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

"What is Yin De?"

Xiao Qiao had just arrived and knew nothing about these things. She was completely confused by the words Zhang Hao said.

"How should I put it... The boss lady opened this Yin-Yang Incense Shop, and what she does is actually a business that takes advantage of both the black and white worlds. We living people are the white world, and the dead are the black world, and she is just a middleman. Whether she sells things to the living or the dead, it is considered to be accumulating virtue and doing good deeds. However, most of her virtues are Yin virtues, which means that she deals with the dead more often, so you feel that she is cold. Ordinary people will probably have this feeling when they come into contact with her, so you don't have to feel bad about yourself because of this."

Zhang Hao noticed the subtle change in Xiao Qiao's mood and deliberately added a sentence, asking Xiao Qiao not to take it to heart.

Xiao Qiao may have high hopes for himself now. If he fails to learn anything in this month, he may feel sorry for Zhang Hao and for his own hard work this month.

Zhang Hao felt sorry for the child who had to bear such great pressure at such a young age, so he tried to speak more tactfully, at least not to make Xiao Qiao feel too overwhelmed.

On the way back to the inn, they met a team of horse-drawn carriages. There were soldiers from the town escorting the carriages, and the word "Zhang" was written on the body of the carriages.

As soon as he saw the word "Zhang", Zhang Hao subconsciously thought of the Lord Zhang who was praised by everyone in the town. Could this carriage belong to Lord Zhang?

When the common people on the road saw Mr. Zhang's carriage, they all stopped and watched silently as the carriage passed by. Everyone understood each other tacitly, and no one said hello, but everyone's face was full of respect.

Zhang Hao witnessed this scene with his own eyes, and only then did he gain a concrete understanding of the image of Lord Zhang in the hearts of the people in the town.

These people seemed to really worship Master Zhang as a god. They would not make any noise to disturb him, but would just watch him silently from a place where the god could not see.

Zhang Hao took Xiao Qiao and stood on the street corner. Instead of saluting like the others, he lowered his eyes and looked at the ground.

When the carriage passed by Xiao Qiao, she suddenly sneezed loudly, which immediately attracted the attention of most people, including the officers and soldiers on the carriage team.

An officer glared at him immediately, and Xiao Qiao was so frightened that she stood there, not knowing what to do.

Zhang Hao quickly pulled Xiao Qiao behind him and looked at the soldier with a warning look in his eyes.

A little kid just sneezed, is it necessary to stare at him like that?

One of the soldiers pointed at Xiao Qiao and said, "Next time you see Lord Zhang, don't make a sound. Lord Zhang is kind by nature, so I'll spare you this time."

After saying that, the convoy continued to move forward.

Xiao Qiao was so scared that tears welled up in her eyes, but she forced herself to hold back her tears. She covered her mouth tightly and hid behind Zhang Hao.

Only after the carriage team had gone far away did the pedestrians on the road resume their normal activities.

Zhang Hao wanted to ask the people around him why he couldn't make a sound when Lord Zhang passed by, but when he turned around, he found that those people were looking at him with hostility, as if they were extremely dissatisfied with Xiao Qiao's sneeze just now.

Zhang Hao was really confused. Why were the people here so weird? Did they really worship the local officials as gods?

If this is true, as an official, aren't you putting yourself in a position too high?
Zhang Hao shook his head helplessly and stopped dwelling on the matter. He hurriedly left the street with Xiao Qiao and quickly returned to the inn.

The room had already been changed, and the waiter was a smart man, arranging Xiao Qiao's room next to Zhang Hao's. The two doors were close to each other, separated only by a wall, so any movement in the next room could be heard clearly here.

Seeing Zhang Hao returning, the waiter came up to him with a smile on his face.

"Sir, you are finally back! What would you like to eat tonight?"

"Just make your own arrangements. We both don't eat much, so don't make too much to avoid waste. Send it directly to my room later."

"Okay! Sir, let me tell you something new. Our boss has just hired a new chef. His cooking skills are amazing! But the taste is more southern, with a bit of spicy flavor. If you are interested, how about I serve you two dishes to try?"

Spicy cuisine?

"Okay, you decide."

