The 18th year of the Da Yong reign: The beginning of the story involves rescuing revolutionaries.

When Wang Zhi found Zhang Dafa, the latter was crawling on the ground with a limp, holding a porcelain bowl he had gotten from somewhere, begging along the street.

Wang Zhi hid behind the road sign and watched silently for a while.

It seems that the other person has been surviving by begging for the past two days.

"Grandpa, please have mercy and give me some food."

A pair of legs stood in front of him. Zhang Dafa's eyelids drooped, and he simply stretched out his bowl and shook it listlessly.

"What happened? You've gotten yourself into this state after just a few days?"

Hearing the familiar yet slightly playful voice, Zhang Dafa shuddered. He saw the person in front of him squat down, revealing a calm smile.

Zhang Dafa opened his chapped lips, uttered a meaningless tremor, swallowed, and even managed a smile. He licked his chapped lips before speaking: "I offended the Shen family and had my left leg broken and was thrown out of the house."

"I had found a walking stick and was planning to beg my way to Liuzhou County to seek refuge with you. But I was woken up by a bunch of punches while I was sleeping in an alley at night. They said I didn't know the rules of begging, not only snatched my walking stick, but also dumped me on this Yushi Street."

He's been going hungry for days, barely surviving. And damn it, this handout is far worse than your white flour buns!" He then slapped his thigh in anger.

Wang Zhi looked at Zhang Dafa's face, which was covered in red and swollen bruises, and his body was filthy, with five or six footprints on it. Clearly, he hadn't just been beaten up.

"How did you offend the Shen family?" Wang Zhi continued to ask.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dafa's eyelids drooped again, and his eyes dimmed slightly: "To be precise, it wasn't the Shen family that I offended, but rather the third young lady of the Shen family."

That day, we, who all know how to make things, were testing firearms in a small courtyard. Miss Shen, the third young lady, seemed to have a particular interest in this area, and proudly brought out her self-made firearms for us to appreciate.

However, as soon as I got my hands on her, I realized she had made a clear mistake. Firing rashly would only cause trouble, so I immediately pointed it out, which seemed like I was publicly humiliating the young lady. She was not satisfied and immediately called her servant to try firing the gun.

My attempts to stop him were futile. As I expected, the servant pulled the trigger, and the gun exploded, severing his fingers. He screamed in agony, covered in blood, and was helped away.

"While I felt sorry for my servant, I also felt that I had seen through the trickery and the mistake at a glance, which proved my ability and meant that my future was bright."

However, I was completely wrong; I was too naive.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Miss Shen, humiliated and embarrassed, blushed with shame. She falsely accused me of tampering with the gun when I touched it, saying I was of low character and unworthy to remain in the Shen family. She ordered her men to break my leg and throw me out. Oh, look at the mess this has made! Now I'm in this state.

These words enraged Wang Zhi, whose chest heaved like a bellows.

This kind of crazy young lady is completely beyond the comprehension of normal people.

After calming down, Wang Zhi spoke, "Come with me, there are still some steamed buns. Shall we go?"

"Go? Only a fool wouldn't leave." Zhang Dafa, with strength seemingly appearing out of nowhere, sat up. "I'm a cripple now, and you're still willing to take me in?"

"Just go, stop talking so much nonsense." Wang Zhiyi bent down, raised his hand, and without any disgust at Zhang Dafa's filth and stench, picked him up and strode towards the nearest clinic.

He possessed the agility and speed to run, but for the sake of stability, he dared not run too fast.

"Aren't you afraid the Shen family will see you parading around like this? Angering a powerful family is no joke; I'm a living example," Zhang Dafa continued on Wang Zhi's back.

"What a load of bull! Are kings and nobles born with special privileges? Come with me, and one day I'll make you come back to avenge this grudge in person!" Wang Zhi said fiercely.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dafa's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh, exclaiming, "Excellent! What a wonderful statement! Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

Suddenly he asked again, "Didn't you take your daughter to Lidu? How come you returned to Zhaoyang so quickly and even found me?"

