In just a moment, the waiter hurried back, the clay urn no longer in his arms.
He bowed repeatedly to Song Yueyao, saying with a bitter expression, "The innkeeper is not in the inn right now. He probably went to the mountain out back to burn paper money for his deceased relatives. He goes once a month, and I don't know when he'll be back."
"Hmph!" Yan Xingxiao slammed his palm heavily on the table. "Hiding away at a time like this, could it be a guilty conscience? I found him peculiar the moment I first saw him. In all my years escorting goods, I've seen my fair share of rare treasures. That mutton-fat jade thumb ring on his hand is of top-tier quality, worth at least a thousand taels of gold on the market. And his clothes are clearly made of celestial silkworm silk."
Having been a chief escort for many years, Yan Xingxiao had a sharp eye and harbored suspicions from his first encounter with the innkeeper. "Our entire squad earns no more than a hundred taels for a single escort mission. Where would a small inn in this barren wilderness get such wealth?"
"No, no, no, dear guest, you misunderstand," the waiter hurriedly waved his hands to explain. "Our innkeeper traveled far and wide in his early years and did massive business. Have you ever heard of Sanchao County in Xunzhou? That is the innkeeper's hometown. His family already had a solid foundation, so it's not surprising he accumulated some wealth."
Sanchao County, Xunzhou—most people who traveled frequently had heard of this county's name.
It was the most prosperous county in Xunzhou.
Famous as a hometown of wealthy merchants, the men from Sanchao County were all skilled in the ways of making money, with properties scattered across the world.
However, upon hearing this place name, Yan Xingxiao's tone carried strong sarcasm. "So he's from that place."
It was indeed no surprise that a man from that place would wear gold and silver.
Accompanying the illustrious reputation of Sanchao County were the filthy rumors hidden beneath its glamorous surface.
The common folk might not know, but traveling year-round, he had heard a thing or two.
Hearing this, Chai Xiaomi's gossip-loving heart couldn't hold back anymore.
Her hand, which had been wiping her bow, paused as she looked up at Yan Xingxiao in confusion.
What was wrong with that place?
Her cheek was suddenly pinched, neither lightly nor heavily, and a young man's dissatisfied voice came from beside her: "Can't you focus when you're doing something?"
During the time she was supposed to be wiping the bow, she would either raise her blinking almond eyes to stare at others talking or frown slightly while secretly observing their expressions.
In short, her hands were busy with one thing, her eyes with another, and who knew what her brain was pondering.
She simply couldn't manage all three.
He himself always did things with absolute focus, free from distractions.
It was his first time seeing someone divide their attention so thoroughly.
She was so careless that she forgot which parts she had already wiped and wiped them again.
Yet, instead of taking his reminder to heart, she turned her head and asked softly, "Do you know this place?"
Wu Li gave a faint hum of acknowledgment.
Chai Xiaomi's interest was instantly piqued, and she asked curiously, "Is there some story about it?"
"Sanchao County values men above all and treats women as cheap as dirt," he replied casually.
Hearing this, it didn't seem all that unusual in the current state of the world.
Chai Xiaomi curled her lips, her heart full of disdain, and didn't press the matter further.
On the other side, Yan Xingxiao declared to the waiter, "Anyway, this escort mission won't be ruined by a single day's delay. The squad won't set off today; I'll wait right here. I want to see just when your innkeeper will return. He owes me and Lady Yue an explanation!"
With things said to this point, the waiter naturally had no room to argue. He could only smile apologetically, apologize repeatedly, and bow as he retreated.
In Chai Xiaomi's mind, however, the Soul-Locking Formation Wu Li mentioned last night suddenly flashed. Looking again at his loose, indifferent demeanor as he watched the situation unfold, could it be that he already knew something?
He clearly knew but deliberately kept it from everyone, or perhaps, he simply didn't think it was worth mentioning.
Carrying this doubt, she returned to her room.
Wu Li went straight to pack his bags. Because of what happened in the morning, their originally planned departure time had already been delayed.
Having encountered such a bizarre incident, the escort squad naturally wanted to stay and demand an explanation.
But they still had to continue their journey.
Chai Xiaomi, however, plopped down on the edge of the bed and pressed her hand against Wu Li's open bundle. "Don't pack just yet."
Given her understanding of those two main characters, they definitely wouldn't let this matter go and would surely stay to observe.
With lives at stake, they wouldn't just stand by and watch.
"What," Wu Li cast a sidelong glance at her, "is this room so comfortable to sleep in that you can't bear to leave?"
Comfortable, my foot!
Just as Chai Xiaomi was about to retort, a knock came at the door.
She opened the door, and her vision went dark.
"Xiaomi," Jiang Zhiyu stood at the door holding a dead rat. "I'm afraid our journey will have to be paused. Tonight, we'll have to stay another night."
The rat had clearly died quite unjustly; its eyes refused to close, staring straight at her.
Stay if we must!
But what on earth are you doing holding a dead rat!
Although Chai Xiaomi's reaction wasn't as extreme as Song Yueyao's, her complexion was not much better.
Just as she was about to raise her hand to cover her eyes, a tall, slender figure quietly stepped in front of her.
"My wife is pregnant. If you disturb the fetus," Wu Li swept a cold glance over the dead rat, his tone flat, "where are you going to find a child to compensate us?"
"Ah, it was my oversight!" Jiang Zhiyu finally realized and quickly apologized. Having just discovered a shocking anomaly, he had completely forgotten about this in his haste. "I didn't mean it, Wu Li. You won't blame me, will you?"
"Heh, does an unintentional fault mean it is no longer a fault?" Wu Li sneered, his gaze somewhat complex as a sharp, hostile aura suddenly spread around him. "A fault must be punished."
A cruel smile hung on the corner of his mouth. "Wouldn't you agree, brother?"
This was the second time since that incident at Yuebai that Wu Li had called Jiang Zhiyu brother.
But it sounded somewhat terrifying, and the atmosphere abruptly turned eerie.
Seeing that the situation was turning bad, Chai Xiaomi quickly stepped out from behind Wu Li to change the subject:
"Why do we need to stay another night?"
Seeing her step forward, Jiang Zhiyu hurriedly hid the dead rat behind his back and explained, "It's like this. There was an uncaught rat in Yaoyao's room, but when we just went back, we found it dead next to the rice wine."
"Earlier, the innkeeper sent the waiter over with some wine. It was hard to refuse such hospitality, so Yaoyao and I accepted it, but we didn't drink any. Who knew that after inspecting it just now, we actually found that inside the wine..."
He paused his words at this point.
In this brief silence, Chai Xiaomi's face fell bit by bit.
Wu Li had complained about her not wiping the bow seriously and never gave her a straight answer.
But hearing Jiang Zhiyu's tone right now, nine times out of ten, it was...
"...Corpse bones?" Chai Xiaomi spat out these words, feeling as though she had nothing left to live for.
Then, with that same lifeless despair, she watched Jiang Zhiyu's eyes widen in surprise: "Xiaomi, you noticed it too?!"
Ha.
More than just noticed.
She had even drunk it.
Chai Xiaomi didn't even have the energy to curse anymore. After a wave of absolute horror washed over her, she forced herself to mentally prepare, but ultimately couldn't hold it back.
"Blegh—"
Fortunately, there had been so much going on this morning that she hadn't had time to eat breakfast. As she dry-heaved endlessly, her stomach churning violently, nothing came out.
