Chapter 119: Entering the Capital City

Chen Mo stood beside the carriage, gazing at the cavalry in the distance; the approaching cavalry was not particularly elite, numbering only a hundred or so, each wearing light armor.

The leader's strength should not be poor; at the very least, he could stimulate his Blood Qi eyes, spotting from afar that the carriage behind Chen Mo belonged exclusively to the imperial family.

"Your Highness, this should be the Imperial Court's Forbidden Army," Chen Mo said slowly, standing beside the carriage.

The carriage curtain was pulled aside, revealing a youthful face, looking out from afar at the Forbidden Army galloping toward them.

As time passed, although he still felt fear and dread, he gradually regained some of his composure.

The Forbidden Army moved at an extremely fast speed, kicking up clouds of dust from afar, and before long, they arrived in front of the carriage.

"I am Ma Jianxin, a Sixth Rank Cavalry Commandant of the Forbidden Army. May I ask who you are? This carriage is used by the Imperial Palace; I wonder if there is anyone inside now."

The leader of these hundred-odd cavalrymen was tall, sturdy, dark-skinned, and had an overly dense, bushy beard.

"I am Chen Mo, a Seventh Rank Official of the Xingyuan Prefecture Salt Transport Commission. I am entering the Capital City under a Command Order. On the way, I encountered His Highness the First Prince being pursued by bandits.

There were two bandits in total; one was beheaded by me, and the other has already been captured by me here. His Highness is currently safe and sound, with no major issues."

Chen Mo once again displayed his Official Seal and Command Order as proof.

Ma Jianxin dismounted and looked at the Post-Heaven expert who was tightly bound.

"May I ask if the other imperial guards protecting the First Prince are still here?" He bowed from afar and asked, puzzled.

"They are not; they were all killed by those two bandits," Chen Mo shook his head slowly.

"My guards were all killed by those two bandits; it was Chen who appeared and saved my life," the First Prince Zhao Renmin said, stepping out from the carriage and summoning his courage.

His voice was not loud, but Ma Jianxin heard it clearly.

He knew that among the guards by the First Prince's side, there must have been Martial Artists at the peak of the Meridian-Opening Realm, and more than one.

That those two bandits could so easily kill the imperial guards meant that at least one of them must be a Post-Heaven Martial Artist, and perhaps both were.

Yet Chen Mo was actually able to kill one bandit and capture another alive.

That was enough to show that his strength was definitely not poor, and in all likelihood, he was a Post-Heaven expert.

However, a Seventh Rank Official who is a Post-Heaven expert.

These two concepts could never be equated in Ma Jianxin's mind.

If Chen Mo were truly a Post-Heaven expert, how could he be a Seventh Rank Official? This was completely impossible; at the very least, he should be a Fifth Rank Guardian.

Even that would only be possible if he were marginalized in the officialdom, had no connections, no popularity, and had even offended people.

Otherwise, a normal Post-Heaven Martial Artist could never only reach the Fifth Rank.

No matter how hard he racked his brains, he could not imagine how Chen Mo could be a Seventh Rank Official!

"Then may I ask this General, what is the strength of these two bandits? So that I may report it," Ma Jianxin's attitude was very humble; although Chen Mo's official rank was lower than his, he did not show the slightest arrogance.

Because he understood that if Chen Mo were truly a Post-Heaven expert and had saved the First Prince,

then let alone the fact that he was already a Seventh-Rank Official of the Imperial Court, even if he held no official position at all, as long as he wanted to be an official, he could surpass him at any time.

"These two bandits were both Post-Heaven Martial Artists; their specific realms are unknown. I have already used Inner Qi to seal all the acupoints and meridians of this one, so there is no need to worry about him suddenly attacking,"

Chen Mo pointed to the Post-Heaven expert thrown on the ground nearby.

Ma Jianxin nodded; even now, he could not figure out why Chen Mo, possessing Post-Heaven strength, was only a Seventh Rank Official.

Could it be that his strength improved too quickly, and his official rank hadn't had time to be promoted?

That shouldn't be right; no matter how fast he improved, how fast could it be? Even with the best talent, it would take at least a dozen years to cultivate from sensing Inner Qi to the Post-Heaven Realm, so how could there be no time to promote his rank?

Although Ma Jianxin could not figure it out, he knew what he should do now.

He waved his hand to order his personal attendants, and a Sound Arrow was shot into the high sky.

Regardless, although he did not personally save the First Prince this time, he was at least the first to find him, so he had some credit.

"Your Highness, our Forbidden Army is currently searching outside, and reinforcements will arrive in a moment; you can rest assured," Ma Jianxin bowed and saluted.

"This General, I must trouble you to temporarily take custody of this prisoner," he then bowed to Chen Mo.

He really did not want to deal with this Post-Heaven bandit; if he failed to guard him and the prisoner committed suicide, even if he didn't escape,

it would be interpreted as him having colluded with these bandits and thus helping them commit suicide.

At that point, he would be like a man with mud in his pants—if it's not shit, it's still shit.

The assassination attempt on a prince was a crime punishable by the execution of one's entire clan.

If he didn't have the ability to guard this bandit, he shouldn't try to compete for this credit, or he might end up dragging his whole clan into it.

Following the signal arrow, several more cavalry squads arrived one after another, and Ma Jianxin walked up to them one by one to explain the situation here.

Those Forbidden Army Commanders, upon learning of Chen Mo's situation, also looked at him with extremely puzzled and surprised eyes.

Clearly, they were just like Ma Jianxin, unable to figure out why Chen Mo, possessing Post-Heaven strength, was only a Seventh Rank Official.

