Chapter 11 The interest is indifferent

　　There were no further incidents on the road, and on April 23, two days before the competition in the royal city, Zhou Ge and the others arrived in Jiangxiao.

　　Jiangxiao was indeed the royal capital of Xiyue, and compared to Binri, the walls were a zhang higher and two zhangs wider, with soldiers patrolling both above and below the city.

　　A stone-paved road extended from the South City Gate, with the stones' surfaces smooth. This road led both to the main street of the royal capital and to the official thoroughfare. Four carriages could comfortably travel abreast on it.

　　The roadsides were full of shops selling goods, with many of them being inns. Some clerks go out to greet customers, while others set up tables by the roadside to advertise their signature dishes. The scene was much more lively than in Binri city.

　　This competition was well-known throughout the land, and there were many people who wanted to participate as well as those who had come to watch. There were also those who took the opportunity to do business, and of course, those who wanted to make a quick buck.

　　The three of them led their horses and walked towards the city, looking around.

　　The gate guards saw their clothes and guessed their identities.

　　"Gentlemen, are you here to participate in the competition, or are you here to support it?"

　　"Oh... we're here to participate." Zhou Ge replied.

　　The guard had a strange smile on his face and then walked around them several times before saying, "I have seen all the police from the nearby cities. Where did you come from?"

　　He narrowed his eyes and took out the pass check that City lord Zhao had given him: "Binri city."

　　"Oh... I've heard about it. The Liang Ran mirror master went to Binhricity and took on a new apprentice. His name is Zhou Ge. Is one of you him?"

　　"That's me."

　　"Hmph... this little body isn't strong enough for me to fight."

　　Zhou Ge thought that this person's mouth was too chatty. He pointed to the "断" character on his clothes and said, "I'm participating in the Spell Solving Competition."

　　"What? You want to challenge Piaoyan? Hahaha, I think you're a bit arrogant and overconfident."

　　Zeng Gang was also annoyed with him: "Why do you have so much nonsense? Just say if we can enter the city or not."

　　"Yes... please... don't forget to register at the competition venue. The police competition is separate from the trial inquisitor competition, so don't mix them up."

　　"Your mouth is too chatty!"

　　They entered the city and asked passersby for directions to the competition venue. Almost no one in the city had not heard of it, and they accurately pointed out the direction.

　　The venue was in the northern part of the city, not too far from where they were. They took a few major roads and passed through the central government area before finding it successfully.

　　The first thing that came into sight was a square-shaped fighting platform. The platform was 45 meters long and wide, with an upper and lower entrance. The lower entrance was on the left, and the upper entrance was on the right. Various weapons were placed on the platform, and a wooden railing surrounded it. Outside the railing, two small teams of soldiers were on patrol.

　　In front of the platform was a notice board, with the royal capital's announcement posted on it.

　　As they drew near, they saw that the other notices had nothing to do with them. The notice in the center stated how to participate in the competition. The content was simple, including the location for signing up, resting areas, the start time of the competition, and the rules for the competition.

　　Today's competition would be held twice, first for the police and then for the inquisitors. The police competition was scheduled for April 25th, and the inquisitor's competition was scheduled for the first day of May. They guessed that this arrangement was probably to ensure that there was enough time for the competition and to attract more people to watch.

　　They read the notice again and searched for the location to sign up. After searching for a long time, they found it a few meters away from the platform on the northern side. There was a row of small houses, and no one knew what they were used for unless they asked.

　　Two soldiers escorted them over, and then continued their patrols.

　　After looking for a long time, Zhou Ge didn't see anyone.

　　He shouted, "Is anyone here? We want to sign up for the competition. Is anyone here?"

　　Soon, a man emerged from the fourth house. He was almost two meters tall, with a sturdy build, and looked to be in his thirties, but was actually around the same age as Zhou Ge. With his large square face and a row of neat red sideburns on his chin, he was quite noticeable.

　　The three looked at each other and thought, "Isn't this the fugitive that Shen Huan wants to arrest? Why is he here?"

　　Sheng Huan asked suspiciously, "Who are you?"

　　"My name is Hao Yun. I'm the official who posts the announcements in the royal capital and is responsible for signing people up for the competition. Did you want to sign up for the competition?" he asked.

　　Zeng Gang considered that there might be more to this story than met the eye, and since Shen Huan's testimony was only one person's opinion, they couldn't jump to conclusions easily. So he didn't say anything and made a gesture with his eyes to the other two, who understood immediately.

