The Capital City of Great Gan, Princes Fighting for Power

After a brief moment of shock, the crowd was overcome with the wild joy of surviving a disaster and endless gratitude.

"Thank you, benefactor! Thank you for saving our lives!"

The manager of the caravan was the first to react, scrambling over to Lin Hanzhou on his hands and knees.

Without the slightest hesitation, he knelt on the ground and began kowtowing to Lin Hanzhou repeatedly.

"Thank you, benefactor!"

The remaining guards and staff followed suit, kneeling in a uniform wave.

The gazes they cast toward Lin Hanzhou were filled with fanatical worship and awe.

In their eyes, Lin Hanzhou, who could slay a grandmaster-level powerhouse, was akin to a living immortal.

"It was merely a small effort; everyone, rise."

Lin Hanzhou waved his hand, his tone remaining indifferent.

The more nonchalant he appeared, the more awe-struck the crowd felt.

"Yes, yes."

The manager stood up tremblingly, as respectful as a subject meeting an emperor.

"Benefactor, your... your great kindness, our Four Seas Trading Firm..."

Lin Hanzhou ignored him, instead casting his gaze toward the Ninth Princess.

Li Yuechan walked up to Lin Hanzhou and bowed deeply.

"Yuechan thanks you, sir, for saving my life."

"Your kindness, sir, is like a rebirth; should you have any commands in the future, Yuechan will not refuse, even at the cost of my life!"

Her voice was crisp and pleasant, her tone filled with sincerity and gravity.

"Let us continue on our way; this is no place to linger."

Lin Hanzhou nodded, accepting her thanks.

Immediately, he turned to board the ordinary carriage he had been riding in before.

"Benefactor, benefactor, wait!"

Seeing this, Liu Fu hurried forward, smiling obsequiously.

"You are a figure like a celestial being; how could you continue to ride in such a crude carriage?"

"This lowly one has already cleaned out the most luxurious main carriage; please, sir, move there, so that I may offer a meager token of my appreciation."

Lin Hanzhou shook his head, about to refuse.

Li Yuechan spoke up at this moment, taking a manual from her robes and offering it with both hands.

"This is a grandmaster-level movement technique from the collection of the Great Gan Dynasty, Floating Light Glancing Shadow."

"Sir, your strength is extraordinary; if you were to pair it with this technique, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."

"This is but a small gift, a mere token of respect; I hope you will accept it."

Hearing this, Lin Hanzhou's gaze fell upon the manual.

A grandmaster-level martial art.

He understood that in this world, this was likely among the highest-tier martial arts available.

If it were in the Blue Star world, its grade would definitely reach the Profound tier.

He was currently lacking a sophisticated movement technique.

His previous technique was of too low a grade, and it would take some time to improve it through martial arts refinement.

This gift had truly arrived at the perfect moment.

Lin Hanzhou stopped being modest and reached out to take the manual.

"In that case, I shall accept it."

With that, he boarded the carriage on his own and ordered everyone to set off immediately.

For the remainder of the journey, the atmosphere underwent a earth-shattering change.

No one dared to treat Lin Hanzhou as an ordinary guard anymore.

Everyone viewed him as the anchor of the entire caravan.

The best food and the cleanest water were delivered to his carriage first thing.

And Lin Hanzhou was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

He spent most of his time inside the carriage studying Floating Light Glancing Shadow.

Half a month later, an incomparably majestic and massive city appeared in everyone's line of sight.

The center of power for the Great Gan Dynasty—Capital City—had arrived.

At the city gates, Lin Hanzhou politely declined the ten thousand taels of gold the caravan manager offered as a reward.

He only took a small portion from the stash; for him, money was merely a means to an end.

At the same time, he bid farewell to the reluctant Li Yuechan.

Lin Hanzhou entered the majestic city alone, a place where a storm was brewing.

The Capital City before his eyes was far more grand and imposing than Qingzhou City.

The walls, rising dozens of feet high, were constructed entirely from massive, dark-green boulders.

