Chapter 216

Chapter 216

Chen Qingyan, looking utterly exhausted, said, "Let's go inside first before we talk."

The group entered the house, and Li Shi's heart pounded with fear. "What on earth happened?"

Chen Qingyan took a deep breath before recounting the events in detail.

They had originally planned to continue their journey that day, eager to return to Jizhou. However, as they approached Linzhao, the accompanying soldiers suggested finding a place to rest for a day.

Days of continuous travel had left everyone weary. Moreover, it was New Year's Eve, so Chen Qingyan agreed to a day of rest, deciding to find an inn for some warm wine to ward off the chill.

The group detoured to a nearby town. Upon entering and inquiring about an inn, the locals were evasive and reluctant to offer any information.

Initially, everyone assumed the townspeople were simply reserved and unwelcoming. Since the town was small, they found the only inn in less than fifteen minutes.

The innkeeper was quite elderly, and it seemed they hadn't had guests in a long time, making him exceptionally enthusiastic. He eagerly helped with the horses and luggage.

Chen Qingyan chatted with him, learning that the inn was a family business. His two sons managed the kitchen, his son-in-law handled the front desk, and he and his wife were responsible for cleaning rooms and greeting guests.

"Thank you, old sir. Since it's New Year's Eve, please prepare extra meat dumplings for these soldiers, a few pounds of good mutton, and five pounds of fine wine." Chen Qingyan pulled a piece of silver from his pocket and handed it to him.

"Excellent, excellent! Please wait a moment, guests. I'll go prepare everything right away!"

While the subordinates settled into their rooms, Chen Qingyan, with nothing else to do, wandered around the inn's main hall. A stove kept the room comfortably warm.

In a corner sat a five- or six-year-old child, wearing a drab gray padded jacket, with a runny nose, playing with a small cat.

The kitten was only a few months old, its meows tender and adorable. Chen Qingyan couldn't resist approaching and asking, "Is this your cat?"

Startled by the stranger's voice, the child grabbed the cat by the head and turned to run. Chen Qingyan stopped him, saying, "You can't hold a cat like that; you'll kill it."

"This cat is going to die anyway," the little boy said innocently, sniffing his runny nose.

"Why?"

"Dad said I have to strangle it before I can eat."

Chen Qingyan frowned slightly, initially thinking the family lacked food and intended to eat the cat. "This cat is so small. Wouldn't it be better to raise it to catch mice?"

"I don't want to kill it either, but Dad said I have to kill it to get food." The child wiped his nose with his sleeve and suddenly flashed a chilling smile. "You're the same."

"You little rascal, what are you doing there?" The innkeeper suddenly appeared, pulling his grandson away. "Don't listen to this child's nonsense. Is there anything else you need, guest?"

"Please heat up a few more pots of hot water for me. We've been traveling for so long and haven't had time to bathe. Since it's New Year's Eve, it's a good time to get clean."

"Certainly, I'll go boil the water for you right away."

After the innkeeper left, Chen Qingyan was about to return to his room to rest when his peripheral vision caught what looked like half a cat's tail near the stove. He walked over and nudged it with his foot—it was indeed a cat's tail. A sudden wave of disgust and an unsettling feeling instantly rose within him.

Back in the room, Chen Ju and Chen Zhandong were making the beds. "How long has it been since someone stayed in this room? Why does it smell so bad?"

Chen Zhandong said, "Perhaps it's because this place is remote, and not many guests come here."

"But it's too dirty. Who knows how long it's been since these quilts were washed?"

"Alright, we're only staying for one day and leaving tomorrow. Don't be too particular."

After making the beds, the two went to tidy up the other rooms. Chen Qingyan had requested five rooms in total: one for himself, one for Chen Ju and Chen Zhandong to share, and the remaining rooms for the soldiers, with two sharing each.

Perhaps the boy's strange behavior earlier had made Chen Qingyan suspicious, so he meticulously examined the room.

Suddenly, he noticed many dark brown spots splattered on the corner of the wall, resembling long-dried bloodstains. In the past, Chen Qingyan might not have paid attention, but ever since he experienced a battle in Liangzhou, he had become hyper-aware of blood—the dried bloodstains on the city walls looked just like this.

He scraped off a bit with his fingernail, crushed it into powder, and smelled it. There was no scent; it seemed to have been there for some time, making it impossible to confirm whether it was blood or not. Nevertheless, it put Chen Qingyan on high alert—this place might not be as safe as he had imagined.

He bolted the door and entered his experimental field. On the table were plenty of food items, likely all prepared by A Ying. He ended up having his New Year's feast in the experimental field. The homemade dumplings tasted just right; he could tell by the taste that Aunt Chen had mixed the filling.

After finishing his meal and leaving the experimental field, the inn's food was also ready. Since Chen Qingyan was already full, he didn't eat any.

He decided to find the boy he had encountered earlier to ask a few questions, feeling that the child seemed to know something. Arriving at the backyard where the carts were parked, he saw an old woman washing clothes. Chen Qingyan approached and asked, "Granny, washing clothes in such cold weather?"

The old woman looked up, gave him a chilling glance, and said nothing. Chen Qingyan found the family even more peculiar. Glancing down at the clothes in the old woman's hands, his pupils suddenly constricted—the garment was made of brocade!

This kind of fabric was unaffordable for ordinary families. He had heard that a single bolt cost hundreds of silver taels. Back in Jizhou, Madam Qin had gifted them two bolts, but A Ying couldn't bring herself to use them, storing them away in the experimental field instead. How could they have brocade here?!

Something was wrong—this inn was definitely a den of thieves!

