The Frail Scholar at the End of Ancient Times

Chapter 51: Rich to the Point of Oiliness

Chapter 51: Rich to the Point of Oiliness

Entering the inner city area required a higher entrance fee and stricter inspections to prevent anyone possessed by evil spirits from entering.

Wengu and the others paid their entrance fee—a small bag of fine salt, a less valuable item.

They walked through a passage enclosed by cloth curtains, where incense burned.

When they finally emerged, the world seemed to suddenly blur before their eyes.

Teahouses and restaurants, brothels and entertainment venues, and well-dressed merchants and customers bustled about. It felt like times of peace. The biggest difference was that people could carry weapons now. Even if one carried a weapon or wore clothes that didn't match their status, generally, no one would pursue the matter.

A flapping sound could be heard as carrier pigeons flew across the sky.

"Did you make sure Ma Tuaner hid well?" Wengu asked Little Liu.

"He's hidden, he's hidden! I didn't even let him enter the city!" Little Liu quickly replied. In such a critical moment, the city would surely be heavily guarded. What if his Ma Tuaner tried to catch a pigeon and got shot?

Ever since leaving the village, Little Liu had been broadening his horizons. He had previously thought Bai Lu County Town was quite sophisticated, with a good location, far superior to their remote and desolate place. Only today, upon seeing Jin Wu City, did he truly understand what a grand city was. Even as danger loomed outside and evil creatures were about to attack the city, the shops inside the inner city were still open for business.They didn't browse aimlessly. They merely glanced around, paid with salt, and ascended the inner city wall. Compared to the outer city wall, the inner city wall was not as tall or as sturdy, nor did it bear as many mottled battle remnants. It looked old, but it was well maintained.

"It's shorter than the outer city wall here, I can't see anything," Little Liu said, looking ahead. While he had felt a sense of novelty initially, in this time of crisis, he was more concerned about the situation outside the city.

"Over there," Wengu said, pointing to a spot. Some high platforms had been erected on the inner city wall specifically for observing the battle. Some of these platforms had been booked, clearly by wealthy families. Guards and followers stood below, preventing others from approaching. Most of these were wealthy families from the southern lands who had arrived recently, with elders bringing the younger generation. They needed to see for themselves if the Ren Clan was reliable, rather than just hearing it from others!

Wengu chose a nearby platform that wasn't crowded. A young man of sixteen or seventeen, accompanied by three guards, was already there. Seeing Wengu look over, the young man merely raised his hand in a perfunctory greeting. They maintained a distance from each other.

After standing firm, the young man turned and observed them, his gaze sweeping over Wengu's group before settling on Little Liu. He appeared rough, a warrior carrying a bow. So, he approached Little Liu to chat, introducing himself as being from a merchant family in the south. Little Liu noticed the man's understated luxury—his clothes seemed ordinary but were made of excellent fabric and embroidered with subtle patterns. Having traveled north, Little Liu had encountered many fine fabrics. Observing the man's attire and his presence here with guards at such a time, Little Liu knew he was no ordinary "merchant."

Little Liu glanced at Wengu. Seeing no objection, he began to chat with the young man, introducing himself as a hunter from a remote mountain village. The young man smiled, clearly not believing him. He then spoke of his own observations during his journey. Little Liu mentioned he had come with an escort agency. The young man looked bewildered: "What is an escort agency?" Little Liu replied: "You don't know about escort agencies?" And proceeded to "educate" him. The young man's expression became somewhat strained, thinking: What kind of village hunter would know so much?

As they were talking, a horn suddenly sounded. Little Liu immediately tensed up: "Have they arrived?" The young man said: "No, that sound means they are closing the city gates." Little Liu recalled the long queue outside the city gates when they arrived and asked: "What about those who haven't entered yet?" The young man's expression was one of innocent disbelief: "Of course, they're on their own. They can only rely on themselves." Little Liu couldn't help but take a deep breath. If their group had been even slightly slower… Actually, someone had twisted their ankle during the journey, and had suggested resting for a moment, but Wengu had refused. Not only did he refuse to stop, but after seeing the team ahead accelerate, he instructed everyone to speed up. Those who were injured or sick were either put in carriages or helped by friends and family if the carriages were full. In any case, their overall speed did not decrease; it even increased. They had only been in the city for a short while, and the outer city gates were already closing! "Haven't the evil creatures arrived yet? What if there are still many people outside the city gates…"

"What does it matter? Jin Wu City needs to prepare its defenses and close the gates. Those who haven't entered can only blame themselves for not being faster!" the young man said coldly. "Thorough preparation is the only way to save more people." Little Liu fell silent. From their own perspective, of course, safety within the city was paramount. Little Liu couldn't help but look at Wengu, then out towards the outer city gate. He remembered their casual chats with He Da and others, where He Da had said, "Following the right person can let you live longer." Indeed, if the decision-maker in their group had been anyone else, be it Daoist Master Qingyi, County Lieutenant Zhou, or Escort Leader Lin, they might not have safely brought them into Jin Wu City! Another series of drumbeats sounded. A guard unit arrived at the inner city tower, raising the banner of the Ren Clan. Wengu noticed that as the drumbeats rang out, some people in the outer city area looked towards the tower. Upon seeing the Ren Clan's banner, they seemed to relax, their panic and tension lessening. Wengu signaled to Little Liu. Little Liu turned and asked the young man, "Who is that over there?" "Young Master Ren Qi. He's at the city tower overseeing the battle." With the leader and main general present, both the soldiers fighting on the front lines and the residents and merchants in the city would feel more at ease. The calm reaction of the people in the inner city indicated that this was not their first time dealing with such an attack.

