Except for stealing

Yesterday was sunny and clear, but today is overcast and rainy.

During this period of time, we traveled day and night, the rain became heavier as we went south, and it became more humid and hot. After a day of driving in the rain, as night approached, we finally arrived at an inn.

Now that he has entered Wuling County, he is not in a hurry.

The inn is located in the wilderness on the edge of Wuling County, and there are no people in the front and back thirty miles, so most people who pass this road will rest here, otherwise they will sleep in the wild.

The door was pushed open, and the rain was wrapped in the wind and swept into the hall. The candles burning in the hall were blown flutteringly by the wind, and everyone who was eating looked over.

No one spoke, they all looked at the sudden intruder vigilantly.The lights in the store were dim, and the candles flickered on and off. The old woman held her crying grandson in her arms, and the people sitting by the window had already touched their swords quietly.

At the door, several people wearing hats and hats came in.

A glaring light flashed outside the door, followed by thunderclaps like thunderbolts, and rain pouring down.A few people probably walked for a long time at night, the wind and dust were heavy, and the rainwater slid down the edge of the bamboo hat. Looking carefully, the few people had sharp eyes, strong bodies, and swords at their waists. Been looking at the store for a week.

The shop clerk squinted his eyes and looked at the people for a moment, and deftly twirled the freshly wiped teacup with his fingertips, and glanced at the counter. In a silent stalemate, the shopkeeper behind the counter who was thinking about it scolded: "Stupid!" What are you doing, greet the guests!"

The second brother threw the rag over his shoulder, bowed his waist and greeted him courteously: "Is it better to be a guest officer or to stay in a hotel?"

Pei Yan took off the bamboo hat, stared at him with dark eyes, and said coldly: "What do you think?"

The second brother was taken aback for a moment, and then reacted very quickly and said: "The store is already full, only the shop separated by the firewood room at the back is left, but it's already occupied..."

He pointed to the four or five men dressed in Jianghu sitting by the window, wondering: "Need to share with someone."

Pei Yan said: "It doesn't matter."

In the lobby, only the two tables near the door were left empty, and the eyes of the few people who were focused on them were taken away after they were seated.

Several people took off their coir raincoats and bamboo hats. Jia Er secretly looked at the dilapidated inn that was almost obvious at a glance, and said in a low voice, "Is your lord being overwhelmed? I don't think there is anything unusual about this inn."

Shen Yiqing pushed the missing teacup away with some disgust, and said: "Master Pei has a good nose since he was a child, and he said that the smell of blood in this shop can be smelled from a mile away, so it must be There will be no difference."

Pei Yan looked at him, with a hidden smile in his eyes, and said: "What can you see?"

Shen Yiqing caught a cold walking this way, sneezed, and said, "I see that if you hadn't worn official boots, you would have been slaughtered like a fat sheep."

Wang Biao raised his thick eyebrows: "How can you see that?"

Jia Er laughed, and said: "Mr. Shen has good eyesight. The waiter first looked at the jade pendant protruding from Mr. Shen's waist, then at the white jade crown on Mr. Pei's hair, and exchanged glances with the shopkeeper standing behind the counter. .”

"Huh?" Wang Biao asked, "Why didn't I see it?"

"Just glanced at it, it's not because you stared at it all the time or you couldn't see it." Jia Er took a sip of his tea and said, "After the shopkeeper shook his head, he saw the adult's official boots, and his eyes immediately changed. gone."

These subtle movements only happen in a moment, and it is difficult for ordinary people to notice.

Wang Biao immediately clenched his saber, widened his tiger eyes vigilantly, and said in a low voice, "Is this really a black shop?"

Shen Yiqing shook his head, and said, "I don't know, the smell of blood might be the result of the store killing pigs and cattle. Even if it's not a black shop, it's not uncommon to open a shop to welcome customers and judge their identities by observing their words and expressions."

Jia Er looked at Pei Yan.

Pei Yan said: "Be safe and don't be impatient, go check it out at night and you'll find out."

Just at this time, the second brother came over with wine and food, and the conversation stopped.

The dishes in the wilderness are naturally not as good as those in Chang'an, but they smell delicious. The big steamed buns just out of the cage are hot, and the sauced beef is attractive in color.

The little second brother greeted with a smile on his face: "Guest officer, take it easy."

Shen Yiqing didn't have the appetite to eat, he was raised with rich clothes and fine food, and he was raised coquettishly, and he lost his appetite when he saw the years of grease and dirty dishes on the table.

He took Pei Yan's bag and rummaged through it, and found the cakes he bought when he passed by the town in the morning.

Jia Er took a bun and bit his mouth, tasted it for a while, couldn't help raising his eyebrows, and said: "Young Master Shen, don't eat that sweet cake, try this bun."