"Okay! Then go upstairs and rest first. Just let me know if you need anything."

The waiter turned around to greet other guests, while Xiao Qiao looked up and asked Zhang Hao curiously, "Master, have you ever been to the South?"

"Are you talking about the southern dishes that Xiao Wai just mentioned? I have eaten them before. I have traveled all over the country. However, I think the East you are talking about here is a little special. When I said I was from the East before, you saw that my eyes changed. Why is that?"

Strictly speaking, Xiao Qiao is not a local, but her home is in the next town, and the situation in the surrounding towns is similar.

"My father told me that people from the East are all gods. If you meet someone from the East, you must be respectful. Master, you are from the East, and you really gave me a way to survive!"

After listening to this, Zhang Hao couldn't help but nodded with some emotion.

Now he finally understood why the little girl looked at him with such admiring eyes. It turned out that she really listened to her father and regarded him as a god.

With his own strength, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a god. After all, he successfully conquered the tower.

But Zhang Hao was unfamiliar with this place and didn't want to disrupt anything here. He just hoped to stay here peacefully for a month and then leave.

This place, to Zhang Hao, is like a quiet paradise. No matter whether this paradise is warm and pleasant, or hidden mysteries, after all, the local environment nurtures the local people. Since the people here follow a set of established rules, there is no need for Zhang Hao to break them. This is also why he did not investigate all the strange things he encountered last night, and did not even make a sound.

You may be curious, but if you insist on getting to the bottom of things and disturb the people here, then you are being immature.

Back in the room, Zhang Hao was just about to take out the talisman to teach Xiao Qiao when Raymond's voice suddenly came to his mind.

"can you hear?"

When Zhang Hao heard Raymond's voice, he felt as if he was in another world, even though they had only been separated for a few days.

Perhaps I had experienced too much here, so when I heard Raymond's voice again, I couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion in my heart.

"What happened to you before? Why didn't you reply to me all of a sudden?"

Seeing Zhang Hao talking to himself, Xiao Qiao's face was full of question marks, but she found a reason for herself: the master must be talking to other gods, so she should not make trouble. So, the sensible Xiao Qiao quietly walked to the bench in the corner and sat down, trying to reduce her presence as much as possible and not to cause trouble for Zhang Hao.

The master and the apprentice had such a strange way of thinking, and they inexplicably thought of the same thing. I have to say, this fate is really wonderful. Raymond's voice continued to come: "I'm sorry, I had a small problem here, I took care of it, is there anything wrong with you over there?"

Hearing that Raymond was in trouble, Zhang Hao's face instantly became serious.

Although Lei Meng had attacked Hao Xie before, causing Hao Xie to suffer a lot, it had been a few years since the incident, and Zhang Hao's hatred had long since vanished. Sometimes when he was alone, he could even understand what Lei Meng had done back then.

If I had not climbed to the top of the tower, but continued to gain experience outside for a few years, perhaps my worldview would have changed and I would have been able to fully understand Raymond.

"What trouble are you in?"

Zhang Hao's tone was full of anxiety, but Raymond seemed to have no intention of telling the whole story.

"This matter has nothing to do with you for now. I don't want you to worry about me, so I don't want to tell you."

"Hurry up and speak!" Zhang Hao raised his voice and spoke in an urgent tone.

Raymond was silent for a moment before he spoke slowly, "Two more people came to climb the tower and came to my place. One of them, you and I both know, is Layton. Layton relied on his strong physique to defeat those guys who seemed to have cheated all the way. But who would have thought that when he reached the top of the tower, he was killed by another person... At that time, I was busy looking for a way to get you back to the present, and I didn't pay attention to the situation at the top of the tower. When I rushed over, everything was too late. Although the thug had been dealt with by me, I still felt very guilty..."

When Layton got into trouble, Raymond was busy looking up information related to Zhang Hao. So, from a certain perspective, Zhang Hao was indirectly responsible for Layton's death.

Raymond was reluctant to talk about this because he was afraid that Zhang Hao would be sad after hearing it.

As expected, after hearing this, Zhang Hao was stunned. He didn't come back to his senses for a long time and remained silent.

"I knew you would react like this. I wouldn't have mentioned this to you." There was a hint of regret in Raymond's voice.

