Chapter 38: Entering the Path of Right and Wrong (5)

  "Friend, you're a tough one," said the big-bearded man after a moment's thought. "Name your price."

  The big beard really didn't think that he would end up being defeated by a younger generation, if it weren't for his urgent need for silver and having an important use for it, he wouldn't have done such a thing.

  "Eight hundred taels, a fixed price of eight hundred taels. If you agree, I'll take the horse away and leave Fishing City this afternoon without leaving any trouble for you. If not, then I'll go ask your master right now if eight hundred taels is suitable or not?" Xiao Shouren said with a smile, looking like he was going to eat him alive, making Big Beard grit his teeth in anger.

  "Good, very good, a flat price of 800 taels, it's a deal!" The big bearded man had made up his mind and let go, earning a net profit of 790 taels in one go, which was also a windfall.

  It was mainly Xiao Shouren's sentence that moved this big beard, saying that he would leave the fishing city in the afternoon and not give himself any future troubles. This is like a reassurance pill, having no worries about the consequences. Moreover, this is also a risk-free business, as the horse is not even his own, so even if he sells it cheaply, he won't lose out, and he will still make a profit, quite a bit of it too.

  Xiao Shouren took the reins of the Ilkhan blood horse from Da Hu Zi's hand, circled around the horse and was very satisfied. This horse was worth buying, 800 taels of silver were not wasted, it was a good value, and he had made a profit. If such a good horse could be sold in Luoyang, it would be at least 1,000 taels of gold.

  Xiao Shouren quickly escaped from the large courtyard with the newly acquired Ilkhan blood horse, only to tragically realize he was lost once he reached the main street. After searching from east to west, he finally spotted his hotel and hastily led the horse over. The shopkeeper saw Xiao Shouren approaching with a spirited horse and ran out to meet him before he even reached the door. He took the reins from Xiao Shouren and asked if he should give the horse high-quality feed before leading it to the back of the hotel, presumably to stable it.

  Although he has only bought a horse for now and hasn't gotten a carriage or hired a coachman, Xiao Shouren knows that in such a big city like Yucheng, there must be people who specialize in this kind of business. As long as he waits for Little Brother to come back and tells him about it, Little Brother will help take care of it. In these times, having money can really make things happen!

  Xiao Shouren went in and found a corner spot by the window to sit down, this was a habit left over from his memories, for someone who had been through battles, this seat was the best, at this position he could see every move of everyone in the store, if there were any sudden events he could discover them in the first time, and also wouldn't draw attention to himself, who would care about someone sitting in a corner? Sitting by the window made it convenient for escape.

  He called the shopkeeper over, ordered a few small dishes to be sent to Geshu Yun's room, and then he himself ordered a few more small dishes and a pot of wine. He was preparing to eat lunch alone when suddenly a loud argument came from upstairs, followed by the sound of someone coming down. Xiaoshouren raised his head carelessly and saw that the man who came down was quite majestic, with two people following behind him. From their clothes, demeanor, and direction of walking, it seemed they were his subordinates.

  The two men rushed to the counter in the store, pounding on the table and shouting, "Where is your boss? Call your boss over! In just a short while, we haven't even eaten yet and our things have been stolen. How can you dare let us stay at this inn?"

  It turned out they lost their stuff.

  The hunchbacked man with a small mustache behind the counter hurried out and apologized profusely, offering to compensate.

  "Compensation? Can you afford to compensate us? That pendant has been passed down from our ancestors, the Lis, and is worth a city. Even if you sell everything you own, you won't be able to compensate us." One of the two subordinates, dressed in a green tunic, said with a look of disdain.

  "It's not right to be unreasonable, I believe this shopkeeper is unaware of the situation. Don't make things difficult for him," said the majestic man who came down last.

  "But we just moved into the store, and we haven't offended anyone here. How could the pendant be lost in the blink of an eye?" Yuangen asked.

  Xiao Shouren had already eaten his fill and was about to go take a look at the newly purchased Ilkhan blood horse, to see if the shopkeeper's assistant had fed it with good quality fodder, when suddenly the two attendants stood at the gate.

  "Now that we've lost something, every one of you is a suspect. No one is allowed to leave this inn until our things are found." The man in the green robe said.

  "Who knows when you'll find your stuff, if you can't even find it in this lifetime, are we all going to have to accompany you to the next one?" someone in the store said. Instantly bringing laughter from everyone.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me for a moment. I just arrived at this precious place, my feet haven't even landed yet, and something like this happened. It's clear that this is a habitual thief. I'll take a rest in the afternoon and leave, but if we don't find him today, he'll still be stealing from you people who come to eat here every day. So I've already asked the shopkeeper to report it to the authorities, and I estimate that the officials will arrive soon. I think as long as everyone has a clear conscience, there's no need to rush off, right?" The valiant Han man spoke again.

