Free Web NovelChapter 227: Chapter 218: Blue Cave Mountain
The gray clouds hung overhead like a filthy rag.
Ian raised his head and gazed at the black silhouette sprawling across the horizon ahead: Blue Cave Mountain.
It wasn’t a single mountain, but an entire city built into its slopes.
Its perimeter was a crudely built stone wall, at least five or six meters high. Crimson triangular flags were planted along the top, snapping sharply in the wind.
Outside the wall was a vast expanse of cleared, scorched earth where nothing grew. Only a few bonfires billowed black smoke, marking the posts of the Night Watchers.
"We’re here."
The bald man jumped down from his mount, clapping his hands and sending a cloud of dust into the air.
He walked up to Ian, a rare hint of solemnity on his scarred face.
"Kid, listen up. There are a lot of rules in the city. Don’t go gawking, don’t ask stupid questions. Elder Chen might have vouched for you, but you still have to go through the proper procedures."
Ian nodded, his gaze sweeping over the group behind him.
Over a hundred people, all in ragged clothes, their faces etched with exhaustion. Thankfully, most were able-bodied young adults, and they hadn’t lost many on the road.
At that moment, everyone was craning their necks to look at the city, a glimmer in their eyes.
It was hope. The hope of survival.
"Li Yao," Ian called out in a low voice.
The boy immediately squeezed out from the crowd, his young face tense. "Brother, I’m here."
"Get them into formation. Women and children in the middle, the able-bodied on the outside. And remember, no running around once we’re inside the city."
"Understood!"
The group slowly approached the city gate.
The main gate, forged from a single piece of Iron Wood, was shut tight. Only a side gate was open, wide enough for just three people to walk abreast.
Six Guards in Crimson Leather Armor stood at the entrance, holding Long Spears, their gazes as sharp as knives.
The lead Guard was a middle-aged man with a fresh scratch on his cheek that hadn’t fully scabbed over.
He stepped forward, his eyes flicking between Ian and the caravan.
"Goods from the Chixia Business Alliance?" he asked the bald man.
"Yes. This is the return shipment, personally escorted by Elder Chen."
The bald man pulled a Red Copper Token from his clothes, engraved with intricate star patterns.
"This is our Passage Order."
The middle-aged Guard took the Token, inspected it carefully, and nodded.
"The caravan can enter."
He paused, his gaze falling on the group behind Ian. "And who are these people?"
"Refugees from Maple City," the bald man said, pointing to Ian.
"Elder Chen agreed to vouch for them to enter the city."
The middle-aged Guard frowned, walked up to Ian, and sized him up.
"What’s your name?"
"Li Xing."
"Status?"
"From the Li Family of Maple City. A Bloodline User," Ian answered calmly.
The middle-aged Guard’s eyes narrowed. He suddenly reached out and placed a hand on Ian’s shoulder.
A scorching wave of Energy surged from his palm into Ian’s body, darting through his meridians like a small ball of fire.
This was a simple Detection Technique, used to check for contamination by the Abyss.
Ian didn’t resist, allowing the Energy to roam freely through his body.
The Starfall Core in his chest warmed slightly, emitting a pure stream of Star Energy that easily neutralized the probing Energy.
A moment later, the middle-aged Guard withdrew his hand, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
"Your bloodline is pure. No signs of contamination."
He paused, then asked, "Do you have any Elemental Crystals?"
"Yes."
Ian took out his last bag of Dust Crystals and produced ten fingernail-sized fragments.
The middle-aged Guard took the bag and weighed it in his hand, a troubled look on his face. "This... isn’t enough."
"What do you mean?" Ian’s brow furrowed slightly.
Though far less valuable than Elemental Crystals, Dust Crystals were still extremely precious. This should have been more than enough to cover the entrance fee.
"Refugees entering the city must pay a ’refugee tax’ of one Dust Crystal per person."
The middle-aged Guard pointed to the group behind Ian. "You have over a hundred people. This many Dust Crystals is only enough for twenty of them to enter."
A commotion immediately broke out among the crowd.
"Gods! One Dust Crystal? Where would we get that kind of money?!"
"Sir, please, have mercy! We’ve lost everything fleeing here..."
"Quiet!" the middle-aged Guard barked, his hand falling to the hilt of his sword.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Ian took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.
He looked at the bald man. "Elder Chen vouched for us. Do we still have to pay the tax?"
The bald man shrugged, a helpless expression on his face.
"Rules are rules. Elder Chen can guarantee your entry, but the tax... that’s a rule set by the Commerce Alliance City Defense Army. No one can change it."
Ian was silent for a few seconds, then took out his last Standard Crystal from his clothes.
The milky white crystal gleamed with a soft luster under the crimson sky, like a drop of solidified milk.
The middle-aged Guard’s eyes lit up instantly.
"This one Standard Crystal... is it enough to cover the tax for everyone?"
"Mmm... just enough!"
The middle-aged Guard practically snatched the crystal, his face breaking into a wide smile.
"One Standard Crystal is worth a hundred Dust Crystals. For your hundred or so people, it’s perfect!"
He handed back the bag of Dust Crystals and waved to his subordinates. "Let them pass!"
The side gate slowly opened.
Ian led his group in behind the caravan, entering Blue Cave Mountain.
As soon as they entered the city, a mixture of smells assaulted them.
The stench of sweat, mold, rotting food, and some kind of pungent potion.
The city was enormous, but the streets were narrow.
Dilapidated wooden and stone shacks were crammed together on both sides, their roofs covered with blackened tarps held down by stones to keep them from blowing away.
The street was packed with people.
Beggars in ragged clothes huddled in corners, staring blankly at the sky.
Emaciated laborers carrying heavy sacks shuffled forward with faltering steps.
