One step further and the child would have been crushed flat.
The child grabbed the rattle drum from the ground, coughing incessantly from the dust kicked up by the horse’s hooves. His parent finally pushed through the crowd, scooped up the child, and ran off without a backward glance.
People on the street began to berate him, but the white-robed rider acted as if he heard nothing, looking up at Uncle Hao.
Uncle Hao’s face was expressionless.
Liu Baobao, who was right beside Hee Lingchuan, coughed loudly. "Who are you people? Do you know that galloping through a busy market is punishable by whipping?"
"And who would carry out the sentence?" the white-robed youth laughed, not bothering to hide his contempt. "You?"
The youth’s gaze was like a needle. Liu Baobao’s skin tingled under the stare, and he couldn’t help but shrink back. "Black Water City has strict laws! Just you try galloping a few more steps!"
At these words, the youth ignored him, his gaze shifting to Hee Lingchuan, as if he knew he was the one in charge.
Hee Lingchuan smiled at him, but the other party only stared at him intently for a mont before urging his horse forward again.
The gray-robed man behind him never looked up.
After this little incident, the two slowed their pace. The n, won, and children on the street watched them disappear around the corner.
That was the direction to leave the city and head northeast.
At the right mont, Uncle Hao said, "Both of them have Cultivation. I especially can’t see through the gray-robed man in the back. That white-robed brat might be from a Military Family."
Hee Lingchuan raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Uncle Hao had once slaughtered more than ten prominent families in the Capital City by night. He was later enlightened by soone from a Daoist Sect, learned Magic, and cleansed his violent aura. His Cultivation was profound, and he enjoyed the status of a high-level Sacrificial Offering in the Hee Family. If he said the gray-robed man was formidable, Hee Lingchuan had no reason to doubt it.
’Those two don’t seem like ordinary rchants. What are they doing here in this remote borderland?’
Just then, a few more people arrived in the middle of the street. It was the Black Water City Patrol. They had also been drawn by the commotion and asked the surrounding crowd, "What happened?"
"Two n galloped through the market and nearly trampled a child!" the crowd chattered, all talking at once. The gist of it was the sa.
’Only two people? Then it wasn’t the Hee Family’s Eldest Young Master. Thank goodness.’ The Patrol was even angrier, but when he looked up and happened to see Hee Lingchuan leaning out the window to watch the excitent, he quickly greeted him. His tense expression relaxed, and the corner of his mouth curled up. "Mr. Hee, are you well?"
"Yes, very well," Hee Lingchuan said with a broad smile. "Are you here to chase soone?"
"We are!" the Patrol captain said with righteous indignation. ’We said no galloping, but you insist. What is this if not contempt for the law?’ "They must be severely punished!"
Hee Lingchuan pointed them in the right direction. "Those two went toward the northeast gate."
The Patrol captain thanked him and hurried off in pursuit with his n.
After they left, Uncle Hao said, "A few Patrols won’t be able to stop them."
"I know. It was just to test the waters," Hee Lingchuan shrugged. "This is Black Water City. Can they really cause a major scene in broad daylight?"
However, the Patrols returned about a quarter of an hour later, empty-handed.
Hee Lingchuan wasn’t surprised by this result, but he still had to ask for the details. "What about those two?"
The Patrol leader hadn’t expected him to still be waiting for the outco. He was a bit embarrassed and cleared his throat before saying, "Those two are subordinates of the General of the Northern Expedition and Xunzhou Governor. They are here in Black Water City on official business and showed us a fire-sealed official docunt."
Hee Lingchuan drew out a long "Ohhh."
He knew the Patrol leader was talking about Nian Zanli, the General of the Northern Expedition. This man also held the title of Xunzhou Governor, making him the head of both military and civil affairs. His power far exceeded that of the Governor of Jinzhou.
A county is ranked below a prefecture. If Hee Chunhua, the Qiansong County Governor, were to et this General of the Northern Expedition, he too would have to respectfully refer to himself as "this subordinate."
