The city wall of Fangshan County is twenty meters high and towering, like a giant beast crouching at the foot of the Wuyang Mountains.
The city walls and gates are patrolled and guarded by soldiers wearing armor and holding swords, spears and halberds, which makes them appear solemn and awe-inspiring.
At this time the sun had just risen from the distant horizon.
A large number of people from outside the city who want to enter the city have gathered outside the city gate. Although these people are poorly dressed, they are much better than the fleeing refugees who gather at the official road and want to come forward but dare not.
The refugees were all in ragged clothes, with unkempt hair and sallow complexion, looking like they were wandering around and suffering from malnutrition.
Qin Ziling even saw the corpses of several refugees lying on the roadside outside the city. A government official was directing people to move the corpses onto a carriage and then pull them crunchingly towards the graveyard outside the city.
"Oh, when will this kind of world end?"
"Yes, it is said that Lang, the Shepherd King of Nanding Prefecture, has proclaimed himself king. Those who refuse to obey will be killed with their heads rolling to the ground and blood flowing like rivers. Maybe one day they will come to our Xiyun Prefecture!"
"It is said that Luodian, a vassal state in the southwest, also rebelled. It invaded the border many times, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. Many people fled Heya County."
"I heard from Jiugao County that people in many places had suffered from floods and locust plagues for many years without a harvest. However, the government not only refused to open granaries and distribute disaster relief items, but also continued to increase taxes, making the people unable to make a living. Many places revolted and revolted.
Now in Jiugao County, it is said that bones are exposed in the wild, and there are no roosters crowing for thousands of miles, how miserable it is."
"Hmph, how good is our Fangshan County? Who dares to travel far away now? There are horse thieves and gangsters everywhere, and the surrounding area of the city seems quite peaceful. There are some people living more than ten miles away. Take a look.
How many families are there? Those officials only know how to fight for power in the city, have fun, oppress the people, and collect money, but no one is willing to lead troops to exterminate the bandits."
"Shhh! This is not a good thing to say!"
"Alas, this world is not peaceful!"
"..."
Qin Ziling stood in the crowd, looking at the scene in front of him, listening to people's whispers, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.
In the past, he had only seen descriptions in history books about the sufferings of troubled times, how human lives were like straw, and how people exchanged their children for food. But that was too far away after all. Any imagination of Qin Ziling, who lived in a prosperous age, an era of highly developed civilization and science and technology, could not imagine it.
It's very pale.
It wasn't until ten days ago that he was reborn in a world that was very similar to the feudal troubled times described in history books, that he truly understood what it meant to be miserable in troubled times, and that human lives in troubled times were as small as grass.
In such a troubled world, with no power and a poor family, his house is located outside the city in a village with only a broken low wall for protection, and he has no achievements in martial arts. He is just an ordinary martial artist in the realm of muscle training.
He can only deal with three or five big men who have not practiced martial arts. Once the war spreads to the county, or there are horse thieves and bandits wandering into the area, it will be difficult for him to even protect himself, let alone protect his family and save the common people.
A joke.
Therefore, a few days ago, after Qin Ziling realized his situation, he felt really desperate.
It wasn't until yesterday that Qin Ziling felt hope ignited in his heart.
The thumb and index finger of his right hand gently pinched a faint black skin pattern on the little finger of his left hand, and Qin Ziling entered the city gate proudly.
The county town is divided into inner city and outer city.
The inner city also has a city wall and a moat, and all the wealthy families and dignitaries of the county and city live inside.
Four east-west streets and six north-south streets divide the city into lanes of different sizes.
After Qin Ziling entered the Xicheng Gate, he crossed two streets and came to a large house in Xianyuanfang, Xicheng District, with two stone lions placed in front of the door.
There is a plaque hanging on the lintel of the vermilion gate of the mansion, which reads four powerful characters, "Hantie Zhangyuan".
Qin Ziling pushed open the red door, and what appeared in front of him was a spacious martial arts training ground.
About twenty people have gathered in the martial arts training ground, including men and women, more men than women.
These twenty or so people are all young, some are practicing fists, some are practicing strength by holding on to stone locks, and some are surrounding wooden dummies...
