After a hundred years of war, the family’s territory kept expanding, and the imperial capital was no longer the front line. It had become the foremost of the three great cities on the Xichuan continent, ranking above the Liu Feng family’s “Yuanjing” and the Lin family’s “Heqiu.” It was the political, economic, and cultural center of the continent, its prosperity a source of pride for the entire Zichuan family.

On a certain day in August of Imperial Year 778, a group returning from the Far East front entered the imperial capital. The main members included the newly promoted deputy commander David Thompson, the captain of the guards Owen Grant and his forty personal guards, as well as three unwilling “unlucky fellows.”

Henry Clark: “Sir, when will you finally show some mercy and let us go back to the Far East?”

Roger Smith: “Yeah, after all we’ve been through together, can’t you do us this favor? Staying by your side… I’m still a virgin, I don’t want to die so young!”

Ethan Foster scolded Roger Smith: “Pah! What are you saying, is that any way to talk to your superior? No manners! When making a request, you should be respectful!” He turned to David Thompson, tears and snot streaming down his face, and pleaded, “Sir, for the sake of my eighty-year-old mother above and my three-year-old child below, please have mercy!”

David Thompson looked innocent: “Oh, you’ve been noisy the whole way, aren’t you tired? I’m in a tough spot too—the order to transfer you came from Chief of Staff Paul Smith himself.”

“Look at your eyes… still smiling so slyly, we know you’re lying!”

“Exactly, isn’t Paul Smith in cahoots with you?”

“I heard you sold us all to Paul Smith for just two bottles of wine. That’s insulting! Each of us is worth at least a bottle!”

“The two bottles of wine were for your equipment! As for you, Roger Smith, you’re worth at most a bottle cap!”

The group entered through the massive city gates of the imperial capital.

“Ha, I’m back! Imperial capital, your beauty remains unchanged!”

The streets of the capital were spotless, lined with rows of straight plane trees. Lavishly decorated shops stood on either side, their windows filled with dazzling goods. Smiling hostesses enthusiastically greeted customers, and the bustling crowds created a scene of prosperity.

David Thompson recalled that six years ago, to defend this city, he, a greenhorn, had led troops for the first time in a fierce battle against the powerful Liu Feng army. Time had passed, and six years later, how many people in this city still remembered him?

David Thompson fell into a melancholy reminiscence, deeply feeling the fleeting nature of time and the sense of wasted years, as if the past were a dream…

“Stop daydreaming! We’re starving here!”

“If you don’t feed us, we’re going back to the Far East!”

“We want to stay in a star-rated hotel!”

He didn’t even need to look back to know who was speaking.

※※※

After settling Owen Grant and the guards, David Thompson and the other three—Henry Clark, Roger Smith, and Ethan Foster—went out to explore the city. Coming from the war-torn Far East to such a bustling place, everything was new and exciting. Roger Smith grabbed a passing young man and asked, “Excuse me, where can we find a restaurant?”

The young man looked them up and down, saw their travel-worn, rustic clothes, and heard their heavy Far East accents. In the local dialect, he sneered, “Country bumpkins!” and walked away.

Roger Smith didn’t understand and turned to ask David Thompson, “Sir, what does ‘country bumpkin’ mean?”

David Thompson replied nonchalantly, “It’s a general term used by city dwellers on the continent for people from non-urban areas, usually not a compliment.”

Roger Smith: “…Still don’t get it.”

David Thompson sighed, “Then at least you remember what we call those villagers on the border—the ones who wear animal skins, never brush their teeth or wash their faces, and only bathe three times in their lives?”

Roger Smith fumed, “I’m a dignified bannerman, how dare he look down on me like that? I’ll teach him a lesson!”

Less than five minutes later, Roger Smith came back, crestfallen, one eye covered with a black patch, swollen high, and his nose bleeding profusely.

David Thompson asked leisurely, “So, did you teach him a lesson?”

Roger Smith dodged the question, “The weather’s really nice today…”

David Thompson chuckled and whispered to Henry Clark, “In the Far East, a bannerman is a rare and high-ranking officer, but here in the capital, you see red-uniformed bannerman-level officers everywhere, and every one of them is a ninth-dan karate master.”

He spoke just loudly enough for Roger Smith to hear.

Ethan Foster looked around as he walked, “I’ve heard the girls in the capital are all bold and trendy. Just look at their outfits—ah! That one’s a knockout!”

He stopped a passing girl and, using his most elegant posture and gentlest tone, said, “Miss, do you believe in love at first sight? The moment I saw you, it was as if an arrow pierced my heart…”

“Robbery! Help!” The girl didn’t even listen and ran off!

Ethan Foster didn’t dare turn around to face his companions’ looks…

“I think the girls in this city must have androphobia. There’s no other explanation!” Ethan Foster declared passionately.

Henry Clark: “Yeah, yeah, they’re all lesbians, okay? Dashing, handsome, and extraordinary Ethan Foster, can you give us a break? You’ve said it forty times on the way here—my ears are about to start bleeding!”