Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 29 Rong Family's Rest Inn

Hearing the old man's labored voice inside, Rong Qingqing could no longer hold back.

She rushed into the back room with Xiao Nian in her arms.

Gu Qingyue and Wen Qinghong exchanged a glance and rushed in as well.

Upon entering, Gu Qingyue looked around. The inn's entrance was small, but the backyard was quite spacious. Under the eaves of the spacious backyard, four men dressed as waiters huddled in a corner, trembling. An elderly man with gray hair leaned against the entrance of the main hall, a large pool of blood on his chest, clearly having vomited blood from anger.

In the courtyard stood three menacing-looking men. The middle-aged man in the lead had a roguish air about him, his hands behind his back, staring at the blood still trickling from the old man's mouth, smirking and looking incredibly irritating.

Seeing the scene before her, Gu Qingyue's hands began to itch, and she really wanted to slap someone, but now was not the time to act impulsively; saving lives was the priority.

"Third Uncle! Third Uncle! Are you alright?" Rong Qingqing put Xiao Nian down and handed her to Gu Qingyue, then quickly stepped forward to support the old man's arm.

The old man opened his heavy eyelids and stared at the woman in front of him, slightly stunned. Her features looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.

Rong Qingqing anxiously patted the old man's back to help him catch his breath.

"I am Qingqing," Rong Qingqing quickly said when she saw the old man's eyes were glazed over.

“Qing…Qing…” the old man uttered these two words with difficulty, and another mouthful of blood spilled from his mouth. “It’s Qingqing, I remember, you’ve grown up…” The old man’s withered hands suddenly grabbed Rong Qingqing’s arm, as if they were suddenly filled with strength.

Upon hearing this, Rong Qingqing's eyes suddenly reddened, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

For a moment, she choked up and couldn't speak. Seeing the blood spilling from the old man's mouth, Rong Qingqing suddenly turned around and shouted, "Qingyue, come and see my uncle, quick!"

Gu Qingyue knew there was no hope when she saw the old man's eyes suddenly light up, but she still handed Xiao Nian to Wen Qinghong and ran over.

“No need…” Before Gu Qingyue could even feel his pulse, the old man gripped Rong Qingqing’s hand again, trembling as he pointed to his chest, his voice slowly lowering: “The shop… is yours. Guard it well… wait for Xiao Sheng…” Before he could finish speaking, he slumped down the door frame.

Rong Qingqing was stunned for a moment. She was late, really late. She hated herself!

Why didn't you come earlier! Why?

Watching the old man collapse, Rong Qingqing suddenly felt a chill run through her body and couldn't help but cry softly. She held the old man's hand tightly, feeling utterly weak, and also collapsed to the ground.

Gu Qingyue turned to look at the three people in the courtyard, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

"Did you kill him?" Gu Qingyue's voice was filled with coldness, her eyes were deep and intense. Although she was petite, her expression was like that of a bloodthirsty young beast, as if she would pounce on her prey and bite its neck at any moment.

The middle-aged man knew things were in trouble the moment he saw the old man breathe his last. They could have easily taken the money by trickery, but once the old man was dead, things would be complicated. They didn't want to be reported to the county magistrate for such a small shop. Although they had Master Pan Xiang around and wouldn't be in any trouble, it wouldn't sound good either.

You still have to do things properly to save face, otherwise you'll inevitably get scolded by your master.

"No! It has nothing to do with us. The old man died of illness on his own. It has nothing to do with us. Let's go!" With that, he turned around and gestured to the two thugs. The three of them quickly walked towards the door.

Gu Qingyue looked at the trembling men beside her questioningly, and seeing that they all nodded, she had no choice but to give up.

Watching the three figures walk away and hearing the word "bad luck" coming from afar, Gu Qingyue was so angry that her teeth itched and she really wanted to follow them and beat them up.

But when Gu Qingyue turned around and saw Rong Qingqing sitting there blankly, she went over and helped her up. Rong Qingqing came back to her senses and her eyes flashed with grief.

Three days later, Gu Qingyue and her group buried the old man. The four of them sat around in the lobby of the inn. On the table were two land deeds, a bank's seal, and silver notes of varying amounts, totaling about two thousand taels. The seal had also been checked, and it was found that the old man had thirty thousand taels of cash deposited in the bank. By all accounts, Uncle Rong could be considered a wealthy household, and a rather large one at that.

The group remained silent for a long time, exchanging bewildered glances.

Through several of her friends, Rong Qingqing also learned about some of her uncle Rong's situation.

The only son, daughter-in-law and grandson were killed by bandits three years ago, and the eldest grandson Rong Zesheng went on a journey four years ago and never returned, his fate unknown. So now there is no one left in the family, what should be done?

After much deliberation, the group unanimously decided to stay at the inn and wait for their uncle's grandson, Rong Zesheng, to return, with a six-month deadline. If he didn't return, they would discuss the matter further. In the meantime, they would also ask people to search for him, hoping to find him as soon as possible.

That afternoon, the group checked out of their guest rooms and checked into an inn called Rongjia Xiaoxi.

The inn has two floors and is located on Zhengyang Street, the most bustling street in Liquan County. Although the storefront is not large, there are as many as fifteen guest rooms in total, while the rooms reserved for the owner are in a three-section courtyard with a total of five rooms.

They kept the main house, and the four of them moved into the east and west wings next door, leaving one guest room.

The conditions were much better than the small inn they had stayed in in the suburbs before.

Gu Qingyue and Rong Qingqing spent three days renovating the inn, upgrading the accommodations to a whole new level. Of course, the accommodation fees also increased accordingly. Although it couldn't compare with the large inns on the same street, it was still a significant improvement over the previous ones.

Their tidying up, with furniture and decorations coming and going, drew the intense gaze of the owner of the Liufu Inn across the street; his eyes practically melted their storefront.

"Manager, it seems that the Rong family's inn across the street is undergoing renovations. I managed to sneak in today, and it's completely different from before," a young waiter said obsequiously to Manager Liu.

Actually, he couldn't quite put his finger on what was so different. Compared to before, the bed had been moved, the window paper was brighter, the decorations weren't expensive, there were more green plants, and some small two-panel screens, etc. None of them were valuable, but they were much more beautiful and comfortable.

In fact, Gu Qingyue and Rong Qingqing didn't spend too much money to renovate the inn, given its size and its location on the border, where war was frequent.

Not to mention that the Nanzhao Kingdom is already causing trouble everywhere, and it's unknown how long it can last.

But in the young waiter's eyes, it was completely different from the Rong Family Rest Inn he was familiar with before.

"Hmph! That old man from the Rong family finally died, and now a few kids have come. Go and find out who they are. They all look like a bunch of children to me." Manager Liu's eyes were gloomy and uncertain. He would never let this little inn across the street steal the limelight from their Liufu Inn!

"Yes, sir, I will do my best," the young waiter said, bowing slightly as he left.

Manager Liu was left to continue staring gloomily at the inn across the street.

Gu Qingyue and her companions had no idea that their little inn was being watched before it even opened, and that someone had already infiltrated to investigate while the inn was being renovated and the craftsmen were coming and going.

While they were tidying up the inn, they were actually most concerned about the movements of the Pan family.