No one came looking for trouble, and Chen Sanshi's days passed in rare peace.
For five days straight, his life followed a simple rhythm—hunting in the mountains, selling wild game to the restaurant, and going home to rest.
As for Qin Xiong…
The corpse had been reduced to bones by wild wolves the very next day, and Chen Sanshi had even taken the chance to shoot a few of them dead.
"One wild rabbit, six jin; two pheasants, five jin and three liang; plus a fifty-jin roe deer…"
At the Eight Treasures Restaurant, Chen Sanshi placed his catch on the counter as usual, like he was turning in a quest in some game.
Manager Liu Hongda tapped on his abacus. "Comes to exactly one tael of silver. Here, take it."
One tael of silver could easily support an ordinary family for a month—at least, back before the wars had driven prices sky-high.
But Chen Sanshi didn't look particularly thrilled. After all, he'd once earned seven taels in a single day.
Wild boars weren't easy to come by, though.
"If only I could go to the northern mountains…"
According to Zhao Shu, the deep northern range still hid rare 'beasts of anomaly.' A single one could sell for over ten taels, sometimes even fetch a sky-high price.
Unfortunately, without power or backing, he couldn't risk it.
The area north of Second Mountain was completely occupied by martial artists. Rural hunters who dared venture there were either robbed of their game or beaten—sometimes even killed outright. Those people were tyrannical.
"I still need to find out more about the martial halls."
With that thought, Chen Sanshi decided not to leave right away.
After waiting for about half an hour, he saw Zhang Shun arriving with his bamboo fish basket, ready to sell his catch.
The moment the topic of martial halls came up, Shunzi started cursing. "Don't even mention it, brother! Those two bastards never planned to help me at all. Just used me for free meals—ate and drank off me till I lost two taels of silver! But…"
He leaned in close, lowering his voice. "I didn't let them off easy either. Yesterday, I set a trap and dumped a whole bucket of chamber pot juice on their heads. That made me feel a bit better."
"They didn't see you, did they?"
Chen Sanshi frowned.
In his recent trips to the county, he'd run into plenty of martial hall disciples. Most were arrogant and violent—some even beat civilians in the streets for no reason.
If those guys found out Shunzi had humiliated them, it could get ugly fast.
Some things, you either didn't do—or you made sure there were no witnesses.
"Don't worry, they didn't see me."
Shunzi changed the subject. "Anyway, brother, you said you wanted to learn martial arts too, right? Got any plans?"
Chen Sanshi shook his head. "What about you?"
"I'm troubled too," Shunzi sighed. "Aside from the four big martial halls, the smaller ones in the county aren't cheap either. And to even get started, you have to work as labor for two years before they'll teach you anything real. Without three to five years of effort, you'll never learn proper martial arts.
"But what choice do we have? I'll still try to find a hall with a decent reputation and give it a shot."
That matched what Chen Sanshi had heard.
In this world, rising through education was already difficult—rising through martial training was even harder.
In short, ordinary people had no easy path.
And Chen Sanshi had no intention of wasting three to five years working as a servant in some shabby martial hall.
But aside from the martial halls, there was still one other way to learn martial arts…
The wei suo—the garrison system.
The problem was, joining it meant becoming a hereditary soldier, fighting battles, and risking his life on the front lines. And with the world in chaos as it was, that wasn't a light choice.
Still, he decided to at least ask around first.
After parting ways with Shunzi, Chen Sanshi went to the marketplace to find old Xu Tou.
The old man couldn't help but chuckle at his question. "How much silver to become a soldier? Little Shitou, are you daft? Joining the wei suo doesn't cost a single coin—they'll pay you!
"It's not that they don't want people. It's that no one's willing to go!"
The Great Sheng Dynasty had lasted for over 350 years.
When the founding emperor established the nation, he'd set up the Wei-Suo-Dusi system—a kind of military-agricultural structure.
In short, it was the garrison-and-farm policy.
Seventy percent of the soldiers farmed, thirty percent guarded the borders.
In its early years, the Great Sheng had over three million military households, completely self-sustaining.
The founding emperor himself once said, "My Great Sheng's soldiers need not eat a single grain from the people."
