Chapter 167: The Most Unlikely Way of Exposure

Yunan seemed to have become a pot of oil heated to the extreme; even if just a tiny drop of mercury fell in, it could cause the whole pot to boil over.

Chen Wuji and Qin Zanhong had just left Li Si Fencha when the Li shopkeeper, who seemed to have struck it rich, was taken to prison and given a rough beating by several jailers.

"Shopkeeper Li, you're also a prominent figure in Yunan; if you're put to torture, it'll harm your reputation a bit. Give us brothers some face—I think you should confess." In the dark jail, several jailers toyed with torture instruments, grinning sinisterly.

Shopkeeper Li panicked, utterly bewildered, and shouted: "What exactly do you want me to confess? Give me a hint! I'm just an honest merchant; aside from trade, I've done nothing."

"Harboring a criminal!" the jailer said coldly.

"Old man, don't try to fool me; the head of your Li family is next door—he's confessed everything. Why be so stubborn? Shall I bring him over so you can talk face to face?"

Shopkeeper Li grew even more dazed: "Injustice! How could I harbor a criminal? Officers, you must have made a mistake!"

"How could our superior make a mistake?" the jailer shouted angrily. "You old thing just refuse a toast and drink a penalty. Brothers, come on—let's first give this old man a taste of the knife, let him feel our power, and not let him look down on us."

Several people swarmed up, ready to subject Shopkeeper Li to severe punishment.

"Wait, wait!" Shopkeeper Li shouted urgently, "I'm an old acquaintance of the magistrate—I demand to see him!"

The jailer snorted coldly, "Our superior is impartial; even if you shout till your throat is raw, the magistrate won't see you. Instead of wasting time shouting your grievance, you'd better think about who you've seen lately and what you've covered up for them."

Shopkeeper Li was utterly bewildered: "Gentlemen, I merely run a tavern; I see countless customers each day, but they just eat and leave. Recently I've had guests over, but they're all old friends whose backgrounds I know—I can give you their full names."

"Or you could tell me the criminal's name or appearance. If he truly exists, I will certainly hide nothing and tell you everything fully. Though I lack the strength to truss a chicken, I am also willing to do my part for the court and the superiors in eradicating evil."

The jailer coldly cut him off: "Enough nonsense—let me ask, what's the deal with the dishes in your tavern?"

"Dishes?" Shopkeeper Li blinked, dazed. "The dishes were accidentally discovered by the tavern's cook."

"You're full of shit!" the jailer yelled. "The dishes you use are clearly the Zhang family's private chef's secret—tell me how your tavern cook accidentally discovered them? If you can't even name the earthly branches zi, chou, yin, mao, even if my superior came he couldn't save your life."

"Ah?!" Shopkeeper Li stared, shocked senseless.

In a daze, he seemed to have suddenly grasped something.

In a flash of thought he blurted, "Gentlemen, I did fabricate a lie—those dishes were actually sold to us by a man named Chen Wuji, ten taels of silver per dish. I don't know where he got them; I'm just a businessman."

"Chen Wuji? Where's he from? Speak in detail!" the jailer's expression shifted and he shouted loudly.

Shopkeeper Li shook his head. "I don't know where he's from, but besides selling me those recipes he also sold some pots. I inquired—they were all made by Yang Tiejiang of East Market; perhaps he knows Chen Wuji's background."

The jailers exchanged glances; the leader shouted, "Write down from memory those dishes you bought."

"Yes!" Shopkeeper Li sighed, silently apologizing to Chen Wuji in his heart.

A hat as big as the sky pressed down on him—he really had no other choice.

…

After returning home, Chen Wuji immediately began making Shocking Heaven Thunder.

Zhang Lao this time gave a sufficient amount—enough to raze the Zhang family inside and out.

"Wuji, what are you up to again?" Huo Sanniang walked over holding the biscuits she'd just taken from the pot, her slender waist swaying like a willow in the breeze, lightly stepping around the medicinal herbs Chen Wuji had laid out like a battle formation.

These are all raw materials for Bewildering Fragrance.

But the threshold Zhang Lao set for this test is a bit high—each medicine packet is mixed with a variety of completely different herbs, so nearly every herb on the market has been thrown in.

While making the bamboo tubes, Chen Wuji studied for a moment but couldn't figure it out.

The amount of medicinal herbs is really too much.

Among these hundreds of herbs, picking the ones used in the largest amounts with fixed ratios to compose the Bewildering Fragrance formula is no easy task.

Chen Wuji carefully set down the bamboo tube, smiling, and explained: "I'm just working on a prescription—I've been feeling unwell lately and need to tonic up."

Huo Sanniang immediately tensed: "What's wrong with your body?"

Chen Wuji grinned, his palm naturally landing on Huo Sanniang's long thigh and moving upward. "My wife has a broad heart; she urged Xue Hongdou to sleep with me, raising the pressure—what was already difficult one‑on‑two has become one‑on‑three. Though neglecting You Wei and Xue Hongdou for a while doesn't matter, I worry that if this continues I won't be able to keep up with my wife at night, so I should tonic up early."

"I can't, for others' sake, fail to satisfy my wife—that would be too heartless."

Huo Sanniang's face flushed slightly; she gave a light puff and rolled her eyes.

She slapped away Chen Wuji's wandering hand and snapped: "You're as sturdy as a calf—what are you tonic‑ing for? The girls have already moved in; I can't very well stop them from consummating with you. Court law says jealous wives can be exiled or even drowned in a pig basket—I don't want to suffer those punishments."

"Then why has my wife been unwilling to sleep with me these past days? Isn't it because she's worried I can't satisfy her?" Chen Wuji asked with a wicked grin.

"Go away, it's just that we haven't shared a room these two days." Huo Sanniang said irritably.

"The day before yesterday you weren't home; yesterday Xue Hongdou was in your room—I couldn't bring myself to share a bed with her. You talked me into sharing a room with You Wei, which was already embarrassing enough; do you still want to come? If you want, I'll go to your room tonight—would that be alright? It has nothing to do with your body."

Chen Wuji drooped, shaking his head. "So my wife is still worried about my body—that's why she doesn't want us to share a room, right?"

"You're asking for a beating, aren't you?" Huo Sanniang flushed. "There's no way you're that… with so many of us… just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable; don't put that stupid idea in my head—I don't want it, no matter what you say."