Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 324: Mr. Account Book, Current Situation in Taiping County
Zhang Shuyuan was still chewing chicken in his mouth, his cheeks bulging, and he said vaguely: "Well, this is a long story."

Shen Qing said in a calm and kind tone: "Don't worry, you can talk slowly."

"Hmm..." Zhang Shuyuan nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

He swallowed the food in his mouth, his face suddenly changed, and he slapped his chest violently.

In a hurry, he picked up the teacup on the table and gulped down a big gulp of water. It seemed that this made him feel a little better, without any dignity as a scholar.

Zhang Shuyuan kept stroking his chest to regulate his breathing, and couldn't help but burp.

He smiled awkwardly.

After a while, Zhang Shuyuan calmed down and looked serious. He recalled and said, "Taiping County... In the two years since you left, life has become increasingly difficult. Last month, many demons suddenly swarmed in, and the trade routes outside the city were cut off. The current situation, in general, is not very good."

Shen Qing frowned upon hearing this, and gently put down the teacup in his hand, making a subtle sound: "Demon? I remember that Taiping County was taken away by the Huangtian Sect. In the hands of the Huangtian Sect, the government troops were unable to conquer it for a while. Facing the demons, will they not care?"

Zhang Shuyuan sighed, "Hey... don't talk about this. The Huangtian Sect left before the demons came, and they took a lot of people with them. Now Taiping County is a no-man's land."

Uncle Shen Er, Aunt Xiaoshan and others felt fortunate after hearing what Zhang Shuyuan said.

Fortunately, they did not stay there, otherwise they might have ended up like Zhang Shuyuan.

The old wrinkles on Uncle Shen Er's face wrinkled together. He couldn't help but take out a pipe and skillfully filled the tobacco into the pipe.

The servants behind him were very attentive and handed over the fire.

With a light "click" sound, the sparks ignited the tobacco, and wisps of green smoke slowly rose and lingered around Shen Er's face.

Uncle Shen Er took a deep breath, and after the smoke swirled in his chest, he slowly exhaled and said, "Where is the big guy in the village?"

Zhang Shuyuan glanced at Shen Er, and there was a hint of nobility in him, which was completely different from the impression he had of Shen Er.

He remembered that when they were in Hongshan Village, Shen Er, who brought his entire family together, wanted to spend every penny in half and didn't even know what cigarettes were.

He found it unbelievable that she had learned to smoke.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shuyuan glanced at Shen Qing inadvertently again, feeling secretly envious.

Their Shen family has produced a great figure.

Old Shen Er is also lucky to have a good nephew.

If you think about it, when they were in Hongshan Village, Shen Qing even asked him to teach him how to read and write.

Later, when he moved to the county town, he also worked as an accountant, and they had a close relationship.

It’s a pity that he was short-sighted at the time and did not anticipate what would happen later, which caused him to miss out on it all.

regret.

He really regrets it.

Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in the world.

It's no use even regretting it.

Zhang Shuyuan murmured in his heart: "I understand that the past cannot be changed, but I know that the future can be pursued. I may not have no chance now."

He quickly adjusted his emotions and thoughts, and recalled as much as possible, telling everything he knew: "Most of the Chen family and the Tian family followed the Huangtian Sect, and the rest were eaten by demons, while some of the old, weak, and sick people lingered in the city."

"What about the government? After all, Taiping County is under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. There must be someone taking care of it, right?" Uncle Shen Er asked.

"Some of our people have contacted the imperial court, but the imperial court said that they are currently suppressing the rebels in Jinzhou and Danzhou and the Huangtian Sect and have no time to spare. They will consider the small place of Taiping County only after the rebels in Jinzhou and Danzhou have been strangled."

After these words were spoken, everyone present fell silent.

What Zhang Shuyuan said sounded like the style of the Zhou Dynasty court.

Uncle Shen Er couldn't help but sigh: "Alas... the world is getting more and more chaotic."

After a moment, Shen Qing asked, "What do you think of the next step, sir? Although Yongzhou is slightly larger than Taiping County, the public security is not necessarily that good. There are demons and monsters attacking from time to time, and many people are in danger of losing their lives. If you don't have a reliable place to go, life will be difficult."

Zhang Shuyuan sighed, wiped the oil stains from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and said, "I originally planned to find a job in Yongzhou City and settle down first before thinking about other things."

