Chapter 252

Chapter 252: Black Inn

Yu Zhi Yi patted his head. [It feels great to be trusted without question.]

She did not hide anything. In a voice only their table could hear, she said: “This is a Black Inn, and there is something wrong with all the meat dishes they serve.”

Suddenly, her face changed. Just now, the boss lady’s expression had shifted. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly whispered two orders to Jiang Liu Yun.

Jiang Liu Yun did not fully understand, but he obeyed without hesitation. The tall, thin teen stood up and, putting on the air of a spoiled young lord, said: “This meal is on us, so even if you disagree, keep it to yourselves. But the late-night snack is at your own expense, so eat whatever you like then. We will have no objections.”

Yu San Niang, the boss lady, caught his words and hurriedly signaled the waiter across the room. The waiter rushed into the kitchen. Yu San Niang let out a breath. [Good thing that big fool said that, or we would lose a big windfall tonight. If so many tall, strong men vanished in my inn, the uproar would be huge. But if only one miss disappears… there’s plenty of room to spin it.]

She had planned to take that little girl tonight and sell her, without touching the bodyguards or their property. If both a person and money went missing, the investigators might link everything back to her inn. But if only one young miss disappeared, then an “elopement” would be a perfect reason, wouldn’t it?

As a woman, she knew too well how to ruin another woman. Smear her with dirty gossip, and her family, afraid of losing face, would likely hush it all up.

For the sake of tonight’s big payday, she decided to use less knockout drug.

Soon, the dishes arrived. Yu Zhi Yi picked up her chopsticks first. Seeing that, the others began to eat as well. The guards were unhappy with her orders, but after a day on the road with only dry rations, hot food was hot food. It wasn’t to their taste, but they still wolfed it down.

After the meal, Jiang Liu Yun said he needed the latrine and went to the back courtyard. He returned with a grim face: “Sister, you were right. This place really has a problem.”

Jiang Yu Chuan knew what his foolish son had gone to do, and asked: “What did you find?”

Jiang Liu Yun shook his head: “I didn’t find anything. From the moment I headed to the latrine, someone was in the yard. He pretended to clean, but I could feel his eyes on me the whole time. He was watching me.”

People who train in martial arts are sensitive to stares. Besides, Jiang Liu Yun was the young master of the Martial Alliance. He had trained since childhood and had seen plenty of action.

“Yi’er, since this inn has a problem, why not just clean them out in one move?” Jiang Yu Chuan was puzzled.

Given Yu Zhi Yi’s identity, a group of high-level guards at her side, and two experts of the Martial World here, taking down a small Black Inn would be easy.

Even though they found no hard clues yet, father and son showed complete trust.

Yu Zhi Yi pressed down the odd feeling in her chest and said: “This inn is only a nest. I suspect they have a whole chain. This place is just the starting point of the crimes. Once they pick suitable prey, the men and the plain-looking women are butchered and turned into dishes for other guests.”

“As for pretty women, they sell them to the Flower House.”

“If a guest carries anything valuable, they send it through their special channels to fence it.”

“Hiss!” Jiang Liu Yun sucked in a breath.

Li Rou couldn’t help it; she clutched her chest and ran aside to retch.

Jiang Yu Chuan, though, stayed calm. He had roamed the Martial World for years and seen much. When Yu Zhi Yi forbade them from ordering meat, he had guessed most of it. The Martial World has its share of scum. Some enjoy these heartless crimes. He just hadn’t expected to run into it while traveling with his daughter. Luckily, his daughter was sharp, or even he might have fallen for it. After all, who would think an inn in a big town would be a Black Inn?

Li Rou came back, face pale, and asked weakly: “Is there no one to stop them?”

Yu Zhi Yi said evenly: “People like this have sharp eyes. They can tell who they can mess with and who they can’t. They target loners or those whose arrivals no one knows about. There’s a saying: if the people don’t raise it, the officials don’t investigate. As long as no one knows they killed, they can keep getting away with it.”

“Bastards! I’ll cut them down!” Jiang Liu Yun, hot-blooded at his age, was about to storm into the underground to smash them.

Jiang Yu Chuan stopped him: “Since someone was assigned to watch you, they’re already alert. The most direct evidence, the human flesh, is probably hidden or moved by now. If you rush in, you won’t succeed and you’ll only tip them off.”

Jiang Liu Yun scowled: “So we do nothing?”

Jiang Yu Chuan slapped him lightly: “Fool. Didn’t your sister say she won’t limit the guards at the late-night snack? No matter how careful the culprits are, they need ingredients to cook, right? When the time comes, how could we not find evidence?”

Jiang Liu Yun’s eyes lit up: “Sister is amazing!” He had shouted her message earlier without asking why. He hadn’t expected this deeper plan. [As expected of sister.]

Yu Zhi Yi took a token from her belt and handed it to Jiang Liu Yun: “Find a chance to call the heir apparent of Marquis Wu’an outside. Give him this token and have him go to the Commandery Governor’s office to mobilize troops.”

With their more than twenty guards, they could wipe out this Black Inn. But this was the commandery’s turf. She did not want to overstep. And they could not handle the aftermath themselves, so it was better to hand it to the local Yamen from the start.

Jiang Liu Yun left with the token. Yu Zhi Yi thought he would go straight to the heir’s room. Instead, he stood at the door for a moment, then kicked it open and started fighting the heir apparent of Marquis Wu’an on the spot. Though younger by a few years, his skills were excellent. Under his attacks, the heir fell back again and again and was soon driven out of the inn.

Yu Zhi Yi came when she heard the noise and only saw their backs. [I told him to take the man outside, but not like this.]