My daily mountain driving, I met a fox at the beginning and got married

Zhang Hao obtained another key piece of information. Could it be that Lord Zhang, the local official, also came from the east like himself?

Actually, saying that I came from the east was just a random lie. But the people here seem to have an inexplicable obsession with the east, thinking that people from the east are all good people.

Even when I said I came from the east, Xiao Qiao looked at me more, and the admiration in her eyes became more and more obvious. Why is that?

It seems that I have to find an opportunity to investigate this so-called Mr. Zhang. Maybe I can find the answer to the monsters and ghosts here from Mr. Zhang.

After saying goodbye to the old man selling osmanthus cake, Xiao Qiao looked up and asked Zhang Hao a question.

"Master, have you found out what you wanted to know?"

Zhang Hao was a little surprised to hear Xiao Qiao say this.

"How do you know I was trying to get information? Could it be that you knew I was trying to get information, so you kept stuffing sweet-scented osmanthus cakes into your stomach to create an opportunity for me?"

"Yes, otherwise, Master, if you keep chatting with people, you will look like a bad person..."

Xiao Qiao spoke so sincerely that Zhang Hao couldn't find any words to refute her for a moment.

"You're right. If I ask directly, I will seem like a bad person. Okay, if you really can't walk anymore, let's rest on the street for a while. There is a teahouse in front."

Xiao Qiao followed Zhang Hao's gaze and saw a teahouse in the distance that looked quite high-end.

Xiao Qiao waved his hands quickly.

"It's better not to go there. That kind of place looks very expensive. Master, you don't have to go there to rest just for me, but if your legs and feet are tired and you want to rest for a while, I can do anything for you."

Xiao Qiao finally got Zhang Hao as her master, so she naturally didn't want her master to think she was a burden because of her. She was eager to help Zhang Hao, so she tried her best to fill her stomach with information, at least to make her master think that it was useful to have this apprentice, and that he could help to gather information.

This little girl was always very cautious when talking to him, which made Zhang Hao feel a little uncomfortable.

Although they had only known each other for a short time, Zhang Hao felt that he had established a special connection with this lively and lovely girl. At least to the extent that if Xiao Qiao was in danger, he would definitely rush to save her without hesitation.

"It's okay. It's very hot today. It won't cool down if we keep walking on the street. Let's go in and rest."

When he walked into the teahouse, Zhang Hao secretly decided to pay more attention to the girl's condition in the future. This girl was taciturn and would not take the initiative to speak even if she was not feeling well. If he hadn't taken the initiative to mention it, she probably wouldn't say a word even if her stomach was about to burst.

Zhang Hao stepped into the teahouse and suddenly remembered that he hadn't changed the money yet. Seeing the waiter approaching with a big smile on his face, he retreated in disgrace. The waiter's smile froze instantly, and Zhang Hao felt embarrassed for wasting the waiter's professional and enthusiastic smile.

Although the town is not big, it is small but complete. There is a pawnshop not far from the teahouse, where you can pawn things or temporarily mortgage items for cash flow. Zhang Hao took out his usual collateral - the night pearl, and went in to exchange it for silver bills.

The shopkeeper rarely saw such rare things on weekdays, and immediately treated Zhang Hao as a distinguished guest. When he took the night pearl, he asked Zhang Hao if he had any other treasures. Zhang Hao didn't want to reveal his true identity too early, so he said he had none.

The shopkeeper was not disappointed. He happily took the business and exchanged more than one thousand taels of silver notes for Zhang Hao according to the market price.

When the banknotes were in his hands, Zhang Hao finally understood why the waiter had been so attentive to him at the inn. This was indeed a huge fortune, just like staying in a hotel in modern times. The room rate was clearly 200 yuan a night, but you directly threw out 2 million yuan. Naturally, people would treat you as a VIP and provide you with all kinds of high-quality services.

Zhang Hao stepped into the teahouse again, and was greeted by the same waiter. The waiter even asked, "Sir, do you have anything to do this time? If you have anything else, just tell me and I'll run errands for you. Don't go running around in the hot sun."

