Chapter 83 Blue Cloud Inn (5)

  Huoxiao Ye had just walked to the front hall of the Big Way Inn when he heard the sound of gongs and drums outside, beating out a joyful rhythm. Old Zhang, Xiao Er, and several guests were crowded at the inn's entrance, watching the commotion. Huoxiao Ye squeezed over, greeted everyone, and looked outward.

  It doesn't matter if you don't watch a little evil, but once you watch it, you'll be delighted.

  On the street in front of the Fire God Temple, a group of people with colorful makeup were parading through the streets, beating drums and gongs. The lead clown, a man with a loud voice dressed as a jester, walked only a few steps before loudly proclaiming: "The Wind God has arrived at Wangjia Village to capture the notorious thief Huimao Chui! Master Wang welcomes noble guests, and will perform ten days of grand opera! All villagers, young and old, come watch the excitement!" Behind this man, in addition to the drum and gong team, a large flatbed cart pulled by two horses followed. On top of the cart were four actors: three dressed as hook-handed soldiers wielding strange three-clawed hooks, and one dressed as "Huimao Chui", who engaged in mock combat with the others, until they finally subdued "Huimao Chui". A large group of children followed behind the cart, jumping up and down, clapping their hands and shouting: "Oh, they've caught the thief! They've caught the thief!"

  The whole team went along the street, posting welcome notices all the way, attracting old and young people from Wangjiapu to come out of their houses and watch.

  The little shopkeeper's eyes lit up with a smile, muttering to himself: "Hehe, there's going to be a great show! Haven't seen one in a long time!"

  Boss Zhang slapped the shop assistant on the head and scolded: "What's wrong with you, dare to sneak out and watch a play, I'll break your legs!"

  The little shopkeeper covered his head, crying out in distress, and rubbed his temples for half a day before saying: "Master, those heavenly soldiers who came last night with their hooks, were they the Wind Chasers? They're really formidable!"

  Boss Zhang said, "I reckon it's them, with those skills, brushing and brushing, running on the rooftop like flying. Don't even mention humans, even a clever yellow mouse wouldn't be able to escape."

  Other guests had nothing to do, listening to Zhang and others talking about last night's events, they all gathered around, chattering one after another. Some apprentices from neighboring shops, knowing that the Da Dao Inn was in an uproar last night, also came over to inquire about the news, and everyone suddenly chatted enthusiastically.

  The four characters "Yù Fēng Shén Bǔ" spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys, deeply ingraining themselves in people's minds, to the point where even a three-year-old child understands that Yù Fēng Shén Bǔ means catching thieves.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié didn't mix with them, and walked away alone, secretly laughing to himself in his heart: "This Wang Jia Bao's Old Master Wang is really interesting, making such a big fuss, as if afraid people wouldn't know that the Wind Chaser has been caught at Wang Jia Bao. It seems like they're sending a message to the thieves who came here. Hmph! Maybe it's just the way small-town folks behave when big shots arrive."

  Huoxiao Yelang didn't bother with all this and headed west in search of the Qingyun Inn.

  Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhou were afraid that the leopard dog would scare people when going out, so they didn't bring the leopard dog and left a few hook soldiers to guard the courtyard and the gray-haired lice. They led the others out of the yard. Feng Biao Tou had been waiting outside the yard all along, and when he saw Mr. Zhang come out, he hurriedly guided him to the main gate of the Wang family's large courtyard.

  Zhang Siye and his group had not walked far when the sound of gongs and drums outside grew louder, as if they were heading towards the Wang family's large courtyard. He asked Kong Biao: "Kong Biao, are they having a wedding procession so early in the morning?"

  Kong Peng's head smiled and said: "No, no, you go out and take a look."

  Zhang Siye hesitantly followed Kong Biao, and the crowd quickly walked to the entrance of Wang's mansion. Kong Biao opened the gate, and everyone poured out, looking straight ahead at Wang Xing Street, all of them were shocked and stunned.

  Only to see that the team had just walked past the gate of the inn where Huo Xiao was located, and now a colorful drum and gong team was making its way down Wangxing Avenue, celebrating the capture of Fengshen with music and praise, slowly approaching the main entrance of the Wang family mansion.

  Zhang Siye and Mr. Zhou stared at the approaching drum and cymbal team, stunned on the spot, their jaws about to drop off. Kong Bao was still flattering beside them: "Zhang Siye, Mr. Zhou, how is it? Although our place can't compare with the provincial capital, we've still made quite a lively arrangement."

  Zhang Siye and Mr. Zhou were at a loss for words, unable to say anything was wrong with others. Zhang Siye was speechless, only able to smile bitterly and say: "Yes, lively, lively, everyone in the city knows, everyone in the city knows."

