Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

When Hu Qing heard the noise outside, his heart tightened and he quickly walked out of the room.

I saw a handsome man standing at the door, wearing official uniform, looking at the hot air balloon in the yard curiously.

The yard was full of soldiers, pointing swords at him, and in the distance there were some archers drawing their bows.

Sun Dajun and Qingyin were held by the soldiers. Hu Qing approached and asked the man why he came:

"I don't know what brings you here, sir. I believe these two employees of mine haven't done anything wrong."

The man turned around, his eyes revealing an unquestionable majesty, and took out a golden token from his arms, on which was clearly written the word "Shaoqing".

He said in a deep voice, "I am Minghua, the Junior Official of the Dali Temple. I am here today to investigate a case. Master Gu, you should know what it is."

When Hu Qing heard Minghua's introduction, he was shocked. He understood that this Shaoqing of Dali Temple came to investigate the case last night.

Hu Qing knew that he couldn't show panic now, nor could he admit anything easily.

"So you are the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. I am so sorry for your disrespect."

Hu Qing bowed respectfully and continued, "As for the case, I really don't know anything. I wonder what your Excellency the Shaoqing wants to ask? If I knew, I would tell you everything."

Shaoqing Minghua nodded, expressing his satisfaction with Hu Qing's attitude.

"Master Gu, I heard that you were not at home at midnight last night. Can you tell me your whereabouts at that time?"

Hu Qing thought quickly in his mind, he knew that he had to be careful with his answer.

"Your Excellency, I was not home at midnight last night. I went to a friend's house and did not return until late at night."

Minghua Shaoqing's eyes were as sharp as a torch, as if he wanted to see through Hu Qing's heart:

"Oh, really? Is there any witness?"

Hu Qing nodded. "Yes, last night after attending the Qingmu Chamber of Commerce's auction, at the invitation of the president of the Qingmu Chamber of Commerce, I sat down with President Qian to drink some tea and discuss life for a while."

"Oh? President Qian Ruihong, is it? How come he is in contact with you and discussing life with you? Do you really think I'm a three-year-old child?" Minghua's voice became louder and louder, and he shouted directly at the last sentence.

Hu Qing knew that Minghua was trying to trick him. This opponent was indeed formidable. After a brief thought, he said:

"Master Ming, you're joking. I did have tea and discussed life with President Qian. He was just impressed by my hot air balloon."

"Okay, then I'll have to go find President Qian later and ask him about the truth."

Hu Qing was already sweating profusely. At this moment, he hoped that President Qian could be more understanding. After all, it was Xue Tu who was sent by him to kill him. If anything happened to him, Qian Ruihong would not have an easy time either.

Shaoqing Minghua did not continue to ask. He turned to look at Qingyin and Sun Dajun who were detained aside, "Then where were they last night?"

Hu Qing replied, "After Qingyin accompanied me to the auction, I asked Zhang Hu, the county magistrate's assistant, to take her to the county government office to wait for me. Sun Dajun didn't go out last night either."

"Then why not send this girl home directly, but send her to the county government office instead?" Minghua continued to question.

Hu Qing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Minghua's questioning, and finally led him to an unimportant point.

"Sir, it was almost midnight, and the president wanted to see me about something. How could I bear to leave a girl alone at home? The county government office is safer."

Shaoqing Minghua pondered for a moment, then signaled to the officers and soldiers around him to let go of Qingyin and Sun Dajun.

"Mr. Gu, I hope you can cooperate with our investigation. If you have any clues, please inform me in time."

Hu Qing agreed. He knew that the investigation would not end easily, but he was also confident that as long as he acted cautiously, there would be no problems.

Shaoqing Minghua was about to leave the ancient mansion with his officers and soldiers. Before leaving, Minghua said:

"Mr. Gu, you are very smart. I hope you can be smart in doing things as well."

Then they turned and left. Hu Qing looked at their departing backs and thought to himself.

"Sir, these gentlemen are so rude. They actually arrested me as soon as they walked in, without even giving me a chance to explain."

After the officers and soldiers left, Sun Dajun complained with lingering fear.

But his attention was quickly drawn to last night's auction, and he curiously asked Hu Qing:

"Sir, you guys attended the auction yesterday. Was it fun?"

Hu Qing felt a little relieved when he saw Sun Dajun's honest appearance.

As expected, this kind of honest employee is the best. It is a wise decision to keep him working in the ancient mansion.

Hu Qing briefly described to Sun Dajun some interesting things and what he saw and heard at the auction. Although he did not reveal too many details, it was enough for Sun Dajun to listen with great interest.

Qingyin was busy in the kitchen and soon prepared breakfast.

The three of them sat around the dining table and enjoyed the meal that Qingyin had carefully prepared.

After breakfast, Hu Qing began to prepare for the day's business. He hung the business sign in a conspicuous place, and then waited for the arrival of customers with Sun Dajun.

However, today's situation is different from usual.

Perhaps due to the impact of the alley murder case, there were far fewer pedestrians on the street than usual. Only three people came to the ancient mansion throughout the morning, wanting to experience the hot air balloon flight.

Hu Qing was not discouraged by this. He still received these guests warmly.

The afternoon sun shone on the courtyard of the ancient mansion. After a simple lunch, Hu Qing decided to start making more hot air balloons.

He remembered that he had promised the magistrate a hot air balloon, and now he realized that it was always good to have a few extra in case of emergency.

Hu Qing went to the blacksmith shop he had worked with before. The blacksmith's craftsmanship was very good, and the iron cans he had made before showed great stability during use. It was a miracle that they never exploded.

After Hu Qing discussed with the blacksmith, he ordered 4 new iron cans at the price of 8 gold coins, and emphasized that the previous standards must be maintained.

The blacksmith nodded in agreement. He was confident in his skills and also welcomed Hu Qing, a big customer.

Hu Qing waited in the blacksmith shop for a while, watching the blacksmith start working. Amidst the sparks, the new iron can gradually took shape.

Tired of looking around, Hu Qing went to the magistrate again.

Hu Qing arrived at the county government office and explained his purpose to the magistrate.

After hearing this, the magistrate immediately arranged for his men to prepare the necessary kerosene and handed it to Hu Qing.

Just after Hu Qinggang handed the money to the county magistrate, the magistrate suddenly mentioned the murder case in the alley last night: "Mr. Gu, have you heard about the murder case in the alley yesterday? It was said to be very tragic."

Hu Qing's heart tightened, but his face showed no abnormality. He calmly replied that he didn't know.

He tried his best to look like an outsider to avoid arousing the magistrate's suspicion.

The magistrate did not seem to have any doubts about Hu Qing. He just mentioned it casually, perhaps to see Hu Qing's reaction.