Yang Ning knew that most of the people in this wine shop were people from the escort team. These people saw that the person who came in was just a young boy in ragged clothes, and they didn't care.
Most of the tables inside were filled with people, and it was completely dark. There were at least ten or twenty people. Yang Ning saw a table near the corner that was quite empty. In the dimness, he only saw two people sitting there. He walked away immediately. He walked over and couldn't see clearly the appearance of the two people for a while. He held his hands and smiled and said: "Excuse me, there is no place to sit. Let's share a table."
The two people didn't say much. Yang Ning sat down on the bench. At this time, he could smell the aroma of meat coming from other tables. It had been many days since he had had a serious meal. Now that he had met In this wine shop, you will naturally want to have a good meal.
He got a lot of money from Mr. Mu Shen, and it was more than enough to deal with him.
The wind and rain outside showed no sign of stopping, and Yang Ning was a little surprised. The room was already extremely dark, so why hadn't the lights been lit yet? She was wondering when she heard a voice: "Masters, the lights are here!" Then he saw the follower. There was a firelight behind, and a waiter was holding two oil lamps, one on the left and one on the right, hanging on the wall of the wine shop.
The wine shop suddenly lit up, and through the firelight, Yang Ning could clearly see the two people sitting at the same table with him, an old man and a young man. Sitting opposite him was an elder in a gray-brown robe, about fifty years old, with a chin. He has a black beard, a thin face, and a rather elegant temperament. Although he is nearly fifty years old, his complexion is rosy and does not look old. He seems to be well-maintained on weekdays.
Sitting on his left was a young man of fifteen or sixteen years old, with a pair of dark eyes staring at him with a suspicious look on his face.
There were three dishes of side dishes on the table, as well as a bowl of braised pork and a pot of wine. Only the brown-robed elder had a wine cup in front of him. Several dishes on the table seemed untouched.
Seeing the young man staring at him with suspicion, Yang Ning smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself, my name is... Little White Rabbit. When you go out, you rely on your friends. Don't take it personally."
The young man said calmly: "We are not friends!" Without saying much, he turned his gaze. Yang Ning saw that he was full of thoughts, and thought to himself that he was young but he had a lot of things on his mind.
He turned around and saw the shop assistant standing nearby, looking at him with strange eyes. Then he coughed and said, "What are you looking at?"
"Let me see if you are here to take shelter from the rain or to drink." The store clerk said with disdain, "If you are taking shelter from the rain, stay outside under the eaves, and don't disturb these two."
Yang Ning was still wearing the same sloppy clothes, which were already very shabby. After all the hard work in the past few days, if anyone didn't think he was a beggar, they would have seen a ghost.
Yang Ning didn't argue. She stretched out her hand and put a piece of silver on the table, pointing to the dishes on the table: "Is this money enough to buy these dishes? Give me another one."
The shop clerk chuckled and said, "Where did you get this money? Could it be stolen?"
The young man beside Yang Ning had already frowned and said calmly: "No one should easily draw conclusions about others. If you have no evidence, how can you easily frame others?"
Yang Ning didn't expect that this young man would speak for him, and he immediately felt good about him. However, he heard the brown-robed elder opposite him cough, and he had already picked up the wine cup in his hand. He glanced at the young man from the corner of his eye, and the young man listened. Hearing the coughing sound, he seemed to find something wrong and lowered his head.
When the store clerk saw the young man talking, he didn't say much and turned around to leave.
Yang Ning sat on the bench and turned slightly to look to the side. There were five or six people sitting at the table next to him. They were all wearing short clothes. Everyone had weapons at their hands, most of which were sheathed swords. Although on the table, There were many dishes, but no wine bottles. These people did not seem to drink.
Think about it, since these people are in the escort team, there may be many taboos during the escort journey, and not drinking may be one of them.
There was a thunder outside, and the wind and rain showed no sign of abating. It seemed to be getting stronger. A person at the next table heard someone at the next table say: "Mr. Lu, it seems that the rain won't stop for a while. Should we continue on our way?"
An old man in his fifties next to him stroked his white beard and said slowly: "We have to hurry up on this trip and don't delay on the way. Let's rest for a while. We have to continue on our way, so we can't stay here overnight." Only twenty miles ahead, there is an official post, it is not too late for us to rest at the official post."
"Mr. Lu is still awesome." Someone on the side laughed and said: "The roads of these states, prefectures and counties are all stored in Mr. Lu's mind. There are no cities and stations along the way that Mr. Lu doesn't know about."
Another person laughed and said: "On this road, when it comes to connections, Mr. Lu would say he is second, but no one dares to say he is first. You two have not walked this line before, so you don't know Mr. Lu's conduct on this line. Let’s talk about the official post in front. If it had been someone else, it would have been impossible to stop. Mr. Lu has been a escort for so many years and has become familiar with him along the way. He has developed a relationship with that official post. If we go there, there will naturally be a place for us. Rest."
The old man said with a hint of amusement: "We escorts rely on connections and friends. Many friends lead to many paths. If we make grudges everywhere, no matter how good our martial arts are, we will not be able to make ends meet."
