Chapter 5: Langya

Jiang Ye tilted his head to look at Li Jianguo. "We can't enter the city dressed like this. It’s a rare opportunity to have traveled a thousand years back to the Qin Dynasty—don't you want to see what it’s really like? To see the way of life during the Qin era? To catch a glimpse of the First Emperor?"

The impact of that last sentence was profound, successfully silencing Li Jianguo, whose eyes began to shimmer with excitement.

Li Jianguo nodded. "You have a point!"

Zhang Minghui and the others exchanged glances before turning their gaze toward the six individuals lying on the ground, wearing the mischievous grins of "good Samaritans."

The six of them reached out simultaneously, moving toward the six bandits. The next second, miserable cries echoed through the mountain forest.

"Ahhhhhhh—!!!!"

Five minutes later, the six of them emerged from the woods wearing patched, Qin-style clothing. They looked at each other and burst into laughter. Especially when they saw Zhang Tao, whose clothes were bursting at the seams, they laughed until they sounded like squealing pigs.

"Hahaha, Brother Zhang, you really should lose some weight."

Jiang Ye, as if performing a magic trick, pulled six wig caps from his hands and distributed one to each person. "Put these on." Their current hairstyles were too conspicuous to appear in public.

Zhang Minghui placed the wig cap on his head and was astonished to find it fit perfectly, as if it were a natural part of his own scalp, with no sense of incongruity. The others also felt the unique quality of the caps.

"This cap fits so well."

"I thought it would be uncomfortable, but it’s actually quite pleasant."

After tidying up, the six of them truly looked the part, save for their slightly tattered clothes.

"Director Jiang, what about our clothes…?" The five held their modern garments in their hands.

"Give them to me." Jiang Ye collected their clothes and tucked them into the storage space provided by the system. It wasn’t large—only one cubic meter—but it was more than enough for their outfits. Zhang Tao and the others watched as the clothes vanished the moment they touched Jiang Ye’s hand. Although they knew Jiang Ye was extraordinary, seeing it again was still a shock.

Pulling themselves together, they looked around. Zhang Minghui asked, "Director Jiang, which way now?"

Jiang Ye opened the system’s navigation, checked the direction, and pointed to the main road on the right. "That way."

After two hours of walking, the number of travelers on the road increased. Before long, a quaint city appeared at the horizon. A long queue had formed at the gate, where soldiers were inspecting *zhaoshentie* (identity tags) one by one.

Zhang Minghui lowered his voice. "Director Jiang, they're checking IDs." Everyone looked at Jiang Ye, silently asking, "What do we do?"

Jiang Ye flashed a grin at the five of them and calmly pulled six *zhaoshentie* from his pocket. "Here, I was prepared."

He handed them out. The five took their freshly minted identity tags and examined them closely. After flipping them over for a while, Zhang Tao couldn't help but ask, "It looks convincing enough, but... will this actually work?"

Zhang Minghui added, "Director Jiang, this isn't a joke. If they find out these are fake, we’ll be thrown into the dungeon."

Facing their skeptical stares, Jiang Ye patted his chest in assurance. "Don't worry, they are absolutely authentic."

Anything produced by the system was a masterpiece! For the system, such a minor forgery was a breeze.

With pounding hearts, the five followed Jiang Ye and stood obediently at the back of the line. Up ahead, some farmers carrying shoulder poles were whispering to each other. "Why is it so slow today?"

"They’ve been checking strictly for the past few days. Who knows what’s going on?"

"Perhaps some important figure is coming to Langya."

Hearing this, Jiang Ye and his group exchanged looks. They understood the reason and couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. That was Qin Shi Huang! The Emperor of the Ages!

With racing hearts, it was finally their turn. Jiang Ye handed over his identity tag. The guard glanced at him, sized him up from head to toe, and carefully cross-referenced his physical features with the information on the tag. Once satisfied, he returned it.

Zhang Tao and the others behind him watched intently, and when they saw the guard return Jiang Ye's tag, their suspended hearts settled slightly. Zhang Tao smiled as he handed over his own. The soldier scrutinized him, his gaze locking onto his ill-fitting, tattered rags, and raised an eyebrow. "What about these clothes?"

Given Zhang Tao’s plump, prosperous appearance, he looked like a wealthy man, yet his clothes were extremely ill-fitting, which looked quite odd.

Zhang Tao’s heart skipped a beat, but he reacted quickly, immediately wiping away tears. "Officer, you don't know—I ran into bandits on the road. That’s why... oh, my goods, my clothes... I had to borrow these from a servant." As he spoke, he sobbed incessantly, acting as if he were heartbroken.

"Enough, enough." The guard waved him off impatiently and returned the tag. Zhang Tao wiped his tears, took the tag, thanked the officer, and scurried into the city.

When it was the turn of the other four, everything went smoothly without much questioning. Once inside, the six surveyed their surroundings: a quaint street lined with buildings in the distinct style of the Qin Dynasty, while vendors nearby were shouting out their wares.

The pedestrians wore mostly undyed hemp or kudzu fabrics, with browns and off-whites dominating the view, occasionally interrupted by a few in slate-gray or indigo. The monotonous color palette stood in stark contrast to the vibrant, colorful clothing of the modern world.

"My goodness! The colors really are monotonous," Zhang Tao whispered, unable to help himself. Having grown accustomed to a kaleidoscope of colors, the sudden shift to such dull tones was quite a shock.

Li Jianguo chimed in, "Why is this so different from what we see on TV?" Whether it was the clothing or the storefronts, it was completely different from how the Qin Dynasty was depicted on television.

"Why do you think they call it a TV drama?"

Zhang Minghui and the others looked at the "shabby" city, which was nothing like the grand, polished version they had imagined. They wandered through the city, looking left and right, finding everything novel.

Just then, a hurried sound of hoofbeats rang out from the city gate, accompanied by a sharp command: "Everyone, clear the path to the sides!" "Everyone, clear the path to the sides!"

The six of them turned toward the sound and saw an advance guard clearing the street. Zhang Tao looked at the flags trailing behind the cavalry and was overwhelmed with excitement. "They're here."

"They finally arrived."

Before the clearing team reached them, the six stood obediently on the side of the street like the local townspeople. The residents, seeing the display, couldn't help but whisper to their neighbors.

"An important figure is coming."

"I wonder who it is, to cause such a commotion."

"Must be some high-ranking official from the capital."

The ill-informed commoners could only guess, but the well-informed merchants and officials likely knew exactly who was arriving.

"I heard the Emperor is on an eastern tour. Could it be the Emperor himself?"

"No way, right?!"

"Didn't you see the flags? Those are the royal banners!"

Soon, news that it was the First Emperor spread through the city. Moments later, a large number of imperial guards poured in from the gate, marching in a grand procession and lining both sides of the street to keep the crowds at bay.

Jiang Ye and his group were kept behind the line of guards. Everyone craned their necks, their eyes glowing with excitement as they looked toward the city gate. Under the expectant gaze of everyone, the First Emperor's carriage rolled majestically into the city.