Fourth watch! [Qiqi Town] Part One, Chapter Three The sky darkened...

Just as the two were on the verge of conflict, “Slap… Boom!” the two men in cloaks behind Old Hua suddenly fell down for some unknown reason. Old Hua frowned; he knew that those two people were already dead, so he didn't care about Yang Xiaoquan. To him, Yang Xiaoquan posed no threat. What he was worried about was who could silently kill someone right before his eyes—this person must not be underestimated! No one knew that a figure in yellow had quietly entered the stationmaster's inn. After a brief confrontation, Old Hua lifted the corpses of the two men with both hands. Without any delay, he pushed off with his legs and, using the strength of the branches, headed toward Lin'an City.

"Disperse! Disperse! Haven't you seen a beggar before!?" Long Yu rubbed his eyes with his hands, seemingly not fully awake. Seeing many people surrounding him, he waved them away. People scattered with a swoosh. Taking the tea handed over by Moonlight, Long Yu gulped it down. When Yang Xiaoquan left, he looked back at Long Yu and his wife, who had not acted all along. A mysterious light flickered in his eyes; no one knew what he was thinking.

The crowds were gone. The stationmaster returned to the inn and saw someone in the corner drinking tea and eating roast chicken. He went to the counter, picked up the abacus, and tapped on it a few times, seemingly talking to himself: “Xiaoxiao (I, Xiaofeng, am appearing, yay!), you've come twenty-one times this month, drank two jin of my finest Longjing tea, and eleven jars of Daughter's Red wine. Perfect—one hundred thirty-two taels and seven qian!” Bang! The woman in yellow fell headfirst, her mouth agape in astonishment like a miniature black hole, “So much!?”

Xiaoxiao shyly ran in front of the stationmaster, rubbing her hands, her eyes darting left and right, pretending casually, “Can I owe you first…” The stationmaster put down the abacus and stared at Xiaoxiao from head to toe, then took a sip of tea and said, “No.”

“…” Xiaoxiao bit her lip, frowning and looking distressed. The stationmaster seemed to enjoy watching her struggle, sitting proudly in his chair, sipping tea, watching the various expressions on her face. Xiaoxiao straightened her face, put on a serious look, and propped her hands on the counter, saying, “How about this, give me one night, I promise I'll repay you in full with interest by tomorrow, not a penny less.” The stationmaster smiled, “I know, go ahead. Oh, by the way, recently a black account has come into the possession of Master Lin in the west of Lin'an City.”"After finishing speaking, Zhan Zhang looked at Xiaoxiao with a 'you know what I mean' look. Xiaoxiao turned around, walked straight out the inn's door, then looked back at Zhan Zhang pitifully. Seeing Zhan Zhang's encouraging expression, Xiaoxiao gave a kick to the inn, using the momentum to leap and then disappeared without a trace. If someone were to call the innkeeper now, they would see Zhan Zhang's face full of a happy smile.

Far away from Lin'an by a thousand miles, in the luxurious and grand palace of the capital, there was a small pavilion in the imperial garden of the harem. 'Your Majesty, according to Yiran's (self-given name) intelligence, a small town outside Lin'an has discovered a dragon vein!' A person dressed in black kneeling on one knee said to the person in front of him, who was holding a copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War and sitting on a jade chair, cracking sunflower seeds. 'Really?' The voice, although young, carried a commanding presence. The subordinate believed it. Indeed, Yiran never shared unverified information.

That person set the Sun Tzu book on the white jade table and stood up to stretch. 'I suppose various places are already stirring. Huateng (self-given name), you take Liji (self-given name) to Lin'an. If the dragon vein matter is true, send a message back. I will personally go!' The person in the dragon-patterned robe struck the jade table firmly. 'The dragon vein matter is not insignificant. You go first.'

Huateng saluted. 'Your servant, I take my leave.' The moment Huateng turned his head—'Bang!' The exquisite white jade table shattered everywhere. Huateng's heart leaped. 'The emperor's power is truly so great!' After leaving the imperial garden, Huateng used agile lightness skill to vanish within the palace.

After Huateng left, the young person who was called the emperor stood with hands behind his back, gazing at the dark sky. 'The sky… is getting dark...' (To be continued!)