```
As he said this, he emphasized his tone, "Better to be slow than to startle the snake!"
The crowd responded in unison.
...
An hour later.
Yang Ge and Fang Ke found themselves at the back of the line entering the city.
Neither of them had concealed their swords, and they encountered no trouble queuing to enter the city.
Yet before they entered, they saw a squad of imposing soldiers, herding a group of poor people clad in tattered clothes, from inside the city to the outskirts.
Spurred on, Fang Ke, without waiting for Yang Ge's instruction, struck up conversation in proficient Wu dialect with the locals lined up for entry.
Yang Ge listened to his rapid chatter, unable to understand what they were discussing, so he could only watch those poor souls being driven out by the soldiers.
Among those impoverished people, many were entire families with wives, children, and elderly, with most looking so skinny as to barely seem human, and many having straw tucked into their hair...
