After leaving Fengming City, they headed eastward. Along the way, the population increased, the cities became more prosperous, and Yan Liqiang and his companions' journey became smoother.
Those ferocious Black Wind Bandits never appeared again, as if they had become a distant memory.
On the other hand, Sun Bingchen's identity as the inspector began to demonstrate his great power. Wherever Sun Bingchen arrived at a place, he was greeted and received by local officials. Under such circumstances, it would not be easy for this group of people to cause any trouble.
However, Yan Liqiang did not relax, but was always prepared, because he had a vague feeling that on the way of escorting Ye Tiancheng back to the Imperial Capital, those who wanted to prevent Ye Tiancheng from entering the Imperial Capital could not have only the Black Wind Bandits as a card. To kill a person, in addition to the blatant and brutal fighting like the Black Wind Bandits, there are various other ways. Sometimes, an embroidery needle, a drop of poison, a flying knife, or even a punch or a palm from a master can easily take a person's life. These things are much more difficult to guard against than the Black Wind Bandits.
With such a job and a bomb like Ye Tiancheng by his side, who can say that he will not be affected and become an innocent victim in some conflict or assassination
It was under this sense of crisis and urgency that Yan Liqiang did not relax his practice at all. Wherever he went, as long as the environment allowed and they were not in the wild, Yan Liqiang would insist on practicing for three or four hours every day.
After leaving Huijiaji, Yan Liqiang had one more thing in his bag—a handful of fragrance.
He would light a stick of incense in the dark, then lie on the ground like a tiger, supporting his body weight with two fingers, staring at the incense tip without blinking. After his vision and finger strength reached the limit, he would use the Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing to recover. This became a method "invented" by Yan Liqiang to train his eyesight and finger strength.
During this kind of training, as Sun Bingchen's team traveled eastward, Yan Liqiang was able to stare at the incense head in the dark without blinking for longer and longer periods of time, and his eyesight was getting better and better. The strength of the two fingers on both hands was also rapidly improving, and it was becoming easier for him to draw the bow, and his physical strength was also steadily improving.
During this kind of training, Yan Liqiang's knowledge of the effects and techniques of Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing was greatly expanded, and he had a higher and further understanding. He even had many ideas of combining Yi Jin Xi Sui Jing with other techniques for practice. However, due to his daily rush, he only kept those ideas in his mind temporarily and had no way to put them into practice.
Following Sun Bingchen along the way, Yan Liqiang witnessed the officials' greetings and farewells along the way and the local customs and practices, which was also a huge gain for him.
…
In March, the banks of the Huichun River are covered with red flowers, green willows and lush grass. In the evening, the water is rippling with rosy clouds. A double-decker inland river ship, more than 50 meters long, is docked steadily at the pier outside Huizhou City amid the constant shouting of the sailors on board.
After the boat was in good condition and the ropes were quickly tied, two wooden stairs were quickly built onto the deck of the ship by the laborers on the dock.
"The ship has arrived at Huizhou Pier. Passengers in the cabin, please pack your bags and personal belongings and prepare to disembark..."
The sailors on the ship shouted in loud voices. Following the shouts of the sailors, the passengers and merchants on the ship went up to the deck one after another, and then got off the ship one by one along the wooden ladder on the deck.
Yan Liqiang also walked out of the cabin on the second floor of the passenger ship along with the passengers and crowd who were disembarking. Standing on the deck on the second floor of this huge inland river ship, he looked at the scenery on both sides of the Huichun River and breathed a deep breath.
Today is March 7th of the 13th year of Yuanping. Nearly two months after leaving Ganzhou, Yan Liqiang finally arrived in the capital of Huizhou.
Huizhou is adjacent to the imperial capital and is the western gateway to the imperial capital of the Han Empire. The area east of Huizhou City is called "Jingxi Ji" on the map, which is one of the "Four Ji" of the imperial capital. The so-called "Jingxi Ji" can be translated as the vast area adjacent to the western part of the imperial capital.
