Miao Chu

Chapter 68 Cloth
Before the scream could even escape his throat, Diaozi's neck was gripped tightly from behind by a thick arm.

If his mouth had been covered, he could have made some noise, but now his neck was being choked, and he couldn't even breathe properly, so how could he possibly make a sound?

He was the first one to be dragged out, head and legs, to the main hall.

Then the one with the slingshot was also dragged and pulled away.

The man struggled a bit, kicking wildly and even hitting the door twice with a "thump, thump".

However, the storage room was pitch black, and no one could see anyone else. Hearing the noise, someone shushed him, kindly offering a reminder.

Those who came in later didn't think much of it. Seeing someone walking out, they followed without a second thought.

As soon as they stepped out of that small door, and had barely adjusted to the darkness inside the room, one by one they were either tackled to the ground and pinned down by their chests, or had their necks strangled.

In order to keep an eye on the movements in the alley, the lookout deliberately walked out about ten steps and stood a little distance from the window.

Even so, he could vaguely hear some noises. Just as he was about to turn around to look, he heard a jogging sound coming from the direction of the alley entrance.

The man was startled and was about to turn around to warn someone when he heard the person whistle from afar.

As they got closer, they realized they were indeed one of their own.

Upon seeing him, the man hurriedly said, "Master Liao said that Brother Diao should not make a move tonight!"

The lookout was startled. He turned and pointed to the wide-open window of the Song Family Restaurant, saying, "What should we do? They've already gone inside!"

The messenger, preoccupied with delivering the message, had no idea what to do. In his anxiety, he stamped his foot and asked, "Have they caught anyone? If not, and they haven't been discovered, quickly make them leave!"

As he spoke, the man headed toward the window.

A cart was parked at the wooden window opening, which provided good leverage.

He placed one hand on the windowsill and one foot on the cart, then squeezed inside.

This person had good eyesight, and having adapted to the darkness along the way, he could see more clearly than others. He had only crawled halfway in when he began to look around under the windowsill, trying to find a good place to stand.

But after his eyes had only turned halfway around and he hadn't found a good spot, he saw two human legs suddenly appear out of thin air on the ground—the legs were kicking desperately, but before they could kick a few more times, they suddenly stopped moving, for some unknown reason.

He was startled, and upon closer inspection, he saw that above the person's legs, on the abdomen of the person lying on the ground, there was another person sitting on top of him.

The man seemed to hear the commotion and turned around abruptly.

He couldn't see what the person who turned around looked like, but he saw that the person grinned, revealing two rows of teeth in the darkness, which looked sinister and extremely terrifying.

The messenger opened his mouth and let out a scream, then immediately shrieked, bracing his hands on the windowsill and desperately trying to pull himself back with his legs, wishing he could cut himself off, head and neck, and throw himself into the room, leaving only his legs and stomach to escape as quickly as possible.

As he cried out, the lookout outside realized something was wrong. He didn't care about anything else, let alone reporting the news, and ran away as fast as he could.

He hadn't run two steps when he heard a "bang" behind him, followed by two more "bangs".

Knowing that looking back would be of no use, the person still couldn't help but turn around to look.

In the darkness, by the light of a crescent moon, one could see the messenger at the window of Song Family Restaurant kicking his legs in the air, desperately trying to step onto the cart. He had somehow snagged something, and his robe was torn in half, hanging precariously on the cart.

However, as his upper body moved further into the window, the exposed lower half of his body became shorter and shorter until, slowly, even his legs were "sucked" in.

It was as if the window were some kind of monster, devouring something.

The lookout's legs went weak, his heart pounding in his throat. He glanced to the side and saw that the Song family's gate had been wide open, and several burly men suddenly leaped out and chased after him.

The man panicked and tripped over something, falling down. Before he could get up, he was grabbed by two men who had caught up with him and pinned to the left and right.

Just as he was about to beg for mercy, he heard someone in the Song family restaurant shout, "That scoundrel ran away! Stop him!"

Looking up again, sure enough, a gust of wind seemed to rush out from behind, and a person burst out of the gate, grabbing a bench from somewhere and rushing towards the alleyway. As he rushed, he turned around and smashed the bench halfway down the road.

The messenger, pinned to the ground, squinted at the fleeing man's size and cried out, "Brother Diao? Brother Diao, save me!"

His eyesight is sharp; the person who escaped was indeed Diao Zi.

However, Diao Zi was too busy taking care of himself to pay attention to him.

Several people who realized what was happening tried to give chase, but the bench blocked their way. By the time they managed to get around it, it was too late.

Diao Zi ran all the way, but heard no sound behind him. He found it strange and glanced back out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly realized something was wrong—the burly men had only chased him for two steps before turning around and rushing to the right.

What's going on here?
Am I not worthy?

He was stunned.

With no one chasing after him, he unconsciously slowed down a bit and couldn't help but look in the direction the burly men had rushed off to.

Across from the Song Family Restaurant, the house that always kept its doors tightly shut was now wide open.

Diao Zi couldn't help but blink.

