allonlinenovel Chapter 308 Fireworks at Suzaku Pavilion: A Detective's Dream of the Martial World and His Roma
Chapter 308 Fireworks at Suzaku Pavilion: A Detective's Dream of the Martial World and His Roma
One day, the bird market in the western part of Tibet suddenly erupted in chaos! A plump parrot, flapping its wings, shouted at the top of its lungs, "The Wolf King has come to Xin Gu!"
Niwan's purple ears instantly perked up like an alert little fox—in the slang of Pingkangfang, this referred to a skilled con artist at handling stolen goods. Behind the counter, an elderly man with white hair was slowly sifting grains, his practiced movements resembling those of a seasoned veteran, a kindergarten principal, dealing with carrier pigeons!
Niwan Zi smiled and offered a handkerchief, hoping to get some information out of him. But the old man suddenly reacted as if he'd seen a fire-breathing candied hawthorn, jumping up and down and waving his hands: "Young man, you've mistaken me for someone else! This old man only listens to the parrot's bedtime stories; I don't know any slang!"
Leaving the bird farm, Niwan, looking rather sullen, kicked the pigeon feed bag in the corner—wasn't this the same kind of crushed grain found at the crime scene on Suzaku Avenue? Just as she was about to ask Cong Xiaoye to inquire about the gossip of the "Wolf King," a familiar figure suddenly flashed in the corner of her eye: Du Xiaobing?
Upon closer inspection, good heavens! Behind the doctor's wife were three cabbage thieves. The leader, Da Qin, had a scarred face and looked as fierce as a cat with its fur standing on end. The middle one, Er Jiu, had ears that were so big they could be used as fans. The last one, Xiao Bai, had a bulbous nose that was as red as a ripe hawthorn. They were none other than the infamous "cabbage thief trio" of Pingkangfang!
The four of them strolled into Yanshoufang and stopped in front of a blue cloth carriage. The twilight, like spilled ink, had turned everything pitch black. Niwanzi, hiding behind a locust tree, felt the peace pendant on her sword hilt burning like a freshly roasted chestnut!
Just as he was wondering, the carriage curtain slowly lifted a corner, revealing a handkerchief with two twin lotus blossoms that were more beautiful than New Year's fireworks—wasn't this the signature pattern of the embroidery workshop where Du Xiaobing worked? He remembered that Si Zi had said that this twin lotus pendant could sense similar embroidered items, just like a magnet attracts small iron filings!
Watching the carriage clatter towards the Golden Light Gate, Niwan Zi touched the horizontal sword at his waist. The blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight, much like the thin blade used by a butcher slicing sashimi in a Chang'an night market, as if saying, "You villains, this great hero is here!"
On the other side, the sounds of arguing from Zhuque Workshop echoed through the courtyard walls. The master's wife's roar mingled with the sound of shattering porcelain: "Niwan Zi, I'm not trying to be mean, but can you really make a living by drawing pictures? Erlang's tuition money is still nowhere to be found!"
Old Master Du paused in wiping his knife, his sesame-colored turban tilting even more sharply: "What's meat jerky? Once we crack the copper case, the Ministry of Personnel's evaluations..." Before he could finish speaking, his wife rushed out with the brocade box in her arms, scattering the glass pendant from her silver hairpin all over the ground.
Hua Niang handed over a sesame cake and took the opportunity to stuff the Xuan paper scroll into Du Laozao's arms: "Master, the claws of the Lingnan shipping gang have reached all the way to Chang'an. The ironworks they've implicated can stretch from the West Market to Yanping Gate."
Old Master Du unfolded the blueprints, circling dots with vermilion ink like bloodstains on a piece of stationery. His finger stopped at the Taiji Palace location: "This case... needs to be taken to the Golden Guard General."
As the moon rose above the eastern wall, Niwan Zi tugged at Hua Niang's sleeve. Ever since their first meeting at the Pingkangfang night market last year, the girl's silver butterfly hairpin had always swayed in his dreams. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he shoved a bag of loquat leaves into her hand: "For...for stomach aches..."
Hua Niang looked at the fresh wound on the back of his hand with heartache: "Remember this. We'll listen to your storytelling after we catch the counterfeiters of the pills."
Three days later, they went to the Caibo Pavilion to pursue the suspect; the crisp sound of breaking wooden railings was chilling. The moment Niwan Zi grabbed Hua Niang's wrist, she heard her own heart pounding like a war drum.
"I want to go to Guangzhou on a merchant ship...to see the moon over the South China Sea." He didn't know if he couldn't find Du Xiaobing, which was why he wanted to get close to Hua Niang.
Hua Niang straightened his turban, the wine gourd jingling crisply from his waist: "First, catch that quack doctor, otherwise your South China Sea moon might turn into a drowning dog in the Pearl River."
As the first autumn dew fell, Niwan Zi knelt before the desk. The annotations on the examination documents, like wisps of cloud, gently veiled his dreams of wandering the martial world. Old Du pushed aside a lacquer box, inside which was half a scroll of yellowed maritime maps: "Your father once said he wanted to see a thousand sails racing."
As he walked out of the government office, Hua Niang was leaning against a vermilion pillar. The patina on the soles of her boots rubbed against the bluestone slabs, like an unfinished ink painting, which reminded him of his daughter, Du Xiaobing.
Now, Hua Niang took out the bag of long-dried loquat leaves; the wrinkles at the tips of the leaves still held the warmth of Niwan Zi's loving care. In the distance, the drumbeats sounded, and Hua Niang tilted her head back and took a swig of wine; her silver butterfly hairpin shattered into stars in the moonlight—
In the nights of Chang'an, there are always people chasing the winds of the sea, and people guarding the city's lights... But the lights of Zhuque Street will always shine for those who hold the hilt of justice in the darkness!