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Chapter 84 The City of the Central Plains
The city's dark blue walls, like a mountain mist, blocked the road at its end.

If the outer walls of Jiufeng City were merely the fences of a large courtyard, and the walls of Zhangwei City had a somewhat defensive fortification feel, then the outer walls here were simply the pinnacle of ancient fortresses.

Its height probably exceeded 25 meters, which would be equivalent to the height of a seven or eight-story building in modern times. There were also watchtowers and arrow towers built on top of the city wall, making its defensive capabilities truly astonishing.

Chen Xuan didn't quite understand. They should be in the heart of the Central Plains, where there shouldn't be much of a threat from war. Why were the city's outer walls reinforced to such an extent?

"...This place looks quite prosperous." Liu Shuyue remarked when they were still half a mile from the city gate. "Compared to this, even the capital of Qi seems rather shabby."

Horses and carts came and went on the official road, and the shouts of the drivers rose and fell. Even before entering the city, the prosperity of commerce was already evident—small vendors pushed wheelbarrows along the way, hawking their goods, from bracelets and earrings to fruits and vegetables; outside the city, there were many simple houses, and judging from the flags fluttering in the cracks of the windows, there were inns, teahouses, money exchanges, pawnshops... it was almost like a small town outside the main city.

After walking another hundred steps, Chen Xuan could finally see the plaque hanging above the main gate of the city.

"Chang...An City?"

My heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

Thankfully, it was a familiar name from my memory.

"Strange, the second round of the Hundred Years' War between England and France has already begun, so why is Chang'an still standing?" Lin Qing asked疑惑地问道, "Is there a problem with my database? Shouldn't Chang'an have become Xi'an by now?"

Liu Shuyue didn't quite understand what they were discussing, but she had gradually gotten used to this situation. "Shopkeeper, do you have a travel permit? Where we're from, you can't just enter the city without one."

Ah, Chen Xuan slapped his forehead; he had forgotten about it.

In theory, the royal documents given to him by Charles VII should be legally valid, but he is now disguised as an ordinary citizen, so how could he possibly have access to such a thing?

"In short, let's observe for a while."

The three men left the main road and circled around to a spot fifty meters away from the city gate, keeping watch for a while before coming to two conclusions, one good and one bad.

The good news is that the guards here don't check travel permits; if you're not carrying large bags, they'll even let you pass without a second thought. This shows that the social atmosphere here is quite open, and the control over migrants is not strict.

The bad news was that everyone entering the city had to pay a tax, which was a kind of coin with a slightly bluish sheen on its surface, and Chen Xuan didn't have any of these either.

“Let’s use an invisibility talisman,” he suggested.

“I’m afraid that won’t work here.” Liu Shuyue pointed to two jade pillars by the city gate. “See that? A simple spiritual energy sensing array. Simple invisibility won’t pass this kind of detection.”

Chang'an City is actually equipped with security screening machines?

"What about leaping over the city wall?"

"It might work, but using the Wind Riding Talisman requires a little skill. It took me six months to learn how to control it. Would you like to give it a try?"

"No need, thanks." Chen Xuan immediately rejected the idea.

Liu Shuyue took out a small knitted purse from her bosom and handed it to him. "I saw a pawnshop over there. There are ten pearls, five gold leaves, and some silver coins in here. Maybe we can exchange them for some money."

Before Chen Xuan could take it, a voice suddenly interrupted, "Do the three of you want to enter the city? I can take you in at a very reasonable price, less than half the normal city entrance tax!"

He followed the sound and found that the person who spoke to him was a slightly overweight man.

“Chen Xuan…” Liu Shuyue said quietly, “This man has an unfriendly appearance; I’m afraid he’s up to no good.”

Is it a trap? That would be great!
Chen Xuan feigned a surprised expression, "Really? I don't have that kind of currency on me..."

“You can only get jade coins by doing business with sects in Chang’an. Many people from other places don’t have them anymore, which is normal. If you try to pawn them, the pawnshops will rip you off! I’m much easier to talk to. I can accept gold and silver jewelry, and other valuable trinkets as well.” The fat man rubbed his hands and said, “How about it? If it’s a good deal, we can leave now and collect the money after we get into the city.”

"Sure, but how are you going to get the three of us in?"

He pointed to several resting carriages not far away, "See those? They're all my boss's goods. They don't need to be checked when they enter the city. You just need to stay in the cargo boxes and keep quiet."

Chen Xuan immediately agreed, "Then I'll leave it to you!"

The so-called cargo box was a three-meter-high and one-meter-wide upright cabinet. The only problem was that it was placed upside down. After the three people went in, it was as if they were lying flat in a small space, and it was difficult to even turn around.

Fortunately, they were slightly different in height, so they weren't face to face.

Chen Xuan had expected Liu Shuyue to ask him why he had agreed to the deal, but to his surprise, she didn't say a word after she came in. Her head was pressed against his chest, and every breath she took was clearly audible.

