Chapter 3 Yanmen Inn (I)

Fifteen years later...

The desert is filled with lonely smoke for ten thousand miles, and Yanmen Pass is a dangerous natural barrier.

At noon, a thick fog suddenly fell in the endless desert. The human figures were blurred seven feet away, the figures were indistinguishable ten feet away, and the people were indistinguishable two feet away. It was all thick white fog and nothing could be seen. Such a thick fog was extremely rare even in the wild land outside Yanmen Pass.

In the silent fog, a team of more than a dozen fast horses quietly appeared in front of the pass. These people were all dressed in ordinary cloth. On the surface, they looked like a group of merchants transporting goods on horseback, but most of them were burly men with strong backs and fierce looks. In addition, the swords hanging on the saddles showed from the side that this group of merchants was far from being as simple as they seemed.

The horse team moved slowly and cautiously, carefully identifying and groping for the direction in the fog. The men walking in front seemed particularly anxious, waving their strong arms from time to time as if trying to disperse the fog. This sudden fog must have delayed their journey.

"Abaolu, the fog has covered the sky and we can't continue our journey. Now we have arrived at Yanmen Pass, and we don't think those Song court hawks will chase us here. Yanmen Inn is only an arrow's distance away, we can rest there for a while, and then go out after the fog is cleared." Among the horse team, a young woman dressed in tight clothes looked around at the vast fog and spoke lightly.

The woman was about seventeen or eighteen years old, and her voice was as clear as the chirping of an oriole, which was very pleasant to the ear. Although she was lightly dressed, it was still difficult to hide her unique beauty of the Western Regions. Her long black hair was tied up and hung down her shoulders, her skin was as smooth as snow, her eyebrows were willow-like, her eyes were almond-shaped, her nose was exquisite, her lips were red, her teeth were smooth, and her eyes were especially bright. Even an unintentional glance could make people deeply intoxicated. The woman riding a horse added a bit of heroic spirit. Although she was young, the other people in the horse team were quite respectful to her.

Abaolu is a middle-aged man, nine feet tall, with three horizontal and vertical scars on his angular dark face. From his name, one can tell that this group of people are not from the Central Plains, but are actually from the Western Regions.

"Xunzhen, what should we do with the 'master'?" Abaolu turned to look at a man in the horse team who was dressed very strangely. He was about 40 years old, had a face like a Central Plains man, was fat and looked a little lazy, and the strangest thing was that he had no beard or hair on his head, just like a monk. At this moment, this "monk" was sandwiched between two Western Regions men, sitting on the horse motionless, except for his erratic eyes turning left and right from time to time, there was no other reaction.

Abaolu was a warrior, but when he spoke to Xunzhen, his tone was full of humility, and it was not difficult to see that Xunzhen's identity must be high. Xunzhen frowned slightly and thought for a moment, then said calmly: "It doesn't matter. Yanmen Pass is now controlled by the Mongols. Even if someone sees the master, I'm afraid no one will recognize his true identity. Moreover, we are just taking a break, so there is no need to bother to hide it."

Abaolu nodded slightly, identified the direction, and then led a group of people carefully forward in the dense fog. After walking for about an incense stick of time, the shadow of Yanmen Inn gradually appeared in the thick fog.

Yanmen Inn was originally a post station at the pass where the Song Dynasty stationed troops and guarded the pass. It was once used as a post station to convey military intelligence. After the Song court fled south, it fell into the hands of the Jin people. Later, the Mongols joined forces with the Lin'an court to destroy the Jin Dynasty in one fell swoop, and Yanmen Pass fell into the Mongols' sphere of influence. Today, Mongolia has a vast territory and no worries about the north. Therefore, the number of troops stationed at Yanmen Pass is far less than in the past. The Yanmen Post Station gradually became deserted. After a few years, it was turned into an inn, which was dedicated to earning gold and silver from the merchants passing through.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Several dull knocks on the door were heard outside the inn. The innkeeper shouted and opened the dilapidated door to welcome the guests. But before the waiter could greet them, Abaolu rushed in with a dozen people. Abaolu was so impatient that he almost knocked the skinny waiter to the ground.

"Hurry up and serve the wine and meat!" Abaolu called out in a loud voice, and gestured to a long table in the inn. The dozen people behind him gathered around and sat down. Xunzhen, Abaolu and the other three Westerners took the silent "monk" to sit alone at another empty table.

At this moment, in addition to this group of Westerners, there were five or six tables of guests sitting in groups of three or five around the inn. After the Westerners sat down, they looked at each other for a few seconds, then turned their heads away and ignored each other.

It is not uncommon for people to be wary of each other and keep an eye on each other when walking in the underworld, but generally no one will take the initiative to provoke outsiders. After all, it is better to have less trouble than more when you are out.

After a while, the inn became noisy again.

"Waiter, come here!" Abaolu called to the waiter in the distance. The waiter had just been hit hard by the burly Abaolu, and at this moment, all the bones in his body were almost broken, but he didn't dare to complain, so he had to bite the bullet and walked forward, laughing dryly and asked, "What do you want, sir?"

"When will the fog outside dissipate?" Xunzhen asked.

Perhaps it was because Xunzhen's appearance was too charming, but the waiter was in a trance for a moment after seeing Xunzhen, and then he subconsciously smiled and asked: "Where are you from?"

"Nonsense!" Abaolu's eyes glared like bells, frightening the waiter and changing his words: "I mean that you may not be familiar with the weather in Yanmen Pass. Here, fog in the morning can last for a cup of tea, and fog in the evening can last for a stick of incense. But fog at noon is the most troublesome. I'm afraid it won't go away for an hour or two."

