Heroine, don't turn back, I'm just a farmer.

"Which of the truly great heroes has had a smooth journey? Who can gain without effort? Without experiencing the perils of life-or-death situations and the hardships of overcoming countless setbacks, the desire to be remembered in history and admired by the world is nothing but a delusion and empty talk."

"When the world is about to fall and the nation is about to collapse, monsters will inevitably emerge. Even the most brilliant and talented will find it difficult to move forward; how can someone with a great reputation expect to get away with anything?"

"No pain, no gain; no glory, no triumph. A true man should not fear hardship, and even knowing danger, he should give his all!"

"Brother Han, you have suffered this humiliation today, but who can say that you might one day become famous throughout the world?"

Lu Guo's words were so decisive that they made Han Qi look at him with surprise.

He became somewhat curious about this person's background.

"I have never met you before, sir. I have no idea who you are..."

"I am merely a wandering swordsman who occasionally comes to Jianghuai to handle important matters."

"Important matter?" Han Qi hesitated for a moment. "I wonder what important matter it is? I am grateful for your kindness in giving me a cake. If there is anything I can do to help you, I will certainly not abandon you."

He was a man who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment. Regardless of the other party's intentions, he had indeed eaten half of his sesame seed cake.

"I noticed that Brother Han also uses a sword and is wearing a scholar's robe. Are you here to seek knowledge?"

"To seek knowledge, one must first seek it before one can learn it." Han Qi's tone was flat, but it clearly contained a hint of mockery. "To be honest, I have been poor since childhood and have never even stepped into the gates of an academy."

Lu Guo remained silent for a moment.

"I see you also have some martial arts skills. If you can't succeed in studying literature, joining the army is not out of the question."

At this point, Han Qi's dissatisfaction became even clearer.

"To be honest, Brother Lu," Han Qi sighed, "I had no chance to take the imperial examinations, so I wanted to join the army. I served for three years, but I never saw the so-called army. I only received a few cents of military pay for the first three months. After that, I spent every day repairing houses for wealthy families in the city. The thing I did most every day was start fires and cook. I didn't do what a soldier general should do, but I did do the job of a cook to the fullest extent."

"Hahaha..." Lu Guo found it amusing. "Don't underestimate the cooks. In the seven hundred years of the Great Sheng Dynasty, many famous generals started as cooks."

"What I care about is not the identity of a cook." Seeing Lu Guo laugh, Han Qi's expression relaxed slightly. "I'm angry at their lack of ambition. How can the imperial court's military preparedness be so lax in such a fertile land as Jianghuai?"

"There is no real army left in Huaiyin City. They are no different from laborers. If war breaks out, I only need 800 men. In a month, I can take over the Jianghuai region, control the Han River, and seize the wealth of the three prefectures of Qing and Xu."

"Later, I failed to enlist, and I realized that joining the army couldn't change the world, so I learned martial arts. Although I achieved some success, what good is a sharp sword if you're alone?"

"As you can see, I caused some trouble by sticking out for someone else some time ago, which led to this humiliation today."

As he spoke, Han Qi fell silent. "The world is about to descend into chaos, yet I'm still wasting my time here."

Lu Guo patted the guy on the shoulder.

How did you come to the conclusion that the world was about to descend into chaos?

It's normal for Han Qi to be able to tell, but Lu Guo is curious about how he figured it out.

"Take Jianghuai for example. The conflicts between the five sects and eighteen factions are getting more and more intense. I don't believe that these factions are not supported by some powerful forces. The more chaotic the Jianghu is, the weaker the government's control becomes. Jianghuai has a special location. It is rich in the Central Plains, but its military preparedness is so lax. It is not far from the capital, but the court's control over the Jianghu is so weak."

"More and more migrants are moving south from the north. In the past, we could only see a few here and there, but in recent years, it has become a southward migration of various sizes. This means that something must have happened in the north, and some basic necessities are becoming more and more expensive..."

"I asked those refugees who went south, and they said that the imperial court has suffered a series of defeats in the north. If they continue to lose... this river embankment may breach at any time and flow south."

"Since you think the North is going to be in chaos, why don't you go there and serve the country, and make a name for yourself?" Lu Guo asked.

"Heh..." Han Qi shook his head. "Brother Lu, why ask me such a foolish question? The army and official positions are controlled by powerful families. It's very difficult for us to get in, and even if we did, what could we possibly accomplish?"

"The powerful families possess armies in order to maintain their prestige on their own territories; the well-being of the people is not within their consideration."

"With the spread of the theory of the Mysterious Female, the Jianghu (martial arts world) in the Jianghuai region is in such chaos. Look at the powerful families here, who has stepped forward to manage things?"

"Compared to this, I think there's a bit of the Southern Tang Dynasty behind this."

Lu Guo's eyes lit up; this guy had sharp eyes.

Even though they know nothing, they can still see this.

"If there's an opportunity in the future..." Lu Guo pondered for a moment, "maybe I can help you realize your ambitions."

Han Qi was a man who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have become so devoted to Zhao Yuqian just because Zhao Yuqian was promoted from a city gate captain, and even helped him in the earth-shattering act of donning the yellow robe. Since he might have to face Zhao Yuqian in the future, Han Qi definitely had to win him over.

Han Qi was taken aback, thinking that he was trying to comfort him. "Brother Lu has such a kind intention... If there is really an opportunity, I will never forget such a great favor."

"Sure, why don't you come with me for a walk around Huaiyin?"

"please."

……

Over the next two days, Lu Guo's main task was to explore the map and search for the blacksmith shop mentioned in the clues.

With specific clues, finding the location wasn't too difficult. He even used his thieving skills to spend a day and some money to improve his relationship with the blacksmith named Peng Lianhu.

As night fell, the master thief entered a state of "emptiness of all things," transforming into a black shadow and heading towards the blacksmith shop he had found.

There were no pedestrians on the streets, and the soldiers on night patrol were lazy; no one noticed his whereabouts.

"Peng's Blacksmith Shop..."

He found a blacksmith shop with the character "Peng" on its sign, and with a light leap, he drifted in through the crack in the window like a gentle breeze.

"The clue says it's in the stove."

Lu Guo looked at the furnace inside the blacksmith's shop. There were still some dark charcoal pieces hidden in the furnace. The dark red charcoal pieces emitted high temperatures, making it difficult to see what was hidden inside. During the day, he had given the owner of this blacksmith's shop some money to go out for drinks, and he had deliberately gotten him drunk before coming here at night.

You can't tell anything special about this place just by looking at it, but a master thief doesn't rely on his eyes alone to see things.

[A meeting of minds.]

Using the Thief's [Telepathic Connection] ability to observe again, he soon spotted a golden ball of light the size of an egg in the area where the charcoal was piled up.

He walked over and took the golden ball of light in his hand. In the dim light, he saw two carp sculptures intertwined like yin and yang fish, with lifelike textures, scales, heads, feet, mouths, and eyes that were indistinguishable from the real thing.

In the state of "telepathic connection," the light in his eyes seemed to penetrate the void and momentarily connect with one of the goldfish sculptures.

This was the first time he had seen the so-called "mysterious female" in the information about the adventure, and he couldn't tell if it was true or not. But for some reason, he believed it to be true at first glance, as if there was some mysterious principle behind it.

"Could this be the Mysterious Female that records the Emperor's Way of Heart?"