Chapter 255

"Have you finally made up your mind to run away?" Zhuang Maidong was not surprised by Zhuang Shuixian's choice. As early as the day she poisoned the elder, she had guessed that her sister was planning to start a new life. The reason she didn't completely turn against her before was probably because she had not saved enough money to run away from home.

"Yes, I finally saved enough money." Zhuang Narcissus blinked: "So can I come to your side, Sister Maidong? The others don't look normal and not reliable at all." The normal people had already run away.

"I can't control you much at the moment."

"Don't worry, I can take care of my own food and accommodation. If that doesn't work, I can even sleep on the floor. You just need to leave an empty seat for me!" Zhuang Narcissus patted his chest.

"I'm not going back."

"I guessed it. You didn't leave anything valuable at home." I don't know if anyone still remembers that the big yard where the Zhuang family currently lives was rented by Zhuang Maidong, and the rent they paid before was only until the end of this year.

"Maybe I'll settle down in the capital in the future."

"Going north? It's cold in the winter... When are you going?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Then I'll follow you. Take me with you, I'm very useful!" Zhuang Shuixian pointed outside the door obediently. "Speaking of which, do you want to move somewhere else? I suspect this guy is standing at the door to show someone the way!" This situation has happened before. Whether rich or poor, it's inevitable that someone will have a headache or a fever. If the local doctor can't cure it, some people will seek medical treatment everywhere, even threatening the doctor to cure them. As someone who is good at using poison and can also treat minor illnesses, Zhuang Shuixian has also been harassed by people. She wasted a little poison to knock the person down before she was able to escape.

"No need. No matter how we change, we'll be noticed." Zhuang Maidong looked out the window. Among the people coming and going, she would occasionally catch one or two fleeting glances that seemed out of place. If nothing unexpected happened, they were probably the people monitoring them. She just didn't know whose men these people were.

"Okay, let me know when you need me." Zhuang Shuixian held her chin up and smiled. "I've prepared not only enough money for this trip away from home, but also a lot of poison."

Zhuang Shuixian didn't have the habit of eating dinner, so she just ordered a bowl of soup and chatted with the two of them while she drank it. After dinner, the three of them rested for a while while drinking tea. When they were about to get up and go back to their room, they ran into Bei Qiao who had just returned from outside to familiarize himself with the environment.

"Ms. Qiao, you're back!" Jiang Fufu waved enthusiastically.

"Miss Qiao..." After seeing Bei Qiao's face clearly, Zhuang Maidong hesitated: This face shape feels very similar to Qin Huan's cousin Qiao...

"Good evening, both of you." Bei Qiao nodded at Jiang Fufu and his group, then glanced at Zhuang Shuixian: Oh, the smell on this person is a bit dangerous.

"Who is she?" Zhuang Shuixian looked at Bei Qiao's departing back with interest: She definitely didn't treat me as a good girl, her eyes were quite powerful... and I felt that she must know something about medicine!

"Miss Qiao!" Jiang Fufu said with an expression that said, "You have a really bad memory." "I just called you."

"Is this Qiao a first name or a last name?"

"Surname!"

"Just a last name? What's her name then?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask."

"Don't know? Okay..." Zhuang Narcissus withdrew her gaze regretfully: Not knowing the name doesn't matter at all, I just don't know what's so special about this person that Fu Fu likes him so much.

Bei Qiao returned upstairs and was about to open the forum when he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw that it was the staff of the inn: "What's going on?"

"Guest, you forgot the inn's brochure." The clerk flipped open the brochure and showed one page to Bei Qiao: "Also, please remember to close the doors and windows at night."

"Okay." Bei Qiao took the brochure. "So, it says there are some important things to know, right? ... Eh? Is this place close to the border?"

After opening the forum and zooming out, Bei Qiao finally saw the border of the dynasty's territory. It was indeed very close, but not so close that one could see the neighboring territories from a high vantage point. Because it was so close to the border, the population here was more complex, with people of all colors and skin tones appearing. It was also possible that spies from other countries were operating here.

According to the manual, players may encounter malicious individuals collecting information or even trafficking people, so they need to be extra careful. Of course, if you encounter such people, don't worry; just go ahead and draw. As the people of this prosperous dynasty, you don't need to explain anything to the small countries on the border.

"Please try your best to leave the villains with some breath, so that the staff can make full use of the resources. Resources...hmm." After reading the brochure, Bei Qiao picked it up, placed it on the candle and lit it: The last item in the brochure was to write down the contents of the brochure and destroy it immediately to prevent others from getting suspicious.