Xunzhen couldn't help but frown upon hearing this, and said thoughtfully: "Won't it be dusk in two hours? How can we leave the retreat then..."

"That's exactly what the guest said. There are Tatar soldiers stationed at Yanmen Pass, and they close the pass early in the afternoon every day. I think with the heavy fog today, it's likely that people are no longer allowed to leave." The waiter replied hurriedly, "But we still have rooms available in our inn. Why don't you..."

Xunzhen and Abaolu had already understood the waiter's intention when he said this. Abaolu interrupted the waiter with a wave of his hand and said coldly, "I know what you are thinking. You just want to keep us here to make more money. Just go and get the wine and meat. No need to say anything else." The waiter didn't dare to say much when he saw that this group of Westerners were not good people. He just looked at the "monk" sitting between the two Westerners with curiosity, and then turned to prepare wine and meat. While the waiter was serving wine and food to Abaolu and others, the eyes of the four guests sitting in the corner on the other side gradually became a little strange. The leading man among the four was about 20 years old, wearing a green shirt, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes on his well-defined face. He looked quite handsome. On the table in front of him was a delicate short knife.

This person was none other than Qin Wei, the orphan who had nearly frozen to death on the streets of Qianzhou.

Since being adopted by Zhao Yuan and entering the Tianji Pavilion, Qin Wei has practiced martial arts and literature, and has gone through many hardships. Fifteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. Today, Qin Wei is no longer the timid and miserable child he was back then, but has transformed himself and become one of the ten young guards of the Tianji Pavilion. It can be said that he has experienced life and death, and finally achieved happiness after suffering. It really fulfilled the conversation between Liu Xunyi and him that year, "Without going through the bitter cold, how can the fragrance of plum blossoms be so fragrant?"

"Mr. Qin..."

Without waiting for the black-faced man to speak, Qin Wei suddenly waved his hand to interrupt him and shook his head silently. The black-faced man understood and quickly changed his words: "Brother Qin, do you think we should..." He did not continue speaking, but put down his chopsticks and quietly reached under the table. At this moment, under this square table, three steel knives were hidden.

Qin Wei laughed softly and said, "No hurry, let's wait until they finish drinking this jar of wine." After that, he looked straight at the timid innkeeper, and the innkeeper subconsciously dodged hastily after seeing Qin Wei's strange eyes. Qin Wei saw this. The corner of his mouth suddenly raised a smug smile.

On the side, Abaolu lined up a dozen large bowls on the table, ready to pour wine into them one by one. Xunzhen picked up a bowl and personally handed it to the motionless "monk", saying softly: "Master, I'm sorry for the offense. Drink a few sips of wine to quench your thirst. After passing Yanmen Pass, it will be our territory. Then I will definitely unblock your acupuncture points for you." After that, Xunzhen put the wine bowl towards the "monk's" mouth. It turned out that the reason why the "monk" was silent and motionless was that his acupuncture points were sealed.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Open the door! Open the door quickly!"

The sudden sound of banging on the door interrupted Xunzhen's actions. Before the panicked waiter could go to open the door, there was a loud "bang" and the two dilapidated doors were kicked open by someone, scaring the waiter so much that he quickly screamed.

Soon after, seven or eight Mongolian soldiers with scimitars on their waists rushed into the inn. Through the doors and windows, Qin Wei and others could vaguely see that outside the inn, there were at least fifty or sixty Mongolian soldiers with swords and knives gathered.

"Captain... Captain... We have already paid the tribute this month..." The waiter explained hurriedly, "How come they are here again in just two days..."

"What nonsense!" The one who led the troops here was a captain stationed at Yanmen Pass, named Lietu. To flatter him, the innkeepers all called him "Captain". Lietu was more than seven feet tall and had a sturdy build. He dragged the waiter to him like a chicken and shouted, "Don't you want to accept the offering? Can't you come?"

"Yes, yes, yes..." The waiter hurriedly flattered, "I wonder what the captain and the soldiers would like to eat. I will prepare it right away..."

"Eat shit!"

Without waiting for the waiter to finish his words, Lietu threw him to the ground with a big wave of his hand. Then he took out a piece of parchment from his arms, spread it with both hands and poked it in front of the waiter's eyes, and asked loudly: "Have you ever seen the person drawn on the paper?"

"No... I haven't seen him..." The guy replied tremblingly, "I don't know him..."

"You Han people are really cunning and full of nonsense. You said you haven't seen it without even taking a look at it. You are obviously lying!" Lietu shouted and cursed, and then kicked the waiter hard. The waiter curled up in pain and lay on the ground for a long time unable to move.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the inn was extremely depressing. In the silent lobby, everyone's eyes were focused on the ferocious Lie Tu, and they were secretly guessing his intentions.

Lietu looked around the inn with great pride, then raised the parchment in his hand high up, showing it to everyone, and asked in a commanding manner: "This man is a wanted criminal. Anyone who harbors him will be sentenced to death. Has anyone seen him?"

Following Lie Tu's question, all the diners in Yanmen Inn turned their eyes to the wanted poster. When everyone saw the portrait drawn on the poster, Xunzhen and other Westerners and Qin Wei's gang were almost shocked at the same time and took a deep breath in secret.

Because the man drawn in the wanted notice, minus his hair and beard, looked exactly like the "monk" whose acupoints were pressed.

……

(End of this chapter)