The traveling distance between Qinghe County to Pingxi City via water was a lot further than traveling to Huanglong County via water. The boat that Yan Liqiang caught in the morning only arrived at the Xi River Wharf of Pingxi City when it was nearly dusk.
At this moment, the wind and rain still showed no signs of stopping. Instead, it rained even harder. The entire Xi River was shrouded by the hazy rain.
The passenger ship docked at the wharf with a light shake. From the window, Yan Liqiang could see a few boatmen swiftly leap onto the dock. When the mooring lines at the boat’s bow and stern were tied around the iron bollards on the dock, only then the swaying boat gradually stabilize.
"Everyone, get off the boat, get off the boat. Check if you have all your belongings and luggage with you. Don’t leave them onboard…" In response to the shout of the boatmen outside, the passengers in the cabin stood up one by one. They gathered their own luggage and parcels before moving their feet and exiting the cabin. On the deck outside, they quickly got off the ship by crossing a few wooden planks on the dock.
Yan Liqiang also carried his own luggage on his back and slowly made his way outside along with the rest.
"Little brother, you haven’t eaten yet, right? Would you like to come to my house for a meal after we get off the boat? My house isn’t too far from Xi River Wharf…" The woman whom Yan Liqiang had given up his seat for on the boat swaddled her child on her and carried a cloth-wrapped bundle in her arm. She queued in front of Yan Liqiang and was even cordially inviting Yan Liqiang to her house for a meal.
"Sister-in-law, that was nothing. There’s no need for you to be so courteous…"
"Little Brother, you’re a really nice person…"
Both of them chatted while they exited the cabin. It was still raining hard outside. The deck was quite slippery from the rain. The boatmen laid a few shabby straw mats on the deck and wooden planks. Then they called for everyone to disembark the boat.
A man in his thirties with a stocky build was waiting on the dock with two umbrellas in his hands. When he saw the woman get off the boat, he quickly came over and held up one of the umbrellas while he inquired about her well-being with great care. He even hurriedly checked up on the child that the woman was carrying on her back. However, the woman gestured towards Yan Liqiang who was behind and softly said a few words to that man. That man immediately came before Yan Liqiang with a grateful expression on his face. "Little Brother, you have my gratitude. Something came up and I couldn’t accompany my wife and son back to her parent’s house this time in Qinghe County. Thank you for taking care of them during the journey!"
"Big Brother, no need to be so courteous. This is nothing!"
"Little Brother, it’s still raining right now. Take this umbrella and use it. Don’t get drenched by this rain and catch a cold…"
"No, it’s fine. I really don’t need it. Besides, if I take your umbrella, what about you then, Big Brother…?"
"If you don’t accept it then that means you mind it. My house is nearby, I can get there in just a few steps. You don’t have to worry about me…" That man directly shoved the umbrella he was holding into Yan Liqiang’s hand while speaking and then ran back to his wife and son. He took the umbrella from the woman’s hand to cover two and then left the wharf together with them.
Seeing half of the man’s big body being drenched in the rain and then looking at the oil-paper umbrella in his hands, Yan Liqiang’s heart was strangely warm and he was rather moved.
Over these past few months after he had reincarnated, many memories and feelings related to his previous life were slowly fading away. He was getting more and more used to everything in this world, and was slowly blending into his current identity as an ordinary Chinese youth in the Pingxi Prefecture of Gan Province in the Great Han Empire. The people who lived in this world were similar to many of the average people around him in his previous life. They were down-to-earth, kind, and hardworking. Most of the time, just a warm smile and a very simple ‘have you eaten yet’ greeting could win over any words.
When he glanced at the oil-paper umbrella he was holding, Yan Liqiang smiled. He pushed it open and held it up before making his way towards Pingxi City in the distance.
The Xi River Wharf wasn’t too far from the northern gate of Pingxi City; they were only more than a thousand meters apart. Standing at the dock, the Pingxi City’s northern gate tower could be seen towering in a distance like a gigantic beast in the midst of the hazy rain.
There was a market town at the wharf. Signboards of various trading stores and rows of warehouses could be seen everywhere in the town that seemed to be very flourished. Perhaps due to the rain, there were very few pedestrians at the wharf and town. Though some appeared from time to time, they all seemed to be in a hurry.
There were a few horse carriages at the roadside that were carrying passengers to Pingxi City. A coachman draped in a straw raincoat was sheltering himself from the rain under one of the trading stores’ roofs at the roadside along with his carriage. Yan Liqiang walked over to him to inquire about the price and found out that it cost one copper coin to travel from there to the northern gate of Pingxi Prefecture. That wasn’t really expensive as it was equivalent to the cost of a steamed bun. However, Yan Liqiang would have to stay there and wait until the carriage was fully loaded with six passengers before setting off.
Looking at this rainy weather, he wasn’t sure how long he would have to wait for another five people to appear. However, paying six copper coins for such a short distance would be a little too expensive. Since Yan Liqiang wasn’t that frail, he decided to pass on riding the horse carriage. He held his umbrella up and made his way towards the northern gate of Pingxi City on foot after finding his bearings.
As expected, the road at the outskirts of Pingxi City was very well maintained. It was a standard public road. Even during rainy days, other than feeling a little slippery, the public road wasn’t too muddy. Yan Liqiang walked from the wharf to the northern gate and his boots didn’t even have mud on them.
There were soldiers standing guard at the gate of Pingxi Prefecture. There was also a money collection box placed at the entrance. Anyone who wished to enter the city would have to pay an entrance fee of two copper coins.
