Love Lock

Chapter 268 Burying the Corpse
"Come back! Don't be afraid!" Tang Xiaotong gave him a reassuring look.

Inside the warehouse, Da Jiu and the six members of the Da Zi team had already quickly finished their task.

Da Jiu got up, kicked aside the embroidered spring knife at his feet, led his team out of the storeroom, and tilted his head at Tang Xiaotong: "What are you still doing here? Those people in the front yard who heard the noise are enough to give you a hard time."

"Oh, yes yes yes!"

Tang Xiaotong suddenly remembered that there were still guests outside! If the commotion here attracted those people to come to the backyard to investigate, it would be troublesome.

He grabbed Afu's hand and walked away, saying, "I'll go take a look ahead first."

Watching Tang Xiaotong's hurried departure, Da Jiu suppressed his excitement and curled his lips in disdain.

So what if they were the emperor's secret guards? They couldn't even withstand a single bullet.

He waved to his team members, "Go to the hut and get some sacks to clean up the battlefield."

"Yes!"

The team members responded in unison, their faces filled with undisguised excitement.

They had served in the Beiguan military camp for many years, narrowly escaping death in every major battle. In their last encounter, they fell into a coma due to an infected wound and were sentenced to death by the army doctor.

If it weren't for the princess's righteous intervention, they would probably have already received a ten-tael silver pension.

But in this battle, they faced a numerically superior enemy without any pressure, and their chances of winning were at their maximum.

The only regret is that they didn't get to fight enough before the battle ended.

They all secretly hoped that the emperor would send more secret guards to let them practice their marksmanship in real combat.

It turned out that the weather was clear and sunny this morning, and Da Jiu was itching to practice his marksmanship, so he took them by carriage to a deserted place in the suburbs.

Unexpectedly, the weather turned against us in the afternoon. After practicing for a short while, dark clouds gathered and a north wind suddenly picked up, making it look like it was going to snow.

Everyone hurriedly boarded the carriages to return to the city. As soon as they entered Zhuque Street, the walkie-talkies on their waists came through the voices from Jinxiufang.

Upon hearing that someone wanted to search Jinxiufang's storeroom, the brothers of the Big Character Team tensed up and exchanged glances.

After thinking for a moment, Da Jiu immediately ordered the coachman to rein in the horses at the back gate of Jinxiufang.

Six or seven men filed off the carriage, took off their boots, and, wearing only cotton socks, tiptoed over the wall to enter.

When they rushed into the backyard of Jinxiufang, it was just in time for a critical moment—if they had been even half a step later, it might have caused a great disaster.

In the backyard, Da Jiu and the others found sacks and began cleaning up the battlefield.

The stench of blood had not yet dissipated when the bodies of the guards were stuffed into sacks one by one.

One by one, the blood-stained sacks were thrown over the wall in the silent cooperation of the crowd, and then the sound of the carriage wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs quickly disappeared at the end of the alley.

The front hall, however, presents a completely different scene.

In the front hall, the menacing guards arrived with knives to search the premises, causing a stir among the customers of Jinxiufang.

Some timid customers, not wanting to get into trouble, left immediately.

But some people, unafraid of making things worse, stayed in Jinxiufang to watch the excitement, while some onlookers peeked inside from the entrance.

Tang Xiaotong rushed over from the backyard, her face already plastered with her signature smile.

"Distinguished guests, you have been startled!" He bowed as he strode quickly through the hall, the hem of his moon-white robe swaying gently with his movements.

"Manager Tang, what happened? Why are there firecrackers suddenly going off in the backyard?"

Mr. Wang, who was accompanying his wife to choose a dowry for their daughter, stroked his beard and asked a question, but his eyes kept glancing at the curtain leading to the backyard.

Because the M16 was equipped with a silencer, the continuous "bang bang bang" of gunfire sounded like firecrackers to the people in the front hall.

Tang Xiaotong deals with customers every day, so he's naturally quick-witted. Upon hearing this, he slapped his thigh, his young face crinkling with laughter.

"Oh dear, my Lord Wang, what could have happened? It's just that those officials investigating the case accidentally knocked over the lanterns and lit the few firecrackers left over from the New Year."

Mr. Wang nodded. "Oh, I see. I thought something had happened!"

Tang Xiaotong took a few steps closer, gave Master Wang a knowing look, and lowered her voice, saying, "You know, these days government officials are highly valued. But for us small business owners, if we don't handle things properly, people will come knocking on our door to cause trouble, right?"

Upon hearing this, several female guests nearby covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and chuckled.

The young lady in the apricot-colored ruqun joked, "Manager Tang is right. 'Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants,' who made you the last in line? You have to bow and scrape to everyone you meet, and be inferior to others."

