Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill

Chapter 391: Chapter 201: Expanding the Horizon

After four and a half days on the road, the Shen Family’s Demon-slaying Team reached Moshan County Town around noon on September fourteenth, nestled amidst a sea of mountains.

The members of the Demon-slaying Team were all Martial Artists, exceptionally swift on their feet. Even with post stations for resupply along the way and traveling at full speed, the journey still took them that long.

An ordinary merchant caravan or common folk would have taken anywhere from ten days to half a month to cover the same distance.

This just went to show how slow travel by horse and carriage was in this world.

Of course, for someone with Chen Cheng’s Martial Arts Power, the journey would have likely taken only a day or two at full speed.

The Moshan County region was quite vast, spanning hundreds of miles in every direction.

It had a population of two to three million, mostly concentrated in the county town and a dozen or so smaller surrounding towns.

The county town itself covered a wide area, roughly the size of a district in Linji City’s Outer City.

It had a moat and city walls, but the walls were nowhere near as tall or grand as those of Linji City.

The meandering Mo River wound its way through the county town before flowing east to merge with the Jishui River.

Although called the Mo River, it was really just a large stream, only two to three hundred meters across at its widest point.

In this year of drought, the river had dwindled. Most of its surface had dried up, exposing the mud of the riverbed, which was now cracked and fissured.

Only a trickle of water still flowed down the center, its level so shallow that the deepest part would barely reach an adult’s knees.

Thanks to the Mo River, the harvest in the vast fields surrounding the county town had not been significantly impacted.

It was the middle of the autumn harvest, and commoners and farming families, dressed in coarse, short-sleeved shirts, were busy reaping crops in the fields.

Some mischievous children, barefoot with their bottoms bare, were digging for loaches in the Mo River.

Seeing such a peaceful and tranquil pastoral scene, the members of the Demon-slaying Team visibly relaxed.

This was Shen Qingyao’s first time on a long journey, and she found everything novel and fascinating. As they moved forward, she said enthusiastically,

"I never expected the scenery in Moshan County to be so lovely. I should have come with Fourth Uncle to see it sooner."

Shen Qingshuang shot her a look and said peevishly, "Shen Qingyao, you’re a Golden Pattern Purple-clothed Guard of the Demon Suppression Department. You should be thinking about slaying demons, but all you care about is enjoying the scenery.

If you love Moshan County this much, why don’t you just marry into a local farming family? Then you could look at this pretty scenery every day."

But Shen Qingyao didn’t get angry. Instead, a wistful look appeared on her exquisite face as she said,

"That’s a great idea!"

Shen Qingshuang was speechless. "Are you also imagining having a bunch of kids and taking them to dig for loaches in the Mo River every day?" she asked.

"Oh? How did you know that’s what I was thinking?"

Shen Qingyao let out a soft sound of surprise, glanced at Shen Qingshuang, then looked over at Chen Cheng and said with a playful smile,

"Junior Brother Chen, what do you think of that idea?"

Her words were loaded with meaning. The only person she wanted to marry was Chen Cheng, and if he shared her sentiments, they could secretly arrange their future together.

Chen Cheng, still walking while secretly circulating his Iron Armor Dragon Elephant Skill, didn’t think too deeply about her question and answered offhandedly,

"If such a peaceful land truly existed, I too would want to marry, have children, and live a quiet, stable life."

Shen Qingyao was overjoyed. She let out a happy laugh and said, "Junior Brother Chen is the one who gets me!"

Shen Qingshuang said, "Shen Qingyao, you’re reading too much into it. What Junior Brother Chen means is that because no such peaceful land exists, it’s impossible to live a quiet life."

Shen Qingyao shot back, "Shen Qingshuang, how would you know what Junior Brother Chen is thinking?"

"Of course I do!" Shen Qingshuang declared.

Shen Qingyao turned to Chen Cheng and asked in all seriousness, "Junior Brother Chen, you be the judge. Did Shen Qingshuang misunderstand you or not?"

The two Shen Family sisters had been bickering like this ever since they left the vicinity of Evil Tiger Ridge, and Chen Cheng had long grown used to it.

’Women really do love to get jealous and fight for attention. It seems even Celestial Prides like Shen Qingyao and Shen Qingshuang are no exception.’

Chen Cheng thought to himself, then put on a contemplative expression and said, "Let me think about it a little more."

"Ah... Junior Brother Chen, you’re wonderful in every way, except for your tendency to play dumb!"

Shen Qingyao sighed, murmuring the words, and then spoke no more.

She and Shen Qingshuang were women of unparalleled beauty, hailed as the Peerless Twin Beauties of Linji City. With their proud natures, countless talented young men had tried to get close to them.

But Chen Cheng was like a block of wood, completely oblivious.

The two of them had moved into the Zheng Martial Arts Hall and had even taken Chen Cheng to meet the Shen Family Elders.

Their feelings were practically written all over their faces!

Yet Chen Cheng gave no response whatsoever. If he wasn’t playing dumb, what was he doing?

Did he really expect the two of them to spell it out for him and ask, "Of the two of us, who do you choose?"

Shen Qingshuang shot Chen Cheng a reproachful glance and also fell silent.

Chen Cheng himself was more than happy with the quiet.

The group arrived at the city gate, where County Magistrate Shen Zhiming, having received word, was already waiting with his subordinate officials.

Shen Zhiming was thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, also one of the Shen Family’s Direct Descendants, and possessed the power of the Bone Forging Realm Perfection.

His official rank of County Magistrate was roughly equivalent to a City Guard Chief of an Outer City District in Linji City.

However, as the "parental official" responsible for managing all of an entire county’s affairs, large and small, his position was several degrees more important than that of an Outer City District’s City Guard Chief.

After exchanging a round of pleasantries, Shen Zhiming welcomed the group into the county town.

Once inside the county town, however, they were greeted by a different scene. Refugees fleeing the disaster could be seen on the streets, and every few blocks stood a porridge stall set up by the Government Office.

It was mealtime, and these refugees were all lined up, clutching earthenware pots or wooden ladles. They waited with desperate eyes for the thin porridge doled out by the agents of the Government Office.

This meager portion of thin porridge was barely enough to keep them from starving to death; it couldn’t possibly fill their stomachs.

Therefore, the refugees partaking of the thin porridge were mostly the old and weak, women, and children.

The young and able-bodied had mostly gone off to perform hard labor in exchange for food and money, or had fled to even more distant lands.

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