The Patrols quickly left. Liu Baobao also looked a little uneasy. "Those two probably don’t rember , right?"
"It was such a minor thing. Why would they bother rembering it?" Hee Lingchuan’s consolation was completely insincere. In his heart, he was thinking, ’What would the Xunzhou Governor send his n to Black Water City for?’
Just then, two claps of thunder rolled across the sky. The BOOMING roar was deafening, and it sent the dogs on the street yelping and running with their tails between their legs.
The Black Water City People were used to it and simply went on with their business.
Hee Lingchuan gazed west and saw wind roiling the clouds on the horizon, a vast, thick, and heavy bank of dark clouds.
A storm was coming.
* * *
"A storm is coming," the white-robed youth said, looking at the sky and then back at the gray-robed man. "What do you think? Will this place do?"
The two of them were, in fact, on Gourd Mountain.
It had seven peaks, three of which were bare rock and earth, as rough and coarse as a bald-headed brute.
Though it looked unimpressive, Gourd Mountain was actually teeming with rats, rabbits, foxes, and deer. People could even hunt wild boars and gray wolves there sotis.
The two of them stood on an animal trail, having just checked several caves.
"The land and water aren’t exactly rich, but there are plenty of living creatures. The numbers are barely sufficient." A Purple Gold Pestle appeared in the gray-robed man’s hand. Its top was carved with a monster that had bulging eyes and a wide mouth. Four rings hung from under its feet, and the other end was tapered to a sharp point like a cone, glinting with a tallic sheen.
With a shake in the wind, the pestle, which was over a foot long, transford into a seven-foot Purple Gold Staff.
The gray-robed man plunged the Purple Gold Staff more than a foot into the ground until it stood firm on its own. Only then did he take a blue-green copper coin from the white-robed youth and stuff it into the monster’s mouth.
The monster’s mouth closed on its own, biting down on the copper coin as a red light in its eyes grew brighter.
The gray-robed man began to shake the top of the staff.
The rings under the monster’s feet imdiately began to JINGLE and CLANG. At first, the sound was chaotic, but after listening for a mont, one could tell it was repeating a specific rhythm, over and over.
And with each repetition, it grew clearer, louder, and... traveled farther!
The chirping of insects and birds that had once filled the mountain forest completely vanished. Only the ringing echoed, lingering endlessly.
The white-robed youth took a deep breath.
Even with his ntal fortitude, listening closely to the ringing soon made him dizzy and light-headed, his heart pounding and ears ringing. He had to break his concentration and stare off into a Trance at a distant mountain peak.
As long as he distracted himself, it was still bearable.
After about the ti it takes to drink a cup of tea, a RUSTLE sounded behind them, followed by an exasperated voice:
"Stop shaking it! Stop it! Make it stop!"
The Purple Gold Pestle stopped at the sound. The two looked back to see a Huyang poplar tree shaking its branches and leaves with a RUSTLING sound, the voice seeming to co from the leaves themselves.
The Huyang poplar was gnarled, ancient, and weather-beaten. It looked to be at least three or four hundred years old and was the largest tree in the vicinity.
The white-robed youth spoke first. "Are you the local Marsh Warden?"
"I am the Marsh Warden of Huyang Mountain, appointed two hundred years ago. This place is called Gourd Mountain now." The Huyang Mountain Marsh Warden’s voice was peculiar, as if produced by the friction and vibration of countless leaves. It was blurry at first but beca more fluid the more it spoke.
It was like a person who hadn’t spoken in many years, reacquainting himself with the ability to speak. "I have been slumbering for a long ti. Not even the local officials could awaken . Who are you?"
It then sensed the copper coin held in the mouth of the Purple Gold Pestle’s beast head and was quite surprised. "Eh? This is a Society Command of the new dynasty. I believe it’s called... a kite what?"
"Yuan coins." The gray-robed man slapped the beast head, and the blue-green copper coin fell into his palm. If an idle bystander were to look, they would see that this object was slightly larger than an ordinary copper coin, with a hole at the top for stringing a cord.
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