Zhang Heng finally arrived at the county seat of Lincoln County a day earlier than planned.
The night he met the bailiff, Zhang Heng asked him about the basics of horsemanship. Morton was very patient. Not only did he answer every question, but he also personally demonstrated to Zhang Heng and corrected some of his wrong postures.
So Zhang Heng finally ended the process of a blind man trying to figure out an elephant. The whole lesson lasted until the latter half of the night. The poor bailiff did not expect to pay such a high price for a bowl of corn paste. When the two parted the next morning, he was still yawning from lack of sleep.
For the rest of the journey, Zhang Heng continued to practice his horsemanship.
Of course, he would still suffer from back pain. Some things could not be changed immediately just because he knew the principle. It took a process to adapt to it.
But the good news was that Zhang Heng's horsemanship was indeed improving. Although the skill panel had not changed much, he could personally feel the progress. At least now, he had no problem doing some basic movements.
Zhang Heng also gave his first horse a name — Radish. After all, it was not good to call it a horse that always lost its hair.
He restocked according to the plan, and after that, he arrived at his destination smoothly without any more accidents.
The county seat of Lincoln County looked quite lively. The area alone was much larger than the two towns he had visited before. He heard that there were two mining areas nearby and many farms. Hence, there were many residents living here. There were banks, telegraph offices, grocery stores, hotels, bars, and even schools and newspapers in the county seat. It was a good place to settle down.
Zhang Heng jumped off Radish's back and patted the dust off his body.
This journey could be said to be travel-worn. In six days, five of the nights were spent in the wilderness, and the corn paste was almost tasteless. Now, whether it was the matter of settling down or finding the lucky horseshoe, they were all temporarily thrown to the back of his mind. The most important thing was to find a place to take a hot bath and eat a big meal.
But before that, he had a small problem to solve.
Not long after he entered the town, he felt a faint hostility along the way. An old man sitting in front of his house, sunbathing, spat on the ground as soon as he saw Zhang Heng. The spit landed less than two steps in front of Radish.
Two cowboys who were leaning against the stable and looking at the girl whistled. One of them said, "Hey, oriental boy, you'd better go back to where you came from. You're not welcome here."
He had experienced this kind of situation once in the small town, so he was no stranger to it. And his solution was simple.
He pulled out his gun and shot the old man's felt hat off.
The latter froze for a moment, then immediately began to curse at Zhang Heng with all kinds of obscenities. It was not until Zhang Heng smashed the glass in his hand that he shut his mouth as if someone was strangling his throat. His face turned red from holding back his anger.
The two cowboys apparently did not expect Zhang Heng to be so arrogant. They did not even think that he would be so arrogant.
When they hurriedly pulled out their guns, the second revolver in Zhang Heng's hand was already pointed at them.
"If I were you, I would go to the bar and have a drink before the sun sets. After all, life is short, and no one knows what will happen in the next moment."
The two cowboys looked at each other. Although their eyes were full of unwillingness, they eventually retreated to the side silently.
After that, Zhang Heng looked at the old man who was sunbathing. "Hey, it looks like you'll have to change to a new cup. I hope the next cup can accompany you longer."
The latter was so angry that his veins were bulging, and even his arms were trembling.
However, because the muzzle was now pointed at his head, no matter how angry he was, he could not say a word.
However, at that moment, another voice spoke up.
"You have gotten what you want. Now, can you put away your weapon?"
It was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing a dirty shirt and exuding a faint smell of alcohol. If it were not for the gray police badge on his chest, he would probably be mistaken for a homeless man.
However, he came out of the police station, so he should be the sheriff here.
Although the middle-aged Jiu Gui and Morton, whom Zhang Heng met in the Gobi Desert, were both law officers, there were still some differences between them. The sheriff, also known as the sheriff, was elected by the town to maintain the stability of an area. Sometimes, he would also serve as the local judge and conduct trials.
On the other hand, bailiffs were also called law enforcement officers. They usually belonged to the federal government, and their main job was to pursue or escort fugitives.
One belonged to the local government, and the other belonged to the federal government. Of course, their main job was to maintain the stability of an area, punish evil, and promote good.
Seeing that the sheriff of Lincoln County had appeared, Zhang Heng simply put away his gun.
He came here to settle down, not to stir up trouble. It would be fine if he provoked ordinary people, but if he really angered the sheriff here, he would have to turn around and leave.
However, Zhang Heng did not regret his previous actions. Although cowboys and pirates were not the same kind of people, there were still many similarities between them. In other words, humans had a lot in common. The two shots Zhang Heng fired just now were not just to vent his anger, but also to send a message that he was not to be messed with.
Considering his skin color, this was a hellish start in the western region of this era. Coming to a new territory alone did not mean that he would be safe and sound. Instead of waiting for people to bully him and the situation to become more and more serious, he might as well take this opportunity to make things worse.
That way, if someone wanted to make a move on him, they would have to think about the consequences in advance.
Of course, this did not mean that Zhang Heng would be fine after that. In fact, things were more serious than he thought. Although Zhang Heng temporarily deterred these people, it was not easy to survive in a hostile environment. And this was a world where everyone had a gun. If he really wanted to do something, it would be much easier.
A few glasses of whiskey and a few provocative words would make a person completely lose his mind. No matter how strong Zhang Heng was, he could not take on an entire town alone. Besides, he could not always be on guard against people around him 24 hours a day. After all, he was a human, and he would feel tired. He could do it for a day or two, or even a week. But no matter how long it took, he would eventually run out of energy.
Zhang Heng began to realize that settling down in Lincoln County in the first half of the main mission was not going to be easy.
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