# Chapter 5
## The Frozen City of Iron Gate (Part 2)
Ren Hao did not answer the nobleman immediately.
His heightened senses—sharpened by the strange power flowing through his double pupils—caught distant voices carried across the cold wind.
Other aristocrats were already negotiating with the refugees.
"Starve here or swear yourself to the Huang Clan. Food, shelter, a little coin each month… everything you grow belongs to us, of course. It is our land after all."
"Your husband will die by tomorrow morning. Become my maid and I will save him."
"Hm? Your daughter is quite pretty… you wish to sell yourself for her food? No, you are too weak. But if you give me the girl as a concubine, perhaps I will take you both."
"Refuse? Then starve. Plenty of others will beg for this chance."
Ren Hao's brows slowly tightened.
These nobles spoke casually.
As if they were buying livestock.
Across the street, nearly three hundred paces away, Ren Hao's gaze landed on a luxurious restaurant. Two silk-robed officials sat inside, raising cups of wine as they spoke.
Their voices carried clearly to him.
"So it is settled. Your Huang Clan will absorb the refugees. Once the matter is finished, the disaster-relief silver from the governor's office will all be yours."
"And the credit will go to you, Magistrate."
"Exactly. You gain merit. We gain servants. Everyone profits."
"Relief through absorption," the magistrate chuckled.
"A perfect solution."
Ren Hao's blood ran cold.
From another corner of the street came the whispers of two other aristocrats.
"These refugees are only appetizers."
"The real prize is the noble families fleeing from Dingxiang."
"They lost everything. They cannot buy land here. They cannot support their servants anymore."
"They arrived in Yanmen with carts full of treasure but no power."
"Like children walking through a crowded market with gold in their arms."
"Once we finish helping the magistrate, we will strip them clean."
"Agreed. I want the daughter of the Liu clan. I heard she is beautiful."
"Then I take a larger share of their property."
Ren Hao felt his body grow cold.
These great clans of the empire were even more ruthless than the nomadic tribes.
The nobleman before him seemed unaware of the storm raging in Ren Hao's heart.
"Why the silence?" the man asked pleasantly.
"Are you hungry?"
He gestured.
A servant quickly brought a steaming meat pie and placed it into Ren Hao's hands.
Warm steam rose from the pastry.
The nobleman smiled with perfect elegance.
Every movement refined.
Every word polite.
Yet his eyes remained cold.
He was not speaking to an equal.
He was evaluating merchandise.
Ren Hao looked down at the food.
Then back at the nobleman.
"Your offer is generous," he said quietly.
The nobleman's smile widened.
Ren Hao adjusted the reins of his warhorse and dusted the snow from his clothes.
Standing well over six feet tall, his powerful build drew admiration from the nobleman.
Such a strong servant would be extremely valuable.
But Ren Hao only shook his head.
"I refuse."
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
The nobleman remained standing where he was.
A long moment passed.
Then a faint, contemptuous laugh drifted through the air.
"Keep watching him," the nobleman ordered his attendants.
"Mayi has already cut off relief grain."
"Let us see how long he can survive before he kneels."
Ren Hao's expression remained grim.
He had believed that once he reached the empire's territory, he would finally be safe.
Instead, he had simply stepped into another cage.
No wonder the armies of the **Crimson Sun Empire** were shrinking.
No wonder soldiers had gone unpaid for months.
The Huang Clan alone controlled half the farmland around Iron Gate City.
And they were only one of several great clans.
How much land remained for the imperial government to tax?
How many ordinary citizens were still free?
The emperor's authority over the empire had already collapsed.
Local officials and aristocratic clans controlled everything.
Land.
Taxes.
People.
When the emperor could not collect taxes, he cut the army.
When the army weakened, the borders collapsed.
And when the borders collapsed, the common people suffered.
The entire empire had entered a vicious cycle of decay.
Ren Hao slowly exhaled.
The collapse of the dynasty was only a matter of time.
Just as he was lost in thought, a familiar voice suddenly echoed across the street.
"Ren Hao!"
The shout carried a tone of cheerful excitement.
Ren Hao turned.
Riding through the gates of Iron Gate City came **General Lady Feng**, the Dragonblood Valkyrie, accompanied by Captain **Yuna Frostmane** and several dozen cavalry riders.
Lady Feng swung down from her horse and tossed a heavy sack toward him.
