The snow had covered the path and many other traces, but this did not stop Feng Bujue from exploring the forest.
In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he found an inn with his enigmatic route-finding ability.
Of course, the "inn" was already a thing of the past. Because at this moment, this house that wasn't very big to begin with had already become a charred ruin.
The strong burnt smell that had not yet dissipated was undoubtedly one of the reasons Feng Bujue was able to find this place.
"This place should have been an inn." Feng Bujue stood on the hill and gave it a cursory glance before coming to this conclusion.
"How do you know?" Ruo Yu was not questioning Brother Jue's conclusion, but she needed more details to understand the reasoning process.
"Look at the foundation …" Brother Jue replied, "For a lonely house built in the middle of the forest, it seems too big. For a temple, its structure is not right. So it is most likely an inn."
"For an inn to be built in such a place, would there be guests?" Ruo Yu asked again.
"You don't know …" Feng Bujue continued, "Although this is not an official road, but from the surrounding terrain and the appearance of the forest … at this moment, under the snow under our feet, there is actually a road. A small path is also a road. If there is a road, it means that there are people walking on it. And those who are walking on it naturally need a place to rest. "
"But there are not many people walking on this road." Ruo Yu continued.
"Ah … looking at the size of this inn, it could not have accommodated many people." Feng Bujue smiled and walked down the hillside.
Ruo Yu followed his footsteps and followed his train of thought.
"It seems that the fire has just finished not too long ago." Ruo Yu said as they approached the ruins.
"Yes, the ashes are still warm. I guess … it was the fire from last night or this morning." When Feng Bujue answered, he had already taken out [Bell's Daily Knife]. He stepped into the ruins and began to fiddle with the various remains on the ground.
Ruoyu knew what he was doing, and was happy to let him handle this task. Thus, the two of them immediately fell into a silence that seemed abrupt to onlookers.
However, in their eyes, this silence was a tacit understanding that did not need to be spoken.
About ten minutes later, Feng Bujue walked out of the scorched earth and let out a long sigh, "Phew … It's about time."
"What did you see?" Ruo Yu looked at him expectantly.
"First they killed, then they set the fire. A total of nine people died. At least three of them knew martial arts, and all nine of them died at the hands of strong martial artists." At this point, Feng Bujue paused for a few seconds before adding, "The number of killers is unknown, but … this person, or this group of people … must be the type that is experienced, efficient, and efficient."
Ruo Yu listened and thought for a few seconds before saying, "In a wuxia scenario, it doesn't seem that strange to run into a veteran killer."
"But the crime scene is not far from our teleportation point. This means that there must be something behind this." Feng Bujue said, "It could be …"
"Side quest triggered."
Before he could finish his sentence, the System's voice rang in their ears.
"Take a look …" Brother Jue opened his hands and told Ruo Yu.
They opened the game menu almost at the same time and saw the new quest in the quest tab — [Investigate the Murder at Miya Tavern].
"Perfect, this is your strong suit." Ruo Yu looked at the quest and said in a relaxed tone.
"Even if it is my strong suit, at this stage, the information that I can summarize … is only what I said earlier." Feng Bujue looked helpless.
"Okay, I understand." Ruo Yu said, "Even with the criminal investigation technology of our era, it is difficult to find evidence from a fire that 'burned until there is nothing left to burn.' Now, it is already not easy for you to find this information. "
"Huh?" Feng Bujue heard that and smiled slyly. "What kind of wind is blowing today? Not only are you not arguing with me, but you also look so understanding. Are you going to ask me for New Year's money? "
"According to my estimation, the value of the New Year's money and various holiday gifts that I have received since I was a child should be higher than the total amount of all the legal assets that you have handled in your life. Do you really want to continue this topic with me?" Ruo Yu retorted without batting an eyelid.
"That's more like it." The next second, Feng Bujue nodded with satisfaction.
Obviously, he did not care about the content of the argument. He just wanted an attitude that made him feel more comfortable.
To put it bluntly, this was called playing cheap …
But then again, the so-called "flirting", most of the time, didn't it start with a man looking for trouble and doing something despicable?
For example, in a Japanese stage comedy, it was similar to China's crosstalk, but slightly different. One person had to play dumb in order for the other person to complain.
No matter how dumb the person who played dumb acted, he was not really dumb; no matter how mean the person who complained was, he did not mean any harm.
This kind of game where one was willing to hit and the other was willing to be hit, was an indispensable part of human social behavior.
Only friends who can unscrupulously call each other idiots face to face and not take each other seriously can be called true brothers. Only a man and a woman who can get used to each other's shortcomings and still not abandon each other can be called true love. Only a man and a woman who can get used to each other's shortcomings can be called true love.
