"How can you do business with the doors closed?" Hu Li glanced around the inn, chatting casually with the innkeeper.

"Sir, you may not know as an outsider," the innkeeper said while pouring a pot of cold tea for Hu Li to cool off. As the tea spun two rounds at the bottom of the cup, filling it up, he sighed and continued, "In this southwestern region, with the mountains embracing the Wall City, there are bandits causing trouble all year round. The rich and powerful left long ago, leaving only the poor and elderly. We have to keep the doors closed all day long and keep our mouths shut to stay alive."

Hu Li gulped down the cold tea, feeling the heat dissipate from his body, and asked, "Doesn't the government take care of this?"

The innkeeper chuckled as if he had heard a joke. "Where is the government? No one cares about the Wall City... Let me fry up a couple of dishes for you. There are rooms upstairs. Sir, it's best not to wander outside if you have nothing to do. Just rest your feet."

"No one cares," Hu Li muttered to himself, tapping his forehead lightly, pondering over these three words.

It seemed that the innkeeper had only touched the tip of the iceberg. The banditry he mentioned was probably just the tip of the iceberg.

Hu Li removed his straw hat and placed it on the table. He laid his long knife on the table, his hand resting on the hilt.

After a while, there was urgent knocking on the door of the inn, and it sounded like there were five or six people.

The innkeeper gestured to Hu Li to keep quiet, then hurried to the door. As soon as he removed the latch, the people outside pushed the door forcefully.

The innkeeper stepped back two steps from the force.

Several people barged into the room without paying attention to the innkeeper. One of them, carrying a large knife, chose a table among the empty ones and slammed the knife down heavily.

Hu Li glanced at them, then turned his attention back to his tea.

The innkeeper closed the door, his face pale. It was evident that these people were no good, perhaps not much better than the bandits in the mountains. He was anxious but couldn't afford to drive them all away.

"Are you here for a meal or to stay at the inn?" the innkeeper asked, trying to please them.

"To stay at the inn," one of them replied.

"Alright," the innkeeper said, relieved to hear their response.

Hu Li finished his tea, put his straw hat back on, and headed upstairs to his room.

The innkeeper called out from the bottom of the stairs, "Sir, we'll bring the dishes to your room shortly. Don't worry."

Hu Li pushed the door open, closed it behind him, and placed his straw hat on the bed.

The room was small but clean, with a round table and a bed. Next to the bed was a small window, but Hu Li found it sealed shut.

The people of the Wall City had trapped themselves in.

He couldn't go out, but outsiders could easily come in.

Hu Li changed into lighter clothes, with only two changes of clothes in his bundle and a silver ticket that Uncle Bai had given him. Half of a map was hidden in his clothes, stuck to his chest.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Hu Li held the map in his hand, feeling uncertain.

Was the middle position on the map pointing to the Wall City?

It was only half a map, and going to the Wall City was Jiang Yu's idea.

The Wall City was the fief of the Liangwang.

Back then, the Wall City was prosperous, and everyone envied it.

But now, the Wall City was nothing like its former self.

The innkeeper knocked on the door. "Sir, the dishes are ready."

Hu Li called him in.

The innkeeper brought two dishes to the table.

"How's business as usual at the inn?" Hu Li asked.

"It's considered good if we see two customers a month," the innkeeper replied, glancing at the tightly closed door. He whispered to Hu Li, "But these days, I don't know what's going on. There are more and more outsiders coming to the Wall City."

"How long has this been going on?" Hu Li frowned, asking.

The innkeeper thought carefully for a moment and replied confidently, "It's been almost half a month. In the Wall City, besides my inn, there's only one other inn. If they don't stay there, they go to the temple in the south of the city, but the monks in that temple are strange. The door is wide open, but they don't welcome anyone."

"The monks haven't left?" Hu Li squinted his eyes and asked.

"No one can cause trouble for him," the innkeeper chuckled, "That's what people say. The monks in the Wall City are strange."

Hu Li recalled what Bai Huai Shui had said. "Paper can't wrap up fire," the news had spread before you even knew it.

For the first time, Hu Li wholeheartedly agreed with his uncle's words.

In just half a month, the news had spread like wildfire. At that time, the murder case had just been solved, and those people had already found their way to the Wall City. And those who were planning to cause trouble for him in Yanran City, were probably left with ashes in their mouths and had come to find him here.