　　"Yes, two of us are signing up for the police competition, and one is signing up for the inquisitor's competition."

　　"Do you have your pass?"

　　Zhou Ge handed over his pass check, and Hao Yun carefully examined it to ensure that it was genuine before leading them into the house.

　　"Come in."

　　The three followed him into the room and saw that he was very meticulous. The room was arranged with neat desks, chairs, and tables, all immaculate.

　　Hao Yun walked over to a cabinet, took out a ledger, brushed off some dust, and placed it flat on the desk. After dipping his brush in ink, he said, "Those participating in the police competition come over here."

　　Sheng Huan and Zeng Gang walked over and looked at the records, disappointed beyond belief.

　　The register was very simple. The first line: Jiangxiao city Jia Feng, Bai Lie. The second line: Zixiao city Dang Xingming, Gai Sanxi. The third line: Caixiao city Sun Daguang, Pang Juanjuan.

　　After asking their names, Hao Yun wrote on the fourth line: Binri city Sheng Huan, Zeng Gang.

　　Zeng Gang couldn't help but ask, "Is it just the four from our city who are participating?"

　　"Yes, that's right. What about it?"

　　"What about the other cities?"

　　"They're just here to watch. No one can defeat Bai Lie in the martial arts competition. He's an outstanding disciple of the Piaoyan mirror master from the Bairi City. The police from Bairi City and Linri City used to come and compete, but they stopped coming after they couldn't win. You three are here to fill in for them. Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough people and it would be even more boring."

　　After finishing writing down their names, he flipped to another page and said, "The registration book for inquisitors."

　　The two others went downstairs while Zhou Ge came forward to take a closer look. The entries were even simpler:

　　First line: Jiangxiao city Baiyan;

　　Second line: Zixiao city Dangmingyue;

　　Third line: Caixiao city Panghu.

　　After reading it, their reactions were similar to the other two: disappointment.

　　After writing down their names, Hao Yun said, "There's a place called the Huanxi Building. It's specifically for people participating in the competition. The city governor has set it up for us." He then took out three vouchers stamped with the seal "Competition Staff" and handed them to them. "Take these to the landlord at Wang's Shop when you get there. It's not far from here. Just go two blocks west and find the place with the least people on the north side of the road. Do you have any other questions? If not, I need to clean up the place."

　　As he was about to leave, Zhou Ge suddenly thought of something: "Excuse me, where does General Shi You live?"

　　"Across from the Huanxi Building. It's easy to find."

　　They were completely surprised that they had found out the information so easily and thanked him before heading to the Jixiu Building.

　　On the way there, they chatted about their opinions.

　　"Guys, did you notice something?" said Zeng Gang. "The room where Hao Yun was sitting was very clean, immaculate, but the ledger was not clean, which means he just got back and only had time to clean the surface but not the cabinet."

　　Sheng Huan also saw something suspicious: "That's right. Look at the ink on the ledger. The names of the others were written months ago, but we only arrived today. So during those months, no one else came? He's quite noticeable and it's strange that no one noticed him leave for several months."

　　Zhou Ge also had his own observation: "When we were leaving, I looked at the rooms next door and saw that there was a layer of dust on the ground, but two buckets were brand new. I feel like he might be the Hao Yun that Shen Huan was looking for, but we can't be sure if what Shen Huan said is true or not. Let's wait and see."

　　After chatting for a while, all three of them agreed that they would have to wait and see what happened next.

　　The two blocks weren't far away, and they arrived shortly thereafter. The sign for the Huanxi Building was very noticeable and easy to find. When Zhou Ge looked across from it, he saw a sign that said "Shi Chaot".

　　After entering the building, they were warmly greeted by Wang Dianzhang, who looked around for a while before realizing that there was no one else in the building. The reason was simple: the police from Jiangxiao city had their own lodgings and were all at home, while the others from Zixiao city and Caixiao city found the Huanxi Building boring and had moved elsewhere. They were just lucky happened to be open for business. All expenses for the building, including those for lodging and meals, were borne by the city of governor. No one was happy about it.

　　After eating, they each went to their rooms and packed their things. Then Zhou Ge knocked on the door of his senior brother Sheng's room.

　　Sheng Huan guessed what he wanted to do, cleaned up briefly, and said, "Let's go, let's go see the teacher."