Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 84 - 83: City of the Central Plains

The tall, blue-black city walls resembled a mountain range, blocking the end of the road.

If the outer wall of Jiufeng City was merely like a large courtyard fence, the walls of Zhangwei City had a hint of defensive construction, then this outer wall was simply the pinnacle of ancient fortresses.

Its height probably exceeded twenty-five meters, which would be about seven or eight stories high in modern terms, with watch towers and arrow turrets built atop, its defensive level was indeed quite astonishing.

Chen Xuan couldn’t quite understand. Their current position should be deep in the Central Plains, where there shouldn’t be much threat from war. So why was the city’s outer wall reinforced to such a degree?

"... It seems really prosperous here." Half a mile from the city gate, Liu Shuyue exclaimed, "Compared to this, the Royal City of Qi Kingdom seems rather shabby."

On the official road, horses and carriages came and went in an incessant stream, and the coachmen’s shouts echoed one after another. Before even entering the city, the signs of commercial prosperity were already evident - small vendors pushing wheelbarrows along the way, selling their goods, everything from bracelets and earrings to fruits and vegetables; simple dwellings built outside the city, with banners fluttering in the windows, indicating inns, tea houses, money exchanges, pawn shops... it almost counted as a small city outside the city.

Another hundred steps forward, Chen Xuan finally saw the plaque hanging above the city gate.

"Chang...an City?"

His suspended heart finally settled down.

Thankfully, it was a familiar name from memory.

"Strange, over there the Hundred Years’ War between England and France has already started its second round, how is Chang’an City still here?" Lin Qing wondered, "Is there a problem with my data retrieval library? At this time, Chang’an should have already become Xi’an City, right?"

Liu Shuyue didn’t quite understand what they were talking about, but she had gradually gotten used to such situations, "Mr. Store Manager, do you have a ’road permit’? Back where we’re from, you can’t enter the city without it."

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

In theory, the royal document given to him by Charles VII should definitely serve as a road permit, but he was now disguised as a commoner, how could he possibly take out such a thing?

"Let’s observe first," he suggested.

The three of them left the main road, circled around to a point fifty meters away from the city gate and watched for a while, coming to one good and one bad conclusion.

The good news was that the guards here did not check road permits. If you weren’t carrying large bags, they even let people through with closed eyes. This indicated that the societal atmosphere here was quite open, and control over migrants wasn’t strict.

The bad news was that every person entering the city had to pay a tax, which was a coin that glowed faintly with a blue light, and Chen Xuan didn’t have any of this type of currency either.

"Let’s use the Invisibility Talisman," he proposed.

"That probably won’t work here," Liu Shuyue pointed to the two jade pillars beside the city gate, "See those? A simple Spiritual Qi detection array, mere invisibility won’t pass such inspection."

Chang’an City was actually equipped with a security scanner?

"Then how about flying over the wall?"

"Perhaps it’s possible, but using the Wind Riding Talisman requires a bit of skill. I practiced controlling it for half a year to learn. Do you want to try?"

"No need, thanks." Chen Xuan immediately vetoed this idea.

Liu Shuyue took out a small knitted pouch from her bosom and handed it to him, "I saw a pawn shop over there. Inside here are ten pearls, five Golden Leaves, and some broken silver, maybe they can be exchanged for some currency."

Before Chen Xuan could take it, a voice suddenly interrupted, "Are you three trying to get into the city? I can take you in, and the price is absolutely reasonable, less than half of the normal entry tax!"

Following the voice, he found the speaker to be a corpulent man.

"Chen Xuan..." Liu Shuyue whispered, "This person’s face doesn’t look good, probably a trick."

A trick? A trick is perfect!

Chen Xuan feigned a delighted expression, "Really? I don’t have the type of currency they use here..."

"You can only get Jade Coins from trading with the sects in Chang’an; many outsiders don’t have them, it’s quite normal. If you go to pawn them, pawn shops will bleed people like you dry! I’m far more reasonable; gold, silver, and jewelry are all acceptable, other valuable trinkets can also count." The corpulent man rubbed his hands together, "How about it, if it works, we can go now and I’ll collect the money once we’re inside."

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

He pointed to several resting carriages not far away, "See those? They’re loaded with my employer’s goods and don’t need inspection to enter. You just have to hide in the cargo boxes and stay silent."

Chen Xuan immediately agreed, "Then we’ll leave it to you!"

The so-called cargo box was a three-meter high, one-meter wide upright cabinet, the only problem was that it was placed lying down, making the three of them feel like they were lying flat in a cramped space, with barely any room to turn around.

Luckily, their heights varied slightly, so they weren’t face-to-face.

