Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

No wonder Li Shi said that this Mr. Li Bai's poetic talent was the best of his time. Even if we place him in Li Ji's timeline, he would not be inferior to the great poets of all dynasties. If he had written more than just these perfunctory works, and had one or two excellent poems with lofty ideas and heartfelt sentiments, he could have easily joined the ranks of the first-class or even the super-first-class!

According to Li Shi, this gentleman might still be alive… If he is, what reason would I have to copy poems? Would I be courting death?! And if the level of the top figures is so high, then the next tier wouldn't be too bad either—like that Yan Wu. It seems it's not that the Tang Dynasty lacked culture and education, or that the level of poetry and prose was low; it's simply that those few incompetent officials in the imperial court were even more incompetent—those incompetents have misled me!

Enough, enough. I'll retreat, retreat. The thought of copying poems is completely abandoned. So much time wasted; I'll just continue being my rough, uncultured warrior...

Feeling disheartened, she tugged at Li Shi's sleeve and said, "That's enough, let's go back." Li Shi was reluctant and pouted, "We've only been out for half a day, how can we go back already? Besides, we haven't even explored the entire market yet."

Li Ji shrugged and asked in return, "Brother, when do you think the government troops will be able to win, and when will His Majesty arrive?"

Chapter Twenty-Six: An Unexpected Disaster

In the early Tang Dynasty, the Fubing system was implemented, and the Imperial Guard was divided into sixteen guards, including the Left and Right Thousand Ox Guards. Then the Fubing system gradually collapsed, and recruited soldiers were used. The three northeastern towns and the Shuofang and Longyou armies in the northwest were mainly recruited soldiers. As a result, the sixteen Imperial Guards declined and their scale shrank day by day.

The Thousand Ox Guards were in charge of guarding the palace and supplying weapons to the emperor. Their chief officers were generals and lieutenant generals, and their soldiers included the left and right Thousand Ox Guards and the left and right Imperial Guards, collectively known as the Thousand Ox Guards. They were all ranked, ranging from the sixth-rank Senior Zhenwei Colonel to the eighth-rank Junior Yuwu Deputy Colonel.

The Crown Prince's Eastern Palace was naturally guarded by a thousand guards. Zhen Sui, who claimed to be a guard of the Eastern Palace, held the rank of Deputy Commandant of the Lower Seventh Grade. It is said that when the Emperor and Crown Prince fled Chang'an in disarray, a mutiny occurred at Mawei Post Station. The Emperor left the Crown Prince behind to address the people. The people blocked the road, weeping and pleading with the Crown Prince to return to Chang'an. Upon hearing this, the Emperor exclaimed, "This is a divine revelation!" and immediately issued an edict to the Crown Prince:

"You must do your job well. The people have high hopes for you, so do not disobey them."

However, at that time, Crown Prince Li Heng only had the Eastern Palace guards, the two princes of Guangping and Jianning, and four generals with a total of more than two thousand soldiers. When they reached Bianqiao, the bridge broke and the water rose. After finally crossing the river, they encountered defeated soldiers from Tongguan, who mistook them for bandits. They fought each other and suffered heavy losses. So they dared not return to Chang'an and turned to Fengtian and Yongshou. In the end, they fled to Pingliang.

Li Heng, having been in Pingliang for several days, was at a loss as to where to go. He then thought of Li Mi and issued an edict to summon him to discuss important matters. At that time, the number of Eastern Palace guards around him had dwindled to almost nothing, and he was uneasy about the generals and soldiers who had come to pledge allegiance. Li Mi then claimed that when he was in the Eastern Palace, he had been highly regarded by the Crown Prince, who considered him strong and capable of fighting a hundred men, and also loyal and alert—making him suitable for important tasks—and thus he had been sent out.

Li Ji, who had transmigrated to this world, had never truly met this Qianniu bodyguard. However, searching through his remnant soul's memories, the former Li Ji had quite a good impression of Zhen Sui. Firstly, this big guy was indeed a formidable fighter; Li Ji had once exchanged a few blows with him, but only had a slight advantage. If it were a real fight, Zhen Sui, being a soldier by training, would likely be a match for the untrained Li Ji, given his battlefield skills.

