Chapter 275: The Tavern Murder Case

Chapter 275: The Tavern Murder Case

Chapter 275: The Tavern Murder Case (Part )
Near the official road west of Fuzhou city, there is a sparse banyan forest. At the top of the tree stands a wine sign. Behind it are three and a half simple houses, which is a small tavern that has been open for more than ten years. The owner, Lao Cai, has good cooking skills and a kind heart. He is good at cooking spicy Hunan cuisine. Although it is not as good as Zhenhailou in Fuzhou, it is still famous among regular customers.

The firewood on the stove was burning brightly, and the heat lifted the lid of the kettle, making a clanging sound.

The girl in green sat on the bamboo table near the door, propped up her snow-white chin, and stared blankly at the official road outside. It was unknown what she was thinking about. Her thoughts were interrupted by the noisy sound of "clang clang dang dang", and she shouted without turning her head.

"Second Brother, the water is ready!"

Hearing the sound, a white-haired old man came out from the inner room. He was wearing gray cloth clothes, his face was pale, and there were a few black spots on his forehead. He walked briskly to the stove, grabbed the handle of the iron kettle, tilted the long and pointed crane beak slightly, and poured half of the pot of boiling water into the ceramic pot next to it. He then took the gourd ladle and filled it with cold water, and continued to put the stove on.

Pick up the clay pot, hang it on the iron hook hanging from the beam, and wait for it to cool naturally.

"Little Sister, what are you thinking about?"

The smile on Yue Lingshan's face gradually faded: "I'm thinking about... Qingcheng Sect."

Upon hearing this, Lao Denuo's face became serious. "Some time ago, a group of men with Sichuan accents passed by here. They were all martial artists. From the looks of it, I think the Qingcheng Sect will take action soon."

Yue Lingshan asked, "We should go to the city to take action. Why are you leaving a few people outside the city? You have been hanging around the wine shop these past two days. Could it be that you have discovered our identities?"

At this time, both of them changed their appearance, Yue Lingshan dressed up as an ugly woman, and Lao Denuo dressed up as a white-haired old man, claiming to be father and daughter who had returned to their hometown after many years away from home.

Lao Denuo shook his head and said, "I explored the area last night. Not only here, but also on the four roads in the city, east, west, south, and north, there are Qingcheng Sect's hidden spies. Fuwei Escort Agency is completely trapped."

Yue Lingshan nodded and said, "It seems that Yu the Dwarf wants to catch the turtle in the jar. Second Senior Brother, how about we help him?"

"How can we help? The Qingcheng Sect has such a thorough arrangement, they don't need us, right?"

Laudno pretended to be confused.

Yue Lingshan said helplessly: "Second Brother, what are you thinking about? If you want to help, then help the Fuwei Escort Agency. After all, I also received a favor from them at the Jianghai Dragon God Meeting that night."

Lao Denuo quickly shook his head and said, "Junior Sister, this is absolutely not allowed."

"Why not?"

"Master only ordered you and me to investigate secretly. Before we left, he told us not to reveal our identities. Besides, the Qingcheng Sect is the largest sect in Shu, with a long history and strong power. It is also in the ranks of the righteous. Although my elder brother had some conflicts with the Four Young Masters of Qingcheng in Hanzhong, the two families are still friends after all. How can we offend Songfeng Temple for a mere Fuwei Escort Agency?"

The Qingcheng Sect suffers from the fact that it is located in the remote Bashu area, and its reputation in the martial arts world is not as good as that of the Huashan Sect, but it is quite powerful. Yu Canghai is even more vicious and decisive. Even Alliance Leader Zuo speaks highly of him. Naturally, Lao Denuo does not want to get into such trouble.

In the past few years, the Huashan Sect has experienced ups and downs, and Yue Lingshan has experienced the fickleness of the world. Although she still has a chivalrous heart and a sense of right and wrong, she is not the ignorant girl at the foot of Hengshan Mountain after all, otherwise Yue Ning and the others would not have let her come to Fujian at ease.

"It's just... Daddy always taught us that when we travel the world, chivalry should come first."

Yue Lingshan sighed softly. The sky had been bright and sunny before, but at some point it became a little gloomy.

Lao Denuo continued, "Think about it, Junior Sister. Which of the Nangong family in Guanzhong and the Demonic Cult Yunyutan is easy to deal with? If we add the Qingcheng Sect, the Huashan Sect will really be surrounded by enemies."

"Master Brother taught a lesson to the evil Qingcheng Sect disciples in Hanzhong. Master, didn't you know that he was doing it out of chivalry? Why did you punish Master Brother with a stick and send me to Sichuan to apologize?"

Yue Lingshan sighed softly: "Second Brother, please stop talking, I understand."

