Chapter 137: Grain Full Festival

Sun Huang led the Escorts of the Second Escort Team to that nameless inn where the team often stayed.

This inn was inside a small alley, without even a sign; its location was very remote, and the decor was dilapidated, with the tables in the main hall covered in grease.

There was no helping it; the cost of living in the Prefecture City was far higher than in the counties and towns, and any restaurant that was even slightly decent had ridiculously high prices. Even though Sun Huang's income was quite good, it still pained him.

Duan Rong looked at the dilapidated inn before him and immediately understood the Escorts' situation. An Escort's income was actually not high; although supporting a family was not a problem, they could not afford reckless spending.

Liu Ao had been an Escort for over ten years, yet Duan Rong had only managed to find two hundred taels of silver notes on him, which counted as the meagerest harvest since he began looting corpses.

Although the restaurant was a bit run-down, the food was substantial. Sun Huang ordered charcoal-grilled calf legs, pushed two large tables together, and more than ten people sat around them, with jars of wine lined up in a row.

Sun Huang personally unsealed a jar of wine, filled a bowl for everyone one by one, then picked up a bowl for himself and said with a smile, "Come! Brothers, this bowl is a toast to our own heads, celebrating that they are still safely on our necks! Come, bottoms up!"

As Sun Huang spoke, he finished a large bowl of strong liquor in one breath.

The group of Escorts were all tough characters, and each poured a large bowl of wine down their throats...

It wasn't apparent at first, but after ten bowls of wine, whose tolerance was good and whose was poor became clear at a glance.

Sun Huang turned out to have the lowest tolerance; he was already dead drunk, slumped over the table, unable to get up...

Yao Liangrong and Ceng Xiangui went over to nudge him to toast, but Sun Huang only waved his hand, unable to even speak...

Xiao Yu's tolerance, however, was the best. After more than ten bowls, his eyes only grew brighter as he drank. Duan Rong, who prided himself on being able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, felt a bit guilty facing Xiao Yu. With this kind of strong liquor, and in such large bowls, he was struggling a bit too...

Lu Feng's face was already bright red, and his eyes were like a rabbit's. He just sat there blankly, not saying a word, occasionally cutting some beef and stuffing it into his mouth to chew...

Tang Dejin and Ren Tiewa were also drunk. Tang Dejin's face was deathly pale, and Ren Tiewa held Tang Dejin's hand, wiping away tears while saying something...

Wang Ziming, Shao Yongping, and Luo Fanglong leaned on each other's shoulders, actually slapping the table and singing. As they sang, tears streamed from the corners of their eyes...

"The blade in hand, the head on the neck; when will the hatred of the Jianghu cease?"

"Do you not see, the white bones on the path with no one to collect, three thousand desolate graves entwined with creeping grass..."

They roared at the top of their lungs, singing extremely poorly, but as Duan Rong watched these men, an inexplicable sense of being moved welled up in his heart.

From the discordant tones of these men, Duan Rong heard a kind of cruelty inherent to the Jianghu!

These iron-blooded men who carried their heads on their waists lived lives of licking blood from the blade. Only at this moment could they let go of the pressure in their hearts and release the emotions accumulated in their lives. Although they were making a spectacle of themselves, it was moving...

Duan Rong poured the half-bowl of strong liquor in his hand down his throat. The hot, spicy liquor stung his mouth and esophagus. At this moment, he finally understood why such a thing as strong liquor existed.

Because strong liquor is as cruel as the Jianghu!

After the group had their fill of drink and rested for a night at the inn, they began their return journey the next morning.

Although the Prefecture City was prosperous, what did that have to do with them?

In this world, making a living is truly not easy!

On the return trip, they traveled light and without pressure, so their speed increased by at least half.

About seven or eight days later, the Escort Team arrived in Wancheng County again and stayed at the same inn as before.

After getting settled, Sun Huang gathered everyone together.

It had been over twenty days, and there was still no news of Liu Ao, who had left the Escort Team.

Since Wancheng County was the place where Liu Ao had left the team, and there was no pressure to deliver goods now, Sun Huang sent everyone out to scout for information in various places...

