At the end of the road, Little Meng City finally came into sight.
As Little Meng City came into view, Wu Qi actually felt disappointed. It was surrounded by three feet tall wall built of rammed earth. It also had a low city gate, a big flag could be seen twisting lifelessly on a pole on top of the said city gate, and a few languished guards stood in front of the gate. A desolate place, that was his first impression of Little Meng City.
When Wu Qi got close enough to the city gate, he saw some weeds had grown on the city wall, billowing in the breeze happily. Not only that, there was also a two feet tall bush growing on top of the city gate. Wu Qi also saw dozens of fist-sized berries hiding amongst the bushes branches.
Wu Qi breathed in sharply through his teeth.
Lu Chengfeng’s expression turned awful when he saw the city wall. He tilted his head and just keep staring at it. It seemed like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. After some time, he let out a depressed sigh, put on a smile on his face, narrowed his eyes and said deprecatingly, "Wu Qi, it is fortunate that I have not become the Mayor of this city. Instead, I have been appointed as a General! Don’t you think you should congratulate me?"
Wu Qi gave Lu Chengfeng a gaze, then said in a similarly disenchanted voice, "Congratulation, young master. You really are lucky for not becoming the Mayor of Little Meng City! But why did they build this crumbling city here?"
At this moment, Zhang Hu came by, riding on his ride and said with a loud voice, "Because of the herbs, minerals, timber, beast skin, meat, and barbarians!"
Pointing at the Little Meng City, Zhang Hu explained its situation like a man who knew everything.
Meng Mountain was rich in resources that no one could neglect. Therefore, the Lu Kingdom, which ruled the land that Meng Mountain was on, specifically built a city at its perimeter as the hub for the collection and distribution of resources. No only this, as the Lu Kingdom frequently suffered attacks from barbarians near Meng Mountain, having a city built there could be considered the first line of defense. So, when those barbarians attacked again, Little Meng City would be able to alert the Lu Kingdom to the threat. Even if they couldn’t hold up the attack, they would still buy the Lu Kingdom some time.
Because of this tough situation, there were barely fifty thousand permanent residents in Little Meng City, but there were more than two hundred thousand floating residents, who were earning their living there. Not only that, there were three battalions of soldiers, Heaven, Earth, and Mortal, which grouped into twelve companies with a total of eight thousand warriors that were stationed here permanently.
An army of eight thousand soldiers... For any other prosperous city in the Lu Kingdom, this would be a strange arrangement.
"Ah! I See!" Lu Chengfeng nodded his head thoughtfully and said, "Even back in Liyang City where the Lu family resided, there were only three thousand soldiers. This small city has an army of eight thousand soldiers. No wonder they need a General here!"
Soon they had come to the front of City Gate, then, Zhang Hu held his fist to Lu Chengfeng and Wu Qi.
"Brother Wu Qi, young master Lu, we’ll say goodbye here! Brother Wu Qi, Little Meng City is not a big city. If there is anything you need, just come and look for me. All my brothers and I are staying at the ‘Vigorous Tiger Residence’ located at the east side of the city! That’s our base!"
Zhang Hu bid goodbye to Wu Qi in a loud, emphatic voice, without looking at Lu Chengfeng. Then, together with his men, they sped up their pace and entered into the city, riding the horses of those dead cavalrymen.
Awful expressions came over both Laohei and Xiaohei, their dark faces twisting with frowns.
Lu Chengfeng burst out laughing, then said, "This Zhang Hu is a good man with an interesting life story. But, the way he treated me, it was as if I was some poisonous bug or wild beast, showing that he is a wise, but also a boring man. What do you think?" He looked at Wu Qi as he asked this.
As Wu Qi watched Zhang Hu disappear, he said honestly, "I think brother Zhang Hu is a good man!"
Lu Chengfeng slapped his forehead, again laughing, and said, "I have to agree with you there. Never mind, these barbarian hunters will have to deal with the City Guards Army, and I, as the General of the City Guard, will just take good care of them when time comes! Ha, aren’t they going to have to buy all their armor and weapons from me?"
