Are You Having Trouble?

Yingzhou lay north of the Huai River, an expanse of wide, flat country where rivers converged, the four seasons showed distinct colors, and the scenery looked like a painting. Along the road this far, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai had encountered bandits at every mountain and thieves behind every ridge. Only upon entering Yingzhou did their travels turn peaceful, free of any trouble. Of course, there was a reason for this. Feng Manlou, one of the imperial court's Four Great Masters—Wind, Cloud, Water, and Moon—was stationed year-round at the Yingzhou Guard. While one could not speak for elsewhere, he kept the city of Yingzhou and its surroundings firmly in hand. Even first-rate jianghu experts dared not cause trouble here, to say nothing of petty, second- or third-rate crooks. Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai rested in Yingzhou for three days. Every day, they slept a full ten hours. Upon waking, they ate griddle cakes and drank sazi soup, practiced their martial arts to keep their limbs limber, and wandered around Yingzhou West Lake whenever time hung heavy on their hands. After three days, both men and horses had shed most of the fatigue accumulated during their earlier travels. On the fourth day, the pair mounted up and took to the road once more. Heading northwest from the city of Yingzhou meant traveling generally uphill. It should have been a grueling stretch, but because they had rested the horses for three days, the journey was not overly taxing. Almost every day, they reached a post station before dusk. Traveling in this manner for several more days along the official road and passing through two counties, they arrived at Zhoukou. From Luzhou to here, by the standards of our modern age, the drive along a highway would take less than five hours. In those times, however, rough roads, unexpected incidents along the way, and necessary rest periods meant the two had spent over ten days in all to cover the distance—no easy feat. The two horses gifted by Zeng Laoye had been pushed as far as they could go and needed a good, long rest before another long haul. Upon arriving in Zhoukou, Sun Yixie found a horse dealer, haggled at length, and traded them for two fresh mounts. These new horses were spirited and well-rested, fit to carry them all the way to Luoyang without another swap. By now, Huang Donglai and Sun Yixie clearly had no intention of riding a passenger coach of the High-Speed Rail Gang. Since they had already made it this far, seeing the sights along the way served as valuable experience in the world. Leaving Zhoukou, their next stop was Xuzhou, the place modern folks know as Xuchang. From Xuzhou, Luoyang was not much farther. Calculating the days, if everything went smoothly, they should arrive roughly half a month early. Naturally, if some incident held them up, all bets were off. The pace of life back then was simply too slow. A matter that modern people could settle with a single phone call or text message might take hours just to deliver. Nowadays, you could drive with navigation over smooth, paved roads, visiting eight places and settling eight errands in a single day. In ancient times, managing two errands in one day was already considered high efficiency. That was why when people back then traveled far for important business, they usually set out ten days to half a month ahead of their calculated schedule. Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai were considered early birds this time; otherwise, they would never have had the leisure to meddle in so much trouble along the way. *** Having departed Zhoukou, the pair followed the road along the bank of the Ying River upstream. From this path on the north bank, one could gaze across at the peaks on the opposite side, enjoying a scenery with its own distinct charm. That night, they sought lodging in a village. The village had an inn, but unfortunately, few guest rooms were available. Since they were both men, sharing a room was of no consequence. After settling the matter through rock-paper-scissors, "Spring Hands" Sun Yixie successfully won ownership of the bed, leaving Huang Donglai to curse under his breath as he made a pallet on the floor. Half the night passed without a word, until the early hours before dawn. *Skrrrt—skrrrt—* A bizarre scraping sound suddenly arose outside the room's window. Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai heard it almost simultaneously and woke at the same instant. Their reactions were identical: their eyes snapped open, they sat up softly, turned their heads to look, and then leaned in toward their companion, whispering, "Did you hear that?" "I heard it..." Huang Donglai whispered back. "And I don't think that sounds like the wind at all..." "Nonsense," Sun Yixie said. "Outside the door is the inn's hallway. Where would wind come from?" "How about this..." Huang Donglai suggested. "Brother Sun, go take a look, and I'll cover you from here with hidden weapons." "Like hell!" Sun Yixie replied. "I'm not going." "Are you scared?" Huang Donglai began using reverse psychology. "Who says so?" Desperate to save face, Sun Yixie predictably took the bait and bluffed, "What would I be scared of? Facing danger is as natural to me as breathing!" "Then why won't you go?" Huang Donglai asked. "I..." For a moment, Sun Yixie truly could not come up with a