As they conversed, a cavalry army suddenly appeared in the distant horizon from the west of the city.
The eyesight of the three was naturally excellent, and they could see the appearance of the cavalry from afar.
The cavalry numbered over ten thousand, all well-equipped, with shining armor and gleaming weapons. Even their mounts were various strange beasts, with ferocious fangs and fierce eyes.
This was an elite cavalry, arriving from afar, kicking up dust.
Wan Lei and the others watched for a while. This cavalry stopped ten li west of the city and began to disperse freely, setting up camp.
"Let's go, it's none of our business. Let's find Li Mei Xian."
Wan Lei shook his head and took the lead towards Jingxian City.
The three soon arrived at the city gate and queued up, waiting to enter.
After waiting for a while and moving forward a few steps, they suddenly saw a commotion at the city gate.
"Why? It was twenty coins yesterday, why is it fifty coins today?"
"Exactly, why are you raising the price for entering the city? Are you guards pocketing the money?"
"Greed is becoming more blatant now, it's truly a decline in morals."
A person at the city gate was shouting, and immediately others joined in the clamor.
In fact, people are like this. When facing oppression, if no one leads the resistance, everyone will just endure it, pay the money obediently, and bow to the oppressor.
But when one person raises a question, it immediately ignites the anger in their hearts, and it forms a storm.
This price increase started in the morning, and now the sky had already turned completely dark. The city gate had been orderly all along, until now, when a bold person raised this question, and others immediately responded.
To say that a single spark can start a prairie fire is a bit of an exaggeration, as this is, after all, a trivial matter.
On the territory of the Xi Ren family, although the upper-class people favored elegance and same-sex relationships, with men appreciating the beauty of being delicate and sickly, the common people at the bottom are actually the same everywhere, merely seeking sustenance.
Facing unreasonable oppression, they also dare to voice their feelings.
But the courage of commoners is ultimately just the courage of commoners. Even if they were to revolt and form a peasant army, they would absolutely not be the opponents of the elite warriors in this border city.
Without any surprise, the guards at the gate drew their sabers and directly killed the two leaders of the disturbance. The rest of the people immediately quieted down.
"Hang up their two corpses."
The guard captain ordered the guards to drag the bodies aside, then pointed to the people queuing at the gate,
"Listen to me carefully. The increase in city gate fees is the order of the Xi Ren family's lord. Anyone who dares to cause trouble and defy authority will suffer the same fate as these two.
Queue up and enter the city in order!"
The ferocity of the guards made the people who were shouting earlier quiet down like quails that had been battered by wind and rain, obediently lining up.
Wan Lei, Fang Xiaoyu, and even the old man did not express any dissatisfaction with this scene.
This kind of thing is the same in any world.
Unruly commoners will not listen to your reasoning, but if you raise your knife, they will immediately find your words very reasonable.
If you scare them by saying you'll kill them, they won't dare to resist.
But if you actually swing your knife, or if these people can't eat and are starving to death, they will find that they too can pick up a knife.
The current situation has not yet reached that point.
When it was their turn, Wan Lei generously threw a fire crystal. The guard captain received it with flattered surprise, bowed, and let them enter the city.
They only dared to bully the "unruly commoners." They were very sharp-eyed when it came to adults with cultivation and did not dare to offend them at all.
The city was quite lively, even at night, this commercially developed great city was bustling with activity.
The cries of vendors on the roadside were endless, the bargaining of small merchants and hawkers was rhythmic, the clinking of wine vessels and drinking songs could be heard from restaurants, and the charming laughter of girls drifted down from the brothels, with the brothel madams loudly calling out to handsome young men to come and play.
Jingxian Wine House in Jingxian City was not difficult to find. To be precise, for a wine house to dare to use the city's name as its own name indicated its strength and status.
Yes,
This was a government-run establishment.
In other words, it was a direct store of the Xi Ren family.
Jingxian Wine House was located in the city center, with the restaurant in the front and the inn in the back, occupying the prime location of this large city.
Prime locations have their advantages, and the service was quite attentive. As soon as they reached the entrance, a quick-witted waiter noticed that the clothes and accessories of the young man and woman were not ordinary, and they must be from a wealthy family.
If such a "sucker"... ah no, such a distinguished family were served well, wouldn't the tips pour in?
Therefore, the waiter, with an enthusiasm that bordered on bowing and calling them grandfather and grandmother, invited the three inside.
"Ten jars of Jingxian Frost first."
The old man, after robbing a tomb, was also generous. Unlike in Meihua Wu, where he only dared to ask for two jars of wine.
"Certainly, honored guest. Please go upstairs, where there are private rooms. I'll bring the food and wine right up."
"Wait a moment."
Wan Lei stopped the old man and the waiter, who had hit it off immediately like dry wood and raging fire.
"Ask first."
"Sir, you ask, and I will tell you everything I know without reservation."
Wan Lei looked at the old man.
The old man smiled sheepishly.
"The desire for wine is overwhelming, please forgive me. Little one, step back."
After the waiter retreated two steps, the old man reached out, and a wisp of red flame appeared in his palm. The flame rose and gradually condensed into the image of a middle-aged cultivator.
The middle-aged cultivator was tall and slender, with a handsome face, dressed in white, holding a long sword, looking like an elegant sword immortal.
"Have you seen this person before?"
"This... I stand at the entrance welcoming guests and calling out to customers all day. Although I certainly can't remember the appearance of every guest, this great hero is so handsome that he is clearly a dragon among men. If I had seen him, I would definitely remember."
"Meaning, you haven't seen him."
Wan Lei had a black line on his forehead. The waiter nodded.
"Then why did you say so much nonsense?"
"I didn't want you to turn around and leave directly by saying I haven't seen him. I had to say something auspicious."
Wan Lei turned to leave.
"Don't! Since you're here, the Martial Arts Tournament won't start for another year. We're not in a hurry, we can search slowly, let's have some wine first."
The old man flicked his hand, took out a fire crystal, and threw it to the waiter.
"Go, bring good wine and food."
However, the waiter looked embarrassed and said with a smile,
"Sir, our Jingxian Frost requires two fire crystals per jar."
"So expensive?!"
The old man was first stunned, then immediately pretended to be calm, handed over thirty fire crystals.
"Bring ten jars first."
Wan Lei really wanted to remind the old man that he had miscalculated the change, but the waiter mistakenly thought the extra was a tip for him and happily accepted it. He then called for others to bring the wine, while he himself led Wan Lei and the other two towards the second floor.