They chose to walk along the ridge of the field next to the official road rather than walk on the road where eight horses could run side by side. In the ditch, flowers bloom, butterflies and bees fly around. The tears in the little maid's eyes gradually dried. She clutched the laces of the bag, which seemed larger than her, and walked on the ridge of the field, with the occasional smile on her face.

Under the sun, Ning Que took the heavy package and chatted with the little maid. Although he usually can't get a reply from her, he is still happy to continue the conversation while admiring the rural scenery. He waved his hand when he saw a farmer resting in a nearby field. He pretended to catch butterflies as they flew in front of him.

He left Chang'an when he was very young. At that time, he had been living in Minshan, grassland, wilderness and border towns. All around him, there are only vicious jungles, boring steppes and everywhere dangers. Now he is back in the center of the empire. He was very excited and happy to see such an image of a peaceful and harmonious life.

They walked for about two or three hours. Then, a shadow suddenly spread above their heads from the creek and peach grove in front of them. Ning Que thought that it was not night, and there was no sign of rain in his mind.

He looked up in confusion, and then he saw a black wall in front of him. The wall is so high that it seems to have no edges. It covers half of the sky, and also covers the sun that is still in the sky. Faintly visible, they could see three black dots flying in a continuous circle near the wall.

They couldn't find the end of the wall in either direction, left or right. They were amazed at how big the city was. It stands quietly between heaven and earth. Sang Sang's eyes widened, looking at the big city and the crowd on the official road not far from them. She asked in awe, "Is this Chang'an?"

Three black dots in the sky flew to a lower position. It turned out that two eagles were helping their children practice flying. They are going back to their lair in the dark walls. As the wall has been washed away and weathered by rains for thousands of years, it looks dilapidated on the outside, but it is still strong and indestructible on the inside.

The eaglet learned how to fly and returned to the nest. Ning Que looked up at the greatest city in the world and smiled sincerely. He finally came back after years of traveling.

Long time no see, Chang'an City.

Chang'an is indeed deservedly hailed as the greatest city in the world. It is so huge that there are eighteen arches of the city wall in four directions: north, south, west, east and west. However, every day when the nobles and the common people come and go, there will be a large crowd of people crowded on these walled archways, and it is normal for the streets to be lined up with endless people.

Ning Que and Sang Sang waited in a long line. It wasn't until the sun went down that they were pushed by the crowd to approach the city gates. Looking at the guards who carefully checked their luggage with serious faces, although Ning Que was sweating profusely, he still shook his head leisurely and teased, because it reminded him of a certain capital city that was famous for traffic jams.

His voice was so low that it was almost indistinguishable, while the citizens of Chang'an cursed as loudly as they could. This may be due to their nature as Tang Empire people, immature but undefeated. Therefore, few people were afraid of the serious soldiers, but no one chose to ignore the harsh laws and break in.

Finally it was their turn. When a soldier received the military documents handed over by Ning Que, he was surprised to find that this young man was a guy who had made noble achievements in the frontier, so the soldier's face softened a lot, but only for a moment. Seeing the three sword hilts on Ning Que's back, he frowned, all pointing proudly to the sky.

"Inherited. Ancestors once said..."Ning Que explained cautiously.

"Your life will be with the sword," the soldier said. Glancing at Ning Que indifferently, he waved his hand and continued disdainfully: "I hear people scold thousands of times every day. Save your time, kid. Take off your luggage. Why are you two little ones carrying such big bags? You don't look like you're here to learn. It's more like you're moving.

He turned to stare at the big black umbrella on Sang Sang's back, frowned and asked, "Umbrella?" Why is it so big?

Sangsang put a hand on her back and grabbed the middle part of the large black umbrella. She raised her cute little face and said coldly to the soldier, "My life will be with the umbrella."

The soldier stared at the little black girl, gave her a thumbs up, and said in praise: "That's ...... Originality.

Ning Que was untying their bags, a wry smile on his young face. He thought that only he knew that this sentence was not a joke, and that Sangsang was indeed serious.

That big bag was filled with miscellaneous items, such as carpets and quilts. However, the hard wooden bow, along with a few arrows, attracted the attention of the soldiers when they inspected Ning Que's belongings, and there was no doubt that his face stiffened again.

...

...

The passage of the Chang'an City Gate is long and dim. The exit on the other side is far away and looks like a shiny hole, from where the sun can be faintly seen setting in the distance, and very little red sunlight spills into the path. Still, the sun wasn't bright enough to survive the shadows and noise on the path.

Ning Que and Sang Sang followed the stream towards the exit. The big bag looked heavy, so Sangsang had to adjust the belt to save some power. She asked curiously, "Young Master... Will anyone else be as talkative as that soldier?

"Almost." Ning Que replied, "Thought that this city had all the wealth and power. Chang'an people will definitely feel superior. The more proud they look, the more tolerant they should be to outsiders, because they need to show that they are gentlemen. And they did.

"You know, sometimes it's hard to hide your pride because it hurts inside. What can they do?... They speak! From the carriage shop to the local government, every citizen of Chang'an is addicted to chatting. Their topics range from royal secrets to brothel anecdotes. They seem to know everything under bad luck. The point is that they spread stories of wars or relations between the Tang Empire and other countries in a calm tone.

Sangsang chuckled. Obviously, what Ning Que said really amused her.

It was a stroke of luck that both the sword and the human life had survived when they were inspected at the city gates. The big black umbrella on Ning Que's back, and the three broadswords were put into the big bag. As for the boxwood bow, the strings are removed. After doing this, the chatty soldier didn't say anything else and let them go.

The Tang Dynasty admired martial arts. They would rather die than put their beloved weapons aside. As a result, the empire sometimes turned a blind eye to the restrictions on weapons. In Chang'an, men were allowed to carry official swords with them, but broadswords were forbidden. Again, the use of bows and arrows was allowed only if the strings were loaded. However, crossbows are completely forbidden. There are no other restrictions.

Whether you're going to re-string or take out your broadsword is not anyone's concern. It does not belong to the local government of Chang'an. Not the Ministry of War. Not even an emperor who lived in the palace.

Ning Que and Sangsang were accustomed to living in the Frontier Fortress, which meant that people could not find any light or trace of brightness except in the bars, except for the soldiers gambling. Ning Que thought that they would enter a quiet and sleeping city, but he didn't expect that night was coming, and Chang'an was still ......

It's bustling everywhere!

The stone boulevards on the streets are brightly lit up and look like daytime. The streets are crowded with people, some stopping in front of their stalls or admiring the stars in the sky. Obviously, those who stayed at the stall were couples, and those who admired the stars were just starting dating.

The Tang Dynasty, especially those who lived in Chang'an, dressed modestly. They wear tight-sleeved shirts, so they look neat. Few men would wear a shirt with wide sleeves, but the sleeves were not long and the cuffs were above the waist, which was designed for them to draw their swords when necessary.

A man in a turquoise robe walks with an official sword in hand. Their beards swayed in the night breeze and looked like an indifferent brilliant swordsman, but when they noticed the juggling, they chose to stop in the middle of a group of ladies and stared nervously at a certain place with wide eyes. They may applaud excitedly and cheer loudly, but the moment the player starts collecting money, they regain their composure and sense of superiority, showing a palpable contempt for worldly acts like tipping them.