Dual Transmigration: Starting from being captured and brought to the Hehuan Sect!

After hearing his explanation, a hint of undisguised disappointment flashed across the Empress's eyes.

The legendary Lin Mo is said to have defeated an army of 50,000 with the strength of a single county, wielding divine weapons, and even the most ruthless martial arts masters in the Jianghu are obedient in his presence.

She had assumed that someone with such talent for governing the world, even if he couldn't turn Hezhou into a second capital, should at least make it clean, tidy, and orderly.

I never expected that after so long, Hezhou Prefecture would still be in such a terrible state.

It seems that most of those rumors were exaggerated.

The stench made her chest feel tight, and she was about to order them to turn around and leave when the female official in the blue robe standing next to her suddenly leaned down, put her lips to her ear, and whispered a few words.

"Your Majesty, take a close look at those people at the city gate."

Although they were dressed in rags and had unkempt hair, they all had bright eyes, full cheeks, and looked better than the common people in the capital. They didn't look like they were starving at all.

And those soldiers on the city wall, standing tall and straight like pine trees, with calm eyes and long, even breaths, their imposing presence was undeniable.

Especially the old man behind Lin Mo, whose temples were bulging and whose aura was very imposing, was probably at least a master of acquired skills!

This Hezhou is probably not as simple as it seems.

The Empress paused slightly upon hearing this, then turned her gaze back to the "welcoming procession" at the city gate.

Sure enough, although those men were dressed in tattered clothes, their exposed arms clearly showed well-developed muscles.

An old woman, hunched over, had a ruddy complexion and didn't look like she was starving at all.

The Empress thoughtfully withdrew her gaze, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Lin Mo, you've almost fooled me.

You don't welcome me, and you deliberately put on a messy show in front of me, hoping to make me leave quickly.

Since that's the case, I'll stay and see what treasures you've hidden.

She lowered the carriage curtain, and her voice came from behind it, calm and leaving no room for argument:

"Go into town."

Lin Mo stood beside the imperial carriage, secretly gritting his teeth.

"Chi Linglong, if I didn't know you were a master of the Innate Realm, I would have made you scream in pain long ago! Your tactless words have ruined my plans."

Although I was seething with hatred.

But since the Empress had spoken, he had no choice but to step aside.

The Empress only brought Chi Linglong and a few personal guards with her, while the rest of the Imperial Guards were arranged to camp and rest outside the city.

The imperial carriage slowly proceeded along the main street of Hezhou. The Empress covered her nose the entire time, her brows furrowed. The stench, a mixture of swill and excrement, was almost pervasive, and even the thick carriage curtains could not block it.

Upon arriving at the county government office, the empress had no desire to even get out of the carriage.

She lifted the carriage curtain and said directly to Lin Mo:

"I have seen almost everything about Hezhou Prefecture."

Prefect Lin, take me to see your Lianhai County.

"I heard in the capital that you possess a divine weapon capable of killing top-tier experts from a thousand miles away. This is a good opportunity to see it for myself."

Lin Mo was slightly taken aback, then smiled wryly:

"Your Majesty, those are just rumors circulating in the martial arts world."

There are no magical weapons or divine artifacts here.

The Empress didn't argue with him, and changed the subject:

"Since there are no divine weapons, then what about concrete city walls, glass streetlights, and that iron ship that can float on the sea...?"

Surely these should be available?

Lin Mo opened his mouth, but finally nodded.

Cement roads and glass lamps are everywhere; at least three thousand, if not five thousand, have seen them.

That ship came and went in the port every day, and the story was widely circulated even among the common people.

He couldn't deny these obvious things; to deny them further would be to deceive the emperor.

If they really turn against each other, and a master of innate cultivation attacks him, he'll probably have no choice but to retreat back to the main world!

The imperial carriage set off again, heading towards Lianhai along the official road.

When the imperial carriage arrived in Cangwu County, it was already close to dusk.

The setting sun bathed the cement city walls in a warm golden hue, and the glass streetlights lit up one after another, enveloping the entire county in a soft halo.

Thanks to the newly built cement road connecting Cangwu County and Hezhou, the journey that took two days was completed in just half a day.

The convoy arrived at the city gate of Cangwu.

The empress lifted the carriage curtain.

In stark contrast to the deliberately created dilapidated and stinking atmosphere of Hezhou Prefecture, the scene in Cangwu County made her unconsciously sit up straight.

On both sides of the city gate are smooth, flat, gray-white cement walls, with the flags of the Lianhai Self-Defense Army flying on the crenellations.

Enter the city.

The glass streetlights on both sides of the main street are neat and uniform, and the shop windows along the street display all kinds of goods.

Pedestrians come and go on the street, and soldiers in gray-black training uniforms patrol in formation, mingling with street vendors and shoppers in an orderly manner without interfering with each other.

It's more prosperous than the capital city used to be!

This is Cangwu County, not Lianhai.

The Empress nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes.

She lowered the carriage curtain, leaned back on the soft cushions of the imperial carriage, and a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.

Lin Mo, what a cunning fellow! You pretended to be poor and chaotic in Hezhou Prefecture, hoping to make me think you were just a mediocre talent so I could leave quickly.

You've managed to turn a poor, impoverished county into such a place; no wonder the people of the southeast call you a "god descended to earth."

She leaned against the cushions and murmured to herself:

"I am becoming increasingly interested in your Lianhai County!"

Lin Mo rode alongside the imperial carriage and pointed to a six-story building not far ahead:

"Your Majesty, it is getting late. Why don't you stay at the Cangwu Grand Hotel for the night and head to Lianhai early tomorrow morning?"

The Empress lifted the carriage curtain and looked in the direction Lin Mo was pointing, then paused slightly in surprise.

The building was entirely gray and white, with smooth and flat walls, without any trace of brick or stone construction, as if it were carved from a single giant stone.

The building is lined with rows of bright glass windows that reflect a dazzling golden light in the setting sun.

Six stories high!

She had seen that the tallest Buddhist pagoda in the capital was only seven stories high.

But that was a tower, with a pointed roof and upturned eaves, exquisite and translucent; the building in front of us, however, is square and upright, like a giant stone tablet magnified countless times.

Standing silently and imposingly among the low-rise buildings of Cangwu County, it makes the surrounding houses with their blue bricks and gray tiles look like a group of dwarfs squatting at the feet of a giant.

The imperial carriage came to a stop in front of the main entrance of the building, and Lin Mo dismounted.

The Empress, supported by Chi Linglong, stepped down from the imperial carriage, looked up at the colossal building one last time, and a rare, undisguised look of amazement flashed in her phoenix eyes.

"Prefect Lin, did you build this building?"

The Empress's tone was tinged with disbelief.

"Your Majesty, I merely offered some suggestions; the credit goes to the skilled craftsmen!"

Lin Mo stepped aside and gestured for the Empress to proceed, leading her towards the gate.

As the Empress pushed open the glass doors and stepped into the hall, she involuntarily stopped in her tracks.

What you're stepping on isn't cement or rammed earth, but a smooth, mirror-like white ceramic tile, so smooth that it reflects your image.

She looked down and saw her reflection clearly floating at her feet, with even the patterns on the phoenix hairpin in her hair clearly visible.