A Clash of Gods - Chapter 22
Chapter 22 An Old Man and A Young Man
Yang Ning knew that most of the people in this tavern were members of the escort team. Seeing that only a shabby young man went in, these people didn’t mind a bit.
Most of the tables in it had already been taken by a dark crowd of people, and there were at least ten or twenty people. Yang Ning got a glimpse of the table near the corner which was quite empty. In the dim light, he only saw two people sitting there, so he went there. He couldn’t see their faces clearly for a while, so he smiled, cupping his hands to show his obeisance, “Sorry, there’s no unoccupied table. Please allow me to share the table with you.”
The two people didn’t say anything, so Yang Ning sat down on the bench. He had already smelled the delicious aroma of the meat from other tables. He hadn’t been able to eat a meal in the past few days. Now that he had run into this tavern, he definitely would have a dainty repast.
He had got some pieces of silver from the God of the Wood, which was more than enough to pay a meal.
The wind and rain outside showed no signs of stopping. Yang Ning felt a little strange and wondered why the lamps in this house were still yet to be lit. When he was wondering about this, he heard a voice, “Masters, the light is coming!” Then he saw firelight glowed behind him. A servant boy was carrying two oil lamps in his hands and then hung the two lamps on the wall of the tavern from left to right.
The tavern brightened up suddenly. By the light of fire, Yang Ning now clearly saw the two people sitting at the same table with him. One was old and the other was young. The man sitting opposite to him was an elder in a gray-brown robe and was about fifty years old. He wore a goatee and his face was thin, looking learned and refined. Although he was nearly fifty years old, his ruddy countenance concealed his age. It looked like that he took good care of his health in daily life.
The person sitting on his left was a fifteen-or-sixteen-year-old young man with bright eyes and fine features. He was staring at him with his dark eyes, wearing a suspicious look on his face.
There were three dishes, a bowl of braised pork, and a jug of wine on the table. Only a wine cup was put in front of the old man in brown robe, and the dishes on the table seemed almost untouched.
Yang Ning saw that the young man was staring at him suspiciously, so he said with a smile, “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is…Bunny. I can only rely on new friends in the foreign land. I have no offense against you.”
The young man said lightly, “We are not friends!” He didn’t say any other words and turned his gaze. Seeing that he was in a reflective mood, Yang Ning thought that he was quite complex despite of his young age.
He turned around and found that the servant boy in the tavern was looking at him weirdly by his side. He coughed, and said, “Why do you look at me?”
“I come to see whether you are here to take shelter from the rain or to drink.” The servant boy looked at him with a disdainful look, “If you want to take shelter, you can stay under the eaves outside the door and don’t disturb these two guests.”
Yang Ning was still in his sloppy clothes. They were worn-out originally and had become even much ragged over the past few days. If anyone didn’t think he was a beggar, it would be quite a strange thing.
Yang Ning didn’t argue with him. He reached out his hand and placed a piece of silver on the table, pointing at the dishes on the table, “Is this piece of silver enough to buy these dishes? I’ll have the same.”
The servant boy gave him a satirical laugh and said, “Where do you get this piece of silver? Is it stolen?”
The young man next to Yang Ning had already frowned and then said lightly, “Never judge others easily. How can you easily frame others without evidence?”
Yang Ning didn’t expect that this young man would speak for him. He suddenly had a good opinion of this young man. But then he heard a cough from the elder in brown robe across from him. He picked up the wine cup in his hand and cast a glance at the young man with the corners of his eyes. At the sound of the cough, the young man realized something and looked down.
Hearing the young man’s words, the servant boy felt improper to continue, so he turned around and walked away.
Yang Ning sat on the bench, slightly turning his head to look over his side. There were five or six people sitting at the table at his side. They all wore close-fitting and short clothes, with weapons by their hands. Most of their weapons were broadswords. There were a lot of dishes on their table, but not a jug of wine could be seen. It seemed that they didn’t drink.
They indeed did the right thing. Since these people were escorts, there might be many taboos on the way when they were guarding goods. Temperance might also be one of the taboos.
A sudden clap of thunder roared outside. The wind and rain did not seem to subside, but to become more violent. He heard a man at the next table said, “Mr. Lu, it seems that the rain will not stop for a while. Shall we continue our journey?”
An old man in his fifties beside him caressed his white goatee and said slowly, “This journey is urgent, so it cannot be delayed. After a short break, we have to hasten on. We can’t stay here overnight. There is an official post house just twenty li ahead, and we can spend the night there.”
“You are so considerate, Mr. Lu.” Someone on his side laughed and said, “The roads in the counties, cities and provinces are all kept in the mind of Mr. Lu. Along the way, there is no such city wall or official post house that Mr. Lu doesn’t know.”
Another person said with a laugh, “Along this road, no one dares to say that he has a wider range of contacts than those of Mr. Lu. You two haven’t taken this way before, so you are not clear about the abilities of Mr. Lu. Take the formerly mentioned official post house for example; if others want to put up for a night there, it is almost impossible. But Mr. Lu is an exception. Mr. Lu has been escorting goods for so many years, so he is very familiar with everything along the road. He is on friendly terms with the official post house, so we will have a place to rest if we arrive there.”