As for Sun Huang himself, he went directly to the local County Government Office.

Sun Huang slipped some silver to the Constable on duty at the County Government Office and looked through the autopsy reports of the several homicide cases registered by the Coroner over the past twenty-odd days.

Sun Huang could be certain that Liu Ao was not among them.

Sun Huang also asked the Constable about the monk who was as thin as a skeleton, whom Duan Rong had mentioned, but there was likewise no news at all.

When Sun Huang walked out of the Wancheng County Government Office, his expression was uncertain. "Liu Ao! You brat, are you dead or alive? If you are still alive, why did you leave the Escort Team without a word?"

By evening, everyone who had gone out to scout for information returned. When they compared notes, they found they had gained absolutely nothing.

It was said to be scouting for information, but it had already been over twenty days; where were they supposed to look? Duan Rong had just wandered the streets for the better part of the day, though he had eaten his way through the street snacks of Wancheng County...

Since there was no news, there was nothing to be done. The next morning, the Escort Team left Wancheng County...

After the Escort Team left Wancheng County, about three days later, they arrived at the territory of Xiangu County.

On the afternoon of this day, the Escort Team had reached the eastern outskirts of Xiangu County, less than ten miles from the Xiangu County seat. It was clear they would be able to return to the Xiangu County seat by the afternoon.

As the saying goes, everything is easy at home, but everything is difficult when away.

Although Xiangu County was isolated and dilapidated, it was, after all, their hometown. The neighbors were all acquaintances, and it was convenient to get things done.

As the Escort Team walked to the eastern outskirts, they saw many paper-crafted offerings discarded along the roadside, and a giant dragon-shaped paper lantern hung on the trees of a village in the distance...

Duan Rong's heart skipped a beat. He did not have a deep understanding of some of the customs of the Jiuzhou World, but as he searched the memories of the original body, he already knew.

In the Jiuzhou World, this year was also the Jiachen year, and yesterday happened to be the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month, which was the solar term of Grain Full in the Jiuzhou World.

Grain Full means that the wheat grains have begun to fill out but have not yet matured, roughly corresponding to the late milk-ripe stage, hence it is called Grain Full.

Jiuzhou is an agricultural society, and Grain Full is a major festival every year. People make dragon lanterns and offer sacrifices to the Dragon God to pray for favorable weather throughout the year.

Duan Rong sighed slightly in his heart. This was the first Grain Full festival since he soul-transmigrated here, yet he had missed it and failed to experience the grandeur of the festival in this world.

Looking at the offerings scattered all over the ground at the entrance of the village, it must have been very lively yesterday.

Seeing that they were about to enter the city, the Escort Team increased their pace significantly and soon arrived at the East City Gate of Xiangu County.

The yamen runners guarding the city gate saw that it was the Yuanshun Escort Agency's team and that the Escort Carts were all empty, so they only checked the Escort Waist Tokens one by one before letting them pass.

Having been gone for only a month or so, everyone felt a sense of warmth in their hearts upon seeing the familiar streets and pedestrians.

After entering the city, the Escort Team meandered into West Street and headed toward the Yuanshun Escort Agency.

Upon arriving at the Escort Agency, everyone first returned the horses and Escort Carts to the stables and cart sheds. When handing over the horses, Duan Rong even saw Sun Laotou, the Miscellaneous Servant of the stables, but at this time, Duan Rong was already wearing the attire of an Escort, and their statuses were completely different.

Sun Laotou took the horses from Duan Rong's hands and respectfully called out "Escort Duan." Duan Rong just gave a light grunt and walked away.

After handing over the horses and Escort Carts, Sun Huang led everyone toward the Back Courtyard. When they passed through the Zhong Yuan Yan Wu Chang, they discovered that there was not a single soul in the entire Martial Arts Arena.

Everyone felt that something was wrong.

This afternoon hour was the best time for practicing martial arts; how could there be no one in this Martial Arts Arena?

Sun Huang's expression turned grim, and he thought to himself: Could something have happened in the Escort Agency?

(End of chapter)