Chapter 36: The Wind Rises and the Water Stirs (3)

  Yan Jing Tian and his group dismounted their horses in front of the fallen horse inn, just as they were about to shout, they saw Qian Zhuang Jiu and Jia Chunzi running out one after another. As soon as Qian Zhuang Jiu saw Yan Jing Tian and his group, he laughed so hard that his eyes disappeared. Don't look at him as an old man, but he ran like flying. Qian Zhuang Jiu shouted loudly: "Gentlemen! Honorable guests! Someone is in the store! Someone!" While running non-stop to Yan Jing Tian's face, he made a fist and said: "Guests! Please come inside! The store is open for business! Open for business!"

  Shuiyao had already changed into a common woman's jacket and tied up her hair, looking like a young daughter-in-law, very lively.

  Yan Jing Tian looked around and saw that in the stable on one side of the courtyard, there were still seven or eight horses leisurely eating grass, with complete saddles on their backs, as if they belonged to guests staying at the inn.

  Yan Jing Tian smiled slightly and said: "We have a long way to go, so trouble you to use the best fodder for these few horses."

  "Come on in, come on in! No problem at all!" Qian Guan called out. "Jia Chunzi, did you hear that?"

  Jia Chunzi hastily shouted and stepped forward, taking the reins from everyone and pulling the horses to one side. The crowd looked at Jia Chunzi, who was dressed like a servant, but his height was astonishingly tall, even taller than Yan Shouyi by a head, like a giant, which shocked everyone's hearts. Fortunately, Jia Chunzi had a silly and foolish look on his face, with a smile all over his face, and at a glance, it was clear that he didn't have any malicious intentions, so everyone slightly relaxed.

  Huo Xiaoyu said with a dark expression: "Looks like he's half a head taller than Shi Daigui, who performs acrobatics in the capital city! I wonder if his strength can match his?"

  Qian Zhanggui led the way in front, and everyone followed behind. Yan Jingtian asked: "Is your business going well?"

  "Impossible," said Qian Zhanggui, "since the battle between Guo Songlin and Zhang Zuolin, there has been no business on this road. We've been waiting for customers like you for a long time." What Qian Zhanggui mentioned about Guo Songlin and Zhang Zuolin's battle was around 1926. Guo Songlin rebelled against Zhang Zuolin, leading to a confrontation between the two armies. Zhang Zuolin had no choice but to ask the Japanese Kwantung Army for help, which led to Guo Songlin's capture and execution. However, after Guo Songlin's death, some of his remaining loyalists refused to surrender and vowed to avenge their leader, leading to sporadic battles in the area. As a result, Liaoning Province was plagued by war and chaos, and many roads were devoid of merchants and travelers. Qian Zhanggui was telling the truth.

  Qian Zhanggui did not react to Yan Jingtian's hint-like question, talking to himself. Even Huo Xiaoxie found it strange. Obviously, there were seven or eight horses tied up in a corner of the courtyard, so how could they say that they had been waiting for guests all day? Were these horses supposed to have run here on their own?

  Qian Zhanggui invited Yan Jingtian into the house and politely asked, "Gentlemen, would you like to eat first or rest first? Although our humble inn looks simple, we have three excellent guest rooms in the backyard that are guaranteed to be clean and comfortable."

  Yan Jing Tian replied, "Let's eat first! Whatever good dishes you have, bring them up! I won't skimp on the silver!" As he spoke, he pulled out several silver coins from his pocket and tossed them onto the table. Qian Zhuang Jia's eyes widened as he hurried forward to pick up the coins, saying, "Gentlemen, please sit down! Our humble shop has fresh mountain delicacies and wild game that are hard to find even in the city. I'll bring them right away!" With that, he hastily ran off.

  Yan Jing Tian and his friends sat around the table, stretching their waist and yawning.

  Huoxiao Ye sat down honestly and looked around, using his hand to touch the table surface, saying: "I feel like there are more than just us few customers in this store?"

  "Speak up!" Yan Shou yelled.

  Yan Jing Tian said: "Yan Shou Chen, just let him speak."

  Yan Shou shook his head and hummed a sound, too lazy to bother with him.

  Shuiyao'er patted Huoxiaoxie on the back and said with a big smile: "Monkey, if you want to say something, just say it!"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè glared at Yan Shou Zhèn, thinking to herself: "You're the only one who's fierce!" But she said aloud: "Just now when we came in, there were clearly several horses tied up outside, with their saddles still on. Either they just arrived like us and haven't been here for long, or they're in a hurry and will be leaving soon. And yet this shopkeeper says there's no business? It's not easy to wait for customers like us."

  Yan Jing Tian said: "Not bad! What else?"

  Huoxiao Ye said: "Also, this table of ours, last night someone clearly had a meal with wine and dishes, the table wasn't wiped clean, and that layer of greasy smell is still on it."

  Yan Jing Tian was taken aback and said: "What kind of reason is this?"

  Huoxiao Ye said, "You are all people who don't have to worry about food and drink. I've been hungry since I was a child, sometimes full, sometimes hungry... Actually, the oil on this table that hasn't been wiped clean is different every day. With just one glance and touch, I can tell."

