Farewell Flower Festival

Chao Yan looked at the sign and felt that the three words "Lantern Hall" exuded an indescribable weirdness.

"Come in." The dim light coming through the door made the old and hoarse voice seem even more desolate.

Han Lie came in and looked around, then said, "This place is so remote, aren't you afraid that there will be no business if you open a store here?"

Chaoyan saw neither lanterns nor the monkey inside, and the furnishings were very simple, with an old counter and an old square table. On the table was an old oil lamp with a flame the size of a soybean flickering on the wick, making the room seem a little eerie.

There is a door curtain behind the counter, and there is space behind it.

Chao Yan looked towards the door curtain, and the next moment she was blocked by the hunched figure of the old man.

The old man opened the door curtain and walked in. After a while, he came out holding a teapot.

"Now that you're here, come in and have a cup of tea." The old man said as he poured tea.

Chaoyan looked back at the door and saw a person walking in under the dim light. She was startled as she didn't expect it to be Mu Tianling.

He glanced at her, his eyes subtly cold.

Chao Yan thought to herself, how had she offended this guy? Was he blaming her for going out without permission?

Only then did she remember that she had told Feicui and Amber to tell Eunuch Wu that she would be back before dinner. It was already dark now and the three of them must be very worried.

"Everyone who comes is a guest, please take a seat," said the old man.

Mu Tianling went over and sat down first, and Han Lie sat down opposite him. Chao Yan was sandwiched between the two of them, feeling a little pressured.

Han Lie first picked up the teacup and tasted the tea.

Chaoyan respected him in her heart as a brave man who was not afraid of any problems with the tea.

"Good tea." Han Lie praised, and then asked, "What's the old man's name?"

The old man said: "Young people should ask less questions so that they can live longer."

Han Lie obviously didn't take this advice seriously and continued to ask, "What kind of business does the old man do?"

The old man laughed hoarsely when he heard this, as if he had heard a funny joke. "You dare to come to my door without knowing what kind of business I am in? Be careful not to lose your life."

Chao Yan thought, could it be that he was doing such shameful business as murder and arson?

She subconsciously looked at Mu Tianling beside her, and seeing that he looked calm, she felt more at ease.

"What did the girl see at the market before?" The old and turbid eyes looked at Chao Yan and saw through her disguise as a man at a glance. There was a hint of danger hidden in the old voice that was not easy to detect.

Her intuition told Chaoyan that the other party was very shrewd and she would not be able to fool him with just a few words. At the same time, her intuition also told her that she must not tell anyone what she saw, otherwise the three of them might not be able to leave the lantern house.

"This girl looks brave, but she is actually very timid. She was scared when the monkey you raised came near her." Han Lie said.

The old man said, "So that's how it is. I'm really sorry, young lady."

Chao Yan waved her hand to indicate that everything was fine.

"Sir, are you passing by or here to discuss business?" The old and turbid eyes looked at Mu Tianling.

Mu Tianling replied with two words, "Looking for someone."

The old man asked, "Who are you looking for, young master?"

Mu Tianling said: "A fugitive."

The old man asked, "Sir, are you from the government office?"

Mu Tianling asked back: "You don't welcome people from the government office here?"

The old man smiled and said, "People in the ghost market don't welcome people from the government office. This place has its own rules, and there is no need for officials to interfere." He walked towards the counter carrying the teapot, and the flame on the oil lamp flickered a few times.

Chaoyan felt her vision blurring and her head starting to feel dizzy. She didn't know when she was hit. She reached out to grab Mu Tianling, but as soon as she raised her hand, her vision went dark and she fainted on the table.

Mu Tianling and Han Lie were also hit. They lasted two seconds longer than Chao Yan, and then they fainted on the table with their eyes going dark.

……

When Chao Yan woke up again, she found herself in a closed room. There were no windows on the wall, only an iron door as an entrance and exit, and only a dim oil lamp on the table that could barely illuminate the room.

To make matters worse, she found her hands and feet tied and fixed to a wooden bed, like a lamb to be slaughtered.

She looked at the tightly closed iron door, the fear in her heart entwined around her like a vine. She didn't dare to imagine what would happen next. Sometimes having too much imagination is not necessarily a good thing.

Will I be killed? Or will I be slowly tortured? . . . . .

With a creak, the iron door was pushed open. She hoped so much that it was someone who came to save her. Mu Tianling's face appeared in her subconscious, but a hunched shadow was reflected on the wall.

Chaoyan tried her best to suppress her fear and not let herself be scared to tears. She repeated in her mind countless times to stay calm, stay rational, and act according to the circumstances.

The old man came in carrying an oil lamp and a package tucked under his ribs.

Walking to the table, the old man put the things down, then opened the cloth wrapping them. A row of shiny knives shone brightly in the dim light.

Chaoyan's scalp went numb, she was so scared that she almost burst into tears, and goose bumps appeared all over her body. Could it be that the other party wanted to cut her into pieces? ! ! !

No, no, no, I absolutely don't want to die in such a horrible way!

The fear surged like a tide, drowning Chaoyan so much that she couldn’t breathe. She hoped so much that all this was just an illusion. She would rather be frightened to death now than die like this. . . . .

The old man picked up a sharp scimitar from a row of knives and walked towards Chao Yan with it.

Looking at the sharp knife that was like a scalpel, Chao Yan's tears were about to burst out of her eyes. The last string that maintained her sanity was stretched to the extreme and could break at any time.

"Little girl, I'm going to ask you a question. You have to answer honestly, otherwise you won't be able to save your face." The old man's hoarse voice sounded even more terrifying in the gloomy flames. The sharp tip of the knife was facing Chao Yan's delicate white face.

Chao Yan nodded with tears in her eyes, she absolutely did not want to be skinned alive!

"What did you see at the market?"

Asagao's frightened eyes were reflected on the sharp blade.

"I saw... a pair of eyes... like human eyes..."

At the critical moment, Chao Yan decided to take a gamble and could only hope that this time-travel physique could bring him good luck.

After staring at Chao Yan's big eyes full of tears for a few seconds, the old man retracted the sharp tip of the knife, slowly walked back to the table and put it back on the cloth belt.

Chao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that the bet was right.

When the old man put away the knife and prepared to leave, Chao Yan bravely asked where Mu Tianling and Han Lie were. The old man said that they were still alive, then closed the iron gate and left.

Hearing that the two were still alive, Chaoyan felt relieved.

……