Chapter 55: Autumn Night

  At night, the Hongchen Guest House didn't close until very late.

  After Fu Bo had boiled the hot water, Song Fang opened his hand and wiped the long knife, wiping away the sweat, saying: "Fu Bo, today you and Tie Shan still go to the baozi shop to sleep."

  A Fu wiped his sweat and muttered: "What do you mean, Da Lang?"

  On the other side, Zhao Tieshan was brandishing his meteorite kitchen knife in anger, "What else could it mean? Obviously, he's dissatisfied with us two ruining his good relationship with Niece!"

  A Fu heard this and couldn't help but chuckle, "Ah, look at me, I'm getting old and muddled. Alright, Big Brother, I'll go with Zhao Tieshan to that side."

  Zhao Tieshan stomped his foot in discontent, "If Song Lang wasn't the shop owner and I was just a partner, I'd bet that Lingdang would definitely take a liking to me and not him."

  Song Kai waved his hand, "Alright, go quickly."

  A Fu followed Zhao Tieshan out of the Hongchen Inn, Nie Lingdang smoothed her hair and came over from the front hall, she had just finished checking the accounts.

  "What's going on? You've let them go out to sleep again?" Nie Lingdang asked, although the entire inn was empty at night with only her and Song Kai staying, but Nie Lingdang wasn't worried, instead she slept even more soundly.

  "Hmm," Song Kai poured water, "go wash up and sleep, by the way, have you hidden your money?"

  "Alright, alright. I don't know what's gotten into you lately, why are you always being so cautious? Are you afraid of some notorious thief or something?" Nie Lingdang muttered.

  Song Kai just smiled and then helped Nie Zhongting carry a few buckets of water. The two people took baths separately in their rooms.

  After taking a bath, both of them changed into clean clothes and played chess or chatted without mentioning it.

  As usual, at around eight o'clock, Nie Lingdang was ready to go back to her room and sleep.

  "Remember tonight..."

  "I know, remember to cover yourself well at night and don't take off your clothes, what a hassle," Nie Lingdang waved his hand and walked back to his own room.

  Song Kai lay on the bed, letting out a soft sigh. It had been over a week now, and Suzhou City was still peaceful. The Red Dust Inn was also safe and sound. Perhaps he had thought too much, or perhaps Yang Huaiyan had really given up, or perhaps that Yang Rongguang had restrained his son's actions.

  Close your eyes.

  The sound of Nie Lingdang came from next door, "Song Kai, are you worried about Yang Huaiyan?"

  "Yes, yesterday he led a group of people into the inn, wanting to catch you. I was even more worried," said Song Kai.

  "Song Kai," Nie Zhong said quietly from next door, "don't worry, I know I'm a troublemaker, but this trouble should be leaving soon."

  "Why? Are you leaving?" Song Kai asked in puzzlement.

  "It should be soon, recently there have been merchants returning from the Holy City, I heard that the unrest in the Holy City is about to subside, it seems that before long, I will be able to return to the Turkic Holy City," Nie Lingdang said softly, with a hint of reluctance.

  "You're not my trouble, Ling Tong. This time the trouble is caused by myself. You and I should be called destined, whether you believe it or not. The first person I met was actually you, the day you escaped to the guest house was also the first day of my rebirth. I forgot all about my past, the first name I remembered was Nie Ling Tong." Song said slowly, resting his head on his arms.

  Next door is long silence, and more silence.

  "Are you asleep? Goodnight then," Song Kai also closed his own eyes.

  "If..."

  After a long time, two words suddenly jumped out from behind the wooden partition.

  "What's wrong? What is it?"

  "If I invite you to the Holy City, sincerely invite you to go with me, would you... be willing to return with me?" Nie Lingdang used all his strength and finally asked out his question.

  Song Kai thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it will."

  "Really?" The voice next door was full of surprise.

  "Of course, if I were at a dead end, I would definitely go to your place for help. But now, you see, I have a house and a horse, so I'm not willing to leave," Song Kai said with a smile.

