If there’s no problem with the boy, then there must be a problem along the way, and when I’m awake, there’s nothing unusual all the way, so the problem most likely occurred while I was unconscious.
Zhang Chen flickered into his family’s tent using the Escape Technique, glancing at the people meditating under the bonfire, he woke Mrs. Zhang and then inquired about all the details after he fainted, from pleading with Gong Family’s public figure Shen Qiu to being driven off the boat, until Zhang Chen regained consciousness.
Mrs. Zhang narrated every detail clearly, and after hearing Mrs. Zhang’s description, Zhang Chen revealed a thoughtful expression: "That young master from the Shen Family is highly suspicious!"
"Why do you say that?" Mrs. Zhang asked in confusion upon hearing Zhang Chen’s words.
"First of all, mother, you reported our name, then the young master from the Shen Family, Shen Qiu, knew our name. Secondly, when you took our younger siblings to recognize relatives, although they didn’t grant us the Elixir, they also didn’t drive you out, nor did they punish you for claiming false kinship, which indicates the other party actually acknowledges your identity, otherwise, given the temper of nobility, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill for daring to claim false kinship." Zhang Chen said.
"If they acknowledge our identity, why didn’t they give us the Elixir? According to our old family connection, there’s no reason to stand by idly?" Mrs. Zhang asked, puzzled.
"Maybe someone secretly passed a message, not wanting us to go to Jinling," Zhang Chen replied, by now he was unraveling all the clues.
The fact that the other party didn’t give me the Elixir suggests they hope I die along the way. And now with the Official intercepting halfway, perhaps they’re afraid I’m not really dead yet.
"There’s a big problem with the Shen Family." Zhang Chen’s eyes narrowed, a hint of murderous intent flowed through his gaze. The only possible place where the news could have leaked was when Mrs. Zhang revealed their family identity.
He has already guessed there’s a high chance this matter is related to that young master Shen Qiu, but without direct evidence to prove it.
"It doesn’t make sense, we have no grievances or enmity with him, why would they trip us up?" Mrs. Zhang wondered, perplexed.
"Perhaps when we arrive at Shen Family, we’ll understand the reason." Zhang Chen looked to the distance, meaningfully: "Mother, please continue resting, I’ll handle the Travel Permit issue."
Zhang Chen flickered again into the darkness, and when he reappeared, he was already in the county city, stopping in front of the county office.
"Huh, the luck of the county office is quite peculiar, there’s actually Divine Dao power added? Isn’t Dragon Qi from the court naturally at odds with Divine Dao aura? How does the county office have Divine Dao’s Qi Mechanism circulating?" Zhang Chen stood outside the county office, noticing the change in its fortune, his eyes revealing curiosity.
In the next moment, he sneaked into the county office, found the Official Seal, then wrote several documents, casually stamped them with the seal.
"In urgent matters, one takes exceptional measures, although this move isn’t entirely forthright, my heart hasn’t intended to commit evil, thus it isn’t against my conscience." Zhang Chen sealed the stamp, then carefully observed the change in his own nature, flickered again after a moment, disappearing from the main hall of the county office and arriving in the County Magistrate’s room.
At the moment, the County Magistrate was leaning over the desk, reviewing documents, completely unaware of the extra figure in the corner.
Zhang Chen looked at the sky outside, feeling that the County Magistrate could indeed be considered diligent and caring for people, as it was already the third watch and he still hadn’t slept.
On the County Magistrate’s body, there was a discreet flow of Divine Power, just suppressed by the Dragon Qi, unable to manifest.
"It turns out the County Magistrate is coveting the Power of Incense, wanting to practice the Incense Divine Dao, it seems Immortality is an ultimate temptation difficult for everyone to resist." Zhang Chen saw the Incense Qi circulating on the County Magistrate and silently speculated in his mind.
Watching the County Magistrate yawn, Zhang Chen calmly brewed a cup of tea, placing it lightly in front of the County Magistrate’s desk. The cup fell on the table, making a slight sound, and the County Magistrate didn’t look up as he said, "Wang Dan, didn’t I tell you to go sleep, why are you still serving here?"
After a while, Zhang Chen remained silent, the County Magistrate unconsciously raised his head to look, and the next moment his heart was startled: "Who are you?"
"If I were you, I absolutely wouldn’t ever activate Divine Power." Zhang Chen smiled, looking at the County Magistrate.
The County Magistrate’s body grew cold from shock, sweat soaking through his back, his face filled with astonishment as he looked at Zhang Chen, knowing someone who could come so close without detection must not be ordinary.
"Who are you? What are you doing in the room of an official in the middle of the night?" The County Magistrate looked at Zhang Chen’s delicate face, judging the other must be privileged, and asked.
Zhang Chen flipped through the documents piled on the County Magistrate’s desk, quickly pulling out a paper recording his family’s travel permit matters, placing it in front of the County Magistrate.
"You’re Zhang Chen?" The County Magistrate realized upon seeing the paper, asking.
