Chapter 831

Jia Zhao Year 15, the 29th day of the 12th lunar month, New Year's Eve.

Qiu Xuanfu Town, southeast direction, Donggang Town. The sun sets in the west, and the sunset is like blood.

The evening glow sprinkles on the earth, shining on the dense forest north of the town, falling on the white snow on the roof, reflecting an eerie fiery red, dizzying with unusual magnificence.

By the time the evening glow gradually converged, the lights on the main street of the town were sparse, because many shops had closed early, and the lights on the street were a bit dim.

Only the Fuyun Restaurant in the middle of the street was unusually bright, illuminating the dim street a little.

This restaurant was a time-honored brand in Donggang Town, having operated for decades, and its business was usually very prosperous. Even so, it had to close on New Year's Eve.

It was just that military students came to book a New Year's Eve banquet yesterday, and the guests were military officers from the military grain warehouse east of the town.

Although the restaurant manager was unwilling, in this border town, no one dared to offend the soldiers.

Moreover, the military grain officers were all local snakes, with soldiers and grain in their hands, and could not be easily offended.

Fortunately, these grain-managing military heads were all wealthy, and as long as they were served satisfactorily, the wine and food money would not be less.

Donggang Town was a small town in the north. Once the New Year festival arrived, most of the merchants returned home, and the population of the town was reduced by more than half, with the locals all returning home to celebrate the New Year.

Apart from a few inns in the town, there were some foreign merchant teams stranded, and there were almost no other outsiders.

The Fuyun Restaurant, which was usually prosperous, had no other foreign guests except for this military grain banquet, which was quite refreshing.

The manager led four or five waiters to be busy back and forth. Ten or so tables had been set up in the shop, cold dishes and wine were ready, and the kitchen emitted bursts of rich aroma from frying and stir-frying.

At this time, two people walked outside the shop. One was wearing a half-old cotton-padded jacket, a camel-hair hat on his head, and a fur scarf around his neck, wrapped tightly.

Although his face had the air of wind and frost, he looked like a person who was easy to get along with.

The other was wearing a border military uniform, with a standard Yan Ling military saber hanging at his waist, revealing a vigorous military spirit, looking like a military officer in the army.

The manager looked at the second person and thought it was natural, smiling, "Are the two military gentlemen here for the banquet tonight? The banquet is already prepared, please take your seats first."

Guo Guo Zhigui was about to explain, but Jia Lady Lian grabbed the lead and said, "Although we are not here for the banquet, we are also military officers from the military grain warehouse.

Because we are on military duty and have to travel at night, we came to buy some wine and food to take away. Your shop is the only one open on this street, so please do us a favor."

Hearing that they were not here for the banquet but were also military officers from the grain warehouse, the manager didn't dare to neglect them.

He sold Jia Lady Lian five or six catties of beef, miscellaneous fish, sheep liver, pickled vegetables, and other food, as well as several pots of aged burnt wine.

When the two walked out of the restaurant, although the time was still early, the sky was completely dark.

The two walked hesitantly, facing the sky full of wind and snow. After walking dozens of steps away from the restaurant, the road was pitch black, and they could only rely on the reflection of the snow on the ground to see the way forward.

Jia Lady Lian smiled, "Brother Guo Zhigui, we have been here twice. I have paid more attention daily. These local snakes in the grain warehouse are very popular in the town.

Today, these military officers are holding a banquet in the restaurant. There are at least dozens of people. Soldiers are all big-bellied men, and the wine and food in the shop are mostly tight.

If we didn't say we were military officers from the grain warehouse, this manager would probably have scruples and wouldn't sell us so much wine and food."

Guo Guo Zhigui smiled, "Second Master's mind is still shrewd. If I had told the truth just now, we would probably have returned empty-handed."

The two were walking back to the grain warehouse when they saw lights flickering ahead. A few small soldiers were leading the way with lanterns, followed by dozens of military officers.

These people were laughing wantonly, their behavior rough, their expressions arrogant, and they were ignoring everyone.

Guo Guo Zhigui had been to the grain warehouse twice and had dealt with the military officers in the camp many times, recognizing that these were all military officers from the grain warehouse.

The garrison soldiers in the entire grain warehouse town were no more than a thousand, and there were dozens of military officers at the banquet, occupying the majority of the grain warehouse officers. It was truly "the mountains are high and the emperor is far away," and the military discipline was truly lax.

He didn't want to provoke trouble and only wanted to transport the military grain away as soon as possible and return safely to Liaodong Town, then everything would be fine.

He pulled Jia Lady Lian to the side of the road, avoiding a collision with the grain warehouse military officers. After they passed, the two hurried back to the grain warehouse.

Among the crowd of military officers, Chen Chen Ruichang saw Jia Lady Lian standing on the side of the road by the lantern light, but he pretended not to see him.

Seeing them continue on their way, he snorted contemptuously and continued to talk loudly with the military officers beside him.

Jia Lady Lian and Guo Guo Zhigui hurried back to the grain warehouse. At the camp gate, dozens of large carts were parked, fully loaded with a thousand shi of military grain, and two hundred grain-protecting cavalry were ready to go.

