The atmosphere of drawn swords and bent bows before the city gates no longer existed. One by one, the Border Army soldiers changed their faces, laughing cheerfully and saying: "Much offense, hurry into the city to shelter from the wind and cold."
Chen Ji cupped his fists, performing a greeting to preserve Propriety with the lieutenant. Only then did he mount his horse. Pulling up his scarf to cover his mouth and nose, he spurred his horse back to the rear of the camel caravan to rendezvous with Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia.
Wang Gui knelt beside the camel, allowing Chen Liqin to step on his back to climb back onto the camel.
When Chen Liqin placed one foot onto Wang Gui's back, he couldn't resist turning his head to look at the back of this Concubine's Son of his.
He saw that amidst the wind and sand, the scarf around Chen Ji's neck had been blown into a mess by the wind, and a long section of the red scarf was fluttering in the wind.
Chen Liqin only felt as if he had re-acquainted himself with this Concubine's Son all over again today.
Kneeling on the ground, Wang Gui didn't dare to urge him either. Only after a long while did Chen Liqin regain his senses and climb onto the camel.
At the rear of the camel caravan, Xiaoman looked at Chen Ji with a worried gaze: "Young Master, as a scholar who lacks the strength to even truss a chicken, you absolutely must not show off your bravery in the future! What if these military brutes end up injuring you?!"
Chen Ji smiled and agreed.
Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia exchanged a glance, a smile hidden in both their eyes.
Xiaoman changed the topic, praising: "However, Young Master was truly heroic and martial just now! Facing so many Long Halberds, you still dared to spur your horse forward! If you act like this in the Chen Family in the future as well, they definitely won't dare to bully you!"
Zhang Xia teased: "How do you feel your Young Master compares to that general wearing silver armor? Is he as heroic and martial as him?"
Xiaoman said in a low voice: "Compared to him, he's still a bit lacking..."
Chen Ji laughed 'haha': "Let's go! Enter the city!"
The long camel caravan walked slowly. The sound of the camel bells drifted unsteadily as they passed through the city gate tunnel, as if passing through a thousand-year-old Buddhist niche.
Upon entering the gates, the sound of the camel bells gradually quieted down, while the sound of human voices gradually boiled over.
The scenery inside was actually entirely different from the outside!
Houses built from yellow dirt bricks lined both sides of the road. Canvas awnings were erected one after another, and ground stalls were set up, squeezing the uneven dirt road until it could only accommodate three or four people walking abreast.
Peddlers, laborers, and pedestrians weaved through the middle in an endless stream, rubbing shoulders and connecting heels.
Subconsciously, Chen Ji turned his head back to look at the desolate yellow dirt land outside the gates, and then turned back to look at the extraordinarily bustling and lively interior of Guyuan City. He only felt as if he had accidentally triggered some mechanism and entered an otherworldly utopia.
Without the wind and sand inside the city, even the temperature seemed to have risen significantly.
By the side of the road, there were dancing girls exposing their bellies in the winter. The shiny silver chains on their bellies jingled and shook as they beckoned toward the newly-arrived members of the Chen Family: "Official lords, come in and drink wine, ah."
The clothing in Guyuan City differed from the Central Plains. The people here liked to wear multicolored stones adorning their foreheads, ears, and necks. They were as passionate and enthusiastic as a ball of fire.
Chen Wenxiao was hooked until his eyes were dazzled and his spirit captivated. Only after Chen Wenzong gave a cold snort did he regain his senses.
Chen Ji also turned his head to look at the dancing girls. Riding on her small pony, Xiaoman hurried forward wanting to block his line of sight, but because she was too short, she completely failed to block it.
She reminded him: "Young Master, don't let your soul be hooked away by those Hu Xuan dancing girls! Before you marry a legitimate daughter from the Capital City, you have to protect your reputation! Otherwise, when the time comes, all the legitimate daughters in the Capital City will hide from you!"
Chen Ji was dumbfounded and amused. This Xiaoman was actually more concerned about his marriage than he was himself; it had become an obsession.
At the side, Zhang Xia smiled and said: "Your Young Master already has a sweetheart, so stop worrying blindly."
Xiaoman let out an "Ah": "He has a sweetheart? Who is Young Master's sweetheart? Which family's noble daughter? Are their gates high?"
Zhang Xia did not answer this string of questions.
Xiaoman rolled her eyes: "Second Miss Zhang seems to understand my Young Master very well?"
Zhang Xia said casually: "It's alright."
Xiaoman curled her lips: "Why are you all acting so mysterious and secretive?"
Her gaze darted back and forth between Chen Ji, Zhang Zheng, and Zhang Xia. She couldn't shake the feeling that among these three people, there were many secrets she didn't know about.
While she was pondering, an unforeseen event suddenly occurred.
