275. Black Market Shop

The door remained closed, and the sound of chains could be heard coming from behind it.

Fortunately, the little dumpling discovered that there was a loose wooden plank under the door, which was about to collapse.

She crouched down and, with all her might, managed to break off the broken plank, revealing a narrow opening.

Fortunately, she was able to squeeze in.

The little dumpling struggled to crawl through the hole and found itself in a... kitchen?

She looked around and saw that the door behind her was locked from the inside with an iron chain, which explained why she couldn't push it open.

It was bloody, with piles of stale meat next to it, and flies and maggots crawling around inside.

The walls were covered with all sorts of knives and meat.

The stench of blood and decay hit us.

The little girl felt nauseous. She covered her mouth with her little hand and stumbled away.

Brother Xie isn't here either...

It seems like she's all alone...

wrong.

The little dumpling saw someone.

She walked forward with a delighted expression, only to discover that this person...

Huh, why is it still Brother Xie?

She actually picked up Brother Xie again.

Xie Wenling was tightly bound by iron chains, his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

The little dumpling leaned forward and tried to push it: "Brother Xie, Brother Xie, wake up, wake up..."

Unable to push him away, she then tried to pry open the chains binding Xie Wenling.

Finally, after her tireless efforts, Xie Wenling's eyelashes trembled, as if she were about to wake up.

He opened his eyes and saw a bloody kitchen. His senses gradually returned.

The little dumpling sidled up to Xie Wenling: "Brother Xie, what's wrong?"

"I..." Xie Wenling, now fully awake, wanted to sigh.

They capsized in the gutter, but there seemed to be no way to avoid it.

It's now quite clear that this is a shady business.

He was dizzy and was knocked unconscious by the waiter who attacked him from behind.

Fortunately, for some reason, the waiter and the shopkeeper only had time to tie him up before they could do anything, or even catch the little dumpling.

But now is not the time for lamentation; he knew those two would arrive sooner or later.

"Princess, could you help me unlock the chains? The key should be in the cabinet over there," Xie Wenling said.

Why is it in the closet?

Since there were clearly no keys hanging on the wall throughout the kitchen, the only place that seemed like a place to put things was the cabinet.

He could only pray that the key was left there, rather than being carried by the waiter or the shopkeeper.

"Okay..."

Following Xie Wenling's directions, the little dumpling tiptoed and rummaged through the cabinet to find the key.

Xie Wenling breathed a sigh of relief.

That's great, there's still a chance.

Under Xie Wenling's guidance, the little dumpling helped him untie himself.

Xie Wenling immediately got up and first looked around.

Now, his light armor and sword are gone, and no one knows where they've been hidden.

He desperately needs a weapon for self-defense.

After much deliberation, he reluctantly took a sharp knife from the wall, gestured for the little girl to be quiet, picked her up, and quietly slipped out through another door.

The little dumpling nestled obediently in his arms, motionless, only opening its eyes wide to observe its surroundings.

-

Lobby.

Qu Zijin was annoyed that the shopkeeper and waiter were always trying to find out about him.

So he thought for a moment and then asked directly, "Have you two seen a child? He's got a chubby face and round eyes, very cute, and he's about this tall..."

He gestured with his hand to indicate the height: "He's a chubby child, about three years old, very smart, and can talk a lot."

The waiter and the shopkeeper were silent for a moment, then nodded in unison: "We've seen it before, it's upstairs. Would you like to go and take a look, sir?"

"Right upstairs?!" Qu Zijin was taken aback, both surprised and delighted, yet also somewhat doubtful.

But the surprise outweighed the doubts: "I'll go check it out!"

He didn't care about anything else and turned to go upstairs.

In the instant he turned around, he exchanged a glance with the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper took out two cleavers from the counter, threw one of them to the waiter, and at the same time, he flipped over the counter and slashed at Qu Zijin's back!

Their movements were extremely skillful, and the two worked together seamlessly, taking advantage of the element of surprise. Logically speaking, their target should have had a hard time reacting.

But Qu Zijin was too excited; he ran too fast…

The waiter delivered a powerful vertical slash to Qu Zijin's back, a move that had always worked in the past, but in a way that neither of them had expected, Qu Zijin managed to dodge it.

