Zhao Wu took out a bamboo stick more than an inch long from his pouch, stirred it with the food, observed and smelled the flavor carefully, and then opened the wine pot and smelled it.
Ding Gu asked in confusion, "Master Zhao, isn't it said that silver needles are used to test poison? Why are you using bamboo sticks?"
Zhao Wu didn't look up as he explained, "Silver needles can only test for arsenic poison. We were given food in the lobby, so they wouldn't dare use such strong drugs. If they wanted to rob people as well as their money, they wouldn't use such drugs." After a moment, he raised his head and said, "It seems there was a drug involved, but perhaps the amount was small. I'm not sure."
He had learned from the coroner Tang to distinguish the slight changes in the smell and color of several types of drugs and fumes.
Xu Lanyin took the bamboo stick from Zhao Wu's hand, stirred it with the food, and then sniffed the wine. After half a minute, she threw away the stick and said in a deep voice, "There are drugs in the food and wine. I once smelled the knockout drug that Lord Min took in the Min Mansion. Although the smell was very faint, I could smell it. It was this smell."
Zhao Wu knew that Xu Lanyin's sense of smell was more sensitive than that of an average person, so he said, "That's for sure. They put in a small amount because they didn't want us to fall asleep right away in the lobby. They'll wait until we're fast asleep at night, and that'll be the perfect time for them to make their move."
His face was gloomy. He stood up and walked to the door to look, then put his ear to the door and listened. Then he returned to the table and said, "The gap in the door needs to be wider so that it can be easily opened with a blade from the outside."
He went to the window and opened it. He knew someone was watching them, so he calmly looked out and closed it again. Turning back, he said, "The small window is slightly larger, allowing strong men to come in and out. There's a big tree in front of the window blocking the view, and below the window is their backyard. They kill or kidnap people and then lower them directly through the window. The people below pick them up and quickly move them into the house. No one knows, and no one knows."
Ding Gu said in panic, "Arranging us in these two rooms means that the inn had bad intentions the moment we arrived?"
Zhao Wu nodded.
The chess master was terrified and started crying, covering his mouth. Xu Lanting held Xu Lanyin, his body shaking. He knew not to cry out loud, so he bit his lip and shed tears.
Xu Lanyin comforted him, "Don't be afraid, your brother Zhao is a martial arts expert, no one can beat him."
Xu Lanting sobbed softly, "But one punch can't beat four hands."
Zhao Wu tugged at his little hair and said, "You underestimate your brother Zhao. Not to mention four hands, even if it's forty pairs of hands, he can break them." He then said to Xu Lanyin, "The big tree outside the window is convenient for the people here, and it's also convenient for me. I've thought of a good idea. If it works, they won't have time to take care of us at night, and we can still wait for reinforcements..."
A few people looked at Ma Zi who was standing on the table looking up at the sky, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Lanyin and Ding Gu poured most of the rice and wine into a piece of cloth, wrapped it up, and stuffed it into the cabinet. Zhao Wu poured the remaining wine on his own clothes and poured some for Ding Gu.
After a while of discussion, the waiter knocked on the door and asked, "Sir, are you finished eating?"
Zhao Wu replied, "I'm done eating." Then he got up and opened the door.
The waiter walked into the room and looked around cheerfully. The child was crawling on the bed, the little girl had her head down, and looked very sleepy. The other adults were blinking their eyes, as if they were sleepy too.
He smiled and said, "If you need anything, just give me a call. I'll be downstairs." After that, he put the dishes on the tray and walked out.
Zhao Wu said, "We are tired. Let's go back and rest. We need to get up early tomorrow. We need to buy some things before we set off."
Xu Lanyin carried Xu Lanting and Zhangzhu back to her room and locked the door.
The chess master was so frightened that his hands were shaking, so Xu Lanyin had to light the oil lamp herself.
She didn't want to light the lights, but she couldn't arouse suspicion. She first bolted the windows, then checked under the bed and in the closets. Finding nothing unusual, she wrapped the door latch several times with a hemp rope. Together with the chess master, she gently lifted the table to block the door. Even if the men managed to unlock the latch, it would still be difficult for them to get in.
The same thing happened in Zhao Wu and Ding Gu's house. Zhao Wu would go through the small window when he went out to do things.
Half a minute later, Xu Lanyin blew out the light, giving the impression that they were asleep.
Xu Lanyin walked to the window, poked a hole with a hairpin and looked out.
At the back were two courtyards, the middle one being the larger, housing the kitchen, warehouse, and innkeepers' accommodations. To the left was a smaller courtyard, with black tiles, green walls, eaves, and corners, and green trees and red flowers. Even at night, one could tell it was meticulously decorated, likely a "luxury guest room" reserved for the wealthy.
The yard at the back is long and narrow, with only three tiled houses. There are two long rows of thatched roofs in the yard, which should be shacks for parking carts and resting livestock.
There was a towering tree growing on the left side of the window, covering half of the windows in their house. All the windows in Zhao Wu's house were blocked.
This terrain is indeed as Zhao Wushou said, it is convenient for the bad guys and also for him.
She smiled and gently comforted Xu Lanting and Zhangqi, who were still in shock, "Don't worry, Zhao Wu is very capable."
She put the quilt under the bed and let Xu Lanting sleep there. She and Zhangqi lay in bed, clothes on, both unable to sleep. She held a pair of scissors in her hand, and Zhangqi held a pointed silver hairpin. They had brought the scissors just in case, but they had never expected to need them.
The occasional sounds of the night watchman and the night watchman's voice in the distance made the night even quieter. At the second and third watches, Zhang Qi couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep, but Xu Lanyin's eyes were still wide open. She thought Zhao Wu should have started to move, but she heard no movement.
After an unknown amount of time, there was a very light noise outside the door. Xu Lanyin covered Zhangqi's mouth and squeezed her awake. The two of them held their "weapons" and did not dare to move, fearing that the creaking of the bed would be heard by the person outside the door.
They had agreed that if Zhao Wu hadn't succeeded and the thieves arrived first, when they pushed the bolt open and cut the hemp rope, Xu Lanyin and Zhangzhu would yell "Help!", and Ding Gu in the other room would join in. This would wake up everyone else in the inn, and Zhao Wu would come back to help them.
With the double protection of the rope and the table, the thief couldn't rush in quickly and had to flee. However, Zhao Wu's plan would be aborted and would alert the enemy.
Although the only light coming through the window paper was extremely weak, Xu Lanyin's eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. She saw the door latch being picked open and a blade starting to cut the hemp rope. The thief hadn't expected the door latch to be entangled in the rope, and the blade he brought was not sharp, so the cutting was slow.
Xu Lanyin tightened her grip on the scissors, but didn't shout immediately. If she did, all Zhao Wu's efforts would be wasted.
She wanted to wait a little longer. The hemp rope was as thick as her little finger, so she would shout when most of it was cut.
The hemp rope was cut bit by bit, and the sweat on her hands had soaked the scissors.
Suddenly, a terrified shout broke the silence of the night, "Oh no, there's a fire, there's a fire, come and put out the fire..."
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