Chapter 101 Struggling

The brothels and theaters in the west of the city were frequented by merchants from other places and civilians, and were built along the moat.

It is very lively at night, but closed during the day.

In the early morning, the breakfast stalls opened, people from the brothels came out to eat breakfast and then went back to sleep, leaving every house closed.

Today was special. All the brothels and theaters that had been disturbed all night by the patrol battalion and the rarely seen Black Armored Guards knew that the young lady of the Duke of Yong's Mansion had been abducted.

When Mu Junyan and his companions arrived at the Xinghua Theater, it was already the 24th house they had searched.

The people from the Inspection Office had been working all night and were extremely exhausted.

Just as he was about to go up and knock on the door, he saw it open, and a group of people walked out cursing. They were suddenly frightened by the Inspection Officer and the Black-Armored Guards, and they all stood there stupidly, not daring to move.

The inspector waved his hand and said, "Everyone go in, the inspector is investigating the case."

"We are just here to watch the night show. We haven't committed any crime. Why can't you let us go out?"

I dared not to do it anymore. I was so angry that I was kicked out before the show was over and I was not allowed to leave.

"Yes, we are going to file a complaint at the government office. We were given money but were not allowed to watch the show..."

Everyone was chattering, when suddenly they saw a man coming majestically on a tall horse, followed by a group of black-armored guards. They were so scared that they fell silent and stepped back to make way.

The Black Armor Guards are the personal guards of the Duke of Yong. They are usually stationed in the military camp outside the city and never participate in the military affairs of the capital. They suddenly appeared today, and everyone felt that something big had happened.

Inside, Lu Laosan was leading people in a search. After a whole night of searching, they still couldn't find the little woman. They were so angry that they wanted to kill someone.

Suddenly, they heard the patrol inspector and the black-armored guards coming in, and some people were eager to grab weapons.

Lu Lao San calmly waved his hand and whispered, "They haven't found us yet, so let's just leave it as usual. Keep looking for that bitch in secret. If we find her, kill her without mercy!"

He thought for a moment, and then ordered, "Everyone, don't panic. People have blocked the door. If we panic, we will be exposed. If we are discovered, we will fight them!"

"yes."

Now that everyone had a backbone, they pretended nothing had happened and quietly dispersed.

But Lu Laosan did not give up.

Pretending to wander around the stage, his eyes searching everywhere, he suddenly paused.

In the center of the stage, there is an octagonal table for performing, surrounded by embroidered curtains on all sides, so that no one can see inside.

He recalled the entire process of searching for someone, and this was the only place he hadn't looked for.

Because there was a play on the stage just now, they didn't expect her to hide downstairs.

Outside the door, the patrol inspectors and the black-armored guards were interrogating the guests who had just been kicked out.

He ran over quickly, pulled aside the curtain, and suddenly saw a face sloppily covered with oil paint.

The outline of the face and those frightened eyes like a deer, aren’t they the person I’ve been looking for all night?

"you!"

Old Third Lu glared angrily: "You stinky bitch, you hurt our second in command, and made us look for you all night!"

Gu Huan was discovered unexpectedly and her breath was choked.

At the same time, she heard a commotion at the door and saw a familiar figure. Mu Junyan!

It's him!

She opened her mouth and shouted: "Help..."

Lu Laosan moved even faster. He covered her mouth with his hand, forced her to crawl under the table as well.

Lu Laosan's men also heard the noise, and several of them gathered around, guarding the area vigilantly.

"If you dare to shout, I will break your neck immediately!" Lu Laosan threatened her.

He definitely wouldn't really kill her. If he was discovered, he could use her to resist Mu Junyan.

Lu Laosan pulled the rope from his waist and tied her hands and feet, then stuffed her mouth with a smelly cloth.

The guests who had been questioned outside the door were also released. They all said that they did not find anything unusual and did not see anyone being abducted.

Mu Junyan led his men in and looked around. It was similar to the several theaters they had checked before.

But being kicked out in the middle of a show is unusual.

Akabane and the others had already dispersed to search. He paced slowly, carefully looking at the few wandering people.

Lu Laosan's men have quietly replaced the person from backstage.

He straightened his clothes, walked out, stretched himself, and saw that the leader looked very impressive.

I didn’t expect Mu Junyan to come in person.

He pretended to be frightened, and quickly nodded and bowed, saying, "Oh, you are busy so early in the morning? What happened?"

Mu Junyan said calmly: "It's just a routine inspection for public security. Are you the owner of the Washe?"

The words were spoken lightly, but the pressure emanating from his body was terrifying.

Although Lu Laosan had never met Mu Junyan on the battlefield, he knew how powerful he was.

