Chapter 15: Figures of the Jianghu (Part One)

  Qin Yifan's inn didn't even have a name, it just followed the example of the inns in the county town and hung up a big flag that read "inn", this was still arranged by Li Shijie, otherwise Qin Yifan wouldn't even bother to hang up the flag.

  Those people seem to be doing all right, of course, in Qin Yifan's eyes, these people are still not worth looking at. However, since it's a business, there's no reason to push customers away.

  These people are really too much to handle. Not only does the young master, who looks like he's been raised in luxury, have a huge entourage, but even these big men who do all the legwork and chores are also very difficult to deal with. If it weren't for the fact that the women serving tea and water were middle-aged and not particularly attractive, these people would probably think nothing of bullying them either, and someone would likely get taught a lesson.

  Among the dozen or so people, there was actually a charming and alluring woman who had been by the young master's side the whole time. For now, it was unclear what their relationship was, but they didn't seem to be hiding anything, and were even being somewhat flirtatious, as if afraid that others wouldn't know how close they were.

  "Shopkeeper!" A big man slapped the counter in front of Qin Yifan and shouted loudly, his face looked unspeakably disgusting: "Has any stranger been here recently?"

  "Except for a few, there are no strangers here." Qin Yifan replied calmly. It's strange, in the past when they were in the army, they also had this kind of temperament, but now it seems that this temperament is so disgusting. However, disgust aside, he didn't want these people to cause trouble here. It wasn't that he was afraid of trouble, it's just that he currently had no interest in getting angry with these ants, and it would be too humiliating to stoop to their level.

  "A large troop of soldiers came through here a few months ago, didn't they?" the big fellow bellowed again.

  Before Qin Yifan could respond, a loud shout came from behind: "Chang Bao, can't you keep your voice down? Do you want everyone to know?" As soon as the shout was heard, the big man in front seemed to shrink by half, and his voice immediately became much softer: "Yes, yes, Zhang said so."

  "Let him come over and talk." Zhang Tou's voice was not loud, but his arrogance was several times more than enough.

  He turned his head and sent a smile back, but Chang Bao turned around with an even more ferocious expression, as if he had to show off his might: "You little brat, I'm giving you face by calling you boss, don't be ungrateful! Don't make our young master unhappy, or else we'll tear down this crappy shop!"

  "What's taking so long? Can't you come over yet?" The other side seemed impatient and urged them on.

  Qin Yifan smiled and walked over to the group of people. Fortunately, they were just ordinary people from the jianghu, and unlike when a high-ranking general was on patrol, no one came forward to search him. Of course, even in front of a high-ranking general, no one dared to search Qin Yifan's body.

  Facing these people in the jianghu who made him uncomfortable, Qin Yifan finally understood what it meant for those cultivators to have experienced the vicissitudes of life. Without going through these experiences, how could one remain unmoved even if Mount Tai were to crumble before their eyes? The phrase "heart as still as water" sounds good, but it's no wonder that those cultivators who had some accomplishments were all in their tens or hundreds of years old. Even among cultivators, being young didn't guarantee that they wouldn't have a bit of a fiery temper.

  "Are you the one in charge here?" The young master didn't even open his mouth, indulging in the fragrant tea brought to his lips by the charming fox-like woman. A cold and seemingly leading figure among them asked, with a tone as if he were an interrogating county magistrate.

  "I am, sir. What instructions do you have?" Qin Yifan replied calmly and steadily. His tone and calm movements also made the young master notice him slightly: "Uncle Zhang, be polite."

  "Yes, young master." The Zhang uncle in the young master's mouth slightly bowed his head in that direction and made a slight bow. He turned back to continue asking: "Excuse me, shopkeeper, did a large group of soldiers pass by here several months ago?"

  "Yes!" Since he was being polite, Qin Yifan didn't have anything to hide: "But they only stayed for less than a day before leaving completely."

  "Hmm! Do you know what they're coming here for?" Zhang Shu asked seemingly casually, but Qin Yifan noticed that the group of people who came seemed to have all their attention focused on him, as if afraid of missing any important information.

  "Haha, you're joking, sir. With so many people passing by, how would we ordinary folks know what's going on? Even if we wanted to know, who dares to ask?!" This response was purely nonsense. If Qin Yifan didn't know, then who else could possibly know?!

  Zhang Shu's gaze slanted towards the young master on that side, and the young master nodded slightly. Only then did Zhang Shu shift his gaze back to Qin Yifan: "Shopkeeper, is there anyone else living here?"

  "There were only a few merchants collecting goods, and a geomancer named Huang Banshan who claimed to have been invited by the county magistrate to survey the feng shui of this place." This was not a lie told by Qin Yifan. When Zhang Chong, Li Song, and Zhou Qing arrived, they indeed used these excuses: Zhang Chong collected medicinal herbs, Li Song collected fur goods, and Zhou Qing collected small ornaments. Even Geomancer Huang Banshan had checked into the inn under the pretext mentioned by Qin Yifan.

  Just then, Lin Qiulü walked in from outside. Perhaps seeing so many horses was strange, and she was stared at by everyone. Fortunately, she listened to Qin Yifan's words and had undergone a disguise, so everyone just saw an ordinary mountain girl. Otherwise, with the stunning beauty that Qin Yifan had seen that night, even the familiar yamen runners would have some unclean thoughts, not to mention these fearless and reckless Jianghu people, who would inevitably stir up some trouble.

  "This is my sister, she's helping out here." Qin Yifan didn't wait for those people to speak up and directly gave Lin Qiulü a status. Lin Qiulü heard this and only shot Qin Yifan a fierce glance before walking calmly to the back.

  "Shopkeeper, is there anything unusual around here recently?" This is the topic. These people must have heard from somewhere that General led his troops to come over and don't know how the rumors are spreading on the rivers and lakes now. After receiving the news, these people rushed over here in a hurry.

  "This... " Qin Yifan paused for a moment, and immediately, everyone's gaze was tense again on him. Qin Yifan seemed to be thinking back, and after a while, he shook his head: "It seems that there is no change, coming and going is also not strange. However..."

  As soon as the voice came out, everyone's breathing seemed to stop instantly, quietly waiting for Qin Yifan to speak. But Qin Yifan seemed to be teasing everyone, not speaking for a long time.

  Sorry about shouting loudly, I'll call softly! Ticket, ticket, come quickly!