There was a man sitting under a big tree in the corner of the martial arts training ground.
Although his temples are a little white and his body is a bit stooped and thin, his frame is very large, especially his two palms are much larger than ordinary people, giving people a sense of majesty and majesty.
He is Zuo Le, the master of the "Hantie Zhangyuan" martial arts gym.
"Master of the gym, Zi Ling wishes to say hello to you." Qin Ziling entered the martial arts hall and first went to Zuo Le to bow to say hello.
Zuo Le drank his tea and waved his hand without raising his head, indicating that he should practice by himself.
Qin Ziling was not surprised at all by Zuo Le's indifferent reaction.
Apprentices like him who are still in the process of training their muscles are just objects for Zuo Le to make a living and make money. One group comes today and another group leaves tomorrow. They cannot be regarded as his true disciples.
Only those who have reached the level of skin membrane training can enter his Dharma and become his disciples and key training targets. Only they are qualified to call Zuo Le master, while those like Qin Ziling can only be called the master of the hall.
Qin Ziling had just turned around and left, when a young man wearing fine fabric training clothes came towards him, with slender eyes, thin lips, and a faint cold and ruthless temperament.
"Zi Ling, come and practice with me later." The young man walked up to Qin Ziling and stamped his feet, looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes and a hint of teasing contempt, and said in a tone that did not tolerate resistance.
"Okay, Senior Brother Nangong." Qin Ziling bowed slightly and replied with a calm expression, but there was a cold light flashing deep in his eyes that others could not detect.
When Nangong Yue saw that Qin Ziling didn't show any anger or panic on his face, a look of surprise flashed through his slightly narrowed eyes, but soon a sneer of contempt and disdain appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he passed by Qin Ziling.
"Master Zuo, good morning!" Nangong Yue quickly came to Zuo Le. The cold and arrogant look on his face had long since disappeared, replaced by humility.
"You're here!" Zuo Le's attitude towards Nangong Yue was obviously different. When he saw him coming to say hello, he not only put down the tea cup in his hand, smiled at him and nodded, but also looked at him sharply up and down.
"The blood energy is surging like a tide, surging powerfully. It seems that your father lost money again yesterday. But with your talent and your current age, it is all worth it. As long as you can continue to seal the blood energy with the membrane and continue to compress it.
By tempering it and practicing diligently, there is no small hope of developing strength. Only by cultivating strength can the power of Cold Iron Palm be truly exerted, and only then can one be considered a master of martial arts, and only then can one become a martial arts teacher and stand alone.
, he can barely be considered a figure in our Fangcheng City." Zuo Le's sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through Nangong Yue's internal organs, and he quickly said with a hint of joy on his face.
When Nangong Yue saw his master praising him and saying that he had a lot of hope to develop his strength, Nangong Yue could not help but show a proud look on his face. However, Nangong Yue quickly put away his proud expression and bowed humbly again:
"It's all thanks to Master Zuo's careful teachings that I have my disciples today."
"Haha!" Zuo Le couldn't help laughing when he heard this. The more he looked at Nangong, the more he liked it. He invited him to sit aside and started a small stove for him in a low voice.
…
"Why, Nangong Yue wants to practice with you again?" On the other side, a big man who was as strong as an ox and with an open dark chest that looked like iron was holding a stone lock to practice. He threw a stone lock to him casually.
Qin Ziling, who was walking towards him, glanced at Nangong Yue who was talking to Zuo Le under the big tree from afar, with a hint of disdain and disgust.
This person's name is Liu Xiaoqiang, and he is an apprentice who has a good relationship with Qin Ziling in the martial arts school.
"Yeah" Qin Ziling responded and quickly stepped forward to catch the stone lock.
It was just that the stone lock was heavy. Although he caught it, his steps were a little unsteady and he took a step back to stabilize himself.
"He is deliberately trying to make you suffer!" Liu Xiaoqiang said with a look of injustice on his face.
"I know!" Qin Ziling smiled bitterly and glanced at the young woman who was practicing boxing and kicks on the other side of the martial arts training ground.