Chapter 71 Return to Fengtian (5)

  The two returned to the main road and headed towards Zhang Siye's residence, along the way Shuiyao'er was fully focused, intentionally observing, but the person who had been staring at them before seemed to have flown to the clouds of the ninth heaven, without a trace.

  The two men found a humble inn not far from Zhang Siye's residence and settled in for the night, as the sky grew dark. The inn had been neglected for years, and business was unusually slow; with Huo Xiao and Ye Wenshan added to the total, there were only five or six guests coming and going, all of whom looked travel-worn and shabbily dressed, similar to Huo Xiao and Ye Wenshan after their disguise. It was unclear whether it was the owner's intention to save money or simply laziness, but the inn had only one small oil lamp hanging from a pillar beside the counter, casting a dim light over the entire room.

  Fortunately, the store was very cheap, and the boss was lazy and didn't ask anything, saving Water Youer and Huo Xiaoxie from trouble. The shopkeeper similarly listlessly carried a lantern, leading Water Youer and others to the second floor, opening a guest room, mumbling unclearly: "If you need something, come out and call, hot water is on the first floor corner, go down yourself, the small store doesn't have food at night, if you want to eat, go out of the store and walk east, oh ah ba ga la la......" The last few sentences were even more unclear. After finishing speaking, the shopkeeper turned around and left, not wanting to bother with people.

  Huoxiao Ye and Shuixiao'er wouldn't bother with these trivial matters. What's important is the main issue at hand, so they hastily entered the house.

  The water demon locked the doors and windows, wiped her face with her hand, and instantly transformed from an old man to a beautiful young girl, which made Huo Xiaoyao feel a bit uncomfortable, and he stuttered.

  The water demon tidied up and stopped, the little evil smiled slightly, only then did he open the window and hide at the edge of the window to look out. He could just see a corner of Zhang Siye's courtyard wall. The walls of Zhang Siye's house were high and steep, and the courtyard was quite deep. Only a few tall cypress trees growing in the yard could be seen outside the wall, and now the branches were covered with black ravens, and many more ravens were still flying around the trees, looking for a place to land. These ravens cried out in the dark red light of dusk, flying up and down, very eerie, and no one was seen driving them away in the yard, letting these ravens fly and flutter. From a distance, Zhang Siye's huge mansion seemed like a strange and dead city, exuding an evil atmosphere.

  Shui Yao's eyebrows furrowed as she closed the window and slowly sat down on the chair by the desk. Huo Xiao followed her over and sat down, asking, "Is something wrong?"

  Shuiyao'er said: "Zhang Siye has only been gone for two or three days, how can the house have such an evil atmosphere?"

  "How did I not see this coming?"

  The water demon child said: "You have too much fire in your body, it's not visible. Among the five elements, water is most sensitive to the subtle changes of things."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī Xīn Tóu Yì Jǐn, Jué De Bù Miào, Gǎn Máng Wèn Dào: "Nán Dào Wǒ Nà Ji Ge Xiǎo Xiōng Dì Yǐ Jīng, Sǐ Le……?"

  Translation:

  Huo Xiao's heart tightened, feeling that something was wrong, and he hastily asked: "Could it be that my few little brothers have already... died......?"

  Shuiyao'er shook her head and said, "No, even if thousands of people died in Zhang Siye's house, I wouldn't have this feeling. I'm worried, I'm worried about the Zhang family..."

  "Hurry up and tell me, what's going on at Zhang Siye's house?"

  Shuiyao'er sighed, her eyes dazed and distant as she said slowly: "I'm just making wild guesses, I don't know what's really going on. Monkey, I was thinking of observing tonight and then we can go rescue tomorrow night, but my heart is uneasy, you stay in the house and don't go out, I'll sneak into Zhang Siye's house now to take a look."

  Huo Xiao Yan immediately became impatient and hastily said: "It's me who came back to save people, not you going to rescue them. If we're going, we have to go together!"

  The water demon child laughed and said, "Monkey monkey, what's the hurry? Are you familiar with Zhang Siye's house? Do you have confidence in rescuing people? Follow me, I still need to free up a hand to take care of you."

  "Fine! I have my own way. I've been to Zhang Siye's house twice, once sneaking out with a small heart, and once bringing Hei Sanbian in, so I'm familiar with it."

  The water demon child said: "Don't you believe me?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé said: "It's not that I don't believe you, but those few brothers of mine are my affair, and it should be me who takes care of it myself!"

  "Then you still hate me for killing your brother?"

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yī Lèng, dī tóu tàn dào: "zhè shì nǎ gēn nǎ a? wǒ hèn nǐ gàn shén me."

  Translation:

  Huo Xiao was taken aback, lowered his head and sighed: "What's going on here? Why do I hate you?"

  Shuiyao'er raised her hand and pressed it against Huoxiao Xie's shoulder, saying: "Monkey, we have a deal, okay?"

  "You said."

  "When I'm with you, what's yours is mine. If you want to save your brother, you have to do it my way, okay?"

  "But!"

  "No buts, listen to me, I'll go check tonight, it's not certain that we can rescue them, but at least we can confirm whether they're dead or alive, and then you'll come in handy. Alright, stop bullying me, Monkey, it's disgusting!" The Water Demon said, suddenly bursting into tears.

  "Alas, how dare I bully you..."

  "Don't bully me, you just sit in the house and wait for me to come back! Definitely!"

  "This...!" Huo Xiao Ya was unwilling to accept it.

  The two of them muttered back and forth for half a day, and finally, the Water Demoness managed to subdue Fire Xiao's stubbornness with her clever words and anger. Fortunately, Fire Xiao had met the Water Demoness, because in this matter, perhaps only the Water Demoness could restrain him, making Fire Xiao helpless and without temper. The five-element principle of water overcoming fire was repeatedly verified on Fire Xiao and the Water Demoness.

  The sky in early spring darkens extremely quickly. Just a moment ago it was still twilight with a hint of light on the horizon, and now it has suddenly turned into a deep, dark night.

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yè saw Shuǐ Yāo ér put on a black tight-fitting dress, covering her face, and pushed open the window to climb out. She said with some concern: "Shuǐ Yāo ér, be careful."

  The water demon's eyes sparkled as she winked at Huo Xiaoyao, her smile mischievous. "Don't worry, I know the Zhang family's place like the back of my hand. They can't do anything to me."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yē Miàn had a guilty look on his face, he always felt that Shuǐ Yāo ér was alone in helping him investigate Zhang Si Ye's mansion, and felt very ashamed. He said: "Alright, I'll wait for you inside the house."

  "Monkey, remember, don't leave the house, wait for me inside."

  Huǒ Xiǎo Yé nodded slightly, and Shuǐ Yāo ér jumped out of the window with a rather satisfied expression. No sound of landing could be heard, and her figure was no longer visible.

  Huoxiao Zhe hastily closed the window, leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths, then walked back to sit down at the table.

  Shuiyao'er was gone, and it was unknown when she would return. Huo Xiaoxie sat at the edge of the table, feeling anxious and impatient, wishing he could run out of the house and take a turn around Zhang Siye's courtyard. However, after two or three hours passed, Huo Xiaoxie still had nothing to do and could only feel anxious, gradually starting to feel drowsy, using his hand to support his face, his eyes half-closed as he began to doze off.

  Just as Xiao Ye was about to fall asleep, he heard someone wailing and crying loudly outside the guest room: "My ancestors! It's a ghost! Help! Save me!"