Walking the Ten Thousand Daos-Chapter 26: Sleeping

Continuing to read, he actually discovered his own wanted poster.
It wasn’t exactly a wanted poster for him, but rather for the incident where he had killed people.
“Be it known, a demon, having committed murder within Li Prefecture City, has absconded. According to eyewitnesses: the demon stands eight chi tall, has blood-red skin, possesses astonishing brute strength, is impervious to blades and spears, and has brutally slain over a dozen people within Li Prefecture City, exhibiting extreme wickedness. It is suspected of having possessed a hauler named Li Qi and is now nowhere to be found. This is hereby proclaimed to the county residents, to exercise caution. Should this demon be encountered, immediate escape is advised. To those with clues, a reward of five hundred qian is offered. To those who provide evidence and kill this fiend, a reward of one thousand qian is offered. To those who capture this fiend alive, a reward of one thousand five hundred qian is offered.”
So, for killing over a dozen people, he was worth only one thousand five hundred qian, barely a tenth of a gold coin.
According to current prices, using the Great Lu Five Zhu coins, it would take at least ten thousand qian to exchange for one gold coin.
That Lady Luofu, who could be granted territory and made a king for being killed, was worth a hundred gold just for information.
One hundred gold… How much money would that be?
He didn't even dare to imagine.
Li Qi looked unperturbed. Although he was wanted, all of this was within his calculations, so there was nothing strange about it.
But to say he was possessed by a demon…
Uh, that must have been Uncle Sixth’s idea.
He hadn’t killed them all, so those Strong-Force Gang haulers who escaped must have known that the red-skinned, mighty demon was actually Li Qi.
At this point, Li Qi had already directly absconded.
The authorities would certainly go to the Wave-Breaking Gang to inquire about the situation.
The Wave-Breaking Gang would surely insist they knew nothing. Plus, for so many years, the Wave-Breaking Gang had always been like that; both their cultivation methods and their actions were quite normal.
Under these circumstances, the authorities would probably only suspect Li Qi himself. Either he had coincidentally learned some evil art, or he had been possessed by some demon, who then used Li Qi’s face to kill people and then escaped.
The demon-subjugation division must have already mobilized, but Li Qi’s gamble back then must have paid off.
He was an Outsider. Divination methods would find it difficult to pinpoint his location. If divination couldn't do it, then they would have to rely on clues to find him.
Unfortunately, the name Li Qi was unbelievably common; there were at least ten thousand people named Li Qi in Li Prefecture. Searching by name would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
So, they could only rely on portraits to find him.
Whose portrait would they use?
Heh, no one was more familiar with Li Qi than the Wave-Breaking Gang.
He trusted Uncle Sixth implicitly; Uncle Sixth would surely have made the portrait unrecognizable. As long as he didn’t expose the distinct red skin of the Bull Strength Art in front of others, he should be fine.
After all, the world was too chaotic. Such a wanted poster, if no one was caught after a few months, would simply be forgotten.
Because this couldn't even be considered a true wanted poster; it was merely a proclamation.
A genuine arrest warrant was not so simple; it required yellow paper.
The authorities must have known hope was slim, so they didn't even open a case!
After all, if a case was opened, they would have to to their superiors during the year-end review. Without a case, it didn't matter. Would the Strong-Force Gang dare to pressure the authorities?
As long as he could get through this period, change his name and identity, and swagger back into Li Prefecture City, he probably wouldn't be bothered by anyone.
Just like those merchants, Ba Kui and the others surely had human lives on their hands. These people didn't care about doing bad deeds on the sly when out in the wilderness.
They were merchants in peacetime, but when opportunity struck, they became thieves and they wouldn't be held accountable.
This was the norm. The world was simply like this. No one would believe that a world where individual strength was exaggerated to such an extent would remain peaceful, would they?
“It’s precisely because of this… that I need to acquire power to protect myself.” Li Qi’s solo journey this time nearly left him without a burial place. Within his heart, his desire to grow stronger intensified.
However…
“Sigh, let’s go for now. I need to find a place to sleep.” Li Qi turned and left the notice board.
Between different groups, boundaries were distinct, and joining was anything but easy. Whether it was a sect or a gang, one couldn’t simply join and gain trust.
Either you grew up within it from childhood, with your background completely clear, making it easy to earn trust. Or else... be ready to trade your life for that trust.
If Li Qi hadn't saved the Wave-Breaking Gang multiple times, he wouldn't have gained such trust.
The Wave-Breaking Gang was small in numbers and dealt with minor affairs, so his abilities could be displayed, earning him trust. But what could he be in those large gangs? Even if he joined as a low-level member, he probably wouldn't get core cultivation methods, and it might even be inferior to the Wave-Splitting Strength.
Thinking this way… it truly was incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon a spell technique by chance.
So… what should he do next?
Li Qi paid an entrance tax of one qian. This was a head tax. After entering the city, he would receive a wooden token called a “check-pass.” Whether staying at an inn or shopping, he would need to show it.
The check-pass system was very advanced, but Li Qi didn't know why, in the Great Lu Kingdom, each city’s check-pass was counted separately and records were not kept. If lost, it could be reissued for a fee, and it wasn’t valid in different cities.
This series of measures led to a very chaotic population situation, and he didn’t understand why such a strange system was adopted.
Perhaps there was some hidden reason.
Entering the city, Li Qi didn’t plan to stay in an inn. First, he took out the dry rations from his bag, preparing to eat them tonight, and then bought some fried rice, rice patties, and other similar items for storage.
There was no other way; rice was the cheapest.
He heard that in the north, wheat was the cheapest, but in this part of the Great Lu Kingdom, which was mostly mountainous and watery with steep terrain and little flat land, it was difficult to grow wheat, so rice was the staple food.
Farmers cultivated terraced fields on the mountains. It was said that farming families had methods to allow crops to absorb mountain qi, which enabled them to grow spiritual rice with a yield of three thousand jin per mu.
In this world… even farmers had to have some tricks up their sleeves. Truly…
Li Qi thought about these things. At a roadside tea stall, he bought another pot of tea. With the complimentary rice cakes, he chewed on his own dry rations. When his jaws ached and his mouth was so dry he had no saliva, he would sip some tea to moisten it.
He had a large appetite and could eat seven to eight jin in one meal. This time, he prepared to eat all his stored food, eating until dusk settled. Only after finishing all his rations and drinking all the tea, feeling fully satisfied, did he depart.
This meal consisted entirely of rice, with no vegetables. But there was nothing he could do; it was better to be frugal with his money.
The sky had already darkened. Although there were still taverns and brothels open, those were not places Li Qi could frequent. A meal in such a place would cost dozens of qian. He only had a total of a thousand qian. The roadside tea stall, dry rations, and entrance fee had already cost him eight qian. Now he had just over nine hundred qian left. This was enough for half a year's expenses, so he needed to be frugal.
However, Ba Kui was treating him to a meal tomorrow.
Perhaps he could get some meat then.
As he wandered, enjoying the pleasure of a full stomach, Li Qi found a large house with a long overhanging eaves. He sat down beneath it, tightened his bundle, and prepared to spend the night there.
(Chapter End)