The sky was the blue of the finest porcelain, washed clean and clear, and the few white clouds drifting near the horizon were as soft and pure as silk scarves.

A slight breeze blew, carrying a faint scent of blood!

"Haha, Qingshan, these bandits are simply delivering silver to us!" Qinghu laughed heartily as he searched the ground around the eighteen corpses of the robbers. Their eyes showed a mixture of terror and madness, and now, all were stained with blood, fallen to the earth.

These eighteen bandits were only a fraction of the group that had just attempted to rob Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu. After Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu fought together, slaying so many bandits and finishing off their leader, the rest had scattered in fright.

"We aren't riding horses, and we only carry small packs, looking unarmed. If those bandits weren't robbing us, who would they rob?" Teng Qingshan chuckled, also going through the bandits' clothes pockets for gold and silver.

"Qingshan, you might not believe it, but searching the loot from bandits is exhilarating," Qinghu laughed. "You were smart; I was initially planning for us to rush, aiming to reach Jiangning Commandery City in one day. If we rushed like that, we probably wouldn't have gotten any silver."

Yicheng was not far from Jiangning Commandery City.

Jiangning Commandery City lay to the east of Yicheng. Teng Qingshan and the others didn't need to detour around the Great Yan Mountain; they could simply follow the well-maintained main road. It was only about three hundred li. This distance was easily coverable by Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu in a single day.

"The Guiyuan Sect only accepts new disciples for one day each in the height of summer and the depth of winter—June twelfth and the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, respectively!" Teng Qingshan stood up, counting the silver as he spoke. "We left on the morning of the third day of the twelfth month, what's the rush? Otherwise, once we reach Jiangning, we'll just be wasting money staying at an inn!"

"I'll listen to you, Qingshan. You're right," Qinghu said proudly, counting the broken silver in his hand. "Qingshan, I have about twenty-odd taels of silver here. What about you? That bandit leader must have had quite a bit?"

"Mmm, the bandit leader had the most, three silver ingots in his pouch, and the rest of the small fry only had broken silver. All together, I have about sixty-odd taels," Teng Qingshan replied with a smile, placing the silver into the pack on his back. Encountering bandits on the road, killing them, and robbing them in turn was quite an amusing event.

Teng Qinghu seemed to enjoy it immensely: "Haha, Qingshan, for these three hundred-plus li, we’ve been eating, drinking, and enjoying ourselves. We’ve been traveling for almost three days, haven't spent any of the silver we brought, and even earned over three hundred taels!"

On the morning of the third day of the twelfth lunar month, the two had left Teng Family Village.

Today was the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month; the two had been meandering on the road for three days, eating and drinking their fill.

"Traveling the world like this is truly exhilarating! Eating heartily, drinking heavily, and having plenty of silver. I really feel like staying out and playing for a few more days," Qinghu said with a smile, though he knew that with his level of strength, venturing out into the wider world meant instant doom if he met any genuinely formidable bandits.

Teng Qingshan glanced at him: "Tomorrow, the Guiyuan Sect starts recruiting. If we miss tomorrow, we have to wait another half a year. Cousin, I’m not in a hurry to wait half a year. If you really want to wander a bit longer, I'll accompany you, how about it?"

"I was just saying," Qinghu chuckled sheepishly. "Compared to traveling, joining the Black Armored Army has much more prestige!"

"Let's go, let's get to Jiangning Commandery City early. We’ve never been there before; we must look around properly," Teng Qingshan said with a smile, and the two brothers hoisted their packs and marched eastwards.

As dusk settled, the sun dipped low, painting the western sky with vast, beautiful swathes of evening clouds.

Two dusty youths, their packs slung over their shoulders, walked side by side. Occasionally, riders on horseback would speed past them.

"Qingshan, Jiangning Commandery City!" Qinghu shouted excitedly.

Teng Qingshan gazed into the distance at the ancient city. The walls of Jiangning Commandery City stretched north and south, their ends lost in the hazy distance.

"On the Nine Provinces Continent of this world, there are few cities larger than a Commandery City," Teng Qingshan knew the basic geography of the Nine Provinces. The world was divided into Nine Provinces, and the largest city within each province was its Commandery City. Of course, there were two cities larger than the Commandery Cities in the entire world—

Two!

One was Yü City, established as the royal capital by Emperor Yü when he unified the world!

The other was Qinwang City, established as the royal capital by the Heavenly Emperor Qin after unifying the world in the northwest province of Rongzhou!

Both Yü City and Qinwang City had once been royal capitals of the Nine Provinces, so it was no surprise that their occupied areas were vast. Apart from these two royal capitals, other Commandery Cities were generally similar in size, with Jiangning Commandery City perhaps spanning twenty to thirty li in length and width, housing about a million residents. Different commandery cities naturally had minor variations.

As the center of Jiangning Commandery, and situated close to the East Sea, with the 'Grand Canal of Yü and Yang' flowing right through it, Jiangning Commandery City boasted extremely developed commerce. Naturally, this city was quite prosperous.

"A city capable of housing a million people would be extremely difficult to build using only human labor in ancient times," Teng Qingshan recalled that in the history of ancient China from his previous life, the largest cities only held around a million people. Super-cities like the one before him were extremely rare in Chinese history.

Yet, in the world where Teng Qingshan currently lived, Commandery Cities housing a million people were numerous across the Nine Provinces.

"Legend says Yü City holds five million people, and Qinwang City holds eight million! These two royal capitals have no skyscrapers; their population density is low, but the sheer land area they cover is larger than former Shanghai or Beijing. It's incredible," Teng Qingshan felt a sense of anticipation to see those two historical royal capitals someday.

As Teng Qingshan mused, he and Qinghu arrived at the city gate.

