Xia Zhichan almost struck him with a sword.
Looking closely, it turned out to be Qian Yiqian, the rich man who got on the boat with him.
The latter had just boarded the boat, and the monsters had not had time to absorb his essence, so he was the only one awake among the many men.
"Help...help."
Qian Yiqian only said one sentence, then rolled his eyes and fainted.
"You haven't been sucked in, so why are you pretending?"
Xia Zhichan kicked Qian Yiqian angrily, feeling that it was inappropriate for the latter to scare people and pretend to be fainted at this time.
But he kicked twice and saw that the other party had no reaction, as if he had really fainted.
"What's going on?"
When Xia Zhichan turned around, she understood.
The cat demon, which had grown bigger than a tiger, was squatting next to her and wagging her tail. There was a bloody frog leg bone in her mouth with exposed fangs.
It would be strange if ordinary people didn't faint with fright when they saw this scene.
…
Seven days later, the merchant ship finally arrived at Jiangcheng's dock.
Facing the autumn wind, Xia Zhichan and Nan Er stood side by side on the bow of the boat. One held a red wine gourd in his hand, and the other held a long black sheath knife in his arms.
Looking across the pier, you can see that both sides of the streets in Jiangcheng are decorated with lights. Festive red ribbons are hung under the high eaves, and lanterns made of various paper cuts have been lit early.
It's clearly not dusk yet, but the streets and alleys of Jiangcheng are already twinkling with lights.
"Is this place so lively? I'm afraid there won't be such a big movement during the Chinese New Year..."
Xia Zhichan looked at the people coming and going on the street, all of them with happy smiles on their faces. If others hadn't mentioned this scene, he would have thought it was the Chinese New Year.
"Jiangcheng people have always paid attention to the River God Festival. Even during the Chinese New Year, it is not as lively as this time..."
Nan Er held the long black sheath sword in his arms. He stared at the bustling streets everywhere and was lost in thought for a moment.
"It feels...as if nothing has changed."
"oh?"
Xia Zhichan glanced at him.
"It's just like the scene in my memory..."
Nan Er waited until the boat reached the shore and before even setting up the springboard, he relied on his lightness skills and landed on the shore with a leap.
Xia Zhichan waved her sleeves and robe, lightly tapped the side of the boat with her toes, and landed beside Nan Er.
The actions of the two of them attracted the attention of businessmen and tourists coming and going on the pier.
"Look at those two, judging from their physical skills, they should be martial arts masters..."
"Isn't that right? If you look at his body skills like Fei's, I'm afraid this isn't the legendary 'walking in the snow in search of plum blossoms'..."
"Walking through the snow to look for plum blossoms, isn't that the secret skill of the Thief Saint?"
"The Saint of Thieves? Hasn't he disappeared from the world for nearly ten years..."
The chatter around them never stopped.
Nan Er held the knife in his arms, took a deep breath, and secretly said "I'm back" in his heart, but there was no trace on the surface.
At this moment, a tall, burly man with beards walked over from the crowd. He carried a large knife that looked like a door panel on his back and was wrapped tightly with a black cloth strip.
The big man stepped forward and clasped his fists:
"My soul-breaking sword, Li Erhu, may I ask these two knights, but are you going to Sima Mansion to congratulate you?"
Nan Er frowned when he heard the words "Sima Mansion", his face was cold and he didn't speak.
Xia Zhichan took over the conversation and asked curiously:
"Congratulations...what happy event?"
"Today is the day when the eldest son of the Sima family marries the second young lady of the Chu family... Why, aren't you two here to congratulate me?"
The tall man with the cheeks was a little surprised for a moment. He thought that these two extraordinary young masters must have received invitations from the Sima family and came to Jiangcheng.
"no."
Nan Er replied stiffly, then ignored the bearded man and walked away from the crowd.
"this……"
The bearded man didn't know what to do for a moment. He looked at Nan Er's leaving figure and couldn't figure out where he had offended the young swordsman and made him treat him with such disdain. .
Xia Zhichan smiled slightly and did not explain. She just cupped her hands at the bearded man as a return gift, and then chased after Nan Eryuan's back.
well!
The big man sighed secretly. He was also from the world of martial arts, but he was just a little-known little character. He had been in the business for many years without making a name for himself. Seeing the extraordinary physical skills of Xia Zhichan, he thought that these must be distinguished guests invited by Sima's family. If he could go there first to establish friendship, he might be able to go to Sima's family together.
It's a pity that he made the wrong calculation and ended up in vain.
…
"Let's find an inn to stay in first."
