A man's footsteps rang out on the stairs outside. The old camel put his bony index finger to his lips and picked up the candle and walked towards the door. The old camel and the visitor came to the door at the same time, and the man hurried into the room, and was already in front of the girl, but did not see her.

The visitor is Lao Meng.

"This is one of my students," said the old camel when he saw that Lao Meng was going straight back as soon as he saw that there was a living person, "Azhu, don't go. ”

The girl leaned back at the table, glanced at Lao Meng nonchalantly, and then withdrew her gaze, but just as the visitor turned towards the old camel, she stole another glance, and this time her gaze was so sharp and meaningful, that if anyone had noticed this change, she would almost certainly not believe that the two gazes came from the same person.

"Any news?" The old camel asked.

"Big news."

"Yes—is that good news?" The old camel asked in a hurry, as if he was afraid that he might anger the other party by being too optimistic.

"It's not bad," Lao Meng smiled and replied, "I've really made a good trip." Let me tell you a word. ”

The girl leaned closer to the table, and did not offer to leave the room, although she could tell that Lao Meng was speaking to her. The old camel might have some concerns, and if she insisted on driving her out, she might talk loudly about the money, so she pointed upstairs and led Lao Meng out of the room.

"Don't go to that haunting den where we used to be." She could hear the man talking as he went upstairs. The old camel laughed, and replied to something, which she did not hear, and there was a rattling of the floor, and it seemed that he had taken his companion to the third floor.

The echo of their footsteps in the house had not yet subsided, and Ah Zhu had already taken off his shoes, lifted his clothes and put them on his head, wrapped his shoulders, and stood in the doorway with bated breath.

As soon as the noise stopped, she slipped out of the room with an incredibly soft step, silently ascended the stairs, and disappeared into the darkness of the stairs.

The room was empty for a quarter of an hour or more, and then, still like a wandering spirit, the girl returned as if she were a ghost, when she heard the two men coming down.

Lao Meng went out directly to the street, and the old camel walked slowly upstairs again for money. When he returned, the girl was arranging her shawl and hat as if she were about to leave.

"Hey, Azhu," cried the old camel back as he laid down his candle, "your face is so pale. ”

"Pale?" The girl replied, putting her hands on her forehead, as if intending to take a closer look at him.

"It's horrible, what are you doing alone?"

"I didn't do anything, I just sat in this stuffy place, and I don't know how long," replied the girl lightly, "all right." Let me go back, that's good. ”

The old camel counted the money into her hand, sighing at each count. They didn't talk much and broke up.

Ah Zhu came to the empty street, sat down on one of the steps, and for a while she seemed to be completely confused, not knowing which way to go. Suddenly, she stood up and hurried in the opposite direction to the place where Zhang Fatzi was waiting for her to return, and she kept increasing her pace, and finally gradually turned into a desperate run. She ran until she ran out of strength before she stopped to catch her breath.

At this time, she seemed to suddenly wake up, realizing that she was doing something she wanted to do but could not do, she deeply regretted, twisted her hands, and burst into tears.

Perhaps it was the tears that lightened her heart, or she realized that she was completely powerless, but in any case, she turned around and sped away in the opposite direction at about the same speed—partly to regain lost time, and on the other hand to keep pace with her own turbulent thoughts—and soon arrived at the place where she had left the robber alone.

Even though she was a little uneasy when she appeared, Zhang Fatzi didn't see it, he just asked if he had got the money, and after getting an affirmative answer, he let out a strange cry of satisfaction, and put his head on the pillow again, and continued to dream that was interrupted by her return.

Counting her luck, the day after the money arrived, Mr. Zhang Fatzi ate and drank as much as he could, and had a good effect in soothing his violent temper, and he had neither the time nor the heart to pick his nose and eyes at her behavior.

She seemed absent-minded and nervous, as if she was about to take a bold but dangerous step, which had been the result of a fierce struggle.

This kind of demeanor could not hide the old camel with eyes as powerful as a bobcat, and he was likely to be alert immediately, but Mr. Zhang Fatzi was different—he was a rough man, and no matter who he always took a rough attitude towards him, he never bothered about some of the more delicate and subtle things, not to mention that as mentioned earlier, he was in a rare good mood—he couldn't see anything wrong with Ah Zhu's actions, and yes, he didn't worry about her at all, even if her uneasiness was far more noticeable than it actually was, and it is unlikely to arouse his suspicions.

As the day wore on, the girl's excitement grew.

When it was dark, she sat down and waited for the robber to fall asleep, her cheeks were unusually pale, but there was a fire in her eyes, and even the fat man noticed with astonishment.

Due to the fever, Zhang was very weak, lying in bed, drinking gin mixed with hot water to reduce the irritating effect. It was only the third or fourth time that he had pushed the cup in front of Ah Zhu and asked her to repour it, and these signs had caught his attention for the first time.

He propped himself up with his hands, looked at the girl's face, and said. "You look like a dead man came back to life. What's wrong? ”

"What's wrong?" The girl replied, "Nothing happened." Why are you staring at me like that? ”

"What kind of stupidity is this?" Fat Zhang grabbed her shoulder, shook it fiercely, and asked. "What's going on? What do you mean? What are you thinking? ”

"I'm thinking about a lot of things," replied the girl, trembling and covering her eyes with her hands. "But, oh my! What's the big deal? ”

She pretended to be relaxed and said the last sentence, but that tone seemed to leave a deeper impression on Zhang Fatzi than the flustered and willful demeanor before she spoke.

"I'll tell you what's going on," said Zhang Fatzi, "if you don't have a fever and you're about to have a seizure, then something is wrong, it's a little dangerous." You're not- no, fuck. You don't do that. ”

"What are you doing?" The girl asked.