Zhang Hao felt that people in the service industry in this era had a strong sense of service. At least those who depended on customers for food treated the customers as their ancestors. Just like the poor Xiao Qiao, after exchanging the jade pendant, people were not only willing to take in this little girl of unknown origin, but also gave her leftovers.

In order to prevent guests from having accidents while eating leftovers, most inns will clean up the leftovers by default and not keep them.

"Two plates of snacks, and a pot of tea."

The waiter left happily, but Xiao Qiao looked at Zhang Hao with embarrassment.

"Master, I really can't eat anymore. How about you think of a way to solve it yourself..."

Zhang Hao felt both angry and amused after hearing this.

"Okay, I won't force you this time. If you want to eat, eat. If you don't want to eat, forget it. I'm a grown man, so eating two plates of snacks is a piece of cake for you."

After a while, the snacks were served. Zhang Hao drank tea and ate snacks while paying attention to the movements on the street. He wanted to observe what the people here looked like.

Perhaps these people could never have imagined that this bustling town would become a deserted village eight hundred years later. All the houses had changed, and only the inn remained in its original appearance.

Xiao Qiao drank her tea silently. Her throat was originally greasy from the sweetness from eating several servings of osmanthus cakes, but now she felt much better after eating the snacks.

Unconsciously, the conversation between two people next to him attracted Zhang Hao's attention.

"General Li was really wronged! He fought for the country for decades, but he was beheaded because of a few slanderous words from a treacherous official."

"What can we do? The emperor doesn't do everything himself. We just listen to whoever is favored."

"Then who is favored or not is up to the emperor himself. In the final analysis, it is because the emperor is incompetent and mistakenly trusted the treacherous ministers, harming a good minister who was dedicated to the country. Sooner or later, this country will be finished!"

Zhang Hao thought they were talking about some unofficial story, but he didn't expect someone to interrupt him: "Don't talk nonsense. How dare you discuss the current emperor? If this gets to the capital, you will have your heads chopped off."

Zhang Hao was surprised.

Why are the people here so open?
Is it possible to discuss the emperor's words and deeds in such a place? In Zhang Hao's opinion, no matter which dynasty, if someone dares to comment on the emperor who has supreme power, he will generally not end well.

"We live in a remote area, so the emperor won't bother to take care of us. Besides, even if he really does, where can the emperor find us? We still have Lord Zhang here, and Lord Zhang will definitely protect us."

It was this Lord Zhang again. Zhang Hao heard this familiar name again. What was so special about Lord Zhang that the people in the town trusted this "parent official" more than the emperor?
If Lord Zhang really cares about the people in the town, then why has the problem of rampant demons and monsters that have plagued the people for so long not been solved?

It seems that there must be something hidden behind this matter. Zhang Hao plans to find an opportunity to get to the bottom of this matter.

At this time, Xiao Qiao gently tugged at Zhang Hao's sleeve.

"Master, are you interested in this?"

"Yes, I am quite curious. Don't you want to know the truth?"

Xiao Qiao quickly shook his head.

"I only care about Master's business. Didn't Master say he would teach me some skills? Did we come to the street just to eat cakes?"

Xiao Qiao knew that Zhang Hao was not a local, but a master from the east, and would leave soon. He only had one month, so he had to learn as much as possible in this month to reassure his master and not starve in the future.

"We'll go buy some things you'll need later. Take a break first, and wait until you've digested the osmanthus cake in your stomach."

When Xiao Qiao heard this, she quickly rubbed her stomach, hoping to help it digest faster. Zhang Hao couldn't help but smile when he saw this.

The guests drinking tea at the table next to them soon stopped talking about General Li and Lord Zhang. There was no point for Zhang Hao to stay here any longer, so seeing that Xiao Qiao had almost recovered, he called the waiter to settle the bill and left the teahouse.

Zhang Hao walked around the street for several times and finally found an incense shop. This shop specializes in selling incense, candles, incense sticks, and sacrificial items such as gold ingots. Shops like this that are related to supernatural powers are avoided by ordinary people in any dynasty, so they are usually opened in remote streets and alleys to avoid affecting normal people's lives. However, if someone needs it, it is not difficult to find it.

