Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 51 The Murderer

After a moment of silence, Jiang Xun suddenly raised his head and looked at Shen San.

"And you? You've helped me so much, what do you want?"

Shen San looked at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"I don't want anything," he said. "You are Shen Bufan's successor, so it's only right that I help you."

Jiang Xun didn't believe it.

Having spent so many years navigating the streets, he understood one thing best: there's no such thing as a free lunch.

But since Shen San wouldn't say, he couldn't force him to.

After a moment of silence, Shen San suddenly took something out of his pocket and placed it on the table. It was a thin booklet with three words written on the cover: "The Dragon Taming Manual".

"What is this?"

"Although Lao Yu helped you lock your internal energy, you still don't know how to really control it," Shen San said. "This technique will help you use your internal energy better."

Jiang Xun picked up the booklet and flipped through it casually. It contained many human figures drawn inside, marked with densely packed meridians and acupoints. It looked somewhat similar to Yu Xiaoyi's meridian chart, but much more complex. He looked up at Shen San.

Shen San then took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"This is the Suppressing Profound Pill. It can temporarily suppress the internal energy within you. Your current internal energy is almost depleted. Taking this will allow you to hold on for a while longer."

Jiang Xun looked at the porcelain vase, then at the booklet, and suddenly smiled.

"So, if I don't agree to go to Qiantang, you're not planning to take these things out?"

Shen San didn't deny it, he just smiled.

Jiang Xun cursed the old fox in his heart, but he couldn't say anything. What they gave him was genuine.

He tucked the booklet and porcelain bottle into his coat pocket and stood up.

"Then I'm leaving."

"So fast?"

"Okay." Jiang Xun nodded. "There's nothing to pack. Just tell Lao Yu for me."

"Alright then." Shen San looked at him.

Jiang Xun turned to leave, but after taking only one step, he suddenly turned back: "Uncle, I have a question for you. Where did the people from Xingxiu Sea go after leaving the Gu family?"

…………

In the north of Yunzhou City, there is an inconspicuous inn called "Ping An Inn".

The name is so common that you can find it everywhere, but this inn has a unique feature—there is a row of separate rooms in the backyard, separated from the front by a moon gate. It is quiet and secluded, suitable for guests who do not want to be disturbed.

A few days ago, a group of people booked the entire backyard.

The shopkeeper's surname was Zhou. He was in his forties, shrewd, and had been in this business for twenty years. He had seen all sorts of people.

But this group of people made him feel uneasy.

They arrived at night, cloaked so their faces were obscured. The young leader had a sinister look in his eyes and spoke with a ruthless edge.

"We've taken over the backyard; no one is allowed in." The young man tossed out a silver ingot. "Just have the meals delivered to the door every day; you don't need to come inside to clean."

Manager Zhou took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be a full twenty taels.

"Yes, yes, rest assured, sir, our shop will certainly comply." He smiled, but his heart was pounding—this group of people didn't seem like good people.

For the next few days, the backyard gate remained closed.

Manager Zhou would have his waiter deliver the food to the door every day, knock three times, and the person inside would open the door to take it without saying a word.

Xiao Er was also puzzled—this group had booked the courtyard for several days, and he had never seen them go out.

Wouldn't it be suffocating to be locked up inside during the day?

But he was just a waiter, so he didn't dare to ask or think too much about it.

It was still dark that day.

The waiter was dozing off at the counter when he suddenly heard footsteps outside, followed by the inn's door being pushed open.

The young man led a dozen or so figures in single file, carrying a faint smell of blood.

They didn't linger and went straight to the backyard.

Not long after, the young man returned to the front yard with eight or nine people, and left without saying a word.

The waiter didn't dare to ask any more questions and just pretended to be asleep.

When it got light, Manager Zhou heard about the incident, frowned, and said to the waiter, "Mind your own business and just do your own thing."

The waiter nodded repeatedly.

Manager Zhou recalled the news he had just heard—the entire Gu family had been wiped out, and the murderer had not yet been caught.

He had a vague feeling that this group of people were related to the case, but as an innkeeper, how could he dare to get involved in such a thing?

"It's better to avoid trouble." He sighed and continued working on his abacus.