Wang Biao also took a bite when he heard the words, and praised: "I have never eaten such a delicious bun."

Shen Yiqing took off the water bag on Pei Yan's waist, took a big sip, and said carelessly: "What is this? When I get back to Chang'an, I invite you to Mingyue Tower to eat."

Jia Er smiled and said: "Then this meal can be written down. If you don't invite us, we will come to ask for it."

Shen Yiqing has always been generous in his actions, although he is squeamish but not hypocritical, this is the reason why he can get along well with this group of policemen these days as a dude.

Pei Yan didn't eat either. Seeing that Jia Er and Wang Biao were eating well, he didn't have the slightest appetite.The smell of blood in the store was strong, and he had a keen sense of smell. Others couldn't smell it, but it was very pungent to him.

Shen Yiqing bit the pastry slowly, and said, "You don't need to wait to go back to Chang'an, but to Wuling County..."

Before he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked behind him. Not only him, but the whole room looked in the direction of the innermost corner.

The lobby of this inn is quite spacious, with seven or eight tables, all of which are full of people, there are walking businessmen, people from the world, and a few ordinary people.

There was thunder and lightning outside the door, and strong winds and showers kept beating the only shelter in the wilderness.

In the lobby, I thought of an earth-shattering cry of a child, causing many people to frown.

The corner table had a broken leg and could only be placed against the wall. There was no food on the table, only a small bowl.

Sitting at the table was an old gray-haired woman with a swaddling baby in her arms, and voices were coming from inside.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she nodded at them in a flustered manner, shaking the child in her arms, coaxing her in a low voice.

"Xiaoer!" A middle-aged man slapped his chopsticks on the table, and said impatiently, "You still won't let people eat?"

The man who spoke was about forty years old, and looked very rich in clothes. There were three or four people in the company, all dressed as merchants.At this time, his thick eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked at the crying baby and the old woman with disgust, and said coldly: "Beggars can also eat under the same roof as others, so drive them out, or I will smash you!" shop?"

Shen Yiqing frowned, looked at the skinny second brother, saw him coming over to pour tea for him, and smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, sir, this small shop doesn't charge money anymore, look at the rain outside It’s so big, small and old, there’s no shelter, and it’s easy to die, so you can help me.”

Unexpectedly, the man was not moved by these words, but became even more angry. He knocked the teacup on the table to the ground, and said, "Your lord, I care about the money for the meal?"

The tea cup hit the ground heavily, the sound of shattering exploded together with the sudden thunder, and the people in the room fell silent.

Porcelain shards splashed from the ground, and a piece of the side face of the younger brother was brushed, leaving a bloodstain immediately.

A flash of lightning flashed by, and his eyes were suddenly blinded for a moment. Shen Yiqing clearly saw a hint of gloom flashing in the eyes of the hunched waiter, and Xia Sanbai's eyes were fixed on the man, which made people feel shocked.

But only at that moment, when Shen Yiqing wanted to take a closer look, he saw the shop boy wiped his face nonchalantly, quickly took a new teacup from the table beside him and put it on again, and said with an apologetic smile: "Please calm down, guest officer."

Before he could finish his words, the teacup that had just been replaced fell to the ground.

Shen Yiqing really couldn't see it, stood up abruptly, and said angrily: "I want to see who is so delicate, you can smash another one and show me!"

The middle-aged man looked over and snorted coldly, "Mind your own business!"

The toddler in the corner was frightened to silence just now, and now he started crying again, Yue Mo was so frightened that his crying was even louder than before.

The man looked over and said coldly: "Kick them out, or I will smash this shop today."

The little second brother looked at the shopkeeper behind the counter in embarrassment. The candles at the counter were dim, and the shopkeeper never came out from behind.

He didn't raise his head despite all the commotion in the lobby, his face was hidden in the shadows, and he couldn't see his face clearly.

The old woman over there knelt down on the ground in fear, hugged the child, and said: "The child is just hungry, and he will stop crying when he falls asleep. Please do me a favor..."

The crying of a child is indeed disturbing, sharp and thin, as if piercing into someone's ear.

Ordinarily, it’s okay to be a little compassionate. The man didn’t even get up from the stool. Facing the poor old man, he knelt down and begged him, and he condescended to let go: “Just throw the child out. That's it."

Wang Biao was a grumpy man, he slapped the table angrily, got up suddenly with a knife.

"Zheng!"

A cold light flashed, and the middle-aged man suddenly stopped talking.

The ice blade rested on his neck, and several broken filaments fell slowly.

The people in the same company got up one after another, but they didn't dare to move. The man sat stiffly on the spot, looking up slowly along the ice blade.