"That's what Mr. Lu said." Several people said one after another: "You are our elder. You need to teach us more about the knowledge here."
Mr. Lu smiled and said: "Actually, there is nothing to teach you. Just remember to make more friends and make fewer enemies, smile more and use less knife." Suddenly he stood up and said, "Everyone, get ready. Let's go for another twenty years." Li Di, rush to the official post in front of us to rest, it is still not suitable to stay in this wilderness for a long time."
Many people stood up immediately, and some even took a lot of coir raincoats and bamboo hats and placed them in front of the door. They were obviously prepared.
Someone had already stepped forward to put on their raincoats and bamboo hats. Mr. Lu drank a cup of tea and was about to get up. However, Yang Ning saw that the elder in brown robe opposite him had already stood up and walked to Mr. Lu's side. He said softly: "Everyone." I don’t know where this escort is going?”
Mr. Lu immediately looked alert and asked, "Who are you?"
From the beginning, Yang Ning felt that the old man and the young man did not seem to be members of the escort team. At this time, listening to the conversation between the two, he knew that his guess was correct.
The brown-robed elder turned his hand and found an extra piece of gold, which he put into Old Lu's hand. At this time, everyone in the escort team was wearing raincoats and hats, and not many people paid attention to this.
Mr. Lu frowned and was about to speak when the brown-robed elder said softly: "I have something in my hand and am preparing to go to Beijing, but I am worried about an accident on the way, so I want to go with you. I can also get something on the way." Take care of me. Your destination should also be heading to the capital, right?"
Mr. Lu hesitated a little and said: "The rules of the escort agency are that you are not allowed to bring strangers with you during the escort trip. Your Excellency...!"
"I understand." The elder in brown robe said with a smile: "I just want to be foolproof. You can treat it as a temporary escort. Everything on our way will be handled in accordance with the rules of your escort agency, and we will never cause you any trouble."
"Us?" Mr. Lu glanced at the young man and asked, "Are it just the two of you?"
The elder in brown robe nodded and said, "Yes, it's just the two of us."
The person on the side could see clearly and said in a low voice: "Mr. Lu, aren't we just going to bring two people with us? Since we have something to ask for, we don't have to turn away people thousands of miles away."
Mr. Lu glanced at the man and coughed, with a trace of reproach in his eyes, obviously blaming the man for talking too much.
Yang Ning could hear clearly from the side and was a little strange. She thought to herself that since the old man and the young man were going to Beijing, why did they still follow the escort team? The elder in brown robe said that he had brought something with him, and he was afraid that it would be lost on the way. If so, the thing would be very precious, otherwise he would never have paid for it with a piece of gold.
Seeing that Mr. Lu was still hesitating, the brown-robed elder said softly: "Actually, you are just doing a little work. Is it because the cost is insufficient? If so, you can add more."
Mr. Lu shook his head and said: "That's not true. According to the rules, you are not allowed to bring strangers along the way unless it is absolutely necessary. But it seems to be very difficult for you, so it's okay to go with the escort team. It's just that the ugly words are ahead, everything along the way, You all have to follow the rules of the escort team, and we can guarantee that you two will be brought to the capital safely, but if you break the rules, you can't blame us."
The elder in brown robe said with a smile: "Just follow my orders and I will never cause you any more trouble."
Mr. Lu called out, "Here, bring me two coir raincoats."
The elder in brown robe returned to the table, bent down and took out a package from under the table. It was a long object, wrapped in black cloth, and he didn't know what was inside.
The young man and the elder in brown robe looked at each other and stood up. At this time, someone had already sent two sets of raincoats and bamboo hats. They were not polite, put on the raincoats and took the bamboo hats in their hands.
Several members of the escort team had already left the house. Mr. Lu also put on his raincoat. He looked back at the elder in brown robe and nodded. The elder in brown robe smiled, held a long package in his hand, and waved to the young man. With a wink, I wanted to follow him out.
After taking only two steps, I suddenly heard two "beep" sounds. The wine shop turned dark for a moment, and the two oil lamps hanging on the wall were extinguished inexplicably.
The moment the lights were turned off, Yang Ning saw the brown-robed elder grabbing the young man's arm and pulling him behind him. His movements were as fast as lightning and his reactions were extremely sensitive. Then he heard a loud noise in the wine shop.
Yang Ning's heart tightened, and she put one hand into her arms to touch the extremely sharp ice blade, fully alert.
Since leaving Huize City, Yang Ning has been careful at all times. After passing by Mu Shenjun, he became even more sensitive. When the two oil lamps suddenly went out, he immediately felt that something was wrong.
If one of the lights suddenly goes out, it may be just an accident, but if two lights go out at the same time, there must be something fishy.
"Don't panic!" Mr. Lu's voice had already sounded in the darkness, "Everyone, calm down and be careful. No one should act rashly until you understand the situation. Chen Liu, take someone to protect the escort car outside. Who is in trouble?" If there is a fire, light up the fire!"
Mr. Lu was frightened but not chaotic, and his distribution was organized. He was obviously a veteran of long-distance running and had a lot of experience.
At this time, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and disappeared. Clouds, ink and rain brushes painted the dark sky, full of coldness.