49 Ancient City (IV)
◎Just this little bit of warmth is enough to make him greedy.◎
"But this statue of yours is a bit too sinister," Qiuyan said as the waiter brought the dishes. She didn't know why, but the statue seemed to be possessed by a demon. The more she looked at it, the scarier it seemed. She couldn't help but complain, "We should fix a new door tonight. Otherwise, it's too scary in the middle of the night."
The waiter's face darkened noticeably, but he quickly regained his complaisant smile. "You're right. I'll tell the shopkeeper right away and have him fix the door."
"Sister Qiuyan, why do I feel like everyone is looking at us?" Li Jintang leaned over a little uneasily and said in a low voice.
"Looking at us?" Qiuyan turned her head and glanced around. The guests in the inn were all absorbed in their dinner, their expressions seemingly normal. She smiled nonchalantly. "Has Atang been too stressed lately? Go get some rest after dinner."
Was she really overthinking it? Li Jintang suddenly felt a little unable to eat. After signaling to the others, he turned and went upstairs to his room.
"Why did you leave so early, kid?" The fortune-telling book rested on her shoulder in dissatisfaction, its pages fanning her hair. "That smell is so sweet! I can't get enough of it."
"I'm sleepy," Li Jintang said succinctly. She didn't know why, but ever since she entered the inn, she had been feeling drowsy and exhausted.
She took off the hairpin from her temples, carefully placed it on the table, then turned around and tried to close the door.
Strange, why can't this door be closed? Li Jintang exerted some force and suddenly heard a "ah" sound. She quickly let go of her hand and a figure stumbled in, holding on to the door frame.
"Did I pinch your hand just now?" She asked, then realized that this question was not the main point, so she asked suspiciously, "What are you doing here so late?"
"There are a lot of mosquitoes tonight. The shopkeeper has specifically ordered mosquito fumigation for you young men." The man stood up with a smile, and indeed, a cluster of flames appeared on the ground. "I am sorry to bother you. Go get some rest, young ladies."
Li Jintang watched his back disappear in the corridor. She was silent for a moment, feeling sleepy. When she was about to close the door, she found that it was stuck again.
This time she didn't use any more force, but walked a few steps straight out the door, almost bumping into the young man who was coming towards her.
"Xie An?" She opened her eyes slightly, and her sleepiness seemed to have subsided a little. "Why are you here?"
Xie Changyan's eyes were half-closed, and his gaze swept over her.
The girl's black hair fell on her shoulders, like a thin waterfall. Under the waterfall, her two watery eyes looked at him with a bit of surprise.
He looked at her for a long time, then suddenly smiled softly, raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, and held it out in front of her. Li Jintang looked at the hand for a long time, still not understanding his intention, but just tilted her head slightly and shifted her gaze to his face.
The five fingers that were clasped together suddenly loosened, and something jumped into the purse at her side.
Li Jintang was slightly startled and hurriedly lowered her head to search her purse, but someone grabbed her wrist. She raised her eyes, her eyes full of confusion: "What... is this?"
"The thing that can save your life will be useless after you see it." He smiled slightly and slowly loosened his hand, leaving red marks on the slender white wrist.
"Go to bed early, we have to travel early tomorrow morning." After she said this, she saw that he had already retreated to the door, so she quickly closed the door and lay down on the couch with her clothes on.
When the black jade on his waist stirred for the third time, the young man jumped onto the roof, and his white jade-like sleeves fluttered in the dark night.
The inn was extremely quiet, his sight almost hidden in the darkness, and he looked coldly at the strange statue.
About half a minute later, several figures flashed from the darkness and finally stopped in front of the statue.
I only heard one of them say, "Is the statue damaged?"
After the others explored the statue from front to back, they all shook their heads. The man removed his hat, which covered his face, and sighed, "When the secret door was breached today, all of you were present. If anything were to happen to the statue, even if I cut off its head, it would be difficult to repay you."
The person who spoke was the innkeeper. When the others heard this, they immediately said, "Don't worry, innkeeper. If the city lord blames us later, we will take the blame with you."
