Chapter 82: Chapter Eighty-Two Qingyun Inn (4) ??? In the Wang family's large compound, there was a courtyard that served as the residence of Zhang Siye and his men.

  Inside the courtyard, some soldiers were feeding hay to horses, while others sat around in a circle smoking and chatting. Some were sharpening their three-clawed hooks, looking very peaceful. In one corner of the yard, three leopard dogs lay lazily on the ground, with a large pile of bones with meat still attached in front of them. They looked like they had eaten to their heart's content, opening their mouths wide and yawning, without a care in the world. After months of rushing about, it was rare for them to have such a peaceful and leisurely time.

  In one of the rooms in this courtyard, the candles were lit brightly, illuminating the interior as if it were daytime.

  Zhang Siye sat in a chair in the middle of the room, while Mr. Zhou sat beside him. On the ground in front of them lay a bundle of gray hair tied up like a rice dumpling. Zhang Siye held a small black stone, about the size of a fingernail, and examined it carefully, turning it over repeatedly. This stone was the same as the Black Stone Fire Command that Xiao Xia had, which was the token used by the Huo family to recruit disciples.

  Mr. Zhang said to Mr. Zhou: "There is a character for 'fire' on this black stone, I don't know what it means?"

  Mr. Zhou stared at the black stone and said, "Is it related to the Five Elements Family again? Does this fire character represent the Fire Family?"

  Zhang Siye said: "This is hard to say."

  Zhang Siye pinched the black stone, kicked the gray lice on the ground with his foot, and scolded: "Think carefully, are you going to say it or not? Since you know my name Zhang Si, speak up early and I'll spare your life."

  The grey louse let out a few shrill laughs and said, "Zhang Si, don't think too highly of yourself! I, the grey louse, have never been caught by anyone before. Today, you managed to catch me, and I must say, I really admire you! But if you think you can get anything out of me, it's harder than climbing to heaven! Hehehe!"

  Mr. Zhou said: "Gray-haired louse, I know you're a good fellow. I just think you can't row..."?

  The grey-haired louse laughed in a shrill voice: "You old fellow, you're quite skilled, I must admit. But if you think you can trick me into revealing anything, forget it! Come on, let's get this over with - either scratch the itch on my body or send me to see King Yama with one knife!"

  Mr. Zhou smiled and said: "Hui Mao Chou, I won't hit you or scold you, I just want to make friends with you."

  "Friend? You old chap, don't you recognize me? I'm Gray Louse, when have I ever had friends? Hehehe, enough nonsense, I'm exhausted, don't ask any more questions, do what you want."

  "Mr. Zhou," said Zhang Siye, "I don't think it's necessary to ask any more questions. What kind of truth can you get out of a big thief like this?"

  Mr. Zhou said, "It doesn't matter, we still have time."

  Mr. Zhou stood up, straightened his grey hair, removed the headscarf from his head, stared firmly into Grey Hair's eyes, and his gaze became dazed as if in a trance, asking in a low voice: "Grey Hair, is this black stone related to the Five Elements Bandit King?"

  Zhang Siye saw Mr. Zhou like this, and his expression suddenly became serious.

  The grey-haired louse stared into Mr. Zhou's eyes, shook its head violently, and shouted in a shrill voice: "You can still read minds? Hehehe, how fun! Let me see what you can read from me?"

  Mr. Zhou didn't respond and muttered to himself: "Grey flea, is this black stone related to the Five Elements Bandit King?"

  The dark night is deep, Wangjiabao is quiet, as if everyone has fallen asleep. Who can know what will happen to Wangjiabao now and what will happen in the future?

  Huoxiao was actually sleeping soundly, a night without dreams, and slept until dawn.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié hadn't forgotten that before Zhang Sìyé arrived, it seemed like Shuǐ Yāoér was calling him in his sleep. However, Huǒ Xiǎo Xié thought that if it were indeed Shuǐ Yāoér, they would have come out to see him already. If they deliberately avoided him, even going to look for them wouldn't yield any results. It's better to just sleep soundly. Huǒ Xiǎo Xié wasn't the type of person who was indecisive and sentimental, able to stay up all night thinking about a woman. He had his own perspective: in this vast world, he was himself, and didn't need to fawn over anyone or hope for miracles from others.

  Huo Xiao woke up from his sleep, went to the well in the courtyard to wash up simply, refreshed himself, and planned to go west today to find some clues about Qingyun Inn.

  At this time, in the courtyard where Zhang Siye of the Wang family lived, the hook-handed soldiers had already eaten their breakfast and were gathered in the yard practicing their skills.

  Zhang Siye and Mr. Zhou pushed the door open, and the soldiers stopped what they were doing, all greeting Zhang Siye and Mr. Zhou. Zhang Siye smiled and indicated for everyone to continue their training.

  Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhou slowly walked up to the leopard dog, and despite its huge head, it was still extremely excited to see them, rubbing its big head all over the two men in a very affectionate manner. Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhou petted the leopard dog's large head and continued walking forward until they reached a corner.

  "Mr. Zhou, you've worked hard! It's been a long time since I've seen you use your mind-reading skills to interrogate someone!" asked Zhang Siye.

  Mr. Zhou said, "It's not hard at all! If I don't use this mind-reading technique, it will become rusty. It's called a mind-reading technique, but actually, it's just asking a question and observing whether the other person is thinking 'yes' or 'no'. The more questions you ask, the more it seems like you can read minds, haha, it's not a big deal at all. But this Gray Hair Louse, who has shaken the whole Shandong province, is indeed no ordinary person. I spent an entire night and still couldn't figure out much about whether or not... And as for why Gray Hair Louse came to Shanxi, we have no leads whatsoever, it's hard to come up with questions, progress is difficult!"

  "Are there any leads now?" Zhang Siye asked.

  Mr. Zhou said: "At present, it can only be judged that this gray louse came to Shanxi and is indeed related to the five great bandits, and is related to Hu Zei Wang. He wants to settle in Wangjiabao and find something. This thing may be related to his future path."

  "Uh-huh, it's indeed still unclear."

  Mr. Zhou said: "However, we still have plenty of time, asking for ten days or eight days should be able to clarify sixty to seventy percent."

  Zhang Siye nodded, and the two of them slowly walked a few laps, stretching their fists and feet. Seeing that it was getting late, they arranged for the hook soldiers to get ready and planned to patrol around Wangjiabao.

  They were packing up their luggage when they faintly heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from afar.

  Zhang Siye was very puzzled, what's the big deal about beating gongs and drums so early in the morning, is there something exciting happening?