The black market stretched out, brightly lit, and sold everything imaginable, including human lives.
Some desperate criminals also lived there. In the deep alleys between the shops, farmers might live or people with blood on their hands might live.
The black market was somewhat similar to the streets outside, with taverns and restaurants galore.
In the very middle of the night market, there was even a brothel, with strings of red lanterns hanging high, gleaming softly, and the madam pulling customers inside.
The graceful young women gently pulled the guests along, their charming smiles leading them inside, creating a unique touch of spring.
Seeing Song Tangxue stop at the entrance of the brothel, lost in thought, Uncle Kui looked her up and down and coughed awkwardly, "Does the young lady want to go inside and find out some information?"
Song Tangxue nodded and smiled, "That's right, where are the most men? Brothels."
She opened the fan she had just bought on a whim, gently waving it to create a breeze that caressed her hair. With a quick step, she headed towards the door. The madam, seeing the two of them approaching, smiled and came closer.
"Oh dear, these two gentlemen look unfamiliar." The madam pulled over a young girl: "Qiuju, quickly introduce your new masters."
The young girl's waist went limp, she leaned forward slightly, and her voice was as clear and melodious as a nightingale's: "Greetings, gentlemen."
Song Tangxue took a step back, avoiding his presence, and politely cupped her hands in greeting.
He secretly handed a silver ingot to the madam and whispered in her ear, "I want to inquire about someone. I wonder if you could do me a favor."
Her voice was slightly rough and androgynous, and with her attire, no one doubted her gender.
Having seen many black market transactions, the madam understood what it meant. She smiled and stuffed the silver into her sleeve: "Sir, you jest. This silver is just enough to buy Qiuju for one night."
Song Tangxue understood her meaning and tactfully handed over a few more coins. Without those burdens from the Song family, she had plenty of money.
After weighing it, the madam beamed with delight, her wrinkles deepening: "Ask away, I will answer any question you may have."
"Is there a soldier living in this black market? He's tall and dark-skinned..." Song Tangxue described the soldier's appearance.
The madam thought for a moment: "Dark and tall..."
Pointing to a small alley, he said, "A few days ago I saw a man dressed as a soldier come here. Look, it's the fourth gate after you go into that alley."
Following the madam's finger, the alley was hidden behind a huge locust tree, deep and unfathomable.
They led Uncle Kui into the alley. The bright moonlight fell on the narrow road. In the dim light, the two of them counted the fourth door by feeling their way.
The journey was completely quiet, without even a gust of wind. Song Tangxue couldn't help but marvel at how vigilant the people in the black market were, as there wasn't a sound at night.
Uncle Kui tried to pry open the door, but couldn't. There were also some broken razor blades stuck in the courtyard wall, which gleamed silver in the moonlight.
"So vigilant? Is he really a thug?"
Those soldiers were all idlers, mostly holding cushy jobs, wandering around teasing cats and dogs, drinking and having fun, living a precarious life.
Song Tangxue whispered, "Let's go straight in. There's only one person being investigated, so we're not afraid of him."
Uncle Kui nodded and pushed the door open with a loud creak. A strong smell of blood wafted out from inside. By the dim moonlight, the two could see the scene in the courtyard.
Especially the tall figure lying in the pool of blood in the very center. Song Tangxue walked in with a sullen face and squatted down to examine it: "Is this that soldier thug?"
Uncle Kui nodded: "I saw him once from a distance. He looked just like this. I followed him for a while, but lost him at a fork in the road. Although I didn't see what he looked like, his build matched."
Song Tangxue looked around and saw no signs of struggle or disturbance. This person had been killed by someone she knew.
The courtyard was simply furnished with a dining table and chairs, as well as a well.
"Let's look for any traces of saltpeter first." Song Tangxue stood up and walked into the house.
The man is already dead, so we can't get anything out of him; we can only look for clues in inanimate objects.
The two of them rummaged through the drawers and cabinets, and Song Tangxue's strange feeling grew stronger, but there was not a trace of saltpeter.
It was so clean it didn't look like a place where people would live long-term.
"Everyone...stand...to the side."
Intermittent sounds came from outside, and the bustling street outside was instantly thrown into chaos and noise. Song Tangxue secretly thought something was wrong.
They fell into a trap. The scoundrel was already a pawn to be discarded, so he was killed by his superiors. They must have realized that someone was investigating saltpeter and were trying to lure the enemy out.
Use this trick to force her to appear.
Song Tangxue calmed herself down and called out to Uncle Kui, "Uncle Kui, we've fallen into a trap. There are soldiers all outside. Let's split up."
Uncle Kui also sensed something was wrong and deftly moved towards the window.
The footsteps outside grew louder. From the few words exchanged, Song Tangxue recognized them as government soldiers. Uncle Kui opened the window: "Miss, you go first."
Song Tangxue didn't dare to delay and jumped onto the window. The door she was standing on came loose and she almost fell.
Along with the brick, a letter also fell, which Song Tangxue grabbed and stuffed into her bosom.
The two of them scrambled over the wall, Song Tangxue's clothes were all torn by the sharp spikes on it. In the moment of escaping for their lives, they didn't care about their appearance and ran off in different directions.
The soldiers who came out of the courtyard also saw them: "Quickly, after them! We can't let these two thieves get away!"
Footsteps followed closely, interspersed with shouts from several soldiers: "Halt!"
Song Tangxue moved nimbly, making continuous turns and running to gain some distance, and finally, with the help of a fork in the road, she completely ran out of the soldiers' sight.
Hearing the footsteps passing by, Song Tangxue, hiding in the shadows, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
Just as he was about to turn around, he ran into another patrolling pair of soldiers.
"Someone's dead! Arrest anyone in black and masked!" A rough voice came from behind.
She stopped against the wall, and then heard footsteps approaching from behind. Song Tangxue frowned and carefully turned into a secluded alley.
"Who?" The alert soldiers noticed her. Song Tangxue didn't care anymore and ran away again. The soldiers shouted and chased after her.
Now that they were closer, Song Tang's breathing became rapid in the snow, and she pushed her speed to its maximum.
The sound of hurried footsteps approached.
Around another corner, a blue carriage was quietly parked by the alley, and the familiar coachman looked at her with a smile.
Song Tangxue twitched her lips and sped up to get into the carriage.
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