The years when I explored the fairyland.

Chapter 101: In the Black Mountain, Red Earth City
Sanhe Town is not very big and has a small permanent population, but as a small "ferry" town, it looks quite prosperous.

Looking out from the boat, Chu Zhou discovered that the crude dock was extremely busy with people pulling boats, moving goods, transporting goods, fishing, as well as pedestrians and livestock coming and going.

Of course, there were also many men wearing linen green clothes, holding sticks, patrolling back and forth, collecting taxes while maintaining basic order.

These people were not constables or yamen runners, but gangs from Sanhe Town.

This world has its own rules. In areas beyond the reach of the government, these gangs often have the final say.

They would assist the government in completing taxation, corvee labor, military service, and maintaining order in the area.

But gangs are gangs. When Chu Zhou got off the boat, the stench hit him in the face and made his face turn black.

Even though I have blocked my sense of smell as much as possible, the smell that still fills my nose is the smell of livestock feces and urine, mixed with the smell of fish, which is really too overpowering.

Before Chu Zhou and the others could react, there was another burst of commotion coming from the front. Chu Zhou had sharp senses and discovered that quite a few people were attacking those men in blue clothes and shorts.

Neither side used swords, but they swung sticks and weapons fiercely, aiming at vital points.

This group of people mixed in the crowd and suddenly attacked, catching the men in blue off guard.

But the screams of the man in green also attracted more men in green, and they pounced on him ferociously.

At this time, a group of people also rushed into the town, and the two sides met and started fighting directly.

Their fight forced the others to retreat continuously, and many of them fell directly into the water.

Chu Zhou frowned when watching this scene. It wasn’t because it was threatening, but mainly because he had never seen it before!
Among the crowd, only Wei Jinkui reacted very quickly. He turned around and said a few words, and his two apprentices, the leather-training warriors, jumped out.

They jumped into the crowd and attacked with three punches and two kicks, forcing both sides to retreat step by step.

After the chaos was completely settled, each of them picked up a person and carried them back like chickens.

Wei Jinkui did not let Chu Zhou come forward, but went forward himself and after a few words of conversation, he figured out the situation.

Then, Chu Zhou naturally knew it.

There used to be a gang in Sanhe Town called the Sanhe Gang, which was indirectly related to the Yunya Sword Sect, so it was considered stable because of its reputation.

But now the Yunya Sword Sect and the Wenxiang Temple are fighting, so a new force has emerged, a gang, which, under the name of the Wenxiang Temple, wants to seize the territory.

Then the two sides engaged in a melee, with each side fighting back and forth, but the winner was still undecided.

Today, the new gang wanted to catch the Sanhe Gang off guard, but they didn't expect to be disrupted by Chu Zhou and his gang.

Honestly speaking, Chu Zhou was a little stunned when he figured this out. He didn't expect that the struggle between the two factions would extend to such subtle details.

After Wei Jinkui understood the situation, he released the person immediately.

As it was still early, they unloaded the supplies, harnessed the horses and carriages, and without any intention of stopping, they headed straight along the official road.

After they left, the group of people dispersed cursing, leaving behind only a few corpses that stained the ground red.

Judging from the attitudes of the two gangs, it probably won’t be long before they start fighting again.

Chu Zhou did not interfere with Wei Jinkui's handling of the situation. After they had walked a long way, he asked Wei Jinkui, "Uncle, are you just going to let them continue fighting?"

Wei Jinkui seemed to know that he would ask this question. He looked up at Chu Zhou and asked, "Does the master want to intervene?"

"No, that's right, that's right..."

Chu Zhou tilted his head and thought for a long time before organizing his words: "I just think it's not a good idea to let the chaos spread."

“The master has a kind heart and cannot bear to see the sufferings of the world.

But if you really want to manage it, then under what name? And how should you do it? To what extent should you do it? "

Chu Zhou shook his head: "I don't know!"

Wei Jinkui then explained: “I know that the temple master doesn’t like gangs, but as the most direct exploiters, they are the best helpers of the government office, and they also bear most of the infamy of the sects and families.

If necessary, just catch and kill them, and it will appease the people."

"This is the fundamental reason why they can exist, and gang fighting will always be the mainstream at the bottom of society."

"I see!"

……

The official road outside Sanhe Town is quite easy to travel on, and the carriages move fast.

Chu Zhou ended his conversation with Wei Jinkui and went back to the carriage. He tried to figure out the mysteries of transforming magic power into internal force while making notes in his notebook.

Maybe it was because he had some understanding of the vibration, but Chu Zhou felt as if all the muscles in his body came alive, able to release force and stretch like springs, adapting to the bumps of the carriage.

When writing, my hand and pen were steady, and every word I wrote was as if carved by a knife or an axe. I no longer felt the dizziness I had felt before.

He had not expected this benefit.

But this journey was really not peaceful.

They encountered robbers on the mountain road. Dozens of bandits were standing there loosely, holding various anti-tetanus weapons. They set up a table and collected taxes per person.

When Chu Zhou saw it, he thought it was a joke. Those dozens of people were really a mix of men, women, young and old, with the words "old, weak, women and children" written on their faces.

But the passers-by were actually queuing up obediently. Chu Zhou took a quick glance and saw at least several warriors, but they were not prepared to attack at all.

Wei Jinkui also honestly went forward to negotiate, gave money, and cut in line, so he passed first.

Chu Zhou was stunned by this scene, unable to understand it. It was not until Wei Jinkui explained it to him that he realized that this group of people were actually bandits affiliated with the "Black Mountain Crowd".

