Compendio de hombres apuestos en el mundo de las artes marciales

Capítulo 74

Zhou Yufei sighed: "At first, we didn't put them together. But later, as more and more people died, the Ministry of Justice pressed us hard, and our Lord Cao got anxious. He ordered a thorough investigation of all the officials who died unnatural deaths in Bianjing after the first month of the lunar calendar to see if there was any connection between them. Actually, it's a case of grasping at straws in desperation. We can ignore the others for now and just investigate these four."

Duan Chen frowned as he stared at the five corpses, unable to pinpoint what was wrong. Zhao Ting said in a low voice, "Let's go outside first; it's cold inside."

Zhou Yufei nodded in agreement: "Yes, there's no rush. My father has already spoken to the Ministry of Justice, and the case is now under our jurisdiction. We can come back to see it whenever we want."

After covering the body with the white sheet again, the four men left the coroner's office. Zhan Yun, holding the case file, was also somewhat bewildered: "Of the four, one was stabbed in the abdomen, one in the heart, one had his throat slit, and the other was hit on the head. The methods are inconsistent, the locations are unrelated, and they didn't even know each other. It's indeed quite difficult..."

Zhao Tingze kept pondering the smiles on the faces of the deceased, finding it somewhat unbelievable: "This case is rather strange. How could someone be smiling after being stabbed..."

Zhou Yufei blinked her peach blossom eyes and looked at Duan Chen with a smile: "That's why our young master Duan has to personally take action!"

Author's Note: There will be an update tomorrow at 9 AM.

The next two volumes will have a lot of romantic scenes, so please be prepared.

Remember this: no matter what you see, keep in mind this phrase: Snow falls, pure and innocent!

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Also, to jxd12 who left a comment under chapter 67, I have already posted an apology statement under the same chapter.

I'm so sorry, I meant to highlight your post, but I accidentally clicked the delete button instead. Waaah, please forgive me.

69

The Third Chapter An Hotel: A Fake Encounter...

The four of them looked through the case file for a while, but still felt clueless. Although there were quite a few clues left on the body, they were all messy and had no connection with each other, making it difficult to draw any useful conclusions.

Around noon, the four of them left Kaifeng Prefecture and found a tavern nearby for lunch. Zhan Yun called over a waiter, ordered a few dishes and a jar of peach blossom wine, and then smiled at Duan Chen: "The food at this restaurant is quite unique, with fresh ingredients and a light flavor. The peach blossom wine is very sweet and not too strong."

Duan Chen nodded without saying a word. Zhao Ting, who was standing next to him, was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "I'll take you to 'Xixi Reservoir' tonight. The fish they make there is delicious, and the wine is good too."

All three were taken aback by his words. Zhou Yufei laughed out loud, showing no mercy. The young prince had finally figured it out, but his words were too blunt and could easily scare people away… Zhan Yun knew Zhao Ting was arguing with him, so he just shook his head and smiled, saying nothing. Only Duan Chen remained puzzled. Seeing the other two laughing, he frowned and asked, “What kind of place is Xixi Ku? Is it that nunnery hotel?”

Zhou Yufei spat out the peach blossom wine he had just drunk, pounding his chest and laughing loudly while slapping the table. Zhao Ting choked on his words, his face turning from black to red. Zhan Yun suppressed a laugh and explained, "No, Xixi Reservoir is a place similar to the 'Flower Moon Pavilion' from yesterday. They hold a whole fish banquet there every spring and autumn, and a table there is extremely expensive; you usually have to book a year in advance."

The poor young prince's good intentions were misunderstood as an official investigation, and in such a place at that... Zhan Yun coughed twice, forcibly suppressing his laughter. It wasn't that he was afraid Zhao Ting would lose face, but he felt that Duan Chen was a girl and was shy, and he was worried that she would feel embarrassed after she understood.

Duan Chen had been preoccupied with the case, so when Zhao Ting mentioned a name, he immediately assumed it referred to the nunnery where the military officer had died, thinking Zhao Ting meant he was going there that night to investigate clues. Hearing Zhan Yun's explanation, he didn't see anything wrong with it and calmly looked at Zhao Ting: "We're going to the nunnery and that mansion tonight. If the place you mentioned isn't far, let's go."

Zhou Yufei finally stopped laughing, but upon hearing this, he chuckled again. He glanced at the young prince with infinite sympathy, then looked up at the roof beam: This girl is really hard to win over!

Zhao Ting pursed his lips, his deep black eyes fixed on the person across the table, showing a determined air: "In that case, let's go back to the manor for dinner tonight. I've had strawberries and rose honey bought."

Zhan Yun paused, his gently waving folding fan still holding a smile, but the curve of the smile was somewhat cold. This guy was about to get serious.

Duan Chen understood this time. He lowered his eyes, picked up the wine cup, and drank the wine in one gulp before slowly saying, "Thank you, but you don't need to do it again."

Zhao Tingjian frowned, somewhat puzzled: "Why?"

Duan Chen raised his phoenix eyes to meet the other person's gaze, his voice as clear as a mountain spring: "There's no need for that."

The dishes were served one after another, but no one touched them. Prince Zhao Ting's temper flared up, and he frowned, stubbornly insisting, "Why don't you need to? Don't you like to eat?"

Duan Chen remained expressionless and said calmly, "Staying at your residence has already caused a lot of trouble, Your Highness, there's no need to be so polite."