"Catch!"
Ren Hao nearly staggered under the weight.
"What's this?" he asked.
Lady Feng grinned proudly.
"Your reward."
"Captain Yuna led the surprise raid and captured dozens of centaur warriors without losing a single soldier."
"She took the largest share."
"Meanwhile you guided us past the enemy scouts, killed two centaurs, and helped capture their chieftain."
"That's second-class merit."
She crossed her arms smugly.
"So this money belongs to you."
Ren Hao opened the sack.
Inside were long strings of bronze coins tied together.
**Eighty guan.**
Eighty thousand coins.
Nearly fifty kilograms of metal.
A fortune for a commoner.
Lady Feng glanced around the streets.
Her smile slowly faded.
"Why are all these refugees sleeping outside?" she asked.
"And why are those noble scions wandering around here?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"You look terrible."
"What happened?"
Ren Hao hesitated.
Then he asked quietly.
"You told me earlier the army hasn't been paid in months."
"How do your soldiers survive?"
Lady Feng glanced around carefully before lowering her voice.
"The generals skim grain and silver from the top," she admitted.
"But they don't dare steal from the soldiers themselves."
"Everything we capture in battle—horses, weapons, armor—we divide among the troops according to merit."
She nudged the sack of coins.
"See?"
"War is profitable."
"You should become my scout permanently."
"You'll earn far more than farming."
Ren Hao remained silent.
After seeing the situation inside Iron Gate City, he had already abandoned any illusions about climbing within the empire's system.
Even someone as powerful as Lady Feng remained trapped at the rank of a mere officer.
The aristocrats above her would never allow someone of low birth to rise too high.
Ren Hao slowly lifted the sack of coins.
A new plan had already begun forming in his mind.
"How many weapons and rations can you sell me?" he asked suddenly.
Lady Feng blinked.
"What?"
"I want to buy everything you can spare."
The surrounding cavalry riders immediately began listing prices.
"One dan of millet—two hundred and twenty coins."
"Infantry spear—two hundred."
"Battle lance—three hundred."
"Halberd—three hundred."
"Sabers start at six hundred."
"Bows at five hundred."
"Arrows ten coins each."
Ren Hao listened carefully.
Then Lady Feng suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him off the ground.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Arming civilians can be considered rebellion!"
"I could kill you for this!"
Ren Hao looked directly into her eyes.
"I only want my people to survive the winter."
"I swear to heaven I have no intention of betraying the empire."
Lady Feng hesitated.
"Look around you," Ren Hao continued quietly.
"While you were gone selling horses…"
"How many refugees died here?"
Lady Feng said nothing.
She had already guessed the answer.
Finally she sighed.
"Fine," she muttered.
"I'll sell you weapons and grain."
"But your village will become my outpost."
"In spring, when we raid the steppe tribes, you will serve as my scout."
"Deal?"
Ren Hao extended his hand.
"Deal."
Their palms clasped firmly together.
A second pact was formed between them.
That evening Ren Hao bought a large iron cauldron and several sacks of millet.
When darkness fell, he returned to the refugee camp.
Only two hundred people remained alive.
Old men.
Children.
The weak.
Those who refused to sell their families into slavery.
Ren Hao lit a fire and placed the cauldron over the flames.
Soon the smell of boiling millet porridge spread across the cold streets.
Hungry refugees gathered slowly.
Suspicious at first.
Then hopeful.
"Come eat," Ren Hao said quietly.
"There's enough for everyone."
Word spread quickly.
Within minutes, starving refugees crowded around the fire.
The porridge disappeared almost instantly.
An elderly man approached Ren Hao, holding the hand of a small girl.
"You fed us when no one else would," the man said.
"If you have a plan…"
"I will follow you."
Ren Hao looked down at the child.
Silver hair fell like moonlight over her shoulders.
Her crimson eyes shimmered like jewels.
Even at such a young age, her beauty was breathtaking.
Golden threads of strange fate seemed to swirl around her.
Ren Hao's pupils flickered.
A strange panel appeared before his eyes.
[Yuechan] — Fox Spirit
Level: 1
HP: 7
MP: 4
Strength: 8
Agility: 14
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 18
Ren Hao stared in surprise.
This little girl…
Was no ordinary child.
And in that moment, Ren Hao realized something.
If the empire would not protect these people…
Then he would build a force of his own.