Chapter 39: Entering the Path of Right and Wrong (6)

  "Alright, I admit the pendant was in my shoe, but how can you be so sure it's on me now? Maybe I hid it somewhere else?" The little maid asked with a puzzled face.

  "Do you have time? You're acting pitiful and confused, do you have time to hide things? Besides, just put it somewhere else and be at ease. You're worried that we'll search the inn, but no one would think of a person who was knocked unconscious taking the pendant, so naturally no one will come to search your body either. That's what they mean by 'the most dangerous place is also the safest'!" Xiao Shouren replied.

  "Fantastic, indeed fantastic! I didn't expect a young brother like you to be a master of deduction! As the saying goes, 'ambition is not limited by age'! Today, seeing your brilliant reasoning, it's truly eye-opening!" The majestic man laughed and then asked, "Long'an Li Mi, what is your name, little brother?"

  As soon as he heard the name Li Mi, Xiao Shouren's heart skipped a beat and his legs went weak. He stared blankly ahead, it was actually this big shot. Although he knew that in the future he wouldn't become an emperor, at least he would be a big tree, now embracing his thigh was also good, who could predict what would happen in the future?

  "It turned out to be Lord Pú Shān, forgive me for my disrespect!" Xiao Shouren said with a bow. "I am Xiao Shouren, and I also happened to be passing through Yuyang County, what an honor to meet you."

  "Have you heard of me, Xiao Lao Di?" Li Mi asked in surprise. When Xiao Shou Ren introduced himself, he clearly saw the corner of Li Mi's eyes jump, as if he had heard his name before.

  "Of course, I've heard of heroes like General Pu Shan." Xiao Shouren said with a face full of admiration.

  When Xiao Shouren revealed Li Mi's identity, the officials hurried over to pay their respects and presented a crystal pendant that had been found in the woman's shoe. It seemed that this was the pendant that Li Mi had lost. As the officials took the maid away, the crowd gradually dispersed.

  "Xiao brothers, where are you preparing to go next?" Li Mi sat at the same table as Xiao Shouren, drinking and chatting with him.

  "To be honest, I still haven't figured it out, and I don't even know where to go. It's like a withered pampas grass, drifting aimlessly wherever the wind takes me. Alas!" sighed Xiao Shouren.

  "If you're not ashamed of me, brother, you can return to Chang'an with us. As your elder, I have a position as the Grand Marshal of the Imperial Guard in Chang'an, and I won't let you drift aimlessly. Hehe, what do you say?" Li Mi asked with a smile.

  "How could it be, if Lord Pusshan doesn't despise me, this little one is already very much appreciated. Chang'an is the capital of the Emperor, although now the Emperor has moved the court to Luoyang, but the prosperity of Chang'an must be extraordinary. I've long wanted to go there, and now with Lord Pusshan accompanying me, it's more than I could ask for." said Xiao Shouren.

  "What did Xiao brother say to that little servant just now, and suddenly found the jade pendant? Can you tell me the secret?" Li Mi finally couldn't hold back his doubts.

  "I only said one sentence, but she herself has a guilty conscience and revealed her own flaws." Xiao Shouren replied.

  "Huh? Just one sentence and she's already exposed her true nature. What was it that had such magical power?" Li Mi thought with a puzzled expression.

  "It's actually a very short phrase, only eight words in total." Xiao Shouren replied with a smile.

  "Only eight words? How is that possible? How can only eight words make her reveal her true nature, or else she's too stupid!" The man named Yuangen muttered to himself as he listened in.

  "It's not that the woman is too foolish, but rather our Brother Xiao is too clever. No matter how cunning the prey is, once it encounters a clever hunter, there's only one dead end." Li Mi said with a smile to Yuan Zhen.

  "Fu Shan Gong was overpraised, actually at that time I just whispered to her ear: the pendant strap is exposed. As the saying goes, 'a soldier never tires of deceit', she heard me say so and instinctively went to verify it, and thus revealed her true intentions." Xiao Shouren slowly explained with a cup of wine in hand.

  "Marvelous! It's really marvelous. I didn't expect Xiao Brother to say such a thing, and just eight words made her completely convinced." Yuan Zhen said with admiration on the side.

  "Lord Pusshan, there is something I don't know if I should mention or not?" asked Xiao Shouren, staring at Li Mi.

  "Xiao brothers have something to say but it doesn't matter." Li Mi put down his chopsticks and looked at Xiao Shouren.

  "Mr. Pu Shan, where did this jade pendant come from?" asked Xiao Shouren.

  "Oh? So Xiao brother was asking about this, it's been passed down from my ancestors, I don't know what it is either, so I just used a strap to hang it and use it as a pendant on the fan, what's wrong with that? Is there something wrong with this pendant?" Li Mi explained.

  "In my opinion, this jade pendant is probably not ordinary, or else the person who stole it is not ordinary." said Xiao Shouren.

  "What? What are you talking about? Is this jade pendant some kind of divine object or something? The one who stole it was just a greedy little maid after all."

