Chapter 33

That night, Yang Shouwen did not return to the village.

However, out of concern for the Yang family and Youniang, he had Yang Rui take Yang Molili away from the county town to a village at the foot of Tiger Valley Mountain.

"Which side is your home, anyway?"

At dinner, Qingnu was somewhat sarcastic, but Yang Shouwen did not take it to heart.

Yang Shouwen stood up, "Mother, I'm full."

"Full?" Songshi said with some worry, "Is the food not to your taste? Your father said that Nizi, you have a big appetite."

"Ha ha, Mother, don't worry. The food is very tasty, but I have some matters to discuss with Father."

Songshi gave Yang Qingnu a stern look, then said a few more words. Seeing that Yang Shouwen was indeed not eating, she stopped.

"By the way, Mother, you and Qingnu will rest in Father's room tonight, which will make it easier to take care of him."

"Then what about you?"

Yang Shouwen smiled but did not answer.

Although Songshi was not well-educated and could not be considered a lady of high birth, she knew better than to ask further.

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Night fell.

Changping County returned to calm, but the tense atmosphere that hung over the county did not diminish.

About every half an hour, a Wu Hou would patrol the streets.

Outside the market, a civilian guard would patrol every hour. All the households locked their doors early. The incident at the county office in the early morning had already spread, making the people of Changping feel an inexplicable fear.

Even daring to attack the county office, those people were not just assassins but thugs.

Such people were not to be provoked by ordinary citizens. Even the local ruffians received messages from the gang leaders, telling them to behave. At this time, anyone who dared to cause trouble would be severely punished.

The sound of the street drum came from the city gate.

Yang Shouwen suddenly opened his eyes, got out of bed, and picked up the Broken Dragon saber that was placed beside his pillow.

This saber had previously been in Yang Chenglie's possession. Today, Yang Shouwen had not brought any weapons, and Yang Chenglie was injured, so the Broken Dragon saber returned to Yang Shouwen. He put the saber on his back, listened carefully, and heard only faint snoring from the next room. It was past midnight, and the Yang family must have already gone to bed.

He walked to the window, pushed it open, and leaped out.

The entire Yang residence was shrouded in the darkness of night. A light mist hung over the courtyard, making Yang Shouwen's heart leap with joy.

A dark night is good for killing, and a windy night is good for arson.

The weather was perfect for action, and it seemed the heavens were on his side!

Gai Jiayun sent a message to Yang Rui, saying he had discovered a group of strangers in the city with suspicious and elusive behavior.

This group was staying at the Hongfu Inn in Peace Market. According to Gai Jiayun's information, they had arrived in Changping about seven days ago. They were generous, renting an independent courtyard, and their meals were delivered by the inn.

Yang Shouwen did not know if these were the people he was looking for.

However, according to Gai Jiayun, they were indeed very suspicious. Most importantly, their appearance coincided with the first murder, which was too coincidental to ignore.

However, Yang Shouwen did not plan to take Yang Rui on this risky mission.

Although Yang Rui had learned a few moves from his father, he could only scare ordinary people. If he encountered a skilled opponent, he would be in danger.

If the people at the Hongfu Inn were the ones who attacked the county office, taking Yang Rui would be a liability.

This was why Yang Shouwen had Yang Rui accompany Yang Molili to Tiger Valley Mountain.

Yang Shouwen left the room, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then crouched and ran to the back wall of the courtyard. He ran a few steps, leaped up, and with a push from his hands on the wall, his body flew over the wall and landed softly on the ground. The back wall of the Yang residence was connected to the market. After climbing over the wall, Yang Shouwen was already on the main street outside the market. The street was empty, and he could only hear the faint sound of the civilian guards' weapons clashing in the distance.

Calculating the time, Yang Shouwen immediately stuck to the wall of the market and crouched and ran.

During the day, he had already had Yang Rui take him to Peace Market and found out the location of the Hongfu Inn.

Now, he was familiar with the route and, under the cover of night and mist, he avoided two groups of civilian guards and arrived outside Peace Market.

Peace Market was located in the south of Changping.

It was named after the Peace Temple in the market and was the most prosperous area in Changping.

Seeing no one around, Yang Shouwen jumped onto the wall and landed on the other side. Peace Market was twice the size of Fanrenli. The houses were connected, and the streets crisscrossed, with many dark alleys. It was the commercial district of Changping and also the most chaotic area in terms of public security. When the entire Changping was quiet, Peace Market was still brightly lit, with people coming and going, forming a stark contrast to the outside world, which felt very strange.

This was a very common phenomenon in Tang Dynasty cities.

The market was under curfew, but business continued inside, without interfering with each other.

As long as you did not wander outside the market gates, there would be no problem inside, especially in the commercial area.

Of course, if you were caught on the main street outside the market... well, then you would have to be temporarily detained.

Yang Shouwen jumped down from the market wall, straightened his clothes, and stepped into the market street.

On both sides, shops lined the street, and the flags of taverns fluttered.

Laughter and music came from the taverns, as if he had entered a city that never slept.

"Guest, would you like to come in? We have the best wine in Changping."

"..."

Yang Shouwen dodged the enthusiastic Huji and continued forward.

At the end of the street was a three-story tavern. A red sign hung above the door, reading 'Hongfu Inn'.

Yang Shouwen stopped and stood at the entrance of a small alley across the street.

After observing for a while, he suddenly ran diagonally into the opposite alley. Following the alley, he saw a small door. During the day, he and Yang Rui had surveyed this area, and this small door was the side entrance to the Hongfu Inn.

Seeing no one around, Yang Shouwen walked to the door, flipped his wrist, and a dagger slid out of his sleeve.

Through the crack in the door, he lifted the latch, pushed the door open slightly, and slipped inside.

The Hongfu Inn was a very famous inn in Changping. From the outside, it seemed ordinary, but inside, it had pavilions, terraces, artificial hills, and ponds. The entire courtyard was divided into three parts. The front part was for dining, the middle part for entertainment, and the back part for high-end guest rooms, similar to modern villas. Each villa was an independent courtyard, very quiet.

"Jia San!"

Yang Shouwen remembered the room number provided by Gai Jiayun and walked along the wet path, occasionally stopping to check the room numbers.

Jia San was at the back of the Hongfu Inn.

It was an independent small courtyard with several rooms for guests.

At the entrance to the courtyard was a large tree. However, after autumn, the leaves had begun to fall, no longer lush.

Yang Shouwen looked around again, then suddenly darted out of the shadows, like a nimble cat, and climbed up the tree. He hid behind the thick trunk and peered into the courtyard, but was stunned by what he saw.

Jia San was a courtyard about thirty meters long and forty meters wide, with three rows of houses.

In the central courtyard, a dozen black-clad men were gathered.

They sat on the veranda, accompanied by Huji. An archery target was set up in the courtyard. A black-clad man stood up, took a bow and arrow, walked to the edge of the veranda, drew the bow, and shot an arrow that hit the target. The surrounding people cheered, and on the veranda facing the courtyard entrance, a middle-aged man with a white face and black beard sat.

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