Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 140 The dumbest way
Although Old Man Song had lost track of Yang Yuan because he was unable to cope with so many tasks.

But he was like an experienced hunting dog, and any smell of blood would be impossible to escape his nose.

The news that two people from the "Qiyun Jinbiao Society" died and their deaths were unusual was not widely circulated.

Mainly some students who were learning archery here, occasionally talked about this matter when they went out.

But when this rumor reached Old Man Song's ears, he immediately smelled something unusual.

So, here he comes...

However, he did not expect that he had concealed himself very well in disguise, but as soon as he appeared, he became the focus of many killers, both openly and secretly!
Because these killers all knew that the assassin might come today.

These killers also knew that the assassin had injured his leg when he broke out ten days ago.

then……

……

The place where Ba Tingzhang held the banquet was the east hall "Penglaichun" of "Hele Tower", and the west hall opposite it was called "Qingruoxu".

"Qing Ruoxu" is a collection of elegant rooms and small halls, beautifully decorated.

The wine vessels used here are all decorated with gold and silver and are extremely exquisite. Naturally, only dignitaries would come here to consume.

The two handsome scholars went upstairs and chose a smaller private room.

The waiter came in, announced the names of the dishes, listened to the few dishes they ordered, and then left.

Soon after, another bartender came in with a "roster" in his hand.

"The two gentlemen, please order..."

He opened the "flower roster" and revealed a portrait of a beautiful woman who looked very charming.

But he glanced around and saw the handsome young man who had just sat down...

Ah! It turned out to be a girl who changed her hairpin into a hat.

The bartender quickly glanced at the other "young man", who also had red lips, white teeth, and delicate features.

The bartender quickly closed the "roster" and said with a smile, "What kind of drinks would you like to order, gentlemen?"

The "young master" who sat down smiled and said, "We only drink tea, not wine."

"Yes, yes, yes. Please take a seat, then. I will take my leave."

The bartender quickly backed out.

The "young master" who was sitting down looked up at the other young master with a half-smile on his face.

"People have sent flower cards in, Mr. Liu, why don't you invite a beauty to have a few drinks with you?"

The young man standing there smiled and said, "I never order flower cards. They are too feminine."

It turned out that these two people were Yu Yao Nu and the king's brother-in-law Liu Shangqiu, who had become powerful figures in Lin'an.

Uncle Liu was so handsome that it was hard to tell whether he was androgynous, and the bartender misjudged him twice.

The first time he saw two young men entering a private room from afar, he came to sell girls to them.

When he discovered that the young man sitting there was actually wearing a hat and a hairpin, he only took a quick glance and ended up mistaking the real young man, Liu Shangqiu, for a woman dressed as a man.

In fact, it is because Liu Shangqiu has a feminine appearance and is too handsome.

If Mr. Liu changed into women's clothes, it would be hard to tell whether he was a man or a woman.

If ordinary people want to identify such people, the most important feature is the Adam's apple.

But in fact, it is not accurate either.

First of all, women also have Adam's apples, but they are generally not as obvious as men's.

Not all men have obvious Adam's apples. Many men's Adam's apples are almost invisible.

So, even the experienced bartender made the mistake.

After hearing what Liu Shangqiu said, Yuyaonu smiled sweetly.

She believed what Mr. Liu said.

In the lobby on the first floor of "Hele Building", there are three rows of flower stands on both sides just after entering the door.

Many girls sit on flower stands with "flower cards" hanging above their heads. Guests who come to drink can directly choose a girl they like and ask her to go upstairs to accompany them for a drink.

However, famous girls will not "order flower cards" on the flower stand on the first floor, but the customers will order from the "flower list".

When they first entered the "Hele Tower", even Yuyaonu, a woman, looked carefully at the girls waiting to "order flower cards" out of curiosity, but Liu Shangqiu did not even look away. He really would not be tempted by beauty.

This is also the reason why Miss Yuyao is fond of Liu Shangqiu.

Those who serve others with their beauty will lose their beauty but love their beauty.

She doesn't have a family of equal status to support her, and her appearance is not the best.

If Mr. Liu is interested in her, it is impossible that she can stay with him for a long time just because of her appearance.

Therefore, although Miss Yuyao is burdened by her fame and has received many invitations, as long as Liu Shangqiu invites her, she will gladly accept the invitation.

Today, she accepted Liu Shangqiu's invitation to tour the West Lake. After they had fun, Liu Shangqiu suggested having dinner at "He Le Lou", and she did not refuse.

In fact, Liu Shangqiu's meal here was suitable for both public and private purposes.

Liu Shangqiu had been keeping an eye on the people from Guoxin Institute, but as time went on, his target was destroyed along with "Zhiweitang".

