The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#380 - ambush

As Lu Jing walked towards the small courtyard where Manager He lived, the hands of the镖师 (bodyguards) drinking tea at the tea stall quietly reached for the weapons on the table.

The toy vendor on the street glanced at the wooden box at his feet, at the very bottom of which was a pair of iron hooks.

The woman哄 (coaxing) a child pressed down on the soft sword hidden in the swaddling clothes.

And the two idlers playing chess secretly grabbed a handful of iron chess pieces in their hands.

As for the three old men sunbathing, their position on the street was the most conspicuous, and it was difficult to hide any weapons while lying on the rattan chairs.

However, the farmer driving the ox cart was slowly approaching them.

As for Lu Jing, the target, he still looked as if he was unaware of anything. He stopped in front of Manager He's door, intending to knock, but unexpectedly, an unforeseen event suddenly occurred.

A large group of knights suddenly galloped from the other end of the long street, causing chaos wherever they passed, with pedestrians scattering in all directions.

Those with sharp eyes had already recognized them as people from the Mu Wang (Prince) Mansion. There were many dignitaries in the capital, but the most arrogant and domineering were the two sons of Mu Wang Yan.

Both of them were incompetent, failing in both poetry and prose, but excelling in cockfighting and dog racing, and they especially liked to befriend江湖游侠 (wandering knights).

They were usually accompanied by a large group of people, and when they encountered opponents, they did not follow any江湖 (martial arts world) rules, but swarmed up. Unless they were true experts, they would mostly be overwhelmed.

They were not ashamed of this, but instead relied on their numbers to compete and fight everywhere, causing the people of the capital a great headache.

At this time, these martial arts practitioners lurking on 牛行 (Cattle Row) Street were not afraid of the people from the Mu Wang Mansion, but at this critical juncture, they did not want to cause unnecessary trouble. A conflict with this group was a small matter, but delaying the main event would be a loss.

Therefore, the镖师 (bodyguards) who were originally drinking tea got up to avoid them, and even the three old men lying on the rattan chairs hurriedly got up.

The agility of their movements showed no sign of their age.

Only the farmer driving the ox cart was in a dilemma. He was a novice, and his cart-driving skills were not yet proficient. He wanted to move to the side, but the ox did not react so quickly, and it was also a little frightened by the sight of a large group of people rushing towards them, standing still.

The farmer gritted his teeth, jumped directly from the cart, and then quickly grabbed the front hooves of the old ox with both hands. His muscles bulged, and he managed to drag the frightened ox to the side before the knights arrived.

However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw a young man who looked like a公子哥 (young master) at the head of the group grab the reins and stop the white horse he was riding in front of him. The knights behind him slowed down, and soon blocked the street.

"Yo, you have good strength. You must have practiced some kind of physical training. It's a pity to be a farmer. Why don't you follow me? You'll never be short of wealth and glory in the future," the young man who looked like a公子哥 (young master) said, looking at the farmer with interest.

The farmer was shocked to hear this and quickly said, "I don't know any martial arts, I'm just strong since I was a child."

"Natural strength is even better. I'll find you a good master to learn some external martial arts. You'll be a good fighter," another公子哥 (young master) said.

The farmer cursed inwardly, and subconsciously wanted to look towards Lu Jing, but his sight was blocked by the people from the Mu Wang Mansion.

Lu Jing, on the other side, ignored what was happening on the street and still intended to knock on the door of Manager He's house.

However, the next moment, he heard a voice in his ear, "Don't go in, it's a trap inside!"

Lu Jing's hand stopped in mid-air, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman wearing a black veil.

The latter should have been mixed in with the group from the Mu Wang Mansion, and came here with them. She jumped off her horse and waved to Lu Jing, "Come with me."

After saying that, she turned and rushed towards a stationery store not far away, but after running two steps, she stopped, because Lu Jing behind her did not follow.

However, before he could finish speaking, he saw the woman wearing a black veil run back again, grabbed his arm with one hand, and said, "You don't know, there are many experts hidden on this street, all waiting to deal with you. There are also people lying in ambush in Manager He's house, waiting for you to go in, and then you can forget about coming out."

"It's not that bad," Lu Jing shook his head.

The woman wearing a black veil became anxious, "Why can't you listen to advice? Hurry up, the people from the Mu Wang Mansion can't delay for too long. If it takes too long, those guys will definitely become suspicious."

After saying that, she didn't care whether Lu Jing agreed or not, and directly dragged Lu Jing towards the stationery store.

As a result, after running less than two steps, she met the woman holding the child. The latter was originally standing farther away from the farmer driving the ox cart, so she only moved a few steps, and could see Lu Jing's side again.

At a glance, her face suddenly changed, and then she gave a gesture to her companion next to her, and hurried over.

"Damn it!" The woman wearing a black veil also felt a sinking feeling in her heart, and quickly quickened her pace, while not forgetting to turn her head and say to Lu Jing, "You should believe me now, right?"

"I never doubted your words," Lu Jing actually wanted to stay and face the enemy, but he was desperately dragged by the woman wearing a black veil, so he could only run first.

He followed her into the stationery store, and then, in the surprised eyes of the shopkeeper,窜 (darted) out from the back door.

The woman wearing a black veil pulled a grain cart from the side, overturned it on the ground, and blocked the back door of the stationery store. From this, it can also be seen that she did not come to save Lu Jing on a whim, but had obviously made sufficient preparations beforehand.

However, a grain cart is unlikely to stop a group of martial arts experts.

So, after the woman wearing a black veil finished all this, she didn't stop and ran with Lu Jing to the arched bridge not far away, overturning two baskets of dates on the road. The woman wearing a black veil threw a tael of silver to the date vendor, and then pushed Lu Jing off the bridge, and she herself followed closely behind, jumping down and landing in a awning boat.

The old boatman had probably been told in advance, and without saying a word, he began to row, taking the awning boat downstream.