Chapter 33: Decay

Feng Zi sat by the table helplessly, watching the shopkeeper, covered in wounds, tremble as he applied medicine to himself and tidied up the chaos in the shop.

Facing this scene, he could not even step in to help, which made Feng Zi feel deeply absurd:

As a Martial Artist in the eyes of others, he had hands and feet and was completely unscathed, yet he could not help with a clear conscience.

Furthermore, at the shopkeeper's insistence, the man even cooked a bowl of plain noodles for Feng Zi:

"How could a Martial Artist lord condescend to visit and not even have a bite to eat? Please do not decline; this is a small token of this humble one's heart."

To have an injured commoner wait on him... Feng Zi could never have imagined that he would experience such an absurd thing.

Looking at the steaming noodles before him, he sighed, took a complete animal pelt from his pack, and pushed it toward the poor man:

"It is hard to refuse such kindness, but I am not one to eat a free meal; I am only troubled by having no extra money on me, so I must use this item to cover the cost of the meal."

Seeing this, the shopkeeper waved his hands repeatedly and said: "This won't do, this is too valuable, I cannot accept it!"

Feng Zi's tone was very flat, but his attitude was firm: "Accept it! Treat the extra money as payment for providing local information—you get what you pay for."

Seeing him so insistent, the other man had no choice but to helplessly accept the animal pelt: "Ask whatever you wish; as long as I know it, I will tell you everything without reservation!"

"Rest assured, they are just ordinary questions, no need to feel troubled," Feng Zi said in a low, comforting voice.

Seeing the other man gradually calm down, Feng Zi then spoke slowly: "I would like to buy some salt and sugar; how are the prices for salt and sugar here?"

Regarding this question, the shopkeeper shook his head helplessly: "This... you are going to be disappointed."

Upon hearing this answer, Feng Zi had already reached a conclusion in his heart, but he still asked calmly: "Why is that? Tell me in detail."

The shopkeeper took it as an ordinary conversation and said bluntly: "I won't hide it from you, ever since the County Magistrate was killed by bandits three years ago, our county has been cut off from the outside world."

"Fortunately, there is a salt mine behind the mountain; although the quality is poor, it is barely enough to sustain life."

"But ever since the eldest young master of the Sun Family became a Martial Master, the Sun Family has occupied the salt mine, and how much salt each household gets depends entirely on the Sun Family's mood!"

This situation was no longer a simple matter of soaring prices; that "Sun Family" was practically the local tyrant here.

But then again, would the eldest young master of the Sun Family dare to commit such heaven-defying and people-resenting acts just by being a Martial Artist?

Feng Zi pondered for a moment and tentatively asked: "With the strength of only one Martial Master, they dare to forcibly occupy the resources of an entire county? Do the other Martial Masters of Daishan County just sit by and watch?"

He took it for granted that while Daishan County seemed smaller in scale than Wutai County, it was still a county seat, and there should be a few Martial Masters within it.

Hearing this, the shopkeeper smiled bitterly and shook his head: "My lord, please don't joke. For commoners like us, being able to see a Martial Artist once is already a great stroke of fortune."

"A Martial Master... those are figures from the heavens. Unless you are in a large city or Wutai County, it is very difficult to see one in a lifetime!"

Hearing this unexpected answer, Feng Zi was stunned—

He had originally thought his hometown was just an ordinary county seat, but judging by the other man's meaning, Wutai County... seemed unusual?

But he also understood that this question was not the focus of attention right now, so he temporarily suppressed it and took the opportunity to turn the topic to the next question:

"That said, I came from the north, and when I passed by Bao Jia Zhuang..."

Feng Zi deliberately did not finish his sentence, aiming to probe for more information.

And when the shopkeeper heard the three words "Bao Jia Zhuang," his expression could not help but dim, and he sighed repeatedly:

"Alas, the villagers of Bao Jia Zhuang are also pitiful; over a hundred people just vanished like that, and no one dared to collect their bodies."

Two more pieces of information worth noting!

Hearing this, Feng Zi took a bite of noodles and asked calmly: "Could it be that this was also the work of bandits?"

To this, the shopkeeper just shook his head, not wanting to delve into this topic: "Who knows... in this world today, just staying alive is already very difficult."

Regarding this reaction, Feng Zi raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he just continued eating his noodles and asked indirectly:

"Regardless, the dead are the most important; why does no one dare to help them collect the bodies?"

To his surprise, regarding this question, the shopkeeper was so panicked that he shook his head repeatedly: "Martial Artist lord, hush, hush!"

Amidst Feng Zi's puzzled expression, the man leaned on the table, walked slowly to his side, and whispered:

"You may not know, but not long before Bao Jia Zhuang was massacred, another thing happened—the eldest young master of the Sun Family took a fancy to the village chief's daughter and intended to forcibly take her as a concubine!"

"The villagers of Bao Jia Zhuang refused to the death and clashed with the Sun Family's servants; many people on both sides were injured."

"A few days after that, the bandits entrenched in the Black Bamboo Stronghold to the west suddenly came out in full force and looted the entire village."

"Afterward, the master of the Sun Family said that if anyone dared to collect the bodies for Bao Jia Zhuang, he would drag their entire family out to be paraded through the streets and beaten to death!"

The shopkeeper's account was very cautious, only explaining the cause and effect of the incident without explicitly stating the connection between the two events.

If things were truly as the man said, the secret collusion between the local powerful clans and the bandits was a confirmed issue.

But Feng Zi always understood that the high credibility of what the shopkeeper said did not mean the man was not lying.

As for what the truth of the matter was, he still needed to judge for himself.

Moreover, if this world had truly turned into a chaotic era, choosing to cooperate with bandits gathering in the mountains was sometimes just a reasonable choice.

It was just that... looking at everything happening in Daishan County, Feng Zi really did not believe that the person in charge of the Sun Family could possess such wisdom.

He was more willing to believe that this group of local powerful clans who had never seen the world were just stupid and evil pests:

Monopolizing the necessary supplies of the local people? Naturally, that was possible, but it required a reasonable distribution system, not a tool to arbitrarily prey upon commoners.

Choosing to cooperate with bandits? Of course, that was also possible, but one should guide them according to the situation, using this power for one's own use and strengthening the local armed forces.

Just like the powerful clans in Wutai County—

Enjoying privileges was never a question worth discussing, but it had to be kept within a reasonable scale.

Thinking of this, Feng Zi figured out his next arrangements; he hurriedly finished the noodles in the bowl and stood up to pick up his pack.

Seeing his movements, the shopkeeper subconsciously asked with concern: "Martial Artist lord, you must not be impulsive!"

"Look, do I look like the kind of reckless fool who doesn't use his brain?" Feng Zi just asked back with a smile.

After a simple check, he shook his head with a smile: "I am a Martial Artist after all, and I beat up the servants of the local powerful clan."

"Even if I am leaving, I should go to the Sun Family to pay a visit; that would be the only way not to lose courtesy."

Having said that, he turned and walked toward the door.

But before Feng Zi could walk a few steps, the shopkeeper called out behind him: "My lord, please wait a moment."

He stopped his footsteps, turned his head to the side, and asked, "Is there anything else of importance?"

The shopkeeper leaned against the wall, limped over to Feng Zi's side, and asked in a low voice, "Sir, you said you came from the north, may I ask..."

"Are you from Wutai County?"