This was still tolerable—as long as you kept moving diligently, you could always find at least half a meal to eat, which was much better than being stranded in the wild.

But what Henry Clark couldn’t stand was that there were some hooligans and ruffians in the city who actually wanted to use them to steal from wealthy and powerful households. Although he was still young, he knew that if you got caught stealing, you’d at least get your hand chopped off by the victim, or be strung up and given a brutal beating. Helpless, he seized an opportunity to hurriedly escape the county town with Big Ben, heading out to the countryside more than ten li away to look for food.

Henry Clark had also heard the name “Caiyaotang” from the residents in the county town before. He knew there was such a powerful and wealthy family in the county, but he hadn’t paid it much mind.

A grand household like Caiyaotang owned countless fields and properties, with so many servants and followers that they filled the streets. There was no way they would have any dealings with little beggars like them, wandering from place to place. Even if they were openly recruiting herb-picking boys, it was unlikely that the opportunity would fall to the two of them.

However, Henry Clark was a bit unwilling to give up.

Since he’d heard about this from the mouths of the constables, how could he just pretend he hadn’t heard anything and let it go? If he didn’t get selected, it would just be a wasted trip. But if, by some chance, he did get chosen, then he’d never have to wander and starve in the wild again. If he didn’t try, he wouldn’t even have that slim chance.

Late at night, the sound of restless tossing and turning could still be heard from the bamboo hut.

Huff! Huff!

Outside the bamboo hut came the panting of a wild beast.

That damned, persistent old stray dog was back again—the sound of its claws scratching at stones, its angry low growls and strange howls, the noise of it gnawing on branches—all of it in the pitch-black night made one’s heart race, always worrying that the beast would break in again.

It made a racket for most of the night, and only near dawn did the old stray dog finally leave, unwilling and dejected.

Henry Clark’s urge to go to the county town grew even stronger.

Chapter 4: Zhuqi County Town

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Henry Clark called out to the still-drowsy Big Ben, and while the morning sun was not yet scorching, they hurried along the post road toward Zhuqi County Town. After eating some meat and drinking some water last night, Big Ben was clearly in better spirits and could walk on his own again.

On the way, Henry Clark told Big Ben that they were going to the county town to see if they could get recruited by Caiyaotang. Big Ben was very excited and immediately agreed to go.

Although it was the wilderness, there was a post road leading straight to Zhuqi County, and they occasionally saw some horse-drawn carts, so the journey wasn’t too difficult.

At noon, under the blazing sun, the two of them found a place to rest and dug up some tree bark and wild grass roots to fill their stomachs.

In the afternoon, as it cooled down a bit, they continued on their way.

By dusk, the two thin, frail figures appeared outside the east gate of Zhuqi County Town.

Zhuqi County Town was the most desolate and remote of the eight county towns in Pingzhou, Wuguo, with a population of over a hundred thousand. Within a thousand li radius of the county town, there were more than a dozen small towns; the rest was mostly deep mountains and old ravines, steep peaks and ridges, rivers and streams.

This place didn’t produce much grain, but the deep mountains were home to a large number of rare wild medicinal herbs. The herbs from Zhuqi County were famous throughout Pingzhou. Naturally, Zhuqi County Town became one of the main sources of wild herbs for the Yaowang Gang, which had set up a special Caiyaotang here to handle herb gathering.

This year’s drought hadn’t reduced the influx of outsiders to Zhuqi County Town. Carts came and went through the city gates: there were wandering martial artists carrying swords, merchants with bundles on their backs, performers and acrobats, farmers and woodcutters—it was a lively scene.

Especially since the news that Caiyaotang was recruiting a batch of herb-picking boys had quietly spread to some nearby towns, some rural families brought their children to apply, hoping they could at least get a meal at Caiyaotang.

Henry Clark saw, under the glow of the setting sun, the county town’s low, grass- and vine-covered walls, the dilapidated city gate, and the few lazy, down-and-out city guards at the entrance. His heart raced with excitement. He had returned to this place.

“Hyah! Out of the way, you blind fools!”

A donkey cart pulled by two sturdy, young donkeys came trotting toward the city gate. Seated in the cart was a country squire in his sixties or seventies, dressed in a rather refined cloth robe, waving a cow-tail whip in his hand and loudly scolding Henry Clark and his companion for blocking the way.

The donkey cart sped by, nearly running over Henry Clark and his companion.

Henry Clark quickly pulled Big Ben aside to dodge.

Inside the cart, a chubby boy of about ten suddenly poked his head out, his face full of the slyness of a squire’s son. His eyes rolled as he spotted Henry Clark and his companion, then spat at them with a “ptooey,” hitting them both. He clapped his hands and laughed loudly, “Got them! Got them! Dad, did you see? I spat on two mangy dogs!” The old squire didn’t even look at Henry Clark and his companion, only praised the chubby boy.

The little donkey cart then stopped near the city gate, and the city guards didn’t check them, letting them enter the city.

Henry Clark glared fiercely at the chubby boy, then quickly lowered his head, swallowing his anger and biting his lip in silence. In the countryside, squires were extremely powerful—they owned the most and best fields, the most forests, kept many servants, and all the tenant farmers and hunters depended on them for a living. He and Big Ben were both born to rural hunters and tenant farmers, and didn’t dare offend these squires at all.