When Yan Liqiang was lining up, a wave of chaotic noises suddenly rang out from behind. He turned around and saw a band of more than ten camels and rhinodrake steeds arriving before the gate.
Those camels were fully loaded with boxes and goods, while the strangely dressed riders that totally didn’t look Chinese were riding on the backs of those rhinodrake steeds. Their hair and eyes were of a pale red color, and their eyes were quite hooded. All of them had very thick hair and beards. Anyone could tell that these riders were from a different tribe at first glance. Each one of them had a scimitar hanging on their waist and a few of the riders even had a bow and a quiver of arrows hanging from the saddles of their steeds. All of them haughtily charged towards the city gate.
Even when they were already near the city gate, those foreign riders showed no signs of slowing down their rhinodrake steeds. A few pedestrians walking in the middle of the road who couldn’t evade in time fell into the muddy puddles at the roadside, looking extremely pathetic. The few foreign riders were still sitting high up on their rhinodrake steeds, not sparing even a single glance at those who had been knocked down by them. Two riders glanced coldly at the people who had been knocked to the ground. The corners of their lips were even curled up into a disdainful smile.
That band of foreign riders directly charged towards the city gate and ostentatiously passed through the gates on their steeds just like that without being examined by the soldiers at the entrance nor did they pay the entrance fee. Not only that, they even looked down upon the people standing on either side of the gate arrogantly and disdainfully.
One of the young soldiers clenched his fists and was about to step forward before he was pulled back by another soldier. "Have you forgotten about what happened to Commandant Gao? If these Shatu people cause a ruckus at the city gate and the ones in the city also get rowdy, the higher ups will only punish us. They won’t dare to lay a finger on the Shatu people..."
"But Leader, this…" The young soldier’s face was flushed with anger.
"Enough. Let’s just focus on our duty. You have only been here for a few days and probably don’t know this well yet. The Shatu people’ arrogance isn’t something new. Haa…" The leader who held that young soldier back let out a sigh and then gave a pat on the younger soldier’s shoulder while shaking his head.
Quite a number of people in the surroundings also sighed...
Yan Liqiang was just standing at the city entrance as he watched how the caravan of Shatu people charged through it without paying a single copper coin for the entrance fee or even getting off from their steeds. He simply couldn’t believe his own eyes. Even in a small place like Qinghe County, the only ones that could enter the city mounted on their steeds were the cavalries and soldiers of the Great Han Empire that were on duty, or the messengers of the authorities. Commoners were required to unmount from their steeds whenever they were passing through the city gates. Sometimes, the ones who had a lot of baggage with them would also have to be examined. So how could these Shatu people display such arrogance in the prefectural city of Pingxi Prefecture?
The most ridiculous part was that Yan Liqiang and the other Chinese people around him had to pay an entrance fee to enter the city. Yet these Shatu people had not only entered the city without paying, they were also given special treatment.
Even Yan Liqiang was under a wrong impression at this very moment as he watched these foreigners who had so swaggeringly entered the city on their steeds. He felt as if he wasn’t at Pingxi City of the Pingxi Prefecture. Instead, he felt like an outsider who was trying to enter the city of the Shatu people. How could he, as a Chinese, actually be deranked to a third-rate citizen on Chinese territory in front of these foreigners?
What kind of logic was this?
"Traitors that bring calamity to the country, traitors that bring calamity to the country…" An old man in front of Yan Liqiang also shook his head and sighed as he watched the Shatu enter the city on their rhinodrake steeds and camels without paying the entrance fee.
Just somewhere about four or five meters ahead of Yan Liqiang, a youth that seemed to be about twenty years old going into the city was glaring at those Shatu people who were riding on their camels and rhinodrake steeds. "Ptooey!" He spat on the ground in rage.
One of the bearded Shatu people on his rhinodrake steed happened to be passing by right in front of that youth. When he saw the scene, he raised the whip in his hand without any second thoughts and cracked it in the direction of that youth.
A cracking noise rang out, along with the blood-curdling scream from that youth. A deep welt was left on his face in just a split second and he was knocked to the floor from being lashed by that whip.
Just when that Shatu man who was riding on his rhinodrake steed was about to raise and crack his whip again, Yan Liqiang quickly moved and rushed to the side of that rhinodrake steed that the Shatu man was riding on. He reached out and grabbed a hold of the whip on the man’s hand.
That Shatu man forcefully jerked his hand back. When he realized that the whip in Yan Liqiang’s grasp didn’t budge an inch, his face couldn’t help but contort with rage. With one finger pointing towards Yan Liqiang, he instantly yelled in a language that sounded like gibberish. He then reached out for the scimitar that he had on him.
When Yan Liqiang saw this Shatu man was actually going to reach for his weapon, he jerked his hand forcefully without thinking any further. In just a split second, that Shatu man was dragged off his steed and he fell to the ground. His grip on the whip was instantly loosened as well.
The Shatu man who fell to the ground was also extremely agile. As soon as he fell off, he immediately unsheathed his scimitar and then got up with a roll. He then dashed towards Yan Liqiang with a loud yell.
Yan Liqiang’s gaze turned icy. At the wave of his hand, the whip’s shadow flashed in the air.
CRACK!! A cracking noise thundered.
"AHHHHHH!!!" That Shatu man let out a blood-curdling screech and instantly collapsed back onto the ground with his hands covering his face. Fresh blood seeped through his fingertips. He wanted to get up again, but Yan Liqiang instantly and fiercely whipped his body again for the second time. The clothes that the Shatu man was wearing were immediately ripped apart all the way from his shoulder to his chest. His skin was torn, revealing a bloody and brutal lash mark on his skin…
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