Let's not talk about whether this was sad or funny, but overall … the depth of the relationship between people was precisely reflected in the degree of freedom they felt when playing cheap in front of each other.
You would only show your true self in front of the person closest to you, because you knew the other person's tolerance for you. This gave you a sense of security. People would only feel at ease when they had a sense of security. Only then would they be able to speak freely and do whatever they wanted.
Everyone would meet a few people in their life. You would never have to worry about losing your composure in front of them.
Birds of a feather flock together. If you could not find such a person by your side, then your life would be too lonely and too much of a failure.
And Wang Qiong was such a person.
He did not lack friends. There were too many people who wanted to be his friend to count.
He also did not lack lovers. If he was willing, it would not be difficult for him to become a "groom every night".
But he still felt lonely.
Because in this world, he could no longer find anyone who could make him put down his guard completely and trust absolutely.
When a person could only feel at ease when he was alone, then no matter how many people surrounded him, he would still be lonely.
"Manor Lord, there are guests requesting an audience."
Outside the door, Cheng Wei's report woke Wang Qiong up from his nap.
"Hah …" Wang Qiong, who was lying on a soft couch, shook his head and yawned as he replied, "Who are they?"
Wang Qiong had never been to school when he was young. Although he learned how to read and calculate when he grew up, he could no longer change his way of speaking. Therefore, words like "Who are you?" would never come out of his mouth.
"Manor Lord, it's a man and a woman. The man calls himself 'Zhang San'. He said he is here to 'deliver' goods," Cheng Wei replied.
Cheng Wei was one of the more trustworthy people among the people that Wang Qiong did not trust. He and his younger brother, Cheng Yong, had been Wang Qiong's personal bodyguards for ten years.
Although they were called "bodyguards", Cheng Wei was more like a housekeeper. Because Wang Qiong had many experts under him, Cheng Wei rarely had the chance to display his martial arts.
"Oh …" Wang Qiong thought for a few seconds. "Ask them to wait for a while. I'll go over now."
"Yes," Cheng Wei replied. Then, the sound of his footsteps could be heard outside the door.
Not long after, Wang Qiong was dressed neatly. He left the room and went to the courtyard outside the door.
The owner of this courtyard used to be the richest man in Linlu Town. His house was also the largest in the town.
But now, he was no longer in this town.
This was because on the day Wang Qiong arrived in Linlu Town, he bought this house and three or four other houses around it for himself and his subordinates to live in.
His "buying method" was … "I'll give you half a day to pack up your belongings and move them away. If you can't take them away, or if you can't pack them in time, I'll buy them all."
After he made his request, he asked the other party to "name a price". Then, he would pay according to the price that the other party gave him.
This was Wang Qiong's way of doing things. This was how he spent money.
The scariest thing was that his ability to make money was better than his ability to spend money.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Wang Qiong passed through the courtyard and entered a central room in the front yard. As he walked through the door, he was already greeting the two "guests".
Although Wang Qiong was not particular about etiquette, his guests were still very particular.
"Greetings, Boss Wang." The male guest immediately stood up and clasped his hands together. He was neither servile nor overbearing as he greeted Wang Qiong.
Wang Qiong studied the man from head to toe. He was a slender man with a feminine face. He looked to be in his thirties. Despite the cold weather, he was dressed in a neat green robe. There was a sword hanging from his waist. It was obvious that he was a martial artist.
At the same time, the man was also observing Wang Qiong. Boss Wang was neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. He looked to be in his early forties and was not ugly. He was wearing a fur coat, cotton pants, and a fur hat. He did not look like a martial artist at all. No matter how one looked at him, he looked like a shopkeeper.
"Have we … met before?" Wang Qiong looked at him with a puzzled expression.
The man who called himself Zhang San did not answer the question. Instead, he glanced at Cheng Wei, who was standing at the side, and then threw Wang Qiong a questioning look.
"Oh …" Wang Qiong understood what he meant. "It's okay. Let him listen. Go ahead."
Wang Qiong did not like to beat around the bush. He would say many things in the simplest and most straightforward way.
"Alright …" Zhang San hesitated for a few seconds before replying, "Then I'll remind you, Boss Wang … The last time we met, I was still 'Zhu Cheng'."
"What?" Wang Qiong took two steps back and glanced at him. "You said you were Zhu Cheng?" His expression showed that he did not believe him. "The Zhu Cheng who is ranked second among the Four Greats of Yu Ling?"
"Yes." Zhang San gave a definite answer.