Wu Qi nodded his head, turning to look at Lu Chengfeng. So, the post of General was in charge of the weapons in Little Meng City as well?
The villagers of Meng Village also waved at Wu Qi, then, with a fast pace, they pushed those push carts into the city. They too didn’t get along with Lu Chengfeng. They felt a huge gap between them and this young master from a wealthy family. No matter whether it was the way Lu Chengfeng talked or the way he handled things, they simply felt uncomfortable.
Especially since some of Lu Chengfeng’s guards had wounded some villagers when they were fleeing for their lives, this made the villagers from Meng Village dislike him even more.
Although Lu Chengfeng had generously paid a huge sum of money to these villagers for medical treatment, given all the horses of those dead cavalrymen to Zhang Hu and even gave them all the weapons and money found on the men in black, he still couldn’t win the hearts of these villagers. These simple villagers were of a one-track-mind. When Lu Chengfeng’s guards hurt their men, he got the blame.
Breathing out a helpless sigh, Lu Chengfeng stared at Wu Qi and clapped his hand with a bitter smile.
Wu Qi shook his head, then pointed back over his shoulder at those cavalrymen who were looking dejected and spiritless. He spoke with a stiff tone, "Young master, you better think of some ways to recruit more people in Little Meng City; these men are useless. You might as well send them back and save on the food."
Lu Chengfeng clapped his hand again, laughing out loud and said, "You’re right, they are supposed to be my guards. Having them here would just waste the army supplies. So be it, all of you, leave your rides behind and walk back to Liyang. Help me inform lady lord that I’ve arrived at Little Meng City safely!"
When those guards heard what Wu Qi said, their expressions became dark. And when they heard Lu Chengfeng’s order, an intention to kill Wu Qi immediately popped up in their minds. Leaving behind their rides and walking a thousand miles back to Liyang on their feet? Wasn’t that a death sentence?
What was worse, they were chased back by the young master, who they were supposed to be protecting. What would the family think when they got back? They could receive serious punishment if they really left the young master behind.
All the cavalrymen rolled around and crawled off their rides, hastening to kowtow in front of Lu Chengfeng without caring about how dirty the ground was.
Wu Qi stared at them with a cold shoulder, and said with a gloomy face, "Young master, it’s your call. Looks like they don’t take what you’ve just said seriously!"
Lu Chengfeng’s face darkened with anger. He shouted at those cavalrymen, "Leave your rides behind and get the hell out of here. Or do you want me to punish you all with the house rules?"
The cavalrymen trembled, then they looked at each other and dared not to say a word. They stood up and tidied up their weapons and belongings, then turned around and walked slowly back to where they came from.
With an indifferent tone, Wu Qi said, "Fleeing in front of bandits, that’s just cowardice. Abandoning their master, that’s disloyalty. Disobeying the order of their master, that’s the greatest sin. What’s the point of having these kinds of scumbags? They can’t prove themselves. Why doesn’t the young master just hire a team of useful men in Little Meng City. It would probably be cheaper too."
Lu Chengfengn stared thoughtfully at Wu Qi, nodding his head in agreement.
Wu Qi let out a bland smile, staring back into Lu Chengfeng’s eyes. Lu Chengfeng had an enduring and complicated visage, the bleary eyes were like looking at layers of impassable walls, hiding many secrets that were not known by others. On the other side, Wu Qi had a crystal clear sight, his eyes glowing like the purest crystal. However, deep in his eyes was a ripple of deep blue, tranquil water. Under this seemingly calm surface of water was the life-sucking vortex.
Both of them put on smiles and they turned their eyes toward the City Gate of Little Meng City at the same time.
All of a sudden, a pattering of feet came from within the city. A marching army consisting of more than four hundred soldiers was coming fast to the City Gate. A chubby man walked with difficulty at the front end of the parade while wiping off sweat from his forehead breathlessly.
"Is that young master from Lu Family? Oh, my lord General, you are finally here! The city guards of Little Meng City have finally gotten their master!"
From afar, this chubby man started to shout with his greasy and sickly sweet voice. Judging from what he said, it was obvious that he came to greet Lu Chengfeng.
