Chapter 21: The Mysterious Person in the Inn

  Jinyang is another important town on the Southern Return Route, aside from Yangmen. Ding Yuan, the governor of Pingzhou, once used Jinyang as his capital and stationed troops here. Although Ding Yuan has gone to Luoyang, Jinyang has repeatedly been harassed by northern barbarians. However, it still retains its former prosperity, with crowds coming and going on the streets, vendors selling goods on both sides, and many inns and wine shops with signboards.

  Long Fei raised his head and took a glance at the inn in front of him, called Youzhou Inn. He smiled and said: "This is Bianzhou, why did you open a Youzhou Inn?"

  The inn was not big, the awning was very old, and the edges were already tattered. Two partners sat at the door, basking in the sun and dozing off. The loud shouting of the partners from the nearby houses formed a sharp contrast. Inside, it was also quiet and cold, and it seemed that no one had swept for a long time. A faint musty smell came out of the inn.

  Wang Qian and Wang Wei exchanged a glance. Wang Qian said: "Brother Long, let's live in another house! Look at this place..."

  Everyone nodded, but Long Fei shook his head and walked in. Such a prosperous place, this cold and quiet inn, one look and you can tell there's definitely something wrong with it. When he was a soldier, the tactics instructor said that things that obviously go against common sense are definitely problematic, and when executing tasks, pay attention to every detail, as long as you can find something different from common sense, then tracing back to its source will definitely yield results. That's why Long Fei decided to take a chance on this strange inn.

  "Bang, bang, bang..." A series of knocks on the counter finally roused the snoring shopkeeper, who slowly got up, stretched his body, rubbed his eyes, and looked at Long Fei with a sleepy gaze, lazily asking: "What do you want?"

  "Nonsense, of course we're staying at an inn!"

  "Sorry, we're full!" he said, and retreated back into the corner of the counter again.

  "Let's get some food then, there's no one here!"

  "The cook has gone home! No one is cooking, and the new cook hasn't been hired yet!" The shopkeeper didn't even look at Long Fei, slowly closing his eyes again: "Sir, if you want to eat or stay, please go to another house! Look, our place is dirty and poor...". The shopkeeper yawned again: "Sorry, sir, please leave, I won't see you off!" After that, he turned his head to the side and fell asleep.

  "Bang bang bang......" Long Fei struck again, and the dust on the table immediately flew up. A grayish light shone in from the doorway.

  The shopkeeper was somewhat angry, and stood up straight: "What's wrong with you? Hurry up and leave, our store doesn't welcome you!" The two apprentices at the door also woke up, rubbing their arms and rolling up their sleeves, as if they wanted to fight. Zhao Yun and Talan immediately stepped forward to block their way.

  Long Fei smiled: "We've already decided to stay here today, even if it's a pigsty we'll still stay at your hotel! Hurry up and have someone prepare our rooms!"

  "Hah!" The shopkeeper sneered coldly: "You're looking for trouble! Come on!"

  As soon as the words fell, Wang Qian took a step forward to the counter, pulled out something from her pocket and flashed it in front of the shopkeeper, then immediately put it back. The action was too quick, no one saw what Wang Qian had taken out. "Shopkeeper, just be accommodating! We are travelers, since my brother insists on staying here, let him stay here!" Wang Qian rarely showed a hint of a smile to the shopkeeper.

  The shopkeeper was stunned for two seconds, looked up and down at Wang Qiang several times, then looked at Long Fei: "Alright, I'll let you stay because of your face. Xiao Er, prepare the rooms and meals, let these guests rest! But I'm telling you, staying in our hotel is expensive!"

  After finishing dinner, he entered his own room. From the outside, the small shop looked not only deserted but also very dirty, but this house was quite particular, with high-quality nanmu furniture, warm and beautiful quilts, beautiful teapots, and exquisite furnishings. Everything used here was the best ancient furniture that Long Fei had ever seen. If he could bring one piece back to the present, it would definitely be worth tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions. Touching this and that, Long Fei had never seen such a room before, and the antique flavor made him feel extremely comfortable.

  Wang Qianting pushed the tea tray and walked in: "This place is really not bad, your vision is indeed different, it's just a bit expensive. The six of us live here for one day and it costs 1,000 yuan, even if we have more money, we can't spend that much!"

  Long Fei took the tea tray from Wang Qian's hands, accidentally touching her hand in the process. The smooth skin felt warm and slippery, making it feel especially comfortable to touch. Wang Qian let out a soft "ah" sound, her hands loosening slightly, almost causing the tea tray to fall to the ground, but Long Fei quickly grabbed hold of it. Wang Qian's cheeks immediately flushed red, and she lowered her head slightly. Long Fei chuckled twice, imitating the mannerisms of those rascals on TV, stretching out one hand to place his index finger under Wang Qian's chin, slowly lifting up her face. Wang Qian's face grew even redder, but she didn't say a word, allowing Long Fei to lift up her face. Her eyes were filled with the same shy coyness as a young girl's, blinking rapidly as she looked at Long Fei.