  Nie Lingdang let out a "heh" sound, with a hint of delight in his voice. "You're really petty-minded. This little family business of yours, I can give you ten times more than this as a reward with just one wave of my hand in the Holy City."

  Song Kai burst out laughing.

  Two people had a conversation and then fell asleep with their eyes closed.

  The night is deep and dark.

  It's already late autumn.

  In the second half of the night, a cold autumn night enveloped the entire city of Suzhou.

  The quiet Dongcheng district, the sound of a night watchman's call.

  "The weather is dry and fiery, beware of fire... Dong dong dong..."

  The old man yawned and beat the copper gong in his hand, tightening the clothes on his body. The cold autumn air pierced into his bones.

  Recently, Suzhou city's public security has been very good, and the night watchman is just going through the motions.

  A crow let out a loud "caw" and flew away quickly from the treetop.

  The old man was startled and trembled for a moment, then mocked himself, "At my age, I'm still afraid of this thing?"

  "Bang bang bang......"

  A faint sound of footsteps arose.

  The old man's nerves tensed up again, he quickly turned around, but there was no one on the street. "Who is it?"

  The old man suddenly remembered a legend that every autumn, the little ghosts of the City God Temple would often carry sedan chairs and walk on the streets at night. If they were seen by living people, they would surely be plagued by illness.

  Thinking of this, Lao Geng's husband hurriedly stuck his body close to the wall, afraid that he would bump into the ghosts rushing along the road.

  "Bang bang......"

  The footsteps became clearer.

  Lao Geng Fu listened carefully this time. He turned around again, and a cold light flashed before his eyes, "brush", as if the cold wind blew across his neck.

  "It's not a ghost, it's a person," Lao Geng reacted, then he felt wave after wave of coldness, the coldness getting heavier and heavier, until he fell to the ground powerlessly. The corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a puddle of fresh blood on the ground, which seemed to be his own.

  "How much further?" a voice asked in the darkness.

  "Almost there, turn a corner and walk more than ten zhang, it's the Red Dust Inn," another voice sounded, that person wiping a bloody dagger.

  "Alright, let's hurry up and get going."

  "Hmm hmm hmm"

  The footsteps were very light and dense, rushing towards another alley entrance.

  The footsteps stopped soon after. Right in front of me, through the darkness of night, I could vaguely see a signboard with the words "Red Dust Inn" written on it.

  "It's here," a sturdy man stopped and looked up at the inn sign, sighed, "What a pity, the reputation of this Red Dust Inn, I've also heard of it, but it has to end up in this state. Fei Houzi, have you investigated clearly? Is Song Kai staying here?"

  "As for Boss Lao's words, they indeed live here, and there is a woman with them. They reside in the backyard, which has a small gate," answered a thin young man with his hands clasped together, being extremely cautious, "I have been guarding the vicinity of the guest house every day for several days, I absolutely won't make a mistake."

  "Alright, let's get to work. Be quick and neat, after all, we're inside the city, and leaving any traces would make things difficult for our host." The leader of the group waved his hand.

  More than a dozen black-clad men behind him responded in unison, two of whom took out bright red dye and splashed it towards the entrance of the Red Dust Inn. The bright red dye quickly formed several large characters: "Those who fail to repay their debts will be repaid with blood - Blood Hand."

  Underneath several large characters, there was also a big bloody handprint.

  The sturdy man tilted his head and said, "You three guard the front gate, you three guard the back gate, the rest of you follow me in."

  "Whoosh...whoosh...whoosh..."

  The crowd jumped onto the wall and then lightly fell down, but no one noticed the black threads tied to the corner of the wall in the darkness.

  Recently it's been inconvenient for me to go online, so updates haven't been very timely. I hope everyone can forgive me. Tomorrow I'll be back home and finally able to go online freely.

  Thank you everyone for helping to vote for the tags. Now the "haven't seen the head" tag has reached the last one, and with a bit more effort from everyone, we can finally get rid of the "haven't seen the head" tag. Thank you all again!

  Also, this is my first time writing a historical article, so please forgive any mistakes.