Koi Fubao: Being loved by everyone on the road to escape from famine

Chapter 231 Sheep entering tiger’s mouth

As the sun sets in the west, the clouds in the sky are dyed a light purple, and night begins to fall quietly.

Soon, the vague outline of the town ahead appeared in front of Xiao Zhixue's eyes. As the carriage gradually approached, she saw a mottled plaque hanging above the town gate, with three ancient characters "Lotus Town" inscribed on it.

People in the town were walking hurriedly, as if they were in a hurry. The doors and windows of every household were closed, and the air was filled with an atmosphere of vigilance and uneasiness.

Occasionally, pedestrians would encounter a speeding carriage and would all look nervous and quickly move aside, fearing that they would get into trouble.

Xiao Zhixue turned a blind eye to this and just urged the carriage to drive straight into the town.

However, as the wheels rolled by and through the streets and alleys, no inn was seen open to welcome guests. The business atmosphere here was so cold and the shops were closed to guests. It was puzzling how they could attract guests from all over the world?

The Lotus Town was desolate. If it weren't for the occasional human figure that flashed by, Xiao Zhixue would almost think it was a forgotten deserted town.

This scene reminded her of the desolation outside the border of Zhangzhou City. It was equally dull and depressing, with every household keeping their doors closed and no one daring to stay outside.

Finally, the carriage slowly stopped in front of an inn that looked unremarkable.

Xiao Zhixue jumped off the carriage lightly, walked to the door with lotus steps, and elegantly rang the copper ring of the inn.

However, after waiting for a long time, there was silence inside the door and no response.

Just as she was about to turn around and leave, there was a sound of porcelain breaking on the ground, followed by a man's cautious and low voice: "Be careful, don't make any noise, don't let the bandits in Longfei Village hear us and come to rob us again."

Although the whisper was faint, it was extremely clear in Xiao Zhixue's ears. She suddenly realized that the reason why the residents of Lianhua Town stayed indoors was because they were afraid of the invasion of bandits from Longfei Village.

This unexpected discovery was exactly in line with her plan. She had no intention of letting those bandits who were causing trouble to the local area go, and she vowed to put an end to their atrocities with her own hands and eliminate the scourge for Lotus Town.

So, Xiao Zhixue knocked on the door again, her voice even louder: "We are civilians who have fled here from afar. We hope to stay at your place for two nights. Can you please open the door?"

However, there was still silence inside the door, as if time had stopped at this moment.

Xiao Zhixue knew clearly that the bandits from Longfei Village had already made the people of Lianhua Town feel terrified.

She did not give up and loudly explained her purpose again: "We are not from Longfei Village, and we have no intention of stealing money. We just want to stay quietly for two nights."

Finally, a light sound of footsteps came from behind the door. Soon, the door opened slightly, and a cautious eye peeked out through the gap. Seeing that it was Xiao Zhixue and a group of women outside the door, the man's expression was obviously much more relaxed.

"Shopkeeper, these are some female guests, not bandits from Longfei Village."

A young clerk turned around and reported to the store.

Xiao Zhixue smiled secretly in her heart. Fortunately, they all changed into women's clothes and their disguise was perfect. Even this alert guy couldn't find any flaws.

With the shopkeeper's agreement, the door suddenly opened and the waiter hurriedly urged them to go in.

Xiao Zhixue and her group got off the bus one after another and walked into the hostel. The owner looked at this group of "women" and his guard relaxed a little.

He observed carefully and found that many of them were of sturdy build, unlike ordinary women, but this did not arouse his suspicion.

Xiao Zhixue walked towards the boss with a warm smile on her face: "Boss, we have fled from a faraway place. Please arrange 20 rooms for us to rest."

As she spoke, a heavy ingot of silver appeared in her palm, which she gently placed on the counter.

The shopkeeper took a closer look and saw that it was a full twenty taels of silver, which was not only enough for two days of accommodation, but more than enough for a week.

Seeing that Xiao Zhixue was generous and had no ill intentions, the boss's expression changed from tense to kind, and he smiled and said, "Of course, no problem. We have enough rooms for you to use."

The silver was quickly put into the drawer, and the boss immediately told the waiter: "Hurry up and take the guests to arrange rooms."

The young man took the order and led everyone upstairs.

But Xiao Zhixue did not leave immediately. She started chatting with the boss.

Seeing her gentle and polite words, the boss's nervousness gradually eased.

After some small talk, Xiao Zhixue finally raised the question in her mind: "Boss, I noticed that the residents of Lotus Town are staying indoors. Is there someone they are avoiding?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper sighed deeply and said helplessly: "Who else can we avoid? We are all afraid of those thieves in Longfei Village."

Xiao Zhixue nodded slightly and then asked, "Longfei Village is dozens of miles away from here. Why would they come so far to harass us? Will the government just ignore them and let them do whatever they want?"

The shopkeeper gave him a complicated look, as if to say that this matter was not that simple.

"They are not just harassing us, they even dared to touch our mayor's mansion. All three carriages in the mayor's mansion were stolen by them. Naturally, the mayor sent people to suppress them, but none of the people he sent out has returned so far."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhixue curled up the corner of her mouth into a sneer.

She had fought with the bandits in Longfei Village before and knew very well that they were just mediocre in skills and were only arrogant because of their large numbers.

It seems that the mayor's strength is indeed not enough to fight against Longfei Village, and the people sent out are undoubtedly sheep walking into the tiger's mouth.

At this moment, the waiter hurried down from upstairs and reported to the shopkeeper: "The guests' rooms have been arranged."

The shopkeeper waved his hand and said, "Tell the kitchen to prepare dinner."

The young man was about to leave when Xiao Zhixue called him back: "Brother, please help me look after the carriages and tie them up."

As she spoke, Xiao Zhixue handed him a string of copper coins as a reward.

The boy took the money and went out happily.

However, as soon as he arrived outside the inn, when he saw three familiar carriages parked there, his face suddenly turned pale.

He hurried back, quietly pulled the shopkeeper aside and whispered to him.

The shopkeeper was a little unhappy at first, but after hearing what the waiter said, his face suddenly became gloomy.

He glanced at Xiao Zhixue a few times, lowered his voice, and said nervously: "Quick, go to the kitchen and tell the chef to add some Ecstasy to the dishes."

When the waiter heard this, he rushed to the kitchen without saying anything...

Just at this moment, Xiao Zhixue walked lightly, stepping on every mottled wooden board of the stairs, slowly moving towards the room upstairs, her heart full of yearning for peace, but she did not notice that a silent conversation was taking place downstairs.

Returning to her own little world, Xiao Zhixue seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden that she had been carrying for a long time. Her figure looked particularly tired under the dim candlelight.

The made bed was like a gentle embrace, welcoming her heavy body.

Zhou Shuqiong's delicate mind was clearly revealed in these subtle details. She silently watched Xiao Zhixue's face as she quickly fell asleep due to overwork, her eyes full of heartache and concern. In the end, she chose to let this rare sleep continue without disturbing her at all.