Chapter 55 (2/2)

So in the pitter-patter of the spring rain he went to 47th Street, went into that calligraphy shop called the Old Brush House, stood outside on the ground of that dripping wet door sill, looking at that youngster in the middle groaning a sigh and eating noodles, and with a slight smile said:

“I want to go kill people.”

“I need a person at my side.”

Chao XiaoShu only knew what kind work Ning Que had done in the past, but didn’t know what kind of person he was, but like this it seemed that he voluntarily entrusted his safety and even his life to him – without a doubt this was a gamble.

This gamble, or perhaps to say trusting someone, made Ning Que feel a bit heavy on his shoulders. He took a deep breath, his right hand like a tiger’s mouth slightly tightened. Tightly grasping that blade handle on his back angled towards the sky, he slowly pulled out that plain blade that shone like snow without any scratches.    ……    ……

Rainwater fell to the floor, ordinarily gathering dust it quickly stained, gradually collecting into a stream towards the street’s sidewalk gutter, then quickly emitting a stench from this year’s filthy dirt. It was precisely the environment that ChangAn City’s rats loved most. Rats that always had ulcers in their fur used their two filthy black claws on human fingers that had been chopped off, excitedly without stopping they gnawed, occasionally resting to lick the blood off their fur. Up above that human melee on the horizon did not matter to them, they only hoped that the blurry shadow could cut off even more fingers, hoping that the rain water could rush those fingers right in front of them. A blessing from Lord Clear Sky, the family big and small these days will depend on your bestowments.

With a clapping sound, a lump of something whizzed smas.h.i.+ng over – smas.h.i.+ng just in front of this rat’s front, splas.h.i.+ng the flooded filthy water and blood on the ground. Did Lord Clear Sky feel that I was too greedy and so wanted to smash me to death? The rat was very much shocked and quickly ran away, nearly digging into the rat hole underneath the courtyard wall under its feet, a bit unwillingly turning to glance at a finger nearly gnawed to bones, but firmly decided to flip its tail and drill inside. If it looked twice, and discovered that the lump that splashed filthy water and blood was a human’s head, it would’ve definitely regretted its decision.

The rat drilled out of its rat hole, and had no way of regretting, as it was stomped into meat paste by a solid Tang Army’s military boot in an instant, not knowing if its regret was that it hadn’t told its kind that human flesh had such wonderful flavor.

An elite of the Tang Army private soldiers slowly pulled back his foot wearing military boots. Glancing at the mouse changed into indistinct b.l.o.o.d.y flesh by his foot, and hearing a voice outside the courtyard walls, he slowly walked and returned to formation, using hand signals to a colleague gesturing the situation of the battle outside, then bowing and glancing at the crossbow in his hands, verifying that the rainwater hadn’t caused problems with the machine’s spring.

Several dozens of Tang military elites wearing dark rain cloaks silently and quietly stood at the rear of the courtyard wall, their hands holding crossbow arrows. Outside the wall of that shabby Spring Wind Pavilion all around now the sounds of killing shook the heavens, but there weren’t any people that discovered their presence. The silence of these officers resembled a group of stone carvings – regardless if it was wind and rain or fighting in close quarters it was all incapable of making their facial expressions have the slightest change.

Behind these elite Tang troops, inside of a house locked by layer upon layer of rainwater, sat two people on wooden floorboards. One person was a middle-aged person with smart brows and eyes, his whole body was covered in a star-white robe and beside his body  was a calmly placed, somewhat small sword on top of the wooden floor. Another person wore a bamboo rain hat and his countenance couldn’t be seen, but from the monk robes he was wearing, and the wide, large, and filthy pair of bare feet and the copper alms bowl in front of him under the rim of his hat, he must be an ascetic monk.

That long robed swordsman slightly frowned looking at the rain curtain in front of his eyes like threads of silk. He softly said, “Unexpectedly it is a Sword Master, no wonder the two of us were needed.”

The Ascetic Monk lowered his head without speaking, he faintly heard the sound of a flying sword splitting the air hacking coming from outside the wall. He stared at the copper alms bowl below the wooden stairs, watching the rainwater in the copper alms bowl’s interior disturbed by newly incoming raindrops disturbing it to no peace. Gradually he felt that his own Sea of Qi also became somewhat disturbed. Then he lowered his head even more, his finger even more slowly but firmly kneaded the ironwood prayer beads from between his wrists.

This estate was Chao Mansion, Spring Wind Pavilion Old Chao’s mansion. This wooden open building was a small building for listening to the rain – Spring Wind Pavilion’s Old Chao, when he was idle with nothing to do would occasionally come to this little building pretending to be scholar and listen to the rain. These elite Tang troops and these two strong ones were waiting for him to return.

On another side of Chao’s mansion, outside the courtyard wall, the spring rain pattered at the opening of the lane where two carriages stopped. In front of the carriage, a n.o.ble young horse somewhat couldn’t tolerate the spring rain drenching it – from time to time wanting to nose blow its nose but was unable to utter a sound, wanting to kick its two hooves forward but didn’t dare to move, and the carriage sunk into a deep deathly silence. Inside the other carriage however from time to time came the sound of low, deep coughs.

There wasn’t anyone that knew who was inside these two carriages, but if Chao XiaoShu now could see the fatty standing beside the carriage, they could certainly guess that the people inside the carriage weren’t ordinary people. That person that looked like a common middle-aged fatty wasn’t famous in ChangAn City. On his body there wasn’t any official rank identification, however when very many government officials saw that him they would all sing a charming tune, because very many people all knew, when His majesty the Prince had to manage some inconvenient affairs, all were carried out and handled by him.

However a person like this, compared to the Prime Minister’s housekeeper was an even more awesome figure. Even if drenched all over by ice-cold spring rain, he also didn’t dare to sit and enter the carriage to avoid the rain, rather slightly bending his back openly standing near the carriage, his att.i.tude especially humble.

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