"No," the fat man glared at her, muttering to himself, "there is nothing more desperate than this little girl, or I would have slit her throat three months ago." She's going to have a fever, that's all. ”

With this confidence, Zhang Fatzi cheered up and drank the glass of wine to the bottom, and then he scolded and shouted to give him medicine. The girl jumped up with great agility, turned her back to him and quickly poured the medicine into the cup, brought it to his mouth, and he drank the contents of it.

"All right," said the robber, "come and sit beside me, and show you your usual form, or I will make you change your form, and you will not recognize you even if you want to." ”

The girl complied. Zhang Fat Man held her hand tightly, fell on the pillow, his eyes fixed on her face, closed and opened, closed and opened. He kept changing his position, and in the course of two or three minutes he almost fell asleep several times, and several times he sat up with a frightened look on his face, looking around with a look of loss. Finally, just as he seemed to be about to hold on, he suddenly fell into a deep sleep. The gripping hand was loosened, and the raised arm hung limply beside him.

He lay there, unconscious.

"The opium tincture has finally worked," the girl murmured, rising from the side of the bed. "Now, I may not be able to catch up."

She hurriedly put on her hat, tied her shawl, and looked back again and again, for fear that the sleeping pills would not work, and the fat man's big hand might rest on her shoulder at any time.

Then she silently opened and closed the door, and hurried out of the house.

She had to walk through an alley to get up to the street, and in the black alley, a man shouted at half-past nine.

"It's already past half an o'clock?" The girl asked.

"Ten o'clock in another quarter of an hour." The man held the lantern in front of her and said.

"I won't be able to get there without more than an hour." Ah Zhu whispered, ran past him quickly, and in the blink of an eye he was already on the street.

She made a beeline for Conch City's western district, passing through one remote street after another, many of which had begun to close.

When the clock struck ten o'clock, she became more and more restless. She galloped along the narrow sidewalk, elbowing pedestrians staggering, and as she crossed a few crowded streets, she almost rushed under the horse's head, where the crowds were anxiously waiting for the carriage to pass before leaving.

"This woman is crazy." As soon as she rushed over, people looked back. As soon as you enter the wealthier areas of the city, the streets are less crowded. She went on a rampage, scurrying past the scattered pedestrians, greatly arousing people's curiosity. A few quickened their pace behind her, as if wondering where she was heading at such an unusual pace, and a few others ran ahead of her, and looked back, and could not help but be surprised at her unslowing speed, but one by one they all fell behind, and by the time she approached her destination, she was the only one left.

It was a family hotel located on a quiet and pretty street near the park. A light was lit in front of the hotel, and the dazzling light led her to this location.

At this time, the clock struck eleven o'clock. She staggered a few steps, as if she were a little hesitant, and then made up her mind to step forward. The bell reassured her, and she walked into the foyer. The seats in the concierge were empty. She looked around with a grimace on her face, then walked towards the stairs.

"Hey, Miss!" A gorgeously dressed woman peered out of a door behind her and said. "Who are you looking for here?"

"Find a young lady who lives here." The girl replied.

"A young lady?" The answer was accompanied by a mocking look. "Where's the young lady?"

"Miss May." Azhu said.

The young woman did not notice Azhu's appearance until this time, and could not help but glance at her with disdain, and called a male waiter to greet her. Ah Zhu said his request.

"What shall I call it?" The waiter asked.

"It doesn't matter what you call it." Ah Zhu replied.

"Needless to say?" The waiter said.

"Yes, needless to say," replied the girl, "I must see this young lady." ”

"Come on." The waiter said and pushed her out the door. "There is no such thing. Get out and get out. ”

"Unless you carry me out." Ah Zhu said desperately, "And I'll tell the two of you to walk around without eating." Is there anybody," she said, looking around, "willing to give a message to a poor man like me?" ”

This plea moved a kind-hearted cook, who was watching with a few other waiters, and went up to the front row to solve the problem.

"Why don't you pass it on for her?" The cook said.

"What's the use of that?" The waiter replied, "You don't think that Mademoiselle would like to see her, huh?" ”

This sentence implied that Ah Zhu's identity was suspicious, and the chaste breasts of the four maids aroused great indignation, and several people were impassioned, declaring that the maid had disgraced all the women, and strongly advocated that she be thrown into the gutter unceremoniously.

"Do whatever you like with me," said the girl, turning her head again to the gentlemen. "Just grant my request first and bring a letter."

The soft-hearted cook made another attempt to mediate, and the waiter who had been the first to show up agreed to inform her.

"How so?" He said with one foot on the stairs.

"Let's just say that a young woman has sincerely asked to speak to Miss Mei alone," said Azhu, "and you will say that Miss will know whether to listen to her and drive her out as a liar if she listens to her first sentence." ”

"I said," said the man, "you really have a way." ”

"You go and report," Ah Zhu said decisively, "I want to hear back." ”

Xiao Er walked upstairs quickly. Ah Zhu stood in place, her face was pale and angry, and she listened to the cold words of several chaste maids talking loudly, and her lips trembled with anger. The women were very skilled in this regard, and when the male bearer came back and told her to go upstairs, they showed more and more skill.

"In this world, people with rules really can't do it." The first maid said.

"Broken copper and iron are worth more than gold smelted with fire." The second said.

The third sighed: "What is a woman with status?" The fourth opened a quartet with the phrase "Shame on you."

Ah Zhu ignored them, because she still had more important things in her heart, she trembled, followed the male attendant, and walked into a small reception room with a chandelier lit on the ceiling.

The attendant brought her here, and withdrew.