The one holding the sword was a handsome, cold-faced boy of seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in dark blue clothes, dressed in a Jianghu style, his hand holding the sword was steady, his eyes were indifferent, his dark eyes stared at him, and he slowly opened his eyes. lips, and said contemptuously: "I want to see who is going out today."

Wang Biao praised: "It's a man!"

That young man was one of the five quacks sitting by the window.

Legend has it that people in the Jianghu are always happy to be kind and friendly, and they draw their swords to help when the road is uneven. This is the first time Shen Yiqing has seen it.

Pei Yan looked at Shen Yiqing's side face, followed his gaze, pursed his lips lightly, then lowered his eyes, and slowly took a sip of cold water.

The man's pale face was reflected on the cold blade, and the arrogance and arrogance just now disappeared completely. He held his breath and dared not move, and said like a mosquito, "I have something to say."

The young man narrowed his eyes, moved the sword closer, and cut a trace of blood on his neck. When the man was almost trembling with fright, he said lightly, "Get out."

"Okay, okay, I'll get out." The man said with his neck stiff.

"It's raining so hard outside, and it's windy and thunderous. Who can bear it?" The second brother hurriedly smoothed things over, saying, "The guest officials have all calmed down the fire. I'm going to prepare food for the children."

The boy glanced coldly at the second brother, and then looked at the middle-aged man. After a while, he put away his sword and said coldly: "If you hear your dog barking again, don't blame me for having no eyes."

The middle-aged man lay down on the table without any strength, and he really didn't say a word.

The second brother ran into the back kitchen, and the shop was bustling again. Two kind women helped the old woman up.

Shen Yiqing walked through the lobby and walked to the side of the old woman, and saw her holding a chopstick to feed the crying and tired child.

There was no food on the crude table, only a small bowl filled with half a bowl of clear water. The old woman dipped her chopsticks in the water and fed the thin baby who was still in swaddling clothes.

Shen Yiqing was born in a heap of brocade and jade, and had never seen any suffering in the world, so she felt sad and put the pastry in her hand on the table.

The old woman looked up, she seemed to have bad eyesight, squinted her small eyes to look at Shen Yiqing for a moment, and then thanked Shen Yiqing in fear: "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."

Shen Yiqing said: "It doesn't matter."

He leaned down, poked the child's face, raised his lips and said, "What a beautiful child."

The child seemed to understand what he said, with tears still hanging from his big eyes, but he smiled sweetly at him.

Shen Yiqing straightened up happily, turned around with a smile and shouted: "Pei Yan, look, he is smiling at me."

His eyes were bright, and his clear eyes were full of smiles. He was tall and tall, his face was like a crown of jade, and his lips were like rouge. His bright smile attracted the attention of many people.

Pei Yan raised her eyes and bent her lips towards him.

The shop of the inn is in the backyard, there is no extra furnishings inside, only a low couch is spread from the east end of the wall to the west end of the wall, and the mats on it are dirty and moldy.

There were a few oil lamps in the room, but they were not too bright. When a few people entered, there were already people in the room.

It was those people from the rivers and lakes who were sitting or standing talking in the inner bunk on the east side, and they didn't stop when they saw a few people coming in, but Shen Yiqing could clearly feel their vigilant eyes secretly looking over.

It was raining heavily outside the house, and the cool air drifted in through the cracks of the window, which just eased the heat and the unpleasant smell of sweat in the house.

Jia Er leaned over, put his hand on the knife at his waist, and said in a low voice: "My lord, shall I take the two brothers out to have a look?"

Pei Yan shook his head, and said: "Wait a little longer, go in the dead of night."

Shen Yiqing listened for a while, feeling a little bored, turned around and saw a few people sitting around and playing dice.

He got a little interested, stood up with his legs propped up, and walked over.

Seeing him coming, several people stopped their movements and looked at each other for a moment. A thin man with a green beard asked politely, "Is there something wrong, little brother?"

Shen Yiqing smiled with his eyes bent, pointed at the dice with his slender fingers, and said, "Can you count me as one of the big brothers, it's really itchy."

The man seemed to be stunned. Before he could say anything, a rough and bold voice next to him laughed and said, "There's nothing wrong with it, I'm just afraid that you will renege on your debt if you lose!"

Except for the cold-faced young man who shot in the lobby just now, everyone laughed.

Shen Yiqing raised his chin, and hummed softly: "My son has a lot of money!"

He picked an empty seat and sat down, and said, "Come on, how about a gamble?"

When Pei Yan looked over, Shen Yiqing had already had fun with the group of people, calling his brothers very happy.

Jia Er laughed and said, "Young Master Shen is really playful."

