The Devil of Scarlet Rain

Chapter 18 - The Red Lantern Manor (Part 3)

Dressed in male garb and wearing a veiled bamboo hat, Meng Yu stood hidden in a small valley, as she watched a fancy horse carriage came to a stop in front of a small painting store. She had been keeping watch of this store for a few days, but she did not see anything suspicious at all. However, it seemed like her wait was fruitful this time.

The carriage driver unmounted and went to knock on the door for a few times, but there was no response at all. It was the same case with Meng Yu when she returned to this small painting store two days ago. The storekeeper probably knew that she would come back, and purposely close the store to evade her. Seemed like he had done his preparation in advance since there was no sight of him during these few days.

The driver became impatient after a while, so he took out an exquisite gold whistle from his pocket. The whistle was carved with a unique motif with a small red tassel was tied to it. When the driver blew lightly into it, the whistle made a peculiar high pitch sound that was similar to a swallow's cry.

After a few seconds, the once tightly shut door was pushed open, and a familiar young man quickly strode out of the store. The corner of Meng Yu's lips lifted upon seeing her target. Looks like her painstaking wait for these few days was not in vain, as Liu Fu this cunning rat had finally came out of his hiding.

Meng Yu could not hear their conversation clearly from her end, but she could see that Liu Fu was becoming extremely unsettled after a few words with the driver. After a while, he quickly nodded, and climbed into the horse carriage. Meng Yu also quickly mounted her horse and followed the carriage secretly as it made its way out of the city.

After travelling for half a day, a distinguished manor finally came into view from a distance away. Seeing the manor, Meng Yu sped up and took over the carriage. The carriage driver became alert of her presence, but before he could do anything, something small flew at him and hit him hard on the neck. The impact knocked him out and he immediately fell off the carriage with a thud. The horses were startled and began running amok, pulling the carriage behind it along in its wild escape. Liu Fu, who was sitting inside yelped in fright as he was thrown around unceremoniously in the small wooden box.

Meng Yu urged her horse forward so that it was running side by side with the upset horses. With a practiced movement, she flipped gracefully from her own ride onto the carriage and settled herself onto the driver's seat. Bracing herself, she grasped onto the horse rein and pulled hard. The carriage jerked to a halt as the horses reared its front leg in frustration. Meng Yu leaned forward to keep her balance while releasing the pressure on the rein simultaneously.

There was a loud crashing bang, and all kinds of profanities could be heard from inside of the carriage. The curtain flipped open, and the angry Liu Fu was greeted by a sneering Meng Yu.

"Caught you."

A silver light flashed, and before Liu Fu could even blink, there was a silver dagger pointing at his neck. He froze on the spot, and his beetroot face immediately turned as white as a sheet of paper.

"I hope you do enjoy the ride just now." Meng Yu said humourlessly, as she crouched down leisurely in front of him.

"You, you... why are you here?" Liu Fu stuttered frightfully.

"Hmm? You think you can hide from me?"

"You crazy-!" Liu Fu wanted to curse at her indignantly, but the remaining words was stuck in his throat when Meng Yu's expression turned frighteningly cold, and the dagger inched closer.

Gulping, Liu Fu's angry expression vanished without a trace, and was immediately replaced by a friendly smile.

"Aiya, what a coincidence, young lady! The weather is so good today. Are you here to take a breath of fresh air too?" Grinning from ear to ear, he tried to wheedle his way out.