Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 39 Leaving the City
Old Sha was wearing a tattered cloth robe and walking in front with his hands behind his back. Jiang Xuan was wearing a set of fine iron armor and carrying two long spears, following behind Old Sha obediently.

In the eyes of passersby, the two looked like grandparents and grandchildren. They walked all the way to the north gate of Qizhou City.

Of Qizhou City's four gates, the busiest are the East Gate and the South Gate. Jiang Xuan followed Mr. Sha to the North Gate and discovered that while its size was similar to the East Gate and the number of guards was the same, the number of people entering and exiting it was significantly lower. Jiang Xuan estimated that the number of pedestrians at the North Gate was only about 20% to 30% of that at the East Gate.

The two guards inside the city gate, like the two Heavenly Rank warriors at the East Gate yesterday, were also wearing the standard armor of the City Guard. Although it was standard armor, it was still much more refined than the slightly simple armor Jiang Xuan was wearing.

"Junior brother, look." A city gate guard saw Jiang Xuan walking towards the city gate with two spears on his back, and instantly became interested, nudging another city gate guard with his elbow.

"It's rare to see someone who uses a gun and carries two guns on his back." The senior brother looked at Jiang Xuan, raised his eyebrows, and became interested. He winked at his junior brother.

"Stop, routine inspection." Two city gate guards blocked Jiang Xuan's path with their halberds, but allowed Old Sha, who was walking in front of Jiang Xuan, to pass. Although Old Sha and Jiang Xuan appeared to be grandfather and grandson, it was Jiang Xuan, who was walking behind Old Sha, who truly interested them. More specifically, it was the two spears Jiang Xuan carried on his back.

The two men's provocative behavior wasn't particularly malicious. The Qizhou City gate guards would remain near the gates from the moment they opened them in the morning until they closed, and some would even take turns guarding them at night.

As a result, joking around with unusual people became a common pastime for the city gate guards. However, this pastime was still a pastime, and even if the city gate guards had no ill intentions, it would still make the person being teased very unhappy.

Since it was a routine inspection, Jiang Xuan naturally had nothing to say. He walked up to the two guards and waited for inspection.

The two fellow guards casually searched the men a few times and then retreated. It was obvious that they did not find anything illegal.

When the senior brother saw that his junior brother didn't find anything, his expression became more relaxed. He said to Jiang Xuan, "Take off the two guns on your back and check them." After saying that, he glanced at his junior brother.

Their purpose was clear: to examine Jiang Xuan's two spears in detail. While others' interest in one's weapons was, in a sense, a form of affirmation, Jiang Xuan didn't mind it much, the Black Rhino and Swallow Spear, one heavy and one light, were vastly different from ordinary weapons. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he couldn't easily hand them over to others for a closer look.

Jiang Xuan was caught in a dilemma. He couldn't hand over his spear, and since he was new to Qizhou City, he couldn't easily offend the city gate guards. What should he do?
"Young man, this is my grandson. He is going to hunt ferocious beasts in the north of the city today, so there is no need to check his weapons." Old Sha said with a smile, his face almost touching the face of one of the guards.

As a result, the guard, who was also a junior fellow student, began to retreat. You know, in recent years, the activity of ferocious beasts outside the city has become active again, and there have been frequent incidents of them attacking passersby.

Regarding this, Lord Bai of Qizhou City issued a city lord order several years ago, stating that warriors who successfully hunted ferocious beasts in Qizhou would receive corresponding rewards based on the specific level of the beasts they hunted, once verified to be successful.

With the City Lord's order in place, Qizhou City naturally supported the hunting of ferocious beasts in the north of the city. The two guards' harassment of Jiang Xuan was indeed somewhat unreasonable. In fact, the senior brother among the two guards had also been considering backing out, but for the sake of his reputation, he was unwilling to give up easily.

"Please cooperate and take off your weapon." The guard once again urged Jiang Xuan to take off his spear.

Seeing that the guard was so persistent, Jiang Xuan thought about it again. After weighing the pros and cons, he moved his feet and was about to take out the spear.

Jiang Xuan moved his right foot, preparing to make a move, but suddenly found his right heel blocked by something. He turned around and saw Sha Lao passing behind him, blocking Jiang Xuan's heel with his foot. Jiang Xuan looked at Sha Lao, who was walking towards the two guards with a smile on his face. At a certain moment, as he passed by Jiang Xuan, he gave Jiang Xuan a reassuring look.

Although Jiang Xuan was still very worried about how things would turn out, he felt a strange sense of security deep down. He relaxed his pace slightly and simply stood there waiting.

"Young man, my grandson is not good at speaking, please bear with him." Still with a smile on his face, Old Sha patted the guard's shoulder.

"Young man, look, can my grandson and I leave the city now?" The guard was stunned for a while after being patted on the shoulder, and only came to his senses after Mr. Sha reminded him again.

"Master...Junior brother, let him go." The guard who was patted on the shoulder said to his junior brother with a rather unnatural expression.

With Jiang Xuan looking puzzled, General Sha clasped his hands behind his back and strode out of the city gate. Jiang Xuan, in turn, looked at the city gate guard being supported by his junior fellow apprentice, and his confusion grew even more intense.

"As a guard, what's the point of being so far away?" Jiang Xuan quickened his pace as he heard the reprimand from Old Sha in the distance.

After Sha Lao and Jiang Xuan walked away, after repeated questioning by another guard, the guard who had been patted on the shoulder by Sha Lao finally spoke: "The moment the old man patted my shoulder just now, I felt a force probing me. It was a very awkward feeling."

"Mr. Sha, what did you do to the city gate guard just now?" Jiang Xuan hurried a few steps and caught up with Mr. Sha.

"Hehe, just scare him." Old Sha laughed.

"Scare, how to scare?" Old Sha's words made Jiang Xuan even more confused.

However, Mr. Sha just walked in front with his hands behind his back and did not answer Jiang Xuan's question.

All of Qizhou City's four gates were guarded by peak-level Heavenly Rank warriors. Jiang Xuan had heard this from his fellow members of the Mandarin Fish Mercenary Group, and at the time, he had marveled at the sheer strength of Qizhou City. Looking at Old Sha's expression just now, while it might have been a bit of a joke, Jiang Xuan had witnessed the guard's reaction firsthand.

It is too unbelievable that a warrior at the peak of the Heavenly Rank could "scare" another warrior at the peak of the Heavenly Rank just by patting his shoulder.

Old Sha walked faster and faster, and Jiang Xuan struggled to keep up. Normally, even if Old Sha walked even faster, Jiang Xuan would have no trouble keeping up. However, ever since Jiang Xuan put on that incredibly heavy armor, while his usual walking movements hadn't been distorted, walking quickly was still extremely difficult. The rapid depletion of his energy was already overwhelming Jiang Xuan.

……

"We're here." Old Sha stopped and saw an old pavilion in the distance. Not far from the pavilion was a mountain that was not very high but extremely steep.

(End of this chapter)