Chapter 332: Changing the Heaven and the Sun
The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, New Year’s Eve.

Every household in Lhasa City was decorated with lights and colors, and even poor families would take out some of their hard-earned savings to buy some wine and meat to celebrate the reunion.

Although the New Year in Tubo is not as lively and prosperous as that in the Central Plains, it also has its own festive flavor.

It was getting late, the night was deepening, and the night sky over the plateau seemed so close that it could be touched.

The sky is full of stars, shining brightly. At some point, a few snowflakes of snow drifted down from the night sky, accompanying the gradual fading of the hustle and bustle, as if to cast a layer of tranquility and peace over the bustling city of Lhasa, accompanying the people in the city to fall into a deep sleep one after another.

When we wake up tomorrow, it will be a new year.

There are more than 30 inns of various sizes in Lhasa City, one of which is the "Baozhu Inn", which is the best in the area.

Tonight, Baozhu Inn is closed to visitors because it has welcomed an extremely distinguished guest, the "King Wen" Pingza, one of the eight kings of Tubo.

Pingzha claimed to be the reincarnation of Manjusri Bodhisattva and occupied the western part of Tubo for many years, winning the hearts of the people. Among the eight kings of Tubo, he was the oldest, the most experienced, and the most prestigious. Therefore, except for Tsodan, the other eight kings all respected Pingzha to show the respect and humility of the younger generation to the elders.

Every year, Pingzha would arrive in Lhasa City one day in advance for his pilgrimage and stay at Baozhu Inn, which had become a custom. Therefore, at the end of each year, Baozhu Inn would be decorated and renovated, and the beds would be cleared to welcome King Wen.

Under the moonlight, two dark shadows appeared silently in the dark alley opposite the Baozhu Inn.

The street was quiet and there was no one around. The two of them jumped onto the roof of the inn one after another.

"Tang Cong, thank you for your hard work tonight. This is the last one."

Liu Xunyi lay motionless on the rooftop, and said carefully to Tang Cong, who was wearing a black scarf beside him, "According to reports, Ping Zha's men have booked this inn. You must be extremely cautious to avoid being imprisoned."

"Master, don't worry." Tang Cong smiled and said lightly, "These Tibetan guards are all good-for-nothings, stupid as hell, and they pose no threat to me at all."

"They are not stupid, but too confident." Liu Xunyi smiled bitterly, "They are confident that no one in Luoshui City dares to attack them, and they are confident that they can run rampant in Tubo."

"What reincarnation of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas? Pah! It's all a hoax." Tang Cong curled his lips and said, "If they are real gods, how could they not even discover a little thief like me? In my opinion, they are more like the reincarnation of clay Buddhas."

"Don't talk too much, just go and come back quickly." Liu Xunyi said seriously, "Just like before, I will be here to help you. If the matter is exposed, you can just get away on your own and I will stop the pursuit."

"In fact, you should just sleep in bed. Why come out with me and suffer in the cold?" Tang Cong said confidently, "I can handle these idiots by myself."

"It is already past the hour of Yin and the sky is about to brighten. We need to fight quickly to avoid exposing ourselves."

"In previous years, I would spend New Year's Eve at home with my brothers and get drunk." Tang Cong recalled, "But this year, I am stealing in a foreign land thousands of miles away. When I was a thief in the past, there was an unwritten rule that you cannot steal during the New Year's Day, Qingming Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival, so as not to incur the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people. I broke the rule tonight, and I don't know if I will be punished? Hehe..."

Although Tang Cong's words were joking, Liu Xunyi could hear a hint of worry in his unruly tone. From ancient times to the present, the lower nine classes of professions have many superstitions, and Tang Cong was born a thief, so it was difficult for him to escape from the common customs.

"If there is no reason, I will never let you go back to your old ways and go astray again." Liu Xunyi comforted him, "If you are struck by lightning, I will bear it for you."

"Master, please don't swear carelessly." Tang Cong said in a serious tone, "Although thieves are low-class people, our ancestors have set the rule that thieves also have their own code of conduct. We, the younger generation, naturally cannot disobey. What's more..." Having said this, Tang Cong rolled his eyes and said jokingly, "This is Tibet, and we are not subject to the rules of the Central Plains. Hehe..."