But the strange thing is that the incense shop here is actually opened directly on the street, with a restaurant on the left and a rouge shop on the right. In the restaurant, men come here in groups of three or five to drink and have fun; in the rouge shop, women come here in groups to shop, and even pregnant women and sisters come here to play together.

It stands to reason that pregnant women should avoid these things, but the people here don't care at all. This makes Zhang Hao even more curious about everything here.

This matter is really strange.

Zhang Hao walked into the incense shop and the owner greeted him warmly.

The shopkeeper was a charming woman in her forties, dressed quite sexily and wearing a red flower on her head. Compared with the dazzling array of merchandise in the store, she seemed somewhat out of place.

"This guest looks unfamiliar. Is he from out of town?"

"Yes, I'm here to buy something. Excuse me, shopkeeper, do you have any talisman paper here?"

"Yes, I'll get it for you right away."

The shopkeeper turned around and walked to the back storeroom. After searching for a long time, he finally found a dozen dusty talisman papers. Although the talisman papers were covered with dust, they were bright yellow in color and looked neat. They were enough for practice.

Zhang Hao took the talisman paper, flipped through it for a few times, and asked the shopkeeper curiously: "This thing is not commonly used, why is it placed in the warehouse?"

"We don't really sell these here. After all, the talismans here are all drawn by Mr. Zhang, and ordinary people don't have the ability to draw them. Except for those Feng Shui masters who occasionally come to buy some. Sir, are you also a Feng Shui master who buys these things? Are you from another place? Is your craft different from ours?"

The shopkeeper was obviously very interested in Zhang Hao.

Zhang Hao smiled slightly.

"These spells are basically the same. I bought them just to practice. I heard that this place is not peaceful and there are many unclean things, so I came here to practice."

After hearing what Zhang Hao said, the shopkeeper seemed very surprised.

"You are really brave, young man! I advise you to leave here as soon as possible if you want to gain experience. Although there are those dirty creatures here, they are very powerful. If it weren't for Lord Zhang, this place would have become a living hell. If you are not powerful enough, you might be torn to pieces by them if you go up there."

The lady boss's words were exaggerated, but judging from her expression, they were probably true. At least in her eyes, as a person who ran an incense shop and was considered half a Taoist, those things were indeed amazing, and only the legendary Mr. Zhang could control them.

Zhang Hao had not walked far when he heard someone mention Lord Zhang's name. He could no longer suppress his curiosity.

"Thank you for your reminder, Madam Boss. Just treat me as a young and brave man who is not afraid of tigers. I will definitely be rewarded for your kind reminder in the future."

Zhang Hao knew that no matter whether he would adopt the boss lady's suggestion or not, her good intentions were always right. Now that things had come to this, it would be inappropriate to offend her.

Seeing Zhang Hao's firm attitude, the proprietress stopped trying to persuade him. She just nodded, pointed to the store and said, "I still have a lot of rare things here. Although I'm the only incense shop in this town, my prices are absolutely fair. You won't get hurt or cheated if you buy from me. Do you want to try again?"

In order to thank the boss lady for her kind reminder, Zhang Hao walked around the store and finally chose two items. The price was fair, so he just regarded it as returning the favor to the boss lady.

Before leaving, the lady boss reminded him: "Young man, you must be careful when you are out there. If you encounter any problems that you can't solve, just come to me. My fees are reasonable, and I can help you solve any problem."

If the lady boss hadn't added this at the end, Zhang Hao would have probably just laughed it off and not taken it to heart. But after the lady boss said this, Zhang Hao started to have doubts in his heart.

The fees are fair? Everything can be solved? Then why does the problem of ghosts and monsters in this town remain unsolved?

Zhang Hao hid his doubts in his heart, thanked the proprietress, and left with Xiao Qiao.

After they walked for a while, Xiao Qiao suddenly sneezed and then pulled Zhang Hao's sleeve.

"Master, I always feel like when the boss lady looks at me, I get a chill and feel really uncomfortable."

"That lady boss isn't a bad person, it's just that she has done too much good. You are young, and your Yang energy is strong, so the two of you have conflicting auras. I'm sure the lady boss has sensed it, but she didn't say anything." (End of this chapter)