Chapter 109: Sending a Message from Afar

  Xiao Ziyang put away the Lingzhou, unfolded his body technique, and after a moment, he arrived at the side of the official road. He calmly walked onto the official road, mixed in with the crowd, and headed towards the city gate.

  Xiao Ziyang had just observed Town An from afar in the sky, discovering that the town's area was not large. Not to mention compared to Fu An Town or Xiang An Town, even compared to Shuo An Town it was somewhat inferior.

  Only then did he realize that this town of Ancheng was indeed a major military stronghold; the city walls alone, over twenty zhang in length, were not comparable to those of other prefectural cities far from the border.

  On the high city wall, every three zhang there is a soldier wearing light armor and holding a long spear standing guard. There are also small teams of soldiers patrolling back and forth under the leadership of heavily armored officers.

  Tall city gate under two rows of standing straight soldiers, each with a majestic figure, solemn face, and quite majestic military appearance.

  The streets in the town of Zhenan were laid out differently from other cities, with a square and straight layout. The houses and streets in this city were extremely disorderly and lawless, and Xiao Ziyang got lost after walking for only a short while.

  Helpless, Xiao Ziyang casually grabbed a crooked and worn-out leather hat, with his chest exposed and a band-aid on his temple, a rough-looking young man.

  That green-faced man was furious and raised his hand to hit, but when he saw what Xiao Ziyang had in his hand, his face immediately changed from a scowl to a smile.

  Xiao Ziyang smiled slightly, put the silver ingot into the green-skinned person's hand and said: "Take me to the nearest carriage station." The green-skinned person was slightly stunned, then overjoyed, and led Xiao Ziyang quickly walking back.

  A moment later, Xiao Ziyang understood why the green skin was stunned earlier; it turned out that the horse carriage was only forty feet away from where Xiao Ziyang had caught the green skin earlier, and it was in another fork in the road not far from the city gate.

  Xiao Ziyang sighed and waved his hand to dismiss Qingpi, then hired a horse-drawn carriage and headed towards Baoqing Hall.

  The horse carriage turned around in the labyrinthine streets, if it wasn't for the clear weather and the sun being directly overhead, perhaps Xiao Ziyang wouldn't even be able to tell east, south, west, or north apart.

  The city of this state is so chaotic in its streets and alleys, probably because it was intentionally built that way. For any army, fighting a defensive battle in a city with such complex terrain would be an extremely frightening thing.

  Xiao Ziyang gazed out of the carriage window all along the way.

  The streets of Zhen'an City are narrow, with no grand or beautiful buildings. The shops along the streets are mostly brothels, gambling houses, and wine taverns.

  These shops were mostly simple and unadorned, the women who solicited business at the doors of the brothels were also coarse in appearance. However, business was quite good, with many soldiers and low-ranking officers coming and going frequently.

  More than half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of a pharmacy.

  Xiao Ziyang looked up at the five-story building in front of him, which was as high as fifteen zhangs, and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. This town of Ancheng was indeed different from others, for the tallest building in the city turned out to be a medicine shop.

  But on second thought, it's not unreasonable. In the more than 100 years since the founding of Xiliang State, the northern border has never been quiet, with a big fight every five years and a small one every three years. Even in times of peace, conflicts have continued unabated. This is also why, after the founding of Xiliang State for 100 years, the border army is still extremely elite, and the status of military personnel is still high.

  What is most consumed in war? Nothing more than lives, grain and medicine. So it's no wonder that the tallest building in Zhen'an City is a pharmacy.

  "Excuse me, sir, what kind of medicine are you looking for?"

  Xiao Ziyang was covered in dust at this time, and the snow-white shirt also had a layer of gray marks. The shop assistant who came to greet him was very discerning. Although Xiao Ziyang's clothes were dusty, they were made of fine materials, and he looked calm and confident. The shop assistant knew that a noble guest had arrived as soon as he saw him, and his attitude was very respectful.

  "Take me to see your master, I have important business to discuss."

  "May I be excused for a moment?"

  "Then trouble Xiao Er Ge to go quickly and come back."

  The little servant led Xiao Ziyang to a side room on one side of the main hall and sat down, then turned around and left.

  A pot of tea's workmanship, Xiao Er led a short and stout old man dressed as a merchant to come in.

  "In the lower Jiang, he was added as the shopkeeper of Baoqing Hall, I don't know this guest officer..." Xiao Ziyang waved his hand to interrupt his words and handed over the biyu ring that had been pinched in his hand.

  The shopkeeper's words were cut off by Xiao Ziyang, who was furious in his heart and suddenly saw the emerald ring on Xiao Ziyang's hand, his angry face froze for a moment before he came back to himself.

  He hastily turned around and sent the fellow who brought him away, making a respectful bow to Xiao Ziyang. "Outer Executive Jiang Rong pays his respects to the immortal master. May I ask for the immortal master's surname and given name."

  "I am not a disciple of your sect, I came here today to deliver a letter on behalf of a fellow practitioner from your noble sect. This fellow practitioner is currently in a precarious situation and my abilities are too shallow to rescue him."

  Xiao Ziyang handed a letter to Jiang Zhanggui, "Please hand this letter over to a inner disciple named Murong Zixuan of your esteemed school. It must be delivered quickly, if it's delayed, that Taoist friend's life will be in danger."

  Jiang Zhanggui's expression became even more respectful when Xiao Ziyang mentioned the inner door disciple. He took the letter with both hands and bowed, saying: "Master, please be at ease. This concerns the life and death of our sect's master. Even if I had the audacity to procrastinate, I wouldn't dare."

  "Now that the letter has been delivered, I'll take my leave."

  Xiao Ziyang left Baoqing Hall without delay and immediately exited the city.

  Five days later, when Xiao Ziyang returned to Jinan City, his expression was already somewhat haggard. The back-and-forth trip of ten days, with no time to catch his breath, had left him utterly exhausted.

  He ordered a house in the Moon-Embracing Building, took a hot bath and fell asleep. He slept for ten hours straight.

  On the third night, Xiao Ziyang, who had regained his spirits, came to the Weiguo Gongfu again and lay in ambush.

  After waiting for three days, he finally waited for the opportunity to leave the thin old man who was guarding on the first floor, and entered the small building to see Murong Ling.

  It turned out that Murong Ling wasn't discovered by chance that day. Today, Xiao Ziyang flew directly into the window of the room where Murong Ling was being held from downstairs, without any twists in mid-air, and his voice was even lighter, carried by a coincidental gust of wind, but this sharp-witted woman still immediately detected his intrusion.

  Just like last time, the two of them communicated through brush and ink.

  "Has the letter arrived?"

  "I personally handed the letter over to a shopkeeper named Jiang Rong."

  "Thank you, don't come again in the future, it's too dangerous."

  "He was quite confident in his own escape method. He came here for two reasons: one, to tell you that the letter has been sent, and two, he wanted to see what kind of curse you were under. If it's someone from your school who comes to rescue you, if he can find out what kind of curse you're under beforehand, he can also prepare ahead of time."

  "Yes, what Xiao said makes sense."

  Xiao Ziyang placed his hand on Murong Ling's back, slowly inputting the Zi Yu Fa power into her body. As soon as the Zi Yu Fa power entered her body, Murong Ling let out a faint sigh, discovering that Xiao Ziyang's power was quite unusual, but she didn't have time to think about it, and instead guided his power to her own dantian.