As a result, no one dared to act rashly. Of course, the bag of silver was tempting, but this young ranger with a sword and a horse didn't look like someone who would be easily killed. Seeing that they weren't moving, the ranger squeezed his horse's belly, and the horse's hooves gently stepped on the ground, heading towards the bag of silver. At that moment, a wooden spear flew out at high speed, and the sharpened spear was aimed at the ranger's chest. The person who threw the spear was a tall and sturdy young man. The young man's spearmanship was trained by killing countless cunning gerbils. Naturally, he stabbed wherever he pointed, and his accuracy was impeccable. Unfortunately, the ranger didn't know how to move the wooden spear. He turned the tip of the spear around and grasped it lightly. Other than the vicious young man who didn't know what to do, the rest of the men and women retreated with their spears, drawing a clear line between them and the young man. The ranger with a sword pierced the money bag with the tip of his spear, and urged his horse slowly towards the young man. The money bag was tightly knitted, and it slid to the middle of the wooden spear before stopping. The horse's hooves weren't heavy, but they hit the hearts of the refugees. The young man who was tempted by the money didn't wait for death. Instead of retreating, he charged forward, facing the man and the horse. He didn't run in a straight line, but like a snake slithering in the sand, the agile young man swept past the horse's head, and with a twist of his toes, he fiercely slammed into the side of the horse's belly. The ranger casually reached out, grabbed the young man's head, and threw it up high, the tip of his spear aimed at the young man's belly.
At that moment, a wail came from behind the men and women, and a skinny little girl staggered out of the human wall. The ranger frowned, and the spear drew half an arc in the air. The young man fell heavily to the ground, escaping the fate of being pierced by his own spear. He shook his head, and after trying his best to stand up, he shielded the skinny little girl behind him and stared at the ranger with a wooden spear on the horse's back.
The ranger threw the wooden spear, and it was nailed into the yellow sand a few steps in front of the young man and the little girl. His gaze leaped over the young man's head, and he glanced at the group of refugees. Only then did he pull on the reins and turn around to leave.
The little girl, who was so skinny that she couldn't even get frostbite, sobbed as she hugged the young man who was dependent on her for survival. The young man who survived the disaster pulled out the spear with trembling hands and pulled the heavy money bag onto his hand. He untied the knot and poured out a small piece of broken silver. Then, he handed the money bag to the elders in the village to "divide the spoils". It was not that the young man was poor and generous. It was just that even if he took a little more than that, he would be beaten up badly. But this time, the young man was greatly surprised. None of the thirty or so men and women in the village came forward to take the money bag. The young man wasn't stupid. He remembered the glance the ranger gave him before he left. It was obvious that the Jianghu expert had made these people not dare to touch the silver. The young man didn't have any elders in his family. Even if he hadn't studied for a day or learned a word, he had still been taught the ways of the world. He used the money to buy a pitiful amount of dried meat and coarse grain from those people.
After squandering the money bag, the young man didn't rush back to the village. Instead, he gave the small piece of broken silver to his little sister, squatted down, and let her ride on his neck. He slowly stood up, holding the wooden spear that had almost taken his life. The young man was somewhat annoyed that the money bag had also been taken by someone else. He looked in the direction of Qingcang City, but he couldn't see the ranger anymore. The young man smiled brightly and said, "Little grass root, it's silver."
The little girl, who was holding the broken silver tightly, rested her chin on her older brother's head and made a sound of agreement.
The rider rushed into the dilapidated Qingcang City before the gates were closed. There was no such thing as a pass here. Being able to stay alive was the biggest pass. Who cared about your surname or your household registration? In this city, it didn't matter if you were Zhang Julu or Grand Secretary Zhang. It was the same even if you were the emperor's son. Perhaps only that person surnamed Xu from Beiliang had the authority to make a decision. After the ranger entered the city, he sat high on his horse and looked around. It was indeed different from the cities within Beiliang's jurisdiction. It had nothing to do with whether it was rich or poor. Tuma Pass was also poor, but the people on the streets lived a stable and free life. On the streets of Qingcang City, there was actually no lack of well-off men dressed in silk and satin. However, everyone was afraid of danger and looked at each other with deep vigilance. Moreover, there were very few travelers who were alone. Most of them were in groups. Some of the local ruffians squatting on the streets with nothing to do were not as lazy as the local tyrants of the Central Plains, who gave people the feeling that they were half-dead. At this moment, the people who raised their heads to look at him were all emitting ominous glints. It was as if they had calculated how much money he, a horse, two knives, and all of his belongings could be sold for. They were also weighing whether or not they should risk their lives for this windfall. In this dangerous place where everyone was jackals and wolves, if a scholar who could recite the wind and recite the moon was thrown into the city, he would probably end up being hacked to death on the spot.
