Chapter 374: A New Opportunity

"Um... excuse me, can I go now?"

Li Qingshan dragged a cart of firewood and asked the mysterious man holding an oil-paper umbrella in front of him cautiously.

Li Qingshan was very depressed. He had finally dragged a cart of firewood back, but halfway there, he was suddenly stopped by this man holding a paper umbrella, and then a group of sparrows drawn out surrounded him, seemingly ready to pierce him through at any time.

"I've said everything I should say. My name is Li Qingshan, a local of Willow Town. I live in the house ahead with my grandmother... You asked me to prove it, but I can't prove it to you? Why don't you come back with me to see my grandmother, and she can testify for me?"

Lin Xi put down the walkie-talkie and waved his hand immediately. "No need, you can go."

He identified the direction and was about to rush toward Furong Bridge.

"Wait!" Li Qingshan suddenly spoke up.

Lin Xi turned back to look at him, puzzled.

"Are you... no, are you... the legendary messenger of the gods? Are you here to capture the person on the theater stage?" Li Qingshan asked cautiously.

Lin Xi frowned. "Yes."

Li Qingshan opened his mouth, hesitating before saying, "It’s like this, I was at the scene at the time... Actually, I don't think he's a bad person. Although he killed those judges, he didn't hurt anyone else in the slightest. He might just have been unable to stand the judges' conduct and intended to rid Willow Town of scum... it's just that his methods were a bit extreme."

Hearing this, Lin Xi narrowed his eyes slightly and sized Li Qingshan up. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I want to ask, can you not kill him?"

"Impossible." Lin Xi shook his head decisively. "He must die!"

From Lin Xi's perspective, Chen Ling not only killed people in public but did so with extreme brutality. Most importantly, he showed no regard for the [Floating Life Painting], repeatedly plotting against them. He was a full-blown terrorist... If Chen Ling didn't die, Willow Town and other towns would never know peace again!

Li Qingshan's face turned pale. He wanted to defend Chen Ling further, but Lin Xi had no time for him. He opened his oil-paper umbrella and rode the wind toward Furong Bridge!

Judging by Old Lu's voice just now, the situation seemed critical; he had to go provide support immediately!

Watching Lin Xi leave with his umbrella, Li Qingshan stood alone by the roadside, his eyes filled with helplessness and struggle... He stood there for a long time before letting out a long sigh, picking up his firewood, and heading home.

He was close to home, and a few minutes later, he pushed open the courtyard gate.

"Grandma, I'm back."

Li Qingshan called out into the house as usual and stacked the firewood to the side. Just as he walked into the room, he saw a letter lying in the center of the table.

He walked over, puzzled, and picked up the envelope to examine it closely. He found the words "Huadu Consortium" written clearly and neatly in the sender's field.

"Qingshan... you're back?" The old lady walked out of the room leaning on her cane, looking as if she hadn't fully woken up yet.

"Grandma, where did this letter come from?"

"A postman delivered it at noon... You weren't home, so I left it there."

"Oh, okay."

Li Qingshan was about to open the letter when the old lady seemed to remember something. She frowned and said:

"Qingshan..."

"Yes?"

"Our house... I think a thief got in!"

"What??"

Li Qingshan's heart skipped a beat. He paused in opening the letter and asked hurriedly, "A thief? Grandma, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine... It's just that when I woke up from my nap, I found the radio was gone, and there was a pile of roof tiles stacked on the cabinet. I don't know who put them there..."

Hearing that she was unharmed, Li Qingshan breathed a slight sigh of relief. "The radio... anything else?"

"No."

"That's good then. They probably saw we didn't have any valuables and just stole whatever they could."

Li Qingshan comforted her, checked the house to make sure there was nothing else amiss, and then sat alone at the doorway.

He tore open the letter, scanned the contents, and his eyes narrowed!

"This is..."

This was a letter from the Red Dust Main City. In it, the Huadu Consortium apologized in an earnest tone to all participants of the Willow Town preliminary trials, admitting that they had made mistakes in appointing the theater judges, which caused a series of negative impacts and betrayed the consortium's original founding mission.

To make up for their negligence, the Huadu Consortium would send a professional judging team from the main city to Willow Town to restart the artist selection exam. Furthermore, the entire process would be subject to the supervision of all media and the public to ensure fairness and justice.

Anyone who passed the selection would be able to sign a contract with the Huadu Consortium and gain direct access to the Red Dust Main City. Moreover, this year's quota would be double that of previous years... which could be considered a gesture of true sincerity.

After reading the letter, Li Qingshan's hand holding the paper couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"I... I have another chance?"

He muttered to himself.

Not long ago, Li Qingshan had just suffered a heavy blow. Just when he thought everything was over, everything had been overturned... He had gained a new opportunity, and the quota was doubled! Li Qingshan was confident that if this selection was truly fair and just, he had a great chance of entering the Red Dust Main City!

His dream of many years... was it really about to come true?

Li Qingshan felt like he was dreaming, but he knew it was all real... No one knew better than him how this opportunity had come about.

If not for Chen Ling collecting evidence of the judges' corruption, if not for him personally distributing the evidence to everyone, and if not for him making a scene in the most brutal way possible, this matter would never have caught the attention of the Red Dust Main City, and the Huadu Consortium would never have treated Willow Town with such humility.

His opportunity was given by Chen Ling.

"Brother Lin..." The image of the red-clad figure laughing on the stage surfaced in Li Qingshan's mind, his heart filled with complex emotions.

At the same time, the words of the god's messenger from earlier seemed to echo in his ears:

"He must die!"

"No... no..."

The figure in green slowly stood up from the doorway, his eyes full of struggle. "Brother Lin sacrificed himself to bring a clear sky to Willow Town... If he dies because of this, how could I ever be at peace, even if I enter the Red Dust Main City?"

Li Qingshan paced anxiously in the courtyard for a long time before finally making a decision. He slapped the letter onto the table and pushed the door open with force!

The figure in green quickly disappeared at the end of the bluestone path.