He shook his head hurriedly: "No, no, we are all from a circus troupe. We rented a backyard for the brothers to stay temporarily. But I have lived here for a long time. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will answer truthfully."

Mu Junyan glanced at him and said, "Since you are just a tenant, why are you chasing away the guests who are watching the show? They have nothing to do with you, right?"

"That's right. They're really going too far." The owner of the opera troupe happened to come over and said indignantly when he heard this.

Lu Lao San also glared at him: "They owe rent. Sir, although I am a tenant, I rented the entire compound and then sublet it to the opera troupe. They owe me one month's rent."

The troupe owner was furious: "Didn't we say that I would give the tickets to you after the show? Since you guys got involved, most of the tickets have been refunded. What am I supposed to pay with?"

"Sir, don't you think he is being unreasonable? He performs two shows a day, and it's already ten days into the month, and he still owes last month's rent..."

The two of them started arguing with each other.

Mu Junyan made a round trip.

Gu Huan was trapped under the table with her head pressed to the ground, and she just happened to see a familiar figure through the gap in the curtain.

But she couldn't move, and could only watch the person who wanted to save her right in front of her, but she couldn't call for help.

Gu Huan didn't expect that Mu Junyan would come to her in person. She felt mixed emotions.

An indescribable emotion filled the air, and my heart felt uncomfortable.

She was right in front of him!

Gu Huan felt a strong desire to survive and struggled hard, hoping to make some noise.

But the person controlling her held her tightly, and as soon as she struggled to get out, she was dragged back.

Mu Junyan walked to the front of the stage and looked carefully at every inch.

Although Lu Laosan was arguing, he watched him walk towards the stage and his heart tightened.

He quickly came over and blocked Mu Junyan's view of the center of the stage: "Sir, please give us some advice. It's not easy for us outsiders to make a living in the capital."

With her view blocked, Gu Huan was so anxious that she burst into tears.

If she and Mu Junyan missed each other, she would really have no way out.

"Call out all your people. Including you." Mu Junyan turned and looked at the troupe owner.

The troupe owner did not dare to offend the military commander and the inspection department, so he quickly gathered everyone together.

Lu Lao San was stunned: "Most of the brothers have just gone to bed..."

"What are you talking about!" The man from the Inspection Office came over and shouted impatiently, "Duke Yong's daughter-in-law is missing, and you are hesitating. Are you hiding something?"

Lu Lao San smiled and said, "How dare I? I will go and call him right away."

He didn't dare to leave here, and waved to a brother not far away, "Go quickly and call all the brothers out."

A group of people came out, sleepy-eyed, and stood together.

The people in the opera troupe and the jugglers living in the backyard were all real artists, and several of Lu Laosan's thugs pretended to be servants in the yard.

The weapons were also hidden, and the Inspection Office and the Black Armor Guards searched around but found nothing.

The inspector tried hard to open his sleepy eyes and said, "My Lord, this seems to be just an ordinary theater. There are still three or four theaters left to be seen. How about we go to the next one?"

Mu Junyan's eyes were gloomy and he was extremely anxious.

The longer it delays, the more dangerous Gu Huan will be.

If he didn't find the person and they took action first, he couldn't imagine what Gu Huan would do with her temper.

He suddenly paused and asked, "Have you checked the backend?"

The patrol inspector said hurriedly: "We checked and all the boxes were turned over."

Mu Junyan felt uneasy and looked around unwillingly.

Lu Laosan intentionally or unintentionally blocked his view of Taichung.

Gu Huan heard their conversation clearly. If they couldn't find her again, she would be really finished.

Mu Junyan suddenly jumped onto the stage.

Lu Laosan stared at him nervously, but didn't dare to follow him for fear of being discovered that something was wrong with him.

Several brothers around were also on guard, ready to take up arms at any time.

Mu Junyan stood on the stage, looked around from a high vantage point, and found nothing unusual.

He let out a long breath and prepared to leave the stage.

Gu Huan became anxious.

The despair of being on the verge of death suddenly gave her great courage and strength, and she could not give up this opportunity.

She suddenly lowered her head and bit the hand that was holding her hard. When the person moved in pain, she straightened her body and slammed her head against the table leg.

The man who was strangling her didn't care about the pain in his arm. He quickly grabbed the table leg to stabilize it, and used his other arm to push back hard, blocking even her mouth.

The collision just now was extremely subtle amid the empty square and the noisy sounds of the crowd, but Mu Junyan captured it very keenly.

He turned his head suddenly, but there was no movement in Taichung.

Lu Laosan was so scared that his palms were sweating. Without caring about anything else, he quickly jumped onto the stage to block his view of the table.

While approaching the table secretly, he chuckled and said, "We have a lot of rats here, all this big. When there's no meat for the small ones, we catch them and eat them. Two or three can make a pot of stir-fry."