On the day of the meeting, you should take advantage of the bustling waters to fish in troubled waters, but the place where you meet is not a crowded place.

It is not an easy task to find a quiet enough place in Guangzhou where the Huaguang Festival is held. According to the instructor, it was originally the ancestral hall of a family.

There are many clans in Lingnan, and clans of all sizes have to contribute money and efforts to build ancestral halls for their own families. It has almost become a rigid rule. If the clan rules are still there, but you refuse to contribute, it is not as simple as being looked down upon.

You will be punished directly.

A clan with a lot of people and a lot of money will naturally build its ancestral hall in a grand style. For a clan with a lot of people and a lot of money, in order not to look too shabby, it can only reduce the size of its territory, so that the layout will appear compact and the feng shui of the house will be more thorough.

As for this small ancestral hall, I heard that the clan has been completely ruined. Unless it is Chinese New Year, the door is locked for several months and no one comes.

The small ancestral hall is at the end of a row of houses, next to the river.

Guan Luoyang and the others did not go to the gate covered with spider webs. They just walked around the perimeter to see where someone might be hiding and where they could hide, and where they could escape. Then they jumped over the wall and went inside.

Go check it out.

This small ancestral hall is a courtyard ten steps square, connected to a house.

There are several futons and an incense table in the room.

There were cobwebs on the incense burner, candles, and dozens of memorial tablets at the back. A large cobweb hanging diagonally to the right from the beam was even covered with many flying insects.

The furnishings on all sides of this place are basically visible, and there is nothing worth paying too much attention to.

But as soon as they came in and took a look, they heard something strange in their ears.

A head popped up on the east wall. Guan Luoyang and the instructor had quietly sneaked to the foot of the east wall and stood close to the wall in both corners.

They waited quietly for the person who didn't take the main entrance to climb over the wall and come down.

This man was wearing a white shirt, a sleeveless gray vest, and a pair of black leather shoes. He had a strong figure, but when he jumped from the wall, he squatted and knelt down, and had to put one hand on the ground to keep from falling.

It doesn't look like he has any hard work.

I don’t know what he went through before. He sweated a lot. There were large stains of sweat on the fabric of his vest, and his short hair was condensed into locks and stuck to his head.

Guan Luoyang and the others could have climbed over the wall and left the moment this man landed before he could turn around, but seeing that he was not dressed like someone who needed to steal something in a small ancestral hall like this, his identity was somewhat questionable.

The instructor coughed on his own initiative, causing the man to turn around suddenly in shock, revealing the face of a pale and sweaty young man.

Guan Luoyang noticed that when this man was frightened, he subconsciously tightened the long brocade box in his left hand. There must be something important inside.

Although the young man looked tired and restless, he spoke first: "Who are you? Why did you break into my friend's old ancestral hall without permission?"

The instructor's eyes flashed and he asked: "Since this is your friend's ancestral hall, why don't you come in through the main entrance?"

The young man spoke plausibly: "Before my friend went abroad, he asked me to pay more attention and clean it frequently. Unfortunately, I was lazy for a few months and then came back to check. The locks in front of the door were rusted, so I had to climb over the wall to see if there had been any thieves."

The instructor's expression became serious and he said slowly: "The old lock of more than 260 years is not opened by the family. If a thief from outside comes in, it will be smashed directly. How can this rotten door be left?"

."

When the young man heard this, his chest heaved twice, he closed his mouth and swallowed, as if he was afraid that the pronunciation of what he said next would be unclear. He stared at the instructor and said clearly: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

"It has been diseased for hundreds of years, so we have to cut out the rot and replace it with the new."

As soon as the coach finished speaking, the two men's hands were already tightly clasped together.

The young man seemed to be too excited. He gasped twice and held the instructor's hand so hard that veins appeared. Then he said: "I am Ma Zhixing. It is indeed you. Sure enough..."

Before he finished two sentences, Ma Zhixing's voice was filled with tears, and he was choked with sobs and couldn't continue.

Guan Luoyang glanced at the coach.

Even if he finally connected, he wouldn't be so excited. Seeing how he was sweating profusely and in a panic, could something happen to him?

The instructor obviously had the same idea. He rubbed his back to comfort him and asked.

Ma Zhixing said intermittently: "My family is originally a philanthropic family, and my ancestors have a legacy. I was able to study abroad, join the League, etc., vomit, cough, cough..."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly felt his stomach churn and he retched and coughed repeatedly.

The instructor used some strength to stroke his neck, massage his back along his blades, and use his strength to soothe his chest and stomach.

Ma Zhixing's urge to retching and crying was greatly relieved. There were still tears in the corners of his eyes, but he was able to speak smoothly.

"My ancestors loved to collect antique calligraphy and paintings. This morning, someone from Guangzhou's General Mansion came to see me for a painting. My father has a strong personality, but I thought that I would be in contact with you recently and it would be inappropriate to get into trouble, so I secretly persuaded you and agreed.

Hand over the painting.

Unexpectedly, when I took the painting back to the hall, I saw that my father had been brutally murdered. I shot the thief to death and ran away. I had just escaped from the thugs of the Qing soldiers."

Ma Zhixing gradually became calmer, with a haggard look on his face, "I was originally worried that I might not be able to survive these few days, so I thought of leaving a secret note here to warn you that something had happened to your contact. I never thought you would just arrive."

In fact, what happened to the Ma family is not uncommon in today's Qing Dynasty. However, I did not expect such a coincidence that Ma Zhixing would lose his loved ones just before the meeting.

The tragedy of breaking up a family and losing a father certainly makes people feel sad, but after the disaster of the Ma family, whether the roster can be successfully sent out is even more important.

