Chapter 2: Qingniu Town

  This is a small town, but actually it's just a big village. The name of the village is Qingniu Town. Only those who live in the nearby mountain valleys and have no knowledge of the world would call it "Qingniu City" over and over again. This is what Zhang Er, the gatekeeper for over ten years, thinks to himself.

  Qingniu Town is not big, the main street only has one east-west Qingniu Street, and there is only one inn, Qingniu Inn. The inn is located at the west end of the long-shaped town, so if passing merchants do not want to sleep outdoors, they can only stay here.

  Now there is a horse-drawn carriage that looks like it has traveled a long distance, entering Qingniu Town from the west. It quickly passes in front of the gate of Qingniu Inn without stopping and rushes all the way to the other end of the town, where Chunxiang Wine House is located, before finally coming to a stop.

  The Chunxiang Wine House is not large, and it's even a bit old-fashioned, but it has a kind of ancient charm. Because it's just lunchtime now, there are still many guests eating in the wine house, almost every seat is taken.

  A stout man with a round face and a small mustache, and a dark-skinned child of about ten years old, got off the carriage. The man led the child straight into the wine house with a swagger. Some familiar customers in the wine house recognized the stout man as Han Baozi, the owner of this wine house, but no one knew who the child was.

  "Old Han, this little black kid looks just like you. He can't be the son you had behind your wife's back, could he?" someone suddenly joked.

  As soon as this sentence came out, it caused a burst of loud laughter from the crowd around.

  "Pfft! This is my own cousin from my hometown, of course he looks a bit like me." The fat guy not only didn't get angry, but also looked rather pleased.

  These two were none other than Han Li and his third uncle's son-in-law, who had just arrived in town after rushing for three days, known as "Han Paozi" to the locals.

  Han Baozi called out to a few familiar customers before leading Han Li to the back of the wine tower, where they arrived at a secluded small courtyard.

  "Xiao Li, you rest well in this room, take care of your spirit, when the steward from inside comes, I'll call you over. I'm going out first to entertain a few familiar guests." Han Baozi pointed to the wing room in the courtyard and said kindly to him.

  Having said that, he turned around and hastily walked away.

  When he reached the door, he seemed to have some misgivings again and instructed once more.

  "Don't run around randomly, there are too many people in town, don't get lost, it's best not to leave the yard."

  "Ah!"

  Seeing Han Li honestly answering, he finally felt at ease and walked out.

  Han Li saw Third Uncle walk out of the house and felt very tired, so he fell onto the bed and started snoring loudly, surprisingly without any fear or shyness like a typical child would have.

  In the evening, a young servant brought in some dishes, although they were not sumptuous, they were quite palatable. After finishing eating, another young servant came in and took out the leftover rice bowls, at which point Third Uncle calmly walked in.

  "How's it going? Is the food still to your taste? Do you miss home a bit?"

  "Yes, I've thought about it a bit." Han Li said obediently.

  Third Uncle looked very satisfied with Han Li's response, and then chatted with him about some family trivia, boasting about some interesting experiences he had. Gradually, Han Li lost his sense of restraint and also started to chat and laugh with him.

  It was like this for two days in a row.

  On the third day, when Han Li finished dinner and was waiting for Third Uncle to tell him stories of the jianghu, another horse carriage stopped in front of the wine tower.

  The carriage was painted black and glossy, driven by a rare yellow horse. What caught people's attention was that on the edge of the carriage, a small triangular black flag with a rusty "Xuan" character was inserted, with silver words and red edges, naturally revealing an inexplicable mysterious color.

  At the sight of this small flag, all the old hands in the Jianghu who have been active in this area for hundreds of miles know that an important figure from one of the two overlords of this place, "Qī Xuán Mén", has arrived locally.

  "Seven Mysteries Gate" is also known as "Seven Extremes Gate", founded by the famous "Seven Extremes Supreme One" two hundred years ago. It once dominated Mirror State for decades, even infiltrating several neighboring states, and was renowned throughout Yue Country. However, after the death of the "Seven Extremes Supreme One", the power of the "Seven Mysteries Gate" plummeted, and it was squeezed out of Mirror State's capital, Mirror City, by other sects. A hundred years ago, the sect was forced to relocate to the most remote place in Mirror State - Xianxia Mountain, where it took root and became a third-rate local power.

  There's a saying that goes "a thin camel is bigger than a horse", after all, the Seven Mysteries Sect was once a major sect, and its potential is still not to be underestimated. Coming to Cai Xia Mountain, it immediately controlled more than a dozen small towns including "Qing Niu Town", with three or four thousand disciples under its command, making it one of the two local overlords in name and reality.

  The only local force that can rival the Seven Mysteries Gate is the "Wild Wolf Gang".

  The predecessor of the Wild Wolf Gang was a group of horse bandits who were burning, killing and looting within the borders of Jingzhou. Later, after being surrounded and suppressed by the government several times, some accepted the government's amnesty, while another part of the horse bandits became the Wild Wolf Gang. However, the ferocity, bloodthirstiness, and fearlessness of the horse bandits were also passed down, which is why the Seven Mysteries Sect was at a disadvantage in their repeated conflicts with the Wild Wolf Gang.

  The towns controlled by the Wolf Gang are more numerous, but they are not well-managed. In terms of prosperity, they are far inferior to the towns under the Seven Mysteries Gate. The Wolf Gang is extremely envious of the several wealthy territories under the Seven Mysteries Gate and has recently been provoking conflicts between the two sides, which has become a major headache for the current leader of the Seven Mysteries Gate. This has also become one of the main reasons why the Seven Mysteries Gate has been continuously recruiting new disciples in recent years.

  A man in his forties, thin and gaunt, jumped down from the carriage. The man was agile in his movements, clearly skilled with his hands, and seemed familiar with the place, striding straight towards the house where Han Li was staying.

  Han Lisan's uncle immediately went forward and gave a respectful bow as soon as he saw this person.

  "King Hu Fa, why have you personally brought people here?"

  "Hmph!" Wang Hu Fa snorted coldly, his face full of arrogance.

  "It's not safe on the road these days, we need to strengthen our defense. The elder ordered me to come personally to escort you. No more nonsense, this child is the one you're supposed to recommend?"

  "Yes, yes, this is a nephew of my family, I hope you will take care of him on the road."

  Han Baozi saw that the man's expression was somewhat impatient, and he quickly took out a heavy bag from his body and secretly handed it over.

  Wang Huafu patted his bag and his expression relaxed a bit.

  "Korean fatty, you're quite good at socializing! Your nephew will take care of himself on the way, it's getting late, let's hurry up and get going."