"I'm not sure if they will act the way I predicted."

Jiaren lowered his voice and continued, "However, when that young waiter was carrying water upstairs just now, I heard the innkeeper ask him what he was doing. Obviously, this inn does not have a rule of proactively providing hot water to guests."

"Even guests staying in the innermost rooms complained when they passed by our door that the young waiter was too lazy and wouldn't work if he wasn't paid."

"We didn't give him any tips or give him any instructions, yet he was so proactive and attentive. He even asked about all four rooms we booked. I suspect he was trying to find out which rooms we were staying in so he could inform the bad guys."

“I deliberately appeared in your room just now. Only my two younger brothers are in this room, so they should be the least able to resist. Once I capture them first, I will be at their mercy. As for the two of you, it will be even easier to deal with you…”

Lu Zong and Jia Xu were speechless; Jia Ren's mind was truly crushing them time and time again.

They were all around the same age and had all achieved the rank of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the imperial examinations), but around Jiaren, they always felt like clueless fools.

You should know that wherever they were before, they were always praised as talented young men...

"Cough," Lu Zong managed to muster a little courage and said in a low voice, "I have already instructed my men that if we are not up to the task, they will step in and take over."

"That's for the best." Jiaren nodded and quietly instructed his two younger brothers, "Cat Brother, the bed has been moved to make a gap. If anyone comes in, you hide under the bed. Don't move unless I tell you to, understand?"

"Okay, big brother," Cat Bro replied listlessly.

Clearly, this arrangement dampened his youthful enthusiasm, but he also knew that it was his older brother protecting him.

Jiaren patted his little head and then instructed Lige'er, "Try to protect yourself and don't be reckless. Don't let your guard down until the bad guys are completely subdued, understand?"

"Understood, elder brother." Li Ge'er readily agreed, but whether he would truly obey was another matter...

Jiaren thought for a moment, then took out a medicine bottle from his belt, poured out four small pills, and handed them to Lu Zong.

"These are antidote pills. They are very precious and effective. Each of you should take one and keep them safe. If anyone dares to use poison or smear poison on their weapons, take these immediately. They will at least save your lives."

Lu Zong quickly distributed the food to Jia Xu and their two servants.

Finally, he put the pill under his nose and smelled it. It didn't have a bitter taste; instead, it had a refreshing aroma.

Like the spiritual energy gathered from the essence of plants and trees deep in the mountains...

Jiaren wanted to give Gousheng a few more, but then he saw that Lige had already distributed them to them.

A group of people, including masters and servants, totaling ten, were hiding in a room.

Even when I speak in a low voice occasionally, time doesn't pass too slowly.

Around 4 a.m., Cat Brother was so sleepy that he started snoring softly on the bed, which made Li Brother, who was lying next to him pretending to be tired, also feel a little tired.

Jiaren, Lu Zong, and Jia Xu hid behind the screen, while the servants of the Lu and Jia families hid at the foot of the bed.

Zheng Liu and Zheng Qi were skilled in martial arts, so they hid in the corner of the room, which was closest to the window.

Gou Sheng'er hid by the head of the bed, protecting Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er nearby.

Just when everyone thought that no one would come tonight and that their efforts were unnecessary, there was a sudden noise outside the window.

The waning moon, though not very bright, still clearly projected two figures onto the window frame.

A bamboo tube pierced the window paper, and wisps of smoke drifted in.

Lu Zong and Jia Xu were so nervous their hearts were about to jump out of their chests, and they quickly stuffed the pills into their mouths.

Jiaren felt the same way; he suppressed his panic and gently patted Lu Zong and Jia Xu.

After a while, a dagger was slipped into the window crack, the small partition was pried open, and then two people jumped in from outside the window.

Jiaren and the others could see clearly that the man and the old man who came in were the same swindler's accomplices from earlier that day.

They were very vigilant. They first looked at the two boys on the bed, and when they saw that they didn't make any movement, the big man breathed a sigh of relief and turned his head to wave down.

Immediately, two more people jumped in: one with a pointed face and a monkey-like appearance, and the other a young woman, but they were not familiar faces.

Once the four of them were together, they closed the window.

The old man lowered his voice and said, "Let's finish this quickly! Catch the two brats first, then go next door. Get the silver first, keep them calm, and then kill them once we have the silver."

"Understood, Uncle Kong," the man replied.

The three of them were obedient, which showed that the old man was their leader and strategist.

The man stepped to the bedside, bent down, and was about to reach out and lift Li Ge'er, who was sleeping on the outer side, when he suddenly heard a soft sound, like a machine turning...

The next instant, his chest was pierced through. The excruciating pain made him open his mouth to say something, but he couldn't make a sound at all, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

The weasel-faced man, seeing him kneeling by the bed, grew impatient and complained, "They're just two little brats, what's so interesting about them!"

As he was speaking, he was about to push the man away, but his instinctive alertness made him suddenly feel uneasy, so he dodged away.

Pfft!

An arrow pierced his arm, causing him to scream in pain.

This scream seemed to have flipped a switch, and chaos immediately erupted in the room.

Li Ge'er turned around and kicked his younger brother onto the bed. Then, using the bed curtains as cover, he fired three more crossbow bolts at the man with the pointed mouth and monkey cheeks.

The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face became wary and quickly hid by the window, but Zheng Liu's dagger pierced his shoulder.

The burly man, who was already on the verge of death, was hit by two more arrows and went to meet the King of Hell.

The old man and the woman standing in the middle of the house reacted quickly, and when they heard something was wrong, they began to look for cover to hide.

Unfortunately, Jiaren had already aimed at them and fired three crossbow bolts at once. The old man dodged them, but the woman was shot in the right abdomen and thigh.

The old man was also ruthless. He grabbed the woman as a shield, retreated to the window, and waited until Li Ge'er and Jia Ren ran out of crossbow bolts.

The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face was still fighting Zheng Liu to the death. Only Zheng Qi and Gou Sheng'er remained. At this moment, they also raised their daggers and rushed towards the old man.

The old man drew a foot-long dagger from his waist and joined Zheng Qidou.

Gou Sheng'er also wanted to join in, but the room was too small and he couldn't move around freely, so he could only watch from the sidelines.

He would occasionally call out to the old man, distracting him.

The servants of the Lu and Jia families had learned some skills from the guards in the mansion, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to go out with their masters.

But when they encounter these江湖人 (jianghu people, people from all walks of life), they are completely outmatched.

The two also had daggers, but they could only stay on the outside, protecting Li Ge'er and Mao Ge'er on the other side of the bed.

Seeing that Zheng Liu and Zheng Qi were locked in combat, Jiaren shouted for the lamps to be lit.

Then, he rushed to help Zheng Liu, intending to deal with the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face first.

The academy teaches the gentleman's sword, but most of it is just for show, all show and no substance.

Jiaren has only practiced using a dagger at home and on the road for a while now.

But when faced with life-or-death situations, he had to protect his two younger brothers, which made him even more courageous.

Taking advantage of the moment when the weasel-faced man was forced to turn around by Zheng Liu, he plunged a dagger into the man's back.

The man let out a short, painful scream, and finally collapsed limply to the ground...