Ma Zhixing is able to take on important responsibilities, and he is also a clear-headed and courageous person. Before the coach was in trouble, he took the initiative to explain: "I have already managed to get the tickets, from the 23rd to the 28th. I am just waiting for one day."

Come and meet me, and I can be on my way that day."

"It's just that there are only a few people in my family, and my father and my friends are all people who don't want to travel far away. It would be suspicious for one person to suddenly buy a multi-day ferry ticket, so I asked different people to buy the tickets and separated them.

Collect, the first boat ticket for tomorrow morning is hidden in the bottom right drawer of the Xanthium tuber of my Baoshengtang medicine cabinet."

He paused for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "With the behavior of these dog officials, they will definitely seal up my medical clinic and confiscate my property. Those bastards will definitely not leave in the near future, and they will not be able to get their ferry tickets back, but I

I still have a few trustworthy friends, I can ask them to come up with a solution."

The instructor frowned and said: "I'm afraid not. We caused a lot of trouble on the way into the city. After entering the city, the government should guess our intentions. Regarding the ferry tickets, they will definitely check more strictly. Those friends of yours were able to get them before.

After today, it may not be possible to get it."

"this……"

Ma Zhixing blinked his sore eyes hard, and his mind was in confusion, "What should we do? The president and the others have agreed to take action next year and have already begun preparations. The roster must be sent before the new year. Otherwise, if things are done in a hurry, the certainty will be extremely low.

, it’s almost October now.”

Guan Luoyang suddenly said: "Then let me go and get the ticket."

Ma Zhixing turned to look at him and immediately objected: "How can this be done? Those scoundrels are all armed with guns. If you go in alone with your bare hands, you will die."

The coach said solemnly: "Although Luoyang's move is risky, considering its strength, it may be possible to give it a try. However, the city of Guangzhou can be said to be small or big. If we want to take action, we must do it quickly. Brother Ma, please explain in detail

Let me tell you the route from here to your medical center."

"etc."

Guan Luoyang raised his hand and said, "It's not us, I'm going alone. First of all, if you and I are together, then we bear important responsibilities. It would be very suspicious to take action at this juncture, and it may make them think of Brother Ma's surrounding friends.

We even found out about the ferry tickets.

And if I was the only one, it would be much more normal for the murderous green-faced ghost to pass by and draw a sword to kill a few Qing soldiers in anger. Thinking best, they might even suspect what I am going to do next.

We will assassinate General Guangzhou and send more troops there so that we can move more smoothly in the future."

Guan Luoyang said and pointed at Ma Zhixing, "Of course, the most important thing is that Brother Ma is still being hunted. With you by his side, it will be more convenient to escape and hide. Otherwise, it would be troublesome for him to even climb over the wall like this."

, it would be tragic if a Qing soldier came to visit a person here."

The coach was convinced by him.

Ma Zhixing saw that they seemed very confident and guessed that they might be experts with special skills, so he didn't persuade them any more and explained the route in detail.

The Ma family's medical clinic and medicine hall are actually not in the same place as their residence. The main door of his house faces west. After coming out, you have to cross an alley and walk half a street to get to the medical clinic with the main door facing east.

In order to choose this ancestral hall as the connecting point, Ma Zhixing traveled to three places countless times and knew all the routes very well. After he finished speaking, Guan Luoyang almost had a three-dimensional outline in his mind.

Those Eight Banners soldiers who often serve at the General's Mansion in Guangzhou are experienced in confiscating houses. Naturally, the real value will be divided up by the superiors, but those small soldiers also have to make some money.

After they finished ransacking the house, they would not let go of even the tables, chairs, dishes, and chopsticks. People say that bandits are like a fence, and soldiers are like a comb. Nothing more than this, and the medicinal materials may have to be packed away.

In order to prevent the ferry ticket from being taken away, Guan Luoyang set off immediately even though it was still daytime.

It was almost noon, the busiest time of the day. As I passed by Guan Luoyang, I not only encountered a wave of monks who were being followed and watched, but also saw many performers.

The girl carrying the bowl, wearing a starched and faded red gown, stood with one foot on the table. There were already eight porcelain bowls above her head. She also used her toes to pick up the bowls and drop them on her head, receiving a burst of cheers.

The old man with braided hair took off his shirt. His body was stronger than ordinary people, but his ribs could still be seen clearly. He held the head of a wooden gun with his throat. This was an old trick, and it was an old man, so few people saw it.

Guan Luoyang shuttled among the crowds and saw those who were taking risks.

For example, there was a pair of old and young men working together to sell snake oil. The older man forcefully shook the young man's arm out of joint, and the young man had to grit his teeth and shake his hand to let the others identify whether it was really dislocated, and then apply the oil on it.

Snake oil, re-set the bones, and do a set of punches.

This was to show the magical effect of snake oil, but Guan Luoyang smelled the pungent smell and knew that the snake oil medicinal wine was just ordinary stuff.

If young people fiddle with their joints in this way, even if they endure the pain, they will suffer from lifelong diseases within three or two years.

But their business is indeed better than other places, and more and more people are gathering around, most of them are coolies wearing shorts with their bellies exposed and braids wrapped around their heads.

There is also the tightrope walker. Two flagpoles stand on the ground, with a steel wire pulled from the top. Tables and chairs are stacked below to stabilize the poles. Two people hold the poles. The young man performing the show holds a bamboo pole to balance, climbs up with a ladder, and walks five meters above the ground.

On the many steel wires, it was dangling, like a fragile mass of slender flesh and bones, hanging by a thin rope from the edge of the cliff.

There were also jugglers, oil fryers, and monkey performers, and more or less people gathered together.

The streets, alleys, and river food stalls are filled with a kind of barren but precious lively joy.

Guan Luoyang was like a fish swimming through the streets, approaching Baoshengtang Medical Center amidst thousands of noisy sounds.
To be continued...