Chen Xuan had expected Liu Shuyue to ask why he agreed to this deal, but to his surprise, she didn’t say a word once inside. Her head rested against his chest, every breath audible.

Lin Qing was above them both, unexpectedly heavy.

Chen Xuan felt one side of his arm nearly getting numb.

"... Why are you so heavy?" he couldn’t help but whisper.

"What can I do, my artificial body is just heavy. Why don’t you move your foot a bit and give me some place to step."

"I’ll try... Hey, don’t step wildly on my leg!"

Very quickly, the box began to jolt, indicating that the wagon had started moving.

The two immediately fell silent.

Then came the sounds of noisy chatter, seemingly passing through the busiest part of the city gates. After about two minutes, the noisy ambient sound gradually quieted down.

Just as the fat man promised, the guards really didn’t inspect these wagons.

Next, it was time for the black market betrayal.

"Later, we’ll act according to the situation. If they turn violent, don’t hold back," Chen Xuan whispered.

He was sure these wagons wouldn’t stop on a crowded and conspicuous street, but rather they’d find a secluded alley to let them out.

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

Someone knocked on the box’s lid, "Come out!"

Lin Qing, at the top, pushed the lid open, sprang up, and jumped out. Then Chen Xuan and Liu Shuyue leapt out, each backing the other, instantly surveying the whole area.

The fat man looked at the three, blinked blankly, "... Excellent skills, the three of you."

This was indeed a dim alley, and there were indeed several stout coachmen around him... but besides that, everyone’s response was quite normal, with no sign of ill intent to extort the "guests".

"Uh..." Chen Xuan was also somewhat taken aback, "How much should we pay?"

"The normal entry tax is 50 jade coins, half price for you at 25. Do you have anything to cover the payment?" the fat man replied.

Liu Shuyue took out her pouch and poured its contents out for him.

He counted, "Five golden leaves and five pearls should be roughly enough, the rest I’ll return to you."

Then he collected the payment, waved to the coachmen, "Let’s go!"

He even made change?

"Wait a moment!" Chen Xuan called out sternly.

In the quiet alley, his voice was like a muffled thunder, startling the fat man. He clutched his money bag and took two steps back, "Anything else?"

"I forgot to ask, what’s your name?"

"We met by chance; it’s better not to bother with names. People often call me Wang Da’er, you can call me that if we meet again." With that, he hurriedly drove away, as if afraid Chen Xuan would chase after him.

Alright then, now I’m the bad guy.

Chen Xuan shrugged helplessly, "Since we’re here, let’s gather some intel."

Just like in films, slightly obscure but not secretive queries can always be answered in tea houses or restaurants, and he found it was true in practice. Tea masters in the tea house seemed to frequently take up such side jobs. Before Chen Xuan could ask indirectly, an older man with graying temples came over, "Young fellow, you’re here in Chang’an City from out of town, aren’t you? I know everything here, ask me, you won’t go wrong, it’ll be 8 coins for half a two-hour period."

"Better to ask me, I’ll charge 6 coins!" Another tea master immediately cut in.

"He doesn’t know, don’t trust him!"

"I don’t know? When I started working here, you were still an out-of-towner!"

Finally, Chen Xuan used a pearl to hire both of them together.

"Hey, never judge by appearance," said the tea master, his expression becoming animated as he looked at Chen Xuan, "Why don’t you get some nice outfit for yourself, it’s quite disgraceful otherwise."

"Old Gu wasn’t wrong here; in this great city of Chang’an, you can lack anything except for face!"

"Oh huh, why does that sound so familiar?" Lin Qing whistled.

"Are there many travelers from out of town here in Chang’an?" Thinking of Wang Fatty... no wait, Wang Da’er, Chen Xuan grew curious.

"Plenty, and all kinds. From Fusang, Great Shi, Great Xia, Kunlun... Anywhere you’ve heard or not heard of, you can find in Chang’an City!"

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

"Of course, the strange people with skin as dark as charcoal are Kunlun guests. If you’re interested in them, you can even buy some Kunlun slaves to keep."

"What they’re referring to as Kunlun isn’t what you have in mind," Chen Xuan interrupted, "As you’ve seen, we’re indeed traveling from a very far place, if we ask some outlandish questions later, please don’t take offense."

"Oh, young man, just ask away!" Old Gu said indifferently, "We don’t have many taboos here!"

"Well... which Emperor is currently seated in the Imperial Palace?"

Once they knew the Emperor’s name, the era could naturally be determined.

Unexpectedly, the two tea masters looked at each other, then burst into laughter! They laughed for a full half-minute before finally calming down, drawing curious glances from others in the tea house.

Once it settled, they clutched their stomachs and said, "Which Emperor? Young man, we haven’t had an Emperor for a long time here!"