"You must be feeling bad. From then on, the three of us were completely separated. We haven't seen each other for so many years, and this is the ending..." Zhang Hao's voice was a little low.

They both fell into silence, and each could feel the same sadness from the other's silence. They both wanted to speak to comfort each other, but when the words came to their lips, they couldn't say them.

Zhang Hao took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to put this heavy topic aside for the time being.

"Let's not talk about this for now. You should take good care of Layton's funeral. If I have the chance, I will go to pay my respects to him."

"Well. Now tell me about the situation over there. I can see a little girl following you, but I don't know where this little girl came from. Is she safe? Do I need to find a way to test her?" Raymond asked.

Zhang Hao turned his head to look at the small figure in the corner and couldn't help laughing.

"Forget it, she's just an ordinary girl. I feel sorry for her, and I still have a month to spare, so I decided to take her in as my apprentice. She's just an ordinary person, she doesn't have any special abilities."

"If this person poses a threat to you, I will get rid of her without hesitation." Raymond used the word "get rid of" in his usual simple and crude manner.

Zhang Hao didn't know what to say for a moment. After nodding, he fell silent again.

Originally, Zhang Hao had many questions to ask Raymond, but now, those words were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them.

Is everything in this world real? I am very familiar with this inn, but eight hundred years have passed. How can I be sure what happened here?

Moreover, if Raymond were to investigate, it might get him into trouble. Raymond now had to deal with much more than he did.

"Don't you have anything to ask me?" Raymond broke the silence.

After listening to Raymond's words, Zhang Hao was silent for a few seconds, and finally asked a somewhat silly question.

"Did you have meal?"

As soon as he said this, Zhang Hao regretted it.

At this stage, their physical fitness has far surpassed that of ordinary people. Even if they don't eat or drink for three years, they won't starve to death. Unless they are seriously injured, they may need food to speed up their recovery, but most of the time, the recovery of spiritual energy still depends on their own power reserves.

So asking Raymond whether he had eaten was purely a way to make conversation, which directly made the atmosphere of the conversation between them awkward.

Raymond seemed to have noticed Zhang Hao's embarrassment and answered without hesitation: "I haven't eaten. I haven't eaten for a long time. Now that you mention it, I kind of miss the days when we used to eat together in the restaurant. I'll go eat later. Not only will I eat later, but from now on, I will eat three meals a day normally. You should also eat well."

"it is good."

Up to now, Zhang Hao has not had a proper meal. He has only taken a few bites of snacks and drank a few sips of tea. He did this purely to make himself look like a normal person so that others would not suspect that he does not need to eat.

As for Xiao Qiao, she ate several servings of sweet-scented osmanthus cakes and a few snacks a day. The food below would be delivered soon, so there was no need to worry that she would starve with him.

"Okay, you can come and chat with me when you have nothing to do. I'm pretty bored here, and I don't intend to get involved in their affairs anyway." Zhang Hao said.

"It's better not to get involved. I always feel that there's something strange about your situation, but I can't put my finger on what it is. I'll observe for another two days. If I'm not sure that you're really safe, I might have to go there myself."

If Raymond had really come in person, the situation would have been very different.

"Don't come over here. I can take care of myself. It's you who makes me worried. Go and have a rest. I'll go eat later."

"Eat more and don't treat yourself badly."

After Lei Meng finished speaking, there was no sound. Zhang Hao knew that Lei Meng had withdrawn his spiritual consciousness.

He was able to talk to Raymond without any hindrance, all thanks to Raymond, as the king of Nata, who could probe his mind. In this way, Zhang Hao could not only communicate with words, but Raymond could also know his thoughts even if he silently thought of them in his mind.

But once Raymond took back his power, this "privilege" was gone. Zhang Hao could no longer contact Raymond as he pleased, and could only wait for Raymond to come to him when he was free.

Raymond had just ascended the throne, and there were many complicated affairs over there. Zhang Hao could only try his best not to cause trouble or chaos here, otherwise Raymond would definitely come over. If there was any accident in the tower again, Zhang Hao would become a complete sinner.

He felt guilty about what happened to Layton. (End of this chapter)