Aoyama

Chapter 242 The gangster eats the gangster

"Sir, do you want to open the altar?"

Hearing the word "opening the altar", the shopkeeper looked up and down at the traces behind the counter. Xiaoliu's eyes were darting around, and even Xiaowu, who was lying on the beam, stuck half of his head out.

After a moment, the shopkeeper tugged at the sleeves of his black shirt and said slowly, "Sir, it's been a while since anyone opened a banquet at our Longmen Inn. Do you know the rules for opening a banquet?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "The waiter said earlier that after the pot is opened, the fragrance will spread ten miles away, and it will take great news to be accepted. Besides this, I wonder if there are any other rules?"

The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "Sir, opening a forum is the most important rule of our Longmen Inn. Once it is opened, people will tell others and guests will flock to us. If you can come up with great news, it will be good. If not, the reputation of our inn will be damaged."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "What will happen if you can't get it?"

The shopkeeper stared at the remains for a long time and said, "Skin him and remove his tendons, and hang him on the memorial archway in front of Qiuci Street as a warning to others... But our inn is open for business and we believe in making money through harmony, so I have to ask you a few questions beforehand."

"Just ask."

"Are there any important figures in the news who are of the second rank or above in the Ning and Jing dynasties? Those of the second rank are not counted."

"Have."

"Does it concern the safety of the entire city?"

"Yes."

"Did you experience it personally?"

Chen Ji finally paused, hesitated for two breaths before answering: "Yes."

The shopkeeper's eyes showed something strange: "Since you are so sure, my Dragon Gate Inn will be very lively tomorrow. Oh, and there is one more rule that I need to tell you in advance."

Chen Ji asked: "What rules?"

The shopkeeper's fingers subconsciously rubbed the beads on the abacus: "For any guest who has held an altar in my inn, my inn can provide a secret passage to send the guest and his companions out of Guyuan, so as to avoid the thousands of taels of silver on them being coveted by the powerful."

Chen Ji's eyes narrowed: "Where is the secret passage?"

The shopkeeper raised his hand and pointed downwards: "It's in my Longmen Inn."

Chen Ji asked casually: "Where does it lead to?"

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "My secret passage has two exits, one leading to Taiyuan Prefecture in the heart of Ning Dynasty, and the other leading to Fengsheng Prefecture in Xijing Road of Jing Dynasty. I wonder where you want to go?"

Chen Ji said calmly: "I haven't thought about it yet. I'll tell the shopkeeper when I have thought about it."

The shopkeeper clasped his fists and said, "Okay, I will prepare good wine and delicious food for you tomorrow. I wish you great wealth and prosperity in advance!"

"Thank you, shopkeeper," Chen Ji turned and went upstairs.

Xiao Liu followed the footsteps all the way up to the third floor, and then he turned around to look at the shopkeeper: "What news do you think he wants to sell?"

The shopkeeper seemed to be thinking about something. "I heard that there was a big movement in the border troops and the imperial guards tonight. It might be related to this matter. The only people in Guyuan City who are above the second rank are Hu Junxian and the prince."

Xiao Liu exclaimed, "Who is this guest? It is said that the entire Shache Street was blocked by the border troops tonight. How did he get the news?"

The shopkeeper's eyes sparkled: "It has been said that he is a river dragon... He should have just come to Guyuan and took the official road. You should go and ask your acquaintances in the border army now. Someone must have seen his pass. Remember, you must find out his background. If you can't find out, you don't have to come back."

Xiaoliu's eyes lit up: "Is there such a good thing?"

"roll!"

"Okay," Xiaoliu threw away the white rag on his shoulders, took out a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat from the cabinet behind the counter, and walked out of the inn with the brim of his hat pressed down, braving the wind and frost.

……

……

On the third floor of the inn, Chen Ji stood in front of the door of Room A and rubbed his cheeks. He waited until his nervous expression relaxed before quietly pushing the door.

The wooden door was not bolted from the inside and opened a crack with just a slight push.

He walked in quietly so as not to disturb the sweet dreams of Zhang Zheng and the others.

But when he turned around and closed the door, he saw Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia had sat up from the floor and were staring at him.

Xiaoman, who was originally sitting on a small stool next to the charcoal brazier, has also stood up.

Chen Ji said apologetically, "Did I wake you up?"

Zhang Xia held Wuyun in his arms and said, "We haven't slept yet."

"How can we sleep if you don't come back?" Zhang Zheng got out of bed and picked up a red lacquer food box from the charcoal basin: "I left some food for you. It's been kept warm next to the charcoal basin. Xiaoman, give it to your son."

Xiaoman stood up and wiped the eight-immortal table and chairs in the room with her sleeves, opened the food box, and neatly laid out the plates: scallion-roasted lamb, pot-fried tofu, and a large bowl of white rice. Chen Ji looked at the food on the table and was slightly startled: "Did Brother Zhang save this for me?"

