The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 53 What can this broken knife do?!

Du Yuan had no idea what happened to the tea stall owner afterward.

He simply strolled leisurely along the official road of Qingzhou.

When I left Qingxian, I was saying that not having a means of transportation was exhausting, and that I would definitely acquire a corresponding skill later.

Now, not only do we have the convenience of shrinking space, but we also have the convenience of storing things.

It's so beautiful!

However, as she walked, Du Yuan discovered another problem, which she wasn't sure if it could be considered a problem.

That is, he didn't deliberately avoid crowds to use the Shrinking Earth technique along the way, but it seems that no one noticed his difference.

Is it because of this small seal, or is this the nature of this supernatural power, or is there something else?

Du Yuan wasn't quite sure of the reason, but she stopped outside Qingzhou City in a state of silent contemplation.

There was no such thing as tariffs; that was for caravans and horse caravans traveling between places.

Even the other party used a different city gate.

As long as ordinary passersby do not openly carry weapons or other prohibited items, neither the yamen runners at the city gate nor the soldiers guarding the city walls will pay them any attention.

Even ordinary villagers carrying vegetables and livestock could pass through here without having to detour along the trade route to pay taxes.

Du Yuan naturally followed the mainstream trend.

As Du Yuan walked, she saw two or three familiar warriors riding tall horses, heading straight in from the other side of the deserted official road.

After a few glances, Du Yuan realized that it was a martial artist from the Qian family.

Because they were on different roads, Du Yuan was still in the crowd, but the three warriors didn't see her.

However, Du Yuan noticed that the three warriors were carrying the ghost-head sabers that Qian Youcai had bought at a high price.

It seems they came to deliver the items home on behalf of Qian Youcai.

However, have the Qian family members not yet gone back to pay respects to their ancestors?
Those nearby noticed Du Yuan peering at the three martial artists, and one of them said enviously:
"If I'm not mistaken, they're from the Qian family. Sigh, in this world, it's always better to rely on a powerful family. Look at them, they were just ordinary people like us."

"Once you've climbed up to the Qian family, you won't have to queue with us when entering or leaving the prefecture; you can just walk straight on the special road reserved for the wealthy and powerful."

Du Yuan nodded and said:

"So that road over there is only for those wealthy and powerful families?"

"Actually, no. To be precise, that road was a convenient passage for official envoys such as imperial messengers, but it was mostly used by nobles."

The passerby was a talkative person, and at this point, he added excitedly:

"And let me tell you, many people don't know that the Emperor once issued an order prohibiting powerful clans from using this road. However, after the Emperor opened a special imperial examination, this decree was quickly repealed."

These few words subtly reveal the early power struggles between the imperial court and powerful clans.

So, a hero emperor?

This emperor is quite interesting.

"Been taught a lesson."

"Where is it."
-
Inside the Qian family's residence.

The head of the Qian family, Qian Dafu, is in a fit of rage.

He pointed at his eldest son, who had rushed back, and cursed:

"Look what a stupid thing your brother has done! He actually dared to talk about me, me, me. Fine, I'll let it go if this beast says the Qian family is immoral."

"He even dared to come back and tell me about this, trying to take credit for it!"

Qian Dafu was furious. He claimed that his ancestral home was haunted, and that the haunting was caused by his ancestors, because they were unfilial!

This is something that shouldn't be talked about under normal circumstances, let alone now that there's a demonic disturbance in the southwest!

Qian Youde, the eldest son of the Qian family, then offered words of comfort:

"Father, perhaps it's true."

"Um?!"

Qian Youde initially wanted to say that the matter might be true, but seeing his father turn around angrily, he quickly lowered his head and changed his words:

"Perhaps it's just that my brother was deceived by that Taoist priest. You are different from us. You traveled all over the four states in your early years and must have seen many charlatans who used their tricks to perfection."

"My younger brother lacks your knowledge and experience, so naturally he can't handle it."

His words both exonerated his younger brother and elevated his father's reputation. This naturally made Qian Dafu feel much better.

“You’re right. This is a good opportunity to teach your stupid brother a lesson.”

Before Qian Youde could even breathe a sigh of relief, three bodyguards who had followed his younger brother to Qing County joyfully entered his home.

He immediately took the long sword from his back, offered it with both hands, and shouted:
"Master, the second young master has obtained a divine sword for our family!"

broken!

Qian Youde felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. Why did this have to happen at this time?

"What? How much did it cost?"

Qian Dafu was even more surprised.

please?
I hope I didn't get scammed into selling my house!
"It's only five thousand taels of silver!"

The warrior was genuinely reporting good news, because in his understanding...

Money can be earned back, but this precious sword that can slay demons cannot be bought with silver.
Mr. Qian nearly fainted.

But he still mustered his strength and walked up to the warrior, snatching the ghost-headed sword from him.

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't see anything remarkable about it.

At this point, Qian Dafu's last shred of hope vanished completely.

What followed was endless rage.

"Five thousand taels for this piece of junk?"

The warrior was also greatly surprised:
"Sir, you have no idea, this is truly a divine treasure!"

"Bao my ass!"

In a fit of rage, Qian Dafu threw the unassuming ghost-head knife aside.

As luck would have it, it was nailed right onto the pillar in front of the door.

"I'm telling you, no one is allowed to touch this knife. I'm going to make that bastard come back and kowtow until his head bleeds in recognition of the evil he's committed!"

After saying that, Qian Dafu clutched his chest and collapsed in pain.

The people around rushed to help him up, and no one dared to mention the ghost-headed knife or the strange occurrences in Qing County anymore.

They could only hurriedly send Qian Dafu to his room to rest.

Even after being awakened by the doctor's acupuncture, the first thing Qian Dafu did upon opening his eyes was to grab his eldest son's hand, filled with grief and indignation, and say:
"Five thousand taels! That's five thousand taels of silver!"

Qian Youde forced himself to comfort him:
"Father, perhaps that knife truly possesses extraordinary abilities, but we mortals cannot perceive them."

Qian Dafu immediately cursed:
"You're talking like that? Tell me, what can that broken knife do?!"

Qian Youde dared not say anything more and could only hold his father's hand and quietly stay by his side.
-
In the teahouse outside the city, as the sun set, the shopkeeper, estimating that there would be no more customers, put down his ledger and began tidying up the tables and chairs by himself.

The two men have already gone back.

They're all young people who just got married not long ago; how could they stay here with a grown man like her forever?
So the shopkeepers sent them home to be with their wives early on.

He was busy tidying up the tables and chairs.

But beyond the twilight lights, several pairs of dirty, rumpled boots stood.

Looking up again, they were surprised to see more than a dozen soldiers surrounding a tall man covered in iron armor.

"Oh, sir, would you like some tea or something to eat? Our shop may be small, but we can still make some noodles!"

Little did they know, upon hearing this, the expressions of the seemingly dazed soldiers and the leading general all changed, and they exclaimed:

"You...you can see us?"

The shopkeeper was taken aback:
"Aren't you right in front of me?"

Seeing the shopkeeper's confusion, the general and the soldiers exchanged glances and then said to the shopkeeper:

"Then please make us a bowl of noodles each. It's been so long since I've had noodles from my hometown."

"Okay, I guarantee it's authentic Qingzhou noodles!"

The shopkeeper went into the inner room with a smile, but he didn't see the soldiers outside who remained in the dim light, neither lighting lamps nor going inside.

The night wind was bleak and indescribable, and the iron armor was rusted and crimson.

(End of this chapter)