In front of the camel caravan, a rough and boorish man was seen grabbing a thin and weak young man by the collar, roaring angrily: "You motherf
*er dare to steal my things?! Have you grown tired of living?!"
Before he could finish speaking, that thin and weak thief pulled out a Short Blade from his waist and stabbed it into the man's abdomen.
The man staggered backward a few steps with a grunt. The thief abandoned the blade and turned around, drilling into the flow of people. The man slowly collapsed, his crimson blood mixing with the dirt to turn into a purple hue.
The stall vendor setting up shop nearby merely muttered a curse of bad luck, before continuing to hawk his wares beside the corpse: "Top quality tea bricks! Tea bricks from Yun Province!"
This entire incident was like throwing a small pebble into the ocean; it only produced the tiniest ripple before quickly returning to normal.
The maids and pages in the camel caravan paled drastically. It was as if Guyuan had suddenly ripped off its multicolored veil to bare its fangs!
Chen Ji exhorted Xiaoman from the side: "Keep a good watch over your personal wealth and belongings; there are many thieves here."
Xiaoman covered her pouches tightly as if her life depended on it, her gaze vigilantly sizing up everyone. Inside the pouch was her entire net worth! If anyone targeted it, she would fight them to the death!
At this time, a group of eight or nine-year-old children crowded near the camel caravan. Holding bamboo baskets, they said to Chen Wenxiao: "Official lord, buy some raisins, ba."
Chen Wenxiao said impatiently: "Scram, scram! Not buying!"
Just as his voice fell, one of the children reached out and yanked off the Jade Pendant from his waist, turning around and vanishing into the flow of people.
Chen Wenxiao shouted angrily: "Thief, halt for your grandpa!"
He jumped off the camel to give chase, but that group of children selling raisins crowded against him, making it impossible for him to break out at all.
More and more children crowded forward, akin to vultures scenting blood on the grasslands. They even yanked away Chen Wenxiao's white jade Collar Pendant and golden Hairpin, leaving him standing there with disheveled hair.
Had it not been for a page shielding him in time, he feared even the clothes on his body would have been stripped away!
A street vendor setting up shop by the roadside mocked loudly: "Look at this fool from the Central Plains; he actually dared to jump off his camel to give chase! If he didn't jump down, the little thief wouldn't have even been able to reach the Hairpin on top of his head!"
"Fat sheep from the Central Plains always have to learn this lesson."
People lining both sides of the street leaned against the walls with their arms crossed to watch the spectacle, seemingly having long grown accustomed to such sights.
At this time, beside a spice stall on the roadside, a young man with a scarf covering his cheeks caught sight of the Jade Pendant at Zhang Xia's waist, and instantly blew a whistle.
The children turned their heads to look toward the source of the whistle. That young man shot them a look, and the children instantly understood his intent, swarming toward Zhang Xia.
Just as they were about to reach out and snatch the Jade Pendant, Chen Ji drew the cloth-wrapped Whale Blade from before his saddle, ruthlessly whipping it down on a child's wrist!
"Ah!" The child cried out in pain and retracted his hand. He tilted his head up to look at Chen Ji, but Chen Ji wasn't looking at him; instead, he was calmly staring at that young man not far away.
The child blanked out for a moment, before reaching out a second time to yank the Jade Pendant. Without even looking at him, Chen Ji's scabbard followed like a shadow, whipping his wrist once more!
Feeling as if his wrist was about to snap, the child turned his head to look at the young man.
The young man and Chen Ji exchanged glances for a long while. Finally, he turned his head and gave the children a slight shake of his head. The children scattered like a swarm of bees, going over to tear at the bundles carried by the pages and maids again.
They tightly gripped their bundles like their lives depended on it, yet the thieves used razor blades to slice the bundles open. Jewelry, silver, and copper coins scattered all over the ground, prompting everyone to scramble and snatch them up.
A page holding a sentinel staff wanted to fight the thieves over it, but a long gash was slashed open on his arm, forcing him to retreat in fear.
Chen Wenxiao muttered: "The collapse of Propriety and Music! This is a land where Propriety and Music have collapsed, ah! Father, you must report this to the Crown Prince to have all these rebellious mobs beaten and killed!"
Chen Liqin frowned and shouted in a low voice: "Shut your mouth!"
In the short distance of a single Li, the bundles of the pages and maids had been snatched completely empty; years of savings vanished into nothingness.
The maids cried as they walked, drawing roaring laughter from the pedestrians.
Xiaoman stealthily sized up Chen Ji from behind. Although she lacked experience and knowledge, merely burying her head into cultivating her own Pathway, those two strikes Chen Ji delivered to the child just now were absolutely not something the Third Young Master of the Chen Family in her impression could accomplish! Something fishy was going on!