The young man hid behind the eaves, and the silver needle sticking out from between his fingers was shining.
That statue must be related to Xuan Yu... Should I kill these people directly or go down and interrogate them?
He narrowed his eyes slightly - of course he would use threats and inducements first, and if they didn't obey, it wouldn't be too late to kill them.
Just as the silver needle was about to fly out of his hand, he heard the shopkeeper's face sullen and his voice very low: "Where are those people? Have they been dealt with?"
One of them bowed and said, "I have followed your instructions and drugged the food and placed incense in their rooms. They should be on the carriage bound for the City Lord's Mansion by now."
"Very good," the shopkeeper stroked his short black stubble and sighed, "The city lord will certainly not let them off easily. What a pity! It's so rare for guests to come to the city, and they insist on seeing this statue. Alas, we can't keep them here after all."
Xie Changyan's pupils suddenly shrank, and he almost couldn't hold the silver needle in his hand.
Right now, the most important thing is to force her to tell him the whereabouts of Xuan Yu. As for them... he gave her the elixir he conjured up with his spiritual power, and they will be fine.
But what if something goes wrong?
Who is the city lord these people are talking about? What would happen if she really fell into his hands?
He closed his eyes, his fingertips trembling slightly from the struggle.
A moment later, a white light flashed from the eaves, and there was no figure on the roof.
The window pane was knocked open, and Xie Changyan turned and walked into the room. A burst of incense suddenly hit his nose. He frowned slightly, ignoring the fragrance, and scanned the empty room.
A rabbit silver hairpin lay quietly on the table, but its owner had disappeared.
She's not here...
Without a moment's hesitation, his face darkened instantly. He passed by the other rooms and headed straight for the backyard that they were not supposed to see.
Once again... an insignificant person, he shouldn't have come to see her. Giving her the elixir was already an exception, but before he could think deeply, the long sword at his waist was already in his hand, and the blade was hanging in front of the neck of the man.
"Where is the person?" The young man asked word by word with a smile on his lips. With every word he said, the sword blade moved closer to the other person's neck, until a bloody mark was left on it, and then he stopped.
"You...let our shopkeeper go!"
The men on the ground struggled to their feet, but before they could even take two steps, they were knocked back to the ground. Xie Changyan's smile faded, and he said coldly, "I'm only giving you three counts, or do you want to see them die here?"
"I'll take you there, I'll take you there," the shopkeeper's legs softened and he knelt down hurriedly, "Don't, don't kill them, I ordered it, if you have anything to do, come to me..."
Xie Changyan didn't have the patience to listen to his nagging: "Lead the way."
The young man curled his lips slightly: "If you dare to play tricks, they will all die."
"Yes, yes, I wouldn't dare to do that." The shopkeeper responded repeatedly and led him out of the inn stumblingly.
The night was as dark as ink, and a cold wind whistled past, carrying dust and sand. They arrived in a forest, the young man's clothes rustling in the wind, and the long sword in his hand never left the shopkeeper's neck.
"It's... right in front." The shopkeeper's voice trembled, and the cold sweat on his forehead was blown away by the wind.
Several carriages sped by, their hooves kicking up clouds of dust. The shopkeeper trembled and said, "He, they're in the carriages. You..."
"Stop them."
"Yes," the shopkeeper staggered to the middle of the road and waved his hand, "Stop, stop."
The carriages obeyed, and one of the drivers shouted impatiently, "What are you doing? If you don't send them there soon, the people inside will wake up. If they run away, will you be held responsible?"
The shopkeeper ignored him and turned to look at the young man in white behind him. "They are inside. Please follow me."
"You're actually going to shield them?" the coachman said angrily, "They nearly ruined the city lord's plans. Are you worthy of..."
Before he could finish his words, a flash of spiritual power suddenly appeared and cut his throat in an instant.
Xie Changyan grabbed the shopkeeper by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up, then loosened his grip and threw him back down. He twirled his fingertips, as if trying to wipe away the dirt they had just touched.
"I told you before, if you dare to play tricks, I'll kill them," the young man's eyes were almost lost in the darkness, his white clothes particularly dazzling. "You still dare to disobey me? Do you want them all to die?"
