By the time Zhang Lin Xuan and Huang'er arrived at Lin An City, the lanterns had already been lit.
The two of them led the horses through the bustling crowd. Huang'er looked at the bustling night scenery and the dancing and singing citizens of Linan and sighed. "The Mongolian people are slaughtering people within Song territory, and the people in the capital are still living a life of drunkenness and sleep. This is not like a merchant girl who doesn't know her country's hatred. The people should know their country's hatred, and calmly sing 'Courtyard Flowers'!"
Zhang Linxuan said, "Miss Huang is truly a chivalrous person. I admire you for worrying about the nation!" But now, as the times went on, the imperial court was in danger and could only beg for peace and make amends. The Son of Heaven was willing to serve as a puppet, indulging in matters of the heart, paying no heed to the political affairs of the court, and allowing the powerful minister, Shi Mi Yuan, to do whatever he wanted. Speaking of Shi Mi, you sure are good at bullying the common people! "
Huang'er said worriedly, "No wonder the citizens are getting drunk today. Sigh, at this moment, the Great Song Dynasty is facing a similar crisis and was defeated by these incompetent dog officials!"
The two of them chatted about current affairs as they walked. When they arrived at a restaurant, they saw a pair of father and daughter who were selling songs. They were standing by the door and begging the shopkeeper for help.
The shopkeeper's face was filled with impatience as he continuously chased them away.
"Hurry up and go, stand by the door like a bereaved star! "Don't block my way to do business!" The boss said.
The woman hugged her lute and said with a bitter face, "Boss, please, we just need to go for a walk. If no one asks us to sing a small song, we can leave immediately, okay?"
The old man kept bowing to the shopkeeper and kept saying, "Boss, please do me a favor! "Nice to meet you, Boss!"
"Sigh, it seems like it won't be easy for all of you. Fine, fine, we can only take a walk and not disturb others from eating. The people eating here are either rich or noble!" The shopkeeper went soft on the inside and kept reminding her.
The woman kept thanking him, and then supported the old man into the room.
Zhang Lin Xuan and Huang'er walked into the restaurant. They found a table and sat down, ordering some dishes and wine. As he was waiting for the dishes to arrive, he heard a burst of teasing and screams from the ladies upstairs. He then heard the old man shouting hysterically, "I'll kill you all!"
The head storekeeper repeatedly said, "Not good, something big is going to happen!"
Zhang Lin Xuan and Huang'er followed him upstairs. They saw the old man lying on the floor beside the table. The singing woman was so frightened that she collapsed onto the floor, her face pale.
The one who hit him was a man in a vassal uniform. He contemptuously said, "This old man is too weak, I just lightly touched him, and that's all. Everyone said they want to swindle me?!" His accomplices chimed in, "That's right, that's right! "You should ask around, are our Nanny Mo's people that easy to provoke?!" With that, he left.
The surrounding people whispered, but no one dared to help, they could only curse, "God damn the Mosha Faction, if they do all sorts of evil deeds, they will get their retribution sooner or later!"
Just as Zhang Lin Xuan was about to step forward and stop the group of depraved people from the Mosha Faction, he was stopped by Huang'er, who shook her head at him.
The shopkeeper sighed, "Hey, I told you not to come in, but you guys insisted on coming in. Look at it now, is something wrong?"
The woman slowly regained her senses. She saw the old man lying on the side and couldn't stop crying.
Huang'er stepped forward and comforted the girl, "Miss, please find an old man a doctor!"
The woman wailed, "Daddy and I just came from our hometown yesterday. We were wondering how much money we could earn from singing in the capital. We didn't know that we would encounter such a situation today." After he finished speaking, he hugged his head and cried.
After Huang'er heard what had happened, she took out a silver ingot from her waist and gave it to her, saying, "Take it, Miss. Go and see your father!"
The woman stood up and quickly thanked him, then knelt down and kowtowed again. Huang'er hurriedly went to stop him.
Thus, Zhang Lin Xuan helped the old man and the storekeeper rushed over to help him up. Everyone sent the old man to a nearby hospital for treatment. After the doctor checked his pulse, he said, "This old man has suffered slight internal injuries. He should be able to get some medicine and recuperate!" When the woman heard about her father's illness, she cried and Huang'er went to comfort her. The woman became dejected once again. She complained about her own life and about the injustice the heavens had done to her. She was miserable and miserable as she sobbed and sobbed.
It took Huang'er half a day to calm her down. He then paid for a month's rent in an inn on the street, and the woman thanked him profusely for his kindness. She wanted to know Huang'er's name, so she could repay her kindness in the future.
Because Huang'er had matters to attend to at Lin An, she bid farewell to Zhang Lin Xuan and left in a hurry. As she left, she reminded Zhang Lin Xuan to take care of the father and daughter pair tonight.
After Zhang Lin Xuan and Huang'er parted ways, he arranged a room for the father and daughter to stay in. The strain of the day's journey, combined with his physical condition, soon made him go to sleep.
Zhang Linxuan slept until midnight. Suddenly, he heard the sound of someone poking at a window. Zhang Lin Xuan immediately focused and closed his eyes, continuing to pretend that he didn't know anything.
Sure enough, someone held a blow-pipe and blew the incense into it.
A moment later, the sound of the latch being wrenched could be heard. Then, someone crept up to Zhang Linxuan's bed and saw him sleeping soundly, gently taking out a steel knife from behind him.
Zhang Lin Xuan suddenly opened his eyes. He saw a black-clothed man raising his saber to slash down on him. Then, he kicked at the black-clothed man's abdomen.
When the black-clothed man saw that Zhang Lin Xuan was still awake, he immediately flipped backwards, dodging Zhang Lin Xuan's kick. When Zhang Linxuan saw this kick flying through the air, he hurriedly got up and sent out a "Breaking Mountain" attack. When the black-clothed man saw this palm strike, he did not dare to meet it head on and instead flipped to the side, dodging the attack.
Zhang Linxuan saw that this person's saber technique relied on brute force and his techniques were strange. He didn't seem to be part of any of the factions in the Central Plains. Thus, he calmed down and began waving his palms to tangle with him.
In less than ten moves, the man in black had already lost. Thus, Zhang Linxuan's palm struck Lin Ming's right wrist. The saber of the black-clothed man was jolted away and he fell to the ground.
The black-clothed man saw that his defeat had been decided, so he turned around and fled.
As soon as Zhang Linxuan saw that he was an expert, he prepared to meet him head on and fight. However, he heard the cry for help from the father and daughter pair in the room next door. While he was distracted, he saw another black-clothed man pull up the black-clothed man who had been fighting with Zhang Lin Xuan. He then disappeared into the distance like a wisp of smoke.
Zhang Linxuan hurriedly ran into the room next door. There was no sound, only silence. There was no trace of the woman. The old man was lying motionlessly on the bed. Zhang Lin Xuan looked at his surroundings and then lit a candle. As he looked at the scene in front of him, he sucked in a breath of cold air.