Chapter Seven: A Noble Guest Arrives

  Ning Qing stopped again and beckoned Chen Yi, who was staring blankly at the scenery, "Ziying, let's hurry up..."

  "Alright, I'm coming!" Chen Yi responded, collecting his thoughts and quickly catching up.

  Several people remounted their horses and galloped at a moderate pace along the wide Vermilion Bird Street, stirring up quite a bit of dust.

  The Zhuque Avenue is very wide, but only the middle few dozen meters are paved with stone slabs, and both sides are yellow mud ground. Most of the streets in Chang'an City are also only compacted with yellow earth, and very few have stone slabs. On sunny days, there is a bit of dust, and if it rains continuously, walking on the streets should not be a comfortable thing to do. This is also somewhat inconsistent with the grandeur of the Heavenly Dynasty and the Great Tang!

  A group of people rode their horses for a while, leaving Zhuque Avenue, turning into a cross street, and continuing to move forward! There was no road sign, Chen Yi didn't know where he was going, but it wasn't good to ask, so he had to follow Sun Simiao's disciples closely.

  After running for a while, he turned onto a very wide straight street and stopped in front of a building that looked like an inn. Chen Yi raised his head and saw a sign hanging on the door of the building, which read "Anlai Inn". This was a fairly large inn with a good facade, so it shouldn't be too bad!

  Several people got off their horses, and immediately a servant-like person ran out of the store, took over the reins of their horses, and a fat, seemingly boss-like person hurriedly came up to them, bowed respectfully, "Sun Daozhang, you've arrived, please come in quickly, the rooms are all ready for you!"

  "Thanks for your trouble, Mr. Wu!" Sun Simiao's eldest disciple Wang Chong bowed in gratitude while also seeking his master's opinion with a glance.

  Sun Simiao didn't say a word, just smiled and nodded, then stepped inside and went upstairs with the fat shopkeeper who was leading the way with nods and bows.

  Chen Yi followed behind with some confusion and went upstairs.

  The fat shopkeeper led a group of five people into the building and introduced them to their rooms.

  "Ziying, you will stay here!" Sun Simiao pointed to a medium-sized room and said to Chen Yi, then pointed to a small room next to Chen Yi's room and said to Ning Qing, "You will stay in this room!"

  Chen Yi and Ning Qing immediately agreed.

  Wang Chong and Liu Hai lived in a slightly larger room, while Sun Simiao himself occupied the largest room. The five of them were spread across four rooms, which was still somewhat extravagant, leaving Chen Yi perplexed! Although he didn't know what prices were like in Chang'an, judging from the inn's facade and the furnishings inside the rooms, the rent shouldn't be low. This seemed a bit wasteful, not in line with Sun Simiao's usual frugal habits!

  Just as Chen Yi was puzzled, Sun Simiao instructed again: "You must be tired from traveling all day, take a rest first, and we'll have dinner together later!"

  "Yes, Master..." "Yes, Daozhang!" Several people responded in unison.

  Ning Qing hesitated, wanting to say a couple more words to Chen Yi, but with her master and senior brother nearby, she didn't dare be presumptuous. She slowly made her way into her own room, only flashing Chen Yi a peculiar glance when closing the door.

  Chen Yi hesitated for a moment, not understanding the meaning in Ning Qing's eyes, but still walked into his own room, closed the door and lay down on the bed to rest.

  Chen Yi's physical injuries had basically healed, and he felt that his body was in good condition. This day, riding a horse to run around didn't feel tiring at all, but instead brought an exciting feeling due to the fulfillment of his wishes after arriving in Chang'an for the first time.

  The capital of the great Tang Empire, which I had previously read about in history books or described by others, is now standing right in front of me. Although I haven't seen its true face yet and only got a glimpse of it, I still feel a little regretful about the yellow dust and flying sand all over the streets. However, my initial impression of this world-famous ancient city of Chang'an is very good. The scale and grandeur of the city's architecture match the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Even with the flying dust, the whole city doesn't have the polluted and gloomy appearance of modern-day Xi'an. The sky and earth are very clear, and the streets are filled with green willow branches and blooming pagoda trees, which, together with the yellow dust, create a simple and beautiful scene.

  The initial impression of Chang'an City is very majestic and grand, even more so than what Chen Yi had imagined. This made him very excited, with a sense of pride and excitement that comes from obtaining something he had longed for. He wanted to express this feeling to someone, but there was no one to share it with, nor could he take out his camera or phone to capture the scenery and share it on **or his personal space. This strange feeling could only be buried in his heart.

  This feeling can't be shared with others, it's still quite uncomfortable in my heart...

  －－－－－－－－－－－－

  Chen Yizheng was thinking of this and that when a faint knock on the door sounded, followed by a familiar voice, "Ziying, open the door..."

  Chen Yi immediately recognized Ning Qing's voice and got up from the couch, walked over to push open the slightly ajar door, "Miss Qing, please come in!"

  Ning Qing walked in with a somewhat awkward expression, "Ziying, aren't you going to rest for a bit? Aren't you tired?"