Chen Qingyan hurried back to the main hall and called out to Chen Ju and Chen Zhandong, "Come inside, I have something to tell you."

The two put down their chopsticks and followed Chen Qingyan into the room. "I suspect this is a black inn. Go tell the soldiers to avoid eating the food here as much as possible. Stay alert, and if anything seems off, leave immediately!"

The two nodded gravely upon hearing this. If their master said so, he must have discovered something. They had no reason to doubt him and quickly ran out to quietly relay the message to the soldiers.

The soldiers laughed it off, paying no heed to their words. With their numbers and strength, how could this inn full of old folks and children possibly pose a threat? The idea was almost laughable.

"Better safe than sorry. Let's drink less today to avoid any trouble."

The leading soldier laughed as he patted Chen Zhandong's shoulder, "Don't worry, brother. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility. We finally have a day off—let's keep drinking!"

Seeing that their advice was ignored, the two hurried back to report to Chen Qingyan. These soldiers weren't under Chen Qingyan's command; they had been temporarily assigned from Shanzhou, so there was little he could do.

"Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Let them drink for now. There's still dry food in the packs. You two go back to your room and rest. I'll call if anything happens."

"Yes." Their room was right next door, so they would hear if anything happened.

They rested like this until nightfall. The soldiers, completely wasted, were taken to their rooms to sleep. Chen Qingyan, worried about the day's events and wanting to see his family that night, stayed awake.

Around midnight, he suddenly heard a series of shuffling footsteps, followed by clanging sounds from the adjacent rooms.

Chen Qingyan sat up abruptly and quietly opened the door to look outside.

In the dim moonlight, he saw three or four people entering the soldiers' rooms. One of them, slightly hunched over, was indeed the elderly innkeeper from earlier that day.

They were inside for a moment before dull grunts echoed from the room. Soon after, they emerged carrying the soldiers' heads.

Chen Qingyan trembled in fear, accidentally bumping against the door, making a thud.

The group immediately turned to look.

Chen Qingyan instantly ducked into his experimental field. The old man rubbed his eyes, saw no one at the door, and assumed he had imagined it. Turning around, he urged his son, "Hurry up and kill them. The knock-out drops will wear off soon, and we might not be able to control these men."

The two entered the other two rooms, stabbing the soldiers in the neck with a wet thud. Blood splattered everywhere, and just like that, the six accompanying soldiers were silently killed.

When they reached Chen Qingyan's room, the innkeeper first knocked on the door. "Guest, are you asleep?"

After waiting for a while with no response, he had his son break the door down. To their surprise, there was no one inside!

The commotion naturally woke the people in the adjacent room. Chen Ju and Chen Zhandong rushed out with wooden poles in hand. "What are you doing?!"

The innkeeper exclaimed, "There are two more who didn't get drugged yet!"

His two sons, wielding machetes, immediately charged forward. Covered in blood and with faces twisted like hellish demons, they terrified Chen Ju so much that he almost dropped his weapon and bolted.

Chen Zhandong, quick-thinking, shouted angrily, "Do you know who we are? If you kill us, the officials will hunt you down!"

The old man sneered, "I don't care who you are. Once you're here, don't expect to leave alive. We'll pick your bones clean, and the authorities won't find a trace!"

Armed with deadly weapons, they were no match for these guys. As the two men closed in, just when all hope seemed lost, Chen Qingyan suddenly appeared out of nowhere, rushing over to pull them both into the experimental field.

The people outside freaked out. "Ah! Ahhh! Where did they go? Where are they?"

"Could it be ghosts?"

"Nonsense! Even ghosts can't escape! Search carefully!"

Inside the experimental field, the two were still in shock. Chen Qingyan had not wanted to use the teleportation function, but now he had no choice. The soldiers escorting him were dead, and the horses and carriages were in the hands of these killers. On foot, there was no way to return.

After a moment's thought, he activated the field's teleport feature, bringing Chen Ju and Chen Zhandong directly to their doorstep.

Hearing the whole story, the entire family broke out in cold sweats. If not for the experimental field, they would surely have been done for that day.

Seeing her husband pale and trembling, Wang Ying knew he was truly shaken up. "It's late now. Everyone should go back to their rooms and rest. We can discuss this tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, go get some sleep first."

Chen Ju and Chen Zhandong returned to their respective rooms.

Wang Ying called out to Chen Qingsong, "Tomorrow, find a way to get your brother and the others replacement city passes. Don’t let anyone catch them without documentation."

"Alright."

Back in the rear courtyard, Chen Qingyan could no longer hold back and vomited violently. Having witnessed a brutal murder and nearly becoming a victim himself, he had been running on fumes.

Wang Ying felt awful for him. Patting his back, she said, "If you had teleported back earlier, you wouldn’t have suffered so much."

"Those criminals must have taken countless lives... This can't just end like this. I need to write a letter to Shanzhou and have them send people to investigate and deal with these men!"

"Go to sleep first. You can write it tomorrow!"

After washing up, Chen Qingyan lay in bed, still trembling slightly as he held Wang Ying's hand.

Wang Ying sighed and embraced him. Leaning against each other, Chen Qingyan finally calmed down completely, whimpering, "I almost thought I wouldn’t see you again today."

"Now that you know fear, you won’t be so reckless next time."

"Ah... It's just a pity about those men. If I had realized sooner, they wouldn’t have died."

Wang Ying said, "Don’t dwell on it. It wasn’t your fault. You're lucky to be alive. Leave the rest to others to handle."

Exhausted from days of travel and the night's harrowing experience, Chen Qingyan's nerves finally gave out. The moment he let his guard down, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.