This is a establishment within the industry; normally, unless it's a regular customer or someone brought by a regular customer, they won't easily open the door to anyone who comes.

Even for regular customers, the only opening they'd make is a tiny one for them to squeeze through.

Why did you choose this time of day to open the door so wide?

Before he could think it through, he saw several people scurrying out of the wide-open gate of the house, their heads in their hands.

Upon seeing the burly men surrounding them, the crowd who had rushed out stopped and turned to run away, shouting, "There are people here! There are people here!"

I don't know what they're panicking about.

But after running back a few steps, shouts came from inside the house again: "There are people behind us! There are a lot of soldiers with knives blocking the gate! Run! Run!"

There were soldiers with knives behind them, but only a few men in front. Even a fool would know which to choose.

So, in just a few breaths, the person who had run back into the house turned around and rushed out the door again.

Upon seeing this, Diao Zi realized that something terrible had happened. Without further hesitation, he kicked his legs like crazy and fled for his life.

As he ran, he heard no sound behind him. When he looked back, he saw that no one was chasing him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to quicken his pace to get out, he realized something was wrong as he turned a corner and was about to reach the alley entrance.

So bright!

Looking up again, not far away, just a few dozen steps away, a menacing aura was palpable—a row of soldiers carrying sticks and shields were marching into the alley, completely blocking the entrance.

Behind the soldiers, there were others carrying lanterns and torches for illumination, and several more on horseback following behind.

The soldiers never expected that before they even entered the alley, they would encounter the fleeing soldiers walking right into their trap at the entrance.

Such easy credit, acquired for nothing, would require countless offerings of incense to obtain. The first few in line were already overtaken. Before Diao Zi could even catch his breath, he suddenly encountered soldiers ahead and hastily turned and fled again.

He was tall with short legs, but his stride frequency was high, and he had been in good form while running, so he was really flying.

However, the soldiers chasing behind, some carrying sticks and others holding shields, had only just started their run and were unable to catch up quickly.

After fleeing for a while, the Song family restaurant was already in front of them. As Diao Zi ran, a glimmer of hope began to grow in his heart.

Further on is Nanlu Academy.

Once you climb over the walls of the Nanlu Academy, you'll find plenty of rooms and a diverse population, giving you a chance to escape.

But at that moment, a man guarding the entrance of Song Family Restaurant heard the commotion, looked up and saw people coming, and then saw the pursuers behind him. He no longer wanted to hold his position and came to meet them.

The man suddenly appeared to help block the way, which was despicable in Diao Zi's eyes. However, the soldiers chasing behind were no better off; they were so angry that their eyes were almost red.

If they're not wearing military uniforms, they're most likely either patrolmen or officials from the Kyoto government office!
These two places are known for thieves who steal credit in the past, and they dare to come again today!
If the achievements we've already made are snatched away right before our eyes, and in a month or two it will be Qingming Festival, when we're supposed to pay respects to our ancestors, we might not even be able to light any paper money!
Upon seeing this, some of the pursuing soldiers cleverly threw away their sticks and shields, while another, the most reckless of them all, threw them away, ran a few steps, and lunged forward.

Diao Zi was on guard ahead when, unexpectedly, there was nothing in front, but a gust of wind came from behind. Before he could react, he was tackled to the ground and fell face-first into the mud.

He was in excruciating pain in his head and face, and in a moment of panic, he tried to sit up, but the person on his back twisted his hand and pulled his head up, making him unable to move. He could only cry out, "Sir, let go! Let go! I'm an innocent citizen! You've arrested the wrong person!"

As he shouted, he realized that his words were being spoken strangely, and that he was slurring his words. He quickly licked his mouth with his tongue and found it full of blood. He didn't know what hard object he had touched, but when he spat it out, he found a mouthful of blood mixed with his two front teeth. He felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The soldiers who had caught the man were feeling smug when they heard him cry out for justice. They sneered, "If you're a law-abiding citizen, why were you running away just now?"

Diao Zi's head and mouth hurt, and tears and snot flowed out along with the blood in his mouth. He wanted to say something to defend himself, but before he could speak, he saw people being forced out of the two doors on the left and right. From the Song family's restaurant on the left and the place on the right, people were being pushed out.

The field was now filled with soldiers, carrying torches and lanterns, making the area brightly lit.

Diao Zi had worked at various venues and knew quite a few people. In just a short while, he had already seen several familiar faces among the venue staff.

Everyone else saw him too, and one of the fools exclaimed, "Brother Diao?"

The soldier who had captured him burst into laughter: "What a good citizen! Even a thief would call you brother!"

Diao Zi wanted to explain, but everything went black as someone pulled a black cloth over his head. When he tried to explain, the words were muffled by the draft and the cloth made it impossible for anyone to listen.

***
In the backyard, Song Miaoan stayed quietly in her room.

She heard shouts, clamor, cries, and commands ahead, along with the sound of horses' hooves and footsteps.

With such commotion, it's natural for people to be unable to sleep, especially since something happened at Sun Lizheng's house, and no one knows what the situation is.