The old man said with a bit of smug satisfaction, “We are escorts, so we have to rely on our friends and social relations. One more friend means one more road. If we make enemies everywhere, we cannot make a living as an escort despite of excellent kung fu.”
“You are right, Mr. Lu.” Several people said one after another, “You are our elder, so we hope that you can teach us the knowledge of our business”
Mr. Lu said with a smile, “In fact, there is nothing to teach. Just remember to make more friends and fewer enemies. Use more smiles and less violence.” Suddenly he stood up and said, “Let’s get ready. We will walk another 20 li, and then stay overnight in the official post house. This is a desolate and wild land, so it is not suitable for long stay.”
Quite a few people immediately got up in succession. Some people even took a lot of straw rain capes and bamboo hats to the door. Apparently, they had been prepared long before.
Some people had already stepped forward to put on the straw rain capes and bamboo hats. Mr. Lu had drunk a cup of tea and was about to stand up. But Yang Ning saw that the elder man in brown robe had got up and walked to Mr. Lu’s side. He said with a soft voice, “Excuse me, what’s the destination of your journey?”
Mr. Lu was immediately alert, and asked, “Who are you?”
Yang Ning thought from the beginning that the young man and the old man did not seem to be with the escort team. After hearing the conversation between the two men, he knew he was right.
The elder in brown robe twisted his wrist and took out a piece of gold, putting it into the palm of Mr. Lu. At this time, other people in the escort team were all busy wearing the straw rain capes and bamboo hats, so just few people paid attention to this.
Mr. Lu frowned and was about to speak. The elder in brown robe whispered, “I have brought a subject with me, and plan to go to the capital. But I am worried that something unexpected will happen on the way, so I want to go with you so that I can have a cover. Your destination is also the capital, isn’t it?”
Mr. Lu was hesitant and said, “The escort agency stipulates that we mustn’t bring along strangers on the way, you…”
“I understand.” The elder in brown robe smiled and said, “I just want to guarantee complete safety. You can take it as a temporary business. We will follow the rules of your agency, and will never make trouble.”
“We?” Mr. Lu glanced at the young man and asked, “Is it just you two?”
The elder in brown robe nodded and said, “Yes, just we two.”
A man next to him saw it clearly, and whispered, “Mr. Lu, we just need to bring two people with us. Since they ask for a favor, we don’t necessarily have to refuse their request so decisively.”
Mr. Lu glanced at the man and coughed, with a trace of reproach in his eyes, obviously blaming the man for being talkative.
Yang Ning also heard everything clearly aside and he felt a little strange, thinking that since the young man and the old man were going to the capital, why should they follow the escort team? The elder in brown robe said that he had brought a subject with him and that he was afraid it would be lost on the way. If that was the case, the subject would be very precious. Otherwise, he wouldn’t use a piece of gold as the fee.
The elder in brown robe found that Mr. Lu was still hesitant, saying softly, “Actually, you just need to lift a finger to help us. Do you think the fee is not enough? If it is true, we can pay you more.”
Mr. Lu shook his head and said, “It’s not about the fee. According to the rules, we can’t bring strangers along with us on the way, unless it is in extremis. But it seems that you are in great difficulties, so it doesn’t matter if you follow our team. But I must tell you bluntly that you have to abide by the rules of the escort team. We can guarantee that you two will be safely brought to the capital, but if you break the rules, then we will show you no mercy.”
The elder in brown robe smiled and said, “We will do as you say, and will never bring you trouble.”
Mr. Lu called out, “Bring them two straw rain capes.”
The elder in brown robe returned to the table and stooped down to take a package from under the table. It was long and was wrapped in black cloth, so others did not know what was inside.
The young man and the elder in brown robe looked at each other and then he also got up. At this time, someone had already brought two sets of straw rain capes and bamboo hats to them. The two men felt quite free to take the bamboo hats.
Several people in the escort team had already left the door. Mr. Lu also put on his straw rain cape, looked back at the elder in brown robe, and nodded his head. The elder in brown robe smiled, holding a long package in his hand. He gave the young man a hint with his eyes, and then went out.
He only had gone two paces when he suddenly heard the sound of “crack-crack”. The tavern suddenly went black because the two oil lamps hanging on the wall unexpectedly went out.
When the light went out, Yang Ning saw the elder in brown robe grabbing the young man’s arm and pulling him behind him. His movements were as fast as the flash of lightning. Then he heard a commotion in the tavern.
Yang Ning’s heart tightened. One of his hands had already reached into his bosom and touched the sharp icy blade. He was on the alert.
From the moment he left the Huize county seat, Yang Ning had been quite cautious all the time. After the event of being threatened by the God of Wood, he was more prudent. When these two oil lamps suddenly went out, he immediately felt very abnormal.
If one of the lamps suddenly had extinguished, it might have been an accident. But the two lamps went off at the same time, so there must be something wrong.
“Don’t panic!” Mr. Lu’s voice had already echoed in the darkness, “Everyone, calm down and be careful. Don’t act rashly before the situation is clear. Chen Liu, take some people to protect the escort carriages outside. Who has a bamboo fire tube? Light it up! “
Mr. Lu was surprised but not disordered, and he was well-organized. Obviously, he was a veteran in wandering from place to place with enough experience.
At the moment, a lightning flashed across the sky and then the dark cloud gathered and the rain poured down, presenting a desolate and bleak scene.