Liu Shangqiu changed his target to Eunuch Li.

He was determined to make some achievements in politics to let the arrogant Mu Tiju and Commander Cao see them.

In order to avoid interference and intervention from these two people, he moved all his permanent institutions to "Chunfeng Building".

Anyway, in the eyes of others, not doing anything is the best result.

Liu Guojiu simply used the excuse of pursuing women as a cover to conduct the investigation intensively.

The leader of the "Qiyun Jinbiao Society" is holding a banquet here today, and Eunuch Li will also be invited.

After Liu Shangqiu got the news, he also came to "Hele Tower".

He really hopes to see such a pleasing scene as that at "Zhiweitang" happen again.

……

The East Hall is filled with guests celebrating the Spring of Penglai.

The couple Ba Tingzhang and Wan Fengyi welcomed the guests with smiles, full of joy.

But openly and covertly, the various characters disguised as the Three-Watch Killer were secretly on guard beneath their apparent leisurely appearance.

Especially the lame beggar squatting on the street opposite the building was their main target of attention.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food...

The banquet was very lively, but no accidents happened.

Many killers were waiting for the lame beggar to attack, but Old Man Song was also waiting for Yang Yuan to appear.

……

Taking advantage of the opportunity of toasting, Ba Tingzhang, Di Jiuzhou and Lu Zang quickly exchanged opinions.

Ba Tingzhang asked, "That person, he wouldn't be seriously injured and die, right?"

Di Jiuzhou said: "Maybe, he is just waiting for a better opportunity."

Madam Wan said, "Cousin, what you mean is..."

Di Jiuzhou smiled at her gently: "Cousin, he has failed once, if he wants to do it again, he will be extra careful.

"If I were him, I would wait until you guys are done singing and about to leave the restaurant by carriage or horse and then take action."

Madam Wan suddenly realized, "Yes, everyone was drunk at that time. When they were about to leave, their guard was also lowered. It was indeed a great opportunity."

Ba Tingzhang said with a dark face: "Then we should stay alert and keep a close eye on that lame beggar!" After that, he grabbed Madam Wan's wrist and pulled her away.

He didn't like his wife talking to his cousin. When they talked, Bashetou always felt that he was out of place, like an outsider.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

……

Yang Yuan stayed in the tool shed of the Qiyun Society's servant quarters until late at night, then slowly emerged from the pile of debris.

He had worked as a handyman in Qiyun Society for more than half a month and had long observed that no one ever stayed in the tool room. Even if there were people coming to pick up or deliver tools, they would just open the door, put down or pick up the tools and leave.

No one would even take a second look at the pile of junk inside, let alone flip through it.

Therefore, unless he was unlucky and someone happened to be looking for some uncommon tools, he would not be discovered hiding here.

He did not leave. There were already some "three-watch" killers lingering in the outer jungle. Would these people withdraw at night? Yang Yuan was not sure.

If I leave Qiyun Society, it will be difficult to come back.

Therefore, he deliberately chose to say hello to Tang Hou, who was delivering targets to the shooting range, and pretended to leave in a hurry.

Because Lord Tang was busy and had no time to see him off.

He took advantage of no one's attention and hid in the tool shed.

From the very beginning, he had no intention of going to "Hele Tower".

Although he did not have the wisdom of a demon, he could guess that Batingzhang was setting a trap to lure him.

He had already cheated Guoxin Institute once at "Zhiweitang", and ten days ago he alarmed "Qiyun Society" again.

He didn't think he would have any chance if he went to "He Le Lou".

With all his enemies gathered together, this opportunity was indeed rare, but he also had to be determined to fight for it.

Therefore, he simply did the opposite, taking advantage of the fact that all the important figures of Qiyun Society gathered in "He Le Tang",
Therefore, the most elite personnel of the "Qiyun Society", whose vigilance had been greatly reduced, were withdrawn to quietly infiltrate the inner courtyard of the "Qiyun Society".

The third courtyard of Qiyun Society, which is the inner courtyard guarded by the three-night killers, is the residential area for important figures of Qiyun Society.

Their families all live here, including parents, elders, wives, concubines, and children...

This is the living area, where the women in the inner house and the elderly and children live their daily lives.
So, there is no security in this yard.

Precisely because the inner house had such a tight outside and loose inside layout, when Yang Yuan carefully passed through the outer security and entered the living area, his movements became much easier.

Yang Yuan moved forward quietly, just as he did when he passed through the outer security zone, using the corners of buildings, the shadows of trees, the cover of flowers and plants, as well as the negligence and illusions that pedestrians could easily have, and quietly familiarized himself with the layout and structure of the inner residential building complex.

