Chapter 4 Tianxiahui
"Have you heard of the Heaven and Earth Society?"
The housekeeper neither nodded nor shook his head, for fear of hearing any more secrets of the Dali Temple from the young man.
The young man seemed to have opened his mouth to talk. He took out a folding fan from somewhere, unfolded it and said:
"The Tiandihui, known as "Heaven and Earth at One Table," was originally just a makeshift group put together by a group of homeless gangsters. Later, it grew in size, primarily providing services for a fee, and spread across various shops and inns."
The young man walked back and forth around the corpse carelessly, gently fanning himself with a folding fan in his hand.
"This so-called 'pay-for-service' isn't limited to assassins who take heads. It also includes bodyguards, thugs, trackers, tomb robbers, and so on. They claim that as long as the money is in place, there's nothing the Tianxiahui can't accomplish."
The housekeeper's forehead was sweating after hearing this, and he couldn't help but interrupt: "Sir, these rumors..."
"Rumors?" The young man suddenly stopped and looked at the housekeeper with a half-smile. "Three months ago, the thirteen members of the Hezhou Canal Transport Governor's family were killed. Even the eggs in the kitchen were shaken and the yolks fell apart. Two months ago, the Minister of War was murdered on his way to his post at the post station. And most recently, in Lin County, the imperial envoy was beheaded at the post station..."
The young man paused, his face solemn and serious. "According to investigation, these cases were all committed by one person."
The steward's legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed to his knees. These cases were strictly confidential to the imperial court, with the Dali Temple handling all matters. Ordinary officials had no way of knowing anything about them. Yet, this young man before him spoke openly, detailing everything like the back of his hand. The steward was terrified, fearing his life was numbered.
The young man's face broke into a smile again, and he continued, "Among these people, the four named 'Tian', 'Di', 'Tong', and 'Xi' are the most famous. Just the mention of their names can intimidate people, to the point where they are far behind."
The magistrate was trembling like a sieve at this point. "Sir, are you sure my son was murdered? Was it... was it that 'Xi' who did it?"
"That's for sure."
The magistrate collapsed to the ground, his eyes glazed over. He had already suspected the Tiandihui was involved, which was why he had to seek help from higher-ups. But he hadn't expected the assassin to be Xi. If it had been a Tiandihui assassin, it would have been easy, but this particular person was the one who had the last word. He was completely helpless.
"My Lord Magistrate, please accept my condolences." The young man bent down and helped the magistrate up.
"Sir!" the magistrate suddenly grabbed the young man's sleeve. "Please help me! My son is a kind-hearted man. No one would seek revenge on him, and he wouldn't provoke the Tianxiahui!"
The young man sighed, his face troubled. "The Tiandihui has always acted this way. They'd rather kill someone innocent than let him go. I'm afraid your son... happened to see something he shouldn't have seen, which led Xi to come and silence him."
"Something I shouldn't see?" the magistrate repeated blankly.
"I don't know the details, but..." the young man changed the subject, "This case is of great importance. The court has sent someone to investigate. I will report your son's case and join the case when I return. To avoid alerting the enemy, I ask the magistrate to keep it confidential for the time being."
"I understand!" the magistrate wiped his sweat, "As for the son's funeral..."
"Just treat it as a death." The young man patted the magistrate on the shoulder. "This is also for your safety."
The magistrate trembled all over and didn't dare to ask more questions.
"If there's nothing else, I won't bother you any further." The young man bowed and said goodbye. "I still have some clues to verify."
The magistrate quickly returned the greeting, "Thank you for your hard work, sir! Butler, please see you off quickly."
The young man turned and left the mansion, bumping into someone head-on, and the gentleness on his face faded.
The man had a handsome face and stood on the road with his hands behind his back. The hem of his moon-white clothes was blown by the wind. His temperament was clear and cold, like an immortal who came down from the sky and was not affected by the mortal world.
The young man was stunned for a moment, then walked forward and greeted the man with a smile: "What a coincidence, Master Xie is here too. Did you have a safe journey?"
Xie Sui looked at him coldly and stretched out his hand.
The young man was puzzled for a moment, then suddenly realized something and clapped his hands. He said, "I've figured out the case. I'll give you the file tomorrow."
"That's not it." Xie Sui's tone was very calm, and those who were familiar with him would know that he was angry.
Very angry.
The young man played dumb. He blinked and asked, "What is that?"
Xie Sui took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, "Xue Feiheng."
"Okay, okay, I'll return it to you." Xue Feiheng quickly took out a token from his pocket and handed it to him. He admitted to being a coward, but he was still insistent. "I'm from the Palace Front Department, helping you with the Dali Temple. What's wrong with giving me the token? It won't cost you anything."
Xie Sui glanced at him and took the token back, but he didn't pursue the matter of him stealing the token. "Give me the file tonight and review it."
Xue Feiheng said, "Not tonight, I have something to do."
Xie Sui looked at him and frowned, "What's the matter?"
Xue Feiheng gave a meaningful smile.
…
As the sun was setting, Du Ruozhi and her servant arrived at a rather nice-looking inn in the county. The sign read "Penglai Inn."
When I went inside, I found that only the sign outside looked good.
The inn was dimly lit. A few men in coarse cloth sat at a few greasy square tables, playing drinking games and drinking loudly. Seeing someone come in, they all turned their heads and looked at the two girls unscrupulously.
Xiuzhu immediately stood in front of Du Ruozhi and stared at those people vigilantly. Du Ruozhi forced herself to remain calm and walked towards the counter.
A wrinkled old man sat behind the counter, counting bills by the light of an oil lamp. Hearing footsteps, he asked, "Are you staying here or just stopping by?"
"Stay in the hotel, two upper rooms." Xiuzhu said.
The old man then looked up, his cloudy eyes scanning them up and down: "Three hundred coins for one night in the room."
Xiuzhu gasped, "Three hundred wen? How dare this shabby place charge so much!"
The old man sneered, "You think it's too expensive? Turn left when you get out the door. There's a stable. Twenty cents will give you a place to sleep for the night."
"You——" Xiuzhu was so angry that her face turned red. She turned to Du Ruozhi and said, "Miss, why don't we go to another place?"
Before Du Ruozhi could say anything, the old man's voice interrupted.
"The nearest inn is on the other side. It's already dark outside. If you go there now..." The old man didn't finish his words, but those who understood would understand.
Du Ruozhi took out a small piece of silver from her purse and placed it on the counter: "Two rooms upstairs, and some hot water and clean food."
The old man's eyes lit up, and he quickly put away the silver. His attitude immediately became more enthusiastic: "Okay! Ah Fu, take the two girls to the Tianzi Room!"
A thin waiter ran over and led them up the creaking stairs. At the end of the corridor on the second floor were two adjacent rooms. The waiter pushed open one of the doors and said, "Young ladies, please."
The furnishings in the room were pitifully simple - a wooden bed, a washbasin stand, a small table and a chair. The bedding on the bed looked clean but smelled musty.
"This... this is the upper room?" Xiuzhu asked in disbelief, her voice shrill. "How can people live in this shabby place?"
The waiter scratched his head and said, "This is the best room in our inn. Hot water and food will be delivered right away." Then he slipped away.
Xiuzhu stamped her feet in anger: "Miss——"
Du Ruozhi took a deep breath, her expression filled with disdain and helplessness. "Go and get some bedding and change into it later. We can still live here after some tidying up. It's better than sleeping in a carriage on the street."
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