  Chen Yi closed the door, turned around and looked at Ning Qing with a somewhat strange expression, shaking his head: "I just... oh, I'm not tired, nor do I want to sleep. First time in Chang'an, very excited, can't sleep even if I want to..."

  Actually, Chen Yi thought to himself that he was just about to rest, but then this little girl came in, how can I rest now?

  "Is this really your first time in Chang'an?" Ning Qing asked with a tilted head, smiling along with Chen Yi's grinning face.

  Chen Yi nodded, with a very honest expression, "Of course it's true, I wouldn't deceive you! It's just that since it's my first time here, I feel curious about everything and want to see everything. Didn't you notice that I was often distracted today?"

  "Hmm, you've been distracted all day, so...” Ning Qing looked at Chen Yi with expectant eyes, “I'll take you out to play on the streets tomorrow, okay?”

  "Alright! I've been wanting to go!" Chen Yi immediately agreed, but then thought of something else and asked with a hint of doubt, "But will your master let us go? Isn't he busy coming to Chang'an, doesn't he have things for you to do... doesn't he need your help?"

  "Master will be out with two senior brothers tomorrow and may not return at night, leaving only the two of us!" Ning Qing said excitedly.

  Looking at Ning Qing's increasingly charming appearance due to excitement, Chen Yi's heart skipped a few beats. She wondered why Sun Simiao would arrange for her beautiful female disciple and this impulsive man to stay in the inn together, even not returning for several days. Wasn't he afraid that he would take advantage of Ning Qing or run off with her? With just the two of them alone in the room, without any outsiders to intervene, anything could happen!

  "Really? Your master said so?" Chen Yi asked with a lot of spare words.

  Ning Qing nodded vigorously, "Of course it's true, Master just told me!"

  "Did your master tell you what he's going to do?" Sun Simiao came to Chang'an for something, but didn't tell him, it seemed a bit mysterious, Chen Yi was very curious and wanted to figure out why.

  Ning Qing shook his head, "Master didn't tell me, and I don't know what he and the two senior brothers are going to do!"

  Chen Yi wanted to ask more questions, but strange noises came from outside the door, as if some strong and powerful people were moving quickly, causing the floorboards to creak loudly. The sounds then disappeared completely, leaving an eerie silence. Chen Yi and Ning Qing stared at each other in shock for a moment before seeming to share a telepathic understanding, tiptoeing towards the door to investigate what was happening.

  Chen Yi quietly opened the door, but saw two burly men standing outside, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, standing straight as rods. Because one of the big men was standing directly in front of the room door, more than half of Chen Yi and Ning Qing's line of sight was blocked, so they didn't get a clear look at the specific appearance of these two big men.

  Chen Yi was very surprised and opened the door wide to take a look, trying to figure out what the man with the sword was doing coming to their place.

  The big man standing at the door immediately sensed something was off, and quickly turned around, staring curiously at Chen Yi and Ning Qing outside. The big man's piercing gaze made Chen Yi tremble slightly, feeling a bit oppressed, and he withdrew his foot that had been about to move forward. Although the big man looked unfriendly, he didn't get angry, but instead nodded slightly, made a slight bow, stretched out his hand to close the door, and locked it from the outside.

  Chen Yi and Ning Qing stared at each other with wide eyes, exchanging inquiring glances for a moment before their faces turned pale with shock.

  But Chen Yi soon calmed down, believing that these people would not do anything detrimental to them.

  But what these people came to do still needs to be figured out, under his hint, Ning Qing followed him quietly to the window and used saliva to wet a small hole in an inconspicuous place on the window paper, looking out from the small hole.

  Looking out from the small hole, Chen Yi saw that outside the door, apart from the two men with knives guarding the large wooden beam he had just seen, there were a few other people. Outside Sun Simiao's room, there were several women dressed in men's clothing, and their tall chests made Chen Yi unhesitatingly determine that they were women. They were lowering their heads, so their faces couldn't be seen clearly. However, from their figures and demeanor, Chen Yi could infer that these women must have been quite good-looking.

  Just as Chen Yi was staring at the chests of these women, imagining how they looked, a woman with luxurious clothes and tall stature walked over in small steps, stopped in front of Sun Simiao's house, made a courtesy, and lightly knocked on the door. At the same time, she said something softly, but due to the distance being a bit far, Chen Yi couldn't hear what she was saying.

  Chen Yi heard Sun Simiao speaking inside the house, vaguely saying something like "Please come in" and "I'm free to see you now".

  The woman responded with a voice and made another courtesy, then lowered her head and retreated.

  Ning Qing curiously pulled Chen Yi's collar, and Chen Yi had to open a small hole for Ning Qing to take a look. Due to tension and curiosity, the two hands accidentally grasped together. After being stunned for a moment, Ning Qing came back to her senses, quickly let go of his hand, and with a red face, hid to one side. Chen Yi glanced at Ning Qing's shy appearance, smiled awkwardly, and then put his eyes back on the small hole to look outside.

  His attention was mostly drawn to the outside situation, and Ning Qing's unusual expression was somewhat ignored by him.

  A faint tinkling sound of wind chimes came from afar and drew near, Chen Yi's heart suddenly tensed up...