Pei Yan lay down without saying a word, with his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

The rain didn't seem to stop, it blocked all the noise from the outside, the room was noisy, and there was a lot of fun over there.

Pei Yan's closed eyes suddenly opened, and then the door of the firewood room was pushed open.

Jia Er walked in with two brothers.

Pei Yan sat up and saw Jia Er shook his head at him.

Jia Er took off his coir raincoat and said, "I've searched everything inside and out, and there's nothing unusual about it."

Pei Yan frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm overthinking."

It was already midnight at this time, Pei Yan looked at Shen Yiqing, and saw that he was still shaking the dice in high spirits.

Jia Er saw it and said: "Call Mr. Shen back, we have to hurry tomorrow."

Pei Yan lay down, closed his eyes, and said lightly, "No need."

Jia Er and the others looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, stopped talking, packed their things and fell asleep.

Shen Yiqing lost a lot of money and was also sleepy. He didn't know what time it was, but seeing that the wax had burned to the bottom, he yawned and waved his hands, saying: "I won't play with you anymore, I'm going to sleep gone."

The man with the green beard is about thirty years old, his surname is Li, although he is from Jianghu, he speaks and does things very elegantly and politely, seeing that he is sleepy, he said: "It's late at night, little brother Shen, go to sleep."

The rough-spoken man just now was tall and strong, and he had a carefree temper. There were only two losers this night, he and Shen Yiqing. ?”

Shen Yiqing stretched her waist, walked outside, and said, "If I keep my clothes, I will lose all of them."

Everyone laughed.

He rubbed his sore eyes, he didn't pay attention to his feet, suddenly he tripped over something, his body swayed, and he was about to fall, his arm was held by someone.

He looked up and saw that it was the cold-faced boy.

Just now he had been watching from the side with his sword in his arms, he didn't play with them, and Shen Yiqing didn't say anything to him.

Shen Yiqing stood firm, a little sober from sleepiness, and thanked with a smile: "Thank you, brother."

The boy let go, nodded at him with cold eyes, and sat back.

He quietly climbed up to Pei Yan's side, and looked carefully at Pei Yan with his eyes closed for a while by the candlelight. There was a flash of evil in his eyes, and he suddenly fell down and threw himself on top of him.

Pei Yan opened his eyes, there was no trace of sleepiness in his eyes, he pursed his lips lightly and looked at him without speaking.

Shen Yiqing lay on his chest with a smile, and whispered: "Pei Yan, I'm sleepy."

Pei Yan pushed him away, turned his back to him, and said in a muffled voice: "Sleep if you're sleepy, what are you doing to me?"

Shen Yiqing lay beside him and closed her eyes obediently.

Pei Yan waited for a while but didn't wait for him to speak again, so she couldn't help turning around to see that he was already asleep.

In the early morning, the Qingyue birdsong woke people up. After a night of rain, it finally stopped, and the morning sun shone in through the window.Everyone in this room got up very early and was full of energy, only Shen Yiqing was so sleepy that he couldn't keep his eyes open.

Shen Yiqing yawned step by step and followed Pei Yan out the door, wandering all the way to the lobby.

The few people over there saw Shen Yiqing's sluggish appearance, and joked with a smile: "Brother Shen didn't sleep well last night?"

They all have kung fu, and it doesn't matter if they don't sleep all night. Shen Yiqing sat at the table, propped his cheeks with his hands, half-closed his eyes and said in a daze: "I think it will be dawn as soon as I lie down."

His appearance was really cute, which made Jia Er and the others and the gangsters laugh.

The horses were also full, and they were on their way in the early morning before it got hot.

The morning wind brings moist water vapor, and the smell of soil and vegetation is fragrant. Looking around, you can see greenery everywhere.

Pei Yan got on the horse neatly, he looked at Shen Yiqing's outstretched hand with a cold expression, and pulled him up.

There was a sound of whipping, and a mess of horseshoes whizzed past.

"Brother Chen, we're going ahead!" The voice was like a bell, full of air, and several people in the company laughed and said, "Farewell!"

Shen Yiqing clapped his hands at their backs, and said, "Farewell, farewell!"

In the blink of an eye, those people from the rivers and lakes gradually disappeared at the end of the road with misty grass and trees.

Shen Yiqing leaned against Pei Yan's chest and said in a hoarse voice: "Steady yourself, I'm very sleepy."

The horse took a few steps on the spot, Pei Yan looked down at the drowsy man with closed eyes, and said softly, "Got it."

Last night's guests also came out of the inn one after another. This inn is a place to welcome guests from all over the world. After a short stay, they went their separate ways.

The horseshoes splashed the accumulated rain on the ground. After passing the Shangguan Road here, we will soon arrive at Wuling County.