When Wu Qi saw this chubby man’s face, he saw a target ripe for the picking.
This guy had the height similar to those from Meng Village, about two meters tall. However, the diameter of his waist was almost two times of Wu Qi’s height. His body was full of wobbling fat, and even his ears, the most difficult place to have fat, had thick layers of fat, making them look like pig’s ears.
The man’s facial features were even more astonishing. He had a pair of watery, amorous eyes, but too bad they were two times smaller than ordinary men’s eyes. He had a pointed nose, but half an inch shorter. He also had red, delicate and cherry-sized lips seated right below the center of his face. The sickly sweet voice was coming right out from this tiny mouth.
A shiver ran down his back, and Wu Qi forced himself not to look further at this man’s body. However, the thief in him quickly appraised everything on the man.
The cloth was made from premium quality silk. Wu Qi felt some relief; a place with premium quality silk, it shouldn’t be a bad place.
His headwear was made from Purple Gold, and was reflecting a golden sheen. Purple Gold was good stuff; it was stated in the Scroll of Stealing that Purple-Gold was a foundational material with many uses. To make a sword or magical items, cultivators would need to mix in a lot of Purple Gold. The chubby man had headwear made from Purple Gold. This told Wu Qi that there was probably a Purple Gold mine nearby. It should be easy for him to gather a large amount of Purple Gold.
Three thumb-sized gems and four pearls were embossed on the headwear. These blood-colored gems made anyone who stared at them feel warm. They were the gemstones containing fire elemental energy, which was also a type of treasure that could be used by cultivators.
Compared to the gemstones, pearls were just an ordinary item. There was no sea near the Meng Mountain. Therefore, having four pearls as the decoration on his headwear was something really luxurious. As for the gemstones, Wu Qi told himself he had to find out where they came from. Were they bought from somewhere else, or a product of Meng Mountain?
Besides this, the chubby man wore a jade belt on his waist. There was even a fist-sized, rounded, green colored jadestone right in the middle of it, which attracted Wu Qi’s gaze. That was not an ordinary jadestone. It is a middle tier ‘Green Nephrite Jadestone’, belonging to the family of water elemental gemstones.
But, the man’s most valuable item was the golden ring he wore on his right thumb. The ring was decorated with a bean-sized, red crystal that shined mystically. Wu Qi’s heart almost jumped out from his chest when he saw the ring.
The golden ring was made from ‘Heavenly Gold’, a top tier elemental material. With this little amount of Heavenly Gold, if mixed with other materials, it could yield a strong metal elemental magical item.
The decorative red crystal was a top tier ‘Flaming Crystal’ that could absorb floating fire elemental energy in the atmosphere by itself. This thing could be used in aid of cultivation, or as a material to forge a top tier magical item.
Although this chubby man had strange facial features, he had lots of treasures!
With a hospitable smile on his face, Wu Qi got off the coach and sped up his pace. He walked over to the chubby man, holding his fist and bowing to the chubby man.
"Greeting my lord, can I know your name?"
Wu Qi greeted the man and asked politely, behaving like a hanger-on from a wealthy family.
The chubby man panted for a moment, then he squeezed a smile onto his face and spoke to Lu Chengfeng, "General Lu, I’m the Mayor of this city, Yi Yan!"
Swallowing the lump in his throat and stepping forward, Yi Yan explained with a smile on his face, "Yi, as in ‘Zhou Yi’[1]; Yan, as in ‘Tian Ji Yan Hua’[2]. I came from the Yi family in RuYang. Our family is friends with the Lu family!"
Lu Chengfeng smiled and got off the coach to greet the chubby man officially.
Wu Qi stared at the fair and plump Yi Yan with a pleasant smile, but he was laughing joyfully in his heart.
This chubby man was a walking treasure chest!
Notes:
[1] ‘Zhou Yi’ - Also known as I Ching, is an ancient divination text and oldest of the chinese classics.
[2] ‘Tian Ji Yan Hua’ - This means the unpredictable changes of the universe.
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