Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 368: Taiping County Incident, Entering the Capital
There are more and more demons.

A few years ago, they didn’t know what demons were, but now demons have become something almost known to everyone and they almost coexist with humans.

But even so, the fall of Taiping County into the land of demons was something Shen Qing had never thought of.

Yongzhou is thousands of miles away from Taiping County. It may be very far for ordinary people, but for monsters, especially those powerful monsters, this distance is nothing at all.

In other words, Yongzhou is not very safe anymore.

Shen Qing said to his uncle Shen Er: "Where are the people coming from Taiping County?"

Uncle Shen Er looked embarrassed and his expression became hesitant.

Shen Qing saw his uncle's difficulty and thought he was going to cause trouble for them, so he quickly explained, "Uncle, don't worry, I just want to ask them something."

The uncle let out a long sigh and said, "I'll send a servant to tell them to come over so you don't have to make the trip."

"That's fine. I'll go back to the study first." Shen Qing nodded and said, "When they arrive, they can come directly to me."

"Okay." Shen Er agreed.

Shen Qing bowed politely and walked out of the yard, intending to return to the study to deal with trivial matters.

As for the Yongzhou Weiwusi Yamen, Shen Qing didn't need to go there for the time being.

Ji Zikong has already given him a new appointment, so there must be a suitable candidate in Yongzhou and he doesn't need to worry about it.

In the courtyard of the mansion, the thin morning mist gradually dissipated in the sunlight.

Shen Qing was walking on the bluestone road when he unexpectedly met his elder sister Shen Fang.

She and the maid beside her were holding hands, behaving very intimately.

When the eldest sister saw Shen Qing, her face changed and she quickly let go of the hand of the maid beside her, looking quite frightened.

"Aoko/sir." They said in unison.

Shen Qing nodded and passed by the two people.

After he left, the eldest sister Shen Fang looked guilty and hurriedly pulled her maid away.

Shen Qing looked back twice, thinking about something.

The eldest sister Shen Fang is not young anymore. In this world, she is like an old maid and is past the age of marriage.

If the eldest sister asks, given his current conditions, he can choose any man in Yongzhou.

However, up to now, I haven't heard that my eldest sister has any intention of finding a good family.

If he remembered correctly, the maid was called Huanhuan. She was also the daughter of a hunter and was sold to his family to be a maid.

The time was not long, only about half a year.

Thinking carefully back over the past six months, this maid named Huanhuan seemed to be always with the eldest sister Shen Fang, and they were inseparable.

A possibility suddenly occurred to Shen Qing, and he was speechless.

Forget it, this matter is no longer something he can consider, just let them be.

Be it my uncle, aunt, or eldest sister, they have already passed the age of practicing martial arts and their lifespan is limited.

He could only do his best to help them while they were still alive.

……

The study door.

"Sir, in accordance with the master's instructions, I have brought the person you wanted to see." A servant reported respectfully.

Shen Qing's calm and majestic voice came from the study: "Come in."

"Yes."

The servant responded and then gently pushed the heavy wooden door.

With a slightly ancient creaking sound, the door slowly opened, and the servant said respectfully, "Please come in."

There were three people coming this time. It was their first time entering the depths of the Shen Mansion and they had never seen such a scene.

There was a hint of uneasiness and curiosity in each of their eyes, and they walked in with a nod and a bow.

Shen Qing looked up and recognized one of the men, who was burly with a slightly rough face. He was an acquaintance from Hongshan Village.

This person is a child of a hunter and is of the same generation as him.

Shen Qing shouted directly: "You are... Gou Sheng?!"

When the burly man saw Shen Qing, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but after a moment he quickly became submissive and lowered his head to look at his feet.

After staying in Yongzhou for a while, he already knew that this peer from his hometown had made great progress and could no longer be compared to the past. He must not be as casual as before.

He clasped his hands and bowed, saying gratefully, "I didn't expect that the Master still remembered me."

Shen Qing stood up and said, "How are your parents and family? Are they all okay?"

"Master Lao is worried about them. They have been eaten by monsters just like the others." Gou Sheng narrated in a flat tone, as if he was talking about something extremely ordinary.

While speaking, he couldn't help but look at Shen Qing twice more, feeling regretful in his heart.

When Shen Qing left, they chose to stay in Taiping County for stability.

