Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 20 Now
It was quiet at night. The fat man had fewer torches today than usual, and they were much dimmer.

Fei Zongxian sat down, took a sip of tea, and looked at the people in front of him.

"You all know why I asked you to come, right?"

These men were quite sturdy, with protruding bellies, Xianbei-style beards, and fierce eyes.

"Don't worry, Fatty. We all know that we are not rookies either."

Fei Zongxian said, "This time it's different. In the past, they were low-class people, so they were killed. But this time they are officials. If things go wrong, they will all lose their heads."

The expressions of those people remained unchanged.

"Please rest assured, someone has already told you."

Fei Zongxian nodded and said with a smile: "Then I won't say much. You can rest here for the time being. When the time is right, I will send someone to make arrangements."

"only!"

Several people bowed and left.

Only after they left did the servant dare to step forward.

"Master, there are many good people in the family, why use these outsiders? If the important matter is leaked, won't it be troublesome?"

Fei Zongxian glared at him, "Nonsense!"

"Do you think my brother-in-law sent these people to help me? Aren't they here to keep an eye on us?"

"I'm afraid that if I succeed this time, I'll be driven away."

"You were so kind when you asked me to collect calligraphy and paintings, but now that something has happened, you are eager to get rid of me."

The servant dared not say more, but only smiled and defended: "The chief priest may want to protect the master."

Fei Zongxian raised his head, his eyes full of grief.

"What a pity! Taozi is such a brave man, but I can't even make friends with him, and now I have to send him off. With these people watching, I can't hide him even if I want to."

Soon, his eyes became fierce again.

"This is all Lu Qubing's fault!"

"Damn it! I was so sincere to him, and he actually had the guts to go to my brother-in-law and tell him about me!"

The servant now dared to answer.

"Master, don't worry. I'm going to let him bleed this time and watch him struggle to death!"

Fei Zongxian grinned: "That's what it is!"

"This time when you lead people there, you must be more careful and must not be discovered. More than 30 people are still too conspicuous. If they are seen by the Xianbei people, it will be troublesome."

"You are only allowed to succeed. If you fail, your entire clan will die with you."

"Master, don't you trust me? There are more than 30 of us, fully armed, and it's a surprise attack. Let alone killing two people, it's more than enough to massacre an entire village!"

Fei Zongxian nodded with satisfaction.

"Okay, okay, when you return victorious, I will give you some fine wine!"

The servant said goodbye and left.

Fei Zongxian stood at the door, looking into the distance, and sighed again: "What a pity."

"The best stuff."

A cold wind blew past, blowing away Fei Zongxian's sigh and blowing the tiles.

On the roof, Kou Liu pressed his body tightly against the tiles, his forehead once again covered with fine beads of sweat.

These people did not deliberately lower their voices.

Kou Liu heard it clearly and was sweating profusely.

There was no sound in the house, with occasional flashes of light everywhere, but Kou Liu was lying there, motionless.

When the cold wind blew again, the tiles rustled, but the man on the tiles was gone.

Under the night sky, there was only a dark shadow, flying over the eaves and walls, leaving behind a trail of afterimage.

"Squeak~~"

The wooden door was pushed open.

The next moment, a big hand had tightly grasped Kou Liu's neck, and half of his face was covered by the slap.

"It's me! It's me!"

Lu Qubing woke up from his sleep and lit the lamp in a hurry.

He looked up.

Taozi was pinching Kou Liu's neck. Kou Liu was dressed in black and his face turned red from being pinched.

"Okay! It's you! The fat pig sent you to kill me?!"

Lu Qubing was furious and quickly took out the sword that was on the bed.

"I have something important to tell you!"

Taozi quickly let go of her hand, and Kou Liu was able to breathe smoothly. He rubbed his neck, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"You bastard! What else is there to say? I will arrest you and bring you to justice now!"

"I'm here to save you! Fei Zongxian is going to send someone to kill you!"

"Ha! You finally admitted it!"

Taozi looked at Lu Qubing suddenly. Lu Qubing paused and stopped talking.

Liu Taozi then looked at Kou Liu, "What's the matter?"

"I went to Fei Zongxian's house today and found that he was colluding with the chief priest. He wanted to gather more than 30 people, fully armed, to attack and kill you two!" "What nonsense!"