Xia Zhichan caught up with Nan Er. When he saw the gloom in the latter's brows, he could only say something out of nothing.
Nan Er said nothing.
At this time, the sound of gongs and drums came from the other end of the street, followed by the sound of musical instruments playing in unison. Listening to the cheerful tune, it should be the procession of welcoming the bride.
Not long after, a group of people walked over from the street.
The leading young master rides a tall horse, wearing the groom's red wedding robe, a red flower on his chest, and a green sheath long sword hanging on his waist.
The red-clad servants behind him also all wore long swords on their waists.
Generally speaking, it is impossible for the wedding team to carry weapons, but the bridegroom has a special status. His family is a famous swordsmith family in the world, so the members of the family take it as an honor to wear good swords.
"This is the eldest son of the Sima family. He is truly a talented person..."
Xia Zhichan heard the people watching on the side say.
The groom is the eldest son of the Sima family, with the compound surname Sima and the double-name Chunlei.
Sima Chunlei can be said to be a name that is as resounding as thunder in the world.
"I am marrying the second young lady of the Chu family. This Chu family is considered a famous family in our Jiangcheng..."
"Yes, yes, it's true that the man, talent and beauty are a perfect match..."
Of course, not all of them were compliments. Some people curled their lips secretly and whispered:
"Last time the Chu family married a daughter, there was a commotion all over the city. The whole Nangong family who was engaged to be engaged even lost their entire family. Today they are marrying a daughter again, hahaha..."
But a few sneers were quickly drowned out by the cheers of most people.
Of course Xia Zhichan heard it. He glanced at Nan Er who lowered his head and said nothing, shook his sleeves and said nothing.
Nan Er lowered his head, his eyes were like a deep pool that had been dead for a long time, but at this moment, a water plant called "Revenge" began to grow crazily from the bottom of the pool.
Those water plants are bright red, dyed with the blood of each of his family members who died tragically with hatred.
He lowered his eyes and tried hard to suppress the anger that was already burning in his heart.
Swish——
A gust of autumn wind blew by, and the groom, who was sitting on the tall horse, narrowed his eyes. He actually felt a trace of murderous intent in the sudden autumn wind.
Maybe it's my own misunderstanding.
The drums and music played together, and Sima Chunlei rode through the crowd and left.
When he was about to leave the street, he turned back with some concern and quickly searched the crowds on both sides of the street.
He hopes to find the person who intends to kill him.
Unfortunately, no matter how he sensed it, the killing intent just now seemed to come and go with the autumn wind.
Sima Chunlei put his right hand on the scabbard and flicked his fingers gently.
"Sir, please leave quickly, otherwise you will be late."
The man who looked like a butler reminded him in a low voice.
"Okay, let's go."
As soon as the horses were urged on, the wedding team crossed the street and disappeared from Xia Zhichan's sight.
"Let's go and find an inn to rest."
Nan Er patted Xia Zhichan on the shoulder. He seemed to have swept away all the previous haze and returned to the appearance in Xia Zhichan's memory.
Xia Zhichan followed Nan Er with a deep gaze. He knew very well that the more normal Nan Er acted now, the more abnormal he became.
But he didn't ask.
If Nan Er wanted to say it, he would naturally say it. If he didn't want to say it, it would be in vain for him to ask.
…
"I'm sorry, sir, our rooms have been fully booked for a long time. People from all over the world come to Jiangcheng to visit the River God Festival. There really are no free rooms..."
The waiter in charge of the reception looked at the two young men in front of him with an apologetic look.
Xia Zhichan and Nan Er looked at each other. This was their fifth inn, and it was still full.
"To tell you the truth, the River God Festival is an annual event in Jiang City, so there are an unusually large number of people coming and going to watch it. All the rooms in the shop were booked half a month ago... "
The waiter is a smart person. Even if the business fails, he will take the trouble to keep his smile:
"Why don't you two go to another place to see..."
"Second brother, I want to ask you, do you know where the inn in Jiangcheng is?"
Xia Zhichan grabbed Nan Er, who was about to leave, and asked in the latter's puzzled eyes.
"Jiangcheng Posthouse? It's just east of the cross street in the south of the city... But Master, Jiangcheng Posthouse is an official post house, and ordinary people are not allowed to stay there..."
As the waiter spoke, he looked up and down at the two young masters in front of him. The two men seemed to be knights in the world, not officials in the court.
"It's okay, thank you very much."
Xia Zhichan gave Nan Er a look, and the latter could only follow him to the inn in Jiangcheng.