However, they soon realized that this gaze was somewhat rude, so they all showed smiles and tried to curry favor with Chen Mo.

They understood that no matter what Chen Mo was like before, he had now saved the First Prince, and his own strength was not poor, so his future career would surely soar, far beyond what they could reach.

Chen Mo also responded with a smile; at least for now, there was no conflict of interest between them, so everyone's attitude was relatively friendly.

From the attitude of these cavalry Commanders, Chen Mo could vaguely sense that nothing major seemed to have happened in the Capital City.

It seemed that the disappearance of the First Prince was already the most important matter at hand.

Of course, there was another possibility: that with their status and position, they were not qualified to know before the dust settled on the major events.

After waiting on the spot for about two quarters of an hour, another person led several hundred cavalrymen and rushed over.

This person wore a Fourth-Rank Military Official robe, and the divine steed under his crotch was blood-red all over, with a hot aura circulating as it galloped—it was definitely a rare and precious horse.

"I am late in protecting the carriage; I hope Your Highness will forgive my crime."

That person dismounted, came to the carriage, and bowed down.

He was about forty years old, with a dignified face and an air of bravery; one could tell at a glance that his strength was extraordinary and that he must have been through many battles.

"It is fine, rise, my subject," Zhao Renmin said, leaning out from the carriage.

Chen Mo walked up again to explain the situation to this Fourth-Rank Military Official.

"You mean to say, you killed one Post-Heaven Martial Artist and captured another alive?" Lu Chuan's tone was slightly doubtful; it seemed he was also very puzzled.

If Chen Mo possessed Post-Heaven strength and was so young, why was he only a Seventh Rank Official?

"That is correct. This is my Command Order, please take a look, my lord." Chen Mo took out the Command Order document he had been keeping in his Huai.

Lu Chuan took it, examined it carefully again and again, and only then handed it back to Chen Mo.

"Your Highness, please return to the Capital City with me." Lu Chuan looked at the First Prince Zhao Renmin standing to the side and said in a deep voice.

"No need, let Chen escort me," Zhao Renmin said.

Clearly, compared to this unfamiliar Fourth Grade Martial Official before him, he trusted Chen Mo, who had just saved his life, more.

"Guard His Highness well." Lu Chuan gave a casual instruction to Chen Mo and immediately turned to leave.

With his status and position, he was able to learn more information.

He naturally understood that given the First Prince's age, he must have snuck out of the Palace City secretly.

Then why did he come out? Given his age and status, it was absolutely impossible for him to sneak out of the Palace City so easily; who helped him along the way? Was there someone who deliberately lured him out?

And how exactly did that group of bandits learn of his route? How long had they been planning this?

For these questions, no matter which one he went to investigate, it would result in rivers of blood and heads rolling.

The water in this matter was too deep; it was best for him to only fulfill his required duties and absolutely not get involved in anything else.

This was the way to preserve oneself: not seeking merit, but only seeking to avoid mistakes.

Over a thousand cavalrymen surrounded the two carriages, guarding them firmly.

Chen Mo drove the carriage in front, while Zhao Renmin gripped his sleeve tightly, absolutely refusing to let him leave.

Zhao Yu drove her own carriage behind Chen Mo; although thousands of cavalrymen were galloping around, she showed no fear.

The bandits previously captured by Chen Mo had been crudely bandaged and were under Lu Chuan's personal supervision.

The cavalry's speed was not fast; after traveling for more than an hour, they finally arrived near the city gate.

The walls of the Capital City were very tall and large, looking to be over twenty zhang high and seven or eight zhang wide at a glance, enough for three carriages to travel side by side.

The city gate tower was even taller, with many battlements and arrow towers built on both sides, guarding the entire city so tightly that not even wind could pass through.

This could absolutely be called a majestic city.

The city walls were covered with mottled spots left by years of wind and rain, as well as sword and spear marks left when powerful experts from enemy nations attacked the city in the past.

Chen Mo even saw a sword mark with a diameter of over five zhang and a width of seven chi.

Not only that, he could feel that even though a long time had passed, this sword mark was still emitting a fierce aura.

There must be a large number of Arrays set up by Qi Refiners on the city wall, which was why they could suppress this sword mark.

Therefore, only a Martial Artist with Chen Mo's cultivation could vaguely sense the powerful aura of this sword mark.

Other passersby could not perceive it at all, merely thinking it was an ordinary sword mark.

The city had long been under martial law, with everything tightly sealed off.

Lu Chuan rode his horse forward to report, and only then did the two city gates, which totaled nearly thirty zhang in width, slowly open.

For such a towering city gate, the entire Outer City of the Capital City had eighteen of them, which was the only way to satisfy the needs of this city.

Riding slowly into the city, there were no pedestrians on the streets, and the road was very clear all the way.

Passing through the Outer City, the carriage arrived before the Inner City.

Unlike the market towns or county seats Chen Mo had visited before, those places had relatively few people, and even if there were high-ranking officials or nobles, a few streets were enough to house them, not worth building a separate Inner City.

But the Capital had millions of people, occupied an incomparably vast area, and had even more high-ranking officials, nobles, and powerful clans.

Thus, the division between the Inner and Outer Cities was formed.

A thick and majestic city wall clearly separated the Inner and Outer Cities.

Commoners and lower-ranking officials could only live in the Outer City.

Only true powerful clans, high-ranking officials, and nobles were qualified to reside in the Inner City.

The carriage leisurely passed through the Inner City and finally arrived before the Palace City.

This was the most core and important place in the entire Capital City, and one could even say the entire Great Gan.

Correction: The previous chapter has been revised; the First Prince's age has been changed to eight years old.

May all readers be informed.

(End of chapter)