Chapter 447 - 392: Celestial Game
Liyang Commandery City. Night.
The rain tapered off into a steady drizzle.
The Chen Family Textile Workshop.
The daytime clamor of clacking looms and bustling crowds had long since vanished. Now, only a few guardhouses still glowed with dim, yellow light.
A guardroom stood just outside the warehouse.
Inside, a single lantern cast a meager glow, barely illuminating the immediate area.
Two young men sat around a wooden table, on which lay a dish of pickled vegetables, another of peanuts, and a small, opened jar of strong liquor.
One, tall and sturdy, was named Liu Shaochuan. The other, leaner and more sharp-featured, was Xie Qingyan.
They were both fellow disciples of Chen Shouye, Chen Li’s second son, from their time at the Kao Mountain Martial Arts Hall, and were now assigned to guard the Liyang Textile Workshop.
It was their turn to stand watch tonight.
"This damn weather this year... It’s endless."
Liu Shaochuan glanced at the rain outside the window and muttered his complaint. He then picked up his bowl and took a large gulp. The fiery liquor warmed his belly, making him feel much more comfortable.
"The rainy season’s almost over, isn’t it?"
Xie Qingyan picked up a peanut, tossed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.
The night stretched on, long, wet, and cold. Guarding the warehouse was mind-numbingly boring.
Drinking had become their only way to pass the time.
A few bowls later, the alcohol began to take hold. Their eyelids grew heavy and their minds groggy, but they forced themselves to stay awake.
Drifting in a daze, half-asleep and half-awake...
A sharp, metallic scraping sound suddenly reached their ears.
It sounded especially piercing in the quiet, rainy night.
Liu Shaochuan and Xie Qingyan both jolted at the same instant, the sound shocking them mostly sober.
The two shot upright, their gazes snapping warily toward the source of the sound: the warehouse’s large iron gate.
"The warehouse gate?"
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the same shock and suspicion in the other’s eyes.
’Who would come to the warehouse in the middle of the night, especially in the rain?’
’Besides, the gate is locked from the outside. Only the Steward and we have keys, and we clearly checked it was locked tight at the start of our shift.’
"Something’s not right. Let’s go check it out!"
Deciding in an instant, they donned their rain hats, grabbed a lantern, and carefully pushed open the door to the guardroom.
As they approached the warehouse, the dim, yellow halo of their lantern revealed a horrifying sight: the iron gate was ajar.
The large brass lock on the gate hung perfectly intact from the hasp, showing no signs of being forced.
"The gate... How is it open?!" Xie Qingyan’s scalp prickled.
’Only a handful of people have a key to the warehouse, and it’s impossible that any of them would come this late at night without telling us.’
"Who’s in there?"
Liu Shaochuan barked into the crack of the gate.
Only dead silence answered.
Liu Shaochuan’s face was grim. He lowered his voice, "Careful! Let’s go have a look!"
He motioned to Xie Qingyan. Holding the lantern out in front, they carefully squeezed sideways through the opening.
The warehouse interior was pitch-black.
The lantern’s halo of light only illuminated a few feet of the ground before them.
The shadows of wooden crates twisted and swayed in the darkness.
They held their breath, straining their ears. Aside from the sound of their own ragged breathing and pounding hearts, the warehouse was terrifyingly silent.
"No one’s here?"
Liu Shaochuan’s unease intensified.
’The gate opened on its own, but no one’s inside? This is too bizarre.’
Just as the two were nervously scanning their surroundings, preparing to probe deeper into the warehouse...
FWOOM!
A bright ball of fire flared to life behind them without warning.
It instantly illuminated the area near the entrance.
"Who?!"
The two spun around.
There, at the warehouse entrance, three figures had appeared without a sound, standing less than ten feet behind them.
On the left stood a beautiful middle-aged woman in a long, lotus-pink palace gown. Her hair was piled high in an elegant coiffure, her features were exquisite, and her skin was fairer than snow.
In the center was a pale, beardless man with delicate, effeminate features. He wore a dark purple brocade robe, his hands tucked into its wide sleeves. He exuded a cold, clammy aura, like that of a venomous snake.
And standing half a step behind them, on the right at the edge of the light, was a plainly dressed woman in a coarse linen skirt and top.
She had a sallow complexion and unremarkable features. With eyes downcast and a deferential posture, she looked like a mere servant to the other two.
The trio’s appearance was far too strange; they had made no sound, as if materializing out of the darkness itself.
"Who are you people?!"
Suppressing the terror in his heart, Liu Shaochuan demanded sharply, "Why have you broken into the Chen Family’s silk warehouse in the dead of night?"
Upon hearing this, the faint smile on the pale, beardless man’s lips widened. "Are you certain this is the Chen Family’s warehouse?"
Xie Qingyan shot back, "Of course it is! Everyone in Liyang County knows this textile workshop belongs to the Chen Family. The Chen Family has countless Grandmasters among their ranks—they’re not to be trifled with. Leave now, or you’ll regret it!"
"Grandmasters? Heh heh heh..."
The pale, beardless man chuckled, turning his head to glance at the unremarkable, plainly dressed woman beside him. "When you say Grandmaster... do you mean someone like her?"
At his words, Liu Shaochuan and Xie Qingyan instinctively turned to look at the woman in plain clothes.
Her face was blank, her eyes still lowered in submission. They couldn’t sense the slightest fluctuation of Inner Qi from her; she seemed like an ordinary woman.
’This woman who looks like a servant... is a Grandmaster?!’
Their pupils contracted. ’If this woman was truly a Grandmaster, then just how terrifying were the pale man and the beautiful woman in the palace gown?’
A bone-deep chill shot up from the soles of their feet to the crowns of their heads.
The beautiful woman in the palace gown frowned. "Why are you wasting your breath on these two ants? Get to the point."
"Tsk, what’s the rush?"