Chapter 34: Black Eats Black

The result, however, once again gave Shaowei the feeling of having lunged at empty air.

As it turned out, it wasn't enemies tracking them down; they had simply stayed at a black shop.

Although she had struck empty air, Shaowei was still in high spirits — this was, after all, her first time staying at a black shop.

Inside the guest room, Jiang Fu lit the oil lamp and sat cross-legged by the bed, looking at the partner who was covered in blood, had been dragged in and thrown on the ground by Mo Li, and had tried to steal an ox but got kicked by it instead.

Before long the shopkeeper also arrived; he was a short, fat, middle-aged man who looked very honest and kind, and he kept apologizing to Jiang Fu, saying there must have been some misunderstanding in all this.

Seeing that Jiang Fu wasn't buying it, the shopkeeper then pointed at the partner wailing on the ground and said he was just a temporary helper he had sought out; who knew he would turn out to be a worthless scoundrel who couldn't resist money, and that he would now send him to the county government office for trial!

Jiang Fu merely smiled faintly: "Trouble you then, shopkeeper."

Seeing she let the matter drop just like that, with no intention of making a scene — presumably because as foreign travelers they didn't want to cause trouble away from home — the shopkeeper hurriedly dragged the partner away.

With such an incident having occurred, one would have thought Jiang Fu's party would leave that very night; but the shopkeeper observed secretly for a long time, only to see the lamp in the guest room go out again, and the people actually went back to sleep peacefully.

Even by the next morning, those people still ordered the morning meal, still showing no intention of leaving.

On this, Jiang Fu, blowing on her hot soup, explained to Shaowei: "It's still raining; finding a new place to stay is troublesome, and where else would we know the ins and outs as well as here?"

Shaowei couldn't help but gain a whole new understanding of the phrase "know the ins and outs."

However, the shopkeeper thought left and right, and the more he thought, the more unwilling he was to accept it.

He first summed up the lessons of failure, concluding that the partner's ox-stealing last night had failed due to inexperience; then he tallied up the partner's medical expenses and other sunk costs, gritted his teeth, and decided to mount a comeback, going all in with a ruthless move.

Thus, that night, ten-odd thugs lay sprawled every which way — from outside the guest room door, to the stairs, to the main hall.

The shopkeeper stared with eyes splitting from rage at the thugs wailing all over the floor, then at the smashed food tables and utensils, his heart aching as if twisted — the sunk cost had become even more exorbitant!

The shopkeeper looked up in terror and dread, his cheeks trembling, gazing toward the second-floor railing.

The young woman stood there leisurely; the black-clad youth stood expressionless with arms crossed on her left; the half-grown girl stood valiantly on her right, still clutching a club seized from a thug, the club propped at her side, the person not as tall as the club.

Woman, fool, child... where exactly was the problem? — This was clearly the most perfect target for fleecing!

It was also because Mo Li, hearing the noise last night, had rushed to the ox shed only to find the partner already down and unable to rise after being kicked by the ox; therefore the former never had the chance to draw her blade, which gave the shopkeeper renewed hope and courage to strike again.

Jiang Fu rested her hand on the railing, leaned forward, and asked: "Shopkeeper, why have you hired so many temporary helpers today?"

The shopkeeper didn't know whether to cry or laugh; his words stumbled and couldn't find an ending.

Jiang Fu smiled harmoniously: "Shopkeeper, doing business with open doors, you can't only think of aggressively expanding revenue; daily cost-cutting is the foundation of longevity."

As she spoke, she casually tossed down an object: "Such extravagant waste as tonight's had best not happen again."

The shopkeeper subconsciously jumped to avoid the thing she threw down; then he stared fixedly and saw it was a section of bamboo tube, cracked from the fall, and the mist medicine inside had clearly already been burned up.

The shopkeeper, who had thought the sleeping incense had failed to ignite successfully, trembled as he raised his head, forcibly suppressing the urge to scream, looking at the three people as if they were three monsters of varying sizes.

That "big monster" turned and returned to the room, not forgetting to remind him: "Shopkeeper had best clean up quickly, so as not to delay tomorrow morning's meal."

The shopkeeper practically wanted to kneel down, hug his head, and wail: "..."

— Still have to keep staying here!

For the shopkeeper, this was nothing short of a fated bond he was unwilling to accept yet couldn't sever or smash.

For Jiang Fu, not only did she now know the ins and outs, but she had also gained a harmony and propriety on top of that, giving her even less reason to choose another place.

The shopkeeper's degree of harmony even far exceeded imagination.

