A smile can topple a city

Chapter 3

Xiao Xun shook his head: "Impossible. The Eighteen Forms of the Netherworld were lost long ago with the disappearance of the Netherworld City Lord."

"There's no conclusive evidence that the Lord of the Netherworld City died back then. Perhaps he's still alive? Maybe he even has descendants or disciples? This was personally examined by the current leader of the martial arts alliance, Huang Chongshan, who confirmed it was the Netherworld Heart-Shattering Palm. Huang Chongshan is the sworn brother of the former leader of the martial arts alliance, Li Zhong. As everyone knows, Li Zhong and the Lord of the Netherworld City, Lu Mingfei, have a deep connection," Ye said with a smile.

"Did you find any clues about those ships you investigated?" Xiao Xun asked impatiently. Ever since he recognized this boss, he had to accompany her around aimlessly every day, and also eat and drink with her. However, he hadn't found a single clue about what he wanted to know.

"No one noticed those ships. It's a pity, a very important clue has been lost," Ye Xiao sighed.

Xiao Xun didn't even bother to say a word.

However, Ye Xiao seemed oblivious to his tact and continued to chatter around him, making Xiao Xun feel like banging his head against a wall and dying.

"Third brother!" Ye Xiao called out.

Xiao Xun turned his head away and ignored him.

"Third brother!" Ye Xiao called out loudly in Xiao Xun's ear in an annoying way.

"I heard you! You're not deaf!" Xiao Xun's tone was extremely impatient as he began to think about how to get rid of this boss.

"It is said that the last time someone saw Shen Rujun was at the Tianbao Inn in Suzhou." Fortunately, Ye Xiao was always carefree and didn't care about Xiao Xun's bad attitude.

"So what! Miss Ye, don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch each other? Don't keep getting so close to my face! Which inn did you stay at before? Today the innkeeper told me that your room's lease expires tomorrow... When we let you stay, we agreed that the room rate would be three taels of silver per day, but you could only stay until tomorrow because another guest has booked it..."

Ye Xiao seemed not to hear, still muttering to himself, "The only way to get from Suzhou to this town is by water. Would a martial arts master like Shen Rujun take an ordinary awning boat home?"

Xiao Xun was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned around and went out.

When he returned a while later, he looked at Ye Xiao with a fawning expression: "Boss... what do you like to eat? I'll have someone buy it... Also, I've already spoken to the shopkeeper, and I'll add five qian of silver starting tomorrow... I've already paid him for ten days' rent in advance... He agreed to cancel that other guest's reservation. Boss, you can stay here anytime!"

With a sharp slap, Ye Xiao gave Xiao Xun a hard knock on the head: "Idiot! Why do I have to stay here? We're going to Suzhou soon! I've already booked the boat tickets..."

Xiao Xun: "..."

Suzhou, a land of abundant resources and outstanding people. The largest inn, Tianbao Inn. The owner, Wan San, shook his head in a corner, somewhat troubled. He had been living in a state of mixed joy and worry for the past few days.

These past few days, the number of guests staying at the inn has surged, and business is booming. It's as if you can hear the silver coins lining up and swishing home. However, recently, almost all the guests staying at the inn have been江湖豪杰 (jianghu heroes), shouting and yelling all day long. Even if a few ordinary guests come, they are scared away by this group of brutes.

He didn't care about江湖豪杰 (jianghu heroes) or 豪喊号 (hao huo hao), he didn't care about being arrogant. What he cared about was who could guarantee that these arrogant customers would pay their bills on time? If someone refused to pay, how much courage would an ordinary person like him have to ask these big shots for money?

With a sigh, the chubby Wan San forced a smile, watching like a Maitreya Buddha as an arrogant old man passed the counter and went upstairs. He sighed again and lowered his head to calculate the bill. "Boss... are there any rooms left?" a gentle male voice asked.

