Chapter 1132: Sights and Sounds of the Bo Capital

Amidst her screams, He Lingchuan charged over on horseback. Just then, the Floating Life Blade made a loop and flew back to its master's side; He Lingchuan caught it with one hand and killed two people in quick succession. The second person reacted quickly, performing a somersault to dodge the blade's edge.

Before he could even scramble up, He Lingchuan threw his spear backhanded, and with a *whoosh*, it pinned the man's palm directly to the ground! The bandit was in agony but couldn't get away; before he could even scream, He Lingchuan turned his horse's head, and the four hard, heavy hooves trampled directly over him! With the weight of the steed and He Lingchuan, and the speed deliberately slowed for the trampling, those nearby could hear several crisp "crack" sounds, like small firecrackers going off.

His spine, arms, and legs were all broken.

At this, the wail of agony soared straight to the heavens.

Only then did He Lingchuan pull out his long spear and calmly pursue the remaining bandits.

The bandits had only just heard the sound of hooves when they saw three of their companions perish; they had no heart left to resist and, with a shout, scattered in all directions.

He Lingchuan pointed at the few retreating backs and said to Dong Rui, "These few, you'll take care of them?"

"Fine, fine." Good work never fell to him, so Dong Rui shook the reins with a sullen expression and went off to give chase.

Before long, the screams coming from that direction grew louder, more panicked, and more prolonged, only subsiding after the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

By the time the two returned to the woodland, the blood on the tip of He Lingchuan's spear had already dripped away, leaving it clean as new, while the green-skinned monkey on Dong Rui's shoulder was picking its teeth with its mouth open.

Ling Guang had already untied the people on the ground. When Jin Bai and the others brought the children over, the woman rushed over to hug her son, kowtowing incessantly to He Lingchuan and his companion.

The rescued group all bowed to He Lingchuan, calling him their benefactor.

He Lingchuan waved his hand. "Why take this small path instead of the main road?"

"We were on the main road." The boy's father had a bitter expression. "My wife had an urgent need and went into the woods to relieve herself, only to be seized by the bandits. We went in to rescue her, but ended up unable to save ourselves."

Another person added, "We even hired guards, but as soon as they entered the woods, they ran away, abandoning us to the bandits."

Jin Bai asked, "These guards weren't hired through proper channels, were they?"

"Hired at the market. I saw they looked sturdy and they claimed to have been on the battlefield, so..."

He Lingchuan understood; in places like this, trying to save a little money often led to a huge loss.

He and the Shadow Tooth Guards returned to the main road.

"Mr. He is truly righteous."

He Lingchuan smiled. "Human hearts are all made of flesh."

The Red Cliff Road in the Panlong Desert used to have sand bandits too, but once He Chunhua became the Commandery Governor, he imposed strict constraints: they could only rob money and goods, never harm people, and violators would be wiped out. After a few times, the surrounding bandit gangs became much more honest.

Otherwise, that would be draining the pond to catch the fish; who would dare travel the Red Cliff Road in the future?

Unlike here, where there was no law and order, and the official patrols were merely for show.

The small interlude on the road didn't delay them much. By evening, the outline of Xuncheng, the capital of the Bo Nation, appeared in their field of vision.

The Shadow Tooth Guards cautioned He Lingchuan and his companion, "Don't go to the fly-by-night eateries here; it's easy to get an upset stomach. Several of us have had that experience... Also, wandering outside at night is likely to invite trouble."

But neither He Lingchuan nor Dong Rui looked like people who feared trouble, so Jin Bai didn't remind them to be careful.

The group headed straight for the city gate.

The Yangshan Archipelago had trade dealings with the Flash Gold Plains, and several important ores were transported from the plains to the archipelago by sea, indeed transiting through the Bo Nation and being loaded onto ships at Giant Deer Port. Thus, He Lingchuan had legitimate trade travel permits in his hands; logically, entering and exiting the capital shouldn't be a problem.

Below the city gate, it was bustling.

He Lingchuan thought there were too many people queuing for inspection, but upon getting closer, he realized there were very few people being inspected at the gate; instead, the shanties at the foot of the wall, over a dozen *zhang* away, were packed with a sea of people!

These shanties stretched for two *li*, and those living here were civilians who had fled from elsewhere; in terms of rags, they were on par with the beggars at Giant Deer Port's docks.

But they were all excited now, stretching their necks and clutching broken bowls, pushing forward because someone ahead was distributing alms.

He Lingchuan had never liked going to crowded places, so he only took a hurried glance as he passed by. He saw several large carts parked in the open space in the middle of the shanties; some people were moving coarse flour buns from the carts, while others were responsible for distribution. The refugees queuing up could take two, and would leave once they had them.

