novelaction Chapter 295: The Mysterious Restaurant
Chapter 295: The Mysterious Restaurant
Chapter 295: The Mysterious Restaurant
The innkeeper chuckled and said, "Sorry, young lady, I hope my ugliness didn't frighten you." As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Ji Meiqing, who was hiding behind Lu Yu. Ji Meiqing, frightened, clung to Lu Yu's clothes. Perhaps sensing the fear in the person behind him, the innkeeper dismissed her, saying, "This is none of your business." He then left. Lu Yu turned around, embraced Ji Meiqing, patted her back, and comforted her, but the person in his arms continued to tremble. Lu Yu then asked the coachman to take a candle to the next room.
When only Lu Yu and Ji Meiqing were left in the room, Ji Meiqing nestled in Lu Yu's arms and wouldn't leave. After a while, she said in a trembling voice, "Brother Lu, I always feel that this place is eerie, and that shopkeeper is also very strange." As she spoke, she shrank even closer into Lu Yu's arms. She was afraid and felt that Lu Yu's arms were the safest place.
Lu Yu stroked her head, knowing she was scared, and said, "Go to sleep, it's okay!"
Lu Yu carried Ji Meiqing to bed; she slept on the inside, and Lu Yu slept on the outside. Ji Meiqing held Lu Yu as she fell asleep. Lu Yu knew he couldn't sleep tonight, so he lay in bed pretending to doze off.
downstairs.
"Boss, a big fish has arrived!" the shopkeeper said to the people sitting and eating nearby, his joy barely concealed.
The man ate in silence, but the innkeeper knew what the boss meant by his silence. The boss was a fifty-year-old man with a face full of wrinkles, and one eye was lifeless—he was blind. Yet, he still exuded a menacing aura.
The innkeeper tiptoed upstairs alone, poked a small hole in the door with his hand, and blew air into the room through a bamboo tube. The people inside were Lu Yu and Ji Meiqing. Lu Yu had already heard the commotion outside, and the moment he saw the bamboo tube being pushed through the door, he began to hold his breath.
White smoke filled the room. Lu Yu didn't care about Ji Meiqing. Looking at her sleeping face, he figured it was enough that she was sleeping peacefully; he would handle the rest himself. He hid Ji Meiqing and her bundle under the bed, then found a place to hide himself.
Not long after, the door to the room was opened, and a dark figure slowly approached the bed, holding a knife in his hand. The dim light from outside made the knife gleam coldly.
This man was the shopkeeper. He approached the bed step by step with a knife in his hand. As he got closer, he swung the knife and slashed wildly at the bed. After slashing dozens of times, he found that the person on the bed was not moving or screaming, which was somewhat illogical. He opened the quilt and found that there was no one there.
Sweat began to bead on his back; he felt like he'd been taken advantage of. He turned and searched the room, but still couldn't see anyone. Lu Yu leaped down from the rafters, snatched the knife from his hand, and held it to the shopkeeper's neck. The shopkeeper instinctively raised his hands, his face now even paler.
"Speak! Who are you? You released sleeping gas, attempted murder—what are your intentions?!" Lu Yu's cold gaze was fixed on the shopkeeper, who retreated step by step, while Lu Yu pressed closer. Only when the shopkeeper was backed against the wall with nowhere to escape did he finally speak: "My name is Tang... Tang Yao!"
“Nonsense, how could you possibly impersonate Tang Yao?” Lu Yu immediately retorted after hearing his reply.
Tang Yao was a member of the Tang Clan and a legend in the martial arts world. No one knew his real name; they only remembered that he was once unparalleled in the martial arts world, a force to be reckoned with, before mysteriously disappearing. Even though he had vanished from the martial arts world for decades, the mere mention of his name still struck fear into people's hearts.
"I will not change my name or surname, great hero, why would I lie to you?" the shopkeeper said, looking at Lu Yu with a sincere expression.
"Are you really Tang Yao? How did you end up like this? You were once a powerful and influential figure." Even though she was half-believing, she still held a knife to his neck and asked. Tang Yao sighed and began to recount his past.
Back then, Tang Yao roamed the martial world alone. Because of his naturally fair skin, which was described by outsiders as extraordinary and even demonic, they called him Tang Yao. Thus, he appeared in the martial world under the name Tang Yao. His skills were unmatched, and his martial arts were unparalleled. However, some people were not convinced of his abilities, and many challenged him to duels, only to suffer a crushing defeat in the end.
Once, a man challenged him to a duel. The man was only fifteen years old, but his internal energy was remarkably pure and profound. The two fought for a long time without either of them being injured. Suddenly, the man said, "Today, I concede defeat. However, although I possess great martial arts skills, I still have some regrets!"
Tang Yao also felt strange and a little regretful. He was very happy to have finally met someone who could fight him to a draw, and he wanted to spar with him more, but the other person had to leave.
As he left, the man tossed Tang Yao a martial arts manual and said, "Tang Yao, I've spent most of my life trying to succeed, but I hope you can. Then you'll be the only one who reigns supreme in the world."
Tang Yao, a martial artist himself, harbored ambitions to dominate the world. He returned home to study martial arts manuals, claiming he was in seclusion. However, things took an unexpected turn. Due to practicing the techniques from the manuals, Tang Yao's internal energy became disordered, leading to a qi deviation and even loss of consciousness. He ran wildly around before finally falling into the river.
After waking up, he was rescued by the shop owner and, to repay his life-saving grace, obeyed his every command. People often came to live here, and if they were wealthy, they were killed. Because this area was on the border of Rongcheng, sparsely populated, the government wouldn't be able to find it, so robbery and murder became a common practice.
After listening, Lu Yu understood that Tang Yao was acting out of survival and gratitude. Seeing this once-powerful figure reduced to such a state, he couldn't help but lament the darkness of the world, filled with scheming and backstabbing. He knew without a doubt that the secret manual was a trap. A trap had destroyed Tang Yao.
"You have hands and feet, why do such wicked things?" Lu Yu released Tang Yao and kindly reminded him. Tang Yao looked at Lu Yu with some gratitude and said, "You spared my life today, so you are my benefactor. I will definitely repay this favor in the future." After saying that, he quickly went downstairs.
Lu Yu knew that if he let Tang Yao go, Tang Yao wouldn't come looking for him again. They were both tough, upright men of the martial world, and they wouldn't resort to underhanded tricks, especially since he had already let Tang Yao go.
After Tang Yao left, Lu Yu moved the bed to pick up Ji Meiqing, only to find a skeleton underneath. He couldn't help but marvel at how the owner hadn't been hunted down or had any enemies come knocking on his door all these years. Putting aside his doubts, he simply picked up Ji Meiqing, placed her back on the bed, and put the bed back exactly as it was, ignoring the corpse underneath.