  Xiao Shouren couldn't help but admire the man after hearing his words. From the beginning, he said that he had come to this precious land, first showing weakness while also slightly boasting about the place, catering to everyone's hearts. Then, he explained the crux of the matter, saying that he was just a passerby, and that the thief could only steal from him once. If the culprit wasn't found, those who would suffer in the future would be the people present, making everyone feel like they would be in danger of being targeted by the thief. Once the matter concerned their own interests, naturally, everyone would support finding the person who stole the pendant. Finally, he used "whoever wants to leave is the most suspicious" to make everyone work together to prove their innocence. With just a few simple words, the matter was resolved. It seems that this man is no ordinary person.

  It won't be long before a group of officials and soldiers arrive, apparently to investigate this matter.

  Then the valiant young man clearly told the whole story again.

  They originally opened three rooms, one person per room. At that time, the powerful man was resting in the inner room and casually placed the fan in his hand on the table in the outer room. During this time, a young maid brought over some water to wash her face, but when the man came out to wash his face, he discovered that the pendant hanging from the fan had vanished into thin air, and the little maid was lying on the ground. Afterwards, they ran downstairs.

  After listening to the man's statement, the little maid suddenly became the key to the whole case.

  The official who led the way called out the little maid who was now awake and began questioning her.

  "Tell everything you've seen and heard, if there's even a slight ambiguity or concealment, the crime will be as serious as that of a thief, so think carefully before speaking. Alright, go ahead." The officer explained.

  "It was like this, when I was carrying water and knocking on the door, the old man inside asked me who I was. I said I was there to deliver washing water. He told me to come in myself, but the door wasn't locked. Just as I opened the door and came in, I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head, and then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, that's when I knew the old man had lost something." The little maid said pitifully.

  Xiao Shouren shook his head, smiled, pushed away the people in front of him, walked in and said to the majestic man: "I know who stole your pendant."

  Xiao Shouren suddenly became the focus of the entire store.

  That majestic man looked at Xiao Shouren with a smile, nodded to him and said: "Oh? Brother, you really know who took my pendant out of curiosity?"

  "Of course, that curious person is now among us, right in front of our eyes, only he has used a little trick to cover himself up with a deceptive mask." Xiao Shouren said slowly.

  "What? That person is right in front of us? He's so bold?" someone said.

  "Is this guy for real or just pretending?!"

  "Anyone can say this, the real skill is finding out who the thief is."

  "It's easy to find someone, but it's hard to make others convinced and willing to accept! You need evidence!"

  The people in the store were talking loudly and disorderly.

  "Let's hear it out, everyone may still not believe this young fellow, let's just calm down and listen to what the young fellow has to say." The man said.

  "The one who stole this old man's pendant is you!" Xiao Shouren said, pointing at the little maid.

  "How could it be? How could it be this little girl?"

  "Isn't Xiao Yatou knocked unconscious by someone?"

  "Everyone, don't make a fuss, listen to me. Think about it, earlier she said that as soon as she came in, her foot had just entered when she was knocked unconscious by someone. But listening to what the old man said, it was only after the little maid delivered the water and left for a while before coming out again, washing her face and discovering that the little maid and pendant were gone. You all think about it, if it really happened as the maid said, as soon as she entered the door she was knocked unconscious by someone, then who put the water in the room? When a person is attacked from behind, it's impossible for them to still be holding onto the washbasin and fall to the ground, they would definitely drop the washbasin on the floor. If that's the case, how could the old man not have heard the sound of the washbasin hitting the floor? How could he not have come out to take a look?" Xiao Shouren said slowly.

  "But that's just your personal speculation, what evidence do you have to prove it was she who stole the old man's pendant?" one of the drinkers asked.

  "This is easy, I'll find the evidence for you right now." Xiao Shouren said and walked to the maid's side. He whispered a few words in the maid's ear.

  The maid suddenly panicked and lowered her head, glanced at her own shoes, and then looked at Xiao Shouren with a surprised expression.

  "Haha, you're right, I was deceiving you, but now that you've said it yourself, you can't deny it anymore, can you?" Xiao Shouren burst out laughing.

  "The pendant is inside her shoe, if you don't believe me, let her take off her shoes and you'll see." said Xiao Shouren.