"That's for sure. But … "
Fatty was in a dilemma. What kind of people would be at the Black Meeting?
Murderers, robbers, bandits, thieves … anyone with unknown origins could enter. If Brother Sheng accidentally got into a conflict and got hurt, that would be a great injustice.
"But I'd better keep a low profile, right?" Lu Sheng smiled, knowing the other party's concerns.
He represented not only himself, but also the Lu Family in Nine Links City. If anything were to happen to him, the Lu Manor would definitely seek him out for revenge.
"It's good that you know. Brother Sheng, your status is different. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be so worried …" Zheng Xiangui sighed.
"Got it. Just make the arrangements for me. I must get this thing," Lu Sheng said without hesitation.
"Sigh …" Zheng Xiangui could only agree helplessly.
Lu Sheng and he carefully confirmed the time of the Black Meeting, then waited for Zheng Xiangui to send someone to deliver a VIP invitation.
He took the invitation and walked out of the restaurant.
"Top-grade rouge and face powder! Ladies, come and take a look!"
"Top-grade first-grade, just imported from the Central Plains from Zi Hua City!"
"Purple Yang Floral Blush. You can't find it anywhere else!"
On the street outside the restaurant, hawkers pushed wooden carts filled with cosmetics, moving slowly along the side of the street.
Lu Sheng's gaze swept across the street. This street specialized in selling rouge and face powder.
Many women and their families liked to shop here.
The sun was setting in the west. A light drizzle had just fallen on the street, and the wet ground reflected a faint red.
Lu Sheng exhaled. His breath turned white the moment it left his mouth.
He turned back to look at the restaurant. The huge shadow of Goldfish Restaurant was cast by the sunlight.
This was the largest restaurant in Nine Links City. It was currently busy, with an endless stream of customers coming and going for their meals. It was unusually noisy.
Lu Sheng stood in the shadows of the restaurant, looking to both sides.
Apart from the entrance of the restaurant, the rest of the place was deserted.
The peddlers pushed the cement carts and moved slowly in the shadows.
As Lu Sheng looked on, he wanted to buy some small gifts for Second Mother and Yiyi. These cosmetic powders were not expensive, and their quality was also good. They were not bad gifts.
He walked a few steps along the street to see which hawker was better.
In the afternoon, the streets became more and more deserted. Many shops were closed.
There weren't many passersby on both sides of the street, only a few could be seen occasionally.
What was strange was that these vendors clearly saw that there was no one around, but they still tried their best to shout with a smile.
Shouts rose and fell, echoing in the empty street.
Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes, but he didn't find it strange. He thought that perhaps it was a unique phenomenon of this world.
He looked left and right and found a vendor whose cart was painted light red. There was a banner on the peddler's cart, on which was written: Central Plains Li Ji Gouache.
The peddler pushed the cart forward slowly with a smile on his face. He was wearing a grey robe and a grey skullcap.
'I remember that the Li Ji Gouache is one of the more orthodox old businesses in the Central Plains.'
Lu Sheng recalled from his memory, then slowly walked towards the peddler's cart. He planned to pick out some good cosmetic powders for Second Mother and Yiyi.
The peddler walked forward slowly. Beside him, a few children were chasing each other and playing games.
The cart slowly passed by the children, then turned into a small alley in the shadows of the street.
Lu Sheng guessed that the peddler was about to put away his cart, so he quickened his pace to catch up.
"Hey! Brother Sheng! "
Suddenly, a voice called out to him from behind.
The voice was rather familiar. It seemed to be someone he knew.
Lu Sheng turned around and saw a dark-skinned, muscular scholar walking towards him.
"Lu?"
He hesitated for a moment before recognizing the other party.
Lu Junyi, like Lu Sheng, was a typical rich young master in Nine Links City. However, he was different from the others. This fellow had scholarly honors. He had passed the imperial examinations not too long ago. Apparently, his literary talent was quite good.
In fact, Lu Junyi's relationship with him was average. However, because his name was similar to that of a hero from Liangshan, Lu Sheng remembered his name the moment he heard it.
"Brother Sheng, help from the pugilistic world! Help from the pugilistic world!" Lu Junyi walked two steps towards him, his face red.
Lu Sheng immediately understood why this fellow was looking for him. Although he was a rich young master, this fellow was extremely fond of gambling. Often, he ran out of money and had to borrow from everywhere.
Now, he was probably out of money again.
Smiling, he fished out ten taels of silver from his waist pouch and handed it over.
"How's your luck today?"
"Not bad, not bad. Hahaha, Brother Sheng is indeed loyal."
Lu Junyi took the silver and left in a hurry.
Lu Sheng shook his head. Money was a small matter. After all, the Lu Family was a large business. Someone would send him money later.
He turned around and went to look for the peddler selling cosmetic powders.
The peddler's cart had already entered the alley. Only a small part of it was left outside.
He quickened his pace and walked over quickly.
He turned into the alley.
"Eh??"
Lu Sheng's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
This alley was actually a dead end!
It was completely empty inside. Where was the cart? Not even a shadow of a person could be seen.
