107: Chapter 107 The Know-It-All

The pass was towering, like a giant beast lying between two mountains, completely isolating the Death Qi of Shu Province from the vitality of Jiang Province.

On the city walls, banners fluttered, and soldiers in bright armor, holding long spears, patrolled back and forth with gazes as sharp as eagles.

Unlike the nominal checkpoints in Shu Province, every brick and stone here exuded a sense of strictness and order.

In front of the checkpoint, the queue waiting to enter was long but orderly.

An officer wearing the armor of a centurion was checking the travel documents of passersby one by one, his expression meticulous.

"From Shu Province?" The officer's gaze fell on the mask on Chen Fan's face, carrying undisguised scrutiny and vigilance.

Chen Fan handed over Luo Hengsheng's identification documents.

The officer took them, carefully verified them, and then looked up at him.

"Take off your mask."

His command was short and forceful, leaving no room for negotiation.

Hong Shao and Qing Luo's hearts both rose subconsciously.

Chen Fan did not move.

"Jianghu people have Jianghu rules."

The officer snorted coldly, and the saber at his waist slid half an inch out of its scabbard with a "clank."

"This is Jiang Province, there are only the rules of the Imperial Court! I will say it again, take off your mask!"

The dozen soldiers behind him pointed their long spears at the three of them in unison, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

The surrounding commoners and merchants hurriedly gave way, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

Just then, a calm voice came from behind.

"Stop."

A general wearing the armor of a captain walked over. He first glanced at the name on the documents, then cast his gaze toward Chen Fan and cupped his hands in a salute.

"So it is the Jade-Faced Asura in person. This subordinate failed to recognize Mount Tai and has offended you."

The centurion officer was stunned.

Jade-Faced Asura?

Although he was not involved in Jianghu, this name had become famous throughout the Great Shang in the past few months.

The hero ranking list topper from the Tianchi Mountain Sword Testing Conference!

That was a top Martial Artist capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the older generation of experts!

A layer of cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead, and his hand gripping the hilt of his sword trembled slightly.

The captain added, "Senior Luo is a hero of Jianghu, not a rebel. No need to inspect further. Let them pass!"

"Yes, yes!"

The centurion hurriedly cleared the way, his posture so respectful it was almost sycophantic.

Chen Fan did not say much, gently squeezed his horse's flanks, and rode straight through the pass.

Not until the backs of the three disappeared completely did the centurion dare to wipe off his cold sweat, asking the captain with lingering fear.

"Sir, this person is..."

"The number one person on the hero ranking list, what do you think?" The captain glanced at him, "Keep your eyes sharp in the future. Such a person is not someone we can afford to offend."

Stepping into the territory of Jiang Province was like entering another world.

The official road was flat and wide, and on both sides of the road were endless fertile fields. The crops in the fields were growing gratifyingly, and the farmers were humming tunes, their faces filled with the smiles of a peaceful and contented life.

This formed a glaring contrast to the purgatory scene in Shu Province, where corpses littered the fields and people exchanged children to eat.

In Chen Fan's mind, the child gnawing on tree bark and the charred corpse of a young child placed on a bonfire flashed uncontrollably.

His chest felt blocked by a giant stone, suffocatingly heavy.

"Wow! Master Luo, look, the market over there is so lively!"

Hong Shao's excited cheer pulled his thoughts back to reality.

In the town not far away, voices were boisterous, and traffic was heavy. The banners of restaurants and teahouses fluttered in the wind, and the hawking of vendors rose one after another—a scene of prosperity.

Qing Luo was also dazzled, her little face full of novelty and longing.

"The people here seem to be very rich; the clothes they wear are better than those in Shu Province."

Their joy was completely incompatible with the heaviness in Chen Fan's heart.

He was just a passerby, a Soul that could die at any moment. What did this prosperity, these sufferings, have to do with him?

But that empathy originating from the depths of his twenty-first-century Soul made it impossible for him to be truly indifferent.

This contradiction made him feel a deep sense of exhaustion.

The three stopped at the largest post station in Jiang Province city.

The lobby of the post station was full of guests coming and going—Jianghu travelers, merchants, laborers, people from all walks of life gathered together, extremely noisy.

Chen Fan ordered a superior room, found a seat in the corner of the lobby, and ordered some wine and food.

The conversation of several Jianghu figures at the neighboring table came through clearly.

"Have you heard? In Shu Province, the Yellow Robe Army has taken three more cities in a row; the entire Shu Province is almost occupied by them!"

"Sigh, such a good Land of Abundance, how did it end up like this."

A merchant with a foreign accent curiously interjected: "Is that Yellow Robe Army really that powerful? What about the Imperial Court's army?"

"The Imperial Court?" A local swordsman sneered, "The Imperial Court's troops only dare to show off on their own turf. If they really face that group of reckless Yellow Turban bandits, they run faster than anyone!"

"I heard that behind this Yellow Robe Army, there is the shadow of the White Lotus Sect. Those demons are best at deluding people's hearts; otherwise, how could they gather hundreds of thousands of rebels!"

White Lotus Sect.

It was this group of persistent troublemakers again.

Chen Fan picked up his wine cup and listened silently.

The merchant asked again: "If so, why doesn't the Imperial Court send a Third-Grade Grandmaster to suppress them? I heard that a Third-Grade Grandmaster is known as a 'Ten Thousand Enemy'; one person can hold off ten thousand troops alone. With such a Divine Being taking action, wouldn't suppressing the rebellion be as easy as flipping a hand?"

This question made the people at the surrounding tables quiet down, and they all pricked up their ears to listen.

Obviously, this was also their common doubt.

Just then, a middle-aged scholar sitting in their midst, who had been silent, picked up his teacup, gently pushed aside the tea leaves, and let out an ambiguous chuckle.

"Ten Thousand Enemy? That's easy to say."

The scholar wore a washed-out blue cloth robe and looked ordinary, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

"You only know one thing, but not the other. At the beginning of the founding of the Great Shang, there was an unwritten rule: Third-Grade Grandmaster, unless the capital is in danger of falling, must not leave the Imperial City without authorization. As for the Grandmasters of those Jianghu Schools, they are watched even more closely by the Imperial Court. Who would dare to easily interfere in such military and national affairs?"

These words left everyone looking at each other in blank dismay.

This was the first time they had heard of such a secret.

Chen Fan's hand holding the wine cup also paused slightly.

Third-Rank not leaving the Imperial City?

This rule was something Luo Hengsheng's memory knew nothing about.

He couldn't help but take another look at the scholar in the blue robe.

This person was not simple.

As if sensing his gaze, the scholar in the blue robe turned his head, raised his teacup from afar toward Chen Fan's direction, and revealed an inscrutable smile on his face.

Immediately, he stood up and, under the astonished gaze of his companions, walked straight to Chen Fan's table.

He stood still in front of the table and cupped his hands toward Chen Fan.

"I am Mr. Know-It-All, greetings, friend."

Hong Shao and Qing Luo both looked at this uninvited guest vigilantly.

Chen Fan did not speak, just calmly looked back at the other party.

Mr. Know-It-All did not care, pulled out a chair and sat down on his own, and poured himself a cup of wine.

"Friend, no need to be nervous; I have no malice." He drank it in one gulp, smacked his lips, "I was just curious because I saw that you were quite concerned about the affairs in Shu Province, and you are wearing such a... unique mask."

He paused, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice.

"After all, since the Tianchi Mountain Sword Testing Conference, this jade mask has become known to everyone in the Jianghu."

The corners of Mr. Know-It-All's mouth held a smile that seemed to see through everything.

"Am I right, Jade-Faced Asura, Your Excellency Luo Hengsheng?"