Wu'an County is located to the west of Changze County.

To return from Wu'an County to Changze County, you need to exit from the East Gate.

Chen Tang stood guard near the city wall at the East Gate for an entire night, memorizing the patrol routines, shift times, and locations thoroughly.

He only returned to the inn at first light.

Fortunately, in this life he had started practicing martial arts, aided by treasures and medicinal materials such as Tiger Milk, Celestial Ginseng, and Monkey Wine. Despite staying up all night, he didn't feel tired in the morning.

In his previous life, if he hadn't slept for a night, it would have felt as if his spirit had been sucked away, leaving him listless for the entire day.

Not long after he rested, everyone woke up one after another.

Mei Yingxue came over early, taking Qingmu, Zhiwei, and others to have breakfast, then wanted to take Chen Tang and others for a walk in the street.

Wu'an County was indeed much more prosperous than Changze County.

Here, Chen Tang could already feel the bustling atmosphere unique to cities.

Vendors, carters, and drink sellers were everywhere, and the streets were much wider, with a variety of shops, inns, and restaurants on both sides.

There were street performers doing things like breaking stones on their chests and sword swallowing with fire spitting.

The shouting of vendors, the calls of peddlers, and cheers intertwined, creating a cacophony of sounds, lively and bustling.

Even the blacksmith shops crafting weapons looked far more impressive than Old Sun's in Changze County.

Inside, over a dozen strong men, with muscular arms bared, were drenched in sweat, continuously hammering the freshly heated red iron, creating a ringing sound.

The fat old man and Qingmu, who had roamed the Jianghu for years and visited many commanderies and state mansions, were quite accustomed to this scene.

Zhiwei was just looking around.

The sights before her sparked some memories from her childhood.

The place where her family came from seemed ten times, or even a hundred times more prosperous than this!

However, Chen Tang was quite fascinated, looking around everywhere.

As a modern person, accustomed to skyscrapers and concrete jungles, coming to this ancient town, experiencing the bustling market, watching the throngs of people, was quite a unique feeling.

The stores and shops on both sides of the street were also gradually hanging lanterns in front of their doors, preparing for tomorrow's Lantern Festival.

"Where is Wu'an County's Appraisal Field?"

Chen Tang asked.

"I'll take you there now,"

Mei Nianzhi smiled slightly and led everyone towards the direction of the East Market.

Not long after, a walled area with a spacious gate came into view, guarded by a few soldiers wearing armor, obviously from the military.

At this time, some people were already going in and out, and the soldiers at the gate didn't stop them.

Mei Nianzhi explained, "Tomorrow the Appraisal starts for the Lantern Festival, so the field is open to the public today for familiarization, but you can't touch any of the weapons inside."

He was speaking as he led the group into the field.

The interior was very spacious, and in the distance, they could see several weapon racks placed in front.

The most conspicuous was an entire row of bows and arrows!

Each bow occupied a rack, marked with several stone bows.

There were a total of nine bows, corresponding to one-stone to nine-stone.

Mei Nianzhi looked at his two sons and the followers behind him and said, "When you participate in the Appraisal tomorrow, don't be reckless. Start from the One-Stone Bow and proceed gradually."

"Every Appraisal, there are people who overestimate themselves, wanting to pull the Three-Stone Bow directly, only to end up straining their muscles, or in severe cases, breaking the tendons in their arms."

Everyone agreed, their eyes filled with excitement.

It was a pity they couldn't try today, or they would have rushed to try it long ago.

In Qian Country, bows above one stone were not allowed to be privately owned by civilians, nor were blacksmiths allowed to forge them privately.

Therefore, people usually had no chance to come in contact with strong bows of two-stone or three-stone.

The group circled the field, and it was nearing noon.

After having a meal at a nearby restaurant, Chen Tang parted ways with the others, saying, "I'll look around here myself, you go ahead and have fun."

Chen Tang wandered near the East Market for a while, then saw a horse market.

In his previous life, Chen Tang had never ridden a horse, and his poor upbringing afforded him no such opportunity.

But he needed to hurry back to Changze County tonight, and for the two hundred or so li journey, a horse was necessary, and he had to make haste.

"How much are the horses?"

Chen Tang looked around the stables but couldn't tell which horse was good, fast, or could run far.

He didn't know anything about horse appraisal and was completely clueless about horses.

"That depends on what kind you're looking for, young hero."

The horse market owner said, "There are horses that can run a hundred li a day, four hundred li a day, and even the legendary Ferghana Horse that can run a thousand li a day, all priced differently."

"Do you have the Ferghana Horse that can run a thousand li a day?"

Chen Tang's eyes lit up.

If it truly could cover a thousand li, he could reach Changze County from Wu'an County in less than two hours.

The horse market owner, upon hearing Chen Tang inquire about the Ferghana Horse, couldn't help but size him up from head to toe and said with a smile, "I don't have the Ferghana Horse, but let me tell you, don't take it the wrong way. Even if I did have one, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to afford it, young hero."

"The horses I have may not seem as majestic as the Ferghana Horse, but there are some fine steeds that can run eight hundred li a day! Moreover, they are not expensive. Would you like to take a look, young hero?"

Eight hundred li a day?

If true, it would suffice.

However, seeing the horse market owner's cunning expression, Chen Tang guessed that this person was likely trying to deceive him, talking nonsense.

Tonight's matter is of great importance.

He better not end up with a horse that runs eighty li a day and ultimately have to rely on his feet to get back.

Chen Tang had an idea and said, "Which one are you talking about? Bring it over for me to see."

"Alright."

The horse market owner immediately retrieved a tall and handsome horse, which looked quite impressive.

Yet, when the horse came to Chen Tang's side, it suddenly seemed startled, bent its knees abruptly, and directly knelt down.

The horse market owner was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly kicked and pulled, trying to get the horse to stand back up.

But the horse seemed to want to stay down, trembling slightly, and soon after it began frothing at the mouth and passed out.

Chen Tang looked innocent as he said, "Boss, your horse isn't working."

The horse market owner's face was full of gloom.

He had immediately seen that Chen Tang didn't know anything about horses, thinking he could trick him to make some extra silver.

But his horse was so unreliable. Who knows why it suddenly got sick?

Even a fool could see this horse wasn't fit.

The horse market owner said, "Let me find you another one."

Chen Tang replied, "I'll just go look in your stable myself."

"You can choose for yourself too."

The horse market owner said.

Chen Tang walked toward the stable.

As he got closer, the horses seemed to sense something, suddenly becoming nervous, neighing, kicking wildly, even trying to break free from the reins.

Chen Tang shook his head and said, "Boss, the temper of these horses you're raising isn't quite right. If I ride one, I might get thrown off before going far."

"It shouldn't be like this."

The horse market owner was baffled.

These horses, while not the best, were usually quite docile. Why were they suddenly all acting up today?

Chen Tang asked again, "Do you have any other horses? If not, I'll just go somewhere else."

Seeing Chen Tang about to leave, the horse market owner quickly said, "Yes! Are you looking for a gentle one? I have a horse at home that is extremely gentle, and even if a tiger or leopard were in front, it wouldn't be startled!"

Accurate to say, it wasn't gentle, but rather slow in response…

"It's just…"

The horse market owner hesitated, as if wanting to say something but then stopped.

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