Inside the house.

  William looked at the monk's robe in the pit; his lips unconsciously curled up.

  William shook his head, then glanced around. Noticing the token he'd thrown to Stirling, he chuckled to himself again.

  William didn't know that in a dilapidated hut across from this one, a pair of eyes was watching him like a hawk.

  Stirling stood behind the broken window, slightly sideways, watching William enter the house. His expression remained unchanged as he waited still.

  Soon, William hurried out of the house and headed out of the village.

  Stirling didn't rush out, but waited inside for a while. About an hour later, he crawled out of the bedroom window and went the other way from William.

  Stirling pondered as he walked.

  After leaving the village, Stirling returned to the highway. He opened the Quicksand Map to reconfirm his direction and continued along the road.

  At the current speed, if William wasn't lying, two and a half days were enough to reach Fairfield City.

  Along the way, Stirling often wondered about the situation in Fairfield City. But whenever he thought of Rock Village's experience, a wave of worry welled up in his heart.

  There were two reasons the lord allowed such a rampage by the evil monk to occur within his jurisdiction.

  The first was that they had acquiesced in Rock Village's affairs. A secret deal existed between the Blood God Temple and the top officials of Fairfield City. Even the city lord was part of it.

  William, in saying he was with the Night Watch in Fairfield City, didn't work with the Blood God Temple. So, this reason seemed untenable.

  Besides, Fairfield City was in chaos. It was too busy to care about a small village over a hundred miles away.

  The second reason felt more likely, and it was why Stirling felt anxious.

  Thinking of this, Stirling couldn't help but stop. He picked up the water bladder, uncorked it, and gulped down the water. He looked up at the blazing sun above. Wiping sweat from his forehead, he sighed and muttered to himself.

  Shaking his head, Stirling put away the water bladder and walked down the highway.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  After that, Stirling encountered no more trouble on the road. On the morning of the third day, he even noticed a few people appearing on the highway. This discovery gave Stirling a thrilling surprise. Besides William, he hadn't seen a single person in the past few days. He even suspected that he had arrived in a post-apocalyptic world. Why deserted villages everywhere, with not a living person?

  Despite his excitement, Stirling didn't rush to talk to the people. After all, they all looked hurried, their faces sallow, and only their eyes held a hint of humanity. Otherwise, Stirling might have thought he'd seen the walking dead.

  As he walked further, Stirling saw more and more people, even groups of people and carriages. This made him realize he was getting closer to Fairfield City.

  Finally, near dusk, a majestic city came into view.

  Stirling stared at the city before him, a little incredulous. After all, a city with a spectacular wall is quite impressive. Especially for a modern person who has traveled through time. Even as the sun set, people kept moving in and out of the city gates. This was a sharp contrast to the empty Rock Village.

  Stirling was a bit confused. As the sky grew darker, getting into the city became urgent. Thinking of this, Stirling sped up. He reached the city gates thirty minutes later. Only when he reached the foot of the city did he sincerely appreciate its grandeur. The walls towered high, like a natural moat. They split the world in front and behind into two.

  Straight above the city gate, three large characters debossed into stone showed. Stirling recognized them. mentioned by William. But it was unimaginable what the so-high walls of Fairfield City protected against. Was it the samurai William had mentioned? Or the Blood Sect?

  Stirling suppressed all his doubts. There was still much to explore in this world, so now was not the time to dwell on such matters. Everyone entering the city lined up and entered through the side gate next to the main gate.

  On either side of the gate stood soldiers in armor. They stood tall, backs puffed out and stern gazes fixed ahead. Full of energy, they radiated an invisible aura of authority. They were unlike anyone Stirling had seen along the way.

  Under their gaze, none of the people queuing to enter the city dared to make a loud noise. Each one hung his or her head, like a vagrant who had broken the law. Seeing this, Stirling followed the others, ducking his head as he walked towards the city. He expected a smooth passage. But when it was his turn, a gust of wind rushed by his ear. Then, a gleaming spear appeared before him, making him look up in surprise.

  "Stop, you do not look like a local. Where are you from?"

  He looked down the spear's shaft and saw a guard. The guard held a weapon and stared at Stirling, shouting.

  Hearing this, Stirling wondered if he was being unlucky. Even though he was an outsider, he shouldn't have been discovered at once, right?

  "Um, sir, I'm from out of town..." Stirling said.

  "Do you have a pass?" the guard continued.

  "No..."

  "Go over there and register!" The guard pointed toward a small shed at the city gate.

  Stirling turned to where the guard indicated and spotted a platform in a temporary shed. A thin old man sat behind the platform, a thick book in front of him, likely for registration.

  "Follow your instructions. I'll be there," Stirling bowed and said to the guard, then trotted toward the shed.

  The old man in the shed was dozing off when he heard someone calling him. He looked up and saw a young man who had arrived at the shed.

  "Mister, I need to register to enter the city," Stirling said, looking at the old man, whose eyes were a little dazed.

  "Registering, huh? Oh, you're from out of town." The old man said as he flipped through the ledger on the table and dipped a quill pen in ink.

  "Where are you from?"

  "Uh... I can't remember. I, I've lost some memory..." Stirling pointed at his head.

  "Oh, you are lucky to have escaped. Losing some memories is actually a blessing." The old man sighed and began writing casually on the paper.

  "Name?"

  "Luis Chilavert,"

  "Age."

  "23,"

  "You're so young! Ten years ago, I was as dynamic as you are." The old man chuckled.

  Stirling missed the oddness in the old man's words and asked, "Mister, may I have a place to stay when I enter the city? I've got silver coins."

  "Yes, there's no shortage of accommodation. Someone will show you the way. Also, get to the inner city as soon as possible and don't linger on life in the outer city." The old man looked up at Stirling and spoke with a meaningful expression.