I am Jinshan Youxia

At the edge of the farmland, a calico cat casually placed its front paws on the ground, arched its back and stretched, then seemed completely unafraid of strangers as it meowed at Zhang Chengyi, walked over, and rubbed its head against his feet.

"Mimi, be good~"

Zhang Chengyi smiled and squatted down to pat the calico cat's head, then left the cat behind, which had meowed twice, and walked into the village.

Hey, I have to say, there are a lot of cats in this village. As soon as you enter the village, you can see cats everywhere. It's like you've entered a cat village.

People in the Song Dynasty were among the most cat-loving people in ancient times. In the Song Dynasty, keeping a cat was not called "keeping a cat," but "hiring a cat." Huang Tingjian wrote a poem describing his process of hiring a cat. The great poet Lu You was a typical cat-loving man with children. On the surface, he was a patriotic poet who wrote poems about war and the people, but in private, he named his cats "Xue'er" and "Fenbi."

One can't help but wonder if the great poet Lu would yell at his 'Xue'er' to change?

The book "Yijian Zhi" also records two stories about pet cats. Hu Zhonggong, a poet from the Southern Song Dynasty, even wrote a poem to complain that his fat cat ate too well and was unwilling to catch mice.

There were countless stories about cats in the Song Dynasty. Even Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, painted a picture of a cat father—no, an old man.

But it's normal for scholars and wealthy people to keep cats as family members, so why are there so many cats in ordinary people's villages?

"Oh dear!" A middle-aged woman had just stepped out when she saw the muscular man with his upper body bare. Her face flushed slightly, she spat, and then stared intently at his muscular physique, saying in a thick accent, "Brother, aren't you from this village?"

“What you say is true, ma’am.” Zhang Chengyi said with a smile, “I accidentally ruined my clothes. May I ask if you could sell me a new set?”

The woman looked the tall, burly man up and down, shook her head, and said, "I don't think anyone in the village is as tall as you—"

"Brother, you must be a martial artist."

"How so?" Zhang Chengyi asked.

The woman chuckled and said, "How come you're so strong if you're not practicing martial arts? If my second son weren't so lacking in talent, he would have gone to practice martial arts with King Li long ago."

As she spoke, she called out, "Master, some martial artists have entered the village."

Before long, a muscular man with a towel draped over his shoulder came out from the backyard carrying a stone lock. He glanced at Zhang Chengyi standing outside and asked in a friendly tone, "Where are you from, brother?"

As he spoke, he casually tossed the stone lock aside, walked over, opened the door, and said, "Come in and sit down, come in and sit down."

Aren't you afraid I'm a bad guy coming to cause trouble?

Zhang Chengyi thought for a moment, then, without any hesitation, followed him into the courtyard and asked curiously, "Who is this King Li you're talking about?"

"Brother, aren't you from Yinzhou?" the man asked, looking surprised.

Yinzhou? Isn't that the territory of Western Xia? I ran quite far before I went to sleep.

Zhang Chengyi pondered for a moment and then asked, "Is this Yinzhou in Western Xia?"

The man paused for a moment, somewhat puzzled, and said, "The Western Xia has been gone for almost thirty years, brother, you..."

"It's like this, I left the Central Plains more than thirty years ago and have only just returned," Zhang Chengyi casually explained, then added, "The Western Xia dynasty was destroyed, but what about the Song dynasty?"

The man understood that not all places are the same as the Northwest. News travels very fast, and some mountain people living in remote areas don't even know what the Great Song Dynasty was, let alone the changes in the past few decades.

He spoke with a smile about the changes that have taken place over the past thirty years.

The Great Song Dynasty still exists, it hasn't become the Southern Song Dynasty. The Western Xia and Liao Dynasties have both disappeared. According to the Han people, thirty years ago, King Xiao was ordered by Emperor Zhao Xu of the Great Song Dynasty to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, expanding the territory. It was like a heavenly army descending, taking down cities in three days, conquering countries in five days, and maintaining stability in a hundred days. He marched into the Western Regions without bloodshed.

For several years, the Song Dynasty enjoyed immense prestige, with all nations paying tribute. Then, Emperor Zhao Xu of the Song Dynasty passed away, and the court attempted to seize power from Prince Xiao. As a result, the glorious Song Dynasty collapsed.

