Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 772 - 62 Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet (Combined)_2

Chapter 772 -62 Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet (Combined)_2

The man recognized the danger and, clutching his wrist, turned and ducked into the crowd, disappearing without a trace in no time at all—saving us the trouble of wasting words on him. Liu Ling’an chuckled to himself and didn’t mention the incident again, but simply said,

“There are too many people today, and it’s impossible to go to the wine gathering as planned. We might as well find a nearby guesthouse to settle in for now. Otherwise, if we follow this crowd watching the lanterns, by the time the crowd disperses tonight, all the guesthouses will be closed, and it will be difficult to find a comfortable place to stay.”

Everyone was already somewhat troubled by the bustling crowd, so naturally, there were no objections to this suggestion.

Wang Anfeng planted his right foot on the ground and, as he lifted his left foot, appeared to step into thin air, supporting himself with his Qi mechanism. He then ascended step by step, as if climbing a ladder to heaven, rising several inches above the others. Casting his gaze forward, he spotted a guesthouse, and only then released his Qi Mechanism to step back onto the ground.

His right hand hung low as he circulated the Taiji Yin and Yang with his Qi mechanism, gently pushing through the crowd so they could proceed more easily. The group moved as if they were boats on water, braving the tumultuous waves, laboriously making their way forward.

……

Li Mingde frowned with his thick eyebrows and scanned his surroundings.

All the government officials of Liangzhou, even those previously injured, had been persuaded to return seven or eight times, dragging their wounded bodies to stand on the rooftops of various higher-lying guesthouses. Holding onto an iron post with a vermillion lantern swinging from it, they stepped carefully on the somewhat slippery fish scale tiles, while keeping a cautious eye on the streets below.

As autumn deepened, bringing dryer weather and yellowing leaves, lanterns lit up everywhere. One careless move could cause great chaos, particularly requiring vigilance against certain people from Jianghu and the youths of the noble clans.

The latter would often amuse themselves by throwing down grains of silver coins from high buildings, inciting crowds to shove and trample each other, resulting in injuries and sometimes death. As for those from Jianghu, they tended to be more hot-headed than the average person, ready to fight at the slightest disagreement.

Now the streets teemed with civilians out to enjoy the lanterns. Once those from Jianghu started a conflict, the injuries wouldn’t be limited to just a dozen or twenty people.

Li Mingde wasn’t one of the government officials under the jurisdiction of the Liangzhou City’s commander, but given the significance of today’s event, not just Liangzhou but even the nearby counties had dispatched a third of their manpower here, promising a reward of five times their usual silver coin payment to take on this strenuous task.

At a time when everyone else was rejoicing with their families at home, gazing at the moon in their courtyard or wandering outside to admire the lanterns, they had to be on guard here. Mostly nothing ever happened but, should something occur, they would be held accountable.

It truly was arduous work.

Li Mingde pulled out a dried date from his bosom and chewed on it slowly, the sweet aftertaste rising. He thought of his son at home when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow swiftly disappearing into the crowd like a fish slipping into water.

Li Mingde’s expression changed slightly and he looked up sharply, but he only saw a dense sea of people and brilliant lantern lights. His eyebrows furrowed deeply, biting hard on the date pit.

Liangzhou City was simply too vast, and today there were far too many people.

The momentary anomaly was like a small whirl in the water, disappearing before one could react. A few people carrying lanterns walked past, and within the brief span of a few breaths, there was no trace of anything unusual to be found. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Li Mingde stood up, uncertain whether it was just a bold pickpocket or someone planning to cause trouble during the Mid-Autumn festival. Hesitant, he still decided to pull out a small contraption from his bosom and pulled a cord. A small blue firework exploded in the sky.

This was a signal to increase vigilance. There were also a few different colored fireworks that could be used for basic communication.

Li Mingde exhaled a long breath, carefully adjusted his light armor and waist saber, and performed a check of the hand crossbow he was authorized to carry, before resuming his watch over the festive scene below.

In any case, being more vigilant was not a bad thing.

He bit on the date pit, gazing blankly into space.

………

Wang Anfeng and the others found a guesthouse at the southwest corner of a district market.

The shopkeeper had at least three layers of chins, and his eyes would disappear behind his smile, yet while he appeared amiable, he was actually quite ruthless. He charged three taels of silver for a room for one night, which was more than eight times the usual rate.

Wang Anfeng gritted his teeth and pulled out the silver from his bosom to pay the bill, placing it heavily on the counter before letting go, not short by a single coin.

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow and casually praised him for his generosity.

Though the shopkeeper was ruthless in his dealings, the premium room truly lived up to its name without cutting corners. There was a bookshelf with a variety of books, which Wang Anfeng browsed through to find annotations written in cinnabar ink by scholars with different handwriting. These likely came from scholars around the vicinity, and being characteristic of Jiangnan, the guesthouse had a more scholarly ambiance compared to others.

Once Liu Ling’an settled down, he fell back into old habits. The wine in his flask tasted as bland as water, and he began to ponder about joining the lantern festival. Li Qidao, uninterested in dealing with this drunkard full of issues, kicked him out of the room and shut the door. Sikou Tingfeng, who disliked crowded places, preferred to stay at the guesthouse to rest.

Xue Qinshuang, too, enjoyed a tipple, but after some thought, she shook her head and declined to join the festivities, saying that the next three days would be more delightful with the many Bai Family wine shops on display. Today’s event was more about conflicts, lacking any real allure.