After negotiating with the Fruit Wood Chamber of Commerce, Shi Cheng entrusted them to send a letter to the Western Desert Kingdom, and the address of the recipient was Zheng Yidao's residence.

The content of the letter is very simple, first a simple greeting, and then expressing that he did not have an accident at sea, but drifted to the North Rainforest Continent, and got in touch with the local Hanyue National Chamber of Commerce, and finally agreed with Zheng Yidao in the letter to discuss business matters in detail after arriving in Lingnan Prefecture.

Although the content is simple, the meaning of the letter is quite rich, on the one hand, to Zheng Yidao and Zhao Ping behind him, you don't have to worry about me anymore, on the other hand, you explain your current situation, and agree on the time and way to contact in the future. In addition, Shi Cheng also cleverly inserted the code words he had agreed with Zheng Yidao before leaving the Southern Wilderness to ensure the authenticity of the letter.

Before leaving, Shi Cheng took out half of his belongings and handed them to Mu Shoude, hoping that he could use them to fund and treat the villagers in Xianyou Village who were suffering from frost.

Shi Cheng didn't believe in the incorruptibility of Mu Shoude, but there was no more way at the moment, but fortunately, in the past three years since he left the mountain, he still saved some savings, plus the wealth he got from Zhu Mingtao, even if only one-tenth of it was used on the villagers, it could be of great help to them.

After all this, Shi Cheng and the three of them bid farewell to Kawa Country, and headed for the next destination amid the ringing of the horse bell of the Fruit Wood Chamber of Commerce's convoy.

In the carriage of the convoy, Shi Cheng finally obtained two copies of the Wei Guodi newspaper from Xu Fengshi's hands.

The two Di newspapers are both well-known newspapers in the Wei State, one is called "Changjie Bao", and the other is called "Tiandu Post", the fly in the ointment is that these two Di newspapers were issued more than a month ago, not the latest.

As soon as he got the newspaper, Shi Cheng couldn't wait to read it, just like a fish in the water again.

As soon as the newspaper came into his eyes, Shi Cheng involuntarily sat up straight, and several eye-catching headlines on the front pages of the two Di newspapers made his heart tremble.

"News! Negotiations in the border areas of the West Desert and Dongdan have broken down, how far is the Southern Wilderness from the second four-year war? 》

"The First Haibu Regiment Rushed to the Western Desert, and the Safety of the Southern Wilderness cannot be lost"

"The new minister of the Western Desert officially took over, what did He Xian, who was gloomy out, bring to the Western Desert? 》

"The investigation of the poisoning case in the Western Desert Wangcheng has been completed, and Han Qu vows to make the mastermind behind the scenes pay the price"

"News! A conflict broke out in the East Danbian Army of the Western Desert! 》

The last title really startled Shi Cheng, he glanced at the time, and found that there was only a seven-day gap between the news of the outbreak of the conflict between the border army and the news of the breakdown of the border negotiations.

He hurriedly turned his head and asked Xu Fengshi, who was sitting in the same carriage, "Deacon Xu, has there been a fight over there in the Southern Wilderness?" ”

"Huh?"

Being asked by Shi Cheng so suddenly, Xu Fengshi hadn't reacted yet, he glanced at the newspaper in Shi Cheng's hand, and then nodded and replied: "That's the case, about a month ago, a skirmish broke out between the border armies of Ximo and Dongdan on the border land, and people died on both sides. ”

"What's going on now, the two countries won't declare war on each other, will they?" Shi Cheng asked eagerly.

"Hey, that's not going to happen." Xu Fengshi couldn't help laughing, "Half a month ago, the envoys of Great Wei and your Chita people dragged the officials of the Western Desert and Dongdan to have a face-to-face conversation in the island country of Kongbir in the northwest of the Western Desert. ”

Shi Cheng's heart was a little calm.

"However, the situation in the Southern Wilderness is still very tense, and coupled with the poisoning cases created by the foreign craftsmen, the entire Southern Wilderness is now like a warehouse full of gunpowder, I hope that the Holy Venerable will protect and there will be no sparks suddenly." Xu Fengshi shrugged his shoulders and said in a half-joking euphemism.

Shi Cheng was too lazy to explain anything about the "foreign details", he knew that Xu Fengshi would not believe this. Shi Cheng lowered his head, flipped to the World News page of Di Bao, and read it carefully.

Soon, another explosive news also entered Shi Cheng's eyes, but it did not surprise Shi Cheng.

