The Bei'an County Government governs an area with a radius of hundreds of miles.

The north of the county capital is adjacent to the Anping River, and there is a large inland port.

There are a total of 13 walled areas outside the city in the east, west and south directions.

These walled areas rely on the periphery of the county government and resemble a large irregular tumor.

Most of the walled areas were spontaneously established by migrants and poor people, and now they have long since developed their own climate, so that the entire Bei'an county government is divided into three parts.

From the outside to the inside, they are the walled area, the outer city and the inner city.

The former is a standard ghetto, dirty and chaotic.

The inner and outer urban areas are the county capital districts in the true sense of the word, not only protected by blue-gray solid city walls, but also quite orderly, at least on the bright side.

According to Zong Xian's observation and understanding during this time, the entire Bei'an County Government has a population of at least hundreds of thousands, which in his opinion is already a large "otherworldly" city of considerable scale.

During the day, he would go into the city to beg when the city gate was open, and in the evening he would return to the eastern suburbs under the stone bridge of the Xigou River to spend the night.

He had only heard of the Hetuo Village in the western suburbs, and he was not even sure if there were any ruined temples there.

However, since the clues given by the [Mysterious Chance] have already indicated that they are there, it is necessary for Zong Xian to make a trip.

He turned to look at the gap where the ash cake was hidden, and after making sure there were no flaws, he staggered to his feet with a stick.

The bruise pain on his body made him frown, the fat beating he received yesterday was not so easy to bear.

Zong Xian covered his back with a broken sack to ward off some cold wind as much as possible.

After all, it is not a short journey to walk from the eastern suburbs to the western suburbs.

You need to cross the east road of the city and bypass the south of the city before entering the western suburbs.

After thinking about the route in his heart a little, Zong Xian embarked on the road.

……

The early morning walled area has already begun to get busy.

Laborers wrapped in short scarves followed the foreman's ox cart along the eastern suburbs road to work in the earthen fort of the Hao family.

Caravans with different business names and flags are lining up at the East City Gate to register into the city in an orderly manner.

These caravans came from far and wide, and some even crossed state regions, stopping at major county capitals and state capitals along the way to buy and sell local goods.

In addition, because Bei'an County has an inland river port, it has also become a well-known commercial transit point, and the porter of the wharf is full of oil.

The beggars followed the procession into the city and entered the city to beg as usual.

There were also groups of teenage boys, following behind the caravan's baggage wagons, with blades hidden in their sleeves, trying to quietly find an opportunity to cut open the sacks and steal some grain and grass supplies.

From time to time, there is also a warrior in a strong suit, wearing a sword and a dragon walking away from the county government.

In such a world, the law of survival of the fittest is vividly implemented.

No one would pay attention to a beggar who was staggering and shivering in the cold wind.

It took more than half an hour for Zong Xian to come to the Hetuo Village in the western suburbs.

He also rested several times along the way, leaning around the fire of the homeless people, relieving the cold and numbness of his limbs a little.

In fact, the walled area in the early morning was quite peaceful, and most of the ruffians and gang members were in a state of deep sleep, so it was not easy to be unjustified when they were in a hurry.

There is a river ditch in this walled area, and this old stone canal connects the Anping county government with a large area of fertile land outside the south of the city, and is responsible for the heavy task of irrigation in two seasons.

The scale of Hetuo Village is larger than that of the eastern suburbs.

There are tea shops and snack stalls along the small streets of the walled area, and everywhere there is a steaming and smoke-wafting look.

The roaring of the people, the rude noise, and the heroic laughter make this place full of fireworks in the world, and at the same time cover up the darkness and sin under the troubled times.

Zong Xian lowered his head, trying to reduce his sense of existence, and his eyes vaguely observed the situation around him.

The beggars in Bei'an County are also divided into three, five, nine and so on.

The lowest is a real beggar like Zong Xian, who lives a life without food and clothing, and may starve to death or be beaten to death at any time.

has neither a bleeding body, nor the courage to do evil, even those poor children.

There is also a type of beggar who is ostensibly a member of a burglar gang.

They often have practiced one-and-a-half-style body kung fu, and are proficient in "turning over their heads", "opening the skylight", and "eating chazi" to pick the lock and enter the house.

The identity of the beggars is only a disguise, so that they can scout and select their targets.

These guys tend to have calluses on their heels, sharp eyes, and their own dens of rest, unlike real beggars.

A guy like Zong Xian, who has vain feet and ragged clothes, can still see bruises on his body, and is naturally a real beggar.

He entered the Hetuo village area in a low-key manner, and used the leftover half of the ash cake to get a clue about the broken temple from the mouth of an old beggar.

There is only one ruined temple near this Hetuozhai area, which has been abandoned for many years and lost its incense, and most of the temple has collapsed, so no one usually stays at all.

After inquiring clearly, Zong Xian hurried on the road again.

He came to the wasteland to the north of Hetuo Village, and finally saw the ruined temple.

The green walls outside the temple are broken, there are many yellow weeds on the ruins at the base of the wall, and half of the porch with erected columns remains, so you can see the inside at a glance from the outside.

Most of the wood in the main hall of the temple was removed.

There are only three sides of the wall left.

Even the last two of the eight main beams that support them are left, and they hold on to the last girders to maintain a small area that has not yet completely collapsed.

The ruins formed a slope that didn't look like a solid one on the side.

The ruined temple was empty, and Zong Xian walked in with a wooden stick.

According to the clues of [Mysterious Chance], there is only one girder that meets the requirements.

So Zong Xian did not delay, he climbed up from the side, his heart was both nervous and expectant, and after spending some time on it, he came to the half-rotten beam.

Brushing away the dust and dirt accumulated on the top, Zong Xian soon found a wooden drawer in the middle of the girder.

Reaching out to open the dark grid, I saw a small brocade box inside.

Due to the long years, the brocade box has long been out of shape.

Zong Xian immediately opened it and found that there was a wax-sealed pill in it!

"Sure enough!"

"It's all right!"

His eyebrows were raised, and the look in his eyes was irrepressible.

Barely hesitating, he bit open the wax skin with his teeth, revealing a black pill the size of an eyeball inside.

As the wax skin was broken, a faint medicinal fragrance suddenly emanated, Zong Xian just sniffed and felt refreshed, and even the blood in his body seemed to become a lot smoother.

This is the "100-year-old strong pill" mentioned by chance, and it does look like a bit of a panacea!

Zong Xian flicked his fingers, threw the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it after chewing it twice.

After surviving a miserable life for a month, he finally got the first [mysterious clue], and he didn't want to doubt and figure it out anymore!

After the pill was put into his abdomen, Zong Xian felt as if his stomach had turned into a furnace.

The warm current is spreading rapidly throughout his body centered on his abdomen!