While pondering, Wu Yun let out a "meow". Chen Ji ahead of them suddenly turned his head, and Xiaoman hurriedly withdrew her scrutinizing gaze.
But Chen Ji wasn't looking at her; he was looking at the flow of people behind them.
Beside the narrow dirt road, that young man who had instigated the children to steal was still standing in the shadows beneath a canvas awning, staring blankly straight at him. Only after Chen Ji exchanged a glance with him did he finally turn and leave.
Lord Li led the Chen Family camel caravan to the Guyuan Relay Station. Along the way, he remained deaf to the matters happening behind him, acting as if he hadn't heard or seen anything.
After settling the Chen Family into the Relay Station, he then hastily led Chen Liqin, who had changed into a red Official Robe, away to head for the Guyuan Regional Military Commission.
Inside their room on the second floor, Chen Ji stood by the window, pushing it open by a crack to stealthily peek outside.
Outside the Relay Station, the flow of people came and went. The spice vendor frequently stared at the Relay Station's main entrance, not hawking his wares. Even when customers approached to inquire about prices, he was absentminded.
Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng stored their belongings away. While patting off the sand and dust on their bodies, they came over to rendezvous with Chen Ji.
Chen Ji said in a low voice: "This Guyuan is not peaceful. There are several people keeping an eye on us. I don't know if they are troops from the Border Army, or spies from the Jing Dynasty... It should be the Border Army."
Zhang Xia was puzzled: "Why do you say they are from the Border Army?"
Chen Ji explained: "Look at how Unbridled and Unscrupulous their stares are. It's obvious they Have Backing and Nothing to Fear. If they were Jing Dynasty spies, they wouldn't be this arrogant and insolent."
Xiaoman's eyes flickered, as she muttered softly: "It sounds as if Young Master has seen Jing Dynasty spies before..."
As her voice fell, the sound of knocking came from the door. Chen Ji instantly closed the window vigilantly: "Xiaoman, go open the door."
The door opened, only to see several Border Army soldiers carrying a massive silver platter inside. The platter was even covered with a silver lid.
Chen Ji was confused: "This is...?"
A Border Army soldier smiled and said: "This was instructed by General Zhou; he had the best white mutton boiled and sent over to you! As the Direct Disciple of Mister Wang, you are naturally the most esteemed and Honorable guest at our Guyuan border region! Try a taste; mutton is common, but white mutton is not. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to eat it!"
Chen Ji asked: "Do the other rooms have it too?"
The Border Army soldier smiled: "The other people are not esteemed guests of our Guyuan. Please enjoy this alone. In addition, General Zhou asked me to exhort you... Do not meddle in the affairs between the Crown Prince and the Border Army. The matters within are extremely complex; outsiders cannot understand them."
Chen Ji expressed his thanks: "Please report back to General Zhou for me; tell him I have taken note of it, and thank him."
The Border Army soldiers took their leave. Xiaoman praised: "This is a silver platter! After the mutton is finished, can we take the platter away?"
Chen Ji felt both exasperated and amused: "What are you thinking about."
He lifted the lid; the platter held freshly boiled mutton. Grabbing a piece and stuffing it into his mouth, he found that even though no spices were used at all, there wasn't the slightest gamy smell.
Chen Ji hailed Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia: "Come fill your stomachs, all of you."
While stuffing meat into her mouth to eat, Xiaoman probed while mumbling: "Young Master, I'm feeling a bit of a headache right now. Take my pulse for me later, ba! You went to the medical clinic to study medicine for two years; since you returned, I've still never seen you use it."
Chen Ji cast a glance at her, saying nonchalantly: "Studying medicine is a long-term matter; you can't learn much in two years. I was an apprentice for the entire two years, and hadn't reached the stage of making house calls yet, so I didn't learn how to take pulses."
Xiaoman was suspicious: "Then what did you learn at the medical clinic?"
Chen Ji pondered for a moment: "I learned some pharmacology, memorizing the hot and cold properties of various medicinal herbs and dietary ingredients, as well as the principles of mutual generation and mutual restraint."
Xiaoman was stunned, her cheeks bulging like a hamster: "What does that mean?"
Chen Ji recalled: "For example, pork and water caltrops cannot be eaten together, or you'll get a stomachache; potatoes and bananas cannot be eaten together, or dark spots will grow on your face; onions and honey cannot be eaten together, or it will damage your eyes; soft-shelled turtle and amaranth cannot be eaten together, or it will cause poisoning..."
Xiaoman let out an "Oh". Her mouth stuffed completely full, she asked with a muffled voice: "So you learned these kinds of things... Young Master, then what can this mutton not be eaten together with?"
Chen Ji lowered his head to look at the platter, only to see that half of the massive platter of mutton had already entered Xiaoman's mouth. Gloomily, he stated: "This mutton, ah, cannot be eaten together with you..."
(End of this chapter)