Because this happened so coincidentally, she couldn't help but wonder if it was related to Zhu coming to stay with her, and she was also worried.

Since she couldn't sleep, and it was still early, she got up anyway. Afraid of causing trouble unintentionally, she didn't dare go out to the main hall. Instead, she lit a lamp and ground her inkstone and washed her brush in the room, slowly calculating the money she had recently earned, as well as the debts that were at the top of her list that she needed to pay off.

Just as he was halfway through calculating, he heard someone knocking on the door and calling out, "Shopkeeper Song, I saw you have the lamp on. Are you awake?"

Song Miao recognized the voice as Qin Zong's, responded, put down her pen, moved the chair blocking the door, grabbed a knife from the table with one hand, and opened the door with the other.

Seeing that it was indeed Qin Zong outside, she felt relieved, called out "Young Master Qin," and asked what was the matter.

Qin Zong was as happy as a monkey, chuckling, "We've hit the jackpot today! I won't say much else, but you know that the place across the street really is a gambling den. Today, we cast our net and caught who knows how many fish we've caught! It's all thanks to you coming out of this place and giving us so many clues that we've achieved this today!"

He was in a good mood and shared his thoughts with Song Miaoxian before getting down to business. He said, "Zhengyan is too busy to leave, so he asked me to come in and pass on a message. The first thing is that although they have arrested most of the people in the house across the street, the yamen will still send people to search this place for a few more days. It's just to keep an eye on things so that nothing bad might happen later. If Aunt Zhu can't come, they will arrange for someone else to come and keep you company. Please don't worry."

"The second thing is that he might not be able to spare any time to give any information in the next two days, but he will keep a close eye on today's matter. He told you not to worry and that he will definitely give you an explanation."

After listing the two incidents, Qin Zong asked curiously, "What happened today?"

Although there was nothing to hide, Song Miao skipped the details and simply asked Han Li to help check if there were any problems with the deed and land deed for her house.

Qin Zong gave an "oh," immediately losing interest. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "How many people does the breakfast that Stall Owner Song makes each day feed? How much does it cost in total?"

Song Miao did the math and gave him a number.

Qin Zong immediately said, "Then I'll take care of all the breakfast you made today, and as for the drinks, anything goes. Can you give me a total of two hundred servings? I'll have someone come over in a bit, and you can take them whenever you're ready!"

"Who is this for? Do you have any preferences in terms of taste?" Song Miao asked first.

"For the brothers in the yamen, and the city guards and constables who are here to help, don't worry about their taste preferences, just make it the same as before, your original taste was already very good!"

As he spoke, he took out a piece of silver from his purse and handed it to Song Miao, saying, "If you have any extra, please keep it for now. There will definitely be things in the future that I need your help with, and I will deduct them from the bill then!"

Song Miao didn't waste any time and readily agreed. She weighed the silver, carefully put it away, and wrote down Qin Zong's savings account on a piece of paper.

Qin Zong said nothing and then took his leave.

But after taking a few steps, he slowly stopped, turned around and said, "Stadium owner Song, could you... could you leave me a separate bowl of pork rib soup? I want lots of radish, but no pork ribs."

Song Miao smiled and agreed. After packing her things, she prepared everything according to Qin Zong's instructions. Sure enough, when the time was almost up, a servant from the Qin family came to knock on the door.

She packed her things up and told the men to take them away.

After seeing off the servants, Song Miao couldn't help but glance at the house across the street.

At this time, the house was filled with soldiers searching it, and there were quite a few of them. The door was blocked off with ropes and warning signs were posted. Because people were still constantly going in and out, the house had not yet been sealed off.

She glanced at it a few times and then ignored it. As she turned to go back inside, she suddenly noticed that the cart was still parked outside under the window.

This cart was placed outside yesterday to prevent Zhu Jie'er's carriage from blocking the view through the window. Now that there's no need to keep watch anymore, and Qin Zong has bought all of today's breakfast without even setting up a stall, it can naturally be put away.

She stepped forward, about to move, when she noticed that, for some reason, two large pieces of fabric were caught on the left wheel of the cart.

Song Miao reached out and took it down, examining it carefully.

It looked like it was on someone's clothes; the color and workmanship were very ordinary, but it was already ripped, so it must have been caught on unintentionally.

The only difference is that there are several holes burned in it, or black marks from being burned by something.

The mark was very fresh.

Who would get their clothes snagged here?
Song Miao felt a little strange. She fanned the area where the mark was, and sure enough, she smelled a faint scent of incense.

She thought for a moment, and instead of throwing them away, she wrapped the two pieces of cloth in a clean cloth before going to push the cart.

But before she could push it away, she saw someone walk in from outside the alley.

The man was quite old, with gray hair and beard. He wore a short jacket and trousers, wrapped in a long robe and turban. He was in good spirits, and his beard was well-groomed, long, and shiny. As he walked, he kept looking at a piece of paper in his hand.

Thank you so much to my cats, Egg and Miss Ultraman, from the bookstore for each of these little gifts! Mwah! =3=
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(End of this chapter)