Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 7 Pull the arrow and ask for directions

"go!"

Liu Taozi turned and ran in another direction.

Several old farmers were stunned, picked up their bags tremblingly, and quickly followed Taozi.

The road is very clean.

Various buildings are intertwined on both sides, and there is only this one road leading to a strange and distant place, and there is absolutely no possibility of taking a detour.

There was complete silence, and only the sound of their heavy footsteps could be heard.

Fortunately, the sound of horse hooves could no longer be heard.

I don’t know how long I walked, the sky became darker, the buildings on both sides became gloomier, and the sound of horse hooves sounded again from behind me.

"Overtaken, Overtaken"

Taozi stopped and looked to the side.

On the left hand side, there is a wooden board hanging at the door of a courtyard, with the word "food" written on it.

"Boom, bang."

Liu Taozi knocked on the door gently.

No one answered.

Liu Taozi spread out his hand.

"Boom! Boom!"

It was still quiet outside the door.

Liu Taozi clasped his hands into a fist.

“Boom!! Boom!!”

"Coming! Coming!"

Finally, a shout was heard from inside. After a rustling sound, the wooden door slowly opened, revealing only half a body's size, and a person poked his head out.

The man was not very old. He was holding a candle. His smooth face was covered with acne marks. He had one eye, one big and one small, and was staring at Liu Taozi.

"What's the matter?"

"Have a meal."

"Break!"

The man retracted his head and was about to close the door. Liu Taozi grabbed the wooden door with both hands and exerted force suddenly. The boy was dragged out and hit Liu Taozi's chest. He covered his head and screamed strangely.

Liu Taozi strode into the yard, followed by the other three, and Taozi closed the door.

His back was almost pressed against the door, and he was able to block the entire door by himself.

Loud horse hoof sounds came from outside the door. Several old farmers held their breath and did not move. Even the servant did not dare to speak at this moment. The scene was suddenly paused.

Only when the sound of horse hooves faded away did the servant raise his head, run to Liu Taozi, stick his head out, and angrily ask, "What are you doing?!"

"Food and lodging."

"We're closed! We're closed! And you can't stay here! Get out! Get out!"

The servant put his hands on Liu Taozi's chest and pushed her out with all his might.

Liu Taozi lowered her head and stared at him, motionless. The boy gritted his teeth, his face flushed red.

"How dare you be so rude to a guest?!"

Someone called out to him and the servant stopped.

A middle-aged man suddenly appeared in front of Liu Taozi. He was wearing a satin long gown, with his hair tied up and a crown on his head. He had a long beard and had an ordinary appearance, but was quite elegant.

The man politely saluted Liu Taozi and looked at the three old farmers standing on his left and right.

The yard was empty except for two desks. There was a gate on the left leading to the toilet in the backyard, which was locked.

"I failed to discipline him and caused him to offend our distinguished guests. Please come in."

The shopkeeper spoke up.

Liu Taozi looked behind him and saw that there was only one door in the inner room in front of him.

At this moment, the door was open, but it was pitch black inside and there was no candle lit.

"I dare not call myself a distinguished guest. I am just a country bumpkin. I came to the market with a wealthy family and got separated. It is already dark, so I want to stay here for one night."

"We will just stay in this courtyard and leave at dawn tomorrow. Is that okay with you?"

The shopkeeper stroked his beard with a smile, "Did you have any problem?"

"No."

"Then I'm afraid it's inconvenient to stay here."

"I'll give you ten cents each. You can stay in the yard until dawn and then leave."

The shopkeeper smiled politely and said, "I don't think you are a rude person. Please listen to me."

"My restaurant cannot accommodate guests. You have done nothing wrong, so you cannot even have a meal. If someone reports you, won't you have to go to the authorities?"

“I am a man of duty and dare not break the law.”

"Besides, I have a family with both old and young people, and I rely on this shop to make a living. Please don't make things difficult for us. Thank you for your forgiveness."

Liu Taozi looked at the door dimly. The dark inner room opened its mouth, ready to devour someone. A black shadow flashed by the window.

He looked down at the store owner.

"Then I'll have to trouble the store owner to carry me out."

The servant was so angry that he jumped up and down, "You scoundrel! Do you really think we are easy to bully?!"

The shop owner's face turned gloomy. He looked at Liu Taozi quietly without saying a word.