“Madam Li, you’ve hit the nail on the head.” Tang Xiaotong spread her hands, feigning grievance. “Our Jinxiufang is a legitimate business, and our owner is the eldest son of Prime Minister Wei…”

He deliberately emphasized the words "Prime Minister Wei," glanced towards the backyard, and complained pointedly, "But you see, isn't it still someone looking for an excuse to cause trouble?"

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a dark blue long gown suddenly interjected: "Manager Tang, that piece of brocade I ordered last month..."

"Don't worry, Lord Zhang!" Tang Xiaotong immediately turned to the speaker, displaying her excellent interpersonal skills: "The moon-white brocade you requested just arrived yesterday, and I specially reserved it for you!"

As he spoke, he called out to the back of the counter, "Little Liu, bring the goods ordered for Master Zhang!"

Xiao Liuzi agreed and immediately went to fetch the goods. Tang Xiaotong's eyes twitched, and her smile widened as she looked at Master Wang.

“Master Wang, please accompany Madam while she makes her selections. Perhaps our master didn’t handle things well enough with the officials, which is why they’ve come looking for trouble. I’ll go and arrange some food and wine to entertain them.”

Tang Xiaotong called out to Afu, "Afu, go to Tengyunlou and book two tables of top-class food! Remember to order their signature dishes."

Afu, who was already somewhat at a loss, felt as if he had been granted a pardon upon hearing Tang Xiaotong's order, and hurriedly went to Tengyun Tower to book a table.

"Manager Tang certainly knows how to handle people," the woman in the crimson dress remarked meaningfully.

Tang Xiaotong smiled wryly and cupped his hands in greeting: "Madam Liu, you are wise. Doing business these days is not easy. You can't skimp on the things that need to be done, like bribing officials and showing respect."

As he spoke, he took out a box of newly arrived embroidery thread from under the counter. "The Suzhou embroidery gold thread you asked about last time, I specially saved it for you."

Seeing that Manager Tang was still welcoming and seeing off guests as usual, the guests assumed that the guards from earlier were just troublemakers because the owner of Jinxiufang hadn't taken good care of them.

The atmosphere in the shop gradually became lively again, with customers continuing to select fabrics and discussing the government's behavior in small groups.

Seeing that nothing serious had happened, the crowd of onlookers outside gradually dispersed.

"If you ask me," Master Wang stroked his beard and shook his head, "these servants are..."

"Master Wang!" Tang Xiaotong suddenly raised his voice, smiling as he handed over a cup of fresh tea. "Try this, it's top-quality pre-rain Longjing tea." While accepting the tea, he subtly shook his head.

Master Wang understood and changed the subject: "...You're just a little too conscientious. Manager Tang, that chiffon yarn I wanted..." "It's all prepared for you!" Tang Xiaotong replied briskly.

Then, he bowed to the assembled guests and said, "I'm sorry to have startled you all today. All the fabrics will be 10% off! Xiao Liu, bring out the newly arrived Yunzhou soft silk gauze for the ladies to see!"

The bloodshed in the backyard seemed to have never existed, and the front hall returned to its usual bustling state. Only when Tang Xiaotong turned around did the slight trembling of her fingers inside her sleeve betray a hint of unspoken tension.

While Tang Xiaotong was skillfully entertaining the guests at Jinxiufang, Da Jiu and the others had already driven the carriage filled with corpses to a small earthen mound in the suburbs where they usually practiced their marksmanship.

Da Jiu rubbed his hands, which were numb from the cold, and exhaled a puff of white breath: "This godforsaken place, even birds don't want to stay here for long."

He looked up at the gray sky, where a few withered leaves were swept up by the cold wind and fell onto the roof of the carriage.

"Hurry up." Da Jiu tightened his thin coat, his voice low and urgent. "We have to finish this before dark."

In silence, the crowd carried the piled-up corpses out of the carriage one by one.

The bodies dressed in the uniforms of secret guards were lined up on the ground, like a group of eerie sculptures.

Da Shiliu suddenly sneezed, rubbing his nose and muttering, "Maybe I caught a cold."

"Bear with it." Da Jiu glared at him. "Why hasn't the person who went to borrow the hoe and shovel come back yet?"

As they were talking, the sound of hurried footsteps came from afar.

Two members of the team stumbled over, carrying hoes and shovels. One of them, panting, said, "Ninth Brother, we had to run to three villages to borrow them..."

"Enough talk, let's get to work." Da Jiu took the hoe and found a soft patch of ground in the grass. "I'll stay here! You guys find yourselves."

The sound of the hoe cutting into the frozen soil was particularly dull. Da Shiqi was wiping sweat as he dug when suddenly his hoe struck something hard with a clang.