Vendors tended crude stalls along the roadside, selling blackened flatbread, murky purified water, and all sorts of strange "Protective Talismans."
A tide of chaotic noise washed over them.
"Freshly spoiled rat meat! One Dust Crystal for ten pounds!"
"Purified water! Real purified water, straight from the Inner City! One Dust Crystal a jar!"
"Hiring! Miners needed for the West Mountain Mine Area! Room and board included, one Dust Crystal for ten days’ work!"
Ian frowned.
This was the outer city of Blue Cave Mountain—chaotic, crowded, and filthy, like a cauldron of boiling sludge.
The caravan didn’t stop, heading straight through the streets of the outer city toward the deeper sections.
Ian led his group behind them, attracting countless stares along the way.
Some were curious, some were wary, but most just had a numb look in their eyes.
Refugees entered the city every day; they were used to it.
After walking for about half an hour, the street gradually widened.
The buildings on either side also changed from dilapidated wooden shacks to relatively neat stone houses.
Occasionally, they would see a few decently dressed people hurrying past, carrying oil-paper parcels.
"This is the border between the outer and Inner City," the bald man explained, glancing back.
"Any further in is the Inner City. Ordinary people can’t get in."
He pointed ahead.
An even taller stone wall stood there, with fully armed Guards on top, holding Crossbow Arrows in their hands, warily scanning the area below.
An iron-bound gate was set into the wall, currently shut tight.
The caravan stopped before the gate.
The bald man jumped off his mount, walked to the gate, and flashed his Token at the Guards on the wall.
A moment later, the gate creaked open just enough for the caravan to pass through.
Ian’s group was stopped outside.
"You guys can stay here," the bald man said.
"The outer city is chaotic, but it’s safe enough. The Inner City... you can’t get in without the right status."
Ian nodded without asking any further questions.
He watched as the caravan filed in, and the iron-bound gate closed once more with a heavy THUD.
"Brother, what do we do now?" Li Yao asked in a hushed voice.
Ian surveyed his surroundings.
This area was a bit quieter than the core of the outer city. The stone houses on either side of the street, though dilapidated, were at least intact.
He could occasionally see small yards enclosed by wooden fences, with wilted wild vegetables growing inside.
"First, let’s find a place to settle down."
He led the group on a circuit of the neighborhood and finally found a dilapidated stone house with a courtyard at the end of a secluded alley.
The courtyard was a decent size, over a hundred square meters, with a gravel-covered ground and a pile of broken wooden crates and clay pots in the corner.
Besides the courtyard, the stone house had three rooms. The walls were mottled, and a few tiles were missing from the roof, poorly patched with a tarp.
An old woman in patched clothes was sitting on the threshold, sorting vegetables.
When she saw Ian and his group, her hand trembled in fright, scattering vegetable leaves all over the ground.
"Wh-who are you?" she stammered.
"We want to rent your house," Ian said. "How much for a month?"
The old woman froze for a moment, looking Ian up and down before glancing at the dark mass of people behind him, her expression hesitant.
"This... this house is too run-down. It can’t fit so many of you..."
"We’ll just rent the courtyard. An empty room would be even better," Ian said, pulling out five Dust Crystals. "Is this enough?"
The old woman’s eyes lit up. She reached out for the Dust Crystals, weighed them in her palm, and beamed.
"Enough! It’s enough! You can use the courtyard as you wish. Inside... there’s only one empty room left."
"Deal."
The deal was struck quickly.
Ian had the group settle into the courtyard.
Over a hundred people were crammed into the courtyard, making it difficult to even turn around, but no one complained.
Compared to the Wilderness, at least here they had a roof—of sorts—over their heads.
After seeing the old woman out, Ian closed the courtyard gate, shutting out the noise of the outer city.
In the courtyard, more than a hundred pairs of eyes watched him in silence.
Li Yao, the white-bearded old man, and all the others who had followed him from Maple City.
They were packed into this narrow little courtyard like sardines in a can.
Some leaned against the wall, while others sat directly on the cold ground.
But everyone remained quiet. Even the children had their mouths covered by the adults. Only their eyes, filled with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation, were visible.
Ian’s gaze slowly swept over them.
Ragged, sallow, and emaciated, most bore injuries or stains on their bodies.
Among them, only about twenty were combat-capable. The rest were all civilians, including women and children.
To Ian, they were, without a doubt, a "burden."
’According to the survival laws of the Wizard World, the most rational course of action would be to select a few able-bodied young adults with potential and leave the rest...’
’The weak are prey for the strong; survival of the fittest. This was a truth etched into the very bones of the Wizard World.’
He looked at their hopeful, nervous, pleading eyes.
Especially the few four- and five-year-olds, who were trying their best to force ingratiating smiles.
"I..."
Ian’s voice caught in his throat, and his expression darkened.
’These people... when I confronted Chen Scarface, they stood behind me like a tide.’
’And they managed to escape the riots in Maple City not just because most of them were able-bodied, but because they were mentally tougher than those who fell.’
’Perhaps... I can select some promising prospects from among these people who have survived a life-or-death trial.’
He raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The Starfall Core in his chest was also growing warm, pulsing like a heartbeat, reminding him where he was now.
This was not the Wizard World.
This was the Yalan Continent, a wasteland torn apart by the Abyss.
But it was also a world... that still had "people."
He looked at a woman in the crowd holding a child.
The woman was biting her lip so hard it was white, her eyes red-rimmed, but she didn’t shed a single tear. She just hugged the child in her arms a little tighter.
Then he looked at the middle-aged man with the missing arm.
And the white-bearded old man, who had kept up the entire way, leaning on his wooden staff.
...
Every one of them had eyes filled with the will to survive.
’Forget it,’ he thought. ’Keeping them alive will only cost a few Potions anyway.’
