Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 105 Will they be picky about who they hire?

The caravan entered the city, and the foreman led the caravan to the East Market to unload the goods.

Jiang Xun and Ye Qingying got off the car at the city gate and stood by the roadside, watching the flow of people coming and going.

Shuofeng City was built in imitation of the Central Plains, with three horizontal and three vertical main streets, and two markets on the east and west sides, forming an inner and outer city.

The street was lined with all sorts of shops with a variety of signs—some with Chinese characters, some with winding Northern script, and some with nothing at all, just a sign hanging at the door.

There are more people here than at Tiebeiguan, and the population is more diverse.

There were northerners wearing fur robes, merchants from the Central Plains wearing short tunics, Westerners wrapped in thick cloth, and a few others dressed strangely with tattoos on their faces—I don't know where they came from, but they didn't look like good people.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

A troop of cavalry charged through the street, their hooves kicking up dust as they pounded the cobblestones.

Jiang Xun pulled Ye Qingying to the side of the road to make way.

The cavalrymen wore black leather armor, with scimitars at their waists and bows and quivers hanging from their saddles. Each of them had a stern face and eyes like eagles.

The leader was a man in his thirties with a scar on his face that stretched from his eyebrow to his chin, making him look quite intimidating.

"Those are the city lord's personal guards," Ye Qingying whispered.

Jiang Xun nodded, memorizing the man's face.

The two waited at the city gate for a short while before a carriage drove out of the city and stopped in front of them.

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a handsome face—Chen Lei.

He jumped out of the car and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Ye Qingying: "Junior Sister Ye, you must be tired from your journey."

Ye Qingying returned the greeting: "Brother Chen, you're too kind."

Chen Lei's gaze shifted to Jiang Xun, and he was slightly taken aback: "Brother Jiang? You're here too?"

"What a coincidence!" Jiang Xun smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. "Brother Chen, it's been a long time."

Chen Lei looked at him with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Ye Qingying spoke first: "Brother Jiang is here to do some business, and we just happened to meet on the way."

Chen Lei glanced at her, nodded, and didn't ask any further questions.

He turned to Jiang Xun, a smile spreading across his face: "Since you're here, let's all eat together. I'll treat you to a meal and let you try the delicacies of the North."

"That's great." Jiang Xun patted his stomach. "I've been eating dry rations for days on the road, and my mouth is practically tasteless."

Chen Lei smiled, turned around and led the way.

He led the two men across two streets to the entrance of a restaurant.

The storefront is small and looks quite ordinary, but inside it's bustling with activity and packed with people.

The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat, mixed with the scents of cumin and chili, making one's mouth water.

"The roasted lamb leg here is the best in Shuofeng City." Chen Lei led them upstairs and found a seat by the window. "They also have hand-pulled rice, mare's milk wine, and baked buns, all worth trying."

Jiang Xun flipped through the menu, his eyes lighting up: "Brother Chen is treating?"

"It's on me," Chen Lei said with a smile.

"Then I won't be polite." Jiang Xun ordered seven or eight dishes in one go.

"Their specialty is roasted lamb leg and hand-pulled rice, as well as mare's milk wine from the North." Chen Lei poured three cups of tea. "Try it, it tastes different from the Central Plains."

Jiang Xun picked up his teacup and took a sip, almost spitting it out—it was so sour that his brows furrowed into a knot.

"What kind of tea is this?" he asked, grinning.

"Mare's milk tea." Chen Lei smiled. "It's what people in the North drink. You might not like it the first time, but you'll get used to it after a few times."

Jiang Xun put down his teacup and decided to wait patiently for his roasted lamb leg.

Ye Qingying sat to the side, her straw hat already removed. She seemed used to the furtive glances from those around her, and drank her tea on her own.

The food was served very quickly.

The roasted lamb leg was served on an iron fork, its skin roasted to a golden brown and crispy perfection, sizzling with oil, and sprinkled with cumin and chili powder, the aroma filling the air.

The hand-grabbed rice is served in a large copper plate, with each grain of rice distinct, mixed with diced carrots and chunks of mutton, and has a golden and translucent color.

The baked buns had a crispy outer layer, and when you took a bite, the hot mutton filling inside flowed out, scalding Jiang Xun so much that he had to exhale in pain.

