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After the items for the brotherhood were removed, a lavish banquet was set up in Shangguan Junhong's room. The three of them happily drank and ate, and after a few rounds of drinks, they began to discuss serious matters.
"Big Brother, we will set off for the Imperial Capital tomorrow. Once we arrive in the capital, I will introduce you to my father. You just need to report the situation to him truthfully."
"I understand this, but let me make it clear that I will not take an official position in Eastern Dragon."
"Big Brother, your information is very important. I believe my father will value you highly. Why don't you want to serve as an official?"
"Second Brother, I know the information I bring back is significant, but this is my first time meeting your father. Even if he values my information, he won't give me a high position. Moreover, once I become an official, I will be subject to many restrictions, which would make me uncomfortable. If I don't take an official position, my activities won't be limited, and I might be able to help you with more things later."
Shangguan Jinglei nodded. "Liu Brother is right, Hong'er. If your father insists on making him an official, you should speak on his behalf."
"Big Brother, if you don't take an official position, how will you appear by my side? You can't just be my attendant."
"I can be your advisor."
"What is an advisor?"
"An advisor is someone who assists you; they can also be considered an attendant, but this type of attendant has a lot of autonomy."
Shangguan Junhong nodded. "That works too."
"Big Brother, where will you stay in the capital? Ancestor and I are currently living in the palace. It seems like you can't stay at my Prince's Mansion..."
"It's fine. I will stay at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's branch in the capital. If you need to find me, just send someone there; as long as they say they are with you, someone will naturally take them to see me."
After the three finished their meal and drinks, the waiter cleared everything away, and Shangguan Jinglei and Liu Guanfeng went to their respective rooms.
The next morning, after having breakfast, they bought some dry rations and arranged for a carriage for Shangguan Junhong and Shangguan Jinglei. Shangguan Junhong did not yet have a mount because he was still just an Intermediate Knight. As members of the Eastern Dragon Empire's royal family, their mounts had to be superior; only when their strength reached the peak of intermediate rank could the royal family help them find their preferred mounts, which had to be above Sixth Tier.
This was also why Shangguan Jinglei dared to ascend Northern Snow Peak without a Ninth Tier or Tenth Rank mount; his mount had already reached the peak of Eighth Rank at that time. Otherwise, it would be quite difficult for an ordinary family to have their first mount reach Seventh Tier.
Shangguan Junhong sat in the carriage, and their journey was very slow, taking more than half a month on the road. They were only two days away from the Imperial Capital Longxing City.
As they approached noon, Liu Guanfeng and Shangguan Jinglei heard the sounds of a large group of cavalry behind them, prompting Liu Guanfeng to quickly instruct the driver to pull over.
Before long, dust began to rise in the distance. Among the swirling dust, many knights were rushing forward. Liu Guanfeng recognized them at a glance.
The two leading figures looked identical; they were a pair of twin brothers named Cheng Jin and Cheng Yin. These two had been private soldiers trained by Liu Yong'an and had followed Liu Guanfeng for the longest time. At this point, both brothers had become Advanced Knights and were now captains in the Red Star Mercenary Group. After receiving Liu Guanfeng's summons, they brought a thousand elite brothers to Dragon Rising City. All of these men hailed from Diaoyu Island, with more than half being among the earliest private soldiers.
From a distance, the brothers spotted Liu Guanfeng standing by the roadside. Cheng Jin paused for a moment and intended to stop his team to escort Liu Guanfeng along, but he saw Liu Guanfeng gently shaking his head. Understanding the hint, Cheng Jin shouted, "Brothers, Dragon Rising City is not far off! Speed up! When we arrive at Dragon Rising City, drinks are on me!"
Seeing these familiar faces, Liu Guanfeng deliberately lowered his hat and bowed his head. Although he was regarded as a war god among the soldiers on Diaoyu Island, he rarely visited there, so many soldiers only knew of him without remembering his appearance clearly.
However, even so, some soldiers felt that Liu Guanfeng looked very familiar. Just as they were pondering this, Cheng Jin's voice rang out again: "Stay alert and move faster! Anyone who lags behind will feel my wrath!"
With that command, those soldiers who had doubts dared not linger any longer and could only quicken their mounts' pace.
Soon, the thousand men charged past Liu Guanfeng and the others. Hearing the commotion, Shangguan Junhong lifted the curtain of the carriage and gaped at the mercenaries.
Once all the mercenaries had passed, Shangguan Jinglei remarked with admiration, "These mercenaries are indeed a formidable force. Compared to our Eastern Dragon soldiers, only the Earth Dragon Brigade could match them in strength. But even then, Earth Dragon Brigade has only about fifty members while they have nearly a thousand. I wonder which mercenary group has such an elite team."
"I noticed that each of them wears a red five-pointed star on their chest; that must be their mercenary group's emblem."
"Liu Brother, is there such a mercenary group in your Starfall Kingdom?"
Liu Guanfeng knew that hiding it would be futile and simply admitted, "Yes, there is such a mercenary group; it is currently the largest in Starfall Kingdom and is called the Red Star Mercenary Group. They have over ten thousand members in total."