He narrowed his eyes, his body already on the alert.
From top to bottom, left to right, he carefully examined this dead end.
This alley was only about ten meters long. Both sides of the alley were gray and black walls of houses. The end was blocked by a black wall that looked somewhat old. There were a few seals on it.
The seals on the white paper and red words appeared somewhat dark under the setting sun. Some of the edges were even turned up, as though they had lost their stickiness.
"There's no secret door on the wall. Where did the cart go …?"
Lu Sheng tried to recall it over and over again. He clearly remembered that the little cart had entered this alley.
He backed out and saw a few children still chasing and playing by the side of the road.
These children were dressed rather plainly. They seemed to be children from ordinary families.
Lu Sheng put on a smiling face. He fished out a few copper coins from his pocket and stopped a young girl who was chasing.
"Little girl, can I ask you a question?"
"Big brother, what do you want to ask? Just ask."
The little girl had two pigtails. She was in her nineties, and her cheeks were rosy. Perhaps because she often played on the street, she was not afraid of strangers.
"Big brother wants to ask, did you see the Li's Cosmetic Powder cart pass by here? Did it enter this small alley? "
Lu Sheng stuffed two copper coins into the little girl's palm.
The little guy immediately beamed with joy.
"I didn't see the cosmetic powder cart? We play here every day. The cosmetic powder cart usually comes to sell in the morning. In the afternoon, it goes to the antique street. "
"You didn't see it?"
Lu Sheng was stunned. He thought the child was lying on purpose.
Seeing his expression, the little girl widened her eyes and replied seriously.
"I'm telling the truth. There's no cart on the street today. If you don't believe me, you can ask the others. The street is empty."
At this moment, the other children also ran over to agree.
"That's right, that's right. My mother was planning to buy something, but all the carts are gone. It's really strange."
"This big brother said he saw a Li's Cosmetic Powder shop just now." The little girl pointed at Lu Sheng.
"Where is it? Where is it? "
"I didn't see it. This street is only so big."
"Big brother saw it in his dream, right? Hehehe … "
The group of children began to laugh and play again.
The smile on Lu Sheng's face gradually disappeared.
He turned to look at the Goldfish Restaurant.
The restaurant in the shadow was bustling with people, and business was booming.
It was bustling there, a stark contrast to the deserted street here.
"Then did you see …"
Lu Sheng turned back, and his voice stopped abruptly.
The children beside him had all disappeared without him noticing.
At a glance, the surrounding streets were cold and empty. There was nothing at all.
Not even a pedestrian.
The noise of the children disappeared instantly. Logically speaking, children of this age could not have such tacit understanding and disappeared without a sound.
Lu Sheng was confident that he was someone who practiced the Black Tiger Saber. He could even detect wild wolves by listening to the wind, and yet he did not hear the sound of the children leaving.
Looking at the deserted and silent street, he suddenly shivered and walked quickly toward the Goldfish Restaurant.
"Pa pa pa pa …"
The sound of his footsteps was unusually clear. The closer he got to the restaurant, the warmer his body felt.
"Whoosh!!"
Suddenly, as if breaking the surface of the water, Lu Sheng suddenly felt everything around him come alive, full of life.
One by one, the warm customers walked past him. Some accidentally bumped into him and hurriedly apologized.
More women came down from their carriages and walked slowly into the restaurant with smiles on their faces. They were welcomed in by the servants.
Standing in front of the restaurant, Lu Sheng looked at the street selling cosmetic powder again. He did not know when, but there were more people on the street.
It was completely different from the deserted street before.
Lu Sheng sucked in a breath of cold air and quickly hailed a horse carriage.
"To the Lu Manor."
"Alrighty, please sit tight!"
The coachman cracked the whip, and the skinny old horse began to move slowly.
Sitting in the carriage, Lu Sheng kept thinking about the things he had encountered.
That hawker, that group of children … they were all very abnormal.
Now that he thought about it, the smile on that hawker's face seemed to be unmoving, giving off an extremely fake feeling.
Thinking back to the tragedy of the Xu Family, he suddenly had a feeling that a storm was brewing.
"This city … it's getting more and more dangerous …" he muttered.
The horse carriage soon arrived at the gates of the Lu Manor.
Seeing Lu Sheng sitting in the carriage, the gatekeeper hurried over to welcome him.
"Eldest Young Master, you're back?"
The gatekeeper's surname was Wang, and he was the eighth child in the family. Everyone usually called him Little Eight. He was a rather clever lad, only seventeen this year. He had inherited his father's job and also came to the Lu Family as a gatekeeper.
Little Eight and Lu Sheng were quite familiar with each other, and would often tell Lu Sheng about the strange and interesting things that were circulating in and out of the city.
This was also what Lu Sheng liked to hear.
"Is Old Master here?"
Lu Sheng asked casually as he got off the carriage and paid the fare.
"Old Master has gone to the yamen again. The Prefectural Magistrate has summoned him. I think he's looking for something."
Little Eight smiled.
"Looking for what?"
Lu Sheng had been busy with his own affairs these few days, and did not pay attention to the Manor.
"What is it?"
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