Chapter 17: A Dark and Windy Night for Murder (Part 2)

  She tightly grasped Xiao Si's arm to prevent this little guy from playing tricks, fully alert and holding her breath, carefully stepping into the long corridor.

  It wasn't until the two of them walked out from the other end that the corridor was still quiet.

  Wan'er pushed away Xiao Si's arm and said resentfully, "See, you still dare to say you didn't cheat?"

  Xiao Si rubbed the arm that had been pinched by Wan'er, wincing in pain. "What's wrong with you? This is called 'luring without releasing', okay? The formation isn't activated, and even if you walk back and forth a hundred times in the long corridor, nothing will happen."

  Wan Er snorted in disdain, looking like she didn't believe it one bit.

  Xiao Si said with a grin, "Dare you make a bet with me? There's a Moon Gate ahead, and right behind it, there are definitely six trees lined up in two rows on either side. On the trees hang eight or nine wind chimes made of scrap copper and iron."

  "Wan'er asked: 'What do you want to bet?'"

  Xiao Si looked at her big eyes staring at him, and suddenly smiled: "If you lose, call me 'good brother' three times. If I lose, I'll call you 'good sister' three times."

  Wan'er smiled slightly and said: "If you lose, let me kick you three times."

  "Deal!" Xiao Si lightly tapped on Wan'er's slender hand, smiling as he walked forward: "I've been waiting for you to call me good brother!"

  As they walked through the Moon Gate, Wan'er immediately focused her attention and couldn't help but let out a low cry of surprise, it turned out that Jiao Xiu had said everything without exception.

  "Ha! This is called the Six Harmony Report Spring, Eight Sides Come Wind. You think this little trick can deceive people? Even if you connect both sides to form a Five Elements Array, it's still just a worn-out old routine."

  Wan'er didn't listen to him boasting and said in a low voice: "Let's hurry back and tell Master Chu and Aunt Yu."

  Xiao Si said with a sneer, "Don't be impatient, I bet this inn has more to it than just this little thing. Since someone has set the stage, I'll sing them a good show!"

  Wan'er's delicate nose slightly upturned as she sneered: "You can sing opera? Learn to bray like a donkey instead!"

  Xiao Si saw her with a spoiled and cute expression, his heart itched unbearably, and he smiled: "Good sister, it seems like you still owe me something?"

  Wan'er pretended not to hear and turned around to leave. Xiang Xiao Si hurriedly caught up with her, saying: "Hey, a gentleman's word is like a swift horse that cannot be overtaken!"

  Wan'er turned her head and asked back: "Am I a gentleman? Did I ever agree to gamble with you?"

  Xiao Si's eyes widened in shock, and she let out a mournful sigh: "Damn it, those who play with ink will get stained black. In just a few days, how did I, with my gentle guidance, end up raising a female rogue?"

  Wan'er burst out laughing, her smile blooming like a flower. Xiao Si's eyes widened in surprise and he thought to himself, "A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean. This girl was just yelling and screaming at me a few days ago, how did she suddenly change her tune and start chatting with me?"

  Two men went to the kitchen and brought out two jars of good wine, and also took a few dishes to go with the wine, wrapped in oil paper.

  Xiao Si pretended to be lost and took Wan'er on a wild goose chase, circling around the courtyard several times before finally bringing her back to their room.

  Chu Lie had been waiting impatiently for a long time and laughed: "Fourth brother, you've gone for so long, it turns out that you brought Wan Er to drink together?"

  Xiao Si pushed open the door and placed a package of wine and dishes on the table, asking: "Old Master Chu, are you sleepy?"

  Chu Lie said: "Do you think I'm too old to stay up all night? Tonight, we'll drink and talk at the same time. We can chat all night if we want."

  "That's good, we'll definitely be up all night tonight."

  Chai Shao's appearance was wooden and dull, but in reality he was meticulous and perceptive. He had a faint feeling that there was something hidden behind Xiao Si's words, so he asked: "Xiao Si, what happened outside?"

  Xiao Si told Chu Lie and Chai Shao about the various abnormalities he had discovered in the inn, and both of their eyebrows furrowed.

