36: distant war drums

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Qin Feng got up and left the clinic, heading straight for the West Market. The morning air still carried the chill of the night, but the streets were already gradually becoming lively. The shouts of vendors and peddlers, and the rumbling of carriages and horses over the bluestone road, intertwined into a vibrant tapestry of marketplace life.

He arrived at the fish stall area of the West Market, where the fishy, salty mist hit him in the face. Wooden basins and buckets filled with lively fish splashing and jumping were laid out in front of each stall. His gaze swept across them, and he quickly found the "Old Zhang" fish stall mentioned in the intelligence. The owner was a dark-skinned old fisherman with a face full of wrinkles, who was nimbly tidying up his stall.

"Boss, how much for the green-tailed fish?" Qin Feng stepped forward and asked casually.

Old Zhang looked up, wiped his hands with the sweat towel hanging around his neck, and smiled honestly, "Young man, you're here early! The green-tailed fish are one silver coin each. They were all just caught this morning, very fresh!" He pointed to a specific wooden basin where several fish with greenish-black scales and especially long tails were swimming.

Qin Feng's gaze landed on one of the green-tailed fish that looked the most active and was also the largest. It's you, he thought. He took out a silver coin and handed it over. "I'll take this one."

"Coming right up!" Old Zhang nimbly scooped out the fish, threaded a straw rope through its gills to tie it, and handed it to Qin Feng. "Here you go, young man!"

Qin Feng took the fish; it felt heavy in his hand, and the fish was still struggling and twisting. He calmly carried the fish and did not leave immediately. Instead, he sat down at a nearby breakfast stall and ordered a bowl of soy milk and two sticks of fried dough. He appeared to be leisurely eating breakfast, but his ears were actually listening for movement at the fish stall and the idle chatter of the surrounding diners.

Sure enough, before long, several people nearby who looked like traveling merchants or citizens with some assets began to talk loudly. The topic was precisely the most sensational event of recent days.

"Hey, have you all heard? Our Emperor is going to lead the army in person this time!" A middle-aged merchant with a goatee lowered his voice, but could not hide his excitement.

"I heard about it long ago! That's an army of two hundred thousand! With banners fluttering and armor gleaming, I heard the convoy transporting grain and supplies alone can stretch for dozens of miles!" another chubby merchant chimed in, spittle flying.

"That's not all! I have a distant nephew serving as a minor captain in the army. He revealed that the Great General accompanying the expedition this time is a top-tier powerhouse at the Martial Emperor level! There are over a dozen Martial Kings under his command! And then there's that legendary 'Golden Guards'; it's said that every single one of them is at the Grand Martial Master level!"

"My goodness! A Martial Emperor! Over a dozen Martial Kings! The Golden Guards are all Grand Martial Masters?!" Someone gasped. "This display is too grand! It's simply going to crush those Barbarians!"

Everyone chimed in, their faces filled with an excitement that suggested they shared in the glory, as if they had already seen the royal army's triumphant return and the Barbarians bowing their heads.

Qin Feng silently drank his soy milk while listening to these discussions. However, there wasn't much of a ripple in his heart; he only shook his head inwardly.

The Emperor of the Qian Kingdom? Leading the expedition in person?

Martial Emperor? Martial Saint?

These terms were too distant for him. He was currently just a "small Martial Master" struggling in Star South City, working hard to improve his strength while avoiding being hunted by various parties. Royal affairs and the Empire's wars seemed as if they were separated from his life by thousands of mountains and rivers. What he cared more about now was the item inside the fish's belly, and how to deal with the Blood-Filled Tower killers who might be lurking in the city.

After finishing breakfast, Qin Feng carried the green-tailed fish, which was no longer struggling, and slowly returned to his room in the clinic.

Closing the door, he took out a dagger and nimbly sliced open the fish's belly. As the internal organs flowed out, his fingertips indeed touched a hard object. He carefully took it out and washed it clean with water.

It was an oval-shaped, warm spirit jade stone about the size of a thumbnail. The jade was warm to the touch, not scorching, but a perfect warmth, as if it were slightly pulsating with life. Holding it in his palm, he could clearly feel a cool and refreshing aura slowly flowing through the Laogong point of his palm into his body, reaching straight to the Sea of Consciousness between his eyebrows. It refreshed his spirit, and even the slight fatigue accumulated from days of covert actions and Cultivation dissipated quite a bit.

"It really is a good item!" Qin Feng's eyes showed joy. Although the description of the effect of this "warm spirit jade" was "weak," this was the first time he had obtained a treasure that directly nourished the Divine Soul and calmed the mind. Its value was hard to measure with ordinary money. He carefully tied the warm spirit jade with a silk thread and wore it close to his chest, side by side with the silver small sword emblem.

Feeling the warm aura from his chest and the clarity in his Sea of Consciousness, Qin Feng was in a pleasant mood. He habitually refreshed the System intelligence at the zi hour of the night.

However, the three pieces of information refreshed tonight were all of yellow quality, and their contents all pointed toward that Imperial expedition that he had thought had nothing to do with him!

[(Yellow) The current emperor of the Qianyuan Kingdom, Li Hong, is actually a mediocre ruler who craves pleasure and is obsessed with food. Most of the court's power is held by the Empress Dowager, who rules from behind the curtain, and her maternal relatives; he himself does not have much actual power or prestige.]

[(Yellow) This personal expedition stems from recent frequent provocations by the Barbarians, who even once besieged a major border town. Li Hong is anxious to use this opportunity to establish military merit, prove himself, and escape the constraints of the Empress Dowager. However, during the journey, he still brought more than ten concubines and took several new beauties from the prefectures along the way. The march is slow and the lifestyle is extravagant.]

[(Yellow) The Barbarians' provocation this time is not without purpose. They have reached a unified consensus internally and received support from a certain hidden force in the north. They have long since set numerous traps on the predetermined battlefield, waiting for the Qianyuan army to fall into the snare.]

Looking at these three pieces of information, Qin Feng couldn't help but be stunned, followed by a bitter smile.

"This... is royal gossip enough to meet the standard for yellow-grade information?" He was somewhat speechless.

These pieces of information undoubtedly revealed that behind this seemingly grand expedition lay the loss of sovereign power, the monarch's love of grand achievements, and the deadly traps carefully laid by the enemy. The amount of information was massive; any one of these leaking out would be enough to shake the court and the public.

"It's just a pity... it's of no use to me." Qin Feng sighed.

Would he dare to speak of this information? He feared that before the news even reached the ears of those who should hear it, he, the "Ghost," would become a real Ghost the next day. Interfering in a conflict of this level was no different from a mantis trying to stop a carriage.

"Better to just stay low and keep safe." He shook his head, putting the chaotic information about the Emperor, the Barbarians, and the traps behind him. "I hope this Emperor, Your Majesty, can have good luck."

What he needed to do now was to continue to improve his strength, deal with the crisis at hand, and protect those around him. The war drums and storms from afar could not yet reach Star South City, a city tucked away in a corner.

He turned his attention back to the warm spirit jade on his chest that was emitting a warm aura, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate the Primordial Unity Qi Art, feeling the weak but continuous effect of the Divine Soul nourishment.