The group advanced with great difficulty, and after spending some effort, they finally arrived in front of the inn.
The inn was not new, as if it had been built for some time. Under the light of the lantern at the door, the moss was still visible.
The plaque, which had already been covered in marks from the passing of time, was engraved with four big words: "Kong bu Inn,"
"Hualala ..."
The rain poured down like a torrential downpour. It was as if the heavenly River had been overturned. The surroundings were covered in fog, and only the lights in the inn were burning with a little warmth.
The head of escorts tilted his head slightly and looked at an older bodyguard beside him.
The bodyguard nodded and immediately got off his horse. He walked to the front door of the inn and knocked on it while shouting, " "Shopkeeper, open the door! Stay at the top of the line!"
At the same time, the other bodyguards looked at the inn's door vigilantly, their hands on the hilt of their swords, ready to guard against any possible accidents.
After all, the goods they were carrying were very valuable, and they could not be taken lightly.
Only the head of the escorts remained unmoved, his face calm and unruffled. Unlike other bodyguards, he had an outstanding innate ability since he was a child. He had a famous teacher and learned many high-class martial arts. He had also experienced countless ups and downs. He was recognized as a first-class master in the Jianghu.
Now that he was traveling, he no longer needed to be like those second and third-rate martial artists, who were filled with fear and trepidation.
In the entire martial world, there were not many people who dared to find trouble with him!
Creak. &Quot;
The inn's door finally opened.
Behind the door stood a thin man in a gray robe. From his dress, he should be the shopkeeper. The bright light shone from behind him, covering most of his face in the shadows, and only a small part of his gray-black face could be seen.
The hall behind him was deserted. Many tables and chairs were empty, and there were almost no people in sight. It was very quiet at the moment, and only the sound of the rain could be heard.
The shopkeeper looked at them and asked in a hoarse voice, " "How many of you?"
Seeing that there weren't many people in the inn, the group of bodyguards secretly heaved a sigh of relief. They had brought valuable goods on this trip, so they were naturally worried about accidents on the way.
If there were too many people, it would be hard to avoid hidden dangers.
However, the number of people in this Inn could be counted on one hand, and they had the advantage in numbers, so there was naturally no need to worry about accidents.
The bodyguard who knocked on the door immediately said, " "There are fifteen of us. Let's have something to eat first and stay the night."
"Also, do you have any good quality grass here? We need to feed the horses."
"Waiter, go feed the guest's horse." The innkeeper turned his head.
As soon as he finished speaking, a waiter with a wooden expression walked out. He was very tall and very thin. When he walked, there was a feeling of lightness, as if he would be Gone with the Wind at any time.
His face was pale and his eyes were empty. He walked to the escort team and stood in front of them silently.
Immediately after, the shopkeeper slowly retreated into the shadows behind the door. &Quot; guest, please come in. &Quot;
Soon, the shopkeeper's figure disappeared, leaving only the wide-open door for the escort party to enter.
Seeing this, the bodyguard who knocked on the door turned to look at the head of escorts.
"Leave a few people here to look after the goods and check the fodder," the head of escorts said with a calm expression."The rest of you can go in and rest."
"From now on, we'll take turns to keep watch every two hours."
"If anything happens, use the whistle as a signal and contact each other."
"Yes!" All the bodyguards replied.
Immediately after, the head of escorts jumped down from the shaft of the carriage and took the lead to walk toward the inn's main door.
The many bodyguards behind him quickly discussed a few things, and soon, most of them followed the head of bodyguards into the shop. Four of the bodyguards got down from the ground, led their horses, and protected the carriage. Under the guidance of the waiter, they walked towards the backyard.
Although this Inn was located in a remote area, it occupied a rather vast area.
In the pouring rain, after the two sides separated, they had only taken a few steps before they could no longer see each other's figures.
The head of escorts and his party quickly entered the inn and saw an extremely spacious main hall.
Near the entrance, there was a row of chest-high counters. The shopkeeper from before was standing behind the counter, holding an Abacus in his hands. He was motionless as he looked at the escort team walking in.
Behind him, there was a row of wooden shelves as high as the roof. On the shelves were all kinds of bottles and jars, and on them were names: "Peach blossom wine, apricot blossom wine, Pear Blossom wine ..."
"Rice vinegar, aged vinegar ..."
"Green salt, white salt ..."
With a casual glance, he saw that they were all miscellaneous items such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, and so on. On the edge of the wooden shelf, there were also strings of dried goods such as chili, garlic, eggplants, shiitake mushrooms, and so on. It seemed that this Inn was also a grocery store.
The room was paved with old blue bricks, and thick moss could be seen in the cracks.
There were tables and chairs for customers outside the counter.
The seats by the window were separated by a simple bamboo curtain, and the words "private" were hung on it.
Lanterns hung from the ceiling, lighting up the entire Hall as if it was daytime. However, there were not many guests at the moment, and most of the seats were empty.
There were only a few scattered tables with people sitting there, and they seemed to be drinking in silence. No one made a sound, not even the sound of glasses and chopsticks hitting each other.
The head of escorts looked around and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. He then led the group of escorts to two tables and sat down.
"The weather changes so quickly!" After they were seated, an escort picked up the teapot on the table and poured tea for everyone. He sighed and said, " I thought we would be able to reach the prefecture by tomorrow morning. It'll be good if we can reach by tomorrow evening. &Quot;
His companion said,"just be content!" Along the way, there were as many bandits as there were hairs on an ox. If it wasn't for the well-known reputation of the head of escorts, which made them not dare to act rashly, how could they have reached here smoothly? Now, it was just a rain. Let's rest for a night and catch our breath."
"You're right! Our head of escorts is unrivaled, and we've benefited from him this time ... Up until now, no one has even unsheathed their sabers once ..."
"The rain just now was really heavy. I've never seen such heavy rain in my entire life ..."
"Woof! How old are you? How many times have you seen the world? You call that rain heavy? I'm telling you, back then ..."
Everyone chatted at once. However, after a long time, they became colder and famished, but no waiter came to greet them. They gradually grew impatient. One of the bodyguards immediately shouted to the shopkeeper, " "Shopkeeper! Quickly serve some wine and food!"
The shopkeeper didn't move at all. He was still holding the abacus and staring at them without any reaction.
The bodyguard frowned and immediately stood up. He walked to the counter, took out a corner of silver, and slapped it on the chopping board.
&Quot; serve some food and wine, the wine ... &Quot; he urged again, but he suddenly stopped halfway.