Both mounted their horses. Guo Guo Zhigui waved his hand, and the sound of horse hooves rang out, the carts rolled, and the grain transport team slowly left the grain warehouse.

The team marched on the empty street, passing by the Sun family charcoal shop north of the town. Through the cracks in the closed shop door, lights still faintly shone.

Boss Sun was wiping a bright steel saber under the lamp. The blade was as clear as autumn water, revealing a cold murderous intent.

Hearing the sound of horse hooves outside the door, he peeked through the cracks in the door and saw the grain transport team passing by, a cold smile appearing on the corner of his mouth: "They just happened to catch up at the right time."

He said to the young man beside him, "The military officers from the grain warehouse are feasting tonight. Let them be quick with their hands and feet. You go and pass the message immediately.

Then go to the north of the town to wait for support and pay attention to the movements of this grain team. There are over a thousand shi of grain on the carts."

The young man was scholarly, with a sharp blade inserted at his waist, and his actions were nimble, smiling, "Rest assured."

Saying this, he left from the back door of the shop and disappeared into the wind and snow...

Boss Sun put the steel saber into its sheath, picked up a prepared torch, and climbed to the high roof of the shop.

Facing the wind and snow, he lit the torch and waved it continuously toward the boundless night sky. The firelight was unusually eye-catching and eerie in the pitch-black night...

Town main street, Fuyun Restaurant.

In the shop, the banquet was noisy, laughter was loud, and the military grain officers were toasting each other and drinking heavily.

There were people falling to the ground with a bang, and people with floating footsteps, and the scene was a bit chaotic.

Everyone had been seated for a long time, and they were already drunk and happy, provoked by the wine, toasting each other and drinking heavily, and many military officers were already swaying.

The manager led several waiters to be busy, sweating profusely, constantly serving hot dishes to each table, and coming and going to change wine and water...

Not far from the Fuyun Restaurant, an inn also had a faint firelight in the shop, and a waiter was dozing off at the counter.

The reason why this inn didn't close was because two merchant teams were staying in the shop, totaling more than forty people, who wanted to stay in the town to celebrate the New Year and go north to do business after the New Year.

This situation was not strange. Every year there were merchants stranded in the town, but there were more people this year.

The inn manager went home early to celebrate the New Year, leaving only three waiters to look after the inn and take care of the daily food and hot water for the guests.

Fortunately, the guests were relatively easy to serve. Only the two leaders of the merchant team would often enter and exit to buy daily necessities.

Others huddled in their rooms to avoid the winter, at most going out to take care of the carriages, watering the horses, and feeding the grass, never causing trouble, and even speaking very little.

The few waiters left in the shop were all old people in the inn, and they rarely encountered such easy-to-entertain merchants.

At this time, the night was heavy, the guests had finished their evening meal and had long since returned to their rooms to rest, and two waiters also returned to their rooms to rest, leaving only one to guard the counter.

The candlelight in the shop was dim, and the waiter at the counter was drowsy, his consciousness a bit blurred, when he suddenly heard footsteps on the stairs.

This situation was not strange. Guests getting up at night to go to the toilet was also a common occurrence, so the waiter didn't take it to heart.

At first, he didn't care, but the movement on the stairs was too loud, the footsteps were chaotic and dense, and it didn't seem like one person walking.

By the candlelight of the counter, he opened his sleepy eyes. Because the shop was dim, it took a while to see the situation clearly, and he was startled.

He saw that the guest rooms on the second floor had all opened their doors, and guests were constantly coming out one after another, and they were going downstairs in order, everyone walking lightly, not making much noise.

In just a fleeting moment, the dim shop was filled with shadows. The waiter hurriedly walked out of the counter and wondered, "Guests, getting up at this time, I don't know what it means.

Today is New Year's Eve. The restaurants and eateries outside are all closed. There is nowhere to go at this time..."

The waiter had just said half of it when he felt someone approaching from behind, and his neck was suddenly strangled. He stood like a fish out of water, struggling in hopeless suffocation.

He tried hard to struggle against the restraint, wanting to call for help, but it was all in vain.

The person behind him was like a man-eating beast, strong to the point of terror, and he couldn't resist at all.

He instantly fell into an abyss of despair, a bone-chilling cold invaded the depths of his soul, making one shudder, and his neck was fiercely slashed.

The unbearable pain spread throughout his body, instantly extracting all his strength, hot blood gushed out, and his whole body went limp on the ground.

He wanted to shout loudly to relieve the pain, but he couldn't make a sound. Before he completely lost consciousness, he heard someone speaking fiercely.

"Kill them all, don't leave any alive, don't make any noise!"

He vaguely recognized the voice. This person was the merchant team leader, who often entered and exited the shop to buy supplies and food, a guest who spoke kindly.

Then he heard a commotion from the backyard, and there were faint suppressed screams, which stopped abruptly, as if cut off by someone out of thin air.

The backyard was where the other two companions lived. This was the last thought in his mind, and then his consciousness sank into endless darkness...

Town main street, Fuyun Restaurant.

In the shop, the banquet was noisy, laughter was loud, and the military grain officers were toasting each other and drinking heavily.

There were people falling to the ground with a bang, and people with floating footsteps, and the scene was a bit chaotic.