"Delicious!" he mumbled, his mouth stuffed full.

Chen Lei smiled and poured him a glass of mare's milk wine: "Try this, it's a specialty of the North."

Having learned his lesson with the mare's milk tea, Jiang Xun was much more cautious this time, taking only a small sip first.

Surprisingly delicious—sweet and sour with a milky aroma, not too alcoholic, but with a strong aftertaste.

"The food of the people in the North is different from that of the people in the Central Plains," Chen Lei said while cutting meat. "Their diet is mainly meat-based, with noodles as a supplement, and vegetables are scarce. In the cold winter, vegetables cannot be stored, so they rely on pickled vegetables and dried goods to get through the winter."

He pointed to the plate of cold dishes, "This is a cold dish of sand onions that they often eat. It's a wild vegetable that grows in sandy areas. It has a crisp texture and a fragrant taste, and it can cut through the greasiness."

Jiang Xun picked up a piece with his chopsticks—it was indeed crispy and fragrant, and it was absolutely delicious with the mutton.

"What other specialties does the North have?" he asked while eating.

Chen Lei thought for a moment: "Their houses are also different from those in the Central Plains. People in the Central Plains live in brick and tile houses, while people in the North live in yurts—tents made of wool felt, which are warm in winter and cool in summer, and easy to assemble and disassemble. Only wealthy families in the city live in brick and tile houses, while poor people live in yurts."

He pointed to a passerby from the North outside the window, "Look at that man's fur robe, wool inside and fur outside. It's warm in winter and insulated in summer; one robe can last for years."

Jiang Xun looked in the direction he was pointing.

The man was wearing a gray-white leather robe, with a cloth belt around his waist and leather boots on his feet. He walked with a powerful and vigorous gait.

"It looks so warm," he muttered, then lowered his head to continue gnawing on his lamb leg.

Ye Qingying sat next to her, taking small bites of the baked buns, and seemed to enjoy the food there as well.

Jiang Xun glanced at her and suddenly found the woman quite interesting.

When she was in Qiantang, she was a high and mighty fairy, untouched by worldly affairs;

Upon arriving at Tiebei Pass, she changed into coarse cloth clothes, mingled with the caravan, and ate dry rations and drank cold water.

Upon arriving in Shuofeng City, she found the local food delicious and enjoyed it immensely, without being pretentious at all.

After eating one round, Chen Lei wiped his hands and became serious.

"Let's get down to business." He looked at Ye Qingying and Jiang Xun. "Senior Huang Hu has already made the arrangements. A martial arts competition will be held at the City Lord's Mansion in three days. The winner will be qualified to receive the Sword God's inheritance."

"The City Lord's Mansion?" Ye Qingying frowned slightly. "As far as I know, City Lord Helian has always been cautious and suspicious, distrustful of outsiders. How could he be involved with Huang Hu?"

Jiang Xun was slightly taken aback—judging from Ye Qingying's tone, it seemed that she didn't have a good impression of Huang Hu.

"I know about this," Chen Lei explained. "Senior Huang lived in Shuofeng City for a while many years ago and was an old acquaintance of City Lord Helian."

Ye Qingying nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Jiang Xun, however, had a question that lingered in his mind for a long time: "Who are the participants?"

Chen Lei pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve and spread it on the table: "In the past two years, Senior Huang has been setting up competitions in various places to select people, and finally selected ten."

Jiang Xun looked down and saw—coincidentally, five from the Central Plains and five from the Northern Territory.

No wonder they chose Shuofeng City; it's the only place that can barely be considered neutral.

The names written on the Central Plains side are: Chen Lei, Ye Qingying, Zhou Jing, Song Qingshu, and Zhao Tieyi.

He wasn't there.

"I heard that Zhang Tao from Baoyue Manor was originally on the list." Chen Lei glanced at Jiang Xun, "but he was taken down after he lost to you in Qiantang."

Jiang Xun looked completely innocent: "That's not my fault, he came to me on his own."

Chen Lei smiled and said, "It's a pity that Brother Jiang isn't on the list."

"No, I don't want to get involved." Jiang Xun said lightly, but he felt a little uncomfortable inside.

You beat Zhang Tao to a pulp, so you should be on the list, right?

Does the sword guardian pick and choose who to guard?