Two days later, in Qingshan County, the sky was clear and the gentle breeze was pleasant. In the distance, the Qingshan was lush and dripping, the people lived in harmony, revealing an atmosphere of peace.
"Did you hear? There’s a military disaster in the north, and now they’re deploying troops to head north. I just ca from White Emperor City, and saw governnt soldiers galloping down the streets. Later, I heard from people traveling with that this was a redeploynt of troops rushing north. It seems the local area is about to get chaotic."
"This old man has heard sothing too. I heard it’s from our Shu area, a Martial Saint who targeted the Prince Mansion over there? Truly impressive." An old man wearing a landlord robe drank, smacking his lips, his face full of admiration.
"Hey, I heard a lot of people died too—besides, you don’t know the half of it. It’s our unparalleled Ninth Mountain Martial Saint General who went! I heard that northern prince had a wolf’s ambitions, and our General was ordered to suppress it. Ha, the prince was so frightened he abandoned the Prince Mansion and ran." A man, rugged in appearance, who sailed the rivers and wandered widely, spoke with pride. He raised a fist towards the sky, and then with interest, waved over the inn’s errand boy.
"Waiter, co here!"
The waiter, wearing a small green hat with a cloth over his shoulder, answered the call with a hunched back, jogging over, his face beaming.
"What can I do for you, sir?"
"I heard that the Martial Saint General from Ninth Mountain ca from Qingshan County. But strangely, I’ve sailed here many tis, and seldom hear local people ntion it. I originally wanted to pay my respects to the saint’s forr presence, to get so luck, but found no way. Have you heard?" The man inquired excitedly.
"Oh, my ears have beco calloused from hearing this. That one’s like an immortal, disconnected from us common folk. We don’t even rember his na or appearance, let alone anything else. But, we benefit from his legacy; nothing major has happened in this small place for years, and everyone is grateful for the general’s favor." The waiter listened and clapped his hands, pointing skyward, face full of reverence, then smiled.
The man who asked lost interest instantly upon hearing, and tossed a few copper coins, "Alright, yours as a reward."
The waiter received the tip, overjoyed, hurriedly put it in his sleeve, bowing lower.
"Thank you, sir."
Talking about this, a thought occurred to him, recalling what the guests discussed about redeploynts. He decided to add so fuel to the conversation, to amuse them.
"Hey, speaking of which, I rembered sothing. This morning, a woodsman selling firewood here ntioned that at dawn, while chopping trees in the western hills, he saw a troop moving in the woods, almost flying over treetops, horses too, and soon they vanished."
This piqued the interest of everyone in the inn.
"Did this really happen? How many troops were there?"
"Did you see what style of armor they wore?"
"...."
The main hall of Qingshan Inn was filled with guests eating and lodging. Qingshan County had beco more prosperous than before, with people coming from the south and heading north, the news was well circulated. The shocking news from Liangzhou swept through the region like a storm, even reaching Qingshan County in the east of Shu. Though the news was fragnted and unclear, even the marketplace in this remote area could discuss it well, showing that the news had fully spread.
The hall was full of diners, gathered three or four to a table, all passionately discussing the Martial Saint General’s heroic deeds, exclamations and discussions recurring frequently.
At this ti, only a square table in the corner stood out from the lively surroundings. The table stood alone by the window, with a few dishes, and a long sword beside them. A person sat behind the table, wearing a large bamboo hat with the brim pressed very low, concealing most of the face, showing only a cold and hard jawline.
This person, raising his hand, was holding a wine cup, sipping the wine. He raised his head, the liquid spilled down his throat, followed by a "plop" sound, the cup dropped onto the lacquered wooden table. A deep voice followed,
"Waiter, settle the bill!"
The waiter, still engaged with the guests, his ears were sharp — "hearing in all directions," — heard the voice and shouted back, "Coming!"
Then he apologized to the guests he was talking to, "You folks continue chatting."
Smiling, he approached the corner table by the window, glanced at the dishes, and reported the familiar prices fluently.
"Litchi kidney, thirty coins. Nu River white fish, thirty-five coins. One mapo tofu, fifteen coins. Sir, a total of eighty coins."
The waiter smiled at the guest at the table, the hat covering the whole face, with a sword on the table, a worldly man — clearly not soone to be ssed with — the smile on his face grew even more frequent.
"I have no silver coin; can I use sothing else to settle?" The voice under the hat was deep with a presence of Death Qi. As he spoke, he raised his head, revealing cold eyes with Death Qi beneath the hat, sending a chill through the waiter, raising goosebumps down his spine.
"What...what does the guest wish to use?" The waiter started stamring, and the commotion drew glances from surrounding tables.
The person spoke word by word, eyes cold as stars, killing intent bursting forth, "With the heads of everyone here!"
As his words fell,
"Sceng!"
The long sword on the table unsheathed, cold light suddenly bursting forth, whistling past the terrified eyes of the waiter.
"Ah"
A line of blood sliced across the waiter’s ear, resulting in a scream.
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