fat man felt uneasy under his gaze and involuntarily shrank behind the pockmarked man.

For a moment, the atmosphere froze.

Zhao Erhu watched from the tea stall with a furrowed brow. He hadn't expected Qin An's aura to become so intimidating. These three usually domineering hooligans were actually frightened by just one look from him.

He couldn't help but cough and wink at Wang Mazi.

Seeing Zhao Erhu's signal, the pockmarked man immediately felt reassured.

He gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and stepped forward again, saying, "Kid, I'm telling you, you're selling this meat whether you like it or not! Fifty coins, not a single coin less, and you're not leaving the city today!"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab the roe deer meat.

Seeing that the other party really dared to forcibly seize it, Qin An was in a bit of a dilemma.