After their brief shock, everyone was overcome with the joy of having survived and boundless gratitude.
"Thank you, our savior! Thank you for saving our lives!"
The caravan's steward was the first to react. He scrambled over to Lin Hanzhou.
Without the slightest hesitation, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Lin Hanzhou again and again.
"Thank you, our savior!"
The other guards and workers followed suit, dropping to their knees in unison.
Their eyes were filled with fervent admiration and awe as they looked at Lin Hanzhou.
In their eyes, Lin Hanzhou, who could slay a Grandmaster, was practically an immortal walking among mortals.
"It was nothing. Get up."
Lin Hanzhou waved a hand, his tone as calm as ever.
The more nonchalant he was, the more awe the others felt.
"Yes, yes."
The steward rose shakily, as deferential as a subject standing before the emperor.
"Benefactor, your... your great kindness to us, my Four Seas Trading Firm..."
Lin Hanzhou ignored him and turned his gaze toward the Ninth Princess.
Li Yuechan stepped up to Lin Hanzhou and bowed deeply.
"Yue Chan thanks you for saving my life, sir."
"Your kindness has given me a new life. If you ever have need of me, Yue Chan will gladly give her life in return!"
Her voice was clear and sweet, her words sincere and solemn.
"We should keep moving. This place isn't safe to linger."
Lin Hanzhou nodded, accepting her thanks.
Then he turned and headed for the ordinary carriage he had ridden in before.
"Benefactor, please wait!"
Seeing this, Liu Fu hurried over with a fawning smile.
"You're a person of heavenly stature. How could you ride in such a shabby carriage?"
"I've already had the finest carriage cleaned out. Please, allow me to escort you there, so I can do a little to show my gratitude."
Lin Hanzhou shook his head, about to refuse.
But Li Yuechan spoke up just then. She took a manual from her robes and offered it to him with both hands.
"This is a Grandmaster-level movement art from the Great Gan imperial collection: Floating Light Glancing Shadow."
"Your strength is extraordinary, sir. With a movement art like this, you'll be all the more formidable."
"It's only a small token of my appreciation. Please, you must accept it."
At her words, Lin Hanzhou's gaze fell on the manual.
A Grandmaster-level martial art.
He understood. In this world, it was probably among the very highest levels of martial arts.
If brought to Blue Star, its grade would definitely reach the Profound level.
He was in need of a superior movement art.
His previous one was too low-grade, and it would take some time to improve it through martial arts refinement.
This gift had landed right in his lap.
Lin Hanzhou stopped being modest and took the manual.
"In that case, I'll accept it."
Then he climbed into the carriage without another word and had everyone set out at once.
The mood of the journey that followed changed completely.
No one dared treat Lin Hanzhou as an ordinary guard anymore.
Everyone regarded him as the pillar holding the entire caravan steady.
The finest food and the cleanest water were always brought to his carriage first.
Lin Hanzhou, meanwhile, was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.
He spent most of his time in the carriage studying Floating Light Glancing Shadow.
Half a month later, an enormous and imposing city appeared before everyone's eyes.
They had reached the Capital City, the seat of power of the Great Gan Dynasty.
At the city gates, Lin Hanzhou politely declined the ten thousand taels of gold the caravan's steward offered him as thanks.
He took only a little of it. As far as money went, all he needed was enough.
He also bade farewell to Li Yuechan, who was loath to see him go.
Lin Hanzhou entered this formidable city alone, with a storm on the horizon.
The Capital City before him was far grander and more imposing than Qingzhou City.
Its walls stood dozens of zhang high, built entirely of enormous dark blue-gray stones.
The streets were wide enough for eight carriages to ride abreast, and the buildings on either side were just as magnificent.
Yet beneath all that grandeur seethed an oppression and rot that reached to the bone.
Armored patrols with haughty expressions were everywhere on the streets.
The insignias on their armor were all different. They clearly belonged to the private forces of various princes' residences.
They kept rigidly apart, the air between them thick with hostility.
At the slightest provocation, they often faced off right in the street.
The ordinary people living beneath the Son of Heaven's gaze wore numb, fearful expressions.
As they walked, they kept their heads down and shoulders hunched.
They feared that one careless step might offend some powerful noble and bring death upon them.
After entering the Capital City, Lin Hanzhou soon found a nondescript inn and settled in.
Over the next few days, he wandered the streets and alleys, taverns and teahouses, like a true traveler.
He saw with his own eyes the Third Prince's guards drag an old farmer into an alley and beat him to death.
They thought a lowly peasant like him had no place in the prosperous Capital City.
He also saw a eunuch's godson abduct a young woman in broad daylight.
The people around them dared not even voice their anger, and the patrolling soldiers turned a blind eye.
He saw something worse, not far from the residences of the powerful.
A ragged little girl froze to death in the bitter wind, slumped in a filthy corner.
In her hand, she still clutched half a blackened steamed bun.
The people's hearts had long since turned away from the Great Gan Dynasty.
The dynasty's fortunes, too, were in decline.
Lin Hanzhou could clearly sense that the city's "qi" had rotted away completely.
This vast empire was like a resplendent palace hollowed out from within by countless termites.
Its exterior remained magnificent, but a single gust of wind would bring it crashing down.
One day, at dusk.
Lin Hanzhou went alone to the Capital City's most famous restaurant, Riverview Pavilion.
He found a seat by the window, ordered a pot of strong liquor and a plate of peanuts, and poured himself a drink.
His gaze, however, was fixed on the moat flowing slowly outside.
Beyond the moat, the silhouette of the imperial palace beneath the setting sun looked so desolate.
"Have you heard? Minister Zhang, the Vice Minister of Personnel, was executed along with his entire household at his residence yesterday, on charges of colluding with the enemy."
"I heard it was because he opposed the First Prince's proposal to raise the salt tax in court and offended him."
"Alas, what kind of world is this? Is there no law anymore? Minister Zhang was a renowned honest official."
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?"
"These days, the Capital City belongs to the princes. As for the Gan Emperor, I'm afraid... sigh..."
In a private room on the second floor, several scholars were quietly discussing state affairs.
They drank in silence, their faces full of indignation.
"In my opinion, none of these princes is fit to rule."
"The First Prince is brutal, the Third Prince is sinister, the Fifth Prince is greedy. Only the Fourth Prince is known for his virtue and for treating worthy men with respect."
"If the Fourth Prince could ascend the throne and restore order, the Great Gan Dynasty could surely see another age of prosperity."
One young scholar said, his face full of longing.
"Exactly! We scholars should help the realm and uphold the state."
"Tomorrow, I'll go to the Fourth Prince's residence and present my calling card. I'll offer His Highness my counsel."
Listening to their naive and childish talk, Lin Hanzhou couldn't help shaking his head.
A mocking smile tugged at his lips.
The Fourth Prince?
From what he had learned over the past few days, this so-called "Virtuous Prince" was darker than any of them behind closed doors.
He sold official posts and secretly operated mines. His methods of amassing wealth were far more sophisticated than those of his brothers, who made no effort to hide their schemes.
Expecting princes who were rotten to the core to save this dynasty?
What a joke.
Lin Hanzhou lifted his cup and drained the strong liquor.
Outside the window, the sun had sunk below the horizon.
Boundless darkness began to engulf this dying dynasty.
The Great Gan Dynasty had no future.
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