There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

Chapter 72: The Old Man

"The little girl is very strong."

Seeing Lu Qing lift the heavy greatsword with one hand, the old man sitting on the wooden chair said.

"How can you be a mercenary if you're not strong?" Lu Qing said casually.

"A mercenary, huh? I really couldn't tell." The old man looked at Lu Qing's attire and said, "I thought you were a thief or an assassin, young lady."

As the old man spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he exuded a seasoned and experienced aura.

"Although I've retired, I could theoretically ignore any anomalies I discover. However, I still want to warn you that I don't care what your purpose is in creating those assassination weapons."

"But if I find out that this weapon is circulating in the market, or if you cause any trouble, believe me, you will regret it!"

"........"

Lu Qing didn't speak. She looked at the old man sitting on the wooden chair. Under the old man's fierce aura, Lu Qing felt that the person in front of her was not an old man with graying temples, but a warrior wielding a battle axe and fighting bloody battles.

As for what the other party was thinking, Lu Qing could guess some of it.

An unprecedented and ingeniously designed assassination weapon, if it were to circulate on the market, would likely cause quite a stir, even if it were very expensive to produce.

As a general of the empire, the old man, though now retired, would certainly still have to intervene in such matters.

Besides this, there are actually some things that Lu Qing doesn't know.

Whether it's a killer, an assassin, or a thief, they're unlikely to be well-liked anywhere.

After all, as long as the money is enough, the assassin won't care who the person being assassinated is, which often leads to a lot of mess.

When the old man saw the design drawings of the hidden sword, he immediately suspected Lu Qing and Fang Qingrou.

They suspected the two might be assassins or killers, and that they were probably doing something while staying in Fenghua City.

But on second thought, if they were legitimate assassins, why would they come to a proper weapon shop to have their equipment crafted, especially with "Fine Steel Craftsmanship," which has a close working relationship with the official organization?

Going to the black market is much better than here. Although the prices might be higher, how could an assassin be short of money?

However, the truth is that the other party not only came to this legitimate weapons shop, but also hadn't paid the full deposit for the weapons, and seemed to be in a bit of a predicament.

Despite having many doubts, the old man immediately investigated the two of them.

Their birthplace and relatives were not found, but it was known that the two had stayed in the town sealed off by mist four months ago during the "Mist-Sealed Town" incident.

The report submitted by the local priest revealed that a girl named Lu Qing had helped the priests in the town and solved the town's fog problem.

The string of throwing knives was a gift from the local priest.

As for the source of the hidden blade design, it was naturally impossible to find.

In order to conduct a further investigation, the old man had a message sent by carrier pigeon to the priest in the town of Misty. After ten days of urgent delivery, he finally received a reply from the priest.

In the letter, the priest revealed most of the girl's information, such as that she was just an ordinary girl and that she had learned to throw knives on the spot.

As for the hidden blade, the priest said he had never heard of it or seen it.

Finally, the ending states that the girl named Lu Qing could not possibly be a dangerous person.

After receiving the priest's reply, the old man's wariness had largely dissipated.

Especially when he learned that Lu Qing and Fang Qingrou had accepted the opera house's commission to play the lead roles in the opera.

Look at this, is this what an assassin should do?

Of course, all of this could be a disguise, but when combined with the preceding events, it becomes highly credible.

So in the end, the old man agreed to the weapons shop owner's request and handed over the tools.

In fact, if the tools hadn't been delivered so slowly, Lu Qing's hidden blade would have been completed eight days ago.

After all, this thing isn't that big, so how could it possibly need so many geniuses to make it?

However, although he agreed to the creation of the hidden blade, in order to prevent Lu Qing from leaking the dangerous design drawings and also to confirm it with his own eyes at the last moment, the old man still came here on the day the weapon was completed, waiting for Lu Qing and Fang Qingrou to arrive.

"I've worried myself sick for the empire," the old man thought to himself, stroking his chin.

He's already retired, why is he still doing such tiring work? The empire isn't even going to give him a raise, so why bother?

The old man felt increasingly cheated. He had been investigating this and that for days, and had even lost a lot of his precious hair, only to find out in the end that he had been overthinking things.

Well, he was just bored. After retiring, he had nothing to do and didn't want to be like those ordinary old people who did nothing all day but chat and discuss their descendants.

I finally found something to do, but I got too excited and devoted all my energy to it for the whole day.

After checking, they told him that nothing was wrong and that he was just overthinking it.

Afterwards, I inevitably felt some regret.