Today, it is said that the Song Dynasty can only control the territory in the Central Plains. To the northeast is the Jin Dynasty, the south is a mixed bag with various martial arts sects vying for control, and the west, from the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun all the way to the Western Regions, was once the territory of King Xiao. However, since King Xiao left after more than ten years, this area has long been divided up by various kings.

As for why the man knew so much, it was because his father and brother had followed Li Dawang, a subordinate of King Xiao, and left their hometown to come here on a distant expedition. Later, their whole family moved here with them.

Yinzhou was then the territory of King Li.

Most of the villagers here have this identity. It is said that they are doing this because they are on the orders of King Xiao to find someone, so they have established multiple outposts and villages in Yinzhou and Jingzhou.

Chapter 105 A Chaotic Dance of Demons

Why are there so many cats here?

Zhang Chengyi learned a part of the past from the other party's half-baked words, which were full of conjecture and personal subjective wording, and then asked a question.

They've even fabricated stories about King Xiao being a star reincarnated; if it weren't pure fabrication, who would believe it?

He knew exactly what Xiao Feng looked like, how tall he was, how fat he was, and... cough cough, that's all.

Wait, why am I hearing people praising Xiao Feng again this time, even though I only came in last time?

"Because King Li likes cats." The man gave a reason that was both reasonable and unexpected. "In any administrative area of ​​Yinzhou, there must be enough people to keep a sufficient number of cats. Otherwise, if King Li were to arrive incognito and it was discovered that there weren't enough cats, the higher-ups would be in trouble."

"Just because of this?" Zhang Chengyi asked, somewhat surprised. "Don't you think that's going too far?"

The man laughed instead, patted Zhang Chengyi's bulging arm with an envious expression, and then explained the reason in detail.

The world has changed.

Especially in the former territory of King Xiao, the rules are completely different from those of the past.

More than thirty years has passed; it's been a generation. People born more than thirty years ago are now in their prime, and the culture and rules they received from childhood have become the rules governing the operation of society.

Here, might makes right, power is power, and martial arts skills are status in today's society.

The wealthy, landlords, and scholar-officials of the past were either exiled or had their homes confiscated. Only a few well-off families with decent morals were able to survive.

There was no way around it. What kind of people were under King Xiao's command? Beggars, servants, the poor, pimps, prostitutes, and even those with some education were former rebels from the Murong family who had roamed the martial arts world. With so many people rushing out like this, it would be a miracle if the original social order could still function normally.

Their destruction of local communities went deeper. The constraints imposed by the imperial court were gone, the powerful and domineering families were gone, and the village bullies were gone.

What kind of village elders or literati are you? Get lost! How much weight can you lift with one hand, or how many people can you kill with one slap? Do you think you can talk to me like that?

It's inevitable that innocent people will be killed by mistake. When a scholar encounters a soldier, there's no way to explain the situation. If someone's identity or a single sentence seems off, it's enough for them to kill that person.

These people are uneducated, yet they rely on martial arts to rise from the lowest rungs to the highest ranks of society. Naturally, they become the ultimate advocates of martial arts. Coupled with Zhang Chengyi's previous random use of martial arts techniques and his talk of martial arts breakthroughs, as well as Xiao Feng and the others' nonsense about wishing everyone in the world to be like dragons, the strange phenomenon of everyone having the opportunity to practice martial arts is being genuinely implemented here from top to bottom.

Martial arts skills have become a ladder to advancement, and even if Xiao Feng felt it was inappropriate, he couldn't change this trend.

Because territorial expansion was considered a prestigious and worthwhile endeavor by many people in China, the Xiao King's regime was able to function normally with the strong support of many scholars. This was due to the powerful labor force provided by martial arts, the proliferation of martial arts schools, the instructors assigned to villages after the army's withdrawal, and the large number of slaves brought in by the war.

It should be noted that more than half of the people under King Xiao's rule were soldiers who had followed him there years ago, and the court initially treated them as dead men.

As a result, their martial arts skills were so strong that there were almost no casualties. They were also well-fed, well-drinked and trained in martial arts every day. When the war ended, they were all given a large number of slaves and land, and the social conflicts were naturally eliminated.

For nearly a decade, all the territories under its rule prospered.

Then, King Xiao disappeared without a trace.

