Chapter 43
The sensible ones took charge of cleaning and tidying up, and soon slipped into the kitchen and backyard, leaving only the two of them in the large hall.
Shen Yu slowly swirled the empty bowl of wine, a smile playing on his lips: "How come Officer Qiu suddenly... has become so emboldened?"
Qiu Chiyan's face flushed slightly, but he still pretended to be frank: "If I don't invite people now, I'll regret it."
"Regret what?"
"The shopkeeper is so carefree. If you leave, I will never be able to bring you back."
"What would you do if I continued to run this inn?"
Qiu Chiyan looked at her knowing expression and suddenly chuckled softly.
"why are you laughing?"
"Although I'm the one who investigates cases and interrogates people, you might do a better job if you were in charge?"
Shen Yu then laughed out loud: "I didn't force you."
Qiu Chiyan moved closer, his gaze slowly falling to the bamboo hairpin in her hair: "I just feel that some things are really hard to explain. I don't know when it started, but even a strange cloud drifting by outside the door wanted to tell you."
Qiu Chiyan's gaze deepened, as if trying to see through her expression. He stared at her lips, and suddenly the brief yet passionate touch of that day flashed through his mind.
Shen Yu could vaguely sense where the gaze was directed, so she neither avoided it nor yielded, but instead raised her eyes and met it openly.
The two shadows overlapped under the lamplight.
Thump, thump—
There was another knock on the door.
Qiu Chiyan's thoughts were abruptly jolted back to reality, and he immediately leaned back half an inch.
Shen Yu opened the door, and Song Linzhou stood at the door holding a large bag of fragrant food.
"Your dad and Huo Liao haven't come back yet, so I'll come back first. I just bought some smoked chicken from the night market, would you like some?"
Qiu Chiyan wasn't familiar with Shen Yu's parents, but at this moment he had a deeper understanding of the phrase "identical." The mother and daughter's eyes sparkled with the same intelligence and their unwavering dedication to feeding each other were exactly the same.
Although Song Linzhou was focused on what she had bought, he also sensed something unusual in the lobby.
"Officer Qiu, you should have some too." She handed him a bag of dried fruit.
"...Thank you." Qiu Chiyan accepted the gift respectfully, a guilty conscience making him break out in a cold sweat. "I...I'll go back now. You and Shen Yu talk..."
After saying that, he ran away.
Song Linzhou took a bite of candied fruit, turned around and asked Shen Yu, "Does he like you?"
"Um."
"And you?"
"Me too."
Song Linzhou nodded, not surprised.
My daughter is at the perfect age to experience all kinds of men, and the other man is healthy and good-looking, which is a good thing.
While eating, Shen Yu said, "I'm thinking of selling the shop in a couple of days. Gong Er and I will go our separate ways and then meet up somewhere else. I can also follow the Six Doors for a while."
Song Linzhou suddenly looked up: "You closed the shop so you could leave with him?"
"No, it's just that after the Hundred Gates Sacrifice Knife and Grandma's matter, I don't think I can stay in Sanhe Town peacefully. I might as well take this opportunity, since I want to go out and travel anyway."
Song Linzhou felt relieved.
"If you go with the Six Doors, don't interfere with their investigation, and don't get too involved. You might be good at taking action, but you're definitely not as cunning as others."
"Mother—" Shen Yu said in a drawn-out, coquettish voice, "I have no intention of working for the Six Doors, so of course I won't show off."
"And that guy from earlier, if he's honest, don't bully him, but if he's not honest, don't bother him too much, just beat him up and that's it."
Shen Yu grinned foolishly: "Qiu Chiyan is a good person."
"A good person doesn't necessarily love someone." Song Linzhou felt that nothing she said would make a difference now, so she might as well let Shen Yu experience it for herself.
She had watched Huo Ningyu busy all day and felt tired just looking at him. She didn't want to waste her energy when she got back, so she went upstairs to sleep after only saying a few words to Shen Yu.
After everyone rested, Shen Jingyuan finally returned early the next morning.
Shen Yu and Qiu Chiyan had only been up for a short while when he burst in, covered in fallen leaves.
"Dad, did you fall into the ditch?" Shen Yu brushed the weeds off his back.
"Pretty much." Shen Jingyuan shook himself impatiently. "I specially picked a quiet place outside the city with your Uncle Huo, but we ran into the person they were looking for. We didn't even manage to fight, and we ended up helping them capture him."
"Them? Who are they?"
Shen Jingyuan looked at Qiu Chiyan behind him and raised his chin: "It's about what Huo Liao and the Six Doors are investigating."
"Hallucination drugs?"
"Probably." Shen Jingyuan didn't ask any more questions, but since Huo Liao wanted to do it, he helped. "They're sneaking around in the middle of nowhere, and it seems they belong to some wealthy family in the city, something like... the Lin family? But they don't know any martial arts."
Shen Yu hadn't thought of it at first, but when she glanced at Qiu Chiyan's expression, she suddenly remembered—
The itinerant doctor Feng Shun mentioned before that some people who ate food donated by the Lin Family Charitable Estate had been drugged with hallucinogens.
She then asked, "Did Uncle Huo ask them what they were doing there?"
"The two of them panicked and confessed everything as soon as they saw Huo Liao." Shen Jingyuan paused, also finding it quite absurd, "One of them threatened the Lin family servant for money."
What kind of money do you need?