Zhao Ting pursed his thin lips, feeling stifled by Duan Chen's soft, slow words. He thought to himself, "I've never intended to be polite with you." But he knew he couldn't say this in front of the other two, so he could only pick up his glass and drink in silence.

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The so-called "an inn" had red gardenia lanterns hanging outside, covered with bamboo leaves, to distinguish it from ordinary taverns, implying that there were women accompanying them and that they could stay overnight. As soon as the four entered the inn, a middle-aged man bowed to greet them. Seeing that they were all young and handsome gentlemen, and that three of them were dressed in extraordinary clothes and accessories, he hurriedly led them to the inner room to sit down.

The shop was dimly lit, filled with the aroma of wine, and emanated from all corners the sounds of seductive laughter and low moans, accompanied by soft, seductive music. The entire tavern was open-plan, with about twenty low tables set up, each covered with mats. The customers sat cross-legged, while the women accompanying them mostly knelt to help pour drinks and fetch items.

Duan Chen glanced around, met the gazes of the other three, and almost imperceptibly shook his head. It couldn't be here. The seventh-rank martial artist wasn't discovered dead in this tavern until the next morning. Even if the light inside was dim, the others wouldn't be so oblivious as to not even notice a dead body.

Seeing that the four men's expressions turned cold after looking around, the man assumed they looked down on the women serving drinks. He quickly smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Gentlemen, please don't be impatient. The best ones are waiting inside. They're all clean, unlike the ones outside."

"Oh?" Zhou Yufei raised an eyebrow lazily, revealing a slightly wicked smile: "Then we'll have to see just how good it is."

Upon hearing this, the man bowed and led the way, chuckling as he spoke. His words were quite explicit, mostly vulgar and offensive, causing Zhan Yun to frown. Glancing sideways, he noticed Duan Chen's stiff gait and tightly pursed lips; Zhan Yun's expression immediately darkened, and he coldly said, "Stop talking nonsense, just lead the way." At the same time, Zhao Ting also coldly rebuked him, "Shut up," his dark eyes as cold as winter, glaring fiercely at the man.

The man showed no fear, stealing a glance at Duan Chen before winking at Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun with a grin: "I know what I'm doing, just you wait and see."

They soon entered a long corridor, with a row of peach-pink gauze lanterns hanging along one side. The man stopped at the third lantern, lifted the curtain, and said with a smile, "Please come in, gentlemen. The person will be here shortly."

After Duan Chen and his three companions entered, they found that the interior was brighter than the exterior. The room was divided into two sections: an outer room with a low table and mats, and an inner room with a soft couch. Soft whips and thin bamboo cannons hung on the walls. Even Zhou Yufei, who was used to such things, couldn't help but frown and sigh in a low voice, "We should leave this filthy place as soon as we've finished questioning you."

The four sat down at the table. Zhao Ting stared intently at Duan Chen and said in a low voice, "Chen'er, just say you don't like any of them. Don't let those people get close to you."

Zhan Yun also looked at Duan Chen and gently advised, "Just listen quietly from the side for a while, we'll handle the questioning."

Zhou Yufei, listening from the side, twitched her lips slightly: "If you do this, you'll be misunderstood..." She was halfway through her sentence when she heard footsteps coming from the corridor outside. Soon, the curtain was lifted, and the man poked his head in, smiled at the four of them, and then waved to the back. A girl of about thirteen or fourteen years old walked in timidly.

The girl wore a light orange dress, her fair face had large, round eyes, and rosy lips. Her small hands were tightly clenched in front of her. She curtsied to the four men and whispered, "Greetings, young masters."

She then glanced at the man again, and after receiving a signal from him, she took small steps to Zhao Ting and Duan Chen, and sat down timidly. Although Zhao Ting was handsome, he had a heroic air about him and a cold, hard temperament. The girl only stole a glance at him before hurriedly lowering her head, not daring to look at him a second time.

The petite girl quietly moved closer to Duan Chen. Seeing that although Duan Chen's expression was blank, he was much gentler than before, she boldly placed her small hands on his arm. She had just softly uttered "Young Master" when Zhao Ting grabbed her and pulled her close, one arm around her waist, and said coldly, "Why aren't you pouring the wine?" The girl was startled and dared not disobey, so she quickly knelt down to pour wine for Zhao Ting.

Seeing that one person had been hired, the man turned to the other three with a fawning smile: "Gentlemen, do you prefer this kind, or something a bit more exciting?"

Zhou Yufei glanced casually out through the half-lifted curtain, then smiled and said, "If you have anything more exciting, hurry up and bring it up. You're making me impatient."

The man exclaimed "Hey!" and then turned to wave outside. Soon, a woman slightly older than the previous girl entered, dressed in a fiery red dress and quite beautiful. As soon as she entered, she gave the group a flirtatious wink, then casually sat down next to Zhou Yufei, poured him a full glass of wine, and brought it to his lips, saying sweetly, "Please, sir."

Seeing that Zhan Yun and Duan Chen did not answer for a long time, the man knew that his previous guess was correct, and he smiled somewhat ambiguously: "These two gentlemen, we also have two men here who can play with you. We guarantee that you two will have a good time."

As he clapped his hands, a girl wearing a light blue dress entered. She looked to be thirteen or fourteen years old, with phoenix eyes, fair skin, and pink lips. However, unlike Duan Chen's aloof demeanor, this girl possessed a delicate and fragile beauty.