Chapter 38: Unexpected Joy: The Emperor's News
Qiao Mu instantly stood up and approached the tightly closed back kitchen door, peering through the crack with his eyes.
After reaching the 8th rank, his vision has greatly improved. At this moment, as he looked out from the door, he could see everything outside, and immediately spotted Childe Guo.
It's ironic that they are now on bad terms. Qiao Mu initially planned to sneak in slowly and blend into the Lord's mansion, but now there is no chance.
Looking outside through the crack in the door, Childe Guo was holding a dog leash and being pulled by a large black dog as they ran.
The large dog seemed very excited, possibly due to the smell of cooked beef, and continued to pull, heading straight towards the back kitchen.
As Qiao Mu carefully observed, he noticed that there didn't seem to be any servants or attendants following Childe Guo. Only a few patrolling servants occasionally walked past the corners of the eaves, several tens of meters away.
"Should I take action? If I do, will I be immediately discovered? There might also be servants in the blind spots of my sight through the door crack that I haven't noticed."
Qiao Mu had this thought in his mind, but he quickly ran out of time to think.
Because Childe Guo had arrived in front of the closed gate, the two big dogs he was holding had already jumped up on the gate and were barking continuously.
The big dogs seemed to have caught a whiff of Qiao Mu's unfamiliar smell from behind the gate and were starting to become cautious.
"This beast only knows how to eat." Childe Guo laughed and cursed, then kicked the wooden door, causing it to shake.
"Are they all deaf inside? Open the door already!"
"Alright, young master, don't be angry, I'll open it!" Qiao Mu didn't hesitate anymore and immediately responded.
He assembled two pieces of a long spear, pulled open the wooden door with his left hand, and shot out the long spear with his right hand.
With the burst of internal strength, the spear accurately pierced the black dog's head, and with a strong pull, the hundreds of pounds of strength in his hand exploded, directly throwing the black dog's body into the house.
After advancing to the 8th rank, internal strength and physical strength were further enhanced. It was easy for the long spear to pierce the black dog's head, and the movement was extremely fast. Before the blood even splattered, the black dog had already been thrown into the house.
"You ---" Childe Guo widened his eyes and just as he saw Qiao Mu's face, a big hand grabbed his neck and lifted him up.
The big door closed again.
"Qiao Mu? No, Qiao Lin?"
The sharp tip of the long spear pointed directly at Childe Guo's throat.
"Shh." Qiao Mu coldly looked at Childe Guo and made a gesture.
Childe Guo instantly broke into a cold sweat, the icy metal tip of the spear touched his throat, and his whole body felt chills.
Previously, Qiao Mu had caught him on the street and slapped him, but this was the first time Childe Guo had been humiliated like this in public, almost leaving him with a psychological scar.
This Qiao Lin's killing intent was much stronger than the previous Qiao Mu, it was clear he had been in battle before. Qiao Lin was even more fierce than Qiao Mu, daring to barge into the city lord's residence like this?
Childe Guo's legs felt weak. If it wasn't for Qiao Mu supporting him, he would have almost fallen forward, under the sharp tip of Qiao Mu's spear.
After capturing Childe Guo, Qiao Mu pressed his ear against the closed door.
He didn't hear any approaching footsteps or the shouts of the servants. It seemed that his actions had been quick enough and he was lucky enough not to be discovered for a while.
While Qiao Mu's attention was focused on the outside of the door, Ah Cheng, the unconscious servant lying on the ground, secretly opened his eyes.
"Did the young master just mention the names Qiao Mu and Qiao Lin? I've heard those names before..." He glanced at Qiao Mu, mustering up some courage, then quickly shut his eyes again, feeling slightly relieved.
At first, he thought it might be some audacious criminal trying to forcefully enter the lord's manor, but Qiao Lin had a reputation as a righteous man. And Qiao Lin was said to be Qiao Mu's older brother? He probably wasn't a bad person either.
Although he continued to pretend to be unconscious, his nervousness slowly eased without him realizing it.
"Childe Guo, let's have a talk. Speak softly, I ask, you answer, or else you'll die." Qiao Mu's words were concise as he pointed his spear at Childe Guo's throat, his gaze icy cold.
Childe Guo nodded vigorously.
"Is this seasoned beef meant for dogs?" Qiao Mu asked.
"Yes, what's wrong?" Childe Guo was puzzled by Qiao Mu's question, but noticed his cold gaze and quickly explained:
"I bought it, I bought it! I honestly spent money on it, didn't steal or rob!"
"We Guo family have money, it's not excessive to spend a bit, right?"
"Buying beef is one thing, but... feeding it to the dog?" Qiao Mu asked again.
Since he entered Yan City, everything he saw was desolate.
Due to the famine, the houses in the outer city were mostly empty, allowing Qiao Mu to achieve property freedom at a young age. The former refugees became bandits in the mountains, setting up a small mountain stronghold inside Mount Dong... It was called a stronghold, but it was more like a small village.
And Childe Guo in the inner city, buying and slaughtering working cows to feed dogs?
Qiao Mu was still eating longevity noodles for his birthday... although his birthday was celebrated a bit frequently.
"... What else should I do?" Childe Guo, with innocent eyes, didn't quite understand why Qiao Mu had such a cold gaze, and could only argue softly:
"We bought the beef with our own money, honestly and fairly."
"Since we've bought the beef, it naturally belongs to us. We can do whatever we want with it, right? Is it okay to give the extra meat to the dog?"
Looking at Childe Guo's puzzled expression, Qiao Mu could only think of an ancient saying, "Dogs and pigs eat without discernment, they devour whatever is given to them..."
After careful consideration, he realized that Childe Guo truly didn't see any problem with this logic, so he asked again:
"What do your servants eat?"
"Um... I don't know, why does it matter to me?" Childe Guo looked confused.
The unconscious servant Ah Cheng lying on the ground discreetly pinched his thigh again.
Qiao Mu fell silent for a moment and had to give up on trying to communicate with Childe Guo. He continued to ask:
"How many skilled martial artists are there in the Lord's Manor?"
Childe Guo quickly replied, "My father is ranked 6th. There are two other people ranked 7th, one is Uncle Fu, who just went out of the city to fight...uh, the other is named Zhou Wen. As for the 8th rank, there seem to be three or four or five or six of them. I don't know about the 9th rank."
"Qiao Lin, you must stay calm. If something happens at the Lord's Mansion, it's not just these martial artists who will be guarding. The soldiers from the military camp will also be mobilized quickly. You won't be able to escape."
Won't be able to escape? Then I can relax.
With this kind of lineup, it's simply impossible to break through and reach Lord Guo Yan. Qiao Mu might even face a sixth-ranked martial artist head-on and still might not be able to get to him.
But whether Qiao Mu lives or dies, he doesn't lose. He wins either way. It's all or nothing.
"I ask, you answer. Don't say unnecessary words." Qiao Muspear pressed forward, continuing to exert pressure:
"Do you know about the Wuji Association?"
Childe Guo looked confused.
"You are useless if you know nothing. You take care of your pet dog diligently, but you don't know anything about what's happening in the mansion?" Qiao Mu got a little impatient and mentioned something randomly, asking:
"Do you know... about the secret trip of the Great Yan Emperor?" Qiao Mu suddenly remembered this, it was the information from the Wuji Association, also the information he initially wanted to find out from the Lord's Mansion.
But later, the feud with the Lord's Mansion grew, and he couldn't spare any attention for this matter anymore.
Who knew that when these words came out, Childe Guo's expression changed, "How do you also know?"
Oh no.
Unexpected joy.
Qiao Mu squinted his eyes.
