Qingshi County

Did something happen to the Heavenly Dragon Guard stationed here?

Qin Hao felt that things weren't that simple. The Dragon Mountain Empire, such a massive military organization, couldn't possibly be this fragile.

Qin Hao became increasingly curious about what excitement he could find here.

And there were those attribute points in the county town.

Thinking of this, Qin Hao's lips curved upwards slightly.

Meanwhile, Ma Wei, seeing Qin Hao's expression, found it a bit strange. Hearing about rampant ghostly creatures, shouldn't he be scared? Why did he seem a bit excited instead?

"Little Hao! What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

Hearing Ma Wei call him, Qin Hao snapped back to reality.

"Ahem, it's nothing."

"Alright, Brother Ma, I should be going now, or I won't be able to enter the city later."

Qin Hao felt it was getting late and he should head to the county town as soon as possible.

"Alright, goodbye. Come find us at Xiao Wang Village if you have time."

"Okay."

"Goodbye!"

With that, he led his horse and headed towards Qingshi County.

Qingshi County.

County town entrance.

"Oh~ Finally arrived."

A tall and powerfully built young man appeared at the county town gate. At this moment, Qin Hao's clothes had already been cleaned in a small stream by the roadside. Otherwise, Qin Hao feared the guards wouldn't let him in.

His tall stature and robust muscles made him stand out in the crowd.

"This kid's muscles are too exaggerated. One of his arms is thicker than I am!"

"Don't stare. Be careful he doesn't rip you apart. He looks like trouble, let's go quickly."

"Wow, such big muscles."

"Sister, what time is it now? You're still ogling. Let's go quickly, or we'll be too late."

The surrounding villagers murmured as they looked at Qin Hao.

Qin Hao didn't pay much attention to them. Instead, he observed the citizens coming and going. They were all hurrying, with more people leaving than entering.

This must be the reason for the ghostly disturbances in the county town, causing these people to flee as quickly as possible.

With that thought, Qin Hao stopped looking around and walked straight into the town.

People nearby, seeing the conspicuous Qin Hao walk into the county town, started gathering again.

"Quick, look, what is this big guy doing entering the city now?"

"Who knows."

"I think this young man doesn't look like an ordinary person at all."

"Nonsense. Look at those muscles, they're like a demonic beast's. Do we even need to say if he's ordinary or not?"

"Alright, alright, stop talking. Let's go quickly, or the ghosts will come out and harm people again."

"Right, right, let's go quickly."

Speaking of ghosts, these people began to distance themselves from the county town again.

Soon, Qin Hao entered the county town.

Qin Hao discovered that there were far fewer people. Many shops were closed even in broad daylight.

It looked very desolate.

Qin Hao had visited the county town with Uncle Ling Kang and his clan members before. There were many more people then than now.

Now, he could only see a few sparse individuals wandering on a street.

"Sigh, how am I supposed to manage like this?"

Qin Hao had expected the county town to be deserted due to the rampant ghostly creatures, but he hadn't expected it to be this severe.

He had originally intended to purchase food and clothing, but now it seemed a bit difficult.

"Forget it, I'll go ahead and take a look."

Qin Hao shook his head helplessly and continued forward.

After walking for a while, Qin Hao finally found an inn that was open.

Qin Hao touched his stomach. He hadn't eaten all day, and it was time to solve his hunger. Moreover, it could also solve his accommodation issues.

With that thought, Qin Hao strode towards the inn.

Entering the inn, Qin Hao found it wasn't crowded. The large establishment only had a few patrons, making it seem quite desolate.

The people inside the inn looked at Qin Hao as if they had seen a ghost.

Just then, a young girl, appearing to be seventeen or eighteen, cautiously approached Qin Hao.

"G-g-guest, hello, what can I get for you?"

The girl looked at Qin Hao with fear, having never seen someone so tall and strong.

However, seeing Qin Hao's slightly chubby face, she felt he couldn't be very old, creating a strange contrast with his physique.

"Do you still have food here?"

Can't find the book title? Try searching for the author, maybe they just changed the name!

Qin Hao looked down at the girl before him and chuckled, I don't eat people, why do they act like I'm a bad guy?

"We have some, but I'm not sure what you need."

Hearing Qin Hao's clear voice, the girl became less afraid.

"Then bring me everything you have on the menu."

"Everything?"

"Yes, everything!"

"Uh, okay, okay, please wait a moment."

Saying that, the girl ran into the kitchen.

Seeing the girl leave, Qin Hao found a seat and sat down.

After a while, a head poked out from the kitchen, looking towards Qin Hao's seat. Upon seeing Qin Hao's build, the person also showed a surprised expression.

A short while later, Qin Hao's table was filled with a feast.

The dishes were very ordinary, nothing fancy, just common household foods like braised pork belly and roasted beast meat.

There was also a large basin of rice and steamed buns.

Qin Hao started by not eating any spicy food. Instead, he reached for a plain steamed bun, stuffing it into his mouth in three bites to fill his stomach.

The bun was indeed very soft and chewy, and most importantly, it was warm. It was much better than the food from the small stalls in the village.

Lin Mo then tried the other dishes, and they did not disappoint. The pork belly was rich but not greasy, and even better when eaten with chinjao; the beast ribs were meaty with small bones, spicy, and satisfying to gnaw on; the pig's head meat was average, but the texture was firm, and the bone broth was pure and fragrant.

Very quickly, Qin Hao cleared the entire table.

He sat there for a while, drinking tea and resting.

Qin Hao gestured for the girl at the counter to come over to settle the bill.

Seeing Qin Hao's signal, the girl hurried over without delay.

"Hello, your total is ten taels."

The girl walked to Qin Hao's table and said nervously.

Hearing "ten taels," Qin Hao felt that prices might have increased a bit since the ghostly creatures appeared, but he found it acceptable in the current situation.

He directly paid the girl.

"Oh, right, get me a room. I'll be staying here for the next few days."

"Sir, you want to stay here?"

The girl looked at Qin Hao in surprise. With ghosts rampant throughout the county town, she wondered why he would dare to stay alone, finding it strange.

"What is it?"

"Ah, nothing, I'll go get a room for you right away."

"Follow me."

Saying that, she led Qin Hao upstairs.

Not far away, a young man in luxurious attire watched Qin Hao, frowning and lost in thought.

The girl reached a room at the end of the corridor and opened it for Qin Hao to see.

"Look, is this okay?"

Qin Hao looked for a moment and nodded.

"Yes! I'll take it."

"Alright, I'll head back down now. If you need anything, you can call me."

"Oh, right. It might not be very safe in the county town lately, so it would be best for you to stay in your room at night, sir."

"Okay, thank you for the reminder. Here, take this, it's a tip for you."

With that, Qin Hao tossed a bit of silver to the girl, a token of appreciation for her kind reminder.

"Thank you, sir! Hehehe."

The young girl was very happy to see Qin Hao being so generous, handing out several taels of silver right off the bat.

With that, she skipped out of the room.

Seeing that the girl had left, Qin Hao put down his baggage, stretched, and closed the door.

"Ah, I'll rest for a bit, and then go play with those ghostly creatures tonight."

"Sleep!"

He tidied himself up and lay down on the bed. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, thinking about the attribute points he'd gained while walking on the street, he heard a knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock...

"Excuse me."

A voice came from outside the door.

Qin Hao didn't answer immediately. It wasn't the young girl; it was a man's voice.

He had only just settled in, so why was someone already coming to see him?

However, Qin Hao didn't think too much of it and got up to walk towards the door.

Creeaak!

He gently opened the main door.

Before his eyes stood a handsome young man dressed in luxurious clothing.