This news is naturally that Zhu Mingtao, the top monk of the Western Desert Country, the owner of Zhujia Mountain Villa, has mysteriously disappeared.

Of course, Wei Guo's Di Bao still paid less attention to the owner of Zhu Zhuang than the tense situation in the Southern Wilderness, but even so, it can be seen from the report that Zhu Mingtao's disappearance has caused confusion among the Zhu family and even many wealthy families in the Western Desert Kingdom.

Shi Cheng pretended to be surprised and said, "Zhu Mingtao, the head of the Ximo Zhu family, is missing?" ”

Xu Fengshi nodded and said, "Yes, I haven't found anyone yet." And I also heard that Zhu Mingtao suddenly evaporated from the world overnight, and many martial arts people in the Eastern Continent and the Southern Wilderness also had different opinions during this time, and gossip was flying all over the sky. It is said that he was approached by a fierce enemy; Some say that they are trapped in a secret realm; It is also said that he was entrusted by the Western Desert official to carry out some kind of secret mission. ”

Speaking of this, Xu Fengshi shrugged: "But anyway, the owner of the Zhu Zhuang has not reappeared until now, and the Zhu family and the Ximo government have almost turned the Ximo Wangcheng upside down and have not found out, so it can only be said that it is a pity that there is a huge Zhu family, and I don't know if it can maintain the façade of the top wealthy family in the Ximo in the future." ”

Shi Cheng and the two companions looked at each other, and the three of them had the wisdom to stop talking about this topic, Shi Cheng lowered his head and continued to read the newspaper.

After carefully reading the contents of the newspaper, Shi Cheng's mood became more and more heavy.

As the mainstream newspaper of the Wei State, it reported on the conflict in the "periphery of the empire" such as the Southern Wilderness in two consecutive issues, and what it meant behind it. In addition to the last four-year war that also took place in the Southern Wilderness, only the West Rosa War, which broke out before the Battle of Nanyang Island and took place in Nanhanyue Continent, had this "honor".

Of course, the Battle of Nanyang Island (called the Second Battle of the Territory by the Union Khanate) was a war that almost escalated into a war of the nations, not to mention the rebellion of the Lu tribes, which was not named a war of the nations, but it was not much more bloody and even a catastrophe that was overcome.

At the same time, a conjecture that had been in rudiments in the Western Desert Country resurfaced in Shi Cheng's mind.

"Now it seems that one of my guesses before leaving the Southern Wilderness may be correct, one of the main purposes of the Lu tribe to stir up the situation in the Southern Wilderness may be to provoke disputes between foreign powers, ignite the powder keg of the Southern Wilderness, and make the war between the countries ...... again."

After this thought resurfaced in his mind, Shi Cheng only felt that the cold air was emitting from his spine, judging from the current situation, the Lu Clan's operation in the Southern Wilderness had undoubtedly been successful.

Shi Cheng is still very confident in his hometown in this regard, and the heads and brains in Yujing City have always been determined.

But it is difficult to say on the side of Wei, when the hegemonic empire that defends it finds itself declining and about to lose the authority in its hands, the center and the people will often fall into chaos and madness to varying degrees, this situation has happened many times in history, although there are exceptions, but Shi Cheng, who has visited Wei, knows that at least the current Wei State is unlikely to become that exception.

He laid the newspaper on his lap, leaned down, exhaled, and gently pressed his left hand against his troubled head.

Xu Fengshi asked with concern, "Shi Immortal Master, but you are not feeling well?" ”

Shi Cheng straightened up with a smile, waved his hand, and said, "Of course not, it's just that seeing that the situation in the Southern Wilderness is so tense, I'm just worried about my family's business." ”

Xu Fengshi smiled and comforted a few words, and Shi Cheng carefully flipped through the newspaper in his hand again. Shi Cheng secretly killed a number of internal guards in the Western Desert before leaving the Western Desert, but this incident was not seen in the Wei people's mansion newspaper, and it was thought to be covered up.

......

After leaving Kawa City, everyone walked for three days and arrived at Batu City, the royal city of Batu City, after a short rest in Batu City for two days, Xu Fengshi and Yang Qingwen bid farewell to the president and deacons of the Batu City Branch, and then went north with Shi Cheng and others, heading towards Kenbin Kingdom.

The long journey was dull and boring, and the people in the wide carriage looked harmonious, but in fact, Shi Cheng and the three of them were a small circle that could chat with each other frequently, and Xu Fengshi and other members of the Fruit Wood Chamber of Commerce were another small circle.

