Xue Qing said as he watched the man gulping down Spilled Jade Spirit Nourishing Tea, "I have to admit, I'm curious. You're one of Taian Prefecture's Five Pacification Envoys, the Azure Flood Dragon Pacification Envoy. Instead of enjoying the good life in Taian Prefecture, what brings you to this backwater like Great River City?"
Kong Jiao, whom Xue Qing had called the Azure Flood Dragon Pacification Envoy, raised an eyebrow. "What I'm doing here—surely you know, sir?"
Xue Qing slowly set down his teacup and glanced at Kong Jiao. "It's true that an omen symbolizing the Emperor's status appeared in Great River City. But nobody knows who this person is, or what sort of temperament they have. You represent Great Yan as a Pacification Envoy. Don't let one careless move draw the Emperor's hostility upon the Great Yan royal family. If you do, even King of Beiling won't be able to protect you!"
Kong Jiao chuckled. "Thank you for the reminder, sir. I understand the gravity of the matter."
Xue Qing gave Kong Jiao a cool glance and paid him no further attention. Clearly, he didn't care to entertain someone who so obviously represented the Great Yan court.
Of Taian Prefecture's five Pacification Envoys, the other four came from some of the prefecture's most powerful factions. Only Kong Jiao was from the household of King of Beiling, one of the royal princes, and represented the Great Yan court.
Kong Jiao gave a slight shake of his head, then looked at Xue Qing with a solemn expression. "Sir, His Highness King of Beiling sincerely invites you to come out of retirement once more and join him in razing Thousand Peaks Mountain, that den of demons. You may claim a tenth of the treasures we find. That way, you can destroy the