The cold wind blew over the walls, through the windows of the main building, and hit the man in the face.

This spring, it seems to be much colder than usual, but the temperature has just warmed up, and the temperature has plummeted—but the man doesn't care about the cold wind blowing on his face, even though the guards behind him always glance at his thin clothes and look a little worried.

"Tian'er should be back soon, right?"

The man's gaze swept over and over the crowd of people entering and exiting the city gates, from the distant horizon to beneath the city walls, searching for the convoy he had carefully prepared. He is Gongsun Yumo, the most powerful man in this imperial city, but at this time, he doesn't look like a king at all, he just wants to see the child who has been around for a long time as soon as possible.

"Yes, Your Majesty, according to the message, it should be at the right time to arrive at Youxiong today. ”

At the wall farthest from the stone window of the main building, the guard, who did not leave an inch, saluted him and replied respectfully.

"Speaking of that letter, how is the residence arranged for those Huashan Sword Sect disciples?"

Gongsun Yumo's gaze did not leave the avenue outside the window, but, thinking of the words written in the letter, his fingers on the edge of the window involuntarily began to beat the weather-beaten stone bricks under his hands.

"That, it doesn't seem to have been properly arranged - the houses on Tianxuan Street must be approved by Tianxuan Pavilion before they can be moved in, but for some reason, the thirty-two households arranged by His Majesty have not been approved for a long time. ”

As soon as Gongsun Yumo's words fell, the guards behind him blurted out the words that had been prepared in his mind over and over again, without the slightest extra thought.

"It's just an application for occupancy, even if Tianxuan Pavilion is careful, it won't even turn a blind eye to the guarantee of me, the elder of Tianyan Academy—that's it, you go to Fuchun Building to arrange a table of mats, and when I have free time in the evening, I will personally go to see the pavilion master, and by the way, drink tea with him and catch up with the old days." ”

Saying this, a delicate cloth bag appeared in Gongsun Yumo's hand, and then it was thrown backwards.

"It's a hundred and one silver rune coins, you can go to the proprietress and order a table of thirteen plates—oh yes, remember, a pot of South Sea tea and a pot of fairy drunk, my old friend still only likes to drink. ”

Grabbing the heavy cloth bag, the guard shook it for a moment - at this moment, each of these silver rune coins in front of him was worth hundreds of taels of silver, even if he had five years of money, he might not be able to exchange one of them, even if he had rarely seen the emperor make such a generous move since he took office-however, what he was thinking about now was not the value of these silver rune coins in his hand.

"Your Majesty, I remember last year when I ate thirteen plates, and I paid a total of one hundred silver rune coins, but this time, you gave me one hundred and one... ”

The young guard spoke weakly, his voice getting quieter and quieter, until only his lips could be seen quivering slightly.

Hearing these words from the young man, Gongsun Yumo was stunned for a moment, and then smiled.

"You kid, you're really honest, just like that guy. ”

Saying this, Gongsun Yumo actually turned around in a rare way and looked at the ordinary little guard who was nearly a room away from him.

"Between the government and the opposition, from ministers to guards and miscellaneous servants, they are basically mercenary, not to mention a silver rune coin, even if they accidentally mix a gold rune coin in this bag, they will not mention it and quietly pocket the excess part - in comparison, you are really honest. Besides, I remember even the little things of last year clearly, and I really bother you to be so concerned - in that case, that silver rune coin should be my reward for being so attentive to you. ”

With that, Gongsun Yumo raised his palm and used his spiritual power to hold up a silver rune coin, controlling it to fall into the pocket of the little guard.

The young guard's eyes were fixed on the silver coin that had floated into the air, and he was excited to know what to do. He didn't dare to imagine that one day he would be rewarded by His Majesty, and it was hard to imagine that he could get such a huge amount of money.

It wasn't until he really felt the weight from his pocket that the little guard came to his senses and hurriedly saluted Gongsun Yumo.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward! Your Majesty will definitely complete the task!"

Looking at the solemn little guard, Gongsun Yumo burst out laughing for a while.

"Okay, okay, just book a banquet, there's no need to look like death like this. ”

However, the next moment, Gongsun Yumo put away his smile and turned to look out the window with an excited face.

"Tian'er is back!"

Before he could finish speaking, his figure disappeared in place, leaving only the little guard, looking at the place where he disappeared, his free palm groping for the silver coins in his pocket through his shirt, and the excitement on his face had not yet dissipated.

Then, the little guard ran down the stairs and joined the flow of people passing through the urn city.

。。。

Qin Luojia walked out of the flow of people and stepped into the remote streets and alleys that no one cared about.