A small elevated platform was built at the entrance to the inner city, cleaned and decorated, with incense burning and cushions placed for seating. A group of monks walked over and sat on the platform, chanting scriptures. Wengu said to Daoist Master Qingyi, "The Ren Clan believes in Buddhism." The Daoist Master's face was grim, and he remained silent, his lips pursed. Since they had arrived at the Ren Clan's territory, where there were many wealthy families, they had naturally had their own ideas. But now, at this crucial moment, seeing so many monks and not a single Daoist priest made him understand the situation clearly. Wengu decided not to provoke the Daoist Master any further. He looked towards the outer city wall ahead. There were many soldiers moving about, but also many objects obstructing the view, making it impossible to discern the exact deployment. In a typical battlefield, if one could target the enemy's general, even if unable to kill them, it could pose a threat. If they were lucky enough to kill a leader, it might even turn the tide of the battle. For instance, by using a ballista. However, ballistas, being heavy weaponry, were not suitable for this kind of battlefield. In this current battlefield, the enemy had no generals! They were simply a group of "beasts" whose minds had gone out of control and whose bodies had mutated. Thinking back on what he had seen on their journey, Wengu pondered. Use fire? At this moment, both city walls were closed. Some passages between the inner and outer city were sealed and heavily guarded. Inside the inner city tower, thick curtains blocked the view, and an exquisite incense burner emitted smoke. After a while, as the smoke dissipated slightly, another batch of more refined incense was lit. The desk was already prepared with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. A young man in splendid brocade robes stood on the tower, observing for a moment, then came to the desk and sat down. He took off his finely crafted silk gloves that fit his fingers perfectly and began copying Buddhist scriptures. His posture was casual. After finishing, he had his attendant take them to be publicly burned. This was also a way to let the people in the city know that he, Young Master Ren Qi, was praying for them. After copying the scriptures, the young man then looked at the several reports he had just received, his expression much more serious than before. The reports stated that someone in the city had secretly lit fires for sacrifices and was also promoting cults in small groups within the city. Gods, Buddhas, devils, and ghosts? The young man sneered. "Ignorant wretches!" He glanced at the burning incense beside him and continued to read his subordinates' reports. At the same moment, on the front lines, the massed evil creatures had encountered the watchtowers. A soldier stood atop a watchtower, his eyes fixed on the watchtower in front. When the fire in the front watchtower intensified, he opened the hidden compartment at the top of the tower, lowered a lantern, and then picked up the torch beside him to light it. Each watchtower had a hidden compartment containing a special lantern. These were only used when facing such clustered attacks. After lighting the lantern, he didn't look further and quickly descended the ladder. Those guarding the watchtowers might face various unexpected accidents or be influenced by fear, affecting their judgment and actions. But here, they didn't need strong battlefield judgment or combat skills; even illiterate people could carry out the task. If this tower-guarding team lost its leader, any ordinary soldier could complete it. They just needed to light the fire and then retreat! As he descended, the flame in the lantern burned until the entire tower ignited, triggering the mechanism in the hidden compartment again. A bell fell, making a crisp sound. It was like an urgent call. The soldier who had reached the bottom of the watchtower crossed the final steps in a few strides and darted into the underground secret chamber. Those already waiting inside jointly closed the stone door. If he had not descended within the designated time, those inside the secret chamber would not wait for him and would still close the stone door. The watchtower above, with the ringing of the bell, had liquid flowing down its body. Fire spread along it, quickly engulfing the tower. The wooden watchtower ignited completely. At this time, the evil creatures had already arrived. Evil creatures feared fire. However, the clustered evil creatures were beyond the primal fear of beasts; many of them crashed directly into the burning watchtower. If viewed from high above, one would see towers standing in the relatively open and easily passable area leading towards Jin Wu City. These towers lit up with flames and were then engulfed by the dense, dark tide. After the towers at nearly the same level fell, towers further behind lit up one after another. Like beacon towers sending smoke signals, they used the light of the watchtowers to transmit messages and simultaneously wear down these swarming monsters. The number of clustered monsters was too great, and these watchtowers certainly couldn't wear them all down, but even reducing their numbers by a small portion was a significant help. Those rushing at the very front, the most agile ones, were all deeply mutated evil creatures, having been parasitized for a long time. Their forms had changed significantly, and their running speed was faster, exceeding the limits of ordinary humans. They would be the first to be reduced. Inside Jin Wu City, most of the people in the outer city had hidden themselves. Even those wandering