Instead, the waiter used too much force and accidentally slashed the knife into the ground, where it got stuck and couldn't be pulled out.

Seeing that things were not going well, the shopkeeper actually took two steps back.

Qu Zijin also realized what was happening, and turned his head in shock to look at the waiter who was drawing his sword and the shopkeeper who was confronting him. He couldn't tell whether he was disappointed, scared, or speechless: "So... you two run a black shop?"

He was still unwilling to give up and wanted to ask them again if they had really seen the little dumpling.

But before he could even speak, the waiter had already drawn his knife and charged at him with a roar.

This time, Qu Zijin was on guard. He dodged to the side and delivered a side kick that sent him flying, not forgetting his question: "So, have you seen that child?"

But obviously, no one will answer him.

The waiter flew out, clattering and knocking over a large number of pots, pans, and dishes.

Looking at Qu Zijin again, he asked questions, but he had already drawn his sword, its blade gleaming.

The waiter and the shopkeeper realized that they seemed to have acted too hastily.

They were all fooled by Qu Zijin's appearance.

This man looked like a scholar, and spoke very politely. Although he carried a bow and arrows on his back and a sword at his waist, they just subconsciously didn't believe that this person could fight.

He looks like a delicate scholar! How could he get into a fight?

But even though I can't figure it out, since Plan One failed, I can only start Plan Two.

The shopkeeper was quite quick.

"Young master... young master..." The shopkeeper put on a smiling face, bowing and scraping as he stepped forward, "It was my fault for not recognizing your greatness. Please, sir, have mercy on me..."

The waiter struggled to his feet.

"Stand still!" Qu Zijin was still wary and stopped them.

"Okay, okay..." the shopkeeper said in a fawning manner.

"Put down your weapons!"

"Yes, yes..." The shopkeeper, who had been carrying the knife behind his back, slowly moved it forward, knife and hand.

Qu Zijin stared intently at his movements.

However, the shopkeeper suddenly raised his hand, and a large amount of white powder rushed towards him!

It's quicklime!

Qu Zijin was staring at him to guard against a sudden attack, but he didn't expect that this would provide him with the perfect opportunity to strike.

When quicklime got into his eyes, a burning pain shot through them instantly, making it impossible for him to see!

The shopkeeper suddenly swung his knife at him again!

Amidst the chaos of sudden blindness, the situation immediately reverses!

Qu Zijin was slashed in the shoulder with a knife. He gritted his teeth and hastily swung his sword, forcing the shopkeeper back.

But then, the waiter attacked him from behind!

He barely managed to dodge by shouting, and the knife that should have landed on his head landed on his right hand instead.

The long sword flew from his hand, and he could feel the blood gushing from his body instantly soaking through his clothes, but he still couldn't see anything.

He felt he was going to die here—he realized that.

It turned out that he died because of his carelessness and lack of experience, due to such underhanded tactics.

He hated his carelessness, but felt more worried and resentful.

If he dies here, what will happen to the little dumpling?

He hasn't found her yet. She's all alone out there. How scared must she be?

"Grand Tutor?!"

Thoughts surged like a tide, but reality is fleeting.

Qu Zijin seemed to hear the little dumpling's tender voice calling to him.

Qu Zijin was stunned, unable to believe it.

However, he hoped it was just a hallucination and that the person wasn't Little Dumpling.

Otherwise, wouldn't that be suicide?

But reality was much better than he had imagined—

The little girl was carried by Xie Wenling and quietly slipped into the main hall. The first thing she saw was Qu Zijin, who was covered in blood.

Her eyes widened instantly; she never expected to see the Grand Tutor here!

Moreover, it looks like the Grand Tutor is about to be killed!

She was suddenly extremely nervous and frightened, but she still remembered Xie Wenling's instructions to be quiet. She covered her mouth with her two small hands, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't make a sound.

Her quietness successfully lured Xie Wenling closer to the unsuspecting shopkeeper.

Although Xie Wenling was holding the child and it was inconvenient for him to fight, he was exceptionally swift and ruthless in his attacks. He severed half of the shopkeeper's neck with a single stroke, and even turned aside to avoid getting blood on the little dumpling.

With one stab, the shopkeeper clutched his neck, unable to utter a sound, and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

The waiter witnessed everything.

The little dumpling then made a sound.