"Over ten thousand? My goodness! Our Eastern Dragon's largest mercenary group has only about seven or eight thousand. I can't believe your small nation has a mercenary group with more than ten thousand members! I wonder what kind of person their leader is. Your Starfall Kingdom truly has an abundance of talent—not only do you have martial arts prodigies like you, Liu Brother, but also leaders like the captain of Red Star Mercenary Group. I'm really envious."
"Elder Brother, we should get moving."
Two days later at noon, a magnificent city finally appeared before Liu Guanfeng and his companions. The walls on both sides stood ten meters high; soldiers atop the walls held their weapons and gazed into the distance. In front of the city gate stood two rows of soldiers in formation; two squad leaders mounted on horses observed passersby while several soldiers checked those wishing to enter the city.
Although it was noon, there were still quite a few people entering the city. Liu Guanfeng and the other two, despite their special identities, did not force their way in; they stood at the back of the line like ordinary citizens, waiting for inspection.
After about twenty minutes, it was finally their turn. When their carriage reached the city gate, a soldier called out to them, "Whoever is in the carriage, get down for inspection."
Due to the identities of the two people in the carriage, Liu Guanfeng could only jump off Little Black and approached the front of the carriage. "Wait, you need to call your Squad Leader over."
"Who are you to demand our Squad Leader?"
Liu Guanfeng showed no fear. "I said to call him; if you don't, you won't even know why your head is rolling."
At that moment, two Squad Leaders noticed what was happening. Upon hearing that someone wanted to see their Squad Leader directly, they immediately sent someone to fetch the on-duty Squad Leader. Before long, a man in his forties rode up on a wild dog and dismounted in front of Liu Guanfeng.
"I am the on-duty Squad Leader today. Did you need something from me?"
Liu Guanfeng nodded. "This Squad Leader, may I have a word?" He pulled the Squad Leader aside and took out a small token that Shangguan Junhong had given him earlier. This token was made of pure gold, with two dragons engraved on the front and a character "Six" in between them. The back of the token only had two characters: "Shangguan."
The Squad Leader was taken aback upon seeing the token. The officers guarding the gate were very familiar with the family crests of various officials in the city. At first glance, he recognized this as the Sixth Prince's token. Immediately, he stood up and told his soldiers at the gate, "Let them pass. No need to inspect this carriage."
"Understood."
The soldiers responded and actively cleared a path for the carriage. They had seen such situations many times before and did not hesitate to let them through. Liu Guanfeng smiled at the Squad Leader and clasped his fist in gratitude. "Thank you, brother."
The Squad Leader quickly nodded. "You're welcome."
Then Liu Guanfeng discreetly handed two gold coins to the Squad Leader's hand. "Buy some drinks for your brothers."
The Squad Leader smiled broadly, his eyes squinting with joy. "Thank you! Take care!"
Liu Guanfeng and his companions entered Dragon Rising City. Once inside this dragon-shaped city, Liu Guanfeng truly felt the power of the empire. The streets were lined with various small vendors selling an array of products. The roads were paved with bluestone, unlike other cities that had dirt paths.
The streets were bustling with people, much more lively than Azure Dragon City and Crimson Dragon City. The three found a quiet spot where Shangguan Jinglei and Shangguan Junhong dismounted from the carriage. After paying for their fare, they sought out a restaurant where Shangguan Jinglei treated Liu Guanfeng and Shangguan Junhong to a lavish lunch.
Liu Guanfeng found the feeling he had when he visited four-star and five-star hotels while dining in this restaurant, and he couldn't help but marvel at the extraordinary nature of the capital city.
After lunch, Liu Guanfeng escorted Shangguan Junhong and Shangguan Jinglei to the vicinity of the palace. At that moment, Shangguan Junhong said to Liu Guanfeng, "Elder Brother, you go wait for me at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's Branch. I will send someone to pick you up to enter the palace early tomorrow morning."
"I understand. You two should hurry back and take a shower; you haven't had a proper bath in days. Then get a good night's sleep, and we can talk about things tomorrow."
"Alright, Elder Brother, we'll head back now."
"Liu Brother, when you have time to enter the palace, I will take you around to have some fun."
"Thank you very much, Elder Brother." Liu Guanfeng thought to himself that there wasn't much fun in the palace besides flowers and the palace maids or eunuchs, but he still felt it was polite to say so.
After the three bid farewell to each other, Liu Guanfeng casually asked someone for directions to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's Branch and headed over.
When Liu Guanfeng arrived at the Branch, it was bustling with people. Today marked the arrival of a new batch of goods, and many were inside selecting suitable weapons.
Seeing this Branch, Liu Guanfeng felt an immense sense of emotion; the area of this Branch was almost comparable to the headquarters of the Five Star Nation.
Liu Guanfeng stepped into the Merchant Guild, where a receptionist approached him. "Hello, sir. How may I assist you?"
"Where is your President?"
"Our President is currently in the VIP Room attending to guests. May I ask what you need?"
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