Hugging a jar of Bamboo Leaf Green, Liu Xiaolou first went to the entrance of First Strip Alley, then headed to the shabby market in Wu Chao Town. Looking around, he found very few people setting up stalls here—fewer than usual, it seemed. There were scarcely any customers wandering about either, which left him puzzled.
He had not found Sister Qing at the entrance of First Strip Alley or in his own little courtyard. She was not here either. Where had she gone? Had she managed to contact the Qingyu Sect's stewards?
Liu Xiaolou found a corner and set the wine jar beside him. Only a handful of people had stalls in the market, and all of them looked over at him.
Someone asked, "Spirit Wine?"
Liu Xiaolou nodded, but no one asked another question. Just as he was wondering whether he ought to find a brush and write "Bamboo Leaf Green" on a sign to stick to the jar, someone hurried in and whispered a few words into the ear of the person who had spoken. That person immediately wrapped up a pile of rare mountain goods from the ground in a bundle and left.
The others looked at one another, none of them knowing what was going on.
After a while, the same thing happened again, and another stallholder left.
Liu Xiaolou became alert. Could something be happening? He picked up the wine jar and hurried away. The instant he moved, everyone else moved as well—those with bundles rolled them up, those with baskets gathered them—and the market descended into chaos.
The moment he left the market, he ran straight into Sister Qing. She grabbed him and pulled him away. "I've been looking for you. Hurry!"
Sister Qing dragged Liu Xiaolou out of Wu Chao Town. He asked,