The scholar's back had collapsed for the most part, his ribs exposed, his body twisted grotesquely as if folded in half. This was the damage inflicted by the vine's strike. However, this Second Master of the bandits was formidable. Had he not possessed such an uncanny thing as the vine, he would have died long ago. Although it transformed him into something abnormal, he was still mortal. This man was not only agile but also more cunning than he had anticipated. Zhang Ling also abandoned his contempt and dared not underestimate anyone again. The long sword that fell nearby caught Zhang Ling's eye, and he picked it up. It was a soft sword, two fingers wide. He wondered how it had been concealed on his person. Afterward, he searched the scholar's corpse and found several items. He discovered a snakeskin scabbard on the man's waist, used as a belt, perfectly concealing the soft sword. He also found two books on his person, piquing Zhang Ling's interest, and he began to browse through them. One book contained the martial art of 'Light and Nimble Steps,' while the other had no title and was filled with meridian diagrams, seemingly a martial arts manual. Zhang Ling pocketed these items and returned to where the bandits were resting. Most of those who had been hit by the fluff-like needles were already dead. Only two men were still gasping on the ground. He mercilessly strangled them with the vine.
Killing so many people was not easy for Zhang Ling, but these bandits had committed numerous evil deeds and deserved to die. Being able to kill them with his own hands was a form of revenge for the villagers of Qing Tian and his grandfather. He then searched the bodies and found some items. Most of them carried short knives, daggers, and other weapons. What interested him was a small gadget, a delicate miniature hidden weapon. It looked like a wrist guard, concealing three steel short arrows. With a simple press of a hidden trigger, they could be launched instantly. Zhang Ling tested it, and the short arrows penetrated deep into the wood, showing considerable penetrating power. Hitting a person would create three holes. This made him think even more highly of these bandits. If he hadn't killed them unexpectedly, a head-on confrontation would have been a matter of life and death. He then dragged the dozen or so corpses together and burned them clean. Besides looting their belongings, he also found three large wooden boxes in a carriage. These were goods the bandits had looted from a merchant caravan, filled with medicinal herbs. Under his grandfather's guidance, he had some knowledge of medicinal herbs. These herbs were mostly precious and had been dried. Judging by their value, they could be sold for hundreds of taels of silver. Zhang Ling shook his head and entered a tent, intending to rest there for the night before leaving. The tent floor was covered with dry grass and a gray blanket. Quite elaborate, seemingly the scholar's resting place. There was a yellow cloth package under the blanket, used as a pillow. Zhang Ling sat on the blanket and squeezed the package, the feeling in his hand startling him. There were many hard things in the package. He opened it and was stunned. Silver ingots, jade bracelets, gold leaves—a pile of gold and silver jewelry came into view, with dozens of silver notes pressed underneath. Zhang Ling couldn't help but show joy. He had never seen so much wealth. Just grabbing a handful was worth hundreds of taels. For a moment, he had no sleepiness and began to count the valuables. After counting, the silver notes alone amounted to four thousand five hundred taels, and the remaining silver was in the form of large fifty-tael ingots, totaling six hundred taels. Besides these directly usable silver coins, there were also some jewels, gold hairpins, jade pendants, etc. He had no concept of these things and couldn't estimate their value for the time being. This night was destined to be sleepless. The next day at noon, Zhang Ling rode away on a black horse. The horse was left behind by the bandits. Several horses had been killed or injured yesterday, but a few were unharmed, so he chose one as a means of transportation. As for why he could ride a horse, it was the result of a morning's training. Zhang Ling, carrying a bag of wealth and using his half-baked horsemanship, rode the black horse towards the direction of Ming City. ...
The three-zhang-high city walls in front of him looked quite imposing, a several-zhang-wide moat flowed slowly, and a straight road above was filled with people, merchants, and carriages coming and going in large numbers. Teams of merchants with flags, pulling various goods, these merchant teams were large with coachmen, laborers, and bodyguards wearing weapons and strong outfits. These people were mighty and extraordinary as they walked. There were also several soldiers in armor guarding the city gate. This was Ming City. After a dusty journey, Zhang Ling pulled his horse and followed the crowd into the city. Passing through the city gate, he saw magnificent buildings. Multi-story restaurants, five- or six-zhang-high memorial archways, and men and women wearing brocade clothes. For Zhang Ling, everything in this city was new and incomparable to White Stone Town. "Ming City specialty, smooth tofu brain. Three copper coins a bowl." "Sugar-coated haws, one copper coin. Sugar-coated haws..." The streets were bustling with people, and the cries of vendors were endless. Mixed in the crowd, Zhang Ling wandered aimlessly. More than an hour later, Zhang Ling temporarily settled in an inn. The few days of travel, although not long, were somewhat tiring, and he fell asleep in the inn room. He slept until noon the next day before waking up refreshed. After washing up, he came to the first floor of the inn, ordered some food and drink, and thought about his plans for the future while eating and drinking. Having arrived in Ming City, the first thing to do was to determine whether there were really martial artists who practiced internal force, and whether the qi mass in his body could be cultivated with martial arts. Secondly, he wanted to study the vine on his left arm. This vine parasitic on his body always made him uneasy. After all, he had not completely controlled this vine, which was a hidden danger. After eating and drinking his fill, Zhang Ling wandered around Ming City again. He had a large amount of silver money in hand, enough for his daily needs. In the following days, he inquired about some information. There were indeed many martial artists here. These people ostensibly engaged in guarding houses and courtyards, but they were only the lowest-level martial artists. Those who were capable of cultivating strong force could engage in escorting goods and other businesses. Strong Force was a realm name for martial artists, and also a standard for distinguishing ordinary people from martial artists. Only those who had cultivated Strong Force were true martial artists, and these people were also third-rate experts in the martial world. Ming City was not small, with a resident population of hundreds of thousands, but not many people could reach the level of third-rate experts. These people were all in the several forces in the city. Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, Zhenyuan Escort Agency, Three Mountains Escort Agency, these were the three major escort agencies in Ming City. It was said that the chief escorts of each agency had reached the strength of first-rate experts. In addition, Ming City also had several underground gang forces that were not small, with no shortage of second-rate martial artists. Besides these martial artists, many wandering martial artists also settled here, but they mostly gathered in the South City. Ming City could maintain its current prosperity because the largest force was the City Lord's Mansion. It was said that the City Lord was also a martial artist, but it was not known how strong he was. However, the City Lord's Mansion controlled the entire Ming City and had an army under its command. No matter how strong these soldiers were, the equipment in their hands was unmatched by others. And the City Lord's Mansion also had a team of City Lord's private soldiers, each of whom was a martial artist, and equipped with strong bows and crossbows, which could deal with ordinary experts. With the deterrence of the City Lord's Mansion, Ming City had its current prosperity. It was not so easy to make a name for oneself in Ming City. This information gave Zhang Ling a general understanding of Ming City.