The streets were wide enough to accommodate eight carriages abreast, and the buildings on either side were equally magnificent.

Yet, beneath this grandeur, a deep-seated, bone-chilling oppression and decay surged.

On the streets, squads of armored guards with arrogant expressions could be seen everywhere.

The insignias on their armor varied, clearly indicating they were private soldiers belonging to the residences of different princes.

They kept strictly to themselves, the air between them thick with hostility.

They would often confront one another in the middle of the street over the slightest provocation.

As for the common folk living under the feet of the Son of Heaven, their faces were etched with numbness and terror.

When they walked, they always kept their heads bowed and their necks hunched.

They lived in constant fear that one careless move would offend those untouchable nobles and invite a fatal disaster.

Upon entering the Capital City, Lin Hanzhou quickly found an inconspicuous inn to stay in.

Over the next few days, he acted like a true traveler, wandering through the streets, alleys, taverns, and teahouses of the Capital City.

He saw with his own eyes how the Third Prince's guards dragged an old farmer into a corner and beat him to death.

All because they felt such a lowly peasant was not fit to appear in the prosperous Capital City.

He also witnessed the foster son of a powerful eunuch forcibly abducting a young woman in broad daylight.

The surrounding crowd dared to be angry but dared not speak, and even the patrolling officers turned a blind eye to the incident.

He even saw, not far from the residences of the powerful, a little girl in rags freezing to death in a filthy corner amidst the cold wind.

In her hand, she still clutched a half-eaten, blackened steamed bun.

The hearts of the people in Great Gan had long since scattered.

The national fortune of Great Gan had also withered.

Lin Hanzhou could clearly feel that the "spirit" of this city had completely rotted away.

This vast empire was like a magnificent palace being hollowed out from within by countless woodworms.

Though its exterior remained grand and majestic, in reality, it would collapse with a single gust of wind.

On this day, at dusk.

Lin Hanzhou climbed to the most famous tavern in the Capital City—Riverview Pavilion—all by himself.

He found a seat by the window, ordered a pot of strong liquor and a plate of peanuts, and began to drink alone.

His gaze, however, drifted toward the moat slowly flowing outside the window.

On the moat, the silhouette of the imperial palace under the setting sun appeared so desolate.

"Have you heard? Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Personnel was executed along with his entire household yesterday on charges of colluding with the enemy."

"It is said that it was because he opposed the First Prince's proposal to increase the salt tax in the imperial court, offending the First Prince."

"Sigh, this world... is there no justice left? Minister Zhang was a famously upright official."

"Hush! Keep your voice down! Do you want to die?"

"Nowadays, this Capital City belongs to the princes. As for the Gan Emperor, I fear... sigh..."

In a private room on the second floor, several scholars who appeared to be intellectuals were whispering about state affairs.

They drank their bitter wine, their faces filled with righteous indignation.

"In my opinion, none of these princes are any good."

"The First Prince is brutal, the Third Prince is sinister, and the Fifth Prince is greedy. Only the Fourth Prince has a reputation for virtue and treats scholars with courtesy."

"If the Fourth Prince could ascend the throne and set things right, our Great Gan would surely see a return to prosperity."

One of the young scholars said, his face full of longing.

"Exactly! We scholars should uphold the nation for the sake of the world."

"Tomorrow, I shall go to the Fourth Prince's residence to present my visiting card and offer my counsel to His Highness."

Listening to their naive and childish remarks, Lin Hanzhou could not help but shake his head.

A mocking curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The Fourth Prince?

According to the information he had gathered over the past few days, this so-called "Virtuous Prince" was, in secret, darker than anyone else.

He trafficked in official posts and operated private mines; his methods of amassing wealth were far more sophisticated than those of his brothers who operated in the open.

To pin one's hopes on these princes, who were rotten to the core, to save this dynasty?

How laughable.

Lin Hanzhou raised his wine cup and downed the fiery liquor in one gulp.

Outside the window, the setting sun had completely dipped below the horizon.

Boundless darkness began to shroud this terminal dynasty.

Great Gan had no future left.