Chapter 19 Caravan

It was a sunny afternoon, and Shen Yuqing was sitting in a rocking chair with his eyes half closed. Perhaps because his breath was too harmless, a bird flew from a tree in the courtyard to the armrest of the rocking chair.

Que'er was very brave. Its two dark and lively little eyes stared at Shen Yuqing curiously. After a while, it began to squint its eyes like Shen Yuqing, enjoying the sun bath.

Li Fuchun couldn't help but smile when he saw how similar the man and the bird looked. Although this inn was not as lively as the city, during the few days he stayed in the inn, he felt a peace and comfort that he had not felt for a long time.

"Boss, why are you up?" Li Fuchun, who originally wanted to bring some tea and desserts, asked when he saw Shen Yuqing standing up.

When Shen Yuqing heard Li Fuchun's question, he subconsciously touched his face, which was becoming rounder after being fed every day, and said, "It's going to rain."

The sky was clear and bright, as clear as a gem. No matter from which angle one looked at it, it didn't look like it was going to rain. However, after spending a few days together, Li Fuchun had developed a blind trust in Shen Yuqing. So after hearing the shopkeeper say it was going to rain, Li Fuchun just admired in his heart that he was worthy of being the shopkeeper, and did not doubt the authenticity of it being going to rain at all.

In the wild, a flying bird suddenly emerged from the woods. It was a caravan of about thirty people. The leader rode a reddish-brown horse. He was tall and strong, with a pair of bright eyes, always staring at the movements around him.

"Brother Zhang!" A man in his mid-twenties rode up to the leader on horseback. He took out a blueprint from his pocket and said, "We are about thirty miles away from Pingyang City."

Zhang Ziwei nodded and said, "Tell the brothers to cheer up and try to get into the city before sunset."

Just half an hour later, the originally clear sky was covered by dark clouds, and the sky and the earth suddenly darkened. The branches of the surrounding trees creaked in the wind, and it looked like a storm was about to come.

Zhang Ziwei's expression gradually became serious. Zheng Yi beside him murmured, "Brother Zhang, it looks like we need to speed up. This rain must be heavy."

To be able to join the caravan and travel far and wide, they are physically stronger than ordinary people, and most of them have learned some tricks. But even so, if they stay in the rain for a long time, they are likely to get sick.

Sure enough, not long after, a flash of thunder occurred, and the next moment heavy raindrops hit them. Although they had put on raincoats in advance, their clothes would still get wet if they stayed in the rain for too long.

Listening to the crackling sound of rain, Zhang Ziwei and his companions wanted to speed up their pace, but the muddy road posed more obstacles for them.

Just as Zhang Ziwei was thinking about whether to deviate from the main road and find a place to take shelter from the rain, he heard the caravan members shouting, "Inn! There's an inn ahead!"

Zhang Ziwei looked up and soon saw an inn. Although it was a bit strange to see an inn in the wilderness, the scene before him did not allow him to think too much.

"Let's go to the inn in front to take shelter from the rain first."

When everyone heard Zhang Ziwei's call, they immediately ran to the inn.

As the distance shortened, the inn became clearer and clearer. Just as Zhang Ziwei was about to dismount, he suddenly saw a person at the door of the inn holding an umbrella and looking at them.

Zhang Ziwei's pupils shrank slightly, without revealing much expression, but Zheng Yi was frightened by the sudden appearance of this person and his heart began to beat wildly.

All they saw was that the man holding the umbrella stared at them, then smiled strangely and said, "My dear guests, please follow me in and take shelter from the rain."

Although he had known from the shopkeeper that it was going to rain, Li Fuchun was still deeply moved when he saw the heavy rain pouring down with his own eyes. Not long after, he heard the shopkeeper say that guests were coming, which made Li Fuchun excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

Since he came to this inn, he has not received a single guest. The daily work is very easy, which makes Li Fuchun feel unreal. When he heard that a guest was coming, Li Fuchun's eyes lit up. He felt that he must perform well. After thinking for a moment, Li Fuchun chose to go to the door in advance to wait for the guests.

After waiting for the guests, Li Fuchun smiled friendly, unaware that his voice had become distorted in the heavy rain and sounded weird.

Zheng Yi covered his little head and followed Zhang Ziwei to the lobby of the inn. After entering the lobby, they just breathed a sigh of relief when they looked into the eyes of the young shopkeeper sitting behind the counter, which were as deep as inkstone.

A flash of lightning flashed across the hall, and the light and darkness alternated. Zhang Ziwei seemed to hear Zheng Yi's violent heartbeat beside him, but it was only after a few seconds that he realized that it was his own heart beating violently.

Looking at that beautiful face that was not like that of an ordinary person, Zhang Ziwei inappropriately recalled the legends about ghosts and monsters he had heard before. He held the dagger at his waist silently, his body extremely stiff.

"Sir, why are you still standing here? Come sit down. There's hot water in the kitchen. Drink some to ward off the cold."

Li Fuchun helped the rest of the caravan put the goods in the courtyard, and then he and the caravan entered the lobby. As soon as he entered the lobby, he saw Zhang Ziwei and others still standing there, and he immediately began to entertain them warmly.

