Yang Qing and his companions' carriage reached Blooming City just as dusk fell.
After the Prefectural Soldiers of Blooming City carefully inspected the three men's Identity Certificates, they let them enter.
From a distance, Blooming City looked no different from any other city, but up close, its distinctive features became apparent.
The first was its houses. Though they were built in neat, uniform rows, all their windows were set very high and were very small.
Not only were there few windows, but the courtyards in front of the houses were small too, with numerous awnings stretched across them.
"Everything's screened off so tightly, inside and out, that daylight can't get through. Just thinking about it makes me feel stifled," Bu Er remarked in wonder as he slowly drove the carriage.
"That's one of the sights of Blooming City," Jiang Zhizhou replied.
Hearing this, Bu Er recalled how the name "Blooming" had come about. Looking again at the willow trees planted in front of and behind every household, he understood and said no more.
It was early autumn, and there were plenty of people coming and going in Blooming City. Still, Bu Er had not expected that, as he drove past a restaurant, the crowd standing around it in layer upon layer would block the carriage so completely that he could not move another inch.
His heart tightened. Someone intending harm to Yang Qing and his companions might well be lurking among these people.
But he soon calmed down, for Jiang Zhizhou and Yang Qing lifted the carriage curtain together, got out, and stood behind the crowd.
Since Jiang Zhizhou had brought Yang Qing out of the carriage, that meant he had the situation in hand.
Besides, the inn where they would be staying was not far away. There was no