  "Lord Poshan, think about it. You casually placed the fan on the table because you don't care much about this jade pendant and think it's worthless to others. But you're holding onto it because it's an heirloom that needs to be preserved so as not to lose it. However, that little servant girl has been cooped up in this small wine shop every day and hasn't seen the world, she doesn't know how to distinguish its value. So why would she go out of her way to steal your jade pendant that you carelessly left on the table? Is she not afraid of getting caught or losing her life here? This is suspicious point one. Suspicious point two, since she went out of her way to steal your jade pendant, it means she has a use for it, which also means she knows its value is not trivial. How did she know that? Suspicious point three, this happened as soon as you arrived, it's clear that this wasn't a coincidence but premeditated, meaning you've been targeted from the start. Based on these points, I conclude that this jade pendant is no ordinary item and neither is the thief!" Xiang Shouren said calmly, as if stating the most mundane thing.

  After listening to Xiao Shouren's words, Li Mi and his two subordinates were speechless for half a day.

  What was originally a simple theft case, after Xiao Shouren's explanation, suddenly became much more complicated. After his analysis, the three people were shocked and broke out in cold sweat. If the other party had used a different method, such as putting drugs in their food or wine, the three of them would probably be nothing but wandering ghosts by the River of Forgetfulness by now.

  "I didn't expect Xiao brother to see so many things from inside, I Li Mi really admire him to the point of prostration. Xiao brother's words are equivalent to saving our three lives! If Wang brother hadn't reminded us, we would have been on the road to the yellow spring in a short while and wouldn't even know how we died." Li Mi quickly regained his composure and bowed his fist in gratitude to Xiao Shouren.

  "Please don't say that, Mr. Pu Shan. Helping those in need is what we men should do." Xiao Shouren replied with a bow.

  "Good, good, good! A hero who helps those in need with his sword. I never thought that I, Li Mi, would meet a young talent like Xiao Brother in this humble town of Hengshui. This trip back to the capital is truly worthwhile." Li Mi suddenly burst out laughing.

  "Master Li, since we've been spotted, I think it's best if we don't delay and find a horse carriage to head back to Xidu tonight." Another subordinate said.

  "Alright, I'll listen to you, Junyan. You go prepare, we'll set off at midnight tonight." Li Mi instructed in a low voice. "Xiao brothers, let's head back to our room to rest for now. We'll call for you when it's time to leave tonight. Make sure to conserve your energy and get a good rest, so we can hurry along the road later, how does that sound?" Li Mi asked Xiao Shouren.

  "Alright, I'll be staying in the Tianzi room upstairs. My younger cousin is with me too, he doesn't like to come down for meals, he eats alone in his room. See you tonight!" Xiang Shouren said and went up to the second floor.

  Xiao Shouren went upstairs and greeted Ge Shuyun, who had woken up and was having lunch, before going back downstairs. He wanted to take a look at the horse he had just bought.

  He found a young boy to help him lead the horse and after asking about the specific location, he headed towards the backyard. After passing through two winding corridors, Xiao Shouren saw the Ilkhan blood mare he had just bought back, which was eating fodder in the manger at this moment. It seemed that this little brother was still quite reliable.

  Walk over and stroke the horse's coat, the more you touch it, the softer it feels, and every strand of hair shines.

  "Ah, horse, from now on you'll be following me, we'll be dependent on each other. I should give you a better name too. There are many fine horses, but not many good trainers. Many famous horses die in obscurity, but since you've met me, I won't let your talent go to waste." Xiang Shouren muttered to himself as he stroked the horse's mane.

  "Although you are not a fine horse, I don't know if you can run 1,000 miles during the day and 800 at night. However, running 800 should be no problem for you. Plus, I bought you with 800 taels of silver, so from now on, let's call you 'Eight Hundred', okay?" Xiao Shouren said with a smile, then lowered his head to look into the horse's eyes and asked.

  It's strange to say that this horse seems to have understood human nature, and it actually nodded twice at Xiao Shouren, even nodding its head, with a very satisfied expression.

  This really made Xiao Shouren laugh, and he patted the head of Ba Bai and stroked his mane with a smile.

  "Good, good, good, a horse that understands human nature. From now on, I'll call you Ba Bai (Eight Hundred). Ba Bai, ah Ba Bai, from now on we'll be together through life and death. If we can get Tiger Master's Eight Hundred Thousand, we'll chat and laugh together in the quiet desert sands." Xiao Shouren muttered to himself with great joy.

  "Huh? What's this?" Xiao Shouren was idly sizing up Ba Bai, and Ba Bai was also very cooperative, circling around Xiao Shouren. Unlike the other horses in the stable, which all looked listless and lifeless, like a big white radish that had been steamed to death, without any vitality.

  Xiao Shouren's gaze suddenly focused on the horse's belly, and he found that this eight-hundred-year-old horse's belly was slightly larger than those of the horses in the stable, as if it were pregnant. If one didn't look carefully, they wouldn't be able to tell, but Xiao Shouren saw it clearly at a glance. He reached out to touch it, and his heart skipped a beat.

  It's really not humanly possible to update on time, especially at midnight, how can one be so sleepy? Seeing how sleepy I am and still typing away, if you have a bookshelf with empty space, collect it, and if you have votes, cast them.