The Jinyiwei were in Yanran City, and Hu Li was by Jiang Yu's side. These people didn't dare to act rashly, openly challenging the court, so they probably had some understanding of their weight.

And Hu Li left Yanran City because of this map. As Jiang Yu had said, he became a target with this half map in hand. During these few days, Li Lianqing came to Blissful Temple to pray for blessings, and to ensure safety, the gates of Yanran City were sealed for three days.

This gave him the opportunity to leave Yanran.

If he had stayed in Yanran City, not only him, but also his master and senior brothers who couldn't lift their hands and shoulders would have been in trouble.

The news of Hu Li's arrival in the Wall City had probably already leaked out by now. There were countless eyes in the martial world staring at him.

The people downstairs, with their attire and large knives, were probably martial artists.

They came to the Wall City for the treasure in the Liangwang's underground palace.

And the treasure map was in Hu Li's hands.

Midnight.

The sealed window was rattled by the wind.

Hu Li lay on the bed with his clothes on.

The inn was pitch black, and it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

There was a slight movement outside the door.

Shadows swayed.

After a long time, the noise outside subsided. Hu Li opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling for a while.

The next morning, Hu Li left the room.

He entrusted the innkeeper with his belongings and walked towards the south of the city. The southern part of the city was a bit desolate, with no rows of houses. There was a slightly raised small mound.

The temple mentioned by the innkeeper was built on the small mound.

The temple was grand, but the walls were starting to fade. However, the ground at the entrance was very clean.

Hu Li stood at the temple gate and heard the sound of wooden fish. The smell of incense rushed into his nostrils.

He looked up and saw the three characters "Qinglong Temple" written on the plaque above the entrance.

Hu Li crossed the threshold and walked into the main hall.

An old monk sat on a cushion, tapping a wooden fish. His skin had deep wrinkles, showing signs of aging and yellowing.

Hu Li stood behind him without speaking, his hands clasped together in front of the Buddha statue.

"Benefactor, what do you want to ask?" the old monk spoke slowly, but his gaze never met Hu Li's.

"Does Master live alone? Is life difficult?" Hu Li put his hands down and turned to face the old monk.

The old monk didn't stop tapping the wooden fish, and he answered, "In the worldly life, it is difficult to move even an inch. It is natural to suffer. But with a pure mind, free from worldly distractions, where is the suffering?"

Hu Li nodded lightly. The old monk kept his back to him, clearly indicating that he didn't want any further interaction.

"Forgive me for the disturbance, venerable senior," Hu Li said and left the main hall.

The Qinglong Temple was probably built during the prosperous times of the Wall City.

One could imagine its former glory. Now, there was only an old monk facing the ancient Buddha statue.

And the Wall City had come to its current state, with all the monks gone except for him. Was it because of lack of donations or lingering memories?

But this monk was also strange.

Fearless of heaven and earth.

Hu Li remembered what the innkeeper had said, that no one dared to cause trouble for the monk in the Wall City.

What did that mean?

The common people stayed behind closed doors, while this monk kept his temple wide open, unafraid?

Hu Li couldn't figure it out, but before noon, he returned to the inn.

The inn's door was wide open, and Hu Li found it strange. As he entered and looked around, he noticed that every table in the hall was occupied, with people sitting in groups of three or four at each table.

As Hu Li entered, all eyes turned to him.

The innkeeper was bustling around, serving tea to the guests. He approached Hu Li and asked in a low voice if he had encountered anything outside earlier.

"Why is the door open today?" Hu Li asked, puzzled, "And..."

Before Hu Li could finish, the innkeeper pulled him aside and whispered, "Every year on the fifth day of May, Xu Xiazi's clothing shop in the east of the city will display a new set of clothes. On this day, every household will keep their doors open, and when it gets dark, everyone will go and see the excitement."

"What kind of clothes need such a grand occasion, one set per year?" Hu Li guessed that even aristocrats didn't need to have a new set of clothes every year, "And who is this Xu Xiazi?"

The innkeeper glanced at the people in the hall and lowered his voice, "Some say that Xu Xiazi used to make clothes specifically for the Liangwang in the Liangwang Mansion."

Hu Li wanted to ask more, but the innkeeper left him with a sentence, "After dinner, why don't you join the crowd for some fun? It's not easy to meet them all at once."