Seeing the two silent girls before him, the old man realized that his imposing presence might have frightened them, so he slowly withdrew his aura and said:

"In short, just don't let these weapon design blueprints get out. Also, don't do anything bad. You can leave now."

Looking at the old man in front of her who had changed so quickly, Lu Qing was a little puzzled.

Is that all? Are we not going to investigate anything further?

Two people with no idea about their backgrounds are holding the blueprints for a powerful assassination weapon. As a former general of the empire, is it really okay for you to just let them go?

Well, Lu Qing had no idea that the other party had already investigated everything that needed to be investigated. In the end, she could only sigh that this was indeed a dream, and things unrelated to the main plot would not become too complicated.

However, she still had things to do, so of course she wouldn't just leave like that.

Shaking her head, Lu Qing looked at the weapon shop owner beside her and said, "I don't want to leave yet. I have some questions for you, boss."

"Uh." Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, the weapon shop owner paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you want to ask?"

"Um, I wanted to ask if you know Miss Shanara?" Lu Qing thought for a moment and asked.

“This…” The weapon shop owner didn’t expect Lu Qing to ask this question. He glanced at the old man sitting on the wooden chair, hesitated for a moment, and said, “I know him. What’s wrong?”

"That's how it is." Lu Qing organized her thoughts and said:

“Miss Shanara has been in a bad mood lately. Although I really want to help, I don’t know how. I was thinking of giving her something she likes, but I don’t know what she likes. So I’m thinking of asking someone who knows her.”

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Chapter 73: It's All the Fault of Arrogance

"Ok?"

The weapon shop owner paused for a moment, then asked, "Miss Lu Qing, do you know Shanara?"

"what?"

Lu Qing was stunned by what the weapon shop owner said, and then she remembered that she did not seem to have mentioned that she knew Shanara.

After thinking for a moment, she said:

"I forgot to mention, Xiaorou and I are now actors in this opera performance, but as for our roles, that needs to be kept secret!"

"!?"

Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, Belis's pupils widened suddenly, and she exclaimed in surprise:

"Are you the singers for this opera?!"

“Of course,” Fang Qingrou answered the question on Lu Qing’s behalf.

“Oh, but I’ve never heard you mention this before,” Bellis said, sounding somewhat incredulous.

"You didn't ask us either," Fang Qingrou said, feigning helplessness.

They had no idea that Shanara was involved with the weapons shop owner. When they passed by and talked to Belis, they never brought up this matter.

"this......."

Bellis was speechless and wanted to say something, but then she realized that Fang Qingrou was right. She hadn't asked why Lu Qing and Fang Qingrou were telling her this kind of thing.

At that moment, the weapons shop owner, who had already figured things out, looked at Lu Qing and said:

"If that's the question, there's someone in this room who's more suited to answer it than I am."

"Who?"

Upon hearing the weapon shop owner's words, Lu Qing subconsciously looked at Belis beside her.

Could it be that Bellis and Shanara are very familiar with each other?

Thinking about it carefully, if the weapon shop owner knows Shanara, then there's no reason why Bellis wouldn't know her. Besides, Bellis and Shanara are the same age, so they should have more in common.

Lu Qing was thinking this when, to her surprise, Belis, who was being looked at by Lu Qing, shook her head and said:

"I can only say that I know Miss Shanara, we are not very familiar. Rather than friends, I think Miss Shanara is more like an object of my admiration."

At this point, Bellis smiled and said, "I've been looking forward to the opera being performed at the Feng Hua Opera House for a long time. I definitely have to go see it in a few days."

"Not Belis?"

Lu Qing was stunned. Aside from Belis and the weapons shop owner, who else in this room could answer her questions...?

"No way."

Lu Qing turned around and looked at the old man sitting on the wooden chair, feeling that things might be too coincidental.

Sensing Lu Qing's gaze, the old man gave a soft snort:

"Hmph, Shanara is my granddaughter, is there a problem with that?"

Is this how it's going to happen?!

Although somewhat surprised, Lu Qing hadn't forgotten her purpose, so she asked:

"So, do you know what Miss Shanara likes?"

"What else could she like besides opera?" the old man said.

"........"

The old man's tone wasn't very friendly. Of course, it wasn't because he disliked you; rather, it reflected a relationship with his granddaughter that might not be as amicable as you might think.

After glancing at the notice board, Lu Qing thought for a moment and then asked:

"Besides opera, as Miss Shanara's grandfather, don't you even know what she likes?"

"She ran away from home when she was sixteen. How am I supposed to know what she likes now?" the old man said irritably.

"Run away from home?"