Not only did the next day's breakfast include several more meat dishes, but the shopkeeper also personally came weeping and kneeling to apologize, holding a box with both hands as compensation; when he raised his head, he revealed a face full of terrifying green-purple swelling —

This person had obviously been severely beaten during the night, and was thoroughly frightened out of his wits.

But Shaowei knew in her heart this was not her doing, and Jiang Fu and Mo Li hadn't left the guest room... who could have struck the blows?

Jiang Fu also seemed somewhat surprised: "Not seen for a few hours, and the shopkeeper's injuries... wonder how they came about?"

The shopkeeper wore a mournful face: "It was this lowly one himself... this lowly one felt his own conduct was lacking, so he reflected and punished himself!"

Even a ghost could see this was a lie born of unspeakable suffering, yet Jiang Fu appeared to believe it deeply; she praised: "The shopkeeper is also a man of temperament. Put that way, if I don't accept this compensation, I'd be causing the shopkeeper unease in his heart."

The shopkeeper hurriedly agreed, holding the box even higher, begging her to graciously accept.

Jiang Fu smiled and signaled Mo Li to receive it.

Next morning early, the weather was brilliantly clear, and Jiang Fu's party left the shop.

"Third Uncle, just let them leave like this?" the partner with bandages wrapped around his head asked unwillingly.

"Then what else can we do!" The shopkeeper was so angry he wanted to glare, but his eyes were too swollen to manage it.

Ten thugs were useless; does he want to hire a hundred? Never mind that even if they succeeded the hiring costs alone couldn't be covered — just say if it really blew up that big, the County Magistrate in the county government office couldn't turn a blind eye even if he wanted to, and then how would the shop stay open?

Near the year-end guests were few to begin with, and now they've all been scared away completely.

Thinking of the losses brought by this whole ordeal, the shopkeeper's heart ached even more than his face.

In truth, he had only taken over this inn last month; the previous shopkeeper had intended to wash his hands in a golden basin, so he transferred this thriving business.

In the previous shopkeeper's words, this was an authentic ten-year old-brand black shop, rooted in evil, deceiving young and old alike, with a verifiable track record.

The previous shopkeeper also gifted him plenty of unused Mongolian sweat medicine, introduced him to the County Magistrate, and took him to pay respects to the local tyrant — truly connections, qualifications, everything was ready!

Even so, he never grew careless or complacent; his selection of targets was cautious to the extreme — after all, the first deal still needed an opening day red for good luck — but who knew, after picking left and right, he ended up being the one who lost money to save his life, like a passing goose plucked of feather and eye.

This time, never mind losing face; keeping his life was already pretty good... if not for his identity forcing his hand, he'd practically want to report it to the authorities!

The shopkeeper, having failed on his first campaign, dragged his aggrieved and helpless steps back, and couldn't help but also contemplate the possibility of washing his hands in a golden basin.

In a cold, narrow alley beside the inn, a grey shadow hiding in the darkness with arms crossed watched Jiang Fu's ox cart go far away, then yawned, lifted his foot, and left the place.

On the ox cart, Jiang Fu opened that box, inventoried the compensation inside: several strings of five-zhu coins with red copper edges, two small silver bowls, and a few jade pendants of ordinary quality.

【45】 Jiang Fu only picked up one fish-shaped green jade alone, examined it carefully before her eyes, and praised: "This jade was originally ordinary, yet its wearer nurtured a few strands of rare clear qi... one imagines the jade's original owner was mostly a gentleman of pure spirit and fine bones, just with poor fate, to have been plundered by this black shop as well."

Jiang Fu only picked up one of the Fish-shaped Green Jades, examined it carefully before her eyes, and praised: "This Jade was originally ordinary, yet was nurtured by its wearer into several strands of rare clear Qi... one surmises this Jade's original Master was mostly a gentleman of pure spirit and refined bones, only his Fate was not too good, to actually also suffer this Black Shop's plundering."

Shaowei had zero interest in these things, only asking Jiang Fu: "With such a commotion stirred up in this inn, will it leave traces that let enemies discover us?"

On the matter of accompanying someone fleeing for their life, Shaowei could be called meticulous and diligent, faithfully performing her duty.

Good morning!

Thanks to Le Sanye for the ten-thousand reward, thanks to book friends Xingyue Wanli, Yan Zhi Hu 1, Wo Shi Jie, Chunhua Autumn Moon for the tips, thank you for every monthly ticket, comment, recommendation ticket (*^▽^*)

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(Chapter End)