Wu Sixi's face beneath the mask wasn't looking good either. Dealing in smuggled salt was a heinous crime that could lead to the destruction of an entire family. Safety was their top priority. Now that the buyer was on their territory and there had been someone eavesdropping and snooping around, if this matter wasn't handled properly, it would ruin the reputation that Panhu Zhai had built over the years.
"Men! Search the stockade!" Wu Sixi stood up, standing on the steps and giving orders to his subordinates in the main hall.
Mu Wulin personally led a group of men down the secret passage. Naturally, they didn't find anyone, only a dead snake and three silver needles left behind.
"Big brother!" Mu Wulin motioned for Wu Sixi to look at the snake in his hand. "The person is skilled. Their martial arts are no joke!"
Wu Sixi's eyes flickered. "There's a traitor in our stockade. Third brother, search every nook and cranny of the stockade. Leave no corner untouched."
Mu Wulin took the order and left. Wu Sixi, however, looked at Young Master Chu who was still sitting at the wine table and hadn't left yet. He clasped his fists and apologized, "Young Master Chu, you can rest assured. They're just some insignificant petty thieves. They won't pose a threat to our business."
"To show our sincerity, we in Panhu Zhai will forgo that one - tenth share. We'll still conduct the business at the originally negotiated price."
Young Master Chu stood up, a slight curve on his lips. "I appreciate the big boss's kindness, but until we ensure everything is fool - proof, let's temporarily halt our cooperation." Then he got up and left with the black - robed man.
"Big brother, what should we do now?" Zhuang Yusheng looked at Wu Sixi with a troubled expression.
"Investigate! We must find out who's eyeing Panhu Zhai."
Zhuang Yusheng also went down to investigate the suspicious people from that night.
Shen Li and Xuan Yuanjue, who had now safely returned to the grocery store, soon heard the noisy sound of people moving outside.
Shen Li looked at Xuan Yuanjue uneasily. Somehow, just looking at him made her feel calmer. She didn't know why, but being with Xuan Yuanjue gave her an inexplicable sense of peace.
Shen Li attributed this to the fact that Xuan Yuanjue had saved her several times.
"What, are you scared?" Xuan Yuanjue said with a hint of a smile in his voice as he saw Shen Li's gaze on him.
Shen Li shook her head and didn't say a word.
"Remember, you're Li Erhua! Stop thinking about it. Go to sleep first." After saying this, Xuan Yuanjue lay down on the bed first and closed his eyes.
Shen Li also calmed down and lay down on the bed to sleep.
However, just in the middle of the night, they were woken up by a series of "dong dong dong" knocks on the door.
"Open the door!" The person outside spoke impatiently. "Hurry up and open the door!"
Xuan Yuanjue got out of bed, yawning as he put on his shoes and opened the door. "Ah... What's going on? You won't even let people sleep at night. How annoying!"
In an instant, he became Boss Wang.
The man directly grabbed Boss Wang's hand and dragged him outside. "Cut the crap! Come with us!"
"Hey hey hey! You... What are you doing! Don't drag me! Erhua, Erhua, come and save me."
Shen Li, pretending to be Li Erhua, immediately got out of bed and ran outside. "What's going on? Are you guys trying to arrest people? Let go of my husband quickly!"
As soon as Li Erhua stepped out of the door, two men immediately grabbed her arms and dragged her outside.
"Hey! Your third boss promised us that we could stay here for a couple of days and then he'd send us on our way. Where are you taking us now?"
One of the men who was holding her said impatiently, "Shut up! If you say another word, I'll cut your head off."
Hearing this, Li Erhua shrank her neck and was quiet for a while. But after a while, she still couldn't help but say, "Your third boss promised to let us go. He can't go back on his word!"
The two men ignored her and directly dragged her all the way to the main hall. Then they just threw her on the ground.
The main hall had now had the banquet removed and was cleaned up. Wu Sixi was sitting on the top seat, with Zhuang Yusheng and Mu Wulin standing on either side.
Boss Wang glanced at the three people above and timidly hid behind Li Erhua. Although Li Erhua was a bit braver than him, she still didn't dare to say a word and just kept her head down looking at the ground.
Zhuang Yusheng looked at the two people sitting on the ground. He walked down from the platform above, a slight smile on his lips as he looked at them. "Boss Wang? Li Erhua?"
The two people whose names were called nodded blankly.
"Where did you two stay tonight?"
Boss Wang didn't dare to answer. He nudged Li Erhua's arm, signaling for her to speak.
Li Erhua was annoyed in her heart. She wanted to scold him but due to the current situation, she could only bite the bullet and say, "We've been sleeping in that room all the time."
Hearing this, Zhuang Yusheng nodded. "Well, you know, all of us here are bandits. This stockade is a bandit den. Now that you've come to our stockade, why don't you consider staying?"
"We have plenty to eat and drink in the stockade, and we even pay out silver. It's much better than being a commoner. You can just stay here and consider this your home."
Hearing this, Boss Wang and Li Erhua immediately looked at each other, both with deep confusion in their eyes.
After hesitating for a while, Li Erhua still said, "Sir, we're just two ordinary commoners. We have elderly parents and young children. If we... stay here, what will happen to our parents and kids?"
"You don't need to worry about that. I'll send some brothers to bring your family here so that you can be reunited. You just settle down here."
Li Erhua's face turned pale. She glanced at Mu Wulin standing above and said to Zhuang Yusheng, "Sir, that other sir promised us personally that he'd send us down the mountain. Now... why won't you let us go?"
As she spoke, she started to cry. "You're all big shots. We can't afford to offend you. Please have mercy and let us go back! Wuwuwu. We don't even want the money. We just want to go home."
There was still a faint smile on Zhuang Yusheng's face, but his words sent a chill down people's spines. "If you don't want to stay in our stockade, that's okay. I'll give you another choice."
Saying this, he took a knife from the waist of a subordinate beside him and threw it in front of them. "You can commit suicide right now! I'll send your corpses out of the stockade."
Now Li Erhua and Boss Wang's faces turned completely white. They looked at the big knife in a daze.
Mu Wulin stepped forward and pleaded for Boss Wang and the others, "Second brother! Why are you bothering with them? They're just some ignorant country folks. Don't make things difficult for them!"