Hanxi Town lay in the mountains on Hanzhong's western frontier.
It was the market town closest to Jingrong Pass.
Chen Jing left Liang Prefecture and rode west, spurring his horse on.
He left behind the splendor where meat and wine rotted behind vermilion gates and plunged once more into a wasteland where frozen bones lay by the roadside.
Within a few days, Hanxi Town came into view in the distance.
He wore green, with a bamboo hat on his head and a long and a short saber at his waist. He looked every bit a governor's secret agent.
The moment he entered Hanxi Town,
the crowds coming and going caught his eye.
Traveling merchants hawked their wares all over town.
Besides villagers and townsfolk, plenty of armored soldiers wandered the streets.
The whole town bore the weathered, hard-edged air of a place steeped in war and frost.
It immediately brought back the feeling of roughing it in the Great Desert.
After wandering around town, Chen Jing reached a small courtyard deep in Westwind Alley and knocked on its gate.
As a major town on the western frontier, Hanxi Town naturally had Six Gates agents stationed there.
Soon,
footsteps sounded inside the courtyard.
"Who is it?"
Chen Jing wasted no words. Once they had exchanged the password, the wooden gate opened a crack and let him in.
A nimble young man stood in the courtyard.
His lively eyes suggested a quick mind.
When he saw that the visitor looked even younger than himself, he was secretly startled.
But after seeing the Bronze Badge Chen Jing handed him, he dared not hesitate. He cupped his hands respectfully.
"Your subordinate Wang Qun pays his respects, my lord."
Chen Jing nodded slightly.
He had only just arrived and knew neither the people nor the