With the various military experts possessing unparalleled martial arts skills becoming independent and each occupying a territory and calling themselves 'Kings,' the situation became somewhat unbridled.

Some, like the Song and Jin dynasties, established their own courts and indulged in endless revelry and pleasure.

Some were so eager to expand their territory that they led their men to the Western Regions.

Some people live in their own little world, indulging in what they like. For example, King Hu next door likes Cuju (ancient Chinese football), so everyone plays Cuju. Every year there are all sorts of Cuju competitions, and the winners get rewards. King Chen, who lives further away, likes gambling, so he collaborates with King Hu and takes over the Cuju competitions, organizing gambling every day. Over the past ten years, they've even broken it down to how many times different players can play the game.

People with similar tastes will travel great distances to join in the fun, while the people under the rule of those who dislike them will naturally suffer greatly.

In contrast, King Li specifically requested Yinzhou, only requiring everyone to keep cats, which already shows that he is one of the kings who cares about his people the most.

"It's a complete mess."

Zhang Chengyi knew without a second thought that the reality was far less optimistic than the man in front of him described. They were recklessly wreaking havoc with force; it was unbelievable that they could do such a thing.

The previous war reshuffled everything, and Xiao Feng and the scholars who came to his aid laid a solid foundation; otherwise, the whole thing would have fallen apart long ago.

"Brother, you can't say that, you can't say that."

Upon hearing this sarcastic remark, the man's face changed drastically, clearly revealing that he was not as respectful to the kings as he had claimed.

Zhang Chengyi shook his head and asked, "Where does your King Li live?" Since he knew that Li was one of the people who had passed on his skills to ten thousand people and was still being ordered to find him, he decided to go and ask about the situation.

The information obtained from a low-ranking military household is likely quite inaccurate; we need to ask the person in question directly.

Perhaps that King Li knows where Xiao Feng and Wu Yazi are.

The man hesitated for a moment, then said, "Three hundred li to the north is Licheng."

-------------------------------------

In the afternoon, in Tanuki City, at the Grand Prince's Mansion, in a separate courtyard.

"Whoo~"

Li Anu let out a soft breath, having finished a set of body-forging techniques from the "Martial Arts Manual," and felt a slight warmth throughout her body.

She is no longer the pitiful slave girl imprisoned in the mansion. Now, she is seven feet tall (about 2.1 meters), with bulging muscles, and has even learned how to disguise herself. Anyone who sees her can exclaim, "What a fine man!"

But she was still somewhat dissatisfied.

Due to her physical limitations, despite her tireless efforts over the past thirty years, she is still not the strongest among all the people in terms of physical training.

He never grew a beard, and because of the Northern Darkness True Qi, his appearance became more and more delicate as he grew up. If it weren't for the method of disguise, he really wouldn't be able to show his face to anyone.

Most importantly, she had studied the martial arts manuals passed down by King Xiao for over twenty years, but she still couldn't think of any way to make a woman grow penises.

Without Jβ, how could I stand before my benefactor as a true man?

Li Anu frowned and sighed countless times. She absolutely believed the claim in the "Martial Classic," supposedly co-authored by Zhang Chengyi himself, that the path of martial arts was endless.

But she was truly slow-witted...

"?"

She looked coldly at the wall not far away. A powerful, unfamiliar aura suddenly appeared in the city and was approaching at high speed. Could it be some unfamiliar 'king' coming to cause trouble?

Li Anu regulated her breathing and gathered her inner energy, waiting for the enemy to appear before unleashing this earth-shattering punch, instantly killing the enemy.

Then, when the unfamiliar powerful figure appeared in front of her, she froze for a second, the strength in her hands dissipated, and she knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"benefactor!"

Chapter 106 has been updated.

What a strong man!

Zhang Chengyi inwardly admired him. Standing over two meters tall, his muscles were even more exaggerated than he looked. His eyes and expression exuded an imposing aura. He would be a peerless hero in any film set.

"benefactor!"

Then, King Li knelt down before them, his voice deep, resonant, and magnetic.

Zhang Chengyi jumped down from the wall and said with interest, "So, you should have seen me before."

Not everyone who received the skill transmission from ten thousand people had seen him, but everyone had seen Xiao Feng and Su Xinghe.

"I am Li Anu," King Li said honestly, bowing his head.