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From Shangjing City to Beiliang, traveling the official road, it is approximately over 270 kilometers. Of course, the transportation industry in Da Ming of this world is actually quite developed, whether it be for-profit private post stations or the Imperial Court's shares in [Gaoma Station], both are a common sight on the roads of Da Ming.
Among them, private post stations are profit-oriented industries founded by major commerce associations, and such stations often provide one-on-one services. The more money you spend, the more services the post station will provide. For example, "Huihui Post Station," the leader of Da Ming's private post stations, can provide high-level escort services, and you can even purchase the "hitting on the go" service midway through your journey.
As a project established by the state, Gaoma Station is more geared towards the average citizen. Compared to the private post stations that often cost five or six taels of silver, Gaoma Station generally only needs forty to fifty copper coins for a round trip between two cities.
It's worth noting that Gaoma Station's coaches are specially made, carrying twenty to thirty people at a time, and if you encounter an unscrupulous station master at Gaoma Station, you might even be able to buy a standing ticket.
Of course, with that kind of money, don't expect any comfort. After all, Gaoma Station's coaches represent the nation's image. As long as thieves are less than ninety percent brainless, they wouldn't dare to rob a coach of Gaoma Station.
So the question is, which one will Zhou Li and Tang Wan choose?
"You can even mess up buying a ticket, damn it!"
Next to the official road of Beiliang Gaoma Station, Zhou Li, who didn't care about the strange looks from those around, grasped Tang Wan's slender arms in his left hand and with a mighty knee pinned her down to the ground, desperately yelled:
"Damn it, this is Beiliang! Beiliang! How could you end up buying tickets from Shangjing to Beiliang?! Are you Brother Sun who buys the wrong tickets?!"
"Actually, I had already sensed something was off when I was buying it."
The petite girl, pinned under his knee without a shred of shame but with her hands behind her back, seriously explained, "But I thought normally Gaoma Station wouldn't sell me a ticket for the opposite direction, so you understand."
"Understand my ass."
And here we are, back again.
Staring at the silver-haired girl looking up at him with an innocent face, Zhou Li was infuriated yet helpless. After a while, he slowly released Tang Wan's arms, sat back in the chair, stretched out his hands, and rubbed his cheeks with force.
"It's okay."
Tang Wan casually dusted off the dirt on her clothing, walked to Zhou Li's side, tiptoed, and patted his shoulder, maturely saying, "There's always a solution to difficulties."
"You are my biggest difficulty."
Zhou Li slumped in the chair, sighing weakly. Lifting his head, he glanced at the Water Stone Clock and muttered dejectedly:
"I'm so stupid, seriously. I knew that your IQ drops when you handle money, yet I still let you buy the tickets alone. Others might shrink in body but remain sharp-minded, so why did both your body and brains shrink..."
"Maybe it's because I became more 'feminine'."
Holding up the somewhat prominent part beneath her dress, Tang Wan spoke with gravity, "Ever since these got bigger, I really do feel like I've gotten dumber. It's probably related to what you often say at school about being 'big-breasted but brainless'."
Tang Wan, a genius of the Tang Family, who degenerates into an imbecile once removed from "poison, combat, art". Despite her many flaws, Zhou Li had to admit she had one virtue.
She is brave enough to admit her mistakes, and even seems to enjoy admitting them.
"Damn it."
Zhou Li expressed the rich emotions from deep within by using these simple three words. After bemoaning, he then felt a headache:
"I just asked the dispatch office, and the coach we missed was the last one for the day. The incident with the Imperial Academy Mansion students being captured by the Horse Bandits has escalated. Tomorrow the Government Office will shut down the Official Road, so likely there won't be any Gaoma coaches for the next few days."
"What about the private post stations?"
Tang Wan, standing nearby with hands on her hips, slowly twisted her upper body in a circle, her cute and playful appearance drawing the eyes of passersby, "Go easy on me next time, now my waist really hurts."
"Don't disgust me, dude."
Zhou Li tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, "Private post stations are indeed a possibility, because they don't have to use the official road, and they're more comfortable too, but..."
Patting his waist, Zhou Li spoke numbly, "We're out of money."
"No money?"
Tang Wan was startled, then incomprehensibly said, "Don't you still have that gold bean?"
"It's fake."
Zhou Li reached around his waist and tossed the golden seed to Tang Wan, with an indifferent expression he said, "It's lead-filled copper, specifically used to deal with eunuchs from the Eastern Depot and Jinyiwei. Most people who get it just throw it away or don't spend it at all since it's not stamped by the Government Office."
"It must be your handiwork."
After examining it closely, Tang Wan looked up, her face bearing a look that said it was indeed his handiwork, "The fake is too realistic."
"So, we only have one choice now."
Zhou Li took out a map of the Northern Prefecture, pondered for a moment, and then said:
"On the east side of Beiliang, there's a small town called Zongmu Town. I've looked at the notes and there seems to be a branch of Gaoma Station, and they don't use the sealed Official Road. I've calculated it, if we leave now, we should arrive in at most two Shichen."
"Really?"
Tang Wan leaned in close to Zhou Li, her white hair mixed with the unique scent of the girl wafting over him. Admiring the girl's delicate jawline and those gem-like eyes, Zhou Li smiled faintly.