The ranger raised his head slightly and saw the tallest Wolf Smoke Arrow Tower in the city. Out of the hundreds of thousands of refugees, only four people had managed to carve out a bloody path and proclaimed themselves as kings in the past twenty years. Three of them had occupied Fengxiang, Linyao, and Qingcang respectively, and the last "Vassal King" had established a huge sect between Linyao and Fengxiang that could support tens of thousands of people. The one who held Qingcang was the weakest because he was constantly being cut by Beiliang's cavalry with blunt knives. However, he was also the most violent. His real name was Cai Junchen, and he used to be a mediocre swordsman on Liyang Lake. Later on, he was lucky enough to make a name for himself here, and he gave himself a nondescript nickname, something like the Thousand Frost and Thousand Snow Pear Flower Sword. Whenever a famous swordsman came by, he would be "invited" by the master of Qingcang to exchange swordsmanship with him. After that, the swordsman's swords became Cai Junchen's treasured playthings. When he was troubled, he liked to plant famous swords all over women's bodies, and he called it "A Tree of Pear Flowers." It was clear that this city lord, who was respectfully called the Dragon King of Western Xia by the local refugees, was very "elegant".
The paladin followed the Wolf Smoke Arrow Tower in his line of sight and headed west. Cai Junchen's "Residence of the Dragon King" was in the westernmost part of the city. There was no other way. Qingcang was the closest to Beiliang in the east. Cai Junchen would be able to escape faster if he abandoned the city. The Dragon King of Western Xia kept saying that he would lead his troops to Mount Qing Liang one day. Who would believe him? Cai Junchen would probably be the first to not believe him.
The Residence of the Dragon King in Qingcang City encompassed the entire western part of the city. Based on the structure of the capital, it was divided into the inner palace and the outer palace. The so-called walls of the palace were merely red battlements that were twenty feet tall. However, some of the palaces and pavilions in the city were covered in bright yellow glazed tiles. It was not easy for them to have a little bit of the spirit of an imperial family, but they were all ruined by the arrow towers of different heights. Every time there was a rebellion in Qingcang, the palace walls would be easily flipped over. Then, it would be these porcupine-like arrow towers that would do the work. However, this kind of rebellion would at most number two to three hundred people. It was not even comparable to the chaotic battles of horse bandits in the land of refugees. When this rider was still a hundred feet away from the gate of the palace, he was intercepted by a group of leather-armored foot soldiers who were holding a rarely seen shiny iron spear. The leader was a burly man who looked like a military officer. He wore an old Southern Tang-style armor. When he caught a glimpse of the two sabers that the bold fellow was carrying, he could not shift his burning gaze away. He laughed loudly and said, "There is a thief who has trespassed into the palace. Men, kill him on the spot!"
More than twenty spear-wielding foot soldiers rushed over. There was no formation to speak of, but they had the advantage of being vigorous and incomparably dauntless.
Suddenly, the military officer shouted sternly, "Wait!"
The foot soldiers stopped abruptly. The burly man in Tang armor pulled out his saber and pointed at the paladin. He laughed and said, "Boy, your saber is a good one. Before you die, tell me the name of your saber. Snatching a famous saber is not the same as snatching a woman. The latter does not need to care about the name. I do not know how to take pity on women, but I am a man who cherishes a good saber. "
The paladin was dressed in a hemp robe as white as snow. He smiled and said, "One is Embroidered Winter, the other is Crossing the River Soldier."
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