Secondly, although Zhen Sui had a rough appearance, he was actually quite shrewd. Since he had protected Li Bi on the road, he had never lost his way, whether he was walking or stopping, and had rarely encountered danger. He had also arranged food and lodging for the Li brothers along the way quite well.

Therefore, Li Ji felt that this older brother was quite similar to himself...

Zhen Sui, on Mount Tan, blocked the assassins, fighting against overwhelming odds. The Li brothers believed his chances of survival were slim. But since his body was never found, even the smallest possibility couldn't be ruled out. Furthermore, after much deliberation, the time traveler began to have some doubts about him—if no one had secretly informed him, how could those assassins have intercepted him so accurately? Was the battle on Mount Tan truly not just a staged performance?

When they parted, Zhen Sui said, "Quickly protect Mr. Chang Yuan and leave. I will cover your retreat. If Heaven protects us and we can both escape alive, we will meet again in Pingliang!"

However, the former crown prince, now the emperor, was no longer in Pingliang County. Instead, he had made a detour to Lingwu and then settled in Ding'an, Pengyuan County. If Zhen Sui had miraculously survived—regardless of whether he was a traitor or not—it had been almost two months; by now, he should have found out the news and followed them to Ding'an, right? Therefore, what Li Ji occasionally caught a glimpse of might indeed be the living, breathing Zhen Sui!

But if Zhen Sui were to arrive, he would surely have to meet the Emperor, and the Emperor, knowing he was not dead, would certainly inform Li Bi—at least Mr. Changyuan, you wouldn't need to feel guilty about this. However, Li Ji hadn't heard Li Bi mention this matter. Did he misjudge the person? Was it that Zhen Sui, though arriving in Ding'an, dared not reveal his identity? Or did he only arrive today… and it just happened to be such a coincidence?

Li Ji couldn't help but feel suspicious, so he told his brother, "Don't move here, I'll be right back!" He then took off running and chased after the street corner where the person who seemed to be Zhen Sui had turned.

He was very fast on his feet, and in less than three seconds he had darted out of the market and turned into a side alley. However, the alley was empty except for two children playing. There was no one else in sight.

Judging by its appearance, this alley is several dozen meters long with no forks. Even if "Zhen Sui" were a sprint champion, he couldn't have vanished without a trace, could he? Looking left and right, there's a gate on each side. Could he have entered one of the neighborhoods? Each neighborhood has at least dozens of households. How am I supposed to find him...?

So he bent down and asked the two children, "Did you see a big guy come to this street just now? Which neighborhood did he go into?" The two children bit their fingers, looked up at Li Ji with a rather timid expression. Li Ji immediately took out a Kaiyuan Tongbao coin from his pocket—"Whoever can tell me for sure, I will give him this coin."

One of the children's eyes lit up, and he immediately raised his hand: "Me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Ji suddenly felt something was wrong. He instinctively turned his body slightly to the side and saw a flash of silver light pass by his side!

He didn't think at all; it was pure instinct. In an instant, he leaped forward, shielding the two children beneath his body. With a soft "snap," a glint of cold light flashed as a two-inch-long fine steel dagger struck the wall. The trajectory of the dagger instantly flashed through his mind—thankfully, it wasn't aimed at the two children; the attacker's target was only him, and there was no intention to kill the children to silence them.

He quickly shoved the two children forward, shouting, "Go home!" At the same time, Li Ji looked up and turned around, only to see a figure rushing towards where he had come from.

In the blink of an eye, we had already turned the corner.

Li Ji turned around and ran after him, encountering Li Shi on the way—Li Shi wouldn't listen and wait in place; he was bound to come and see what was going on—Li Ji didn't have time to explain, he just pointed and said, "Don't move here!" He then turned the corner and returned to the main street at the entrance of the market.