"I... I don't understand what you're saying," the shopkeeper struggled to get up, only to find his arm had been dislocated and his legs were too limp to move. "I, I've already brought the person here, and you still won't let me go?"
The young man didn't answer. He stretched out his hand through his sleeve, and a bright fire suddenly appeared in his dark pupils.
The shopkeeper turned his head stiffly, only to hear a loud bang as all the carriages parked on the roadside burned to ashes. When the carriage fell over, a burning arm appeared from behind the curtain.
"Where is the person?" Xie Changyan pried his jaw open, a smile still on his lips, but two cold moons flashed in his pupils, and his tone clearly showed that he had lost his patience.
"I, I, I..." The shopkeeper said "I" for a long time, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face, "They are right here, and you burned them to death."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly leaned forward. Xie Changyan frowned and instinctively thrust out his sword, which pierced his chest.
The young man lifted his legs and pulled them free, and the corpse fell to the ground. He backed away expressionlessly, his hands behind his back, and suddenly a cold smile appeared on his face: "Why are you still hiding? Why don't you come together?"
The leaves suddenly trembled, and there was a rustling sound behind the bushes. Xie Changyan certainly wouldn't give them a chance to show their faces. He casually flipped his wrist, and a flame ignited close to the ground, burning straight along the land. In an instant, a large area of trees in front of him was ablaze.
The flames flickered in his eyes, spreading before finally settling into stillness. The young man sheathed his sword, seemed to hesitate for a moment, then turned and walked towards the inn.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the bushes that had just been burned to ashes.
And several dark shadows beside it.
Even if he couldn't be burned to death like this? Xie Changyan raised his eyebrows slightly, it turned out that the people who surrounded him were not living people.
It's a puppet.
It seemed these puppets were much stronger than Nangong Xiu's previous batch, and even the fire couldn't extinguish them. He slowly pressed the hilt of his sword, and just as the long sword began to gleam, there was a sudden loud "bang", and the carriage that had just been burned to pieces exploded, and several puppets crawled out from inside.
There are so many of these puppets that it seems more interesting to tame them than to kill them all.
With a slight lift of his fingertips, several streaks of golden light emanated. He thought the battle was over, but after the dust settled, he discovered that the puppets were still standing there intact.
No, it attacked him with its fangs and claws bared.
In the darkness, walls formed by countless puppets gathered from all directions, and all the light disappeared in an instant, as if to trap the white piece inside.
"If you can't fight, run away. Saving your life is the most important thing."
He suddenly stopped, looked around, but all he saw in response was endless darkness.
The wind whistled in his ears, and silver light flashed in all directions. Countless hidden weapons fell from the sky. Xie Changyan raised his hand and shot them down. In a flash, his white jade sleeves fluttered in the wind.
There was a sudden sharp pain in the wrist, and the numbness quickly spread along the arm and throughout the body. Blood flowed down the robe, staining the ground beneath his feet red.
These things... could actually devour human spiritual energy. The young man stood silently, raising his hand to seal his spiritual veins—he intended to fight these puppets with his sword alone.
The puppet's attack suddenly stopped at this moment.
A look of confusion appeared on his brows - he hadn't made any move yet, so why did these things stop?
Suddenly, a hollow flute sound rang in my ears, mixed with a girl's call:
"Xie An, is that you?"
With just this sound, the black walls around him suddenly closed, and a ray of moonlight filtered through the gap, illuminating his eyes.
When the flute sound stopped, the forest was not silent. All kinds of strange cries were circling in the air. Under the strong wind, the branches danced as if they had hands, and there was great chaos for a while.
The only thing in the boy's eyes was the goose yellow skirt, which was flying and dancing in his sight, sometimes east and sometimes west.
All the dead silence and gloom seemed to fade away before her, leaving only a faint light.
But just this little bit of warmth is enough to make him greedy.
【Author’s words】
Starting from this chapter, the emotional lines in the future will be more dense hehe [let me see]
Are the new character cards good looking? [Glasses]
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