Chapter 326 Nanxing, we may have entered a black shop
To go to Mo Country, one must pass through the border. It was already midnight. After a day's journey, Su Yue and Shangguan Nanxing decided to find a place to rest in the city of Dongyou.
In the small town near the border, normal people have gone to bed early. It is pitch black everywhere. Walking on the quiet streets, the only sound one can hear is the echo of horse hooves.
"Master, there is a small shop in front with the lights on. Should we go in?" Ruofeng's voice came, making the drowsy Su Yue a little more awake.
"Well, go ahead." Shangguan Nanxing pulled Su Yue closer to him and smoothed her hair that was messed up by herself.
"Are you tired? Take a rest later and continue your journey tomorrow. This border is not stable and it is dangerous to rush to the Desert Country late at night."
Shangguan Nanxing knew that Su Yue was anxious, so he tried to persuade her gently.
"Well, let's wait until daybreak before setting off." Su Yue rubbed against Shangguan Nanxing's arms, found a comfortable position and closed her eyes again.
Shangguan Nanxing stroked Su Yue gently and smiled unconsciously. Ever since the two of them confessed their feelings to each other, he clearly felt that Yue'er had become much more relaxed around him and had begun to rely on him. This was a good sign.
"Knock knock knock..." Ruofeng heard the door of an inn, jumped off the carriage and carefully knocked on the wooden door of the inn.
The knock on the door was not loud, but it could be heard from far away in the silent night.
"Knock knock knock." Seeing that no one opened the door, Ruofeng knocked three more times.
"Creaky..." As the wooden door made a sound, it opened a crack, and the dim yellow light from the room poured out through the crack. Then Ruofeng saw a head with gray hair sticking out.
"Who is it? It's so late."
The old man's eyesight might be poor, and it was dark outside, so he looked for a long time before he noticed Ruofeng standing outside, so he asked, and his tone seemed to be a bit impatient for having his sleep interrupted.
"Old man, we were passing by here and saw that the lights in your shop were on, so we wanted to stay here for the night."
Ruofeng spoke politely. He didn't care about the old man's tone. After all, it was so late and it was wrong to wake someone up from their sweet dream.
"Let's go, this place is full." After hearing Ruofeng's words, the old man waved his hands impatiently.
"Old man, if the house is full, why are you still lighting the lights?" Su Yue also got off the carriage at this time, and Shangguan Nanxing took her hand and walked over.
"If I say there is no, then there is no. Go away." When the old man heard Su Yue's question, he replied directly and even pretended to push Ruofeng out.
"You lame old man, is there anyone outside who wants to stay in the hotel?" A rough male voice came, and the old man's hands obviously froze. Then he glanced at Su Yue and others and stopped driving them away.
"I want to stay in a hotel here. Are there any vacant rooms?" Ruofeng heard the voice inside, so he raised his voice slightly and asked.
"Go away, go away. You're just wasting my business. You chased my customers away when I wasn't paying attention."
The male voice came from far away and approached. He pulled the wooden door open with force, then grabbed the old man's arm and threw him back with force.
The old man staggered after being thrown, but fortunately he did not fall. After steadying himself, he looked at Su Yue and others outside the door, then limped away.
"Sir, there is an empty room here. The old man's room is not very good."
The man stood at the door, dressed in gray and strong, forming a sharp contrast with the thin old man just now.
He had a thick beard and smiled at Su Yue and the others, but when he saw the appearance and attire of Su Yue and Shangguan Nanxing, a look of surprise flashed across his face.
"You have three guest rooms, right? My wife and I are tired from the journey and would like to rest in your hotel." Shangguan Nanxing asked.
"Yes, yes. I'm the owner of this store. My last name is Hu. Judging from your attire, you don't look like people from the border." The man swiftly led Su Yue and the other three into the room and asked casually.
"My wife and I are newly married, and we wanted to come here to see the local customs and people, just for fun."
After Shangguan Nanxing finished the excuse he had agreed upon with Su Yue, he looked around the room. There were only a few broken wooden tables and benches. It was not luxurious at all, but could be said to be shabby.
These are the only conditions for opening a shop. It seems that life is indeed difficult for people living in border areas.
"Please follow me upstairs first. I wonder if you have had your meal yet?" Shopkeeper Hu took the lead and stepped onto the wooden stairs. He heard a cracking sound coming from the stairs, as if they would break at the next moment.
"Just cook some porridge." Su Yue said lightly, but when she turned the stairs, she happened to catch a glimpse of the old man limping to close the door, and then he raised his head and glanced at Su Yue and others.
That look made Su Yue feel uncomfortable, and she subconsciously felt that something was going to happen.
"It's dry here, so it would be nice to have some porridge in the evening. I'll go and make it right away." After showing Su Yue and others the three guest rooms, Shopkeeper Hu turned around and left with a smile.
What no one saw was that the moment Shopkeeper Hu turned his head, the servile smile he had just had disappeared in an instant, and was replaced by calculation and ruthlessness.
Very good, judging from the way this young man and his wife are dressed, we have met a fat sheep tonight.
After Xiao He Ruofeng returned to the room, Shangguan Nanxing gently closed the door, then he turned his head and looked at Su Yue.
"Yuer, there seems to be something wrong with this inn." Shangguan Nanxing spoke cautiously. The lame old man just now was too unusual.
"Nanxing, you discovered it too, right?" Su Yue sat on a chair in the room and looked at the layout of the room.
All I could see were ordinary wooden houses, and in the dim light, everything looked foggy.
"This carpet..." Su Yue looked at the carpet on the floor beside the bed, with even more doubt in her eyes. In such a shabby house, this carpet was too out of place.
"What's wrong?" Shangguan Nanxing stepped forward and lifted the carpet. Su Yue brought the oil lamp over and looked carefully at the gap in the floor. She saw that there was a black thing in the gap.
After Su Yue and Shangguan Nanxing looked at each other, she took out the silver needles and picked out some. Upon careful identification, they looked like dried blood.
The shop owner probably thought it was too troublesome to clean the gaps between the wooden boards, so he just laid a blanket down.
"Nanxing, we may have entered a shady shop." Su Yue touched the dark brown substance carefully and spoke helplessly.
"I would like to see how he attacks us, but he dares to open a black shop so blatantly in this small town. I guess this shopkeeper Hu is in collusion with the officials in this city."
After Shangguan Nanxing put the carpet away, he thought about the fact that the people living in these border areas were already suffering greatly from the war, and he did not expect such scum to appear, and he immediately became furious.
"Nanxing, let's wait and see what Manager Hu wants to do. There may be other people in this store. But I think the old man guarding the door is a good person."
Su Yue thought of the situation where the old man asked them to leave just now, and said softly.
"What Yue'er said makes sense. If we take action now, we can only catch this shopkeeper Hu alone. If he has accomplices, then the best strategy is to catch them all at once."
Shangguan Nanxing suppressed his anger and sat on a chair with Su Yue. As for the bed not far away, they didn't want to sleep on it. Who knew how many people had died on it?
"Sir, the porridge is here." A familiar male voice came from the door. Su Yue and Shangguan Nanxing looked at each other, and Shangguan Nanxing got up and opened the door.
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