The reason the refugees could queue honestly without swarming to snatch them was because over a hundred guards nearby were holding weapons to maintain order; the moment they spotted anyone acting out, they would slap them twice across the face.

An old man, thin as a rail, was impatient, and his hand shook, causing his bun to fall to the ground instead.

Someone nearby picked it up, patted the dust off the bun, and handed it back to him.

The old man clutched the bun to his chest, bowed repeatedly to the other person, and was about to retreat, but the person said, "Just eat it right there, then leave when you're done."

At the same time, Dong Rui also let out a "Wow."

This was actually a beauty adorned with pearls and jade; the fox-fur cloak hid her figure, but couldn't hide her heavenly beauty.

The beauty of Li Qingge, the Master of Songyang Prefecture, was bright and grand; the beauty of Sun Fuling was gentle and elegant, hiding a heroic spirit. But this woman's beauty was completely different from theirs, and different from all the beauties He Lingchuan had seen before.

It was a fragile exquisiteness, like thin porcelain that could be seen through by a spotlight, like a peach blossom jellyfish floating in a spring; while people carefully protected it in their palms, they also had an impulse to ruthlessly destroy it, to crush it!

This woman was clearly busy distributing supplies and talking to refugees, not even sparing a glance for passersby, yet all the outsiders' gazes were focused solely on her.

She used her cloak hood to cover half of her delicate features, yet she still shone brilliantly in the sunset.

This woman only needed to stand there, possessing a contradictory and captivating magic, without needing to pose or flirt at all.

He Lingchuan's first feeling upon seeing her was that a narcissus had suddenly grown in a mud pond, standing tall and elegant, and completely out of place with the surrounding environment.

Dong Rui also stared straight at her, unable to believe it. "The Bo Nation actually has such a beauty?"

Looking doesn't cost anything, what's the harm?

He Lingchuan smiled. "Your drool is coming out, wipe it off."

Dong Rui actually wiped his mouth, only to find nothing there. He glared fiercely at He Lingchuan, but shifted his gaze away.

"That's someone from the palace." He Lingchuan gestured with his chin toward the guard unit. "See those guards?"

If there were no guards, such a beauty would likely not make it a hundred *zhang* on the streets of the Bo Nation.

But conversely, if she dared to appear in the refugee slum outside the city, she naturally had full confidence.

This disaster relief and alms-distributing team was clearly led by her.

He Lingchuan watched as the team distributed food and organized the refugees to queue in an orderly fashion, knowing this beauty wasn't doing this for the first time.

Beautiful and kind-hearted, eh?

Just then, a merchant caravan suddenly cut in line to enter the city first, forcing other civilians and travelers to wait a good while longer.

He Lingchuan and the others weren't in a hurry; queuing is just queuing.

Another two quarters of an hour passed before it was their turn to clear customs.

He Lingchuan took out the documents and travel permits and handed them over. The city gate guard looked them over a few times. "Merchants, hmm, first time here?"

"Yes."

"Then you don't know the rules." The guard pointed at the monkeys on their shoulders. "Family pets are not allowed in."

He emphasized the word "rules."

The two had traveled to countless places and had never heard of this rule.

Dong Rui retorted, "This isn't a family pet; this is a spirit companion."

"Then it's even less allowed in!" The guard glanced at him, his expression turning stern. "The capital is a vital area; how can you let spirit creatures disturb it!"

Jin Bai and the others came over from behind, took out two pieces of silver, and tucked them into the documents. "Actually, their spirit companions are also registered on these permits. They are pure and harmless; would you mind taking another look?"

They had been here once or twice and knew how things worked.

"Let me see." The guard took them and tucked the silver directly into his bosom. "Oh, there really are. Then you may pass."

Although He Lingchuan and his group wore ordinary clothing, they were sturdy and their clothes were clean and tidy without patches. The city gate guards had sharp eyes and could tell at a glance that they were living well, assuming they had money, so they had to extort them.

He Lingchuan had traveled north and south for many years and had seen people demanding money, but never so openly.

This was the South Gate of the capital, right under the feet of the Bo Monarch!

The city guards dared to extort people for money so openly?

Seeing their leader sitting in the back, he heard it, but didn't even raise an eyebrow.

They were all snakes and rats in the same nest.

After clearing customs and entering the city, the group found a place to stay called the Rulin Inn.

Then, He Lingchuan and Dong Rui went out to stroll around Xuncheng.

