Chapter 1 Just a Show

As before, Jiang Chen was secretly observing the young women.

The young women selected from Shanggu were slightly less attractive overall than those from the capital. After a few glances, Jiang Chen got up to leave.

Seeing Jiang Chen leave without hesitation, the Shanggu magistrate was stunned.

That was too fast!

He had been hoping that Jiang Chen would stay in Shanggu for a while longer, giving him a chance to show off.

After leaving Shanggu, Jiang Chen went to the nearby Wucheng, then headed south in a counter-clockwise direction.

In Phoenix City, Jiang Sheng and Wang Yaohui received Jiang Chen's latest news every day.

Upon seeing today's update, they were immediately invigorated.

Jiang Chen was heading to Chang'an!

Chang'an was the first place they planned to strike.

Because it was far from the capital, and because it was a famous city with a long history, they felt it was a good place to make their move.

More importantly, there were many deserted places outside Chang'an.

That was the best place to strike!

Wang Yaohui smiled coldly, "Letting him die at the hands of bandits is the best outcome!"

The governor of Chang'an welcomed Jiang Chen into his yamen (government office), feeling somewhat uneasy.

Although Chang'an had a long history, its development had not been smooth in recent years due to its proximity to the Xirong people.

The women here were also mostly rough and fierce.

Since the founding of the Great Wei Dynasty, only a handful of the thousands of imperial consorts had come from Chang'an.

Jiang Chen first took a look at the young women under the guidance of the Chang'an governor.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't select any of them.

This result was also intentional on Jiang Chen's part.

This draft was full of danger.

Bringing women along would be risking their lives.

Jiang Chen would never make such a mistake.

After more than a dozen places without a single young woman being selected, the situation was somewhat unexpected, but when they thought about who was doing the selecting, everyone felt it was normal.

Who didn't know that His Majesty had extremely high standards!

It would be unbelievable if he had already selected a young woman!

Leaving the yamen, Jiang Chen led Shi Ping and the others south, preparing to go to Jinzhou, which was located directly south of Chang'an.

After a few hours, there were gradually fewer people, and sometimes it took half an hour to encounter anyone.

Shi Ping and the others were on high alert; if they had to choose, this would definitely be a good place to strike.

Further ahead was a forest.

Shi Ping took a few quick steps forward and said, "Your Majesty, let's take a detour!"

He felt that there was great danger hidden in this forest.

Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and then he shook his head.

His trip out of the palace was to give Tang Wang an opportunity.

If he avoided all danger, then this trip would be meaningless.

"Just be careful," Jiang Chen said.

Shi Ping had no choice but to obey Jiang Chen's order.

The group quickly entered the forest.

After Jiang Chen and his party disappeared into the forest, several pairs of eyes emerged from hidden places.

"Notify them, the target has entered the encirclement, prepare to attack!"

After entering the forest, Shi Ping and the others stood back-to-back, surrounding Jiang Chen.

There were guards in front, behind, left, and right, while Shi Ping walked in the front to scout the way.

They walked carefully for almost half an hour without encountering any danger.

Just when Shi Ping was wondering if he was being paranoid, a warning bell suddenly rang in his heart, and he quickly retreated.

At the same time, he shouted, "Be careful!"

As Shi Ping shouted, a large net suddenly rose from the spot where he had been standing.

Looking at the net, which was as thick as an arm, cold sweat broke out on Shi Ping's back.

If his intuition hadn't saved him just now, he would have been caught in the net.

The several burly men in the shadows were somewhat surprised; their method, which had never failed, had actually failed!

As expected, these people were not easy to deal with, just like the information those people had given them!

But those people had given them a lot of deposit, and the follow-up money after success was even more, so this deal had to be done!

They drew their long sabers and walked out of hiding, blowing their horns at the same time.

With Jiang Chen and the others as the center, burly men continued to appear.

Shi Ping and the others protected Jiang Chen in the middle, coldly watching the enemies appearing from all directions.

At least thirty people!

And that was not including any hidden enemies!

Moreover, these people were strong and powerful, and the ferocity on their faces clearly showed that they were not ordinary bandits.

"Who are you? Who ordered you to come?" Shi Ping shouted.

The burly men were shocked; did the other side actually know about this?

Those people hadn't said anything about this!

Jiang Chen saw the surprise on the faces of the burly men and sighed.

It seemed that these people didn't know who was ordering them, otherwise they wouldn't have revealed that expression.

"Kill them all, they don't know anything," Jiang Chen said indifferently.

"Yes!" Shi Ping and the others replied in unison.

The burly men couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

They were close to forty people, while Jiang Chen's side only had eight people in total!

What's more, they had all survived countless battles; how could they not be able to deal with these eight people?

Thinking this, the burly men roared and waved their sabers, charging towards Jiang Chen.

They remembered very clearly that the main target of the other side was this man who looked the weakest.

Of course, Shi Ping and the others would not give the enemies a chance to get close to Jiang Chen.

After the other side launched their attack, Shi Ping shouted, "Protect the young master!"

After speaking, the seven of them launched a charge towards the forty-odd people.

The burly men couldn't help but sneer in their hearts when they saw this scene.

"Overestimating themselves!"

However, after the two sides clashed, they realized that they were the ones overestimating themselves.

Although they had experienced battles, Shi Ping and the others had also experienced countless battles.

And the opponents that these bandits fought were mostly weaklings, but the opponents that Shi Ping and the others fought were enemies on the battlefield!

After a brief exchange, the bandits realized that something was wrong.

They clearly had the advantage in numbers, but they were no match for Shi Ping and the other seven guards.

Watching their companions fall one by one, the bandits felt a hint of panic.

At this moment, a calm voice rang out: "Release the arrows!"

*Shu——*

A sharp sound of piercing air instantly rang out.

A blurred arrow quickly flew towards Jiang Chen.

After hearing the movement, Shi Ping captured the arrow and quickly shouted, "Young Master, be careful!"

After Shi Ping and the enemy clashed, Jiang Chen had been standing still.

At this moment, he let out a cold sneer with disdain.

"With just these methods, you want to kill me?"

Then, Jiang Chen closed the folding fan in his hand and quickly flicked it upwards.

The arrow instantly changed direction and fell to the ground.

"What?!"

The burly men were shocked.

This man who looked the weakest actually knew martial arts!