"Leader, many of our brothers are badly injured." The fleeing group of bandits were also worried about their injured comrades.

  The leader of the robbers, that lean man, turned his head to look at those brothers who were in pain and groaning, their faces pale. Although robbers are used to blood on their blades, seeing this scene still made him uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but snarl: "You're all just a bunch of big-headed fools, what's there to howl about? Just endure it!"

  The wounded robbers looked at their leader, each one enduring silently.

  "Ah, this is my brother Sun Yang!" The thin man said immediately, "Brothers, rest assured, I'll go to Dan Yang City right away and ask for a good doctor, and buy some more medicine." Although there were also some people in the bandit's den who knew a bit about medicine, but this time too many people were seriously injured.

  It's not just a flesh wound.

  "Be careful on the road, leader." Many of the bandits chimed in unison.

  "Don't worry."

  This lean Han man, Sun Yang, immediately put on some silver, rode a camel, carried a large chopping knife, and rushed quickly towards the direction of Dan Yang City.

  *******

  Danyang City has already appeared in the sight of the three people on Tengqingshan.

  "It's indeed one of the thirty-six main cities of Duanmu Continent." Teng Qing Shan couldn't help but praise as he looked at the ancient city wall that stretched far and wide, extending east and west. The city wall of Dan Yang City was tens of miles long, and at a glance, it seemed like a prehistoric terrifying monster in a deep sleep.

  "Kazuki's castle is quite impressive." Li Kun also praised.

  Hong Qing Shan smiled: "Didn't Xiaoping say that? In the past, the divine axe-wielding god 'Da Yu' taught the mainland residents to cultivate their skills, unified writing, language, currency and so on. The descendants of Yu Huang's teachings built cities similar to ours. It's not surprising." Ever since he rescued the little slave girl "Xiaoping" from the island.

  Through Xiaoping and books, Teng Qing Shan also knew many things.

  On the continent of Du Mu, there have been two gods in history.

  In the books of Zhongmu Continent, the divine axe-wielding deity 'Da Yu', is a figure from ancient times, who comprehended the heavens and earth, created cultivation methods, and passed them down to all people. He was an extremely selfless person!

  "No wonder, it's just like our nine-state language." Teng Qing Shan thought to himself, "The only difference is the writing."

  "But they're all logograms!"

  Mount Qing is very clear.

  In the history of past lives, as time passed, characters have been constantly changing from oracle bones. Although it is said that the source of both Jiuzhou and Duanmu continents are the same. Yu Huang unified the characters and passed on the Jiuzhou characters to the people of Duanmu continent.

  But several thousand years have passed.

  Moreover, at that time, there were no paper sheets, only stone and iron plates to record things. Generation after generation passed down, the Nine Provinces mainland and the Duanmu continent, the two places' writing naturally became more and more distant, making it difficult to recognize them again.

  "But learning it is actually not that difficult. After all, they are logograms. I reckon that in another ten days or half a month, I'll be able to recognize the vast majority of commonly used characters." Teng Qing Shan couldn't help but think back to the scene on the ship where he and Li Juan learned the Dongmu Continent's script together with Xiao Ping.

  In terms of recognizing characters, Xiaoping is a master!

  "Xiao Ping." Teng Qing Shan said.

  "Uncle." Xiaoping opened her clear big eyes and looked at Tan Qingshan.

  She was originally a nine-year-old girl, but because she had suffered hardships and eaten poorly, she looked like a six or seven year old child.

  "Xiao Ping, Xiaoyun and I have a lot to discuss. I'm sure there will be many twists and turns! Otherwise, Xiaoyun and I can buy you a house in Dan Yang City. Then we'll go to the Slave Market and buy two obedient slaves for you to command." asked Teng Qing Shan.

  "No, I don't want to." said Xiaoping repeatedly.

  "Uncle, Little Juan's sister," said Xiaoping, tears streaming down her face. "I have a child in the city, even if I had a house, it would be taken away by others. And... my face, my face..."

  "What's on your face?" Teng Qing Shan and Li Kun were taken aback.

  Xiao Ping bit her lip, stroking the ugly scar on her face: "I'm a female slave! So, my face was branded with the mark of a slave. The Liu family from Hei Tie River relocated to an island because there weren't enough women, so in the future, men from Hei Tie River would marry us and have many children. Therefore, the marks on our faces were all cut off by knives! The brands turned into scars."

  Hong Qingshan and Li Kunxin suddenly realized.

  "Slaves are not allowed to enter the city alone, nor are they allowed to leave the city privately!" Xiaoping continued, "If a slave is alone, even on the road, others have the right to capture him. Even if he is killed, it's no big deal."

  "Like me, the mark is gone, and it's become a scar."

  "Although I won't be treated as a slave... but... I'll still be looked down upon by many people, and suffer their humiliation!" Xiaoping gritted her teeth, her face covered in tears. "Ordinary scars on the face are different from my kind of scar, which is a reminder that can't be erased."

  "Just a scar like that. Like the previous bandit leader, he also had scars on his face. I guess he was once a slave too. People will look down on him. He's fine, has martial arts skills. I'm just a little kid." Xiaoping got off the camel and knocked her head repeatedly, begging, "Uncle, Sister Xiang, please, I'll be your servant, just don't drive me away. Don't drive me away!"

  Teng Qing Shan sighed silently after hearing this.

  In Kyushu mainland, there were hardly any slaves.

  "Xiao Ping!" Li Kun jumped off the camel, embracing Xiao Ping tightly. Her eyes were also red, "Don't worry, sister will take care of you, won't abandon you."

  "Teng big brother." Li Kun also looked at Teng Qing Shan.

  "Bring her along." Teng Qing Shan nodded.