For safety's sake, he'd better check the doors and windows. Since it's specifically mentioned in the brochure, it shouldn't be a random reminder... After disposing of the brochure, Bei Qiao stood up and checked the doors and windows, not missing even the smallest detail. After making sure they were closed and intact, Bei Qiao also tried probing the wall. Unexpectedly, he poked a piece of ceiling near the corner, revealing a medium-sized hole.

Jiang Fufu and Bei Qiao stared at each other across the cave entrance. "Who is it... Oh, it's Miss Qiao! What's the matter with you looking for us so late at night?"

Zhuang sisters: "..."

Bei Qiao: "Sorry, it was an accident."

The hole was located above and to the side of Bei Qiao's bed, directly below Jiang Fufu's. It was roughly large enough for a normal adult to fit through. An irregular piece of cushioning material of a similar color was nailed to the wooden board covering the hole. Because of its hidden location and the quietness of its fall, if Jiang Fufu upstairs hadn't bent down to retrieve the item that had rolled under the bed, she probably wouldn't have noticed anything unusual about the floor below.

Bei Qiao called over a staff member and showed her the hole in the ceiling. Seeing the hole in the ceiling, the staff member was troubled, but not surprised. With a practiced professional smile, they apologized and offered her a new room. Jiang Fufu and her group upstairs also changed rooms. Luckily, their luggage was still unpacked, so the maids had no trouble moving it.

"Really? Don't we really need to change inns?" Jiang Fufu slumped over the table in the new room, feeling depressed. "I heard this inn had a good reputation, but something like this happened... How can it be safe?"

"Be safe! I'm here, so you have to be safe!" Zhuang Shuixian pulled out a small bottle from her bag. "Wait a minute while I make arrangements. If anyone tries to break in, I'll make sure they never come back... Oh, by the way, if you wake up earlier than me tomorrow morning, remember to wake me up first and take care of things before you leave!"

"Huh? What if I want to go to the toilet at night?"

"Do you get up frequently at night? Then let me take your pulse first."

"Why?"

Bei Qiao's new room was diagonally across from her original one. After she moved out, the shopkeeper arranged for someone to replace the fallen wooden board and instructed the night shift staff to patrol on schedule. He also arranged for all staff to play rock-paper-scissors to select two people to stay in the two rooms and wait for the next opportunity. "No matter who you draw, if you encounter a troublemaker, try to control yourselves and don't beat them up too badly. If you accidentally lose control... then pretend to go home to recuperate, take your annual leave, rest for a while, and come back after a clean break."

Although working in an official inn is stable, it can be quite stressful sometimes. When the staff encounter tasks that can be exchanged for annual leave, they are always very active because it is a rare opportunity to beat someone up and vent their emotions.

Staff: We're so stressed at work, and we're law-abiding citizens, so we can only beat up the criminals to relieve stress. Sigh...

After several rounds of rock-paper-scissors, a staff member named Chang Yi and her food partner Xiao Gu successfully defeated the other contestants and earned the chance to wait and see. Chang Yi chose to stay in Bei Qiao's previous room, while Xiao Gu, who was more skilled at fighting, was reluctant to part with his partner but still climbed the stairs to the upper floor.

He took out two quilts from the cupboard, rolled them up, and stuffed them into the quilt on the bed to pretend that someone was sleeping. Xiao Gu squatted on the ground and knocked on the ground to tell Chang Yi that he was in place. Then he jumped onto the beam and hid in a dead corner. He closed his eyes slightly to prevent someone from coming in to do something bad, and then he found a pair of bright eyes looking at him.

The shopkeeper comforted the guests, arranged everything, and then left. The other staff members also returned to their posts. Only the staff on duty occasionally passed by in the corridor and stopped at the doors of the two rooms from time to time, carefully listening to the movements inside.

Time ticked by. Bei Qiao, who had been waiting diagonally across the street, yawned and logged off, not continuing to observe. Jiang Fufu and her group upstairs had already fallen asleep. In the early hours of the morning, just as the staff had finished their patrol and passed by Bei Qiao's room, Xiao Gu, who was staying inside, suddenly heard a strange noise outside the window. A moment later, there was a creaking sound. The window, which Xiao Gu had been sure was closed, had been opened!

Xiao Gu's hiding place wasn't facing the window, so she couldn't see how the person outside opened the window. In order not to scare the person away, she held her breath and waited patiently until the person left the window and slowly walked to the bed. Then she suddenly jumped down from the beam and said, "Where are you running, little thief!"

The person who sneaked in from the window originally thought the silence in the room was a little strange, but after Xiaogu rushed out, he didn't have time to think about it. He subconsciously grabbed the bed in a hurry, wanting to take someone as a hostage. When he found that the quilt was still under the quilt, he had completely lost his chance to escape through the window.