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This was a main thoroughfare, unlike the alleyway where they had just been attacked. It was bustling with people, though not particularly prosperous or lively, and not something one could see at a glance. Li Ji estimated that the guy couldn't have gone far, so he slowed his pace and cautiously looked around—the pedestrians on the street all seemed very calm, and no one showed any signs of panicking or hiding.

The fleeting glimpse replayed in his mind—the one who wielded the short sword was definitely not Zhen Sui; he was short, at least a head and a half shorter than both Zhen Sui and himself. It was a pity that the person escaped too quickly, and he, in order to protect the two children, turned around a second too late, and failed to see clearly whether it was a man or a woman, or what kind of clothes they were wearing.

There are quite a few people on this street who look about the same size. Should I stop them one by one and ask them questions? But what if I ask the wrong person and the assassin takes the opportunity to escape?

In that brief moment of hesitation, the crowds shifted and the scene before him changed again. Half of the short men he had been eyeing had turned into other streets and alleys... It was clear he wouldn't be able to catch them, and Li Ji couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed.

He was now certain that the person he had glimpsed out of the corner of his eye was most likely Zhen Sui. Even if it wasn't, the man must have something to hide—otherwise, why would someone have shot at him immediately after he asked the two children where he was? If he went back to that alley now, he definitely wouldn't find him. Even if the two children were still there and were willing to tell him which neighborhood Zhen Sui had entered, it would be very difficult to find him—there might be more than one neighborhood entrance, and if he knew someone was following him, he might even jump over the wall if pushed too far.

The only remaining clue was the shop where Zhen Sui had glimpsed himself—Li Ji quickly recalled the shop's signboard and confirmed it was a cosmetics shop. Why would a grown man go to a cosmetics store all by himself?

I learned from our conversation that Zhen Sui had no family. Not only was he unmarried, but he was also an orphan with no siblings. Therefore, it was impossible for him to buy rouge for his wife, mother, or sisters. Could it be for his girlfriend? If he had a girlfriend before, what were the chances of her coming to Ding'an with him? If he had met a new girlfriend… instead of hurrying to see the Emperor, he had such leisure time—he truly dared not report back to the Emperor.

Perhaps he could find some clues in that shop, or at least ask the shop assistant if the tall man who had just left looked like that. With that thought in mind, Li Ji immediately turned around, went back to the market, and strode into the shop.

As soon as he entered the shop, his eyes narrowed slightly—he saw a burly man facing the counter with his back to him, and from behind, his figure bore a striking resemblance to Zhen Sui! Li Ji hurriedly took a large step forward, reached out and patted the burly man's right shoulder, saying, "Your Excellency..."

But before his right hand could even touch the other man, and before he could utter a single word, the burly man suddenly slumped his shoulder, easily dodging the attack, and then swiftly turned around. Li Ji looked closely—it was his recklessness.

It's obvious that since Zhen Sui has already left the store, it's unlikely he'll come back.

The burly man was indeed very similar to Zhen Sui in stature, but their appearances were quite different. Zhen Sui had a round face with fleshy cheeks and a short, sideburn beard; while this burly man had a square face, with more bone than flesh, and although his beard was also thick, it was more than half a foot long and flowed down his chest.

Li Ji quickly withdrew his hand, about to bow in apology. Unexpectedly, the burly man, slightly taken aback, glanced behind Li Ji, his expression instantly changing. He raised his thick eyebrows and roared, "Where did this scoundrel come from, trying to steal?!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "If I were a thief, I would definitely reach into your waist. Why would I pretend to pat your shoulder?" Just as he was about to explain, the big man suddenly swung his fist, which was as big as a bowl, and punched Li Ji in the face.

Li Ji stepped back, simultaneously crossing his arms in front of him to block. A loud "thump" rang out as fist and arm collided, the blow causing a dull ache in the man's arm. Li Ji was enraged—what grudge did I have against you that you'd come at me with such force?! Seeing the burly man's right fist miss, he immediately withdrew it, twisted his waist, and threw out his left fist. This time, he wasn't purely defensive; he deftly deflected the attack with his left arm, while simultaneously striking the burly man squarely in the chest with his right fist.