Lin Qing was pressing down on top of the two of them, her body unexpectedly heavy.

Chen Xuan felt that half of his arm was almost numb from being pressed down.

"...How come you're so heavy?" he couldn't help but whisper.

"What can I do? Prosthetics are just so heavy. Why don't you move your feet a little and give me something to step on?"

"Let me try... Hey, don't step on my legs!"

Soon, the box began to shake, indicating that the carriage had started to move.

The two quickly shut up. Then came a cacophony of voices, seemingly traveling through the busiest area of ​​the city gate. After about two minutes, the noise gradually subsided.

Just as the fat man assured him, the guards didn't actually check the carriages.

Next, it'll be time for them to double-cross each other.

"We'll act according to the situation later. If they resort to violence, don't hold back," Chen Xuan whispered in his advice.

He was certain that these cars wouldn't be parked on a busy, crowded street; they would find a secluded alley to release them.

Sure enough, when the car stopped again, it was completely silent outside.

Someone knocked on the lid of the box, "Come out!"

Lin Qing, who was at the top, pushed aside the board and jumped out. Then Chen Xuan and Liu Shuyue leaped up and braced themselves against each other's backs, instantly covering the entire area.

The fat man stared at the three of them, blinking blankly, "...You three have impressive skills."

It was indeed a dark alley, and he was surrounded by several coachmen... but apart from that, their reactions were quite normal, and they did not show any malicious intent to exploit the "guest".

"Uh..." Chen Xuan was also a little stunned, "How much?"

"The normal entry tax is 50 jade coins, but I'll give you half that, 25. Do you have anything to offer as payment?" the fat man replied.

Liu Shuyue took out her purse and emptied the contents into the other person's hands.

The latter counted them and said, "Five gold leaves and five beads are about right. The rest are yours."

He then put away his payment and waved to the drivers, "Let's go!"

They even give change?

"Wait a minute!" Chen Xuan shouted in a low voice.

In the quiet alley, the sound was like a muffled thunderclap, startling the fat man. He clutched the money pouch in his arms and took two steps back. "Is there anything else?"

"I forgot to ask, what's your name, sir?"

"We've only just met, so let's skip the name thing. People often call me Wang Da'er, and you can call me that too when we meet in the future." After saying that, he quickly drove away, as if afraid that Chen Xuan would catch up with him.

Okay, now I'm the bad guy.

Chen Xuan helplessly spread his hands and said, "Now that we're here, let's go and find out some information."

Just like in movies and TV dramas, you can find answers to slightly obscure but not secretive questions in places like teahouses and restaurants, and he found this to be true in practice. The tea servers in the teahouses seemed to frequently receive such casual requests. Before Chen Xuan could even ask a few questions, an old man with graying temples approached him, "Young man, you're from out of town, trying your luck in Chang'an! I know everything about this place, big and small. Ask me, and you won't go wrong. I'll only charge you 8 coins for half an hour."

"Then you should come to me, I'll pay 6 qian!" another tea vendor immediately bargained.

"He doesn't understand, don't believe him!"

"I don't understand? When I was working hard here, you were still a nobody from out of town!"

As a result, Chen Xuan used a single bead to cover both of them.

"Oh, you really can't judge a book by its cover." The tea server's expression became lively as he looked at Chen Xuan. "Why don't you get yourself some nicer clothes? You're making a fool of yourself like this."

"Old man Gu is right about that. In the great city of Chang'an, you can lack anything, but you can't lose face!"

"Wow, that sounds so familiar." Lin Qing whistled.

"Are there many people from other places coming to Chang'an?" Chen Xuan suddenly became curious, thinking of Fatty Wang... no, Wang Da'er.

“There are so many, and all sorts of people. From Japan, from Arabia, from Great Xia, from Kunlun... You can find people from all over the world, whether you’ve heard of them or not, in Chang’an!”

"There's Kunlun here too?" Liu Shuyue asked in surprise.

"Of course there are. Those strange people with skin as black as charcoal are Kunlun guests. If you are interested in them, you can even buy a few Kunlun slaves to keep as pets."

“The Kunlun they’re talking about isn’t the same as what you’re thinking,” Chen Xuan interrupted. “As you can see, we have indeed traveled from a very far place. If we ask any outrageous questions later, please don’t take offense.”

"Oh, young man, just ask away!" the old man said dismissively. "We don't have so many taboos here!"

"Then...which emperor is sitting in the palace now?"

Once the emperor's name is known, the dynasty can naturally be determined.

Unexpectedly, the two tea masters exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter! Their laughter lasted for half a minute, attracting the attention of everyone else in the teahouse.

After they finally calmed down, they rubbed their bellies and said, "Which emperor? Young man, we haven't had an emperor here for a long time!"

(End of this chapter)