After saying that, Tang Cong no longer hesitated, nodded slightly to Liu Xunyi, then flipped over and jumped off the roof, disappearing silently into the night.

After entering the inn, Tang Cong stepped forward with his waist twisted, and walked close to the wall. He would carefully look into every guest room he passed along the way.

A moment later, Tang Cong arrived at Guest Room A in the middle of the second floor.

He poked a hole in the paper window with his finger and saw a burly old man sleeping soundly on the couch. In addition to him, there were four burly guards with knives on their waists sitting around the table, dozing off drowsily.

Seeing the embroidered cloaks piled beside the bed, Tang Cong concluded that this person was the last prey he was looking for, "King Wen" Ping Zha.

He took out the incense from his bosom and quietly blew it into the room through the hole. In a moment, four drowsy guards fell on the table one after another, and soon they were snoring and sleeping soundly.

Seeing that the time had come, Tang Cong inserted the dagger into the crack of the door, picked up the bolt with ease, jumped forward and rolled into the guest room, and quickly closed the two doors.

The whole set of movements was smooth and seamless, and the performance seemed very skillful.

In the dim room, Tang Cong's bright eyes flickered with a faint light. He slid to the bedside, and fumbled around Ping Zha with his hands, and finally pulled a palm-sized brocade bag off Ping Zha's belt.

There was a golden "卍" character embroidered on the brocade pouch, exactly the same as the other brocade pouches he had stolen before.

It was easy to get it done, almost effortlessly, Tang Cong couldn't help but feel satisfied, his eyebrows dancing with joy. He looked at Ping Zha who was sleeping soundly, snorted with contempt, and walked quickly towards the window.

"squeak!"

"Ring ring ring..."

However, just as Tang Cong was complacently preparing to jump out of the window to escape, a clear and sharp bell sound suddenly rang out in the guest room, which sounded particularly harsh and loud in the silent night.

"what happened?"

When the sound came out, Tang Cong was startled and subconsciously reached out to wipe the window sill. Suddenly, he felt something entangled on the window frame. When he stroked it, it was cold and cutting his hand. It was like a fishing line as thin as a hair.

"Damn it! Someone actually marked the window!" Tang Cong, who had been in the underworld for many years, naturally understood the purpose of this fishing line. He immediately understood everything and couldn't help but feel regretful. He blamed himself again and again, "I got carried away! I got carried away! I really capsized in the ditch. I was careless for a moment and even neglected such a small matter. I deserve to be beaten! I really deserve to be beaten!" "Damn, damn, damn!"

Just as Tang Cong was about to escape after forcibly cutting the fishing line, the tightly closed door was brute-forced and opened. Then, more than a dozen Tibetan warriors rushed into the guest room, shouting and waving Tibetan knives and rushing towards Tang Cong.

"Master, save me!"

In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Tang Cong did not bother with the guards. He jumped out of the window without hesitation, calling for help from Liu Xunyi, but he flew towards the end of the night without looking back.

"Don't panic, Tang Cong. You go first, I'll cover you."

With a cold shout, Liu Xunyi, dressed in black and masked, suddenly dropped from the sky and blocked the window. He then attacked as fast as lightning with heavy sword shadows, forcing the Tibetan warriors who wanted to chase him back into the room.

At this moment, not only was the Baozhu Inn brightly lit and crowded with people, but there were also informants who rushed into the streets, beating gongs and drums, which not only woke up the people in the city but also attracted the attention of the Codan tribe.

After all, Lhasa City is the territory of the Tibetan King. Now that someone is causing trouble in his territory, Cuodan will definitely not ignore it.

In less than a cup of tea, the empty and lonely streets were already crowded with people and vehicles. A large number of guards led by Ban Sang, armed with swords and knives, rode fast and surrounded the Baozhu Inn in the blink of an eye.