After hearing what Li Fuchun said, Zhang Ziwei and Zheng Yi looked at each other, then found an empty seat and sat down.

After sitting down, Zheng Yi began to observe the other party again. His vision was somewhat impaired in the rain just now. Now after carefully seeing Li Fuchun's face, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was not that he was too timid, but someone in the caravan told some ghost stories last night to liven up the atmosphere, so when he suddenly saw this person in the rain, he couldn't help but think of those stories.

Thinking of this, Zheng Yi looked calmly at the young shopkeeper behind the counter. Although he was young, he had traveled to many places since joining the caravan. As for the shopkeeper's face, he dared to say that the other party was the most beautiful one he had ever seen, so it was no wonder that he substituted the shopkeeper for the monster in the story who seduced passers-by and dug out the hearts and livers.

Zhang Ziwei also relaxed the hand holding the dagger. After all, he was also influenced by Zheng Yi, so that messy associations appeared in his mind.

Shen Yuqing looked at the visitors. The two leading people were breathing rapidly and looking nervous, obviously looking frightened. Although they relaxed a lot after Li Fuchun came in, Shen Yuqing began to doubt the charm of her own face. Logically speaking, this face would not scare others no matter how they looked at it, right?

Shen Yuqing was puzzled, but as the inn's owner, he still took the initiative to entertain the guests.

"I'm afraid the rain will continue until midnight. It would be better for you to stay here for one night and wait until the sky clears up tomorrow before leaving."

Zhang Ziwei's emotions had completely calmed down. After hearing what Shen Yuqing said, he immediately said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. This rainy day is really not suitable for walking."

There were many people in the caravan, so Zhang Ziwei finally booked three shops and two guest rooms on the first floor.

The rain showed no sign of stopping. As there were too many people in the caravan, Li Fuchun chose scallion oil noodles for dinner, which was easier to prepare.

Although everyone in the caravan could earn a lot of money after a trip, the hardships they suffered along the way were no less than those suffered by other people. Therefore, the people in the caravan did not have too many requirements for food, as long as they could fill their stomachs.

When Li Fuchun poured the fragrant scallion oil on the noodles, the tempting aroma instantly spread into the air, making the people present swallow their saliva and stare at each other secretly in the direction of the kitchen.

Soon Li Fuchun brought out the noodles with scallion oil, and soon the sound of swallowing could be heard in the hall. The noodles were chewy and smooth, the aroma of scallion oil was tempting, and it tasted particularly refreshing.

Although it was just a simple dish of noodles with scallion oil, it was much more delicious than the dry food brought by the caravan. Some cheerful people even praised Li Fuchun's cooking skills, which made Li Fuchun always smile.

Zhang Ziwei listened to his teammates' praises and agreed in his heart. The oil-splashed noodles tasted really good. He couldn't help but shift his gaze to Li Fuchun and the young shopkeeper again. The inn was not like a restaurant. Some of the food tasted not bad, but it was not to the point of exaggeration. However, this inn only had a simple bowl of noodles, but the taste was unexpectedly good. This also added a bit of mystery to the inn.

Just as Zhang Ziwei was sighing in his heart, the shopkeeper who was flipping through books raised his head as if he had noticed something. Zhang Ziwei, who was caught peeping, stiffened instantly. However, the next moment he found that the shopkeeper's eyes were not on him, but on the lobby door next to him.

Zhang Ziwei followed the shopkeeper's line of sight and saw his pupils tremble. A figure suddenly appeared at the door. Zhang Ziwei believed that he had good kung fu, otherwise he would not have been able to become the leader of the caravan. However, he did not notice when this person appeared at the door of the lobby.

"Sir, it's raining heavily outside. Why don't you come in to take shelter?" Shen Yuqing put the book in his hand on the counter and said slowly while looking at the figure outside.

After hearing what the shopkeeper said, the people who were still eating noodles realized that there was someone standing outside the house.

Because of the rain, even the moon was covered by dark clouds, so it was difficult for people to see the man's face.

“It will get dirty.”

The man had a hoarse voice, as if there was something wrong with his throat. He simply said three words and then there was no movement.

Shen Yuqing raised his lips slightly, a smile appeared on his face, and he said slowly: "Since we have opened an inn, there is no reason to turn away guests."

After the words fell, the air was silent for a few seconds, and then the figure outside the house finally moved. A young man in black walked in from the rain, holding a long sword in his left hand. He looked around the lobby with cold eyes, and finally sat down at the empty table closest to Shen Yuqing.

And everyone finally understood why he said dirty things. They saw a trail of bloody rain left where he walked, and the clothes on his body seemed to have been soaked with blood. He just sat there like a Shura from hell. For a moment, everyone in the lobby felt a chill and didn't even dare to breathe.

The man in black didn't seem to notice the strange atmosphere around him. He took out his wallet from his waist and poured it out for a long time, but there were only five copper coins. He held the five copper coins, looked at Shen Yuqing and said, "Is it enough to buy a bowl of noodles?"