Chapter 399: 373 Night Wind

Tang Zhao swept his gaze over the rows of strangely shaped thugs, and upon hearing this remark from Teng Liang, he turned his head and said, "What for? One thing after another tonight? In such a cramped place, you still have to invite someone to play the Stringed Instrument?"

Teng Liang laughed heartily and said, "What are you nervous about? Do you think I'm calling a girl for you? I'm just calling that Old Cripple from next door over to liven things up."

Tang Zhao asked in confusion, "Old Cripple?"

Teng Liang laughed and said, "He used to make a living playing String Song on the road. He lives in a shack at the end of the street, over seventy now, blind, his voice is hoarse, and he's just waiting to die there with no children or family. But the thing in his hands is still decent; he was a proper traveler back in the day, so he counts as half a senior to me. Whenever I'm bored drinking, I just order him to sing a couple of segments and give him a bit of money. You, you."

He pointed at two thugs, tossed out a string of coins, and said, "Go find Old Cripple for me, and tell him Master Teng is here."

Teng Liang knew his own status wasn't enough to make people run errands, but if he went himself, he would lose face in front of a friend, so he took out money to order them. Those two thugs were the youngest; why not earn money when they could? They immediately took the money and darted out.

Tang Zhao was lost in thought—at least for now, Teng Liang still had a bit of lingering sentiment for the traveling businessmen.

At this moment, the Old Cripple, who walked with a limp, came over and set down two coarse porcelain bowls, filled to the brim with meat stew, the white, hazy heat rising and merging into the cold night.

Tang Zhao was a bit hungry, so he lifted a bowl and scooped a spoonful into his mouth.

It was very fragrant, very tender, and very rich.

It was the kind of taste that, when you take a big spoonful in the cold wind of the twelfth lunar month, warms you from your mouth all the way to your heart.

It was a flavor that could bring people happiness.

"Delicious."

Tang Zhao exclaimed in praise and ate several mouthfuls in a row.

Just then, freshly baked scallion oil flatbreads were brought out from the back, golden in color with a layer of glistening oil on the surface. Breaking one open produced a crisp "Crack!" sound, and the fragrance of flour and scallions rushed out.

Although as a Sword Guest, Tang Zhao had gradually reduced his need for food, he was still stirred by such simple and warm delicacies. He ate more than half a bowl spoonful by spoonful and finished two flatbreads in one go.

Teng Liang laughed proudly, "How about it? The place I recommended is good, right? Isn't this more comfortable than eating at a big restaurant in the city?"

In fact, he had never eaten at a big restaurant; the big restaurants in the Inner City were not yet places he could go.

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "It is indeed comfortable to eat here."

Big restaurants had good food, mountain delicacies, and exquisite dishes, but in this kind of weather, it was more comfortable to have this big bowl of piping hot meat stew. Especially since Tang Zhao had rarely had the chance to eat home-cooked food prepared with care over these years.

Seeing him bury his head in eating and drinking, Teng Liang laughed, "Don't eat so fiercely; we're going to drink later. Save some meat stew to help with the alcohol. Old Cripple, heat up a catty of shochu."

He shouted and hollered, then winked and said, "You don't look like someone who has seen much of the world, eating like a starving wolf. And how scared were you just now when you heard about the Stringed Instrument player? You kid—have you never been with a woman?"

Although he didn't say it loudly, he didn't lower his volume either. Many thugs nearby were most excited by such topics and immediately began to roar with laughter. Someone laughed, "Brother Teng, surely not? Still haven't been with a woman at this age? You have to take your brother to see the world. Just in the widow's alley next door..."

At this moment, Tang Zhao finished the beef stew at the bottom of the bowl and suddenly said, "Why hasn't that old gentleman who plays the Stringed Instrument come yet?"

His voice was completely out of place with the laughter, but all the sounds unconsciously quieted down.

Teng Liang was stunned, only then realizing that quite some time had passed, and said, "That's right, what are those two dawdling for? Aqiang, go urge them." He felt a pang of pain in his heart as he fished out another half-string of coins from his waist and tossed it over. The kid named Aqiang agreed, took the money, and flew out.

Tang Zhao glanced at the money pouch at his waist, stuffed the last piece of flatbread into his mouth, and suddenly stood up, saying, "Let's go."

Teng Liang only felt a blur before his eyes, and Tang Zhao was already heading for the door. He asked in bewilderment, "Where are you going?"

Tang Zhao, on the contrary, asked with some surprise, "Late at night, no other sounds outside, a straight little alley, two people go out to find someone and don't come back for a long time—what do you think is going on?"

Teng Liang's heart skipped a beat, and he said with a trembling voice, "You... what do you think is going on?"

Tang Zhao said in a deep voice, "I don't know either. So—we must prepare for the worst. Let's go out and see." He signaled Teng Liang with his eyes to follow.

Teng Liang felt a tightness in his chest and was very resistant to going out, saying, "Actually, I just sent Aqiang to look..."

Tang Zhao said, "Two people didn't come back, so you send another one to look? That is a good method. If he doesn't come back, what will you do then? Send a gourd child to save his grandfather? We are precisely going to follow Aqiang to see. See what he draws out?"

Although Teng Liang had spent some time with Tang Zhao, he had never heard the "gourd child" reference, but he was still made to feel his heart racing by Tang Zhao's words, and he felt waves of sweat breaking out. At this moment, he felt the surroundings suddenly become quiet, and the lively little eatery became eerie.

In fact, no one around was speaking anymore.

Tang Zhao didn't shout, but his words were clear, and everyone heard them.