Zhang Chen noticed the movement of Divine Power within the other party’s body, seeming about to retaliate with means, the next moment directly employing Blood Control Technique, manipulating the Qi Blood within him, causing the Divine Power gathering in his body to instantly collapse.
A mouthful of crimson blood sprayed out, the County Magistrate, like a puppet, lost control of his body, dumbly looking at Zhang Chen, his eyes full of disbelief: "Impossible!"
The other party was able to use divine techniques within the county office, unafraid of the suppression of Dragon Qi, and could directly subdue me. Such skills are simply astonishing and are definitely not something I can oppose.
"I want to know who relayed the information?" Zhang Chen pointed to the document on the table.
"Someone anonymously sent the information. As for their exact identity, I don’t know who it is either." The County Magistrate shook his head, "If you want to find them, it might be difficult! I have no clues at all."
Zhang Chen glanced at the County Magistrate. After their eyes met, Zhang Chen sighed softly, "I didn’t expect their actions to be so clean."
"I want tonight’s matter to forever remain a secret, what do you think?" Zhang Chen asked with a smile.
Before the County Magistrate could speak, Zhang Chen flicked his finger, sending a drop of blood flying into the other’s body. Then Zhang Chen’s figure disappeared from the room.
That drop of blood was not a Blood God Child, just a simple application of the Power of Blood Dao, ensuring the other person couldn’t speak about him.
Leaving the county office, Zhang Chen looked at the myriad stars in the sky, his eyes showing a hint of emotion: "Not a single clue left, it really is a silent loss. But no need to rush, when I arrive at the Jinling Shen Family, I’ll see what tricks you are playing."
Zhang Chen returned to the camp to rest, contemplating various matters, recalling the young lady from Guangji Prefecture: "Jiang Nan, huh? I owe her a favor."
A debt of gratitude is the hardest to repay.
In the middle of the night, the Demon Horse suddenly became restless, waking Zhang Chen. He saw the horse uneasily moving under the moon, opening its mouth to absorb the Sun and Moon Essence, its body seeming to be cloaked in a layer of white silk.
"Interesting." Zhang Chen murmured to himself: "The Demon Horse is about to transform, perhaps it will reach the sixth tier."
After watching for a while, Zhang Chen did not pay much attention, allowing the horse to absorb the Moonlight by itself, and went back to sleep.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Zhang Chen hitched the carriage and resumed the journey. Looking at the Demon Horse, its large eyes glowed with spirituality. Zhang Chen stroked the horse’s mane, noticing it had slimmed down significantly.
However, he didn’t pay much mind to it, as it was just a mere fifth-tier demon beast, not worth his attention.
"What about today’s travel permit issue? If this isn’t resolved, continuing down the road could lead to big problems," Chengyu expressed a hint of worry while sitting in the carriage.
"I have already crafted a new travel permit. As long as we disguise ourselves, it won’t be hard to fool them." Zhang Chen took out the newly made travel permits from his sleeve, distributing them: "Everyone memorize your new identity carefully, don’t mess it up."
Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, everyone took the permits and started memorizing their identities.
"Accents are the biggest giveaway." Chengyu said, looking at the permit in his hand: "Even though we have new permits, mismatched accents could still cause trouble."
Zhang Chen laughed, "Don’t worry too much, later I will send a Hunting Falcon to scout the road ahead. If we encounter an official’s inspection, we’ll avoid it. If we really can’t avoid a Heroic Pass, we’ll figure out a way to use the permit to bluff through."
In this era of inconvenient transportation information, Zhang Chen figured that even if accents were off, those officials might not have traveled far, and may not know what foreign accents sound like.
Just like in later generations in the South, there are different accents in different places; who could know them all?
As long as we travel far enough from the Northern Land, the safer we will be.
The carriage continued down the road, with Zhang Chen using the Hunting Falcon to scout ahead. If a checkpoint barred the road, Zhang Chen would steer the carriage to detour. With the help of the Hunting Falcon scouting, they encountered no trouble.
Unless encountering an unavoidable Heroic Pass, the travel permits were hardly needed.
Traveling along the official road, Zhang Chen contemplated the progress of his divine technique cultivation. His Sand Merging Skill was ready to fuse more bizarre winds. Having entered the realm of Primordial Spirit, he should theoretically be able to fully fuse all bizarre winds and cultivate the Sand Merging Skill to the Great Success level.
"Bizarre winds are hard to find! I hope to encounter someone from the Gong Family, they are born with knowledge of various bizarre winds. If I could capture someone from the Gong Family to assist my cultivation, it would be perfect. Perhaps I could quickly hone my Sand Merging Skill to the Great Success level," Zhang Chen mused to himself.
As time passed, thanks to Zhang Chen’s concealing of their identity, the family passed through checkpoints with ease. Even if unable to cross, they could always rely on the Hunting Falcon or bluffing with the Sand Merging Skill.
The family traveled leisurely from summer to winter, with Jinling City now visible in the distance amidst the biting cold wind.