If he was bolder and followed Shen Qing, he might be able to get a position in the government like Tian Xiaohu and others.

Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in the world.

Once missed, it's missed. There is no second chance.

When Shen Qing heard this, a solemn expression gathered between his brows, and he asked in a deep voice: "What exactly happened in Taiping County? Tell me in detail."

Now demons keep appearing and strange things are happening everywhere, making him feel more and more uneasy.

He wanted to obtain more intelligence and information as quickly as possible so that he would have a clear idea of ​​the situation.

Gou Sheng took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. After looking at his two equally solemn companions, he said, "About a month ago, a huge ancient tomb suddenly appeared in a place called Qingniu Mountain outside Taiping County. It seemed to appear out of thin air, suddenly growing out of the ground. It was very strange."

"I heard that the ancient tomb is very strange. It looks like volcanic magma from the outside, and it dyed the sky red."

“As soon as this strange tomb appeared, all the demons gathered near Taiping County rushed over.”

"At first, only a few brave demons tried to attack. After a long time of attack, they failed. Then a giant bird with nine heads led many powerful demons to attack day and night, and cracked the ancient tomb. Many great treasures came out of it, and many demons' strength increased by leaps and bounds."

"Since then, those demons have used this place as their base and stayed in Taiping County, doing whatever they want."

"Now in the whole Taiping County, we have almost become prey in their eyes, like livestock in a pen. They eat a few today and a few tomorrow. People die every day in the county, and there are not many people left alive."

“It took us a lot of effort to escape from the city.”

After listening to Gou Sheng's narration, Shen Qing fell into deep thought and asked, "Did any spiritual energy appear when this ancient tomb appeared?"

"Spiritual essence?"

Shen Qing explained: "It means whether there are any unusual phenomena around the ancient tomb, such as trees growing wildly."

"Yes, yes." An ordinary man standing next to Gousheng nodded quickly and said, "At the beginning, when the demons had not really taken action, some people often went to the place where the ancient tomb appeared to collect herbs. There are indeed many medicinal herbs from previous years in that place." Shen Qing's heart moved when he heard this. It seems that this is the same as the ancient ruins that appeared in Danzhou, both of which are creations from ancient times.

It may be a coincidence once, but if such things happen one after another, it must not be that simple.

Who knows, there might be an ancient corpse hidden in that ancient tomb, who, like that perfect woman, possesses great power that can reach the heavens and penetrate the earth.

Shen Qing recalled carefully that the first demon he encountered was in Taiping County, and it was a tiger demon.

Is this also a coincidence?

Moreover, with so many monsters in the world now, what are Ji Zikong and the others thinking about?

Why don’t you send an army to suppress them? Are we really going to watch these demons run rampant?

Shen Qing didn't understand, but was greatly shocked.

He believed that if this continued, it would not be long before the second, third, or even more cities would be conquered and occupied by demons.

The Great Zhou Kingdom is already in danger.

"Sir, do you have anything else to ask?" Gou Sheng asked when he saw Shen Qing remained silent for a long time.

Shen Qing came back to his senses, shook his head gently and said: "There is nothing to ask, you can go back first. If you encounter any difficulties in life, you can come to the mansion to find me."

Gousheng and the other two were overjoyed and said, "Okay, okay, thank you, sir."

Shen Qing returned to his seat and sat down, placing his hands on the table, tapping the tabletop with his fingers, making a rhythmic sound, and muttering to himself: "The matter of the Royal Arsenal can no longer be delayed."

"No matter how you look at it, there may be a big change in the world. I heard that the Ji family has collected a third of the world's martial arts. The royal arsenal not only contains various unique skills, but also many magic weapons and elixirs that help martial artists practice. "

"My cultivation level is good enough for those below, but it is far from enough for those above. At least Xue Zhao is not someone I can handle right now."

'Perhaps I can use this to improve my cultivation as quickly as possible.'

After considering for a long time, Shen Qing decided to go to Beijing as soon as possible, on the one hand to look for opportunities in martial arts, and on the other hand for the safety of his family.

After all, a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall.

Shen Qing is not a indecisive person. After he makes a decision, he quickly puts it into action.

That day he asked everyone in the mansion to pack their bags and prepare to set off for Beijing with his family.

In addition to his uncle, aunt and other family members, Shen Qing also felt out the intentions of people around him.

