"Shopkeeper Qian, how is the business today?" A tired old man walked into the tavern, took off his hat, and found an empty table. Under the table, "A bowl of glutinous rice wine, a plate of soy peanuts, a plate of wind-blown beef...
…Hey, half a plate is enough.”
"Hey, it's Mr. Wu who's back. Doesn't it look like business is good?" Shopkeeper Qian walked up to the old man with a frown on his face and poured half a cup of big leaf tea for him.
"Hey..." The old man known as Wu Laoguan shook his head, sighed, and said nothing.
"Wu Laoguan, you have been out for a few days, how is the situation outside?" A middle-aged man who was sitting in the corner and smoking a cigarette raised his head and asked.
"No, everyone's situation is not good. I didn't make any money when I went out this time, and I almost lost my life. The checks along the way were too intense." Wu Laoguan took out a cigarette from his arms and rolled the tobacco carefully.
"What's wrong?" Shopkeeper Qian asked with concern.
"I went to Yancheng to sell some salt, but the salt business was controlled by the Crusaders. They didn't accept imperial coins, so I had a dispute with them... Well, in short, it's hard to say, it would be great if I could come back alive." Wu Laoguan sighed.
He lit the cigarette, raised his head, and looked out the window with a pair of cloudy eyes, full of confusion.
"Yancheng has also fallen?" Shopkeeper Qian's face changed as he returned with a tray, and the hand holding the wine was trembling...
"In the Great Qin Empire, I can count on one hand the number of places that have not fallen." Wu Laoguan blew out a puff of smoke, stretched out two fingers, twisted a peanut, squinted his eyes, and chewed slowly.
"Where is General Changkong?" The middle-aged man coughed, slammed his pipe on the table, and said angrily.
"Don't talk about General Changkong. After the last battle at Jiepai Xiongguan, he was seriously injured. He protected the little emperor from wandering around and never recovered... Hey, you can't blame him. He is hundreds of years old. He is old...
…”
"Could it be that our great Qin Empire has no one except General Changkong, and where are the four gods?" the middle-aged man said with an angry look.
"The four great gods are dying, dying, and now, only the Great Hammer God is left. In fact, the four great gods are dead in name only..."
"What?!"
The few diners in the tavern all looked horrified.
"God will destroy our Great Qin Empire!" Wu Laoguan picked up the wine bowl, as if he had no intention of drinking anymore. He slowly put it down and wiped the corners of his eyes. Only then did everyone realize that he was already in tears.
An atmosphere of despair filled the tavern.
The atmosphere in the tavern became increasingly depressing. The middle-aged man clenched his fists tightly, and his finger bones made a crackling sound.
"Dongzi, you're lucky to have asked for leave to come back, otherwise, I'm afraid..." Mr. Wu sighed.
"I would rather die on the battlefield than live an ignoble existence here!" the middle-aged man muttered.
"Why……"
"How about General Guo, axe?" the middle-aged man asked.
"He is protecting that useless little emperor and can't get away."
"Do you know where they went?"
"I don't know. It seems that after the defeat not long ago, they went to the Black Forest area...Dongzi, what are you doing? You don't want to find them, do you?!"
"I am a soldier, and now we are facing a national crisis. How can I stay here and drink with you?" Dongzi took out a banknote from his arms and put it on the table.
"Dongzi, this place is more than ten thousand miles away from the Black Forest and Blackwater City. I'm afraid that before you find them... just..."
"I am a soldier. If soldiers are greedy for life and afraid of death, then the Qin Empire will really fall."
"Brother Dongzi, I'll go with you."
Suddenly, a young man who was serving food and wine said.
"You're crazy!" Shopkeeper Qian yelled.
"Dad, Brother Dongzi is right..."
"Dongzi is a soldier, you are not a soldier!" Shopkeeper Qian interrupted the young man's voice sharply.
"Everyone is responsible for the national crisis! Dad, I am not young anymore. In short, I have decided on this matter. If you don't let me go, I will go, unless you lock me up."
"Qian Fu, you are still young..." Dongzi persuaded.
"Brother Dongzi, if everyone in the Great Qin Empire hides, then they will really become slaves of the country. Don't try to persuade me. Even if you don't take me there, I will go there secretly. In short, I have made up my mind.
!" The young man took off his hat and apron, with a determined look on his face.