Just after 9:00 AM, a young man walked into the inn.

He was wearing a gray long gown that was neither new nor old, and a straw hat that covered half of his face.

But Manager Zhou still noticed that the man looked very unwell, haggard, with sunken eyes, as if he hadn't slept for several nights.

"Sir, would you like a meal or a room?" Manager Zhou asked with a smile.

"Find someone." The voice was hoarse, carrying an unyielding coldness.

The young man walked straight to the backyard, his pace unhurried, as if he already knew the way.

Manager Zhou was stunned for a moment, and wanted to stop him, but looking at that back, he swallowed his words.

The less trouble, the better.

He lowered his head and continued working on the abacus, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

This young man was none other than Jiang Xun.

After getting a place to stay in Xingxiu Sea from Shen San, he came here immediately.

Although he couldn't beat those people, he couldn't swallow this insult.

But he wasn't stupid enough to just go to their door.

He touched the oil paper packet in his sleeve—it was a sleeping potion left to him by his master, the master thief, ten times stronger than the ordinary one, colorless and odorless.

It was originally meant for emergencies, but I never got to use it.

Now, he stood outside the back gate, listening intently to what was happening inside.

A few snores, sometimes loud, sometimes soft—these murderers were sleeping.

Jiang Xun didn't go inside; instead, he went around to the kitchen.

He had already inquired and found out that the people of Xingxiuhai had their children deliver meals to their door every day.

He opened the oil paper package, inside was a pinch of grayish-white powder, as fine as flour, with no smell whatsoever.

He poured the powder into the copper kettle, gave it a gentle shake, and the powder dissolved, while the hot water showed no change whatsoever.

"Master's things are indeed extraordinary," Jiang Xun thought to himself, put the copper pot back in its place, and turned to leave the kitchen.

At noon, the waiter delivered the food and tea to the back gate on time. He knocked three times, and sure enough, someone opened the door and took the food inside without saying a word.

Jiang Xun waited outside the courtyard wall for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and when there was no more movement inside, he jumped over and went inside.

Four people were lying on their sides in the courtyard, all dressed in black tight-fitting clothes with weapons hanging from their waists.

Jiang Xun recognized two of them—he had fought them at the Gu residence the previous night. He dragged them into the house one by one, then woke one of them up.

A bucket of cold water was poured on his face. The man opened his eyes abruptly and instinctively tried to struggle, only to find that his hands and feet were tied and his mouth was stuffed with a strip of cloth.

Jiang Xun squatted down in front of him, his face expressionless.

"I'll ask, you answer." The voice was calm. "Nod or shake your head. If you dare shout, I'll cut out your tongue."

The man's eyes widened, filled with both shock and anger.

Jiang Xun pulled a strip of cloth out of his mouth a little.

Where is Li Fei?

The man gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Jiang Xun didn't waste any words, took out a dagger from his pocket, and gently patted his face.

"I'll ask you one more time, where did Li Fei go?"

The cold blade pressed against his skin, and the man began to tremble.

"They...they're gone..." he stammered.

"Where did you go?"

"N-no... I don't know. The young sect leader said he had something to do and left overnight with most of his men."

"What's the point of keeping you here?"

"Looking for...looking for you." The man's eyes darted around.

Jiang Xun sneered, "Looking for me? What do you want?"

"The young sect leader said... said that you know about the major events at Xingxiu Sea, and that you cannot be allowed to stay."

Jiang Xun's gaze turned cold.

Their big deal—to slaughter the entire Gu family—is that their big deal?

"What else did Li Fei say?"

"No...that's all."

I asked a few more questions. This guy was just a lackey; he really didn't know anything more.

Jiang Xun stuffed the cloth strip back into his mouth and slapped him on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

He stood up, looked at the four unconscious people on the ground, and had an idea.

That noon, the people of Yunzhou City discovered something strange.

Four naked people appeared in front of the Gu family's gate.

They were hanging under the eaves, swaying back and forth like four salted fish.

Everyone blushed with shame, their mouths stuffed with rags, unable to utter a sound.

What's even stranger is that each person also had a piece of paper tied to their body, with a single word written on it.

From left to right, the four characters together form—

Murderer, murderer, killer.