Tian Xiaohu was a lonely man who had been following him. There was nothing much to say. Besides him, there were also Chen Guang, Ji Youwu and several others who chose to go to Beijing with him.

However, Xiao Zhi planned to stay in Yongzhou.

After asking him carefully, I found out that he had a family secretly and was unwilling to abandon his wife and children to pursue his career alone.

Shen Qing naturally wouldn't force it.

It just so happens that there is a huge family property in Yongzhou that needs to be guarded and looked after, so a few trustworthy people need to be left behind.

After comprehensive consideration, Shen Qing finally kept Zhang Shuyuan and Xiao Zhi in Yongzhou to help him manage and guard Yongzhou's industries.

Generally speaking, as long as he doesn't fall, other people in Yongzhou won't be able to make much waves.

In the meantime, let Wu Sheng go back and forth and share what they have, so as to keep it as a retreat.

It took another three to five days for Shen Qing to sort out the mess left by Zhou Su, and then he prepared to go to Beijing with a few confidants and his family.

Considering the long distance, it would take more than a month to walk there alone, and the job search in Kyoto and the Xue family's affairs could not be delayed for too long.

So Shen Qing arranged for the troops to be divided into two groups, and he flew alone back to Kyoto first.

Tian Xiaohu and others escorted their uncle and aunt and others along the official road.

Now Tian Xiaohu and others have all reached the Yang Qi realm, and there are also martial artists at the Qi Hai realm. They are more than capable of dealing with the petty thieves along the way, and even the ordinary monsters, so there is no danger on the road.

After sending his uncle, aunt and others to the official road and making sure that everything was fine, Shen Qing activated the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

He absorbed the purest spiritual energy around him into his body, causing the spiritual power in his body to boil and become majestic and powerful.

Soon, this powerful spiritual power suddenly transformed into a dazzling rainbow light that enveloped him.

Shen Qing controlled the rainbow light, tapped his toes, and instantly burst out at an astonishing speed, rushing straight into the sky. The sound of breaking through the air was deafening, like the roar of a dragon or a tiger.

He rushed into the clouds and rode the wind under the blue sky.

After more than an hour of speeding, the rainbow light driven by Shen Qing landed in the backyard of Wu Sheng Restaurant in Kyoto.

Wu Sheng happened to be in the yard. When he heard the noise, he hurried forward to pay his respects.

Shen Qing symbolically dusted himself off and asked directly, "Is the place I asked you to prepare ready?"

Wu Sheng hurriedly said in a serious tone: "My lord, he is already well. The house is located in Pingkang Street outside the imperial palace, very close to various government offices."

"Take me to see it."

"Okay, I'll prepare the carriage and go there right away."

"Just go."

Shen Qing took the lead and used the Great Void Movement Technique to cross dozens of meters and quickly disappeared in front of Wu Sheng.

After a brief moment of confusion, Wu Sheng quickly got a fast horse from the stable and chased after him.

Pingkang Street is just as Wu Sheng said, right next to the side of the imperial palace, and after walking a short distance you will reach the main gate of the palace.

It is not far from the Bingmasi Yamen.

Shen Qing looked around this location and was very satisfied.

After standing there and waiting for a while, Wu Sheng came over, exhausted, and took him to a large mansion.

The gate of the courtyard looks ordinary and does not have a very high lintel, but after entering, you will find that the place is not small and the various furniture are very new.

"This courtyard house originally belonged to an official family, but because they offended His Majesty, their entire family was banished from the capital, so this house became unused and I bought it." Wu Sheng introduced: "The people living around the house are all officials from the capital."

Shen Qing used his spiritual sense to sense the entire picture and details of the room and found nothing wrong.

"Then here."

Wu Sheng's expression relaxed and he said, "Okay, then I will sign with the broker today and go through some formalities for the handover."

"You decide. Don't let me worry about such trivial matters." Shen Qing said casually, "If there is not enough money on the account, tell me."

Now that he has a wealthy family and a great fortune, he no longer cares much about material possessions.

"it is good."

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance, rushed to Shen Qing's side and stopped, laughing and saying, "Friend Shen, I finally found you."

Shen Qing turned around and said in surprise: "Master Lan."

"Your appointment documents and the rewards promised by His Majesty are already ready. When you have time, come to the Military Affairs Office to process them."

(End of this chapter)