"Sounds a lot like…"
Chen Sanshi couldn't help but recall a figure from his past life—a ruthless founder who'd built his dynasty from nothing but a rice bowl and iron will.
Like the Ming of his old world, the Great Sheng's garrison system had long decayed over time, teetering on the edge of collapse.
About fifty years ago, a grand chancellor had pushed through reforms, giving the system a temporary breath of life.
But judging by Xu Tou's tone, the changes hadn't gone deep. The whole thing was just barely holding together on the surface—rotting beneath.
'Lasting three hundred and fifty years already isn't easy,' Chen Sanshi thought silently.
'After all, that Ming dynasty only lasted less than three hundred years.'
'So how did the Great Sheng Dynasty manage to last seventy years longer? Because they never had a "foreign student" on the throne?'
'Or maybe it's because this world has martial artists who can use strength to suppress chaos and extend the dynasty's lifespan?'
'…'
Old Xu Tou looked at him. "Little Shitou, are you planning to train in martial arts?"
Chen Sanshi nodded silently.
"If you just want to stay fit, the martial halls in Poyang County are good enough," Xu Tou said. "But if you want to truly step into the martial path, they won't take you far.
"You've only got two choices—join one of the major sects at the prefecture level, or join the army."
"Is there any sect under heaven stronger or greater than the imperial court itself?" Chen Sanshi asked.
Old Xu Tou sighed and said earnestly, "Child, think carefully. If you really want to enlist, Uncle Xu can help get you in.
"But with the world in chaos, why go be a soldier?
"Let this old man give you a piece of advice—just live safely as an ordinary man. That's already a blessing.
"Look at my foolish son—always dreaming of military glory, never realizing some people just don't have that fate."
"Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Xu."
Chen Sanshi cupped his hands and took his leave.
He truly had a lot to think about.
As he walked home, thoughts weighed heavy on his mind.
But before he even reached the entrance of Swallow-Edge Village, he heard the sound of shouting and arguing coming from within.
A young man in a dark blue robe, sword hanging at his waist, was questioning villagers with four or five followers behind him. They stopped everyone they saw, asking rapid questions as if searching for someone.
With Chen Sanshi's keen hearing, he could make out their conversation even from a distance. But he didn't hide. He walked straight up to them, pretending nothing was wrong.
"Brother, please wait."
The young man at the front looked well-dressed and polite, but his eyes held faint contempt as he spoke. "Have you seen my elder brother, Qin Xiong?"
"Brother Qin?"
Chen Sanshi's face stayed calm. "I saw him a few days ago. Why?"
Qin Feng's tone turned cold. "My brother has been missing for five days. No word from him at all."
"Missing? That can't be right!"
Chen Sanshi frowned, feigning surprise. "He was fine the last time I saw him. How could he go missing?"
Qin Feng shook his head. "If you learn anything, I expect you to report it."
"Huh…"
Chen Sanshi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A few days ago, some barbarians infiltrated Poyang County and killed the magistrate. Could that be related?"
Qin Feng ignored him and moved on to question the next villager.
'So that's Qin Xiong's younger brother, huh?'
'Judging from how those other disciples called him "senior brother," his status in the martial hall must be pretty high.'
'If I ambushed him… could I kill him with one arrow?'
'No, I need to train first.'
When Chen Sanshi reached home, he immediately noticed something off—the usual aroma of cooking was missing.
"Lan jie'er's not back yet?"
"That's strange."
Half an hour later, he finally heard hurried footsteps outside.
"Shi ge'er!"
"What's wrong?" Chen Sanshi asked, stepping forward.
"The tax collectors—they're here…"
Gu Xinlan was pale and out of breath, one hand gripping the doorframe for support.
Chen Sanshi instantly remembered—today was the final day for paying taxes.
Every year, the officials would come from the county yamen to check household payments one by one. Anyone who couldn't pay was taken away for forced labor.
"Calm down, speak slowly."
Gu Xinlan's voice trembled as she forced out the words, "Aunt Li… Shi ge'er, you have to go see! Aunt Li's family couldn't pay their taxes—they're about to be taken away!"