Nightfall

Whose Turquoise Robe Got Wet in the Pavilion

Most of Chang’an people knew that, due to an unknown reason, Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion was loath to mention his gang’s name—Fish Dragon Gang. Instead, he was more willing to call the biggest gang in Chang’an—Spring Breeze Pavilion. Many people conjectured that this was because he had been living in Bystreet 2 of the Spring Breeze Pavilion since he was born. Besides, his enemies ironically thought that Old Chao forcibly established some relationships—among him, his gang, and the seemingly elegantly named Spring Breeze Pavilion—as a way to avoid some vulgar comments while he had killed many people, made much illicit money, and done other illegal deeds.

Spring Breeze Pavilion, situated in the slum of Eastern City, was dotted with dilapidated buildings. From day to night, the place was always replete with all kinds of vendors and idle pedestrians. It naturally couldn’t be described as a quiet location, nor an elegant one. Today, however, Spring Breeze Pavilion showed extreme silence, in which the raindrops sounded like thunder and the breeze going past the shabby boards of the pancake pawnshop sounded like the whistling among the pines. Across the streets from Bystreet 1 to Bystreet 4, no sign of walkers in the rain or even cries of babies could be noticed. It seemed that nothing was left in the street but the atmosphere covered by heavy wind and rain, and a kind of homicidal silence.

The distance from Lin 47th Street to the Spring Breeze Pavilion was not too long. Ning Que and Old Chao walked slowly like two strolling tourists, then they soon entered into the dark and quiet alley.

The front of Spring Breeze Pavilion was hidden in the darkness of the night and in the sound of the wind and rain, with only a shabby pavilion being vaguely seen. Actually, an unknown number of enemies were ready to ambush inside or near the Spring Breeze Pavilion on this night of wind and rain.

Ning Que, wearing a black mask, carrying lots of stuff on his back, and holding an oilpaper umbrella, followed Chao Xiaoshu in a well-behaved manner, performing a good role as an assistant. Sometimes, he took over the umbrella held by Chao Xiaoshu.

Chao Xiaoshu kept walking forward, with his eyes looking at the front and his hands crossing behind. Even if his turquoise robe had been largely wet by the rain flowing from the oilpaper umbrella, his light smile still remained on his face, somehow illuminating the darkness outside of the umbrella in the wind and rain.

At that time, only deadly silence could be sensed around the dilapidated pavilion.

For these ambushers, none of them had ever imagined this picture. They had supposed that there would be 3,000 men with turquoise robes. On this rainy and windy night, however, what appeared in front of them were just two men—Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion and a silent lad.

After a long silence, the hidden enemies on this windy and rainy night were certain that there were just two opponents. Therefore, they stopped concealing their tracks. Hundreds of smileless men from the Jianghu world walked from the side of the alley behind the pavilion with successive footsteps, and a “Pada!” sound uttered from their boots treading on the shallow water, as well as the grating sound made by the unsheathing sharp swords.

Not far from the shabby pavilion, both Old Chao and Ning Que just stood and quietly looked at the crowds of enemies pouring out from all directions. Without asking the lad behind him such a boring question as whether he was scared or not, Chao Xiaoshu gave a wee smile. Lifting up his arm to efface the rain on his face, he directly pointed at a stout middle-aged man in the middle of the crowd and said,

“He is Lord Meng, the head of Southern City. The bald man beside him is Song Tietou, who usually follows Lord Meng. Song Tietou is the leader of the guy that was causing trouble in your pawnshop that day.”