Chapter 12: The Legendary Night Lang

  Yelang is a small town at the intersection of Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. Many migrant workers gather here, social order is extremely chaotic, large amounts of tobacco, drugs and firearms are rampant here, it's completely a lawless place.

  The local government's power is very weak, and they turn a blind eye to these shady things. Occasionally, lives are lost, but in the eyes of the locals, this is just a normal thing. So here has become an excellent place for those who have escaped from lawsuits involving human lives to hide and avoid disaster.

  By nightfall, ordinary people closed their doors and dared not go out in order to avoid unnecessary trouble.

  After entering the city, the leader of the team, a samurai, suddenly stopped and turned around after everyone had dismounted. He spoke to me in very awkward Chinese, saying: "Sir, we will rest here for the night. We still have some matters to attend to."

  This was the first sentence they said to me as soon as I arrived at Zhenzhou. Looking at his face without a hint of expression, I didn't respond immediately because his words made me quite surprised. After all, staying here wasn't a good thing, especially for us strangers. I gently pushed my bamboo hat up and carefully looked around.

  This night is even worse than I imagined. Everywhere, you can see people wearing swords and some even have a box of guns at their waist. The tobacco shops are filled with disgustingly dressed women who sit by the roadside, occasionally teasing passersby with flirtatious glances, hoping to find an easy target. Moreover, many mysterious figures with unknown identities lurk in every street corner.

  I know that among these people there are some formidable external family martial artists, bandits and local tyrants, sorcerers, head-droppers, and people like me.

  After roughly sizing up the situation around him, he coldly said to the warrior: "Since you have something to take care of, just do what you need to do. Now that it's getting late, if you want to find a place to rest for the night, I'd appreciate it. I don't like wandering around here at night."

  The silent warriors continued to lead everyone along the street, deeper into the city. It was only then that I began to notice the several warriors in front of us. They were dressed very simply, each wearing a sleeveless colored short shirt on top and black hard hemp pants on the bottom. Their heads were wrapped in thick white cloth, which was open on both sides, revealing their sturdy chest muscles and dense chest hair. Round earrings hung from their ears, swinging back and forth rhythmically with every step. All five of them held knives in their left hands, looking extremely cautious, and from the slightly exposed black blades peeking out of the scabbards, it was clear that they had been coated with a deadly poison.

  All the way, I could clearly feel that the people by the road were sizing us up with a very unfriendly gaze, although my eyes were blocked from view by the lowered brim of my hat.

  The samurai who had been walking for a while suddenly stopped and said softly, "Sir, we have arrived at the inn."

  After finishing speaking, he didn't greet us and went straight into the inn. Listening to the noisy commotion coming from inside the inn, I couldn't help but frown because I don't like crowded places.

  He looked up and saw through the bamboo hat that the sign in front indeed had four big characters "Youjian Inn".

  We entered the inn and booked three upstairs rooms. Everyone found a vacant seat in the hall on the first floor and sat down. As soon as we were seated, the oily shopkeeper came over with a flattering face and said: "What do you gentlemen want to eat? Although our store is small, it has all kinds of delicious food."

  I cast a disgusted glance at the sly shop assistant, whose mouth was even smoother than I had imagined. Seeing that each of the five Miao people only ordered one bowl of noodles, I didn't have the nerve to order any big dishes either.

  Dào bā liù què hé wǒ bù tóng tā shì gè cū rén nǎ lǐ huì gù ji zuò dé zhè xiē xiǎo xì jié bù jiā sī suǒ jiù jiào le yī zhī rán shú de hóng shāo zhū tuǐ liǎng wǎn bàozhōu miàn yī píng lǎo jiǔ dà chī dà hè qǐlai.

  Eating the noodles in my bowl quietly, I suddenly heard someone next to me say with a sneer: "Everyone look at these country bumpkins, even eating noodles is so ridiculous." Soon, the surrounding area was filled with people's gossiping laughter.

  Only a few samurai were still eating noodles with their left hand holding the curved knife and their right hand holding chopsticks, very neatly. Even the "slurping" sound produced while eating noodles was so consistent that it could be seen that these samurai had strong vigilance, even when eating, they did not put down their knives.

  Listening to the teasing laughter around, I couldn't help but secretly worry that these Miao warriors were all skilled fighters who didn't fear death and were bloodthirsty. If a conflict broke out, it would be strange if no one was killed.

  I'm not afraid of trouble, after all, the most important thing is to rush to Miao Village as soon as possible. Moreover, we are now on someone else's turf, if we accidentally offend the local evil forces, it will definitely take a lot of trouble to get out of here.

  Just as he was about to shout and stop those boring people, Liu's knife scar had already become unbearable. With a loud noise, he stood up, his face's knife scar due to excitement and congestion was emitting a bright red blood glow, looking extremely ferocious.

  "Shut up and stop disturbing me while I'm eating, or I'll cut out your tongues!" Laoliu cursed loudly.

  After scolding, the heavy knife of over 100 catties behind him suddenly made a "Ka" sound and was pulled out, fiercely stabbing it into the ground. Only to hear the sound of "Ka La", after which the stone slab on the ground had already split into several pieces.

  Worried that Lao Liu's impulsive behavior would lead to more trouble, he coldly ordered him: "What are you still standing there for? Sit down and eat your food."

  Lao Liu gave a menacing glance around and saw that I was getting angry, so he reluctantly sat down with a sulk.

  "It's a good thing that the six of us can hold our own, if those Miao people get angry, I don't know how things will end." I thought to myself.