The two of them crossed the street and arrived at the gate of Jiangchengyi.
At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the golden light stretched the shadows of the two people very long, like two straight lines that were always parallel.
"You two, this is an official inn... May I ask if you two are serving officials?"
After knocking on the door, the young postman saluted the two of them very politely and said:
"If you are a serving official, you can check in by showing your identity and official credentials."
Xia Zhichan took out the Lingguan Golden Seal from his sleeve robe, but he did not hand it to the postman. He just held it in his hand, and then said to the postman:
"Go and call Yi Cheng out. He should recognize this thing."
Seeing that the visitor was very impressive, the postman did not dare to neglect him, so he could only welcome the two of them into the lobby, and then immediately turned around to find the postmaster.
Not long after, the sound of thumping footsteps was heard, and the chubby Yi Cheng ran out almost in a hurry. It was obviously a cold autumn, but he was actually sweating profusely from running.
After gasping for breath for a long time, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, and then raised his hands to the two distinguished gentlemen in the room:
"Dare I ask you two..."
Xia Zhichan shook the Lingguan gold seal in his hand. He originally planned to hand it to Yi Cheng for him to identify it again, but he didn't expect that the other party just knelt down when he saw the gold seal:
"Xiaguan Jiangcheng Post Station... Zhang Yueban, the post manager, has met Lord Lingguan."
When he was talking about Jiangcheng Yiyi Cheng, he even stuttered.
"Zhang Yicheng, there is no need to be polite. Please prepare two bedrooms for the two of us."
"yes."
Zhang Yueban stood up and personally led Xia Zhichan and the others to a courtyard behind the inn.
"This is the Bamboo Forest Courtyard. It is the best courtyard in our Jiangcheng Station... Sir, please come in."
"Thank you very much, Zhang Yicheng."
"No, no, no, it's a great honor for Shangguan to come to my little Jiangcheng Station..."
Although Zhang Yueban is very fat, he is quite flexible when he shakes his head:
"Although officials come and go frequently in Jiangcheng, few people live in Jiangcheng Station like mine. The arrival of two Shangguan today really makes this place shine."
"Since officials come and go frequently, why not stay here at Jiangcheng Station?"
Xia Zhichan also had nothing to say. He couldn't just let Zhang Yicheng talk all by himself. He still had to say a few words.
"Well, after most officials come to Jiangcheng, they will visit Prince Le, and then they will live in Prince Le's house. Very few of them come to our Jiangcheng Station."
Zhang Yueban sighed. He originally thought that he could make friends with many dignitaries in Jiangcheng Station, but he didn't expect that this place would be empty all year round.
"Prince Le..."
Xia Zhichan nodded.
This Jiangcheng and even the entire Jiangzhou are the fiefdom of Prince Le, and Prince Le's Mansion is built on the most prosperous East Street in Jiangcheng.
Prince Le is the younger brother of His Majesty the current Emperor of Da Qi and the posthumous son of the late Emperor. The meaning of "posthumous son" is that when the late emperor died, he was not yet born. Therefore, he directly avoided the power struggle among the princes. After His Majesty stabilized his power, he sealed him in the prosperous land of Jiangzhou.
Let him be an idle prince.
The Emperor of Da Qi doted on his younger brother to such an extent that he not only granted the richest city of Jiangzhou to Prince Le, but also allowed him to regulate local taxes. He even gave Prince Le a special permission to form a military force of three thousand people. size of the Guards.
You know, what an emperor fears most is that the vassal king has real power, let alone be in charge of the army.
This shows that His Majesty currently loves Prince Le.
Prince Le was born very late, even one year younger than the current crown prince. Therefore, there are rumors that Prince Le was actually the son of His Majesty the current emperor and his concubine. This means that Prince Le is actually His Majesty the Emperor of Da Qi. illegitimate son.
However, these are all folklore and have no basis.
"The two superior officers should rest early, and the inferior officer will take his leave first."
Zhang Yue left naturally.
Xia Zhichan walked into her room, with an oil lamp burning on the corner of the table.
The lights swayed in the wind.
Snapped!
A scabbard appeared unexpectedly and hit Xia Zhichan on the back of her neck.
The strong impact made him unconscious.
But when he was about to fall to the ground, someone held him up.
The owner of the scabbard is naturally Nan Er.
He dragged Xia Zhichan to the bed, let her lie down, then closed the door and walked out.
It was night, and the snow-like moonlight shone down.
The man's eyes under the moonlight were red, and the murderous intention that had been suppressed for a long time surged out at this moment.
Tonight, he is going to kill someone with a knife.
