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墨書 Inktalez
"Hey, have you all heard?"
At a corner of the street, a small Teahouse was filled with people. They may not have been high-ranking officials, but their ability to gather and share news was just as impressive.
"Hey, how could we not hear? This is a big deal." An old man with yellowed teeth stroked his somewhat tangled beard and took a deep sip of tea. "The National Decree has just been issued. Look around, are there any Nobility carriages still on the streets?"
Indeed, since early this morning, the streets had become quite empty. Aside from some common folks bustling about, the usual flow of carriages and horses was nowhere to be seen.
A young Boy leaned closer to the Old Man and grinned, "Uncle Huang, you always have the best news. Tell us what’s going on."
"Yeah, tell us!"
Hearing this, everyone laughed and urged him on. The Old Man used to be a storyteller; later on, for reasons unknown, he stopped telling stories and opened a Teahouse instead. Now he spent his days chatting with customers over tea. So even though everyone already knew what was happening, they were eager to hear it from him again.
Clearing his throat, the Old Man spat out some phlegm onto the ground, wiped his mouth with his hand, and began, "Well, this Alien Manifestation is not a good omen. A Thousand Years Ago, there were tales passed down that said when this Alien Manifestation occurs, great events will unfold on the continent..."
"What kind of events?" The Boy perked up his ears and asked eagerly, afraid of missing anything.
However, the Old Man disliked being interrupted while telling a story. He lightly kicked the Boy's leg and said, "Go on now, what do you know at your age?"
"Ouch! Uncle Huang, don’t kick me! Can’t I just ask?" The Boy refused to leave; if he left now, he wouldn’t be able to come back in.
Seeing him being stubborn made everyone laugh even more, and they encouraged the Old Man to continue.
"This big event... I can’t just say anything carelessly. Let me tell you..." The Old Man pretended to look around mysteriously. Then he lowered his voice and said, "The Alien Manifestation means chaos will surely come to the continent."
"Cut it out..." The crowd began to jeer.
Old Man chuckled and shouted, "Alright, alright. Can't I have a little fun? Let me continue."
"This National Decree was supposed to be announced long ago, but the other two empires hadn't made their stance clear. That's why it was held back. Now that this National Decree is out, things are set in stone. The nobility in the imperial capital have no time to stroll the streets; they've all rushed home to discuss countermeasures. Only us poor folks are still struggling for our daily lives..."
Old Man feigned a sigh. In reality, they had long grown accustomed to such days; compared to those unexpected individuals in the imperial capital, their lives were not that hard.
"You've been talking for ages. What does this National Decree actually mean?" A thin man, clearly anxious, scratched his neck and asked.
"What does it mean?" Old Man glanced at the thin man and grunted, "The nobility from the Three Kingdoms are about to gather in the Capital of the Departed Nation to decide their power through martial contests. This is also to avoid waging war."
Today, everyone could still sit here listening to gossip and discussing trivial matters because they knew there would be no war; otherwise, they would be too busy fleeing for their lives. After all, in any era, it was always the common people who suffered during wars.
"Who would have thought those nobles would actually consider us common folks for once," someone remarked with a hint of emotion.
Gradually, the crowd began to discuss among themselves. In their eyes, as long as they could live peacefully, that was the greatest happiness; if there was no war, that would be even better.
"As long as there's no war, let them fight it out; it has nothing to do with us..."
"Exactly! When the time comes, we'll just close our doors and ignore everything while they fight to the death..."
"Hey, what if we step out and make some business during that time..."
"Cough cough, quiet down! Everyone quiet!" Old Man saw that the crowd was getting more and more animated and finally spoke up to stop them. He slowly stood up, pressed his palms downwards in the air, and said, "You all shouldn't get too happy too soon. They say it's a martial contest, but if something goes wrong, it could still bring misfortune upon us..."
Old Man This is not an exaggeration; those Nobility wouldn't care about their lives. If a conflict arises, they will fight.
“Sovereign won't let them cause chaos in the capital…”
“Exactly, besides, there's still Guardian Mystic…”
The voices gradually grew louder, echoing in the empty street, soon attracting the attention of patrolling Soldier.
“What’s going on?” one Soldier shouted.
As soon as the Soldier arrived, everyone scattered, losing the fervor of their earlier discussion. Only the yellow-toothed Old Man and the Boy remained in the Teahouse.
“Hey, officer, we were just taking a break and having some tea, nothing much…” The Old Man wiped his face with a sweat towel and casually poured the remaining tea from two nearby bowls onto the ground. “Would you like some tea, officer?”
Seeing that everyone had dispersed, the Soldier didn’t linger and quickly walked away.
“Ah…”
“Uncle Huang, why are you sighing? Didn’t you just say that not going to war is a good thing?” The Boy was a bit confused by the inconsistency of the Old Man's words.
The Old Man reached out and patted the Boy on the head, his eyes flashing with a certain light. There was a hint of reluctance and compassion in his gaze. “You have too much curiosity. On that day, don’t go running around, understand?”
Some things were clear to the Old Man, but he couldn’t say them outright. He had already hinted to everyone, but unfortunately, it didn’t have much effect. This Boy, if his family were still around, should have a grandson about this age. He didn’t want the Boy to get into trouble because of his curiosity. “Remember, you must not go outside that day!”
Although the Boy was somewhat puzzled, he obediently nodded. As he was leaving, he smiled at the Old Man: “Uncle Huang, can I still come to listen to your stories when there’s nothing going on?”
"Come on, come on, who knows how many more stories can be told..." the Old Man muttered to himself. The Boy found him a bit strange and glanced at him a couple more times before running back home.
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National Decree:
In five days, the Three Great Empires will gather at the Capital of the Departed Nation, with representatives from each country participating in a competition. At that time, the public must avoid the area and not disturb the order; violators will be executed.
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"Is this what you call a big deal?" Ouyang Zixin looked at Ning Zhiyuan, waving the note in her hand.
"Not everything, but it's half of it," Ning Zhiyuan thought that the Three Great Empires wouldn't really put everything out in the open; this was just a facade.
"Dad, what do you think?"
Ouyang Hao pondered for a moment and said, "Since Ning Young Master is also unclear about the overall plan, I think we shouldn't speculate too much. Let's wait..."
"Wait for me?"
"Uncle!" Ouyang Zixin exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the figure in white outside the door. Who else could it be but Rong Yi?
(To be continued.)
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