Finally, he chose a large house on the central axis of the rear residence and successfully sneaked in through the small ventilation window at the corner of the rear eaves.

Judging from the location of this big house, the layout of the rooms, as well as the calligraphy and paintings and plaques hanging on the walls, this is the meeting hall of the Qiyun Society.

Directly above the hall, there is a lintel made of fine mahogany with dark patterns carved on it.

There is a gap between the ceiling and the roof, large enough for one person to climb through.

The gap becomes wider towards the center, and right below the roof, the gap is large enough for people to sit there without feeling cramped.

Yang Yuan stopped here.

Since this is the meeting hall, then the three giants of Qiyun must have the opportunity to meet here.

Ba Tingzhang wanted to set up a trap in "He Le Lou".

Yang Yuan chose to "wait for the rabbit" in the heart of "Qiyun Jinbiao Society".

This time, he brought a knife, a crossbow, a bag of dried meat and a bag of water.

His method was stupid, but it was the best way to gather as many enemies as possible for his last fight.

……

The "Penglai Spring" banquet was over, but the assassin that so many people had been waiting for, both openly and secretly, did not show up.

The biggest suspicious person, Old Man Song, has been staying at the alley opposite to "Hele Building".

In just one night, Old Man Song received more than 170 or 180 coins in his broken bowl.

Beggars shouldn't have received so much money. It was mainly because some killers pretended to be tourists.
When they passed by Old Man Song in groups, they would always deliberately drop a few coins and take the opportunity to observe his actions.

But no matter how they looked at it, the lame old beggar was just a lame old beggar, and they didn't find anything suspicious.

When Ba Tingzhang and Madam Wan went downstairs and prepared to get in the car, he deliberately asked the bodyguards, both visible and hidden, to keep a distance from him. He wanted to create an opportunity for the assassin.

But until they got on the car, there was still no sign of trouble.

Madam Wan's plan of "luring the snake out of its hole" completely failed, which made her, who thought she was smart, feel a little embarrassed.

"Husband, I'm tired, let's go back now."

Madam Wan could only pretend to be casual and say something to Ba Ting Zhang, then leaned back on the chair.

Ba Tingzhang sighed softly and ordered: "Return to Qiyun Society!"

The horses and carriages rumbled and drove away slowly.

The two "doormen" in front of the "Hele Tower" looked at each other, with a look of regret on their faces.

The two of them were Guo Xuzhi and Yuan Chengju from the Imperial City Division.

They thought they could follow Deputy Commander Liu tonight and witness the exciting scene of Flying Hero killing people here again, what a pity...

The two men took one look at the gradually moving carriage convoy and went back to change their clothes dejectedly.

Old Man Song slowly picked up the broken bowl in front of him, poured the dozen or so large coins that someone had just dropped into it into his arms, then dragged his crippled leg and slowly walked away.

With so many killers staring at him, how could Old Man Song not know?

If Yang Yuan didn't show up, he would continue to wait. He was the kind of person who wouldn't release the eagle until he saw the rabbit!
……

Yang Yuan was lying on the ceiling under the roof of the meeting hall of the "Qiyun Society", half asleep and half awake.

He didn't know when he developed this sleeping habit.

This is how he survived the days when he disguised himself as a servant and slept in the servants' room.

He would stay alert at all times and never allow himself to fall into a deep sleep.

One reason is that he did it to deal with emergencies.

Secondly, they are worried that they might sleep too deeply and say something they shouldn’t in their sleep, which might be heard by people who get up at night.

This kind of sleep will, of course, cause people to suffer from severe sleep deprivation. No one can maintain this state all the time, otherwise the string of the body will break sooner or later.

But Yang Yuan could at least hold on for now, and he began to be in an excited state, even his light sleep was about to disappear.
He had to lie down for a long time before he felt sleepy.

He knew it was the excitement caused by high mental tension, but he couldn't overcome it.

When he woke up again, judging from the faint light coming in from all directions, it was already dawn.

Yang Yuan sat up and began to explore the top of his head carefully. When he was completely familiar with the position of the roof, he used a knife to carefully pry open a tile.

Yang Yuan only pried open a crack in the roof tiles, allowing a beam of light to come in, providing a little light in his tiny home, and then he stopped.

He ate some dried meat first, and then slowly soaked it in some water.

He didn't eat much or drink much because he wasn't sure how long he would have to stay here.

After finishing his meal and moistening his throat, he began to check his crossbow.

There are a total of twelve featherless arrows. One has been used before, so there are eleven arrows left.

However, it is enough. When a real fight comes, he may only have the chance to shoot one arrow.

Then, he had nothing to do again.

So, he changed his sleeping position and lay down, continuing to be in a daze...

(End of this chapter)