  Wan Er said: "The Chai Jun Ma, in fact, they are coming for us to communicate with the Tong Bao Bureau."

  Chai Shao nodded and said, "I understand. If this group of people came for the foolish couple, they wouldn't have refused us entry earlier, nor would they have ambushed us at dusk today."

  Chu Lie said: "Wan Er, go and invite Chai Jun Zhu and Yu Zong Biao Tou to come here."

  Wan'er responded, and a moment later the three of them entered the house together. Chu Lie again briefly told Yu Linglong and Li Xiuning about the situation they had discovered, and sighed: "Chai Jun Ma, I'm really sorry to have dragged you two into this as well. While the thieves haven't made their move yet, I'll send someone to escort the two of you away from here immediately, and find a nearby inn for you to stay in."

  Chai Shao flatly refused: "This will inevitably startle the snake in the grass. We won't go anywhere, let's just stay here!"

  Li Xiuning's lips moved, seemingly unwilling for her husband to get involved in the grudges of Jianghu, but after looking at Shi Shaojian's resolute expression, she finally said: "It's fine if you stay, but please don't reveal my husband and I's identities."

  Xiao Si hurriedly pulled Chai Shao and his wife into the water, immediately saying: "Since that's the case, we must quickly deploy our men, first catching the innkeeper and his apprentices off guard, and thoroughly interrogating them."

  Yu Linglong said: "There's one more thing, we must immediately notify Chief Geng and Master Zhao to be on their guard."

  "Is it still possible to send someone to report the news now?"

  Yu Linglong said: "No need to send someone there, we have another agreed-upon way of transmitting information."

  Xiao Si put down his guard and said, "Just now, I and Wan'er made a round in the guest house and roughly figured out where those shopkeepers live, but I don't dare guarantee that there are no hidden traps behind."

  Chu Lie said, "Don't worry, little fourth brother. We have over a hundred people in total, all of whom are seasoned veterans who have been through many battles. I guarantee that not even a fly will be able to escape!"

  Li Xiuning reminded: "Be careful, there are secret doors and passages in the guest house."

  Yu Linglong smiled slightly and said: "This is a common inn where our family's escort agency often stays overnight."

  Li Xiuning nodded slightly and said: "So be it, I was overthinking."

  Wan'er said: "I understand now, the shopkeeper and the store assistant we met today are definitely not the real ones. Everyone here has been replaced by them."

  Chu Lie furrowed his brow and said, "Disguise! They're quite skilled, they even managed to deceive me and the leader of the Jade Guards. It seems that this group of people is not ordinary."

  A few people spoke, and Xiao Si had already drawn a rough map of the entire inn on the table based on his memory, marking where there were arrays hidden and where the shopkeeper was keeping watch at night.

  Chai Shao looked at Xie Xiaosi in surprise and praised: "Brother Xiaosi, the proportions of this painting are not off by a single thread. Could it be that you have studied drafting before?"

  Xiao Si smiled and said, "Too kind, too kind. It's just a small trick to make a living. Chai Jun Ma is the real deal, he silently figured out the layout of this inn."

  Yu Linglong couldn't help but exchange a glance with Chu Lie again, and sighed: "The younger generation is indeed formidable!"

  Li Xiuning gazed at the rough sketch for a moment, then said: "Yu Zongbiao, Chu Lao, I have an immature capture plan, please don't laugh at me, and give me some advice." At this point, his hands moved back and forth on the table, lightly explaining his planned course of action.

  Chu Lie and Yu Linglong were shocked as they listened, never expecting that a young county lord under the age of twenty could come up with such a meticulous and perfect plan in just a moment. Looking at her tone and expression when speaking, where was she like a delicate and gentle lady, but rather a heroic and majestic female general who commanded with certainty.

  At this time, everyone else followed the plan and left, leaving only Li Xiuning, Wan'er, and Xiao Si in the house.

  The three of them didn't have the mood to talk, each pricked up their ears and listened intently to the movements outside the house.

  After waiting for about the time it takes to have a cup of tea in anxious anticipation, Yulingong, carrying the innkeeper like a dead pig, was the first to push open the door and enter the room. In an instant, Chu Lie and Chai Shao also returned together.