Wan San looked up and finally let out a sigh of relief. A very handsome man was looking at him with a warm, spring-like smile. Tall and upright, with deep, dark eyes like a bottomless pool, and a sharp smile playing on his lips.

"Yes...yes..." Wan San said repeatedly, then quickly told the waiter Ahua, "Ahua, go and tidy up the side room in the far east wing so the guest can stay there..."

Actually, there were no extra rooms in the shop. The easternmost side room was piled with a lot of miscellaneous items, which would be time-consuming and laborious to clean up. However, Wan San still decided to keep the customer.

This was a guest I hadn't seen in many days; he was kind, friendly, and polite.

Wan San was even happier when the guest said more politely, "Boss, I would like to prepay for ten days' rent." As he spoke, he threw out a silver ingot.

Unfortunately, his good fortune didn't last long, and Wan San soon regretted it.

Suddenly, a little girl with long braids jumped out from nowhere: "You fatso! Why did you say no when I asked if there were any rooms available! But when he asked, you said there were!"

Wan San frowned and looked at the girl with round eyes in front of him. Her eyes were quite bright, but her skin wasn't fair enough, her mouth wasn't small enough, and her eyebrows weren't curved enough. At best, she could be considered decent and pretty, but she was still a long way from being beautiful.

Did she ask?

I don't remember.

I don't usually remember people who are rather plain-looking.

Just as he was about to speak, the polite man said, "Boss, that's not surprising. I'm prettier than you, richer than you, so of course I have more charm and charisma..."

Wan San's jaw almost dropped. Boss?

Such a handsome, kind, wealthy, and polite young man would also be a江湖客 (jianghu ke, a person who travels the martial arts world), and, quite strangely, he calls a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl "boss".

Wan San was hesitating whether to find an excuse to cancel the two guests. He touched the silver ingot in his hand and finally fell silent.

Xiao Xun smiled at Wan San again, then dragged the furious Ye Xiao away.

This side room has been closed for a long time, and it has developed an unpleasant odor.

Fortunately, it was big enough, and Xiao Xun partitioned it slightly so that the eldest child could stay on the bed inside.

I spent some of my own money to ask the attentive young waiter, Ahua, to get some bedding, and I made a makeshift bed on the floor.

Yawning, Xiao Xun prepared to go to sleep.

Ye Xiao was still chatting with Ahua: "I heard that Shen Rujun, whose death shocked the entire martial arts world, stayed at your inn a few months ago?"

Ahua chuckled sheepishly: "Yes, Master Shen always stays at my inn when he returns to his hometown. It's the largest inn in Suzhou, and Master Shen is always very particular about his reputation."

"On what day did Master Shen leave?" Ye Xiao seemed to be in much better spirits than Xiao Xun.

Ahua became wary, recalling his boss's earnest advice to avoid getting into trouble: "After so long, who would remember something like this?"

Ye Xiao smiled and quickly changed the subject: "Since Master Shen is so concerned about his reputation, what kind of boat would he take back to his hometown? If there were a land route, he would definitely take a sedan chair carried by eight men."

Ahua relaxed a little: "That's right! Every time, we take the biggest pleasure boat from the waterfront communities in Suzhou and book the largest private room!"

Ye smiled and looked at Ahua, clearly very satisfied with the young man.

The next morning.

Wan San was once again settling his never-ending accounts at the counter.

A clear female voice asked him, "Boss, I heard that the great hero Shen Rujun stayed at your inn before he died?"

Without looking up, he said, "Yes."

The woman's voice continued, "Do you remember which day he left?"

Without even looking up, he said, "How could I possibly remember something from so long ago?"

The voice persisted: "Isn't there an entry and exit log on the counter?"

Wan San paused slightly, but still didn't look up: "Last year's entry and exit registration book has long been lost."

The voice was undeterred: "I see that the boss keeps meticulous and clear accounts. He remembers exactly how many days each guest stays and which room they stay in. He wouldn't have lost last year's accounts, would he?"

Wan San finally raised his head and saw a familiar-looking girl with a long braid hanging proudly behind her.