He then pushed her head down onto the chair.
"Mind the distance between men and women."
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Zhou Li watched Tang Wan struggling to stand and said with a faint smile, "If you attack me so suddenly next time, I'll twist your head off~"
"But my psychological gender is male."
Tang Wan said to Zhou Li with a serious face, "I think I should be considered male."
"At Gaoma Station, women get half-price tickets."
"Then I am a woman."
Zhou Li fell silent.
"Chilleo."
Zhou Li nodded, not dwelling on the matter, and picked up the petite girl and left the Gaoma Station in Upper Liang. They returned to the city gates, and after explaining their destination, they slipped away into the night, leaving Upper Liang City.
However, what Zhou Li and Tang Wan did not see was at the moment they left the city gates, a pair of eyes gleaming with cold light receded into the darkness.
"My lord, the Cauldron has died."
Warm, fragrant air twirled around, beyond the spring-colored curtain, and from the grand golden censer, a smooth white incense ball exuded an intoxicating fragrance. On the red velvet bed behind the screen, the silhouette of an elegant and graceful woman was faintly visible. She slowly lifted her hand, and the shadow projected by the candlelight was enticing.
"The seeds?"
"Reporting to my lord..."
At this moment, the man who was reporting to the woman behind the curtain knelt on one knee, head lowered, his rough skin showing a strange purple glow. After a brief silence, the man clenched his teeth and slowly began to speak, "The seeds... have been taken by someone."
Thump.
The man's heartbeat suddenly amplified. Pupils constricted, a painful palpitation spread throughout him. Gritting his teeth, he quickly explained, "My lord, someone else killed the Cauldron, not Hou Jue."
"Not Hou Jue?"
As the woman questioned, the painful feeling suddenly dissipated; the man knelt on the ground, gasping for air, relieved to have saved his life. After a moment, he kept his head lowered and said in a deep voice,
"For some unknown reason, a little Hundred Household of mine suddenly banished Hou Jue from the Jinyiwei, so Hou Jue did not partake in the campaign against the Grand Building. Seeing Hou Jue absent, I ordered the Jinyiwei's deputy leader to delay the operation. But unexpectedly, in less than a shichen after I left Upper Liang, a Monster Hunter from Shangjing broke into the Grand Building alone, killed the Cauldron, and took the seeds."
When he had finished speaking, the man respectfully knocked his head on the ground three times, prostrating fully, his voice trembling, "My lord, this was my oversight, I beg you to give me a chance to atone for my mistake."
"You weren't the one overseeing the Grand Building, so, the blame does not lie with you."
The woman behind the curtain stirred her slender fingers lightly, drawing a semicircular arc, her voice as sweet as honey in a jar,
"If I can't even be clear about rewards and punishments, then I am not worthy to be the King of the Northern Demons, much less to talk about transforming from a snake into a dragon. Chi Xie, you may continue to serve as Lord Qianhu, lurking within the Jinyiwei. Of course, you could also seek out the Seven Seeds, to aid my transformation into a dragon, so..."
The curtain slowly opened, revealing a beautiful face covered in strange yet magnificent diamond-shaped scales. The woman flicked out a long tongue, a demonic beauty enveloping her. She eyed the Qianhu with sweat beading on his forehead and softly, seductively asked,
"Which will you choose?"
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"I choose the left side."
At the unmarked fork in the road with no signpost, Zhou Li rubbed his chin and said decisively, "Based on the arrangement of these footprints and the traces of the wheel ruts, I think the left side should be correct."
"Then I'll choose the right side."
Tang Wan, sitting on a rock with her cheek propped by her hand, her cheeks slightly puffed out, said with certainty, "There's no particular reason; it's just that two people facing two forks in the road should have different opinions, otherwise everything going too smoothly feels a bit off."
"You."
Zhou Li clenched his teeth, suppressing the urge to punch the other into the mud, and after taking a deep breath to settle his agitation, he calmly said to Tang Wan, "Let's go, I'll listen to you, we'll take the right side."
"Eh?"
Tang Wan was stunned for a moment, then said appreciatively, "I didn't expect it, Zhou Li, you would actually listen to me."
"Mhm."
Zhou Li nodded, speaking calmly, "If the right path is the wrong one, I will drown you in a cesspit."
"Let's take the left side then."
Tang Wan's face turned pale as she spoke, not so much worried that Zhou Li would actually drown her because he wasn't a bad person. But Zhou Li would definitely shove her into a cesspit, because Zhou Li was a demon, not human at all.
"No, that won't do."
Zhou Li smiled coldly, grabbing the flailing Tang Wan and heading down the right path. It had been about a shichen since they left Beiliang City, and with another twenty or thirty li, they would reach their destination.
The predicament they faced was due to the datedness of the map; Zhou Li hadn't anticipated an unknown fork in the road obstructing their way. After harmoniously deciding, the two chose the right path.
The right side, huh...
The man clad in Flying Fish Attire and with an Embroidered Spring Knife at his waist lowered his brim and slowly emerged from the woods, heading toward the right path. In the moonlight, his black eyes showed hints of compound eyes gleaming.