Xuncheng was only half the size of the Yuan capital, and the houses were more crowded, but the advantage was that the residential density seemed higher, not as empty as the Yuan capital.

After all, it was the capital; the main street had inns, restaurants, eateries, teahouses, and even places of debauchery, all of which seemed to be doing good business, with buildings brightly lit and often frequented by people in luxurious clothing.

When the wind blew, the laughter of women and the scent of cosmetics were carried out.

But walking behind the main street, just two streets away, the roads on both sides grew dark.

Not many households lit lamps, and there was debris and trash everywhere, with the stench of excrement floating in the air.

The distance of two streets seemed to separate two worlds.

Sometimes, a few people would sit at the crossroads, legs crossed, burning paper money in the middle of the road. No matter who passed by, they remained expressionless.

A few sheets of paper money were blown to He Lingchuan's feet by the wind. He looked down and saw that the paper money seemed to have a big-headed doll drawn on it, its expression distorted by the fire, with only eyes larger than almonds still glaring at people.

After walking past several households burning paper money, He Lingchuan and his companion took a shortcut back to the main street, intending to buy some cooked food to take back to the inn for drinks.

After a few dozen breaths, the two passed an old locust tree, where someone was also burning paper money under the tree.

The appearance of the two seemed to startle the other party.

Those few men quickly grabbed the spirit tablets on the ground, threw them into the fire bucket, and cast warning glances at the two: don't be nosy.

The spirit tablets were also pasted with white paper; as the tongues of fire licked them, they ignited with a *whoosh*.

However, He Lingchuan had sharp eyes, and by the firelight, he saw clearly that the spirit tablet was half-buried in the ash, but a few characters were exposed:

... Spirit tablet of Lord Mai.

Soon, the flames consumed these characters as well.

He Lingchuan couldn't be bothered to look more, and continued forward along the alley with Dong Rui, soon returning to the main street.

As someone who loved visiting fly-by-night eateries, he didn't dare look for a small shop after hearing Jin Bai's advice, but instead walked into a braised food stall that looked clean and hygienic. He first asked for a chicken foot to taste, then pointed at the remaining braised food and said:

"Pack it up, we want it all."

There were seven or eight types of meat and vegetable dishes here; besides braised goose, there were chicken giblets, smoked rabbit, smoked bamboo rat, and various small cold dishes. In terms of variety, it was far inferior to Suoding Island.

Before they arrived, the shopkeeper hadn't sold much all afternoon and evening, and was almost asleep on the cutting board. Hearing this, he was overjoyed and quickly got up to chop the meat for the generous customers.

He Lingchuan then went to the liquor shop next door and asked for a few jars of wine, all of which he put into his storage ring, and returned home with Dong Rui.

￥￥￥￥￥

The people of the capital all knew about the great happy event of the royal family, because the Bo King ordered two days of grand celebration, with everyone able to receive two *jin* of grain, two *liang* of meat, half a *jin* of dates, and ten pieces of malt candy.

So as soon as it was daytime, Xuncheng was as lively as the New Year.

Several sheds were also set up outside the city, distributing porridge and food to beggars and refugees; it was truly worthy of being called a joyous occasion for all.

Arriving in a strange land, the hardest thing to find is connections. He Lingchuan let Dong Rui go to the pleasure quarters to collect information, hoping to find a patron who came from the palace or a high official's household, so it would be convenient for them to place the eyeball spiders.

Intelligence must be collected bit by bit, focusing on following the vine to find the melon.

The key is to find the right vine, and then the melon will follow.

However, before Dong Rui could set off with the silver, a clue came to his door—

A-Hao from Giant Deer Port rushed to Xuncheng in a hurry.

Dong Rui stared. "News already, so fast?"

He hadn't even left the house yet! "Got it, got it." A-Hao had ridden a horse all day and was covered in sweat. "I asked about the news the two masters wanted! I treated those two guards to a feast and got them drunk before I found out..."

Dong Rui interrupted him. "Did you find out the origin of the Bright Lamp?"

"No, no, not that, that couldn't be found!" A-Hao shook his head like a rattle-drum. "But there's a new development in the palace. Imperial Physician Chen just received a reward not long ago, a huge reward! It was less than ten days ago."

"Imperial Physician Chen?"

"Ah, yes. It hasn't been easy working in the Imperial Medical Bureau these past two years; the Assistant Imperial Physician was even beheaded by the King. I heard it was all because of poor treatment, causing the Second Prince's condition to worsen." A-Hao licked his dry lips. He Lingchuan handed him a cup of water, which he picked up and drank in one gulp.

He was poisoned by someone else's *gu*, so they didn't need to poison the water.