suitable excuse. "Brother Sun, are you having trouble?" The corner of Huang Donglai's mouth curled into a sarcastic smirk. "I don't have any trouble! What the hell kind of trouble would I have?" As Sun Yixie spoke, a thought struck him, and he fired back, "Why don't you go yourself?" "I'm having trouble," Huang Donglai replied, adopting the shameless posture of a dead turtle unafraid of boiling water. "I have a weak heart. What if it's something terrifying and I'm frightened to death?" "You..." Sun Yixie was already regretting his boastful words. If only he had played the coward like the other fellow, nothing would have come of it. But he had insisted on saving face, leaving himself in an awkward bind. "Damn it all... I'll go!" The pair carried out this entire exchange in low murmurs. Sun Yixie then slipped out of bed on tiptoe, grabbed the trident leaning against the wall, looked down at the Body-Protecting Armor he wore—with his cautious nature, he naturally never removed it even to sleep—swallowed hard, and crept toward the door step by step. *Skrrrt, skrrrt, skrrrt...* Over the course of those brief two minutes, the sound outside did not cease; instead, it grew louder and more hurried, clearly aimed at the two inside. As Sun Yixie moved toward the door, Huang Donglai was not idle behind him. Rising from the floor, Huang Donglai positioned himself behind Sun Yixie's flank, gripping two hidden weapons in his hand, ready to provide support at a moment's notice. Neither of them was a fool. Neither intended to light a lamp, as striking a light at such a time would put them at an obvious disadvantage. *Phew...* After a few seconds, Sun Yixie finally reached the door. Taking another deep breath, he gathered his courage, unbolted the door, and pulled it inward. *Creeeak—* The aged door hinges gave a piercing groan. The door swung open. Sun Yixie stepped back two paces and raised his trident defensively, only to find... no one outside. There was only the empty corridor, facing a blank white wall opposite. The strange scraping sound ceased abruptly the moment the door opened. Yet Sun Yixie did not relax his taut nerves. Holding his breath, he stared into the darkened corridor and strained his ears to listen. Soon, he heard it. *Drip, drip, drip...* A faint noise struck the floorboards outside—the sound of water dripping onto the wood. Just as the realization dawned on Sun Yixie and he looked up— Suddenly, a mass of wet, black hair swept down from above the doorway. At the root of that hair hung an upside-down, ghastly pale human face. "Ah!" The moment that "ghostly face" peered in, it let out an ear-splitting, bloodcurdling shriek. "Aaaah!" In the very same breath, Sun Yixie let out an equally bloodcurdling scream. Between the eerie atmosphere and the shocking sight, the scene was terrifying enough on its own; coupled with that face's sudden shriek, anyone would have jumped out of their skin. And jump Sun Yixie did. In sheer terror, he flung his trident aside, instinctively clutched both cheeks with his hands, and perfectly recreated the pose from Van Gogh's *The Scream* in an instant. Stumbling backward several paces, he tripped over the bed frame and collapsed onto the bed. Never mind Sun Yixie facing the "specter" head-on; even Huang Donglai, catching sight of the pale face from behind at an angle, was momentarily stunned with fright. Yet seeing Sun Yixie's comically exaggerated reaction brought Huang Donglai instantly back to his senses. With a flick of his wrists, he launched the two hidden weapons with twin whooshes. Unfortunately, the figure outside had anticipated the attack. Before the missiles reached their mark, she had already yanked her head back. *Patter, patter, patter...* Immediately after, Huang Donglai heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps treading on roof tiles above. He moved to give chase, but then paused, realizing it looked suspiciously like a trap meant to lure them out. While Huang Donglai hesitated, Sun Yixie, having recovered his wits on the bed and burning with mortified rage, found quick inspiration born of fury. Scooping up his trident, he stood on the mattress and thrust it straight up at the spot on the ceiling where the sounds originated. This village inn consisted of flimsy thatch and worn tiles, while the weapon in Sun Yixie's hands was a treasure capable of slicing through iron like mud. When he stabbed upward, it was like driving a knife through paper window panes; the trident pierced the roof with virtually no resistance. The figure on the roof had never expected an attack through the ceiling. Caught off guard, the top of her entire left foot was impaled clean through. Originally, she had intended to lure the two onto the roof and ambush them in the open using her pre-arranged Flowing Silk Soul-Severing Formation. Now, before she had even struck, she had suffered a crippling wound. Helpless, she could only flee at once to avoid a disastrous confrontation should they come chasing after her. Sun Yixie had no idea what she was planning; he only knew that when he withdrew the trident, blood coated its tips, proving his strike had connected. In a frenzy, he thrust seven or eight more times in rapid succession. By the time Huang Donglai realized what was happening and opened his mouth to stop him, it was already too late. With a deafening crash of falling tiles and thatch, the roof caved in.