Who is it?

Wan San thought about it carefully, but couldn't quite remember.

His mind raced: "The young lady was right, last year's account books are also lost."

"Oh—" Ye Xiao chuckled and drew out the sound, then suddenly reached out and snatched the abacus from in front of Wan San: "Boss Wan is really frugal and meticulous. The abacus frame was almost falling apart, but he tied a hemp rope to it and continued using it. Would he really be willing to throw away the old account books?"

He then snatched the ledger back and laughed, "Just starting to record new accounts from mid-October? Shen Rujun was found dead on the ninth day of October, wasn't he?"

Wan San gave a cold laugh: "What advice do you have for me, young lady? The old accounts have indeed been lost."

Ye Xiao gave an "oh," smiled enigmatically, and said nothing more.

He just looked at Wan San strangely.

Wan San's heart skipped a beat, but he managed to hold back his words.

The two remained in that strange silence for a while, then Ye Xiao laughed and skipped out the door.

The lost gold leaf

A luxurious carriage stood quietly at the entrance, attracting the attention of passersby.

The entire vehicle was wrapped in bright red satin, and the four tall horses were pure white with shiny coats, without a single blemish.

Stunning, Ye Xiao couldn't help but linger by the car.

"Boss!" someone called to her.

She was startled to see someone leaning out from their seat on the train.

It was Xiao Xun!

"Where did you get this beautiful carriage?"

Xiao Xun was clearly very proud: "I bought it!"

"You have so much money..." Ye Xiao exclaimed in amazement.

Xiao Xun patted a large bundle on his body proudly: "It's full of gold leaves. My mother insisted that I take it with me!"

Ye Xiao pouted and said, "Your mother is really...pretentious..."

Xiao Xun grinned: "When you're out in the world, you need money to survive. Boss! Get on here!"

Ye Xiao climbed onto the luxurious carriage with great discomfort under everyone's gaze.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Xun's driving skills were surprisingly good.

The carriage traveled both quickly and steadily.

We soon arrived at our destination, a boat trip to a riverside village.

The luxurious carriage clearly worked; the waiter immediately came from afar to greet them, running even faster than the four horses.

"We'd like to ask the renowned heroes of the martial arts world..." Ye Xiao began slowly.

Unexpectedly, Mr. Hu, the owner of the boat company, immediately picked up the conversation: "Master Shen Rujun? Miss, do you want to ask about Master Shen taking our pleasure boat back to his hometown? Master Shen always charters our pleasure boat when he goes back to his hometown. He sent someone to make a reservation on the third day of the tenth month, and boarded the boat at Shenshi (3-5 PM) on the seventh day of the tenth month, arriving home at Xushi (7-9 PM)."

Xiao Xun was taken aback: "Someone asked about this? Who?"

The boss was clearly getting impatient: "Many people... are hoping to receive the prize personally awarded by the leader of the martial arts alliance..."

Ye Xiao chuckled and said, "This news spread so fast, everyone knows now... He arrived home on the seventh of October? He was found dead on the ninth of October... Could he have been assassinated in town? Almost everyone in the town knows him, how come there wasn't a single clue? Strange..."

The boss politely apologized and was about to leave, claiming he was busy, when he suddenly heard Ye Xiao shout, which startled him so much that his legs went weak.

Where is the boatman who escorted Master Shen back to his hometown?

"Xiao Tian? He caught a cold these past few days and is resting at home..."

Ye Xiao immediately picked up a gold leaf from Xiao Xun's bag and waved it in front of the shopkeeper: "Xiao Tian's home address?"

The gold leaves were so shiny they hurt Mr. Hu's eyes. He suppressed his excitement and managed to recite Xiao Tian's address word for word.

After saying that, he opened his big hand, waiting for the gold leaf to fall in, and then Ye Xiao's wicked voice rang out: "Isn't this gold leaf beautiful?"

She quickly smiled and nodded.