"That man once claimed to have a magic drug after drinking—that is, the hallucinogenic drug—and was provoked by the Lin family so he took it out. As a result, the Lin family servants hadn't even had a chance to eat it themselves, and accidentally spilled some in before distributing the porridge, almost causing a disaster. The man knew the reason for this and came to blackmail them."
Qiu Chiyan: ...
The case that had puzzled me for days and that I had painstakingly investigated had such a... result?
"So casual..." Shen Yu remained silent for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence.
"Who says otherwise?" Shen Jingyuan was still very dirty, but he didn't want to clean up anymore. He just wanted to eat something to fill his stomach. After resting, he still wanted to go and fight Huo Liao.
He very naturally ventured into the kitchen to find food.
The room gradually quieted down.
Shen Yu reached out and silently grasped Qiu Chiyan's little finger: "What do you want to eat?"
The blank space after a case is closed always leaves people feeling somewhat lost.
Qiu Chiyan looked down at her, his eyes filled with both a smile and bitterness. Whenever he encountered something like this, besides being shocked, he felt mostly powerless.
This doesn't even qualify as a momentary act of malice, so what can he possibly do to achieve it?
"I'll go cook some porridge, they can eat it when they wake up." He took the initiative and gently patted Shen Yu's hand.
With that, the matter of the hallucinogenic drug in Sanhe Town has finally been settled, and there is no reason to delay any longer.
Everything came to a surprisingly smooth end. The murky and difficult-to-understand case was like a cool breeze dispelling the long-accumulated fog.
The group from the Six Doors will continue to Anling, Fengxi City, and other places, and they must be constantly aware of the clandestine spread of illusionary drugs along the way.
Shen Yu was busy finding a buyer for her inn. However, her inn's location wasn't ideal, and the prices she initially offered weren't satisfactory. But somehow, several families suddenly started bidding against each other.
Gong Er inquired and learned that the person was interested in the reputation of Bai Men Ji Dao Shang Shen Yu and wanted to buy the shop to do business under her name.
Shen Yu naturally wouldn't sell to such a meddlesome person, and in the end, he lost some money and sold it to an old acquaintance in town.
After the Hundred Gates Sword Offering ended, people eager to spar came one after another, and the frequent visits of Zhao Wenlan, Dou Qi, and others attracted even more people.
The place was bustling with customers, but no one came to eat, which made Shen Yu a little frustrated.
Seeing that her daughter wasn't very happy, Shen Jingyuan grabbed her and offered to teach her a few more tricks.
The courtyard was riddled with shallow pits from his internal force, and not only Shen Yu, but others were also learning from him.
The rest of the time, everyone took stock of accounts, cleared inventory, and handed over keys, doing everything step by step in an orderly manner.
They also discussed the general area where they would open another store.
I've heard that Jingchuan is a place of beautiful scenery and a gathering place for scholars, and it's well-connected, so it would be good to get together again.
A few days later, all the sects and factions that had come to Sanhe Town dispersed and began their journeys home. Before leaving, Zhao Wenlan and the others tugged at Shen Yu's sleeve, insisting that she make a trip to their sect.
Shen Yu couldn't agree to everything, only saying that she would definitely pass by if she had the chance.
As before, Grandma left ahead of time with Maiya and the people from the Water Mirror Sect. Xu Dahe was going to the capital alone.
Gong Er hadn't decided yet; he just wanted to travel west along Changting Bay for the time being, to see the mountains and the water. Yao Liuliu was going to Yanbei, and then turning back to Jingchuan.
The day the inn was handed over was also the day they each set off on their own journeys.
At the tea stalls at the street corner, people had already started their fires to boil water, and amidst the rising steam, another day in Sanhe Town began as usual.
Shen Yu packed very simply: a few changes of clothes, some letters, and half a bag of candied fruit. As she turned to leave, Qiu Chiyan was waiting for her with his horse.
As I stepped out of the city gate, a cool breeze brushed against my sleeves, and a thin layer of clouds hung in the sky.
She mounted her horse and glanced back at the plaque above the city gate that read "Sanhe Town," the ink on it slightly worn.
A sudden sense of relief washed over her. All those stories, grudges, laughter, and the aroma of wine remained in this town.
"What if we run out of money?" Yao Liuliu suddenly asked as the horses stood side by side.
"Gong Er still has a lot of money. How extravagant must he be to spend it all?"
Gong Er raised his chin, half smug and half bluffing, and said, "You've already got your eye on me before we've even set off?"
Shen Yu laughed and said, "Whoever pays the bill is the boss. Aren't you tempted?"
"I have no desire to be an official." Gong Er glanced at her sideways, then pretended to ponder, "Let me call you Manager Gong first, and then I'll decide whether to pay or not."
Shen Yu and Yao Liuliu exchanged a smile and said in unison, "Manager Gong~"
Gong Er had never experienced such gentle and soft-spoken treatment before. He felt refreshed and waved his hand repeatedly, saying, "You did a good job. I'll think about it some more."
"You're really giving me too much credit."
Yao Liuliu approached and kicked Gong Er's buttocks without hesitation.
The horse was startled and trotted a few steps, almost throwing Gong Er off. He barely managed to steady himself and silently cursed with his face.
Laughter spread with the wind, mingling with the scent of late autumn.
Shen Yu looked up at the distant sky and took a deep breath. She tightened the reins, her voice carried away by the wind, yet still clear and strong:
"Everyone, let's all strive in our respective fields, for even though we are thousands of miles apart, we share the same wind. See you in Jingchuan in two years!"
--End of text--
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