With a thud, the burly man involuntarily stumbled back three steps, bumping into the wooden counter, a look of surprise flashing across his face. Li Ji withdrew his fist, also surprised by the man's iron-like pectoral muscles—they seemed even harder than his own. He was thinking, "Stupid, huh? Now you know I'm not someone to mess with. Will you back down and listen to my explanation?" when he saw the burly man reach up and press his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist…

Li Ji was startled and instinctively backed away, only to bump into someone standing in the doorway. A cry of "Ouch!" rang out behind him, and Li Ji, startled, quickly turned around and grabbed Li Shi, who was about to fall backward—"I told you not to follow me..."

Li Shi shouted "Watch out!" and shoved Li Ji's hand away before covering his head and fleeing. Li Ji glanced sideways and saw that the burly man had also chased him to the door, his sword half-drawn from its waist.

A woman's voice suddenly rang out from inside the shop: "Old Jing, no!"

The burly man turned around upon hearing the sound, and then sheathed his sword.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The World of Swordsmen

Li Ji and the burly man, possibly surnamed Jing, got into a fight in front of the rouge shop, alerting the patrolling soldiers who surrounded them with spears. However, despite it being a fight between two men, the officer pointed only at Li Ji and shouted, "Take him down!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "What does this mean? Do I not look like a good person? I have an honest face that even the emperor acknowledges!"

After calmly analyzing the situation and asking around about the city, it dawned on me—Li Shi had misled me! I should have brought that standard-issue sword with me…

Li Shi was still young and his thinking was not yet thorough enough. He only considered that the sword was a military item, and if Li Ji went out in white clothes with a sword, he was afraid that it would arouse the suspicion and questioning of the patrolling soldiers. Little did he know that the more suspicious a person was, the less the soldiers would pay attention to him.

Because the Longyou army now numbers no less than 30,000 outside Ding'an City, although theoretically they are not allowed to enter the city to prevent disturbance of public order or even offense against the emperor, the law cannot override human sentiment. The Longyou troops have traveled thousands of miles, and military life is extremely monotonous; surely everyone wants to go into the city to wander around and see its prosperity… at least a more prosperous scene than the military camp. Especially since the army may not lack daily necessities, but is missing one thing—women.

Where there are cities, there must be brothels, at least a few private brothels, right? In ancient times, women were taboo in the military, considered unlucky. So unless it was a general with real power, no one dared to bring women into the military camp. Therefore, they had to come into the city to find them. Of course, ordinary soldiers didn't have the opportunity, but many mid-level generals could enter the city incognito. If they didn't cause trouble, the guards would basically turn a blind eye and pretend they didn't see anything.

However, military officers had already become accustomed to changing their clothes, but carrying a sword was not so easy. Therefore, it was not uncommon to see people in the city wearing white clothes and carrying a sword.

Upon hearing Li Shi's words, Li Ji did not bring out his broadsword, but only wore a sword at his waist—swords had long since largely disappeared from the main battlefield, used only for private duels in the martial arts world, especially by scholars and literati who liked to carry swords to show that they were both learned and skilled in martial arts. On the contrary, the burly man surnamed Jing wore a broadsword at his waist.

So the patrolling soldiers surrounded them, and upon closer inspection, they saw two men fighting, one of whom was carrying a knife. That was obviously one of their own men—"Take down the one with the sword!"

At the sound of his voice, more than a dozen spears were immediately thrust at Li Ji, causing him to panic. The saying goes, "Two fists can't beat four hands," and even if he was a skilled fighter, it would be difficult to defeat so many soldiers, especially since they all wielded long weapons while he hadn't even drawn his sword yet… The possibility of breaking through the spear formation without injuring anyone was extremely slim, and Li Ji didn't want to hurt anyone either.