"Sir, don't you plan to find someone in the county government and report the situation in Taiping County to help the folks in the county?"

Facing Shen Qing's questioning, Zhang Shuyuan did not feel ashamed. He said confidently: "A gentleman does not save, but a saint does. I have fallen into such a situation now, and I am in danger of losing my life. How can I care about others?"

After Shen Qing heard this, a strange look flashed in his eyes: "Shen has settled down in Yongzhou. If you don't mind, I can be an accountant in the mansion. As for silver, it's about one ounce a month. Although it's not much, it can support your living. What do you think?"

The daily income of the Hongshan Gang, which he founded outside the city of Taiping County, was managed by Zhang Shuyuan.

In his impression, Zhang Shuyuan is quite good at accounting.

"No, no, no." Zhang Shuyuan waved his hands and said, "Look, I'm just a poor scholar. It's shameless for me to come to you for help. How can I ask for your money? I will be grateful if you can just give me a meal and a place to stay."

"Then in this case, in addition to doing the accounts in the mansion, you can also help me manage the property in the city and be an accountant. My mansion is currently in need of a reliable person, and I always feel a little uneasy to let someone else do it. Sir, please don't refuse."

"This..." When Zhang Shuyuan heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He quickly stood up and bowed again.

He knew that such an opportunity was hard to come by, so he bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your kindness, sir! I would like to thank you in advance. I will register my identity with you and work as a long-term worker for you in the future."

The so-called "registration" means registering oneself with the employer.

Although they were not classified as slaves, they had a master-servant relationship from then on and could not regret it at will, nor could they do anything bad to their master.

Otherwise, it would be justified for the host to beat and kill at will.

Shen Qing smiled and waved his hand: "Sir, you are too kind. We are old friends and should help each other."

"The boss is righteous!"

Zhang Shuyuan stayed to eat for a while. After he had eaten and drunk his fill, Shen Qing arranged for servants to take him to the mansion to register and familiarize him with things.

Zhang Shuyuan was very grateful and thanked him repeatedly before leaving.

After Zhang Shuyuan left, Uncle Shen Er tapped his pipe and said, "Qingzi, aren't you the chief of the two divisions? Can you transfer some people to Taiping County to deal with those demons? It's a pity to see Taiping County fall into such a state now."

Shen Qing shook his head and said, "It's a thousand miles away from Yongzhou, and we don't know what the situation is. It's not appropriate to act rashly. I'll send some people to check it out and then make a decision."

"Okay, I don't understand these things, Qingzi, just make your own arrangements."

"Yes." Shen Qing turned to look at Shen Xiaoshan and asked, "What level have you reached in your cultivation now?"

Shen Xiaoshan became very confident and said seriously: "Brother Qingzi, I have already started stretching."

"Not bad, your progress is almost catching up with Xiaohu and the others. I'll have someone give you some more pills later. You should practice hard and make some progress as soon as possible."

"I know, brother."

From Zhang Shuyuan's words, Shen Qing always felt that the Great Zhou was somewhat shaky, which made him feel very threatened.

After such a long period of experience and communication with many knowledgeable coaches, he is no longer the low-level hunter who knew nothing in the past.

There are many powerful people in the temple of the Great Zhou today.

Even when the Great Zhou Dynasty was first established, the elders who had swept across many small countries and sects were still alive.

One of these people can destroy a city.

If there was a day in the future when the world was in chaos and such a powerful person appeared, he would not want to be an ant that could be killed by a single blow from their hands.

You have to practice hard and, with the help of the elixir, improve your cultivation as quickly as possible.

In the next few days, Zhang Shuyuan was full of energy and quickly got into the state.

Shen Qing also secretly sent a few people to Taiping County to find out the truth.

After a while, they came back from Taiping County and brought back a lot of news.

The county government office is located between the two government offices.

Shen Qing was busy handling government affairs in his own little pavilion.

There were footsteps outside the door, and several people walked over and stopped at the door.

"Sir, we are back." Ji Youwu's familiar voice came from outside the door.

Shen Qing stopped what he was doing and said, "Come in and tell me."

"Yes."

The door was gently pushed open, and several figures dressed in the uniforms of Weiwusi officials walked in silently.

Their faces showed the fatigue of traveling all the way.

Shen Qing raised his head and asked with a sharp gaze: "What's the situation?"

