After walking along the official road for a while, Xiahou Qing found an abandoned tea stall that had reopened. The sudden increase in people on the road, along with the tea stall itself, made Xiahou Qing wary. "Strange! This tea stall should have been abandoned. Why are there people here all of a sudden?"
After carefully observing the people coming and going around him, Xiahou Qing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Judging from their appearance and the sound of their footsteps, they were undoubtedly ordinary people. It was just a little strange. Logically, there shouldn't be so many people on the official road at this time.
Xia Houqing, somewhat confused about the current situation, simply sat down in the teahouse, intending to take a break while asking about the situation: "Waiter, bring me a pot of tea."
Seeing that there were finally customers willing to spend money at his small tea stall, the waiter quickly brewed a pot of hot tea and brought it over: "Look at this tired-looking guy, could he be heading to Qingliang Valley like everyone else?"
Xiahou Qing was slightly stunned, then smiled apologetically, "...Yes, yes."
The second brother, perhaps because he was in a good mood after finally opening the business, didn't wait for Xiahou Qing to ask him anything before he started talking to himself: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, if Tianshu Tower hadn't brought out those zombies behind our backs, Daliang wouldn't have become like this. Now, apart from Qingliang Valley, there's probably no safe place in Daliang anymore."
Xia Houqing slowly put the teacup back from his mouth and said, "How come I haven't heard of this?"
The second brother was stunned for a moment, and after recalling what he had just said, he made sure that he was right, and then asked, "Sir, aren't you going to Qingliang Valley?"
Xiahou Qing explained slowly, "Yes, it's just for something else. The Tianshu Tower that Xiao Er mentioned, I feel like they are all good people. They help with government affairs and help stabilize the situation."
Upon hearing this, the second brother acted as if he had witnessed and experienced it all himself. He said, "What kind of good person is he? He's just pretending. I think it's still a question whether the eldest prince is really alive."
Xiahou Qing believed that Tianshu Tower had always held a flawless, positive image among the people of Liang. Even Qingliang Valley's previous, one-sided story hadn't convinced them. How could such a dramatic shift in attitude occur in just a few days? "Second Brother, could you elaborate on this? I've been so busy on my journey that I haven't heard much. Tell me more, or I might end up helping the bad guys. That would be a sin."
The waiter looked at his shabby tea stall, which only had this one customer. He sighed softly and said, "...There aren't many customers right now, so we'll only be open for two days. Since you asked so sincerely, I'll say a few more words."
Xiahou Qing hurriedly offered his seat and said, "Please sit down, little brother. Let's talk slowly."
The second brother first observed the surrounding environment and made sure that there were no strange people wandering around the tea stall. Then he whispered, "It's like this. Qinghe County has seen a lot of living dead. Everyone saw it clearly, right in the basement of the government office. Tianshu Tower has even sent soldiers to protect them."
Seeing his cautious demeanor, Xiahou Qing pressed the issue, "Could this be just a rumor?"
Seeing that he didn't believe it, the waiter quickly added, "What kind of rumor is that? If it were a rumor, why would Qinghe County be sealed off? Besides, there's no such thing as a wall that's impenetrable. Someone will always leak the news. Sigh, now when I think about my former trust in Tianshu Tower, not to mention the adults, even us small vendors feel sick!"
Xia Houqing lowered his voice thoughtfully and said, "Just now, seeing how cautious Xiao Erge was, I thought you were trying to frame me."
The waiter explained, "How could that be possible? I'm worried that there might be people from Tianshu Tower nearby. If they knew I was saying this, not only would I be unable to open my tea stall, but I'd also be in danger of losing my life."
Having learned what he wanted to know, Xiahou Qing prepared his food and drank enough water, and was ready to set off. "Thank you for today, little brother. Here's the tea money."
The waiter took out the heavy silver and stared at it with wide eyes: "Oh, sir, this is too big, I can't make the change!"
"It's okay, you'll find it when you go to the King of Hell." As soon as he finished speaking, Xiahou Qing used his internal force to shoot a long needle into the waiter's body.
The waiter didn't struggle at all. Apart from a small red spot, he collapsed to the ground with a silver ingot in his hand, completely unharmed. People passing by on the official road lowered their heads as they hurried along, paying no attention to what had happened to the waiter in the shabby teahouse.
Xiahou Qing walked quickly on the road, with a surge of anger in his heart that he could no longer suppress: "Xiahou Chun, Xiahou Chun, you really have made great progress. You are really amazing. You have become more capable."
When the public relations crisis occurred in Tianshu Tower, a carriage coming from the direction of Bugui Peak was gradually approaching the entrance of Qingliang Valley.
Wang Nianqing, realizing he'd been staying in the barracks the entire time and hadn't come out to check on the Qilin Guards stalking the front lines, decided to take a break. Just as he reached the valley entrance and reunited with his brothers, who had been observing the situation from the shadows, someone spotted the approaching carriage. "Sir, there's a strange carriage heading towards Qingliang Valley."
Wang Nianqing looked at the carriage, which was pitch black and had no markings. But the fact that he dared to walk so brazenly on the official road of Qingliang Valley at this time meant that the owner of the carriage was definitely not from Tianshu Tower.
Unsure of the visitor's identity, and in order to maintain the proper etiquette of Qingliang Valley, Wang Nianqing immediately ordered, "Don't stop them yet. Wait until we reach the valley entrance before checking."
"yes."
However, before they could intervene and stop the carriage, it stopped at the valley entrance. After it stopped, a woman in a goose-yellow dress disembarked and stood at the entrance of Qingliang Valley, saying loudly, "My daughter has been invited by the Qingliang Palace to attend an appointment. I wonder who is blocking the road now?"
The Qilin Guards, still in the shadows, knew from what the woman said that she was no ordinary person. After Wang Nianqing gestured for them to remain at their posts, she appeared and said, "I am Wang Nianqing."
Upon hearing this, the woman bowed to Wang Nianqing and said, "So it's you, Master Shadow Master. I apologize for my rudeness. In this case, my young lady will trouble you, Master Shadow Master."
Wang Nianqing was still confused and hadn't figured out what was going on when the person claiming to be Xiaoru helped the person out of the carriage. Wang Nianqing hadn't received any news about a young woman arriving soon. Judging by her attire, she didn't look like someone from an ordinary family. For a noble, it seemed a bit strange that they only had one carriage.
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