"..." Dongzi opened his mouth but said nothing, with a hint of appreciation on his face.
"I'll go with you too."
A young man who was drinking drunk stood up with a look of determination on his face.
Dongzi said nothing, nodded, and strode outside. The young man Qian Fu and the drunk young man quickly followed.
"Wait, wait a minute..." Shopkeeper Qian shouted anxiously.
"Dad, I have made up my mind..."
"Silly boy, are you going like this? You need to bring some dry food, money, and a few more pairs of shoes, and by the way...and weapons...just wait, I'll get it for you right now, no matter how urgent it is, I won't
Be anxious for a moment..."
"Dad..." Qian Fu had tears in his eyes.
"Cry me, don't cry. You are my father's pride. If my father wasn't old enough and his old bones couldn't stand the torment, he would have gone with you. Okay, okay, don't cry. You can go together."
, there is also someone to take care of you, Dongzi, just wait, I will come right away..."
"We are waiting for you." Dongzi nodded.
"I'll be here soon."
After shopkeeper Qian said hello to everyone, he picked up a bunch of keys and hurriedly entered the back room...
…
"Haha, these are my treasured weapons, combat shoes, and heart-protecting leather armor. These are good things. They can be hidden under clothes and are invulnerable..."
When it was time to burn a stick of incense, Shopkeeper Qian came out of the back room carrying a lot of things. Because there were so many things, Shopkeeper Qian's entire head was covered.
Quiet!
There was a breathless silence.
Shopkeeper Qian didn't hear cheers, but a pin-drop silence, as if there was no one in the tavern.
Shopkeeper Qian sensed something was wrong and slowly turned his body. He saw a group of people. A group of soldiers wearing armors surrounded a sitting young soldier. Those soldiers had dazzling golden cross badges on their armors.
At the same time, shopkeeper Qian saw that Dongzi and the young man had returned to their original positions, while his son Qian Fu was standing by the counter blankly.
Wow...
Shopkeeper Qian shook his body and let go of his arms. His shoes, wrist guards, leather armor, and weapons fell to the floor.
The young man who was sitting stood up, walked to Shopkeeper Qian, slowly bent down, picked up a small and sharp dagger, and pulled it away. The dagger emitted a bright light.
"Not bad, good stuff, remember to keep it next time." Zhao Yuan inserted the dagger into the scabbard and handed it to Shopkeeper Qian.
"Yes, yes..." Shopkeeper Qian was sweating profusely and trembling all over.
"If you have anything delicious to drink, bring it up. By the way, don't put any drugs or anything like that." Zhao Yuan looked around the tavern and returned to where he was sitting.
"Don't dare, don't dare..."
Shopkeeper Qian wiped the sweat from his forehead and winked at Qian Fu, but Qian Fu was still in a daze. Shopkeeper Qian had no choice but to walk over and give Qian Fu a hard poke. Qian Fu was like waking up from a dream.
He quickly ran to the kitchen to prepare the food and drinks.
Most of the taverns serve cold dishes and stewed vegetables, and wine and meat are served quickly.
The diners in the tavern didn't dare to leave. They held their breath and didn't dare to make the slightest sound.
Soon, people saw the clues that the young man who started talking to Shopkeeper Qian was the leader of a group of soldiers. Not only was he calm and graceful, but the soldiers around him also looked at him with respect.
Zhao Yuan invited everyone to sit down and drink and eat meat.
A group of space hunters looked at each other, hesitated, and finally sat down, but they only sat on half of the chairs, looking very reserved.
It's very quiet inside the pub.
Although people did not stare at Zhao Yuan, everyone was paying attention to Zhao Yuan's every move and guessing his identity.
Dongzi glanced at Zhao Yuan for a while, then looked out the window, looking anxious, and kept smoking his pipe. He didn't realize that there was no shredded tobacco in the pipe.
Finally, Dongzi stood up.
Seeing Dongzi stand up, the diners' hearts beat wildly. However, Dongzi did not walk towards the group of crusaders, but towards the counter.
"Shopkeeper, check out." Dongzi said slowly.
"Bill, please……"
Shopkeeper Qian was stunned, but he clearly remembered that Dongzi had already settled the bill.
"No need to look for it. By the way, give me the things I left inside." Dongzi put several large-denomination imperial coins on the counter.