Chapter 187 [The thief in the busy city]

  After leaving Chaoyun Port, Fang Chang went straight to the northwest.

  When there is a small road nearby, he will walk along the small road; if there is an official road, he will also walk on the official road, and even buy a carriage seat; when there is no road next to him, he will walk through the fields like walking on flat ground.

  Whether it is a field ridge, a ditch, a pond, a river, or a messy forest, he treats it like nothing, and passes through it.

  In the vast land to the east of Yunzhong Mountain, there are no high mountains. After walking for hundreds of miles, the land gradually became less flat and large rocks began to appear.

  He didn't walk slowly this time, but moved forward at a slightly faster speed than ordinary people.

  As the cold wind and snow pass, the weather is getting colder and colder.

  But for the common people, not everyone can afford to wear cotton padded clothes. More people wear leather felt, or warm clothes made of catkins made of reed flowers.

  The poorer people hide in the house and cover their bodies with all the clothes and bedding that can keep out the cold, which is called "cat winter".

  It is also common for some people to use domestic cats and dogs as heaters.

  The further north you go, the more different the houses are from those near Yunzhong Mountain. The adobe is thicker, and heating facilities are often installed.

  When the weather is cold, or in the kang, or on the side of the warm wall, or in the stove, burning a handful of firewood can bring some warmth to the cold night.

  In some lucky places, coal is also used for heating here and there, but due to transportation and price, it is not popular.

Along the way, Fang Chang, in addition to watching the world as before, often visits the city gods, land gods, mountain gods and water gods everywhere, and gets to know each other with them, chatting about things in the world, and also talking about things outside of the world. thing.

  And he, a practitioner with extraordinary conversation and temperament, is also very popular with these gods.

   After all, they are responsible for their responsibilities. They are very busy every day, but they don't have vacations, and they can't often chat with each other. Moreover, they couldn't travel far away from the place they managed like Fang Chang did.

  So, for this practitioner who has traveled the world, they are not only envious of his cultivation and state of mind, but also his insight and freedom.

  Fang Chang also gained a lot during this journey.

   After a few breakthroughs, he possessed a detached temperament, and he could hide himself so that others could not see him in person.

  Now, after observing the mortal world for a long time, he has gained new experiences and insights.

  Walking in the busy city, although he is still handsome and tall in white clothes with a sword on his back, people look at him as naturally as they see an ordinary neighbor, without feeling abrupt at all.

   Many times, this is convenient.

   Just like now, Fang Chang is like an ordinary passerby, standing on the side of the street, getting together with a few familiar citizens and listening to their chats, but they don't care about his joining at all.

   "Recently, the market has become more and more chaotic, and it is much more serious than this time in previous years."

   "Yes, everything is increasing in price, oil and salt are increasing in price, rice grains, tea and vinegar are also increasing in price, and all the objects that can be seen need more money to buy."

   "There are only so many ways for everyone to get money. I don't know when this day will be the end."

   Several people looked at each other and shook their heads, sighing.

   "There are more people stealing things now." Someone sighed with emotion in a low voice, "It is not only necessary to prevent fire and water, but also to prevent pickpockets from stealing. It is said that there are burglars and robberies outside the city."

  The more they talked, the more angry they became, but Fang Chang listened leisurely and didn't express any opinions.

   When it comes to excitement, people are all very angry.

Fang Chang's eyesight is very good, he can see not far away, just like what some citizens beside him said, someone is stealing in broad daylight, and then runs away after getting it, but the careless owner who has exposed property suddenly doesn't realize it, let it go action.

  He shook his head, with Fuzhou's current response, he could only catch more and more.

  Because citizens often dare not report to government officials after theft, and often just swallow the bitter fruit of the loss. When Gein reports to the official, the bigger the loss, the more the loss. If you point the back, even if the sufferer rolls out of the yamen, it will be easy to peel off layers of skin.

   But what surprised Fang Chang the most was that the thief who had stolen in broad daylight and got his hands just now did not go far away, but saw him circle around, pretending to be nothing, and continued to wander on the street.

   As a result, something happened.

   It seems that because of quarrels and grievances, a bigger conflict suddenly broke out on a street not far away.

  The sound of fighting, the sound of sharp knives entering the flesh, the sound of snatching...

There were still no government servants to take care of it, but the scene got out of control for a while. While shouting and drinking, the attention of people in the surrounding streets was attracted, but the perpetrator was seen walking between the streets with a sharp knife in one hand and the victim in the other. It seems that they are looking for a good case to kill the killer.

  The thief was very clever, he greeted his accomplices, and then quietly lurked in a corner.

When the assailant passed by, the two of them jumped out like lightning, and appeared in a corner where the assailant could not notice, knocking away the sharp blade in his hand, and the surrounding people took the opportunity to rush up and subdue him .

  Not to mention how everyone plans to treat the wounded and punish the wicked, Fang Chang is very interested in these two thieves.

   After all, in a sense, the two little thieves and the knife-wielding man just now belong to the dark side of society. I didn't expect that there would be a situation similar to "black eating black".

   I don't know what mentality they are based on, so they will take the risk to do so.

  Fang Chang became interested, so he withdrew from the chatterers, switched his body state, and followed slowly.

   It seems to be an industry habit. The thieves don't like being exposed to everyone's sight, but take advantage of the chaos and leave quietly without leaving any clues.

   "Brother Junping, what you did just now was really neat."

  One of the thieves said to the other, who was the main force who just stopped the strongman from committing murder.

   "That's not right, we'll just rely on our hands to make a living, what if it's worse. Besides, the other party just wants to hurt people and has no technical skills. It's really hard for them to commit crimes."

   "Look, they have been arrested now, maybe they will be taken to Caishikou later, where they will be stabbed with a knife, or they will end their lives with a rope."

  The thief called "Junyuan" shook his head and said.

  He is thinner than his accomplices. Even in the cold weather, he wears only a few layers of unlined clothing. His complexion is not very good, which shows that his daily life is not good.

   "So, brother Junyuan, where are you going next?" the former asked.

"Don't worry, Yudai, let's get it this time, go eat a good meal of stewed pancakes first, and then buy some food with the remaining money. We haven't had enough food for many days. Let's make up for it today, and we will make up for it later. Hunger can last longer." The thief named Junyuan happily tossed two small purses.

These are the harvests he got just now. One of them was stolen from a passer-by, and the other was: "I just cut it off when I bumped into the man with the knife. It turned out that this guy is really rich. It's cheaper than the one behind him." Instead of being a case-handling officer, why not use it to help us, isn’t it, Yudai.”

  When the latter heard this, he nodded repeatedly and licked his lower lip.

  After the arrival of severe winter, all walks of life have a hard time. Because the two of them always leave room for strikes and have choices in their targets, they have been hungry and full for a long time.

  (end of this chapter)