"So many people! Why are so many leaving the city?" Qinghu exclaimed, looking at the bustling crowd, mostly merchants carrying loads on poles or pushing carts.

"These small vendors come into the commandery city for business during the day and must return home at night. It takes time to travel back," Teng Qingshan explained. After paying the entrance fee, Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu finally stepped into the legendary Jiangning Commandery City!

The moment the two entered, they were stunned.

"What wide streets," Teng Qingshan murmured, looking at the expansive thoroughfare paved entirely with neatly cut flagstones, feeling a jolt of shock. "This single street is wide enough for a dozen fine horses to ride abreast. It must be at least thirty meters wide." Even some modern pedestrian streets from his previous life probably weren't this wide.

"Qingshan, they say the busiest street in Jiangning Commandery is this one, right?" Qinghu’s eyes sparkled. "Look, there are still many vendors lining both sides of the road. Let's go! Let's take a good look around!"

Qinghu, being a country bumpkin entering a commandery city, was quite overwhelmed by the sights.

Teng Qingshan, however, was only occasionally surprised, as compared to the international metropolises housing tens of millions in his past life, this commandery city fell far short. Nevertheless, the city's grand layout, built purely by human effort, possessed a majesty, ancient simplicity, and grandeur that Teng Qingshan genuinely appreciated.

Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu walked leisurely, each holding and eating roasted meat.

"The Commandery City is different; there are so many more fun things and delicious foods here than in our Yicheng," Qinghu said contentedly. Then he looked up and spotted a three-story tall restaurant in the distance. The entire structure was made of wood, adorned with exquisite carvings on the exterior walls, clearly marking it as a top-tier, luxurious establishment.

Above the main entrance hung a gilded plaque inscribed with three soaring, flowing characters—Lan Yue Lou (Moon-Grasping Tower).

"Qingshan, let's go in and eat there once, what do you say?" Qinghu's eyes shone brightly.

Teng Qingshan knew that such a restaurant would be expensive; a simple meal at a small tavern cost about half a tael of silver, but this place would be much pricier. However, the money they had acquired from the bandits over three days amounted to several hundred taels: "Fine. Let's see what the restaurants in the Commandery City are like!"

As soon as they stepped onto the first floor, a waiter immediately greeted them.

"Welcome, honored guests. The second and third floors of our Lan Yue Lou are fully occupied, leaving only tables on the first floor. We only have two tables left. Which one do you wish to choose?" the waiter said enthusiastically.

Teng Qingshan scanned the room with his gaze and casually pointed: "We'll take the one by the window."

"Your business is really thriving," Qinghu commented in admiration as he and Teng Qingshan took their seats. The waiter promptly brought over a neatly written menu.

"It really isn't just expensive!" Qinghu let out a low whistle, then laughed, "But, it's worth the splurge!"

The waiter stood by, enthusiastically continuing, "Lan Yue Lou is famous for its Twelve Varieties of Blue Entanglement Fruits and Twenty-Eight Platters of Side Dishes. Both the Twelve Varieties of Blue Entanglement Fruits and the Twenty-Eight Platters are our signature accompaniments to wine, and they are listed on the menu! Honored guests can look for yourselves."

"Seeing as you two are hearty men who enjoy rich meat and fine wine, our Lan Yue Lou also has Three-Strand Shredded Pork, Sautéed Pig Kidney..."

"We'll look ourselves," Teng Qingshan interjected, noting how smoothly the waiter rattled off the dish names.

Teng Qingshan and Qinghu, having obtained money from the bandits, were happy to spend it. They ordered eight dishes in one go, six of which were heavy meat courses, and two bottles of fine wine. A rough calculation showed the bill amounted to nearly twenty taels of silver—an amount that a typical mountain farmer might earn in a whole year.

"The taste is truly excellent," Teng Qingshan nodded as he savored the delicacies.

Teng Qinghu ate with vigorous nods: "Mmm, this meat is superb, delicious, and this wine is pure and potent." Although the prices at Lan Yue Lou were high, the flavor was indeed extraordinary.

"Qingshan, look, everyone entering this restaurant must be wealthy or noble. Look at how they are dressed, tsk tsk," Qinghu remarked with a smile.

"Mmm," Teng Qingshan nodded back with a smile.

Just as the two were thoroughly enjoying their meal, a commotion arose from outside.

"What, fully booked?" a dissatisfied voice rang out. "I am hosting my sworn brother today; we specifically came to your Lan Yue Lou. No private rooms on the third floor, nor regular seats on the second or first floor?"

"Honored guest, we are fully booked," the waiter replied without irritation.

A noble young master dressed in a white robe stood near the first-floor entrance, casually glancing inside. His gaze paused on Teng Qingshan and the other man, as one could usually gauge a person’s strength and status by their attire and demeanor. "These two lads—I can't quite see the one with the pack, but the other one is noisy and animated, clearly someone who hasn't seen much of the world."

...

Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu paid no mind to the argument at the doorway, continuing to eat and drink heartily, occasionally looking out the window at the evening scenery and chatting casually.

"Honored guests," the waiter suddenly approached the two men.

"Hmm?" Teng Qingshan looked up.

"That guest outside hopes you two might yield your table. That guest will cover the cost of all the dishes you ordered," the waiter said. "I wonder if you two would agree?"

Qinghu, with meat still in his mouth, looked up and glared at the waiter, then scoffed contemptuously towards the noble youth outside: "He'll cover it? Damn it... if he wants us to leave, that's fine. Bring a thousand taels of silver, and my brother and I will be gone immediately. If he's too stingy to part with it, tell him to get lost!"

Teng Qingshan lifted his wine cup, took a sip, and smiled, watching how the situation would unfold.

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