"Hmph …" At this moment, Cheng Wei sneered. "Ridiculous. If you want to pretend to be someone else, shouldn't you at least ask about their body shape? Zhu Cheng's body is comparable to two of yours. "
"Then, is Zhu Cheng's voice like this?"
Those words were spoken by that 'Zhang San.' However, the voice he used when he said those words was completely different from his voice earlier. Instead, it was exactly the same as Zhu Cheng's voice from back then.
"You …" Seeing this, Cheng Wei was speechless.
Wang Qiong reacted faster than him. "So … you used to be Zhu Cheng, but now you're Zhang San?"
Zhangsan replied, "I was never Zhu Cheng … The real Zhu Cheng was replaced by me long before the Four Absolutes of Elm Ridge met you."
Wang Qiong said, "Oh … Then you've always been Zhang San and only pretended to be Zhu Cheng for a while?"
Zhang San said, "I'm not Zhang San either."
Wang Qiong said, "Then who are you?"
Zhang San smiled. "Who I am is not important. I can be Zhu Cheng or Zhang San. If necessary, I can even be Wang Qiong. I can even be Wang Qiong my whole life."
This sentence was dangerous.
It was as dangerous as the person who said it.
"Oh?" Before he finished speaking, Cheng Wei's gaze and murderous intent were already approaching Zhang San like a blade.
"Hahaha …" Zhang San laughed. "I'm joking … I'm just joking. Don't take it seriously, Warrior Cheng."
Whether Zhang San was joking or not, and whether Cheng Wei took it seriously, everyone knew without saying anything.
However, this topic did not continue because Wang Qiong had already started talking about something else as if nothing had happened. "Alright, alright. It doesn't matter who you are. You don't have to tell me what happened between you and the Four Greats of Yu Ling. The grudges between you Jianghu people have nothing to do with me. I only care about whether I can make a deal. As for who I do it with … it doesn't matter to me."
As he spoke, he shifted his gaze to the woman who had been sitting at the side without saying a word.
This woman was wearing thick cotton clothes and a red cloak. She wore a bamboo hat on her head, and under the brim of the hat was a thick black veil that completely covered her face.
Being wrapped up like this, there were not many things that could be used to determine her gender. However, there were still some clues … For example, the style of her clothes, the way she walked, and … the only part of her body that was not covered was her pair of slender white jade-like hands.
It was indeed a pair of beautiful hands. They were so beautiful that they were flawless. It even felt fake.
The owner of these hands had clearly not done any manual labor, nor had she practiced martial arts … even if she had, it was definitely not hand martial arts.
Wang Qiong had seen many women and many pairs of women's hands. Therefore, at this moment, he did not need to look at the woman's face to know that she was definitely a beautiful woman.
"This is …" A moment later, Wang Qiongfu opened his mouth again. He wanted to say, "This is the goods, right?", but after some consideration, he changed the second half of his sentence to, "… the person I'm looking for?"
"Yes." Zhang San's answer was neither fast nor slow. His tone sounded very confident.
"Is she … well?" Wang Qiong's next question was somewhat ambiguous.
Zhang San knew very well what he was asking. "She is very well."
A second later, as if afraid that Wang Qiong did not understand, Zhang San added, "She is as good as new."
Wang Qiong did not reply. Instead, he turned his head and said, "Cheng Wei."
"Here." Cheng Wei answered.
"Call two maids and a midwife …" Wang Qiong did not finish his sentence.
Zhang San took the opportunity to interrupt, "Wait."
"What is it?" Wang Qiong asked.
"Are we not going to discuss the price before inspecting the goods?" Zhang San's eyes flashed with greed.
"How much do you want?" Wang Qiong was really a straightforward person.
He bypassed the nonsense of asking a question that he already knew the answer to. He bypassed Zhang San's description of how many difficulties and risks he had faced in this operation. He directly targeted the other party's goal and asked the most important question.
"Double." Zhang San was also a powerful person. In front of Wang Qiong's question, he did not panic at all. In a low voice, he stated his clearly excessive asking price.
"Okay." Wang Qiong did not hesitate to continue, "Inspect the goods first. If there are no problems with the goods, take the money and leave."
After saying this, Wang Qiong turned and left.
He did not say anything else. He knew that Cheng Wei would take care of the rest.
Wang Qiong's appearance when he turned around was very ordinary. The way he walked was also very ordinary.
There was no domineering aura in his movements.
However, when he turned around, 'Zhang San' looked at his back with a gaze full of respect.
"Zhang San respectfully sends Boss Wang off." When he walked out of the room, Zhang San bowed even more deeply than when the other party had arrived. He used a tone full of admiration to say these words.
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