Zhang Zheng hesitated for a moment, then said, "Of course, I guess you've been busy all night and definitely don't have time to eat, so I specifically asked the inn to make it for you."

Xiaoman pouted and muttered, "You're really good at taking credit, as if you've done something great. Even if you don't prepare, I will prepare..."

Zhang Zheng laughed cheerfully and said, "Don't be unconvinced. This time I want to be in front of you, little girl!"

"Brother Zhang, you are rough but meticulous. Thank you very much," Chen Ji sat at the eight-immortals table, picked up a piece of tofu and put it in his mouth, silently pointing to the next door with his chopsticks.

Zhang Xia responded: "The guest next door went out last night and never came back. I don't know where he went."

Chen Ji felt relieved.

Zhang Zheng pulled a chair and sat next to him, asking with great interest, "Where did you go tonight? When the other buyers in the inn saw you leaving in a hurry, they all went to find Qingjiaotou to buy information, which made Qingjiaotou crazy. At first, he sold the information for a few hundred coins, and later he asked for five taels of silver. The buyers were so anxious that they could only accept it. But after buying his information, everyone was still confused and had no idea what the information was for."

Chen Ji swallowed the tofu in his mouth and explained: "The people who collected the gold juice should be the spies of Jing Dynasty. They want to use the gold juice to pollute the well water in the whole city and prepare for the siege."

Zhang Zheng was shocked: "So vicious? Then this Guyuan City..."

Chen Ji hummed: "Don't worry, the border troops have killed all those spies."

Zhang Xia was quick-witted. She stood behind Zhang Zheng and asked in confusion, "Kill them all... leave no one alive?"

Chen Ji looked at her and said, "I caught a border soldier who tipped off the Jing Dynasty spies. It seems that some of the border soldiers are trying to incite a mutiny under the pretext of revenge for Prince Jing."

Zhang Xia frowned and said, "Is it Zhou You? He has a history of inciting mutiny."

Chen Ji shook his head: "Not sure yet..."

At this moment, the dark cloud standing on the window frame meowed.

Someone is coming to the backyard.

Chen Ji's eyes moved, but he was not in a hurry to get up: if he reacted as soon as Wuyun called him, people would probably notice the clues if it took too long.

He thought for a moment and said to Zhang Zheng, "Brother Zhang, do you have any acquaintances in the Eight Great Hutongs?"

Zhang Zheng became excited: "Yes, of course! Mr. Li from Guihuafang, Mr. Zhou from Chunzhilou..."

Xiaoman said disdainfully: "And you still say that you are not full of tricks?"

Zhang Zheng retorted: "Someone just invited me to drink, and we happened to meet there, and we became familiar with each other..."

Zhang Xia said helplessly: "You two have been arguing all night, can you please stop arguing?"

Amid the quarrel, Chen Ji saw that no one was paying attention to him, so he silently carried his bowl to the window, and while eating, he looked towards the backyard through the gap.

Under the bright moonlight, Xiao Wu was limping and leading the two people to the stable quietly. When Xiao Wu arrived in front of the stable, he looked around and after confirming that there was no one, he went into the stable.

Chen Ji lowered his head and winked at Wuyun, who then crawled out of the window and crept along the eaves towards the stable.

Two hours later, Zhang Xia and the others had fallen asleep, only Chen Ji was still guarding the window. Xiao Wu had not come back, perhaps he was taking the "stowaway" through the secret passage, or perhaps...

The next moment, the sound of footsteps on thatch came from the stable. Xiaowu changed into a black cotton jacket, rubbed his frozen hands, hunched his neck, and limped back to the inn.

The dark cloud quietly squeezed back into the house through the window and meowed softly, "It's freezing cold. The innkeeper led the two into the secret passage under the stable. The secret passage was hidden under the thatch and covered with a wooden board. After the innkeeper went in, he could faintly hear screams from the secret passage."

Chen Ji was shocked. There was no secret passage under the stable to leave. It was clearly the slaughterhouse of this black shop!

The shopkeeper said that one of the rules of opening the altar is to provide guests with a secret passage to leave Guyuan, in order to prevent the guests from carrying heavy responsibilities and being targeted by powerful people.

Very thoughtful.

The guests who were unaware of the inside story followed the waiter into the secret passage, but they didn't know that Longmen Inn was the biggest and most powerful black shop in Guyuan City.

Over the years, people have spread the word that Longmen Inn can secretly send people to Jing Dynasty. Those illegal immigrants who came here because of its reputation are probably killed and become the pile of bones under this inn.

and many more.

Could it be that the news that "people can be sent to Jing Dynasty" was spread by the inn itself to fish for fish? If the stowaways want to leave, they must take all their belongings with them...

This Longmen Inn is a place where thieves rob each other in a very creative way!

Wu Yun looked up at Chen Ji: "Are you worried?"

Chen Ji nodded. He was worried. Now that there was no secret passage to leave, if Jing Chao really broke into the city, how would he and Zhang Zheng and others escape safely?

(End of this chapter)