Chapter 144: 139 The Way of the World

The table fell silent. The village elder was the first to jump up, not at all like a man of seventy or eighty. He rushed to look behind him, seeing the room door tightly shut and no one in the courtyard, only then did he heave a sigh of relief.

Returning to the table, the village elder whispered sternly, "Jialiang, stop talking nonsense. If the village head outside hears you, wouldn't that invite trouble again?"

Before Sang Jialiang could speak, another middle-aged Martial Artist said in a low voice, "Village elder, we just won't spread it around. Those damn bandits bully everyone so ruthlessly; can't we even say a few words in private? It's truly suffocating."

The village elder actually cursed and swore in private quite often, but weren't there outsiders today? Regardless of how kind Tang Zhao and his companions looked, and even though Sang Jialiang trusted them, the human heart is as opaque as a wall. The village elder was an old fox and had never let his guard down. But since the words were already out, it was hard to take them back, so he could only sigh.

Tang Zhao acted as if he hadn't noticed the village elder's thoughts and continued the previous topic, "Actually, Yunzhou isn't peaceful either; there are evil cults and heterodox paths everywhere. Not to mention other places, my hometown has several black-market powers." For example, the Five Poisons Society's Black Spider Villa, the Five Poisons Society's Iron Scorpion Castle, the Five Poisons Society's Giant Ant Gang...

"However, in recent years, the Lord has been vigorously rectifying things, and some of the more excessive evil and black-market paths have been wiped out. But as long as there are people, there will be many places the sun cannot reach."

For example, Wangliang Mountain, and the powerful human trafficking network centered around them.

In such places where the sun never shines, I wonder if there will ever be a day when the dark clouds are parted.

"But there are certainly not as many thieves as in Lingzhou."

"That's not bad then." Sang Jialiang gulped down some wine and said, "If there are still people doing things, trying to make things better, then there is still hope. Unlike here, where the more of a thief you are, the more arrogant you become, and the better a person you are, the more you have to shrink away. Good and evil are inverted, black and white are indistinguishable."

Jiang Shenyi asked, "Actually, I've wanted to ask for a long time: with so many thieves and such rampant behavior, does the government not care?"

Sang Jialiang said, "Who would care? The previous Prefect of our Lingzhou wanted to manage it. He even appointed a general to suppress Baixiong Mountain, but the very next day, he was assassinated. That general was tortured to death and hung on the city gate tower of the provincial capital. He hung there until he turned into white bones, and no one dared to collect the body."

Tang Zhao said, "Isn't this a slap in the face of the Imperial Court?"

Another younger one said, "So what if they slapped it? No one is coming to clean up Baixiong Mountain anyway. They are living well and becoming even more majestic. This Imperial Court's face isn't even as good as my—" He almost slapped his own behind, but the village elder next to him grabbed his hand and glared at him.

Sang Jialiang said, "Since then, the Imperial Court hasn't appointed a Prefect for seven years."

Wusun Tong said, "That's not strange. Our Liangzhou hasn't had a Prefect for three years. And the previous Prefect died of old age; he stayed in Liangzhou for thirty years, never did a single thing, never said a word in public, and was known as the 'Liangzhou Slug.' He just stayed in the city, never leaving or moving, until he died of old age. We've known since we were children that we can only rely on ourselves, not the Imperial Court."

Someone nearby said, "Is it wrong to publicly call a provincial Prefect a slug?"

Wusun Tong said, "Isn't it? It overestimated his ability to act."

Che Sha smiled and said, "Brother doesn't know, but I've heard that we do have a Prefect in Liangzhou; that Prefect took the position and has been lingering in Jingcheng, absolutely refusing to come and take office. If you ask around, maybe there is even a Lingzhou Prefect in Jingcheng. This is called 'remote appointment,' isn't it?"

Only then did Tang Zhao realize that not only was the outside world unimaginably chaotic, but the Imperial Court was also unimaginably decayed.

Damn it, how did the world become like this?

Is this world going to continue to rot, or is a storm coming?

Sang Jialiang said, "With Lingzhou like this, even if a Warlord came? Even if that person on Baixiong Mountain had some ambition? If he had the heart to be a Grass-Head King and build a small Imperial Court, it wouldn't have let Lingzhou become this chaotic."

One person sitting there suddenly said, "Brother, don't say that. My family came from Yan Prefecture. Over in Yan Prefecture, it's Warlords fighting wars; just the forced conscription left several villages empty. All kinds of taxes were collected until not a blade of grass grew. As soon as they heard the Great Marshals were coming to collect grain, the whole family could only dive into the mountain gullies; if they didn't dive fast enough, they lost their lives. We can still form a stronghold to protect ourselves against thieves, but once a great army passes, they won't even leave you a dog."

Everyone was silent, and Tang Zhao felt dejected listening to this.

Before, he had a dream: to let the sun shine into every corner. Now that he thought about it, that wasn't enough. A storm is indeed needed to wash some things clean.

Everyone drank for a long time and chatted a lot. The people of Wushu Bao didn't have much knowledge, and after talking back and forth, they only came to one conclusion: "Our fate is bad; if only we had been born in Yunzhou."

By evening, everyone dispersed. Sang Jialiang saw the others off, and Tang Zhao followed to the entrance, watching the villagers stagger away.

As the night wind blew, a few cries came from the wind, faint and sobbing, continuous like a thread.

Tang Zhao felt a slight chill in his heart. Sang Jialiang listened intently and said, "It's Si Da Niang. Her husband, Si Da Shu, went out with Lan Yatou this morning. Lan Yatou came back tonight, but he didn't. The sky has collapsed in their home."

Tang Zhao was silent, thinking of the bloody human bodies hanging in the black shop.