In the deepest part of the alley, a tattered plaque hangs from the mottled walls, the handwriting on which is worn to the point of being illegible.

It's a tavern - though it's not recognizable from the outside.

The boots stepped on the mossy stone steps, and the girl gently pushed open the tattered wooden door. The next moment, the smell of rotting wood came to his face along with the fishy smell of dust, which made Qin Luojia frown.

In the room, tables, chairs and benches were scattered everywhere, all covered with cobwebs and dust. On the ground, the empty and broken wine jar was crooked, and even some of it had been broken into porcelain pieces. On the counter, there was nothing on display, even those wine bowls, and there was only dust in them.

It is clear that this tavern has long been abandoned.

"Bah, surely, no matter how many times I come, I can't get used to it-cough, cough, I'm choking. ”

Qin Luojia covered her mouth and nose with her right hand in disgust, and waved her left hand in the air.

"Solution. ”

What she drew seemed to be a talisman, but it wasn't a talisman—it was just a part of the talisman that was used to complete the talisman that already existed in the house.

The palm fell, leaving a rune intertwined with spiritual power and light in the air. At this moment, everything in the room shone brightly, and the tattered scene gradually blurred in the light, replaced by a simple and elegant building.

"You're finally here. ”

Where the original tattered table and chair fell, a carved wooden chair appeared, on which a middle-aged man with a big belly sat paralyzed, dragging a wine gourd in his hand.

He smiled at Qin Luojia and continued to drink on his back.

"Uncle Shi, if I haven't seen you for a few days, you're still like this, can't you drink less?"

Qin Luojia cast a disgusted gaze at the middle-aged man, and the right hand covering his mouth and nose unconsciously began to exert force.

"I'm fat again... ”

Saying this, Qin Luojia's gaze focused on the man's round belly.

"Puff... ”

In just three words, the smile on the middle-aged man's face disappeared without a trace, and even the wine in his mouth was sprayed out.

His free finger pointed at Qin Luojia and nodded several times tremblingly.

"Are you saying these words to the teacher!! and... I don't seem to be fat... Lately, I've been using wine instead of food... ”

Hearing these words, the corners of Qin Luojia's mouth covered with her hand twitched.

"Master has already forbidden you to drink any more alcohol, you still drink it, and besides, it smells like the clear spring dew that Master and his old man treasured. Usually his old man is reluctant to drink a drink, but when it comes to you, it is like drinking without money... Also, I haven't seen you for the past few days, and your belly has grown an inch taller. ”

"Ahem, ahem, is that so—let's not talk about this for now, do you have any special circumstances to report this time?"

Feeling Qin Luojia's gaze, the middle-aged man felt a little weak, silently put away the wine jug, and began to change the topic.

"Oh. ”

Qin Luojia rolled her eyes and began to report the information she had.

"Before Huashan's trip, Master asked me to place the accompanying guards on the periphery of the mountain range, and then release a signal to meet him after completing the Sword Shrine Trial. ”

Speaking of this, Qin Luojia paused, and his tone suddenly sank.

"However, when I came out of the sword mound, I found that the sub-runes of the Zimu Spirit Talisman that were originally used to transmit messages had been destroyed. Then, I realized that the Huashan Sword Sect had already been reversed, so I immediately set off for the last place where the Zifu appeared. When I found it, there was only this one left. ”

Qin Luojia said this, took out a metal cylinder from the storage bag he carried, and handed it to the middle-aged man.

"There was no damage to the cylinder of the communicator, but the silver plate embedded in it with the symbol engraved on it was removed and destroyed. ”

Seeing that the man turned out the metal pestle, Qin Luojia took out a small cloth bag and poured out silver fragments from it.

"I understand. ”

Although Qin Luojia did not continue to say her speculation, the middle-aged man nodded. He understood what Qin Luojia meant—this dark iron communicator was carefully made in their door, and the outer shell was made of dark iron to protect the silver pieces embedded in it, and whenever the sub-sigil dissipated, the silver pieces in it could be replaced with a mechanism to save costs—and this kind of communicator, only their people knew how to use it.

Seeing that the middle-aged man nodded slightly, Qin Luojia turned around and wanted to leave this small building.

"Now that Uncle Shi knows, that person will rest in the palace. ”

"Luojia, wait, I have something to tell you!"

When the cloth boots stepped on the threshold, the middle-aged man suddenly stopped Qin Luojia.

"What's wrong with Uncle Shi?"

Qin Luojia turned his head and looked at the middle-aged man sitting on the chair without moving at all suspiciously. After seeing the smile on that chubby face, she suddenly felt a little wrong.

"Can you... Don't tell my brother... I stole his wine?"

。。。