Xu Fengshi is the person who communicates with Shi Cheng and the three of them the most among the members of the Fruit Wood Chamber of Commerce, and I have to say that compared to Yang Qingwen, who has always shown a polite image on weekdays, the caravan buddy who nodded to Shi Cheng and the three of them, and Han Dea, who has been cold-eyed along the way, Xu Fengshi, who can gag from time to time in the chat and is a peer of Shi Cheng, does make the three feel closer.

Shi Cheng also asked Xu Fengshi privately why Hand Dea seemed to be quite cold to him, and in Shi Cheng's expectation, he should have never met Hand de A before.

Xu Fengshi didn't explain much on this issue, he just said with a smile: "Brother Han used to work in the Xinyegang Chenghui Library, and he usually came into contact with more books than people, but he was just not very good at dealing with strangers like Brother Shi, and he didn't mean to target you. ”

When he heard about the Hui Library, Shi Cheng's face couldn't help twitching, and as a person who had been to Wei before, he also understood the reason. The Hui Library is a calligraphy and painting chamber of commerce funded by the big businessmen in the Wei State on the surface, and has produced a large number of works that hate the Chita people, if Han De Ah is really a person from this library, then it is not surprising that he has this attitude towards Shi Cheng, even if Shi Cheng is a Danshi.

Walking long distances in the hot and humid rainforest island is indeed a torturous thing, if the first three days on the road everyone still have the mood to enjoy the tropical scenery outside the window, then after leaving Batu City, this mood quickly disappeared in the bumps of the carriage and the humid and hot air blowing in the window, fortunately, Shi Cheng and the three of them were in the car pasted a low-grade ice charm, which made this long journey retain a trace of comfort.

After leaving Batu City, the convoy drove on a wide dirt road for nearly a month, and the brick and stone houses finally emerged from the deserted wilderness, and King Kembin City, located in the north-central part of the Northern Rainforest Continent, finally came into view.

......

Wednesday Fu, a member of the Fruit Wood Chamber of Commerce who accompanied the convoy on the road, took a fast horse three days before the convoy arrived in Kenbin Wangcheng and headed for Wangcheng first, and he needed to say hello to the members of the Chamber of Commerce and partners in Wangcheng in advance.

After a day of socializing, Wednesday visited a small shop in the north of Kenbin Wangcheng the next day.

The owner of the shop, who was nearly fifty years old, had a square appearance and a long beard, and unlike the owner of other stalls on the same street, the owner of the shop was a Hanyue man.

Although the owner of the Cold Moon Man shopkeeper did not seem to be inconspicuous, few merchants from the north and south did not know him, after all, he was the one who was the informant in the city, and he was the only real estate broker who could find short-term rental houses in the city for the merchants in a short period of time.

"Hehe, Old Chu, it's been good lately, I feel like your body is strong again." Zhou Fu wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, smiled and moved a small wooden stool for himself, and sat next to the house broker known as Chu Lao.

"It's Zhou Boy from the Fruit Tree Chamber of Commerce." Old Chu raised his head, yawned, and supported his sunshade straw hat with his hand, "The house has been contacted by you, it is in the manor outside Lin Feng in the northern suburbs of the city, you can find it by walking along the Ladoka Lane in the north to the northwest, ensuring that the guests of your family can live at ease and are close to the forbidden area." Well, I finally got in touch with you, isn't this commission ......?"

When Chu Lao said this, he lazily stretched out his right hand and snapped his fingers gently.

"Of course, that's of course." Wednesday Fuxi smiled, "This time is also thanks to you, Old Chu, otherwise it would be so easy to find a house that can receive distinguished guests during this time." ”

"Alright, alright." Chu Lao waved his hand, "You give me the list of guests who want to live first, I will go to the forester's house in the afternoon to inform them, and you will follow me to the store on the other side of the street in a while, we will sign the lease deed, and I will send it to the outsider's house in the afternoon." ”

Zhou Zhou Fu nodded, took out an envelope from the cloth bag he was carrying, and then took out a piece of paper from the envelope and handed it to Chu Lao.

Chu Lao took the letter and glanced at it casually, but when he saw the lower part of the letter, his expression suddenly became strange.

"You've added three new guests temporarily?"

"Yes, Chu Lao, there is no problem with this, we booked two more large rooms when we placed an order with you before, and one of them was just right to accommodate these three guests."

"It's not a matter of numbers." Chu Lao pulled an old face, and then asked, "The two new guests are Chita people, not ordinary people, but skilled monks?" Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? ”