Liu Taozi didn't take it seriously, and turned around and ordered, "Put the things down, rest in this yard tonight, and go look for him tomorrow."

The three old farmers put down their sacks and stood timidly behind Liu Taozi with their heads lowered. Feeling they were in the wrong, they did not dare to look the two men in the eye.

Liu Taozi found a flat piece of land, picked up a few small stones, used the bundle as a pillow, and fell asleep. The three old farmers curled up beside Liu Taozi, only daring to sit down with their heads down.

The shopkeeper watched Liu Taozi lie down as if no one was around, then stood for a long time, turned around and walked into the inner room, and the servant also went in with him.

They did not lock the inner door.

It was already dark, and the inner room visible from the door was even darker. The old tenant felt terrified, as if something was staring at him in the darkness.

There was the sound of horse hooves outside, accompanied by screams and roars.

Sometimes, the sound of horse hooves seemed to be right next to them, and several people were so frightened that they trembled, gritted their teeth, and tried hard not to make any sound.

Liu Taozi lay flat on the ground, snoring loudly.

"Brother Tao?"

"Brother Tao~~"

The old farmer lowered his trembling voice.

"Hmm~hmm?"

"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down. There are cavalry."

"Well"

When Liu Taozi was shaken awake, it was already daybreak.

The three old farmers looked haggard and had red eyes. They sat huddled beside Liu Taozi with their backs against the courtyard wall.

In this fear, the three of them did not sleep all night.

Liu Taozi sat up and stretched her body.

The door of the house was closed at some point, but the gate to the yard was open.

The meaning of the bomber is already very clear.

Liu Taozi packed up the package, took out the money from his sleeve, counted it, and put forty coins on the table beside him.

He was about to go out with a few people, but suddenly stopped and walked to the door of the house. Before he knocked, the shopkeeper opened the door.

The elegance on the shop owner's face was gone, he looked just as haggard, with red and swollen eyes and a face full of anger.

"Don't go too far!!"

"What else do you want?!"

"Lashi, ask for directions."

The group returned to the road.

"Should we go back to the fork and take another look?"

asked the old farmer.

Liu Taozi didn't answer, but just walked forward.

From here on, the empty city is finally not empty.

Smoke rose from the buildings on both sides.

Someone was walking hurriedly on the road and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The pedestrians seemed to be in a hurry. They kept their heads down and never looked around. When they saw strangers, they would immediately run away as if they had encountered a ferocious beast.

Liu Taozi wanted to find someone to ask for directions, but couldn't find anyone.

In the distance, a few people gathered together, whispering something.

Liu Taozi walked forward and realized that there were strangers approaching, so those people quickly scattered.

This is a wooden post with a notice on it.

Liu Taozi read the notice carefully.

The three tenants could not read, so the old farmer asked, "Brother Tao, what does this notice say?"

"It says that we don't need to look for Zhang Chengcheng."

"Ah? Tao Ge'er, don't scare us. How can he be mentioned in the county notice?"

"The notice said that yesterday the county patrol led troops to attack and killed a group of bandits, beheading six of them, and solved the problem of bandits on the road."

When the old farmer heard this, he laughed at first and was about to say something, but suddenly he realized something.

His face was pale, and suddenly all the color was gone.

"not"

"Then us"

Last night they were just frightened, but at this moment, their souls were sucked out and they stood there without saying a word.

"Without a pass, you can't enter or leave the city, and you have nowhere to stay."

All they could think of was this hopeless situation, not even dreaming of a solution.

Liu Taozi looked into the distance, where she could see the eaves of an ornately decorated mansion.

"I'll go get a new one and send you out first, then I'll continue with my business."

After Taozi said this, she headed in that direction.

The three of them just followed him silently, like soulless puppets.

The place Liu Taozi asked the shopkeeper about was the county government office and the county school, and this was the county government office.

The county government office is an independent mansion, not adjacent to any other buildings on either side. It covers a very large area and has several courtyard gates alone. All of these doors are open, like the mouth of a ferocious beast, waiting for its prey to walk in.

"Wait for me here, don't move."

"I'll be back soon."

Liu Taozi strode towards the door.

ps: In this month, the emperor was at a horse shooting competition in the east of the city, and ordered all women in the capital to come and watch. Those who did not come would be punished by military law for seven days. ——"Book of Northern Qi·Annals of Wenxuan"

(End of this chapter)