To put it bluntly, in the eyes of the people in Jianghu, Fuwei Escort Agency is a rabbit that is neither black nor white, while Qingcheng Sect is a jackal foraging in the jungle. It is not wise to offend the fierce wolf for the sake of the weak rabbit. It is just that the way of chivalry has become to treat people differently. Yue Lingshan was puzzled. The distinction between good and evil did not seem to be as clear-cut as her father said.

The sky outside became a little gloomier, but there were no dark clouds in the sky.

“Jingjing!”

The sound of horse hooves came from the official road.

Laudno became alert: "Someone is coming!"

Yue Lingshan leaned over and looked over: "Is it a hidden agent of the Qingcheng Sect?"

"Come into the house quickly, so that no one can see anything unusual."

The two men put away the bamboo table and went back into the house.

"Shut up!"

Zhang Yu pulled the reins tightly, and the Jade Lion of Zhaoye stopped. After eating the old bear's gall, the beast became extremely excited and restless, running wildly all the way and could not be stopped.

"See if you still dare to eat anything you want, regardless of whether it's meat or vegetables."

He looked up at the wine sign on the tree, and saw a few simple wooden houses in front of the banyan tree. He lowered his head and patted the cloth bag wrapped with two front bear paws. He had been in the mountains for three days to practice Tibetan swordsmanship, and he had not had a good meal. It was past noon, and Fuzhou City had been closely monitored by the Qingcheng Sect. He did not want to enter the city for the time being.

Zhang Yu loosened the reins and let Zhaoye Jade Lion go to the forest to find herbs to eat.

"Shopkeeper, why haven't you come out to greet customers yet?"

He held the bear paw in his hand and walked slowly into the wine shop.

The girl in green was standing next to the wine stove. When she heard the familiar voice, her hand holding the bamboo sieve trembled. She looked outside through the gap in the window lattice and saw a man in a black robe and a bamboo hat standing by the door. Although she couldn't see his face, his figure was extremely familiar.

"he came."

Yue Lingshan looked at the large vat beside her. The water was as clear as a mirror. The girl had a graceful figure but an ugly appearance. The right side of her face was half oily and full of pits and even the left side of her face was sallow with black spots.

"You probably won't recognize me."

She felt complicated. She wanted Zhang Yu not to recognize her, but she also wanted him to recognize her.

"Cough cough~"

A cough was heard from the inner hall.

Zhang Yu sat down at the door and threw his two bear paws on the table in front of him. He heard a cough and after a while, he saw a white-haired old man walking out from the inner hall. When he saw the visitor, he was stunned for a moment.

"Sir, please take a seat. What kind of wine would you like to drink?"

"What kind of wine do you have?"

"There is only the Bamboo Leaf Green."

"What are you talking about? Just sift two kilograms and bring them here."

"Would you like some snacks?"

"First pick up a few of the things you have, and then take care of these bear paws."

Zhang Yu untied the cloth bag, revealing two furry black paws. The claws were as sharp as hooks, with neatly cut surfaces and still bleeding. Each bear paw was the size of two adult palms, which was truly rare in the world.

The white-haired old man looked embarrassed and said, "This is a treasure from the mountains. I am not a good cook and our shop does not have all the ingredients. If I don't handle it properly, I'm afraid it will be wasted. How about we go to Fuzhou City and ask a chef to cook it?"

The girl in green came over with her head down, carrying a pot of hot Bamboo Leaf Green Tea. After putting it down on the table, she turned around and left.

Zhang Yu saw the ugly woman in green, and then looked at the old man and the young man. He suddenly understood and chuckled, "Strange, are you unwilling to do business that is delivered to your door?"

The white-haired old man smiled and said, "It's not that we don't want to do business with you, but we are afraid that if there is any misconduct, we won't be able to afford the compensation."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Go ahead and cook it. You don't have to pay for it if it doesn't turn out well."

"Bear paws need to be cooked slowly, which will take at least two hours."

Zhang Yu smiled faintly and said, "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. I can wait."

Lao Denuo groaned in his heart. This evil spirit insisted on staying here. It seemed that he could not get rid of it. Although the two of them had put on makeup and disguised themselves, it would take a long time and there was no guarantee that they would be foolproof. If their identities were discovered, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Is there anything else you can do?"

"No, no, please enjoy your meal."

Laodenuo could only take the bear paws back to the kitchen and wash them with boiling water...

"How old is this bear?"

Yue Lingshan asked in confusion: "It's black, and looks like it has thick skin and hard meat. What's so delicious about it?"

"This is a treasure from the mountains. Once it is cooked, it is no less valuable than dragon liver and phoenix marrow."

The people of Laudeno are experienced and have learned some skills from all walks of life. Although his cooking skills are not that of a master, they are enough to support this wine house. It’s just that this is the first time for him to cook such precious bear paws.

(End of this chapter)