  "What did you learn from it?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè said with a gloomy expression: "When I was young, I was so hungry that I would often sneak into restaurants to eat the leftover rice porridge. The back kitchen of those restaurants usually had a table where they would put out the porridge, and as long as it wasn't more than one or two days old, it was still edible. If it was any older, it would give you diarrhea. After doing this for a while, I got used to it."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Xié said, everyone was a bit stunned, Yán Shǒu Zhèn's impatient face slightly relaxed, turned his head to listen, and his expression became somewhat gentle. Yán Shǒu Yì still had a wooden face, not moving, but seemed to be thinking slightly.

  "What is called ability, at the beginning of its creation, was all for the sake of making a living. Just like our thieving skills, the first person in the world to steal, was probably also forced by livelihood."

  Huoxiao Ye suddenly said: "You people from those wealthy families, you don't have to worry about making a living, what do you need to steal? Why are you stealing? And for whom are you stealing?"

  "For myself! I won't go steal the Linglong Mirror, or else Father Water King will always be controlling me."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé nodded and then asked Yan Jing Tian: "And what about you, Big Brother Yan?"

  Yan Jing Tian blinked his eyes, slowly curled up the corners of his mouth and burst out laughing. Huo Xiao Ye didn't know why Yan Jing Tian was laughing so hard, and looked at him curiously. Yan Jing Tian laughed and said: "Huo Xiao Ye, you little rascal! You asked a great question! But this question...

  "I also can't answer. You're not a petty thief from the lower classes, but your ideas are quite interesting!"

  Yan Shouyi's wooden face moved slightly, and he also said abruptly: "Master Yandang told me to steal, so I stole! What does it have to do with him?"

  Yan Shou scolded: "Yan Shouyi you are a fool!"

  Yan Shouyi retorted: "Who is the fool!"

  Yan Jing Tian couldn't help but laugh with his head thrown back.

  Yan Shouren, the youngest of the four Yan brothers, couldn't help but burst out laughing along with Yan Jing Tian. Immediately, Yan Shou Chen also started laughing, and Yan Shou Yi's wooden face twitched a little, making a "heh heh" sound, as if he was smiling.

  The water demon child also laughed and said, "Things that the fire family brothers think are funny, really aren't easy to understand. Haha, haha." The water demon child amused himself and started laughing too.

  Huǒ xiǎo xié dāi zuò yuándì, zìjǐ běn lái cóng rèn wèi tǐng yán sù de wèn tí, zěnme zuì hòu ràng dàjiā xiào chéng yī tuán le ne? Nán dào wèn zhèxiē tōu dào shì jiā de rén wèishénme yào tōu de wèn tí, jiùshì yī gè shí zú de wán xiào?

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī jiàn Yán Jǐng Tiān xiào de zhí pāi zhuōzi, zhǐ hǎo yě gēn zhe hēi hēi gān xiào le liǎng xià.

  Translation:

  Huo Xiao Yi saw Yan Jing Tian laugh and slap the table, so she also followed with a dry laugh for two seconds.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé frowned, lowering his voice and shouting: "I'm saying, this is a black shop! Is a black shop! Are you guys listening to me?! Alas..."

  Ke Yan Jing Tian and the others just wouldn't let Xiao Xie's words go, and they laughed loudly to themselves. Yan Shou Chen, Yan Shou Yi, and Yan Shou Ren, on the other hand, started pushing and shoving each other around.

  Qian Zhanggui shouted loudly: "Come on!" Rolling up his sleeves, he ran out of the back hall with two plates in his hand. Qian Zhanggui's shout interrupted the laughter of Yan Jingtian and others.

  "Sorry to disturb you! Sorry to disturb you!" Qian Zhanggui said apologetically, bringing up the dishes and introducing them: "These are our restaurant's two signature cold dishes, sauced deer tendon and braised raccoon dog meat. Please try them, gentlemen and ladies, they're absolutely more authentic than those in Fengtian City!"

  "Good! Good! Boss is working hard!"

  Qian Zhanggui replied: "Slow down, slow down, the hot dishes will be here soon! Oh! Everyone, wouldn't you like to have a drink? My small shop has some self-brewed old high-grade millet wine."

  Yan Jing Tian waved his hand and said: "No need for wine! Shopkeeper, bring some hot tea!"

  Qian Guanju hummed and said: "None of you gentlemen drink wine... hot tea, hot tea, just a moment, it'll be here soon."

  Qian Zhanggui was about to retreat when Shui Yao'er shouted: "Shopkeeper, I want a drink! Bring me a jar!"

  "Miss, are you going to drink kaoliang wine?"

  "Of course! I'm dying of thirst! Can't women drink?" shouted Shuǐ Yāo ér.

  Qian Zhanggui was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Several big men didn't touch a drop of wine, while a little girl wanted to drink a whole jar of wine. Zhang opened his mouth and said: "Ah... good, good, come quickly, come quickly..." He glanced at them a few times and hurried away.

  Yan Jingtian was nonchalant and helped himself to a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder on the table, shouting: "Come on, everyone, let's eat!"

  Yan Shou and the others didn't stand on ceremony either, taking out their chopsticks and eating with gusto. The Water Demon also wasn't so elegant, using one chopstick to pick up a large piece of otter meat and stuffing it into her mouth. Everyone praised: "Who would have thought that this quiet little shop would have such delicious food? Not bad, not bad!"

  Only Huo Xiao's evil spirit didn't move.