A Xun put the flower cakes she had made early in the morning into Cui Jintang's arms and repeatedly exhorted her with a pen and paper in hand.
The Yingchou Ravine was a sparsely populated area, and it had been quite unsafe in recent days. A Xun was extremely worried.
Cui Jintang consoled her, saying, "With Zhu Er and so many warriors around, I'll be fine."
A Xun reluctantly calmed down and waved to her.
Zhu Er whipped the reins and shouted, "Giddyap!"
A Xun led a group of servants from the Cui family and stood outside the mansion gate, waving continuously.
It was not until they were completely out of sight that she left with a desolate look on her face, turning back every few steps.
---
To disguise themselves as merchants, Cui Jintang deliberately didn't take the waterway but headed all the way along the pipeline.
After a bumpy journey, Zhu Er unfolded the map and pointed to the nearest inn. "Miss, it'll take about half an hour to reach our own inn."
Cui Jintang had been in the carriage for a whole day and was already extremely uncomfortable. Hearing this, she nodded without even opening her eyes.
Zhu Er knew she was feeling unwell and quickly stepped out, speeding up their pace.
---
"Whoa—"
Pei Zhaolin reined in his horse, and the three of them stopped in front of the inn.
Huang Zuoshi, who was accompanying him, looked at the two lanterns with faded vermilion paint and the rough door panels of the inn and couldn't help but feel hesitant.
"Sir, why don't we stay in the official posthouse on this trip? Instead, we come to this..."
Looking at the dilapidated inn, Huang Zuoshi couldn't find a proper word to describe it for a moment.
"If we're here for an undercover investigation, how can we stay in the official posthouse?"
Pei Zhaolin glanced at him and then called out, "Fu Li, go in and ask if there are any guest rooms available."
Fu Li jumped off his horse and responded.
Fu Li pushed open the door, and it creaked as it swayed open.
Hearing the sound, the innkeeper immediately came forward to greet them.
The innkeeper was a tall and thin middle - aged man with half of his left earlobe missing. When he smiled, the deep lines at the corners of his mouth were as scary and strange as knife cuts. "Are you gentlemen just passing by for a meal or planning to stay?"
Fu Li replied, "Both. Do you have three guest rooms and enough food?"
"Yes, yes. Gentlemen, please rest assured!" The innkeeper chuckled, showing his slightly yellowed teeth.
Seeing Pei Zhaolin nod, Fu Li then handed over some silver pieces. "Is this enough?"
The innkeeper weighed it in his hand, his eyes showing surprise, and quickly said, "Enough! Enough!"
After entering the inn, the innkeeper took out three keys. "These are the best three rooms in our small inn! Do you want the food to be sent to your rooms?"
Saying this, he handed the keys to Fu Li.
Fu Li said, "Yes, send it to our rooms."
The innkeeper quickly agreed.
---
Pei Zhaolin tied his horse in the stable. When he bent down to pick up some horse hay, he seemed to smell a faint smell of blood.
He searched carefully but didn't find any trace of blood. However, the smell of blood always lingered faintly around his nose.
In the guest room, Huang Zuoshi, who was already exhausted, stretched. Just then, the innkeeper came to deliver the food.
Huang Zuoshi greeted him with a smile. "Excuse me, sir. Could you prepare some hot water? I'd like to wash up first."
The innkeeper put down the food and always said yes first. "Please wait a moment, sir. The hot water will be here right away!"
After the innkeeper left with his men, Huang Zuoshi, who was already drooling, immediately sat down at the table. The next second, his face changed drastically!
There was a bowl of steaming mutton soup with a milky - white soup and a few floating coriander leaves on it.
A plate of thinly sliced donkey meat with overly fine meat lines and a light pink color.
And a basket of steamed dumplings with such thin skins that they were almost transparent, and a bit of red could be faintly seen inside.
Huang Zuoshi immediately put down his chopsticks. He rubbed his fingertips along the edge of the table, and a small dark - red lump emerged from the wood grain.
He scraped off a bit with his fingernail and smelled it. It was a disgusting smell of blood!