"Damn it..." he muttered as he pushed aside the withered grass that was taller than a person in front of him, and suddenly froze.

"Ninth Brother! Ninth Brother! Come and see!" His voice rose in surprise.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him.

Da Jiu threw down his hoe and strode over, the dry grass rustling under his boots. "What's going on?"

Big Seventeen stared wide-eyed and pointed ahead: "There...there's a hole here..."

Hole?!

The crowd gathered around.

Da Shiqi pushed aside the dense weeds, and a dark cave entrance suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes.

The soil around the edge of the cave entrance was very fresh, as if it had just been dug up recently. The entrance was wide enough for two people to walk in and out side by side.

The entrance to the cave was hidden by dense withered grass. If Da Shiqi hadn't chosen this place to dig a pit and bury the body, this concealed entrance would never have been discovered.

The cold wind rushed into the cave, making a strange howling sound.

Da Shiliu shrank his neck: "This...could it be...a wolf's den?"

Da Shisan rolled his eyes at him. "Have you ever seen a wolf den this tall?"

Da Jiu squinted and pulled a tinderbox from his pocket. As the flame flickered, several fresh scratch marks could be faintly seen on the inner wall of the cave entrance.

“It doesn’t look like it,” he said in a low voice. “These marks… look like they were dug by someone.”

Da Shisan took a solar lamp from the carriage, and Da Jiu held it up and shone it into the cave. The bright white light seemed to be swallowed by the darkness, only illuminating a distance of a dozen meters ahead.

"This cave is interesting! It looks really deep." He stroked the newly sprouted stubble on his chin. "Come on, let's go in and take a look."

As Da Jiu spoke, he stepped inside, holding up the solar-powered lamp, and the other members of the Da Zi team followed curiously behind.

The cave was even colder and darker, and after walking for a while, some people started to give up.

"Ninth Brother, it's getting dark." Da Shi, wearing a sheepskin coat, rubbed his hands together, his breath condensing in the cold air. "Judging by the sky, it looks like it's going to snow. Let's hurry up and bury those corpses outside, and get on our way as soon as possible."

The thirteenth brother behind him chimed in, "Yes, so many people have died. If the authorities investigate, it'll be a real problem!"

As he spoke, he unconsciously glanced towards the cave entrance, as if he could already hear the footsteps of the constables chasing after him.

Da Jiu did not answer immediately, but squatted down and carefully examined the cave wall with a lamp.

“Look,” he said, his rough fingers tracing the chisel marks on the rock face, “this is not naturally formed. Every mark is very neat, clearly carved out by someone on purpose.”

The youngest member of the group, Big Seventeen, squeezed next to Big Nine and asked curiously, "Big Nine, where do you think this cave leads? Could it be...?"

"Shh!" Da Jiu suddenly raised his index finger. "Listen."

Everyone immediately fell silent. A faint "drip-drop" sound came from deep within the cave, like water droplets falling on a stone surface, or like the gentle clinking of some metal objects.

"I have a feeling something's off about this cave," Da Shisan said in a low voice. "Ninth Brother, let's go back!"

Da Jiu stood up and dusted off his hands: "What if someone comes out of here and sees us burying a corpse?"

He glanced around at the somewhat apprehensive expressions on everyone's faces and suggested, "How about... we walk forward for another half an hour, and if we still can't see the end, we'll turn back."

“Uh…this…” Da Shisan turned to look at the other team members.

After thinking about it, everyone agreed that Da Jiu's words made sense. They were burying the body outside the cave, but what if someone happened to come out of the cave and stumble upon it if they didn't figure out what was inside?
"Then... let's keep going!" Big Sixteen nodded in agreement, and the others followed suit.

Da Jiu curled his lips and strode forward, the solar lamp swaying in his hand, casting distorted shadows on the cave wall.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the narrow passage, mixed with heavy breathing, making it all the more distinct.

The further you go in, the more damp and cold the air becomes.

Big Seventeen accidentally stepped on a loose stone, and the rolling sound was particularly jarring in the silent cave.

"Be careful!" Da Jiu whispered a warning.

As soon as Da Jiu finished speaking, he suddenly stopped and shone the solar-powered light in his hand on a corner in front of him: "There seems to be something there."

The crowd looked in the direction he was pointing and saw an object on the ground that was shimmering faintly.

Da Jiu walked up, bent down, picked up the thing, and examined it carefully under the lamp.

"Let me see what it is?" Da Shiqi squeezed forward again, and when he saw the object in Da Jiu's hand, a look of surprise appeared on his young face. "A pearl earring?"

Thank you all for your comments. Your support made me willingly stay up all night writing.