  Chu Lie said: "There are seven shop assistants in the inn, all of whom are fake and have been sealed off from their meridians and locked in the woodshed."

  "Outside I've taken a look, for the time being there's no situation, in every direction there are two escorts secretly keeping watch, at any moment there will be news transmitted back."

  Yu Linglong wiped off the disguise medicine on the fake shopkeeper's face with three wipes and two wipes, revealing his true appearance, which was a middle-aged man with a pointed mouth and a monkey-like cheek.

  "Isn't this Yi Bo Yi Kun, the master of the twelve linked rings of the Yangtze River?" Chu Lie asked calmly.

  Yu Linglong said: "The main hall of Yi Wu is known as the 'Hundred Changes Crocodile', no wonder I and Chu Zhuangbiao couldn't see through it. The twelve linked halls of the Yangtze River are connected by a single breath, and are the largest waterway underworld organization at the junction of Bashu and Jingxiang. I had heard that they were in cahoots with the Tiger Hook Gang, but in the past, our courier agency was still on good terms with them, not interfering with each other's business. Who would have thought that this time they would set an ambush in Yunyang to secretly attack us?"

  Wan'er drew out her sword and pressed it against Yi Bo's heart, shouting: "Quickly, say how many of you came this time!"

  Yi Bogen didn't even look at Wan'er and instead faced Chu Lie, saying: "Brother Chu, since old Yi has fallen into your hands, there's nothing more to say. Just give me a quick death."

  Yu Linglong coldly said: "You call Chu Zong the leader of the escort as brother, yet why do you secretly plot to harm us? If you confess truthfully, perhaps we can spare your life!"

  Yi Bai smiled and said nothing.

  Xiao Si shook his head and said, "I'm a person who usually talks big without drafting, but when it comes to my own grandfather, I've always told the truth and never dared to mix in half a lie. Do you know why?"

  Chu Lie was puzzled in his heart and wondered why Xiao Si suddenly started telling a story. He said, "This is Brother Xiao Si's filial piety, which is truly commendable."

  Xiao Si smiled and said, "Old master is joking, I don't have any filial piety. In fact, that dead old man has countless ways to force me to tell the truth. I think this Yi Wei Zhuang master is a good fellow with iron bones, he definitely won't be like me, going soft in the legs as soon as he's tortured."

  As he spoke, he had already stuffed a piece of cloth into Yi Bo's mouth and said: "When you figure it out, please blink three times with your right eyelid."

  Then it seemed like he remembered something and turned back to Li Xiu Ning, Wan Er and Yu Ling Long: "You three, are you going to wait next door for a while?"

  Li Xiuning understood that Xue Xiao Si was mostly trying to coerce a confession through severe punishment, so he let the three women present temporarily withdraw.

  She smiled faintly and said, "It doesn't matter, let's just sit over there and listen to what he has to say."

  Wan'er knew that since this guy said so, he must be up to no good, and hesitated for a moment before getting up and returning to the next room.

  She sat at the edge of the table, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight, her mind wandering aimlessly without knowing what she was thinking.

  Suddenly the door opened and Li Xiuning rushed in with a pale face like paper, without saying a word, she hugged the copper basin and vomited.

  Wan'er was startled and hastily poured a cup of cool tea and handed it over, saying: "Young Mistress, are you alright?"

  Li Xiuning took the cup and rinsed her mouth, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Yuling walking in silently and sitting down at the table.

  Wan'er saw this and secretly admired: "After all, it's Jade Auntie, who has been traveling the world for a long time and is no longer surprised by anything."

  "Yu Niang, have all the masters of Yi Wu been invited?"

  Yu Linglong smiled and said: "Alright, but... uh..."

  Her complexion changed slightly, she stretched out her hand to cover her mouth and performed a beautiful "White Clouds Emerging from the Mountains" move. Her body didn't lift, her legs didn't move, but her slender figure floated up and landed on the edge of the copper basin, where she vomited violently.

  Next door came Yi Bo's exasperated voice: "I clearly winked at you just now, why are you still continuing?"

  Next was Xiao Si's apologetic voice: "I did see it, but the direction you blinked in was wrong..."

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