Huang Zuoshi held back his urge to vomit. He immediately got up and went out of the room. He knocked on the door next to him, dragged the confused Fu Li, and ran downstairs.
"This is a man - eating black inn! Hurry up and inform the sir. Let's leave immediately. We can't stay for a moment longer!"
Fu Li's face turned pale, and he followed quickly.
Huang Zuoshi quietly looked downstairs and saw Pei Zhaolin walking in. He was so anxious that he immediately waved at Pei Zhaolin.
The innkeeper was still calculating the abacus in the front hall. The beads clattered loudly, which was especially creepy in the quiet night.
Pei Zhaolin nodded slightly and walked up to the innkeeper, blocking his view.
"Just now I saw that most of the forage in the stable was withered. I wonder if you, sir, have any fresh forage to feed my horse?"
Behind him, Huang Zuoshi, who was hunched over, ran faster than anyone else.
Like a ghost, he suddenly appeared behind the innkeeper.
Feeling the coldness on his neck, the innkeeper's smile immediately froze. "Gentlemen... what do you mean?"
Hearing this, Huang Zuoshi spat. "Ask us what we mean? I should ask you how many people this man - eating black inn has harmed!"
Pei Zhaolin watched coldly. He thought Huang Zuoshi alone could handle this matter.
He was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly heard a familiar female voice behind him.
The voice was muffled. "Sir, I'd like a room."
This voice was so familiar!
Pei Zhaolin almost immediately turned around.
In the dim light of the eaves lantern, Cui Jintang half - squinted her eyes, lifted half of her white veil hat, revealing her fair and delicate face.
But when she saw Pei Zhaolin, her face immediately fell. "Why is Lord Pei here too?"
Before Pei Zhaolin could reply, a very arrogant male voice came from behind her. "Lord Pei? What Lord Pei? I think you're crazy. How could Pei Zhaolin appear in this remote place..."
Yan Liangwen suddenly stopped in his tracks, twitched the corner of his mouth, and forced a smile. "It's really Lord Pei! What a coincidence! Hahaha."
Seeing him, Pei Zhaolin squinted his eyes slightly, showing a hint of vigilance.
Just at this inopportune moment, the innkeeper, who was being held hostage by Huang Zuoshi, suddenly let out a shrill cry for help. "Master, aaaaaaaah! Please save me!!"
Cui Jintang tilted her head and, after seeing clearly, said, "...? What are you doing?"
After about an incense - stick's time, after the three groups of people sat down and explained everything clearly, everyone fell silent.
Only the innkeeper was the most aggrieved. He wiped away his bitter tears and said, "It's just that there have been many mountain bandits recently, and I was scared! So I disguised this place as a man - eating black inn to scare people away."
"But who would have thought that this gentleman would come up with a dagger right away! It really scared me to death!"
Huang Zuoshi scratched his head and whispered in rebuttal. "But your mutton soup and donkey meat were really scary... I'm sorry, sir. I was impulsive for a moment. Sorry!"
The innkeeper replied with extreme reluctance.
Cui Jintang, who had already been carsick and vomited, just wanted to have a good rest at this moment.
She looked at Pei Zhaolin. "Since the matter has been explained clearly, let's just let it go."
Just as Cui Jintang was speaking, she saw Pei Zhaolin suddenly move a bit closer to her.
She frowned and continued, "This time, I won't charge Lord Pei. Consider it a good deed."
Pei Zhaolin stood up again and took a big step closer to her. This time, he almost sat next to her arm.
Cui Jintang thought, "Is this guy crazy?"
She raised her hand to push him away, but Pei Zhaolin suddenly lowered his head, and her hand that was about to push his shoulder landed on Pei Zhaolin's face.
There was a loud "slap", and everyone was shocked.
Cui Jintang let out an "uh".
But the person who was slapped didn't seem to react much and tried to get closer to her again.
Cui Jintang couldn't bear it anymore.
She raised her hand and gave him another slap. She scolded, "There's so much space here. Why do you have to squeeze with me? You might as well just sit on me!"