Inner City

Jade City was vast.

If one set out from the edge of the Outer City and hurried all the way to the Inner City, they would even need to ride a horse.

Nine Stripes Ward, where Chen Mu lived, was neither too near nor too far from the Inner City, sitting at just the right distance. With his powerful legs now, he naturally traveled on foot in secret rather than swaggering through the streets, quickly passing through one street and alley after another.

The closer one got to the Inner City, the cleaner and broader the streets became, and the livelier they were with people.

Of course.

That was only during broad daylight.

During the day, officials patrolled practically everywhere near the Inner City. Any household with even a little money or influence would hire guards, leaving thugs and hooligans with no room to scrape by here.

But once night fell, these relatively wealthy areas instead attracted thieves all the more. After all, no matter how close they were to the Inner City, they were still part of the Outer City. Once night came, every side washed its hands of the place, including the City Guard.

"The Inner City..."

Chen Mu kept heading north, striding swiftly along street after street and alley after alley. After an unknown amount of time, he finally arrived at Jade City's Inner City. This was also his first time coming here.

He had only heard others speak of it before and had never felt anything firsthand. But now, at a single glance, he could not help feeling shaken. The Inner City's walls were far thicker and loftier than those of the Outer City, likely surpassing even the sort of city walls he remembered from his previous life!

He had no idea what material the entire wall had been forged from, but beneath the sunlight, it even gleamed faintly with the luster of gold and iron. Outside it lay a deep ring of City Moat.

"No wonder the Inner City is a completely different world. With walls so high and solid, even if the Outer City rioted and burned into a field of ashes, it wouldn't affect the inside."

After gazing up at the towering walls for a moment, Chen Mu shook his head slightly.

Then he walked straight toward the Inner City gate.

The Inner City gate was guarded with great strictness. Everyone entering or leaving had to undergo a detailed inspection, and ordinary people were simply unqualified to enter. Common civilians who wished to go in had to spend a fortune purchasing a special Inner City Waist Tag.

When Chen Mu reached the gate, he showed the guards his head runner Waist Tag from the City Guard.

The gate guard glanced at the Waist Tag, then handed it back to Chen Mu and said expressionlessly, "Go in. But remember to come out before nightfall. You cannot stay the night inside."

Chen Mu nodded to show that he understood.

He had learned from Min Baoyi that a head runner's Waist Tag allowed entry into the Inner City, but did not grant one the qualifications to buy a house there and reside long-term. In fact, when Inner City defenses were particularly tight, head runners could only enter and leave within the same day.

Only upon becoming a Runner Office official would one be qualified to reside in the Inner City long-term and purchase property there... Of course, if Chen Mu truly wanted to enter the Inner City and had enough silver to purchase property there, it would be easy enough to arrange through Xu Hongyu.

For now, buying property in the Inner City was no more than a thought to Chen Mu.

The outrageous price of over ten thousand taels of silver for even a random residence meant he could only stand at a distance and sigh for the time being.

Once inside the Inner City.

With one glance, it truly was a world apart from the Outer City.

The broad streets were smooth and level, without a single pothole in sight. Restaurants and shops lined both sides, their decorations exquisite. The people coming and going were either dressed in silks and brocades or wore clean long robes, their expressions relaxed and at ease.

Chen Mu was also wearing a blue-green robe. It was the most respectable long garment he had bought for ten taels of silver, yet it was extremely common in the Inner City. Blending into the crowd, it drew no attention whatsoever.

He continued inward.

There was not a single small, solitary house in sight. Every residential area behind the streets consisted entirely of lofty, deep courtyard estates. A rough glance showed that all had at least three or four courtyards, while some directly occupied an entire large stretch of land.

Though this was his first time in the Inner City, Chen Mu did not lose his way. The Yu Family Martial Hall was easy to find, located within Yu Family territory. The Yu Family occupied a large area on the eastern side of the Inner City, something he had known long ago.

Very soon.

Chen Mu found the Yu Family Martial Hall.

Though it was called a martial hall, it was actually an extremely spacious area formed from numerous intricate courtyards nested together. It was divided into eastern and western sections: the large area in the east was the Male Courtyard, while the much smaller area on the other side was the Female Courtyard.

Chen Mu circled around and arrived at the Female Courtyard's main gate, then stepped forward and knocked.

"Who is it?"

After a while, someone opened the door halfway. It was a woman of around thirty, her expression stern. Seeing Chen Mu standing outside, she frowned and gave him an appraising look.

Chen Mu quickly explained why he had come.

"Oh, Chen Yue."

The woman nodded, and her brows eased slightly, but she did not let Chen Mu enter. She merely told him to wait beside the gate.

After another short while.

The gate opened again, and a familiar figure appeared in the doorway. It was Chen Yue, whom he had not seen for five months.

In these brief five months, she had changed tremendously. Not only had she grown another half-head taller, but her once somewhat childish baby face had matured. Though she was still youthful, she looked more like a young girl now. Her complexion and every other aspect of her appearance were much better than before.

"Brother!"

Chen Yue walked over joyfully, but unlike before, she did not throw herself straight into Chen Mu's arms. She now seemed to have gained a little of a girl's reserve, merely looking at him with delight.

Chen Mu looked Chen Yue over from head to toe, a faint smile appearing on his face. Inwardly, he sighed at how much the little girl had grown. Seeing her complexion and appearance, it was clear that she had been doing well at the Yu Family Martial Academy, which put his mind much more at ease.

"The Outer City has been too chaotic, and I could never spare the time. How have you been here lately?"

Out of habit, Chen Mu rubbed Chen Yue's head, then led her toward a large banyan tree not far away.

Chen Yue still had that somewhat simple and honest look. Raising her head, she said, "I've been fine. Training is tiring, but I've met lots of people, and Master Yu takes very good care of me... Brother, when you practiced the saber back then, it must have been hard too, right?"

Back then, when she watched Chen Mu practice the saber, she had not thought much of it. She only knew that he worked very hard.

Now that she herself was studying the sword at the Martial Academy, she finally understood how difficult it was. After training for nearly five months, her swordplay had only reached Initial Accomplishment, and she was still some distance from Major Accomplishment. She had heard that the stage from Major Accomplishment to Perfection was the hardest hurdle of all, and very few could cross it.

As long as one could train their swordplay to Perfection and develop Sword Force before turning twenty-five, they would hold a different status within the Yu Family Martial Hall, becoming a so-called Inner Courtyard Disciple, with a greater supply of resources as well.

"Mm."

Listening to Chen Yue, Chen Mu said calmly, "How could training ever be easy? A drop of sweat brings a share of harvest. I only reached my current level after weathering winter and summer."

From Chen Yue, he learned that she was now practicing a Dripping Rain Swordplay and had reached Initial Accomplishment. Her Mo Pi Fa had likewise reached Initial Accomplishment and was steadily advancing toward Major Accomplishment. By her estimate, another two or three months would see both her swordplay and Mo Pi Fa reach Major Accomplishment.

This rate of progress was indeed quite good.

Generally speaking, those who could reach Major Accomplishment in both swordplay and Mo Pi Fa within a year were relatively rare. Take Ren Yan of the City Guard, for instance. He had begun learning martial arts in the Inner City long ago and had trained for more than a year now, yet he still had not reached Major Accomplishment in both arts.