  Sneaking a glance at the several warriors, they were still intently eating the things in their bowls. At this moment, they were drinking the remaining soup in their bowls, with sweat dripping down their faces. Unable to spare a hand to wipe it away, they could only let it drip into the bowl. It seemed that what had just happened was as if nothing had happened to them. Apparently, I was being overly cautious.

  Just as I was rejoicing in my heart, I clearly felt a pair of eyes with malicious intentions staring at me from behind. The gaze made me feel extremely uneasy. I didn't turn around, but it's clear that someone with such sharp eyesight is no ordinary person. It seems this small shop is actually a place where dragons and tigers are hiding.

  In order not to stir up trouble, I had no choice but to pretend that nothing was wrong and quickly finish eating. With Lao Liu, we returned to our room. The afternoon was uneventful and seemed particularly dull.

  After finishing washing up at night, my body was extremely tired but for some reason I didn't have any sleepiness at all. Lao Liu had already fallen asleep and the slobber flowing from his mouth was spreading wildly on the quilt.

  She walked to the window, and tonight's moon in the sky was exceptionally round and clear. The moonlight spilled into the room, adding a lot of quiet mystery to the room. I like this kind of night the most, so I simply moved a stool to sit by the window and basked in the quiet moonlight.

  Stretching lazily and gazing up at the bright moon in the sky, he couldn't help but sigh to himself: "It's been a long time since I've enjoyed such a wonderful night."

  As I think about it now, I'm definitely not the only one enjoying this moonlight. That old fellow with a green beard must also be facing the moon and having a great time.

  The streets of Ye Lang did not quiet down with the arrival of night. Through the window, it can be seen that the street is still brightly lit, apparently it's not closing time yet.

  In the dark of night, I know that many mysterious figures who shut their doors and refused to come out during the day will take advantage of the cover of darkness to emerge and engage in all sorts of nefarious activities.

  Faintly, the sound of people shouting and playing rock-paper-scissors can be heard, telling others that they too are sleepless. Thinking about the once prosperous Danye Lang, which has now become a small county town where three religions and nine streams converge, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.

  When I was a child, my master once told me that in ancient times, the Night Lang was very powerful among the ethnic minority countries in the south. During the Han Wu Emperor period, the Night Lang Kingdom became even more prosperous under the rule of the brothers Duo Tong and Duo Lei.

  Emperor Wu sent Tang Meng as an envoy to persuade the Night Lang to surrender. Through his eloquence, the Night Lang submitted to the Han dynasty, although it also led to a joke about the Night Lang's arrogance.

  Duotong led tens of thousands of troops to assist Emperor Wu in attacking the Xiongnu and achieved great military merit. Unfortunately, he died on his way to Chang'an before receiving any reward from Emperor Wu. Later, the King of Nanyue, who was unaware of the reason, wanted to rebel but was killed by the Han court through a plot.

  After the death of King Yelang, this country composed of multiple ethnic minorities disappeared without a trace in just a few months, becoming a mysterious topic in our modern language, just like Loulan.

  In ancient times, this place was more under the jurisdiction of Chi You's Ghost Country. The Jiuli tribe, led by Chi You, is the ancestor of the Miao people. The Miao people have a long history and are known for their bravery, bloodthirstiness, and love of killing, which were important components of the Jiuli tribe. Until Chi You clashed with the Yellow Emperor of the Central Plains and was defeated and killed, the power of the Jiuli tribe was greatly weakened, and some Miao people scattered to live in the mountains while others migrated to other places. The Night Lang Kingdom was established under such circumstances. Of course, as history changed, after multiple feudal rulers' massacres of the Miao people, they could no longer dominate like they did in ancient times.

  Looking out the window, I thought of the stories my master told me, and suddenly there was an uncontrollable rolling feeling in my heart. The night was already very deep, and the surroundings gradually quieted down, but I still didn't have the idea of going to sleep. My heart was washed by this clear and serene moonlight, making it exceptionally bright. So I sat on a chair, following the method of "moonlight breathing" that my master taught me, quietly bathing in the moonlight, letting myself cultivate my mind and nature, unifying body and spirit.

  The moonlight belongs to yin, sitting under the moon gives a clear and quiet feeling that can make people calm down better. I tried very hard to let myself reach the state of forgetting myself, but as soon as I closed my eyes, I always felt like there was an eye watching me from behind in the darkness, making me feel like a thorn on my back, so I turned around to look, but there was nothing.

  After careful consideration, I realized that it was the same gaze as when I ate noodles during the day. I knew it was my own mind playing tricks on me. At this point, I could only force myself to calm down, but the more I tried to gather my spirits, the clearer and more piercing those eyes became in my mind, refusing to be shaken off.

  My heart felt uneasy, so I gave up meditation and started pacing back and forth on the spot. After a long while, I finally felt more at ease, wiped away the cold sweat that had seeped out of my forehead, let out a long sigh, and couldn't help but think to myself: "This person's gaze is really ominous. I don't know why he wants to stare at me like that - do we have some kind of grudge? Otherwise, how could his eyes be filled with such malice as he looks at me? Maybe he's also a nocturnal person."

  Someone's figure is flashing quickly on the rooftops in the distance, with the moonlight shining through. I couldn't help but wonder if this person has excellent lightness skills and what kind of business they want to do. For me, seeing such a situation is normal, they are used to coming out at night, and I am used to being out at night too.

  Just gazing out the window, I suddenly heard a faint footstep outside the door, quickly approaching this room. From the footsteps, it was clear that the person's kung fu skills were not weak. At once, I hastily pulled out the "Chuan Shan Dao" from my travel bag and swiftly extinguished the candle on the table.