  Heng Qing Shan actually also discovered... Xiao Ping's past home should be quite good.

  Slaves aren't qualified to learn characters!

  But Xiaoping was sold three times, and long before her family was destroyed, Xiaoping had learned to recognize characters when she was very young. Moreover... although she was only nine years old. But in terms of thinking and speaking, Xiaoping was just like a little adult. Extremely intelligent! Alas, on this continent, intelligence could not help her escape the fate of being a slave.

  Soon, Teng Qing Shan and his two companions arrived at the south gate of Dan Yang City. Although the entrance was not crowded, people were constantly coming and going. Many were riding camels or driving camel-drawn carts into the city, while others were leaving. Almost everyone wore thick padded jackets.

  "What a disaster!"

  Teng Qing Shan looked at the two big characters on the city wall, although he had learned a lot of words during his days at sea. However, for the two characters 'Dan Yang', Teng Qing Shan only recognized the character 'Dan'.

  "It's all right, I can recognize some characters now." Teng Qing Shan comforted himself.

  "Two big coins per person." The city gate guard was guarding the entrance fee.

  Fortunately, Tan Qing Shan escaped from the robbers and got a lot of money. Li Kun immediately handed over six big coins to that man with a messy beard like needles on his face. He glanced at Tan Qing Shan and Li Kun, then looked carefully at Xiao Ping's face, hummed softly: "Go in."

  Xiao Ping was looked at and could only lower her head.

  ……

  Inside the city of Dan Yang, Teng Qing Shan was carrying a large bundle and holding a black iron rod. Li Jun was leading a camel, while Xiao Ping was also holding onto Li Jun's hand. The three of them were all gazing at the prosperous city of Dan Yang.

  "It's interesting, it's interesting." Teng Qing Shan's eyes lit up.

  The buildings and houses inside the city of Dan Yang are mostly round-topped or pointed, with very solid windows. This is completely different from the architectural style of the nine continents. The perennial low temperature makes the clothing and architecture of the people on the Duanmu continent completely different from those of the nine continents.

  The Liu family of Hei Tie River had just escaped to the island and were using simple wooden houses. They hadn't even had time to build some stone structures yet.

  Camels can be seen everywhere on the streets. Tall and large in stature, wearing thick cotton-padded jackets and carrying weapons, men are also visible everywhere.

  "Heng big brother, where are we going now? I'm getting a bit hungry." Li Juan said with a smile.

  "Xiao Ping must be hungry too." Teng Qing Shan smiled at Xiao Ping, "Let's go eat first. We can buy the carriage and other things later."

  Kehuan Qing Shan and three others had just left for a little while.

  "Little kid, you just stepped on Lao Tzu's shoes and walked away like that?" A loud voice came from the front, and when Deng Qing Shan and the others looked over, they saw that there were already many people gathered around.

  Hong Qing Shan wondered in his heart: "Isn't it said that fighting is not allowed within the city?"

  As he approached, Teng Qing Shan saw that a tall and sturdy man wearing a fur hat was staring at a thin and dark-skinned man with a small mustache, growling: "I'm going to see an honored guest, you got my shoes dirty, how can this be settled with just ten stinky coins?"

  The little mustache dark-skinned man's face sank: "Brother, let's each take a step back."

  "Who's with your brother?" The tall and sturdy man glared at him.

  "How much do you want?" The little whiskers lowered his voice.

  The tall and sturdy Han clearly felt that his opponent was easy to bully, so he raised an eyebrow: "One or two silver coins, and this matter will be settled."

  "Clang!" Little Hu pulled out the long knife on his back.

  The tall and robust Han's face changed slightly, and he retreated two steps. The people around him also retreated several steps.

  "My name is Chang!" Little Beard's eyes gleamed like a sword as he stared at the tall, robust man and said loudly, "I challenge you to a duel! Do you dare accept?"

  A tall and robust Han man was taken aback.

  "Haha, is he scared?"

  "Coward!"

  The onlookers were eager for chaos, while Teng Qing Shan and Li Kun looked puzzled. Next to them, Xiao Ping whispered, "Uncle, it's not allowed to fight in the city. If you kill someone, you'll be caught. However... if you formally challenge someone to a duel and they accept, killing them is fine."

  Mount Qingyun suddenly appeared.

  At this moment, the two people surrounded by others, the tall and robust man was squeezed by the crowd, his face turned red, staring at Xiaohuzi and shouting: "Inviting battle? I accept your challenge. You have the guts, I'll send you to see your ancestors," as he said, he also pulled out the large chopping knife behind him. But just as he did

  "Whoosh!"

  Xiao Huzi directly took a step forward and swung his knife!

  A flash of cold light.

  "Ugh!" The tall and robust man's throat was spurting fresh blood, like water spraying out directly. He stared wide-eyed, his lips moving slightly, as if he still had some regret. Finally, he crashed to the ground, leaving a large pool of blood behind him.

  Xiao Huzi sneered: "Fool, we've already engaged in battle, what's with the nonsense?"

  Sheathed his sword, Xiao Hu Zi directly left from the crowd. The people around him whispered a few words and then one by one they all left.

  "Just like that, and no one is in charge?" Tan Qing Shan was somewhat astonished.

  "Uncle, a disagreement over one word, and they're at each other's throats with knives. This kind of thing happens often," said Xiaoping, "I've seen it many times, in the city, sometimes just because of one or two words, they start killing each other. Later on, people from the Fang family, the owners of this Dan Yang City, will come to carry away the corpses."

  Hong Qing Shan nodded and said in a low voice, "One disagreement leads to drawing swords? No wonder this is the place where various families fight for dominance, with more killings than the nine states."

  （）