Chapter 79 Chapter Seventy-Ninth Qingyun Inn (1)

  Huo Xiao's drowsiness vanished instantly, and he hastily listened carefully, only to hear someone quarreling in the front hall of the Da Dao Inn.

  "Kong Biao Tou, there are only five or six guests here, what thief is there?"

  "Cut the nonsense! This inn is called Da Dao, and you're a big thief! If I don't investigate you, who will?"

  "Constable Bao, with this kind of investigation, I won't be able to keep my small shop open anymore! You've scared all the customers away!"

  "Go away! You still owe my family's Master Wang money, and you can't even pay it back. I think you should sell this rundown inn as soon as possible, pay back the debt, and find another way to make a living!"

  "Master Wang said there's no need to rush..."

  "Fart, Old Master Wang is not in a hurry, that's because Old Master Wang is kind! What am I doing? You don't pay back the money, I'm the one who's anxious! Get out of here! Come and search! Search every room! How dare you steal things in Wang's village! I'll see which damned thief has eaten bear heart and leopard gall to be so bold on my turf!"

  In the front hall of the Da Dao Inn, a dozen or so people were shouting and searching everywhere, their footsteps loud and heavy, causing the house to shake and creak, while curses and shouts filled the air.

  Huo Xiao turned towards the window and saw that several second-floor guest rooms had already lit up, with people's shadows flickering inside, accompanied by the sounds of quarrels and commotion.

  Huo Xiao Yizheng felt strange and then heard several people walking towards the woodshed in big strides, shouting along the way.

  "Is there anyone living in the hut?"

  "Alright, alright, a young man from out of town." The shopkeeper replied cautiously.

  "This is terrible, if they search here, I really can't explain it to them. Dammit, I won't even be able to sleep soundly. Thirty-six strategies, fleeing is the best strategy! I'm out of here!"

  Huoxiao Ye took a last glance out of the window of the woodshed, and this one look was not reassuring. He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Behind a sturdy and fierce-looking big man, there were three men wearing the same clothes as the Wang family's escorts, among whom was an older middle-aged man who didn't stand out. The moonlight was bright, and Huoxiao Ye saw clearly that this middle-aged man was actually Zhang Siye from Fengtian City!

  Zhang Siye's majestic demeanor, although not visible at this time, seemed like a follower, but with Huo Xiaoxie's memory, even if Zhang Siye showed just a glimpse of his head, Huo Xiaoxie could still recognize him!

  Zhang Siye followed the big man into the backyard, walking towards the woodshed. Although he didn't show any expression, his presence was intimidating, and Huo Xiaoxiao's heart was racing wildly. What was strange, however, was that Zhang Siye had a new burn mark on his face, about the size of a palm, and half of his hair was shaved off, as if he had been burned by fire.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié didn't have time to think carefully, hastily retreated to one side, and quickly glanced around the woodshed. Except for the large window in front of him, there were two small windows on both sides of the house at a high place, and below them was a pile of messy firewood, with no foothold.

  The fire is small but spreading quickly, and the sweat is pouring down like rain. If you go out through the main window, you will be caught on the spot, and if you climb up to the small window, it may already be too late!

  The burly man who led Zhang Siye into the backyard was Kong Biao, the head of the Wang family compound in Wangjiabao. Although Kong Biao was only a member of the Wang family compound, he was actually equivalent to the "police chief" in Wangjiabao, exercising functions such as maintaining law and order, catching thieves and preventing theft, and daily patrols. In this old society, it was not like today, where a village with over a thousand people had a village branch, set up a village official, and so on. In those days, small places like villages and towns were often managed in a family-style, pushing forward the same surname and clan, and appointing a person of high virtue and prestige as the head of the clan. After the establishment of the Republican government, it promoted so-called democratic politics, giving the clan leader a title, setting him up as chairman, town mayor, or village chief, and that was it. In short, it was just a case of hanging a sheep's head to sell dog meat.

  Wangjiabao, as a rising town, is quite large in scale. The Republican government set up an administrative agency here, but it's just a decoration with three or five people pretending to work. The power of the Wang family remains overwhelming, and all major and minor events in Wangjiabao, including births, deaths, weddings, and funerals, are decided by the Wang family.

  Kong Diao led Zhang Siye, looking very cautious, occasionally turning his head to glance at Zhang Siye, afraid that Zhang Siye would give him some kind of signal. The group of people quickly walked to the front of the woodshed, and the shopkeeper opened the door of the woodshed, calling out: "Young master, I'm disturbing your rest!"

  Kong Diao Tou and Zhang Si Ye walked in one after another, looked around, the woodshed was empty, where was Huo Xiao's person?

  Kong Diao furrowed his brow and cursed: "Little second, where is he?"

  The shopkeeper looked around and saw no one in the house, and was also surprised: "I didn't see him come out, did he go to the toilet?"

  "Bring him out for me!" Kong shouted angrily.

  "Zhang Siye hummed and sniffed his nose, saying: 'I think there was someone just now.'"

  Zhang Siye took another step forward and walked towards the pile of firewood.

  Huo Xiao was hiding behind a pile of firewood at this time, watching Zhang Siye walk over, and secretly shouting in his heart: "It's all over! This time I won't be able to escape!"

  Just as Zhang Siye was about to take a step towards the haystack, he heard a shrill whistle outside the woodshed, and the tiles on the roof rattled loudly, as if countless people were running across the rooftop. Immediately afterwards, there came the sound of heavy objects crashing and tiles shattering.

  Zhang Siye suddenly stopped, and without looking back, ran out of the thatched cottage. Kong Biao and others didn't dare to be slow, and couldn't bear to investigate the thatched cottage again, so they followed Zhang Siye and ran out of the house.