outside made no loud noises. A strange silence spread. The firelight from the watchtowers flickered to life. Wengu, standing on the high platform of the city wall, could see more clearly. With this firelight, they could see a large area further away, a mass of dark, dense figures rushing towards them, pushing down the watchtower's firelight, like undulating ant colonies, gradually submerging that fiery glow. Another horn sounded. Little Liu, seeing the scene in the distance, felt his knees weaken. County Lieutenant Zhou seemed to have lost his soul, his face pale. He even forgot to breathe, holding his breath. Even after hearing some rumors, witnessing it firsthand, the impact was indescribable! Fear escalating to its peak resulted in a complex sense of confusion. Could they truly resist? Drumbeats like thunder spread throughout the city, as if conducting a countdown. The dense figures at the end of their vision, like a pack of maddened beasts, charged forward rapidly. A behavior of the swarm: unidirectional movement. Almost all the evil creatures were rushing towards Jin Wu City at this moment. They directly charged into the constructed barricades, like a hedgehog's defense, impaling themselves on the sharp poles. Then, the evil creatures behind stepped on the corpses of their own kind and continued to charge forward. A second behavior of the swarm: regardless of whether they were of the same kind or different, anything that blocked them or acted inconsistently was considered an obstacle and trampled upon! The deeply mutated evil creatures at the very front, within this massive swarm, if they were stopped or obstructed by an obstacle, they would still be trampled by their own kind, unable to escape. Thus, the overall appearance of the swarm at the front was chaotic, with large-scale trampling within. Unable to escape, unable to change their objective. Behavior of the swarm: willpower coercion. Uncontrollable gathering, quantitative change leading to qualitative change, no retreat, swept along to their deaths. The evil Gu that could turn normal people into monsters, the evil creatures that could erase humanity and turn it into beastliness, often could control their hosts, but after forming a swarm, this would be their fatal moment of losing control. Wengu thought, if the evil Gu parasitic within them could scream, they would be screaming madly right now, wouldn't they? The uncontrollable hosts were rushing rapidly towards death! Warning horns sounded. Inside the inner city tower, Young Master Ren Qi stood up and walked out. His hands, clad in silk gloves, rested on the railing as he looked forward. Small fire pots were thrown from the outer city wall like scattering flowers. The volley of arrows also carried incendiary materials. Varying-sized fireballs flew from above the city wall, drawing arcs in the air before landing on the gathered, dark figures. Flames splattered, causing the evil creatures to let out piercing roars, and they were quickly trampled to the ground by the charging brethren behind them. Looking out, the attacks of the evil creatures lacked strategy; it was all trampling. But their numbers were truly too great, wave after wave, overwhelming the barricades and continuing to approach. Once that dark wave passed a certain line, all long-range attacks from the outer city wall ceased. Drumsticks beat the drumheads, producing thunderous sounds that traveled from the front to the inner city. Those watching from the high platforms were now all intently focused there. The young man standing on the same platform as Wengu stretched his neck, looking, his whole body trembling. "What's wrong? Why aren't they attacking anymore? Those monsters are coming!" People who had just entered the city or had been in the city for a short time couldn't help but feel nervous, anxious, and tremble with fear. The people in the inner city felt it more profoundly. The vibrations from the rapid movement of the crowd, transmitted through the ground from their feet to their hearts, sprouted and grew, giving rise to even greater fear. Ripples appeared on the surface of the water in the bowls. Some prayed to gods and Buddhas, some curled up in corners in silence, their expressions vacant. The drumbeats sounded continuously, like a final countdown. On the outer city wall, giant shields were erected one after another. The drumbeats suddenly stopped, and a high-pitched horn blast, accompanied by the vibration of the "dark tide" impacting the city wall, spread from the front line. The evil creatures that had finally reached the city wall after trampling each other piled up rapidly, forming a high pile. Following them, those monstrous figures with bared teeth and claws, stepped on the steps formed by their brethren and pounced towards the top of the city wall. Whoosh! A blazing line of fire outlined the undulating city wall. Like a divine bird spreading its wings! Opening a protective barrier of flames! Wengu, speechless: Holy crap!! True fire coverage! "What is that…" "What divine object is that!" Little Liu and the young man beside him clung to the edge of the platform, their eyes bulging, wishing they could fly over to see clearly. The moment the firelight spread along the city wall, the excitement and tremor in their hearts suppressed their initial fear, as if countless voices were cheering and shouting. A miracle!!! Eager to find an answer, and knowing that those around him didn't know, Little Liu turned. When facing difficulties, find Wengu; he has rich travel experience. "Second Brother Wen, what is that?" "Flaming Oil Cannons!" Wengu's eyes blazed. The Ren Clan is truly rich to the point of oiliness! (End of this chapter)