"Imperial Physician Chen, who took over as Assistant Imperial Physician two months ago, was originally just a servant physician, and no one thought highly of him. The palace guards even set up a betting pool to see how long he could last, but unexpectedly, he performed a miracle, and the Second Prince's condition improved significantly." A-Hao added, "I heard Imperial Physician Chen has recently become a favorite in the palace, frequently entering and leaving the Second Prince's bedchamber to treat him. Two days ago, the King, in front of everyone, rewarded him with several delicacies and several tribute items; it really makes others envious."

Dong Rui clicked his tongue twice. "So capable, why was he only a servant physician before?"

He Lingchuan followed up with this question: "Why was Imperial Physician Chen suddenly promoted from servant physician to Assistant Imperial Physician? Are there no other miracle workers in the Imperial Medical Bureau?"

That was a promotion of several ranks at once.

"Ah..." These three consecutive questions left A-Hao completely bewildered.

He just remembered what the palace guards said, and he really hadn't thought about these questions.

That's right, why would a servant physician suddenly become the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau? He Lingchuan saw his blank expression and knew there was no answer, so he turned to ask: "So, did Imperial Physician Chen really cure the Second Prince's madness?"

"It hasn't been announced yet. Once the Second Prince recovers, Imperial Physician Chen will be on the fast track to success."

"Good, very good." He Lingchuan patted A-Hao on the shoulder. "You can find out where Imperial Physician Chen lives, right?"

"Can, definitely can, please give me one day!"

Dong Rui threw him a pill. "Take this, it can delay the *gu* poison for seven days."

As A-Hao swallowed the medicine, he heard He Lingchuan ask out of the blue: "By the way, how is your accomplice? That tall guy?"

"*Cough! *" The pill got stuck in his throat, and A-Hao coughed several times before drinking more water to recover.

"So excited? What happened to him?"

"Nothing, nothing." A-Hao waved his hand. "He didn't say anything when he woke up, just cursed his bad luck. It's not the first time he's run into a tough target."

"That's good." He Lingchuan said calmly, "I thought he wouldn't let you off. Looks like you handled it yourself."

The listener had his own thoughts; A-Hao felt a chill in his heart, and seeing He Lingchuan's indifferent expression, he didn't know if the speaker had intended it.

He hurriedly took his leave.

After A-Hao left, He Lingchuan asked Dong Rui: "Did you really plant *gu* in him?"

This guy could use *gu*?

"That's for sure!" Dong Rui said proudly. "I do what I say."

He couldn't wait to go out, clutching He Lingchuan's silver, intending to go out and have a good time.

Oh wait, this was official business, official business! After the exhaustion of the journey these past few days, he, Master Dong, needed to relax properly.

The pleasure quarters in the Bo capital were truly prosperous; which one should he go to? Dong Rui, with an attitude of research and inquiry, planned to visit a few more.

But just as he stepped out of the inn's main gate, "*whoosh*", two people sped past, almost colliding with him.

He didn't see their faces clearly, only knowing they ran extremely fast and possessed cultivation.

*Da da da*, the two disappeared in the blink of an eye into the alleyway diagonally behind.

Running for their lives, are they? Dong Rui cursed inwardly.

The people on the road weren't surprised either, all with indifferent expressions, continuing with whatever they were doing.

But Dong Rui had only gone a dozen steps when over thirty government runners turned the corner, running wildly toward here.

At a glance, they were clearly chasing someone.

Dong Rui finally understood why those two had run for their lives just now.

He lowered his head and went on his way, but who knew that when this group of runners was about to pass him, the leader suddenly turned his head to look at him, then pointed a finger: "That's him!"

Who? Who are you talking about? Dong Rui saw him pointing at himself, so he looked left and right, but there was no one beside him.

He moved two steps to the left, and the other's finger followed, still pointing straight at him.

The leader gave an order, and dozens of subordinates swarmed up, shackles clanking as they came to make the arrest.

The violent ape crouching on Dong Rui's shoulder squeaked twice, wanting to get down.

Dong Rui covered it with his hand. "Don't."

A spirit ape causing trouble in the Bo capital—he didn't want to invite that kind of trouble.

His movements and positioning were exceptionally agile, and two or three guards missed him completely.

Dong Rui shouted, "I'm a visitor from out of town, you've got the wrong person!"

The leader only said, "Kneel! If you aren't a fugitive, what are you afraid of?"

This made perfect sense, but after seeing the character of the local runners, Dong Rui had absolutely no confidence in their ability to investigate cases or judge people, and made up his mind never to go to prison.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1133 =====