Lu Qubing interrupted him again.

"Who is Cui Jijiu? How could he collude with Fei Zongxian?"

"This is clearly Fei Zongxian's plan to sow discord!"

"Taozi, we caught him."

Liu Taozi glanced at him and shook her head, "No need to say more."

"Kou Liu, go back and tell Fei Zongxian not to use any tricks and wait for the punishment from the chief priest."

Kou Liu's eyes widened, "I was not sent by Fei Zongxian! Do they really want to..."

He met Taozi's gaze and suddenly realized something. He closed his mouth, said nothing more, and turned away.

Lu Qubing became even angrier, "Why are you stopping me?"

"Don't interfere, don't go looking for the chief priest, just take care of your own business."

Taozi said this and lay down on the bed again.

Lu Qubing's face was full of disbelief, "Are you doubting the chief priest???"

"Do you know who the chief priest is? He is from the Bo Ling Cui family! His father is the former Minister of the Central Secretariat, Cui Huayang! A famous scholar of morality!"

"If his father hadn't been expelled from the party, why would he be here as a priest?"

"He is a simple, talented, and generous person. He is a first-class celebrity. Just because of Hu Er's words, you are going to doubt such a person?"

Taozi said calmly, "Since he is such a famous scholar, why bother involving him in this dirty matter? Let's wait until he has dealt with Fei Zongxian first."

Lu Qubing wanted to argue a few more words, but Taozi had already closed her eyes and started snoring like she was most familiar with.

Lu Qubing had no choice but to lie down, but he kept mumbling.

After a while, Lu Qubing fell asleep again.

Taozi got up and left the room.

When Liu Taozi walked into Kou Liu's room, Kou Liu was sitting on the bed, waiting for his arrival.

"Brother."

Liu Taozi sat opposite him.

"Tell me carefully."

Kou Liu told Taozi everything he had heard today, without leaving out anything.

Liu Taozi pondered for a moment, "Do you have a grudge against Fei Zongxian?"

Kou Liu gritted his teeth, his face grim, "This guy stole my family's things! He just took away the things my ancestors left for me!"

"Those things must have been stolen from others by your ancestors. It's nothing."

Kou Liu paused, "Maybe so. But those are the things my father valued the most. Since he passed away, my mother would take them out to look at them every day, as she would remember him by looking at them."

"This bastard sent people to beat up my mother and stole three paintings. My mother cried all day and said it was hard for her to face my father."

"No matter what, I'm going to get my things back, and then take his head off while I can!"

"And the man surnamed Cui, he asked Fei Zongxian to rob calligraphy and paintings for him. Fei Zongxian has robbed many times in recent days, but I didn't find anything in his house."

"So, this is all in the hands of the priest!!"

Liu Taozi asked again: "If that's the case, why don't you just sneak into Fei Zongxian's mansion, but come to the county school?"

Kou Liu pursed his lips and said bitterly: "Not only the calligraphy and paintings, but also all the property in the house was taken away and there is no way to pay the labor service."

"it is good."

Liu Taozi said, "Help me get a knife."

"Knife? What do you need a knife for? Don't you have a sword?"

"That is Lu Qubing's sword. There is no need to involve him in this matter."

Kou Liu nodded quickly, "Yes, this guy is no different from Fei Zongxian and the others, they are all the same kind of people, I can't trust them at all!"

But soon, he became embarrassed again.

"But Cheng'an is different from other places. Not to mention swords and knives, even daggers for cutting meat cannot be brought into the city. Where can I get a knife?"

Liu Taozi narrowed her eyes.

"I do know a place. Go inside the East City Gate. There is a restaurant with three old trees inside."

"I have some impression that there seems to be such a restaurant, which has been open for quite some time."

"You want me to get the kitchen knife from there?"

"No, I used a knife to kill people, to behead people."

"The owner of this restaurant is an old friend of mine. He has everything here. I also know where they hide their weapons. But you have to be careful. There are many skilled fighters there. Don't get yourself into trouble."

"Brother Liu, don't worry about that! I've been in this business for so many years and I've never failed!"

"As long as that restaurant has what you mentioned, I can bring it back to you!"

"Just, when do you want it?"

Liu Taozi raised her head and looked at the starry sky.

"Now."

(End of this chapter)