This kind of thing couldn't be thought about too deeply; the more one thought, the more one's hair stood on end, especially on a cold night like this.

Outside... was there really something?

Everyone was waiting for the next moment, for those few kids to bring Old Cripple back and play it off as a false alarm.

But they waited and waited, and the curtain at the entrance remained as still as if it were weighted down by a heavy scale weight.

The air felt as if it were frozen and about to explode.

Finally, Teng Liang couldn't bear it, moved his lips, and said loudly, "What kind of ghost thing is it? We have Blood Qi for Body Protection, and we fear nothing! Brothers, follow me and grab your weapons, let's all go take a look together."

He shouted, but the surroundings remained very quiet.

Not a single person responded.

The others huddled by their tables, not even looking at him. Only one thug who was relatively close to him laughed dryly, "Brother Teng, shall we just drink? Why look for this trouble? It's windy outside, easy to catch a cold. Late at night, just drink some wine here and sleep; when you wake up in the morning and the sun rises, nothing will have happened."

Teng Liang's heart stirred, and Tang Zhao said, "Let's go. It was supposed to be us going anyway, what does it have to do with anyone else?" He gestured for him to come over at the door.

Teng Liang was conflicted, but finally gritted his teeth, pointed at the thugs nearby, and cursed, "You cowards, useless at the critical moment. Eat, eat, eat—why don't you eat yourselves to death?" He finally chased after him.

As Tang Zhao passed the kitchen, he scattered a handful of copper coins into the money jar, making a clinking sound, and said, "Boss, the money is paid."

Even though Teng Liang's heart was pounding, he instinctively said angrily, "What are you doing? How can you pay..." He was already dragged out by Tang Zhao.

After they left, the Old Cripple poked his head out to look, thanked them repeatedly, but suddenly his expression changed slightly. Suppressing his excitement, he pulled the jar back into the kitchen.

It turned out that among the copper coins in the jar, there was actually a piece of white, broken silver hidden.

This was meeting a noble person!

The two went out, and Teng Liang momentarily forgot his earlier shrinking, continuing to interrupt, "How could you pay? You let you treat on my turf, what does that make me?"

Tang Zhao gave a soft "shh" and whispered, "Don't make noise, we are following the people in front."

Only then did Teng Liang realize the situation. Looking into the distance, Aqiang had already reached the end of the alley, leaving only a tiny black dot. He shivered, his body hunching down a few inches, and then he muttered in a low voice, "How could you pay?"

Tang Zhao kept his eyes on the target and said, "It doesn't matter, it was actually you who paid."

Teng Liang said "Ah?", and Tang Zhao explained, "I didn't bring money when I went out, so I took yours first."

Teng Liang hurriedly felt his money pouch, and sure enough, it was lighter than before, missing exactly a handful of money. He couldn't help but point at Tang Zhao and say, "Ah, you... how could you be such a rascal?"

Tang Zhao patted him and said, "Borrowing it for a moment. You were definitely going to treat anyway. Could I let you lose face on your own turf?"

In truth, it was not that he had no money, but simply that he had no small change on hand; his luggage was piled inside the Time Jar, and he generally did not need to buy anything, having only some gold and silver at the bottom of his chest. That piece of broken silver was something he had snapped off from the smallest silver ingot he had.

He was willing to pay more for this bowl of meat soup, but such a small shop was crowded with thugs of all sizes, and giving too much money would instead be a disaster. To avoid making things difficult for the shopkeeper, he had taken some copper coins from Teng Liang as a cover, mixing them with the silver to drop into the money jar.

Teng Liang snorted: "I think you should learn Hand-Color Magic; your hands are so fast! Back in the day, a Thief King said I had talent and wanted to take me on as his top Disciple, but I didn't go. I think you're even more impressive, self-taught..."

Tang Zhao shushed him again, pointed ahead, and said: "Is it there?"

Teng Liang took a look; Aqiang had already approached a shack and seemed to be pacing outside. He said: "Right, that's Lao Xiazi's dwelling. Why don't I see those two? This kid isn't going in either; could it be he discovered something?"

Tang Zhao said: "Follow behind me, and only step where I have stepped." As he spoke, he walked slowly along the street.

Strangely enough, the side of the street was piled with debris, and even residents who walked this area every day would inevitably step on things, yet Tang Zhao was like a fish in water, Shuttle-ing through them without even brushing a leaf, his footsteps remaining light and airy throughout. Teng Liang followed him step for step and did not bump into anything either.

The two walked more than halfway, and when they were still several yards from the small shack, Tang Zhao suddenly pressed on Teng Liang and said: "Wait here."

Teng Liang said: "What's the situation?"

Tang Zhao pointed inside the house and said: "There really is a situation. You stay outside, I'll go in and take a look."

Although Teng Liang wanted to act tough, he only felt gusts of cold wind and said: "I'll stay outside... what if that ghost thing comes out?"

Tang Zhao said: "It is not a ghost—the Array of Mu City is very good; there will be no Phantoms or Yin Calamity inside the city. It is just that there are things more terrifying than Phantoms. Very well, since you are unwilling to stay outside, follow behind me; I should be able to protect you."

Teng Liang nodded foolishly and said: "What thing is more terrifying than a ghost..."

He stopped abruptly as he said this, seeing a ray of light flash before his eyes, as if it had Shuttle-d through from the daylight.

That light flickered slightly in front of Tang Zhao, turned into a silk thread that wrapped into Tang Zhao's collar, gradually blended into the fabric, and could no longer be seen. Tang Zhao said solemnly: "That would naturally be..."

"Ah!"

A scream rang out from ahead!