  Kong Duan's head was completely unaware, and he said to himself: "Hurry up, the show hasn't been put on yet, otherwise, how can we also get 20 or 30 actors to show off Zhang Siye's prestige?"

  Zhang Siye sighed and had nothing to say, so he could only let them do as they pleased and planned to quickly take the hook soldier and slip away.

  Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhou had just taken a few steps with the hook soldiers when a large crowd of people rushed out from the street corner, all of whom were bosses of shops in Wangjiabao who could put on a good show, as well as accountants and shopkeepers, totaling over 200 people. They surrounded Mr. Zhang and his group, inviting them to visit their own shops and asking them to teach some anti-theft methods. Each face was sincere, with kind words and extremely respectful.

  Zhang Siye and his men were squeezed in the crowd, unable to move forward or backward, and didn't dare to make a scene. Zhang Siye had no choice but to shout loudly: "Everyone, slow down! We still have things to do! There are still things to be done! One person per family!" Zhang Siye's words originally meant that it would be enough to send one or two soldiers from each family to take a look. But as soon as his voice fell, the crowd began to stir and immediately started dividing up the soldiers, those who got someone were like they had gotten a treasure, surrounding them and taking them away.

  Kong Duan's head was excited and loudly shouted: "These are all the noble guests of Master Wang, if you are slow, I will show you a good look! Before noon, they must be sent back respectfully! Whoever dares to stay longer, don't blame me for being impolite!"

  Zhang Siye finally managed to decline countless invitations and slipped back behind Kong Biao's back, his clothes disheveled. He looked up to see that more than a dozen hook-handed soldiers had already disappeared, and even Mr. Zhou was being escorted away by the crowd. Zhang Siye threw up his hands and sighed: "Kong Biao, you people from Wangjiabao are really... Alas!"

  Let's put aside Zhang Siye's predicament for now and switch back to Huo Xiaoyao.

  Huoxiao Ye searched the west for half a day, but still had no leads. As it was approaching noon, Huoxiao Ye's stomach growled with hunger. He found an outdoor pancake stall and bought a large pancake, sitting down at a shaded table to eat it with cold water.

  Huoxiao Ye had just eaten half of his food when he saw two people approaching him. Just as Huoxiao Ye was about to size them up, the two men sat down on either side of him, one of whom smiled and said, "We meet again!" Huoxiao Ye looked up to see that it was Zheng Zedao and Guo Laqi, the same two people he had run into yesterday. Zheng Zedao's face was full of smiles, while Guo Laqi still looked at Huoxiao Ye with hatred in his eyes, his mouth twisted to one side as he refused to look directly at him.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī was taken aback for a moment, but didn't think of running away. Instead, he said discontentedly: "What? Not satisfied, seeking revenge?"

  Zheng Zedao smiled and said: "No need to be polite, Fire brother don't worry, I think we two have a good relationship, seeing you here, so I hurried up to say hello."

  Huoxiao Ye said coldly, "We don't have any relationship with each other, you mind your own business and I'll mind mine. The well water doesn't interfere with the river water." Huoxiao Ye thought that although this person wasn't unpleasant, he was extremely disgusted by Guo Laoqi. Since Guo Laoqi called Zheng Zedong "Young Master", he estimated that he was his servant. With such an unscrupulous servant, the master probably wasn't much better.

  Zheng Zedao smiled faintly and said, "Fire brother, yesterday you were still in tattered clothes, but today you've changed into a new outfit, you're really dressed to the nines, I almost didn't recognize you."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yē took a bite of his cookie and said, "It's all thanks to your two blessings."

  Guo Laoqi let out a deep hum.

  Zheng Zedao said, "Fire brother, I know you think that Guo Laoqi stole the life-saving money and went against the rules of the thieves' code, so you don't look at me with favor. Not only do I understand, but I also greatly admire Fire Brother."

  Huoxiao Ye said: "Zheng Dashao, stop beating around the bush. I'm from Fengtian and I like to get straight to the point. What's with the huge difference between people from the south and north?"

  Guo Laoqi muttered curses in his mouth, but didn't dare to shout out loud, and kept glancing sideways at Xiao Xie with a fierce stare.

  Zheng Zedao smiled and said: "Well! Actually, I was just going to ask Hu brothers, are you also looking for the Qingyun Inn?"

  Huo Xiao was taken aback and thought to himself: "I reckon these two guys have been following me all the way! They must have heard me asking others about the Qingyun Inn."

  Huo Xiao Xie said: "Hehe, since Young Master Zheng has spoken, I also agree. Yes, yes, I am indeed looking for the Qingyun Inn. Young Master Zheng, are you too?"

  Zheng Zedao nodded and smiled: "Since everyone is looking for the Qingyun Inn, why don't we take care of each other? Whoever has a clue can inform each other. It's much more convenient than searching alone. What do you think, Huo brother?"