  Looking at her delicate and charming face, Long Fei asked: "What did you show the boss that made him let us stay?"

  Wang Qian was taken aback, not expecting Long Fei to ask this question at this time, which was completely different from what he had guessed. "No, nothing!" He said, turning around and walking towards the door. Long Fei took two quick steps forward, slapping one hand firmly on the door, and turned his head to look at Wang Qian. Wang Qian quickly lowered his head and turned around to avoid Long Fei's gaze.

  "Can you tell me?" Long Fei looked at Wang Qian: "On this journey, I can see that you have many things hidden from me. Let's not talk about your and Wang Wei's martial arts skills for now, but just their itinerary is a bit suspicious. What did you and your brother do going from Jiuyuan to Luoyang?"

  Wang Qian didn't speak, still lowering her head. Both hands grasped the hem of her clothes and rubbed them back and forth. Long Fei said again: "From the moment we entered the city today, you've been even more out of sorts. I see that everyone in this Youzhou inn is extremely respectful to you, even the shopkeeper came over specially during dinner to ask you what you showed him?"

  The two of them stood at the door. Long Fei looked at Wang Qian, and Wang Qian lowered her head. After a long time, Long Fei even felt his legs were stiff. Wang Qian slowly turned her face, calmly looking at Long Fei: "Can you give me some time? I will definitely tell you everything in detail, but it's not the right time yet."

  "How long?"

  Wang Qian sighed: "Wait until I come back from Luoyang! At that time, if I'm still alive, I'll tell you everything!" After finishing speaking, she pushed Long Fei's hand hard, opened the door and walked out, leaving Long Fei alone in the room, staring blankly.

  Curiosity is the potential of an excellent special soldier, and only those who like to explore and think constantly are the best special soldiers. That night, Long Fei couldn't sleep, his mind was filled with Wang Qian's last words: If I'm still alive, I'll tell you everything. Why did she say that? What is she going to do in Luoyang? What can a weak woman like her do? Kill someone? Take revenge? Various possibilities flashed through Long Fei's mind, but he denied them one by one.

  "Tap, tap..." A series of footsteps passed by the door. Borrowing the moonlight outside, a figure flashed in front of Long Fei's bed. The person was not tall or stout, with a large head wearing an oversized hat. In his hand was something like a knife held directly in front of his body. Long Fei felt a chill run down his spine - wasn't this the shop owner? What was he doing so late at night with a knife? Was this really the infamous black shop?

  Long Fei immediately got up and quietly opened the door. The moonlight was very bright, and there were no big trees in the courtyard, so the moonlight poured into the courtyard unobstructed. Long Fei saw clearly that the shopkeeper was holding a knife and sneaking towards the innermost room. "Not good!" Long Fei cried out in his heart, for that room belonged to Wang Qian, where all their money was kept. Was the shopkeeper going to rob them of their wealth and virtue?

  "Qīngjié! Qīngjié!" The shopkeeper whispered under Wang Qi's window. Before long, Wang Qi's door creaked open and she appeared in the courtyard dressed in black. The shopkeeper hastily put away his knife: "The master has summoned you, please follow me, miss!"

  The shopkeeper turned and left. Wang Qiang glanced around the yard, making sure no one was there, before hastily following him. Long Fei found it quite strange that the shopkeeper called her "Qie Ji", since Wang Qiang's surname was Wang and her name was Qiang - could it be that Wang Qiang was a pseudonym? Long Fei knew that during the Qin and Han dynasties, women often had surnames but no given names, and were referred to by a single character "ji" instead, such as Xiang Yu's wife Yu Ji or Emperor Wen of Han's mother Bo Ji.

  Long Fei grabbed his clothes and flashed out of the door, following the two. The small shop wasn't too big, Long Fei turned around the corner and saw the shopkeeper leading Wang Qian towards the inner hall at the back. Afraid of being discovered, Long Fei stood far away. The two entered a small room on the left, and the lights came on inside. The shopkeeper came out of the room, hugging his own knife and standing at the door.

  Long Fei took advantage of the shopkeeper's distraction to flash out from his hiding place, sprinting two steps before quickly approaching the small hut. For Long Fei, this silent running was child's play. Reaching the other side of the hut, he quietly listened in on the conversation inside. There was more than one person with Wang Qian; judging by the voice, there should be an elderly man as well, his speech husky and cold.

  "How did you get here?" The man's low voice said: "Master Wang is getting impatient, remember to arrive in Luoyang by the end of the year!"

  "Understood! I will definitely arrive in Luoyang by the end of the year!" Wang Qian's voice was very respectful.

  The man's voice continued: "You are the best among us and have never failed before. I hope you can continue this time!"

  "Yes!"

  There were over ten seconds of silence, and it was unclear what was going on inside. Long Fei was just about to lift his head to take a look out the window when that hoarse voice sounded again: "I heard you've been getting close to several strangers; you should be clearer than anyone about the consequences of doing so! I advise you one thing, it's best if you leave those people, especially that Long Fei! I've investigated and can't find any background on him; for safety and the smooth progress of our mission, it's best if you leave him!"