At this moment, Yan Liqiang had already changed his clothes. He was wearing a green robe and a small hat, and carrying a bag on his back, just like a servant of a wealthy family.
While Yan Liqiang was looking around, Sun Bingchen, Liang Yiji, and Ye Tiancheng all came out of the cabin one after another.
Like Yan Liqiang, everyone changed their clothes.
Sun Bingchen looked like a wealthy businessman, Liang Yijie was dressed as a martial arts guard, and Ye Tiancheng looked like an accountant. But compared to Yan Liqiang and others, Ye Tiancheng, the elderly "accountant", seemed a little "unwilling" - the shackles on Ye Tiancheng's hands and feet were untied, but several acupuncture points on his body were sealed by Liang Yijie. Except for his feet, he could walk, his hands were limp and looked a little weak. Liang Yijie "supported" him with one hand, and he couldn't even speak.
A week ago, when leaving Fengzhou, Sun Bingchen's team split into two halfway. The other guards continued to carry Sun Bingchen's guards of honor and paraded through the city, entering Huizhou from another route, while Sun Bingchen took Yan Liqiang, Liang Yiji, and Ye Tiancheng and quietly left the team. The four of them, after a change of appearance, entered Huizhou from another road without making a fuss. Yesterday, they boarded the big ship in a place called Mingcheng and went downstream. After two days of journey, they finally arrived in Huizhou City at this time today.
Yan Liqiang secretly admired Sun Bingchen's trick of concealing the truth. To be honest, although nothing happened on the road these days, Yan Liqiang still felt a little nervous, especially the closer he got to the capital, the more he felt like he was getting close to a dangerous place. After Sun Bingchen did this, Yan Liqiang finally realized that he was not the only one who was worried.
"Let's go, let's get off the boat!" Sun Bingchen nodded and spoke after walking out of the cabin.
“Be careful…” Liang Yiji calmly gave Ye Tiancheng a warning look, then Yan Liqiang walked in front, Liang Yiji “supported” Ye Tiancheng, and Sun Bingchen walked behind, and the group walked down from the deck on the second floor.
"You two, be careful when you go up the bridge, don't fall into the water..." The sailor on the boat saw Liang Yiji "supporting" Sun Bingchen and gave a special reminder.
"Thank you for the reminder, big brother. Our accountant is prone to seasickness. After sitting on the boat for two days, he can't even stand on his feet and needs someone to support him to walk..." Before Liang Yiji could say anything, Yan Liqiang smiled and replied smartly like a standard servant.
A group of people got off the boat and stood on the bustling dock of Huizhou City. The dock of Huizhou City was dozens of times larger than those inland docks that Yan Liqiang had seen before. Looking around, people were coming and going. There were masts of ships like a forest beside the dock. All kinds of goods from all over the world were piled up like mountains on this dock.
"Master, I'll go call a car..." With Ye Tiancheng, the four of them walking together would still be too conspicuous, so Yan Liqiang went to the dock and prepared to arrange a vehicle.
"No need, someone will come to pick us up!" Sun Bingchen shook his head slightly.
Just as the two were talking, a large carriage had already arrived in front of Sun Bingchen. The driver jumped off the carriage and asked respectfully, "Excuse me, is it Mr. Huang and his party..."
"Not bad!" Sun Bingchen nodded.
The coachman immediately showed a look of relief on his face, "My master asked me to pick you up, please get in the car..."
Sun Bingchen, Liang Yijie and Ye Tiancheng all sat in the back carriage, while Yan Liqiang sat next to the coachman...
After everyone was seated, the coachman flicked his whip, the carriage turned a circle, and then ran briskly.
I didn't expect that Sun Bingchen had already made arrangements in Huizhou City. This is right. After all, he is working for the emperor. If he doesn't have a few helpers and a backup plan, it would be too unreasonable...
Sitting in the carriage, Yan Liqiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If possible, he hoped that the carriage could take them to the Imperial Capital in no time. In this way, this daunting mission would be completed...
(End of this chapter)