The shouts came from the backyard, waking up the guests in the inn and instantly causing a commotion, followed by the sounds of doors and windows opening and people shouting.

Xu Lanyin could tell that Ding Gu was the first to shout, and the loudest. Of course, the thieves had already fled in panic.

Xu Lanting was frightened and started crying. Xu Lanyin pulled him out and covered his mouth. Then she and Zhangqi ran to the window. Still not daring to open the window, they looked out through the hole.

The fire was in the kitchen and the adjacent backyard. Thick smoke billowed, and flames shot up from the roof and thatch, burning more and more fiercely in the night breeze. It took such a short time for it to burn like this. I wonder how much oil Zhao Wu had stolen from the kitchen.

Horses, mules, cows and other animals were frightened and kept neighing.

Some people in the inn and some guests carried water to put out the fire. Many residents living next to the inn also ran out, and some people spontaneously joined the firefighting team.

Soon, the bailiffs from the government office arrived. When they arrived, Xu Lanyin and the others felt relieved.

Amidst the clamor, only two rooms on the second floor had their doors and windows firmly shut, seemingly unaware of the occupants. However, Zhao Wu and Ding Gu had already taken advantage of the chaos to sneak into Xu Lanyin's room.

Xu Lanyin whispered two words, "Awesome!"

The chess master said three words, "Amazing!"

Xu Lanting gave two thumbs up and was so excited that he couldn't speak.

Zhao Wu whispered, "Hiding from those guys delayed us a bit, otherwise the fire would have started half a quarter of an hour earlier." He added, "I took out oil from the kitchen and poured it inside and outside the shack. I saw our mule lying on the ground, unable to get up. It must have been drugged..."

Xu Lanyin asked, "Has the letter been spread?"

Zhao Wudao said, "I released Ma Zi not long after you left. If nothing unexpected happens, Lord Min will send someone from the Judicial Inspection Office as soon as he receives my letter. He will probably also call for the army. They will travel overnight and enter as soon as the city gates are opened."

Xu Lanyin said bitterly, "We need to catch all those bad guys in one fell swoop. This shady shop has killed countless people." She pulled Zhao Wu to the window and said, "Look at that small courtyard. The flowers and plants in it are growing very lushly. There must be some unusual 'fertilizer' buried underneath."

Judging from the vicious shopkeeper's inner voice, they killed quite a few people. If the bodies were difficult to transport, they would be buried on the spot. The most likely burial site would be that small courtyard. Firstly, wealthy people often prefer to live in separate courtyards. Secondly, if no one lives on the second floor in this direction, then anything they do in the small courtyard will be unobserved.

Zhao Wu understood the true meaning of "fertilizer" and figured out some of the links, and his expression became more solemn.

The weather was dry, windy, and the oil was plentiful. The courtyard, once inside, was mostly thatch and wood. It took some time to put out the fire, and by the time daylight had begun to break, the crowds outside had gradually dispersed. Only a few officials were left searching for the cause of the fire, accompanied by the vicious shopkeeper.

He had already discovered that someone had deliberately set the fire, but he didn't dare tell the yamen runners directly, so he had to accompany them. He looked at the two closed windows with resentment, thinking about how to deal with them after the officials left.

At this moment, the inn was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of soldiers in military uniform, interspersed with a dozen constables, a man in the uniform of an eighth-rank civil official, and a man in civilian clothes. The man in official uniform was Gui Da Ren, an inspector under the Fujian household, and the man in civilian clothes was Qing Lang, the Fujian household's long-servant.

The shopkeeper tried to escape but was restrained.

Zhao Wu's face was filled with smiles. He opened the window and shouted, "Master Gui, arrest the innkeeper and everyone else in the inn. Don't let them escape." He then said to Xu Lanyin, "Sister, lock the door. I'm going downstairs."

Xu Lanyin shouted behind Zhao Wu, "Take care of the child who ate steamed buns yesterday."

Perhaps the child was too young and his eyes were too bright. Xu Lanyin felt uncomfortable whenever she thought of those heavy slaps, and she really wanted to help him.

"Okay." Zhao Wu didn't look back.

Everyone working at the inn was arrested. Xu Lanyin and several others were trapped in a room with other guests. They were witnesses and not allowed to leave. Someone brought them food and asked them about their experiences since they moved into the inn.

Xu Lanyin went to Zhao Wu's house and handed the food left over from yesterday to the investigators. She didn't say that she smelled something fishy about the food, but only that she saw something fishy about the inn and didn't dare to eat. She also said that someone came to open their door at night and happened to see a fire, so the thieves left.

At noon, Xiao Daren, the Chief Justice, the Fujian Hu, Qin Che, and other officials arrived. Feng County was under the jurisdiction of Ningzhou Prefecture, so Qin Che, the Ningzhou Co-magistrate, was also here. It was said that the prefect had not recovered from his illness, so Qin Che had been acting as the prefect.

Xu Lanyin finally understood why most major cases were handled by the Fujian households. His immediate superior, Lord Xiao, was quite old, probably in his sixties, and in poor health, even walking with a hunched back. In this era, officials retired at seventy, and life expectancy was short in ancient times, so few lived to see retirement, unless they chose to retire, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

They arrested everyone in the inn and extorted tens of thousands of taels of silver from the innkeeper's room. Then, Zhao Wu and several yamen runners dug up eight bodies in the small courtyard and discovered a secret passage leading out of the city...

Seeing this horrific scene, not only all the guests staying in the hotel and the surrounding neighbors were frightened, but also the people in the entire Fengxian County were frightened.

Xu Lanyin and the others were held captive in the inn for two days and two nights, with people coming to inquire about the situation from time to time. Seeing so many remains, the guests were afraid to sleep at night, so they slept during the day and talked loudly at night to boost their courage.

On the morning of the third day, Zhao Wucai returned to the inn looking tired.

He said the hidden tunnel led to a beggar's den six miles from the city, where fourteen bodies were unearthed. Preliminary interrogations revealed a shocking, multi-provincial case involving murder, human trafficking, rape, robbery, child abuse, and illegal iron ore mining.

If someone staying at the inn was particularly wealthy, they would kill and rob them. If they were particularly pretty, they would be drugged and sold to brothels in the south. Men would be poisoned and mute and sent to the mines. If an adult died, the younger children would be made beggars. If the child was sensible, they would be poisoned and mute. If the child grew up and was pretty, they would be sold to a brothel...

Over forty high-ranking criminals from Feng County were taken to the provincial capital. The county lieutenant, who protected the inn, was also apprehended. The thirty or so children forced to beg would search for their families. If they couldn't find them, they would be sent to a nursing home in the provincial capital along with the other children. They would also follow the clues to find the people who were sold...

As the first person to discover this major case, Zhao Wu will stay in the provincial capital for a period of time in order to help solve the case. If necessary, he may go to other places to investigate the case.