Chapter 033 – A Follower!
Early the next morning, Yan Yu lay curled against Li Yuan, refusing to let him go. It had been a while since they’d shared a moment of quiet in bed at dawn, and the two of them began chatting idly.
Li Yuan asked, “Yan Yu, have you heard of the Blood Blade Sect, or the Wei and Sun families?”
She tightened her arms around his waist. “I’ve heard that the Wei and Sun families are powerful families in the county. As for the Blood Blade Sect...yes, I’ve come across the name before. They seem pretty influential in town.”
Li Yuan continued, “Last month, when I was out, did any tax collectors show up here in Little Ink Village?”
“They did,” she said with a sigh. “One family couldn’t pay, so they took the daughter away. The parents cried and pleaded, but the collectors ignored them.”
Hearing that, Li Yuan pieced some things together. Most common folk had no idea how complicated the local power structure really was. It occurred to him that these so-called tax collectors were likely working for those same families or the sect. They just happened to wear official uniforms. It was a lot like how Cai Ze was simultaneously a Blood Blade Sect disciple and a county bailiff.
He felt a heaviness settle over him. Cai Ze’s words kept echoing in his mind.
Even if the Red Lotus Rebels break through Gemhill County, they still won’t touch Silver Creek... This empire is really just the largest martial force under the heavens, and it was only the largest in the early days of its founding... When the Red Lotus Rebels sack the county, they’ll loot and burn everything in sight.
A growing sense of urgency pressed down on him, as though the true chaos hadn’t even begun. In his previous world’s history, even in eras of low warfare technology, there had been times of brutal disorder, like the period of the Five Barbarians or the Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms.
Here, the imperial court openly tolerated entire nations within the nation—powerful sects and clans—while remote mountains housed terrifying dangers of their own. If everything fell apart, what would it look like?
Li Yuan didn’t dare imagine.
I have to pull together enough silver taels fast and move us to Silver Creek, he thought. Still, he couldn’t just take Cai Ze’s word at face value. He planned to visit the Ginger Tavern in Silver Creek soon to do some investigation himself. If it was still bustling, they’d surely be needing meat, which meant a good chance to sell his game.