A skinny guy with tiny beard on his chines angrily from the edge of alley, looks around but can’t find what he looks for.
Another skinny guy with sleepy eyes who alsoes angrily from another edge of the same alley and neither him can find them.
They meets in the middle of alley,
"Well, do you see them?" the skinny sleepy eyes asks first,
"No...you, Er Ge?" the skinny tiny beard asks back,
The skinny sleepy eyes just shakes his head...suddenly he kicks a giant tilting wooden board beside him,
"I can’t believe we lost them....that woman must be a street rat!!"
"ErGe, what should we do now? TaGe must be very angry right now.."
Oppositely with his furious scary face, it seems the skinny tiny beard is more coward than his brothers, while the skinny sleepy eyes seems a little bit depended on.
"Lets try again at another ces....and then we go back to tell TaGe..."
The skinny sleepy eyes left the alley followed by the skinny tiny beard.
After they left, two figurese out from behind the big tilting board,es out two figures, the woman that those skinny men look for and followed by TanTan.
The woman clears her cloth from dust,
"I think we safe for now..." She looks to TanTan, and sudden sheughs widely,
"Hahaha....thank you Young man...I never see someone willing to sacrifice an expensive roast chicken to help other person...Hahaha...I like it!"
It seems she is very entertained by TanTan’s impulse action.
Being remembered about it, TanTan did regret a little bit to throw that very good vour chicken. That woman seems can see it, so she hit TanTan’s back shoulder friendly,
"Don’t worry about it, I will pay your kindness...I, QingQing, never forget anyone who has good or bad to me!"
TanTan observes this QingQing carefully. From her simple cloth, TanTan guesses QingQing is a woman who grows in the street, maybe even a traveler and she seems older than her, maybe around twenty fifth. Somehow she likes this QingQing’s friendly act.
QingQing still quiet, expecting an introduction from TanTan,
"Well? I already tell my name...what’s your?"
TanTan wonders does she figure out her true gender? TanTan adjusts her voice again,
"Ehm,..I am sorry,..... I am...Tan...Lang." TanTan gives her hands to shake.
QingQing narrows her eyes a little bit, indicating she feels a little confused to see TanTan’s gesture but then she smiles,
"...TanLang...Hm nice to meet you..."
QingQing punches her palm hands together, to show themon way to greet one traveler to another traveler. It makes TanTan realizes the greeting way in this time is different...QingQing must thinks she is weird young man now...
TanTan immediately changes her gestures, mimicking QingQing to greet her again correctly.
But QingQing seems amused,
"You must ever traveled far, to learn the greeting way of the yellow pale people...It’s so rare to see it..."
TanTan can’t answer it, she just canugh,
"Now, what can I help you to pay your kindness, Tan *Di?"
TanTan feels relieved that her real gender is not found out yet, although she wonders that she is really good to fool people or people at this ancient time really easily be fooled by the appearance? No matter what, TanTan feels can trust this QingQing, so she quick thinking,
"Actually I am looking for some information...about someone...who wears a silver mask...maybe you know?"
"A...silver masked man?...hm...well I don’t know about him but...maybe I can take you to a ce where you might find what you are looking for! Come...follow me!" QingQing leads the way, carefully she observes the way front of them, to make sure those skinny men don’t return to search them. After she feels sure, she gestures TanTan to follow her again. TanTan decides to follow this QingQing, coz finally she feels that she can start to find clues from somewhere, its better than she wandering around with no lead at all...although in her heart, she prays that nothing happened to XiaoRue who she left behind at the restaurant.
’She supposed to be okay, right?’
In other side, When XiaoRue urges ManQi to go with her chasing the skinny men down. ManQi pulls back XiaoRue’s arm.
"Hold on, let’s we wait here..."
"But...XiaoCie..? She is in danger! We must hurry..."
XiaoRue seems still panic so ManQi holds both her arms to calm her down,
"Calm down, those men you mentioned about, they might return to report to their boss here..So let’s wait here okay!"
Listening ManQi, XiaoRue being calmed a little bit. ManQi sudden realizes that he bes so close with XiaoRue, he lets go his hands awkwardly.
"Ehm...l’ll take care of this big man first..." ManQi immediately focus to tie the big fierce man who still fainted with any rope he finds from merchants around.
"Okay..." XiaoRue is also bing awkward with ManQi’s attitude.
Meanwhile TanTan follows QingQing to one mansion. She looks to the te of the front door, it written ’The house of Gamble’.
’Gambling house?’ TanTan wonders can she get any information from here? She is hesitated to enter, as she knows it is one of illegal ce that she shouldn’t involved.
QingQing looks to her, ensures her,
"Come..."
When they want to enter, at the same time, those two skinny guys aree from other alley, the skinny tiny beard notices them,
"ErGe...look! It is them!"
And TanTan is also noticing them, QingQing sees them too so she pushes TanTan entering the gamble house.
"Quickly! Don’t worry they won’t dare to go in!" TanTan and QingQing finally enter the gamble house, they passes two big men that guard the ce. TanTan sees how QingQing and one the guard nod their head a little bit to each other. It seems they know each other.
While those skinny guys try to enter also but being blocked by the guards. Although the skinny tiny beard try to threaten them but it doesn’t work. The guards are much fiercer than them, they don’t hesitated to punch both of them right away and throw them to the street.
"See what I mean! Come, we’ll be sate inside..." TanTan feels relieved after seeing that and then goes inside the gambling house following QingQing.
Those two skinny guys finally give up and decide to return, reporting to their big brother. But what a surprise when they find their big brother has been tied at a pole on the street.
"TA GE !!!"
"WHO DARES TO TIE OUR TA GE LIKE THIS!!!"
The skinny sleepy eyes gives an anger look to around, but the people just try to avoid them.
Then a finger knocking on his shoulder,
when he turns to see who is that, a punchnds on his face. In a second, ManQi knocks them down and ties them as well. Then ManQi interrogates them,
"Speak! Where are two women that you chase!!!"
The skinny guys looks puzzled,
"What two women?"
"We only chase one women..."
ManQi scolds them hardly to scare them,
"DON’T PLAY WITH ME!!!" ManQi takes out his sword to threaten them but those guys still look confused, then XiaoRue pulls ManQi, whispers to him that TanTan is also in disguise as a man. Manqi now understands what makes those guys confused, he changes his question,
"Ehm...I mean where are the woman and young man that you chased? SPEAK OR I WILL CUT YOUR TINY BEARD!!"
The yell sessfully makes the skinny tiny beard scare deadly,
"Nooo...no..my tiny beard....they..they entering the house of gamble.....we couldn’t enter there...."
"The house of gamble?" ManQi widens his eyes, ’This HuaMuTan really good in adding more problem!’
"Its true...you can find them there now..., Now please release us...we has told you what you want to know!"
ManQi smirks to them,
"Sure, I will release the ropes when we arrive at the prison..."
The skinny tiny beard starts to cry,
"What?! No..I don’t want to go to jail agaiiinnn..."
The skinny sleepy eyes starts shouting out some impolite words for kids,
"Release us...you...S***, F*** you!!!"
The big fierce guy who is their big brother, their boss just conscious and doesn’t realize what happened.
"Huh? What?.....where am I?"
Some officers has arrived and ManQimands them,
"Take them all to thew office!!"
XiaoRue holds ManQi’s hand,
"How about XiaoCie?" she asks in worry.
"Don’t worry, Prince Li will take care of herter" ManQi smiles. In his mind, he wonders what his master’s reaction when he knows that HuaMuTan has entering the house of gamble... Somehow he feels amused with this condition.
*TaGe: the big brother
*ErGe: the Second brother
*Di: little brother