The leader, Ji Youwu, stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Sir, the situation is not good. Taiping County has become a food warehouse for demons, like a purgatory on earth. There are demons everywhere, and only one out of dozens of households survives."

Although Shen Qing was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but frown when he heard it, but he quickly returned to normal.

"What are the details?" Shen Qing continued to ask: "Are they all little demons causing trouble?"

If they were just ordinary monsters, he wouldn't mind making a trip and killing them on the spot.

This was not a difficult task for him.

Ji Youwu said with a serious expression, "My Lord, the situation in Taiping County is a little complicated. I heard that there is a big demon who has taken over the city and made it the king, which is why Taiping County has completely fallen. And I also heard that this demon has monstrous power and once swallowed a martial artist in the Lingxu realm. His strength is terrifying."

Is there a demon king?
This was a result Shen Qing had never expected.

"What is the origin of this demon, and why did they come to Taiping County?"

Ji Youwu shook his head and said, "According to our investigation, this big demon and his subordinates have been entrenched in Taiping County and have never left. These demons seem to think that there may be an ancient tomb near Taiping County, which contains a great opportunity, and they have been waiting for it."

"A tomb from ancient times?" Shen Qing was even more surprised.

He had lived in Taiping County and had never heard of such a thing.

Ji Youwu hurriedly asked, "Sir, do you need us to prepare to go to Taiping County and kill the demons?"

He knew that Shen Qing was from Taiping County, and now he suddenly asked about the situation in Taiping County.

Ji Youwu guessed that there might be old friends in the city and wanted to take action.

Shen Qing tapped the tabletop with his fingers, making a rhythmic sound. He was silent for a moment and said, "Wait a moment."

Ji Youwu was surprised.

It was a little different from what he had guessed.

Shen Qing instructed: "You have all worked hard on this trip. You can take three days off to rest up."

"Yes, my lord."

Ji Youwu put his thoughts aside and stopped trying to figure out what Shen Qing was thinking. He left the room with the remaining Weiwusi officers.

Shen Qing stood up, looked through the window lattice at the blue sky in the distance, and suddenly remembered Zhang Shuyuan's words - a gentleman does not save.

"The powerful monster in Taiping County can even devour martial artists at the Lingxu realm. Its strength should not be underestimated. No wonder the court did not send troops to reclaim Taiping County. Under such circumstances, I should not act rashly and put myself in danger."

"As for the ancient tomb, we are powerless to explore it now."

"Strength, and strength. If I were stronger, maybe I wouldn't have to be so restrained."

Shen Qing clenched his fists with a solemn expression.

He waved his sleeves, closed all the documents on the long desk behind him, and strode out into the practice room.

In the practice room, Shen Qing sat cross-legged on the cushion, and with a thought, he summoned the ink panel.

Lines of ink-and-wash text emerge in sight.

[Skill: Sky Bow Technique (Perfect)]

[Progress: 921/2000 points]

[Skill: Eight Desolate Dao Destruction Seal (Entry Level)]

[Progress: 3885/5000 points]

[Skill: Six Paths Whale Swallowing Technique (Perfect)]

[Progress: 2247/4000 points]

[Skill: Great Void Technique (Great Mastery)]

[Progress: 377/500 points]

……

During this period of time, with the blessing of the Wish Pearl and Ling Yun, his martial arts improved rapidly in parallel.

And the bottleneck of the Innate Realm seemed to be loosening slightly.

At this rate of progress, it shouldn't be long before he can break through again and achieve further advancement.

"The next step is to see if the panel is strong enough."

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and we entered deep winter, with everything silent and quiet.

There was a shock in the court of the Great Zhou.

General Xue Zhao suffered a disadvantage in the war, and lost one third of his 100,000-man army, and failed to capture either Jinzhou or Danzhou.

The current Majesty Ji Zikong was deeply dissatisfied with this and decided to start the pacification meeting ahead of schedule and hold it in Danzhou.

For a time, many noble families and high-ranking officials began to prepare for this gluttonous feast, arranging for their clan members and enemies to participate, hoping to determine the winner of the pacification meeting.

Compared to the excitement of these prominent families, the ordinary people who were conscripted looked like they had lost their parents, with despair on their faces.

What Shen Qing did not expect was that his name was on the list of people to be present at the meeting to quell the rebellion.

Not only that, all the well-known officials in Yongzhou were on the conscription list.

(End of this chapter)