Sang Jialiang said, "Tomorrow, the village elder will collect some grain for her family, but that's all he can do. No one is rich these days, and too many people have died. Actually, Si Da Shu's martial arts were quite good; ordinary petty thieves couldn't get near him. Who knew he would be ruined in a black shop."

He sighed, "This is how the world is. No one knows if they will die tomorrow. Even I might be gone just like that. I'm not afraid of death, but what will happen to Wushu Bao?"

Tang Zhao offered a few words of comfort, nothing more than "don't be so pessimistic," but as a passerby, his words were always pale and powerless. Because at this moment, he really couldn't do anything.

Sang Jialiang only sighed a few times; after all, it was late at night, and having just drunk alcohol, people are prone to sentimentality. But this man could only sigh in the dead of night, and tomorrow morning, he would be the pillar of Wushu Bao again.

Although the Sang family wasn't rich, they had plenty of rooms. They gave Che Sha a separate room, and there were two left over, so Tang Zhao and Jiang Shenyi stayed in one, and Wusun Tong stayed in a single room.

At night, as they were about to sleep, Tang Zhao was about to close the door when he heard a knock. He opened it to see Sang Jialiang.

Tang Zhao was very surprised, assuming this host must have something important to discuss. He invited him in to sit. Sang Jialiang sat on the kang, his expression awkward, as if he had something he was embarrassed to say.

Tang Zhao and Jiang Shenyi were secretly puzzled. Sang Jialiang stood up again and said, "You two, shall we shake hands?"

Tang Zhao was stunned, then immediately understood. Shaking hands was a way for martial artists to compete.

Since ancient times, there is no second in martial arts. Those who possess martial arts are mostly competitive and want to determine who is superior upon meeting. But blades and guns have no eyes, and if they were to fight with fists and feet, it would inevitably hurt their harmony. Therefore, they generally adopt a gentler method, such as shaking hands to test strength. By joining hands and comparing strength, they can roughly determine the winner.

However, such a test of strength should be done upon meeting or just after the initial pleasantries. How could one come to test strength in the middle of the night?

While Tang Zhao was surprised, he suddenly remembered what that teacher said to him when he first met Guan Lei:

"Let's arm-wrestle."

That was the method Teacher Guan used to test his aptitude. Thinking of it now, he still felt nostalgic.

Tang Zhao extended his hand and said, "Alright."

Although Jiang Shenyi was eager to try, he didn't take the initiative. Even though his martial arts were no worse than Tang Zhao's, if it came to comparing strength alone, Tang Zhao was stronger. This had nothing to do with the realm; Jiang Shenyi had cultivated his Internal Energy all the way up, while Tang Zhao's initiation was the "Ant Strength."

As the two shook hands, Tang Zhao was startled, thinking to himself: What great strength!

Although Tang Zhao later cultivated both internal and external arts, and later focused mainly on internal energy, he hadn't abandoned his external arts, having practiced both to a state of perfection. Ant Strength mimics ants and is best at strength; once mastered, one has infinite power. Tang Zhao had even used his Glasses to upgrade it once, practicing a brand-new version that increased it even more. In terms of strength alone, he could emulate the great generals in storytelling and say, "I hate the earth for having no rings to pull."

But Sang Jialiang's strength was even greater than his, like Mount Tai pressing down, wave after wave. Tang Zhao increased his force twice while competing with him, yet couldn't shake him in the slightest. Instead, he was firmly gripped. After failing to gain the upper hand several times, he couldn't help but use his Internal Energy.

Once he used his Internal Energy, Sang Jialiang naturally used his as well. As both sides exerted force again, Sang Jialiang's expression changed slightly. It wasn't that he lost immediately, but that Tang Zhao's Internal Energy had unique characteristics.

Tang Zhao mainly practiced the "Bing Fire Mental Method," derived from the fire of the sun. Although his Internal Energy didn't have a distinct nature like Qi, it carried an unusual high temperature, like a burning fire. As soon as Sang Jialiang's Internal Energy made contact, he felt as if he were catching fire. Coupled with the strength of Tang Zhao's Internal Energy, it immediately had a destructive momentum.

Sang Jialiang instinctively pulled his hand back, and Tang Zhao let go, saying, "I concede."

Sang Jialiang cupped his hands and said, "I admire you; the young master is indeed a master."

Tang Zhao returned the gesture, "Brother Sang's skills are remarkable; I admire you as well."

He wasn't being polite. Not to mention Sang Jialiang's strength—he was truly gifted with Divine Power—his Internal Energy was very profound. Tang Zhao not only practiced top-tier internal arts but also piled on many resources, even washing Fierce Beast meat in a pool before eating it; it was more luxurious than what royalty enjoyed. How could Sang Jialiang have such conditions? That he could cultivate such Internal Energy showed he was naturally gifted.

Sang Jialiang sighed, "Actually, half of this ability is innate, and half depends on a fortuitous encounter; it can't be considered my own. People think my Internal Energy is profound and that I must have worked hard, but in fact, I've only practiced some shallow internal arts. On my own, I couldn't have achieved anything. It was just that when I was twenty, I had a fortuitous encounter and suddenly gained this Internal Energy. Over the years since, I've only practiced techniques, and my Internal Energy hasn't improved at all."

Speaking of this, he hesitated for a moment, seemingly having finally made up his mind, and said, "I know it's very presumptuous to come visiting so late at night. But if I miss this opportunity, I really don't know where the next one will be. So I want to ask for a chance. I'm not asking for nothing; I've also prepared a reward." Having said that, he took out a white cloth bundle.

Tang Zhao wasn't curious about what the reward was and said directly, "That's easy to say. Brother Sang, are you looking to ask for a Mysterious Technique?"