But he couldn't refuse, and considering that Jia Qian had been on his way half a month ago, he might still have some information.
With no other choice, Dongfang Shiming planned to take him back to the tavern first. It just so happened that Jia Qian also wanted to stay at the hotel, so the two of them were on the way.
Along the way, Dongfang Shiming decided to seize the right to speak first and spoke first:
"Brother Jia, to be honest, I have been paying attention to some cases in recent days. The ancients said that wisdom can be applied to the world. Nowadays, riots occur frequently in various places. The responsibility of scholars should not be limited to the study of poetry and prose, but should be close to the people. common people."
"My dear brother, this is absolutely true." Jia Qian nodded seriously.
Dongfang Shiming felt a little relieved that he was not a hopeless rotten scholar.
He went on to say: "For example...I wonder if Brother Jia has heard of the evil-killing scholar who has become famous among women and children recently. I privately think..."
Dongfang Shiming was planning to continue to guide the topic in this direction, but he accidentally glanced at Jia Qian, and suddenly found that his face had become extremely ugly at some point, and he even started to tremble all over.
Dongfang Shiming was shocked. When he stopped talking, the strings in his heart also secretly tightened.
"Brother Jia, what's wrong with you?" He approached Jia Qian and asked with concern.
Jia Qian looked at Dongfang Shiming in fear as if he had woken up from a nightmare, and quickly waved his hands pretending to be calm: "...No, no no, my um...I'm fine."
But even though he said this, his legs were already paralyzed. He would be lying if he said he was fine. Dongfang Shiming quickly helped him squat down by the wall, facing the golden sunset, and the big beads of sweat on Jia Qian's face looked particularly obvious.
Dongfang Shiming looked at his pale face in surprise, and thought about what he had just said. There doesn't seem to be anything scary about it. Could it be that "scholar who eliminates evil"?
He quietly looked down at Jia Qian again and found that he was still gasping for breath in shock. I was even more confused.
Could it be said that he is the scholar who eliminates evil? But if that was the case, why was he so frightened when he heard this nickname?
But no matter what, the Jia Qian in front of him must have some inexplicable connection with the "evil-eating scholar".
It took a while for Jia Qian to return to normal. He begged Dongfang Shiming not to mention this name to others, let alone spread such rumors everywhere. Dongfang Shiming looked at his mournful face and nodded hesitantly in agreement, but his doubts in his heart only increased.
The two of them walked back to the tavern in silence. Until dinner, it was as if there was a thin veil between them.
There were many people coming to the pub to drink in the evening. Dongfang Shiming and Jia Qian were quietly eating dinner in a corner.
Dongfang Shi secretly watched Jia Qian's every move and found that he always looked as nervous as a taut string. He was carelessly picking up rice with a spoon, but his eyes were distant, as if he was thinking about something important.
In the past few days, the rumors about the "evil-eating scholar" have become increasingly popular, overwhelming other topics. There were several tables of drinking guests shouting about related topics, and the content became more and more bizarre. Some stories were even as bizarre as a novel.
"It seems... this matter is very famous." Dongfang Shiming tried to make some innuendo.
Jia Qian glanced over there a few times with frightened eyes, and when he looked back he kept sighing: "A lot of words can make a fortune, but a lot of people's words can make a tiger out of them. Rumors and rumors are groundless and unfounded. But it is extremely harmful to people. The sages said that flowing pills stop in a moment, and rumors stop in a wise man. There is no better way to save the cold than to wear heavy fur, and to stop slander is better than self-cultivation. It seems that it is not an easy task."
Dongfang Shiming saw that he was still quoting scriptures at this time. He expected that he was indeed a good learner, but he was also a bit pedantic and felt a bit ridiculous.
He hurriedly offered words of comfort: "Those who are clean will be clean by themselves. If there are really rumors, they will definitely be self-defeating."
Jia Qian frowned and nodded timidly: "But, I hope so, for the best."
Just before the words of their conversation had finished, a table of guests over there suddenly tapped the table twice excitedly and said loudly with excitement:
"I heard that if we follow the path of the evil scholar, he should have arrived in our Jiangliang City today!"
There was an uproar all around. The emotions of the guests at several tables were instantly ignited, and they all gathered around and started talking explosively.
There were crowds of people under the dim light, and the air was filled with the strong smell of alcohol and high-pitched heat.
Listening to the commotion over there, Jia Qian unconsciously lowered his head a lot, walking on thin ice with fear. He was still mumbling something like "Don't say anything inappropriate and don't listen to anything inappropriate" and so on, with a fearful look on his face, as if he had suffered a catastrophe.
Seeing him like this, Dongfang Shiming found it inconvenient to ask him for the time being.
It seems that we can only wait for a suitable opportunity to get reliable news from him, Dongfang Shiming thought while drinking tea.
After dinner, Jia Qian excused himself from feeling uncomfortable and hurried back to his room. Dongfang Shiming has been sitting below, lowering his head and thinking about the origin, somewhat hesitant.
The customers in the store gradually dispersed very late, and the closing lights looked a bit depressing. The hot and dry air gradually cooled down, and only the waiter was still cleaning garbage and leftovers between the tables and chairs.
Dongfang Shiming's eyelashes flickered, and his eyes reflected the night starry sky outside the window.
He always thinks of many things at this time. For example, my own home, the period of migration, and... Fu Yunge.
…………
Early the next morning, Dongfang Shiming woke up to the noise downstairs. Opening the window and looking down, I saw a lot of people watching the excitement gathered in front of the tavern, talking about something at the door.
His mind suddenly cleared up, and the rumor about the evil-eating scholar immediately appeared in his mind.
Rumor has it that the evil scholar will go out at midnight every night to kill the evil gangsters of Jiuche Xiaoying, and put them on display at the door for everyone to see the next morning, and his whereabouts are unpredictable.
And this early in the morning, the tavern hasn't even opened yet, and this is probably the only thing that can attract so many people to watch.
His next thought was to go to the next room and look for Jia Qian!
It is absolutely impossible for him to be unaware of such a situation, and what he may do next will become the key to analyzing the evil scholar.
Dongfang Shiming put on some clothes and broke out of the door. He walked around to the door next door and knocked quickly. But unexpectedly, the door was not closed. As soon as he knocked, the door was slowly moved open.
When he opened the door, he found that the room next door was already empty.
