"What's so good about that monkey? You might as well worry about what to eat tonight!"
"… I remember the last time I came to Jishi Town, your fellow villager had a banquet at his home, with large chunks of mutton. Now that I think about it, I feel like eating it again."
"By the way, you eight youngsters may not know that the meat is roasted to a crispy outside and tender inside, with a very fragrant fat and just the right amount of lamb smell."
Inside the open bookshelf, Taoist Toad drooped his legs and gestured with his frog webs as he told Lu Pan and the other eight people outside about the northwestern delicacies. He chattered non-stop all the way from the time he came down the mountain to the time he was almost at Jishi Town.
Lingde Qingfeng covered his ears and muttered, "I don't want to listen, it's just a toad chanting."
The copper bells ahead were ringing.
The orange glow spread into the distance, and the outline of a small town could be vaguely seen. Lu Liangsheng looked at the map paper in his hand. The town ahead should be Jishi Town. He had been here once two years ago. As he approached the town, there were more and more pedestrians. He lowered his voice and turned back.
"Master, please don't speak for now, so as not to scare others. We will be in town soon. We will check into the inn later and have dinner first."
Over there, the chattering was interrupted. The Toad Taoist stood up and stretched his head to take a look in front of him. He consciously closed the small door with a bang. A muffled voice came from inside: "Call me Master when it's time to eat!"
Hearing that it was time to eat, Lu Pan and his eight companions' stomachs had already rumbled. They excitedly followed their nephew into the town's crossroads. The air was dry and smelled of mutton. There were few pedestrians walking on the long street, and flies were buzzing everywhere. When they walked through the street, most of the people they occasionally met looked hurried, and some vendors were putting up wooden boards to prepare to close their shops.
"Liangsheng, there's an inn over there!" Lu Pan saw the blue flag with white characters fluttering in front of him and flicked the knife at his waist, "Hey, why is it closed?"
Under the fluttering red flags, a Hu waiter wrapped in a white scarf saw a group of people coming on the street, and quickly brought wooden boards to build the shop door. When the last board was about to be embedded in the threshold, a big hand pressed on it and suddenly exerted force. The waiter inside cried out "Ouch!" and was pushed to the ground along with the wooden board, falling all over the place.
There were other guests staying in the inn and eating. Many of them frowned when they heard the noise and stood up to look, only to see several burly men squeezing in the door of the inn, each with their chest and abdomen exposed and weapons slung over their shoulders. They continued talking to their companions with a calm look on their faces and then sat back down.
"Uncle Pan, what's going on?"
Lu Liangsheng's words came from outside, and Lu Pan hurriedly shouted: "It's okay, this guy lost his balance and fell down."
Fearing that his nephew would blame him, he quickly stepped forward and lifted the guy from the ground with one hand, then put him back on the ground and patted his clothes for him.
"Why are you closing the door? You look like you've seen a ghost. We're here to stay in a hotel, not as if we're invaders."
"Yes, yes, yes."
The waiter glanced at the chests of the big men who came in, saw their pectoral muscles bouncing left and right, swallowed, nodded repeatedly, and invited them in without saying a word about the abnormality that had just occurred.
"It's my fault for being short-sighted. Please don't be angry, gentlemen. Please come in."
Lu Liangsheng also came in and gave the waiter two copper coins, asking him to help lead the old donkey to the backyard to feed some grass. The inn in the town was not big, with a transparent floor and a second and third floor surrounding it. The highest dome could be seen from the hall.
Lu Pan and his eight companions, who were sitting at the table over there, had already called another waiter to come over and order food. Lu Liangsheng took Qingfeng to sit at the table next to him. The little guy was well-behaved and clever. He took the chopstick basket and respectfully placed it for the master first. Then he sat on the bench, dangling his little feet and whispered, "Master, this town is a little weird."
"Um."
There was not much expression on Lu Liangsheng's face. He just sat there quietly with his hands on his knees. When he came here two years ago, the long street was bustling and prosperous. Even at night, there were many pedestrians. How long has it become like this
After ordering the dishes, the inn fell silent, though there were murmurs of diners whispering around. After entering the spiritual realm, the scholar's senses became extremely sharp. There were many merchants eating on the first floor of the inn, talking about their experiences, and the slightest sound of their voices could not escape Lu Liangsheng's ears.
“… This town is weird.”
"It wasn't like this when I passed by here last month."
"I heard that there was a monster in the town, so I came here this morning. I'll have to stay for a day or two, so I got off the bed and wandered around outside. From what people nearby said, two families have died, and their blood has been sucked clean."
"How long ago?"
"In just two or three days, the town's gentry has sent people to Hezhou to report to the authorities. I don't know if they have returned."
"I think it's going to be very difficult... It's better to leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning. Making money is more important."
Lu Liangsheng, who was sitting over there, listened to the news from the vendors around him and pieced together a rough idea: two families had died in two consecutive days, which meant almost six people. If they had contracted a disease, they would not have died so suddenly. It was possible that a demon was at work.
During these two days... could it be related to Gongsun Liao summoning the monsters
"When the demon king summons all the demons, some demons who like to eat people will inevitably follow." In the scholar's sleeve, the Toad Taoist coiled up and half-closed his eyes. He didn't care about what happened in the town. "If you want to intervene, then intervene. Anyway, it's useless for me to persuade you."
"Since I'm passing by, I have to take care of it... Um, Master, can you also hear those diners talking?"
The waiter brought the dishes to the table. Lu Liangsheng tore off a piece of roasted lamb chop with chopsticks, handed it to his sleeve and shook it gently. A long scarlet tongue rolled over the diced meat and dragged it into his mouth. The Toad Taoist changed his posture, lying on his back with his white belly exposed, chewing and saying, "Master has repaired the demon pill."
"Master, let's be serious. What exactly is Gongsun Liao going to do by summoning all the monsters?"
Lu Liangsheng held the chopsticks in his hand and stared at the dishes on the table without moving. With the chopsticks hanging in his hand, he casually picked up a bite of food and put it into his mouth. The toad in his sleeve snorted.
"How would the master know... Oh no, when did the master become unserious? If I really restored the demon pill, why don't you all believe it?"
As if he didn't hear Toad's words, Lu Liangsheng suddenly slammed his chopsticks onto the table with a bang, scaring Qingfeng, who was gnawing on a lamb rib nearby, so much that he almost fell off the bench.
Lu Pan and his eight companions at the table behind also stopped shouting and urging people to drink, and all looked over.
"Liangsheng, what's the matter?"
"I'm going to go out for a while. After the eight uncles finish eating, please get a few rooms to rest first. You don't have to wait for me." Lu Liangsheng looked at Qingfeng, "You too."
After saying that, he took a piece of sheep bone, stood up and pushed the door open. It was already dark. Lu Liangsheng handed the sheep bone to his master who had climbed onto his shoulder. They walked along the long street, which was paved with bluestone slabs. In the dead silent town, the 'trample' sound of footsteps on the hard ground was a bit weird.
Woof woof woof~~
In the darkness of the night, the sound of dogs barking could be heard from time to time.