Arrival in Chang'an

Great Tang, Chang'an.

It was September, and an autumn rain had just passed.

The moment the morning drum sounded from the market gate towers, the streets of the capital began to stir.

"Steamed rice cakes! Fresh from the steamer!"

"Osmanthus wine! Aged osmanthus wine!"

Amid the clamor, Jiang Yuechu led her Scarlet-eyed Steed down the street.

She wore fitted black clothes, with dark red cloud patterns embroidered at the cuffs and collar. A long saber hung across her waist.

She wore no hat, letting the raindrops still caught in her hair slide down onto the Golden Suanni embroidered in gold thread on her shoulder.

The young woman had cool, pale skin and delicate features, but her expression was so cold that she seemed unapproachable.

At her age, with her looks...

Yet she wore the uniform of the Demon Suppression Office, feared wherever its name was heard. She was bound to draw eyes.

Passersby glanced her way. Even the women who usually loved gossiping did not dare speak.

"Wow... Mother, look how pretty that big sister is!"

The woman hurriedly covered her child's mouth.

"Shh! Don't point. That's an officer of the Demon Suppression Office. She might catch you and turn you into flower fertilizer!"

Jiang Yuechu remained impassive, paying no heed to the talk around her.

She tilted her head slightly, looking past layer upon layer of upturned eaves and bracket sets toward the depths of the mighty city.

Chang'an's broad avenues met its narrow lanes, where blue oxen, white horses, and fragrant carriages passed.

Though the sky had only just cleared after the rain, the splendor beneath the emperor's feet was beyond anything Longyou could match.

In her previous life, she had seen plenty of modern cities and their skyscrapers. This otherworldly bustle had its own charm, but that