Tang Cong escaped danger without a single mistake, but he never expected that things would become so serious. In order to hide from others, he could only move carefully between the rooftops, flying up and down, climbing over the eaves and ridges, and sneaking back to his mansion in the west of the city without anyone noticing.

Boren had been waiting in the yard for a long time when he suddenly heard noises coming from the city and hurried footsteps on the street. He became even more uneasy and at a loss.

Seeing Tang Cong approaching slowly, Boren immediately showed joy on his face, quickly stepped forward and asked anxiously: "How is it? Did you succeed?"

"I did succeed, but..."

Tang Cong hesitated to speak, looking embarrassed. Boren, who seemed to be thinking about something, could not help but change his expression. He looked suspiciously at the gate of the mansion, then dragged Tang Cong to the depths of the courtyard and asked in a low voice: "Is there something wrong with Baozhu Inn?"

"How do you know it's Baozhu Inn?" Tang Cong asked in surprise.

"There is a lot of noise outside, and it seems that people are talking about the Baozhu Inn." Boren explained, "Lhasa City is only a small place, but a hundred people will respond to a call. No matter where the trouble happens, Tsodan's men can rush to deal with it within a cup of tea. Just now, when I heard the noise outside, I felt a sense of foreboding."

"What should we do?" Tang Cong was in a foreign country, somewhat at a loss and panicked, and asked hurriedly, "Will they come to our house?"

"If we really wait for them to come to our door, we will be unable to escape even if we have wings." Boren sighed, "Once we are caught by Tsodan, we will be tortured and our life will be worse than death."

"My dear, what should I do?" The noise outside the gate made Tang Cong completely confused. His face was ashen and his lips were as white as wax. He comforted himself tremblingly, "With the Sect Master covering for me, it should be... okay, right?"

"But Brother Liu has not returned yet. I think he has probably fallen into the hands of Cuodan." Boren looked solemn and shook his head slowly, "Cuodan is not only cruel but also cunning. Brother Liu has just arrived and is unfamiliar with the place. It will be difficult for him to escape. This is a matter of life and death. We would rather believe it than not believe it!"

"what should we do?"

"Let's go!" Boren grabbed Tang Cong's arm and said sternly, "Of the thirty-six strategies, running away is the best one! For now, we have to escape from Luoshui before Cuodan comes to kill us. Only then will we have a chance of survival."

"Leave?" Tang Cong was stunned at first, then he shook Boren's hand away with all his strength and said angrily, "The sect leader's life or death is unknown, how can we just leave?"

"Brother Tang, please forgive me for speaking frankly. At this point, our plan has been exposed. If we don't leave now, the only outcome will be death!" Boren advised earnestly, "You don't know Tsodan. He is cruel and brutal, and ruthless, far beyond your imagination..."

"Then I can't just walk away and abandon the Sect Master!" Tang Cong said righteously, "At worst I'll die, so what's there to be afraid of?"

"I'm most afraid that you will be unable to live or die by then." Boren said in despair, "Brother Liu may have been captured or escaped, but no matter what his situation is, it is not the best idea for you and me to stay here."

"What if the Sect Master is safe and sound, but we flee in panic? Wouldn't that be a confession?" Tang Cong hesitated, "Why not wait a little longer..."

"What if Brother Liu doesn't come but Cuodan's troops come? What should we do? We can't take this risk. One wrong move could lead to a complete loss." Boren was extremely anxious and urged with gritted teeth, "To put it bluntly, it's better for Brother Liu to die alone than for everyone to die together!"

"But……"

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Before Tang Cong could open his mouth, someone suddenly knocked on the tightly closed door.

The sudden knock on the door was like the death knell of hell, instantly making Boren and Tang Cong's souls fly away and their spirits scatter into the sky.

"Who...who?"

Tang Cong was nervous and his voice was trembling. He was so nervous that he forgot that this was Tibet and he was speaking Chinese. When Boren realized it, it was too late.

The two of them subconsciously linked their arms tightly together, staring at the gate in fear and trepidation. At this moment, their hearts were already in their throats.

After a long silence, a low voice finally sounded outside the door.

"It's me, Liu Xunyi!"

……

(End of this chapter)