These people may seem insignificant, and they may even be left here to be killed. But if you kill one of them, you will have to endure the relentless pursuit from the Black Mountain people.

They even had a record of killing violators in front of the county magistrate in his mansion and escaping unscathed.

The Black Mountain leader was said to be a congenital warrior, and even more mysterious. No one had ever seen his face. There was still a blank on the wanted list of the government office.

Of course, if you think that these 'Black Mountain Crowd' are all bad, that's not the case.

Because, before the Black Mountain boss came, there were dozens of groups of bandits on dozens of hills along this road alone.

They can never be completely killed or wiped out. Even if pedestrians pay tolls, they will still be blackmailed by the next wave of bandits and may even lose their lives.

That's the real mess!

However, when the 'Black Mountain Clan' came into being and unified this area of ​​green forest, there were fewer messy things.

As long as you pay the money and get the license, you will be safe in this area.

They also encountered a fight between masters when they were camping in a deserted mountain. A group of people were chasing a young girl, and every move they made was ruthless.

The girl looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. She was dressed brightly and boldly, holding a long whip in her hand, which made a crackling sound.

Her lightness skills are also quite good. She can move around nimbly and quickly, and at the same time, she can show off her proud figure, which seems to be able to arouse people's desire.

But there were too many people chasing her, and they were quite powerful. She was jumping up and down and was in danger.

When Yi Huai saw this, he wanted to take action, but Wei Jinkui held him back, saying, "Just wait and see, just wait and see..."

Then, they saw the girl luring people to the side of the convoy, and using the convoy as cover, she killed the two pursuers.

However, seeing Chu Zhou and the others watching coldly, unmoved, murderous and not easy to mess with, the girl changed her direction in dismay and left.

Afterwards, Wei Jinkui explained that although the girl looked cute and lovely, she was actually Diewu, who was specially trained by Mei Jiaoniang, the left protector of Wenxiang Temple.

Their main duties are to seduce people with beauty, gather intelligence, poison and assassinate people, and they are very difficult to deal with.

And those pursuers must be from the Yunya Sword Sect.

They traveled on and on for five days in a row, encountered various situations and encountered all kinds of messes, but Wei Jinkui stepped forward and dealt with them one by one.

While Chu Zhou felt that he had gained more knowledge, he also had a real sense of the struggle between the two factions and the chaos in Tianquan County.

Five days later, they finally arrived at Red Earth City.

Red Earth City is named after the scarlet soil. Legend has it that an ancient immortal died here, and his blood fell into the human world, dyeing the land red.

But in fact, there are extremely rich mineral deposits here, and there is a lot of iron ore. You don’t even have to dig into the mountains. You can find the best iron ore by picking them up at random.

With this natural advantage, Red Earth City has gathered the largest and most powerful blacksmiths.

I forge iron every day, and the sound of "ding-ding-dang-dang" never stops day and night.

When there is a stove burning, clumps of black smoke rise into the sky, making the sky no longer clean and adding a bit of heat to the air.

As long as you pass here, it will only take a day to reach Anyue City.

……

Gululu!
Tap tap tap tap!

The carriage was moving in the middle of the road, Chu Zhou was riding on a horse and walking in front, while Yi Huai and Wei Fangjie were guarding the convoy on both sides.

Their speed was not fast, it could even be said to be slow, because Chu Zhou was slowing them down.

There were very few pedestrians on both sides of the road, and even if there were, they were in a hurry. However, there were many more prying eyes in the surrounding houses.

Chu Zhou also saw puddles of dark red liquid in the dark alleys on the side of the street, emitting a strong smell of blood. It was obvious that the bodies had been dragged away but the streets had not been cleaned up.

At some point, Wei Jinkui returned to the team, riding a horse behind Chu Zhou with a frown on his face.

"Master, this Red Earth City is not a place to stay for long. We'd better leave quickly."

Chu Zhou asked: "Is there chaos in the city?"

"Correct!"

Wei Jinkui paused for a moment and then said, "Before, there were three martial arts sects in Hongtu City, the Iron Horse Sect, the Casting Sect, and the Xiangyun Sect. The three factions were in a tripartite relationship and were considered extremely stable.

But now, Xiangyun Hall was destroyed, Tiema Hall and Zhujiang Sect started fighting together, and then they also started fighting each other.

Nowadays, the entire Red Earth City has come to a complete standstill, almost all blacksmith shops are no longer in operation, and those with connections have all fled."

"Where are the officials?"

"I heard that Hongtu County Master was the first to leave the city."

After a pause, Wei Jinkui continued, "Not all cities have county lords like Ji Mingqian, and not all cities have people like the temple master to protect them."

"So, what's happening here is also related to the struggle between the two factions?"

"Of course! The Iron Horse Hall was founded by the disciples of the Yunya Sword School, while the Casting Craftsmen Sect obeys the orders of the Wenxiang Temple. Both sides have already caused chaos in Hongtu City.

This place is rich in ironware, including weapons and armor. Neither the Yunya Sword School nor the Wenxiang Temple will give up easily."

Chu Zhou asked again: "What should we do now?"

"Replenish food and water, and leave immediately."

"it is good!"

The plan had been made, and everyone moved very quickly to find an inn, replenished their water and dry food, and immediately crossed the city and went out from the east gate.

Not until they were actually out of the city gate did everyone relax a little, but what they didn't expect was that there were five people on the city gate staring coldly at their receding backs.

　Thanks to Chaoxibaba for the 800 reward!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)