He could only adopt a defensive stance, remaining motionless, wary of the burly man's potential attack while glancing sideways at Li Shi beside him. His thought was: What should I do? Prince Fengjie, could you give me some advice? Should I show my palace pass? Is that even useful against the patrolmen?

However, the burly man did not seize the opportunity to pursue. He merely glanced sideways before turning back to look at the shop. As if the woman had given him some kind of gesture, the burly man turned back, raised his hands, and shouted, "Wait!" Then he walked towards the soldier, his back to Li Ji, seemingly showing him something and saying a few words.

Li Ji listened intently, but the big man's voice was soft; he could only vaguely hear the words "misunderstanding" and "disperse."

The general clasped his hands in salute, then ordered his soldiers to retreat, regroup, and leave. Li Ji, filled with doubt, quickly stepped aside to approach Li Shi and asked, "What happened?"

Then, the woman's voice came from inside the shop: "Come in and talk."

Not only did the burly man return to the shop upon hearing this, but even Li Shi, with his hands clasped behind his back, ignored Li Ji and strode in. Li Ji thought to himself, "I've misjudged this. This woman isn't an assassin at all, and she even knows Li Shi... No, judging from the young prince's demeanor, this woman's status is quite high; she's most likely a royal elder!"

If that's the case, why did the burly man surnamed Jing take the initiative to attack him? And since Li Shi has arrived, why didn't he try to mediate?

Does this mean that royalty equals assassins, and assassins equal royalty...? Holy crap, what role did Li Shi play in all of this?!

He took a deep breath, reached for the sword at his waist, and strode into the shop. He instantly understood: if the woman or Li Shi harbored ill intentions towards him, there was no need for the burly man to persuade the patrolmen to retreat. A dozen spearmen, plus "Old Jing," would be more than enough to subdue him. At least, they didn't want to escalate the situation. Since that was the case, what did he have to fear?

The most important thing is to hurry in and listen to what they have to say!

As soon as they entered the shop, Li Shi asked the woman, "...Why have you come here? Is there a lack of cosmetics in the palace?"

The woman's words seemed to contain endless resentment as she slowly replied, "I just wanted to see the Han dynasty's land, its cities and towns, one last time... Unfortunately, what I saw in the end was not Chang'an, the Western Capital."

As soon as Li Ji entered, "Old Jing" darted over, closed the shop door, and then glared at the shop assistant huddled by the counter, warning him: "What you saw and heard today, you must not mention to anyone, otherwise, hehe!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "What does this mean? Are you going to 'close the door and beat the dog'? You'd better be able to beat me first." He stared at Li Shi without saying a word.

Li Shi pointed at him and said to the woman, "This is Mr. Changyuan's cousin, Li Ji."

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Only then did Li Ji get a clear look at the woman's face. She had an oval face, lightly made up, and delicate features, but she wasn't overly seductive; instead, she possessed a hint of heroic spirit—a unique quality among the women his souls from both generations had seen in this world. Judging by her age, she was probably under thirty, still in her youth… oh, by the standards of this world, she could be considered an old maid.

—Li Ji knew that the makeup of a young woman in her boudoir was different from that of a married woman.

Upon closer inspection, the woman's appearance seemed rather familiar... Who did she resemble?

He stared at the woman, who in turn looked at Li Ji and said, "So you are Mr. Changyuan's brother... Shi'er, you must give me an explanation."

Li Shi crossed his arms and smiled, saying, "Li Ji often boasts about his fighting skills, so I borrowed Auntie's servants to test his abilities. I didn't expect it to alarm the patrolmen..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "No wonder!" The "Old Jing" dodged his strike purely out of instinct, but when he first turned around, his face showed surprise. Then he glanced behind him before suddenly making his move—it was probably Li Shi who had followed him and was giving him some gestures or winks from behind.

He couldn't help but feel angry and glared at Li Shi. Li Shi quickly bowed and said, "It was my naughtiness, Changwei, please forgive me—I will choose two palace maids to reward you when we get back!"