"That's not my daughter, she's my sworn sister. It's quite a coincidence. I just happened to be passing by Zhaoyang to see if you managed to get in. Who knew that not only did you fail to get in, but you also got your leg broken and were thrown out."

"Hahaha, this is so embarrassing!" Zhang Dafa burst into laughter.

After a short while, Wang Zhi carried Zhang Dafa into Cao's Medical Clinic.

The latter whispered, "If you hadn't found me, I'm afraid even if I had survived this autumn, I would have died in the winter wind, curled up in some corner, slowly cooling down, with no one to collect my body."

Wang Zhi fell silent. He didn't remember the name Zhang Dafa. It was likely that in the original story, this ambitious young man who knew about firearms and wanted to make a name for himself in the chaotic world had really died, died quietly.

In other words, there is more than just one Zhang Dafa in this world.

So Wang Zhi didn't reply, but stepped over the threshold of the clinic and shouted loudly, "Doctor, where's the doctor? I need to see a doctor and set bones."

The air was filled with the scent of medicine. There were medicine boxes on one wall in front of me, and several young, clean-looking pharmacists in gray cotton jackets were dispensing medicine.

There were no patients in the clinic.

These days, if you're sick and can drink a couple of spoonfuls of sugar water, you're considered to be doing quite well. Most people would rather eat a few wild fruits than go to the clinic for treatment.

"Stop making noise, I'm here." A lean man in his fifties lifted the blue curtain and came out, wearing black glasses on his nose, to examine the patient.

Before long, the doctor clapped his hands and said, "The leg can still be treated, it's just a fracture. The bone setting will cost three silver dollars, and the topical ointment will cost two hundred coins per patch. I'll prescribe ten patches for you. As for the other skin and flesh injuries, I'll charge you fifty coins for the herbal ointment."

"To treat or not to treat?"

Wang Zhi was secretly astonished. Ordinary people couldn't afford to see a doctor. No wonder many farmers in the county town either endured their illnesses and waited to die, or would rather spend hundreds of coins to hire a shaman to exorcise evil spirits than step into a clinic.

Those three silver dollars alone would be enough for a dockworker to carry a load for two months without eating or drinking.

Now that he's come to his senses, he even suspects that the bounty for the Eighteen Docks River Bandits announced by the government is inconsistent with the amount reported to the imperial court, and that the difference is very likely to be too large.

Zhang Dafa was stunned. He knew that clinics were ridiculously expensive, but he didn't expect them to be this expensive. He grabbed Wang Zhi and whispered, "Forget it, let's just get a couple of wooden planks and tie it up with straw rope."

Wang Zhi ignored him and directly told the doctor, "Treat him, hurry up."

Fifteen minutes later, Wang Zhi left Cao's Medical Clinic carrying the herbs, followed by Zhang Dafa, who was using a cane.

To be honest, it was a bit pricey, but the doctor was very skilled. Zhang Dafa didn't look as bad as before, and the walking stick was even included, so it was pretty good.

Wang Zhili hailed a rickshaw at the door, and the two headed towards the dock.

After all the trouble, just past 3 PM, they managed to catch the cargo ship of the Southwest United Chamber of Commerce bound for the neighboring province.

They didn't encounter Qian Shun on the cargo ship this time, and the head of the guards was a stranger, but many of the ordinary guards recognized Wang Zhi.

They treated Wang Zhi with great courtesy and, after informing him of the new guard leader, led him into a separate storage room.

There was a small table and soft cushions inside, and a pot of tea was bubbling on the charcoal.

Wang Zhi thought to himself, "So they've managed to get me a private room."

He didn't refuse, happy to have some peace and quiet to meditate and cultivate himself.

Zhang Dafa ate a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) with his tea and then fell into a deep sleep. It was the most peaceful sleep he had ever had. He grinned, and his drool soaked his collar.

Two hours later.

Wang Zhi opened his eyes wide.

Golden Essence Technique: Experience points 52/22/100.

The cargo ship gradually slowed down and finally docked at the pier.

We've arrived at Liuzhou County.