Chapter 231: Probably Drank Too Much Tea

The back kitchen of Anxiang Hall.

A distinguished guest ordered Medicinal Herbal Tea, and the back kitchen soon became busy.

Business had been slow lately, so there were not many people in the kitchen; the cook responsible for snacks quickly prepared the pre-made pastries and handed them to the waiter. With nothing else to do, the cook could not stay in the kitchen and ran to the front to watch the excitement. At this moment, only one medicine worker was left in the kitchen watching the tea stove.

For semi-pre-made Medicinal Herbal Tea, the most complex processes with technical barriers had already been completed by specialists, leaving few remaining steps; the medicine worker did not need to reach the level of the tea masters in traditional teahouses who could perform tea whisking and latte art. His job was simple: mix the pre-made medicinal paste with water according to the ratio, add the semi-pre-made auxiliary herbs, and boil it for a while to finish. Seeing that the Medicinal Herbal Tea was almost done, the medicine worker poured the tea into a pot and was about to carry it out when he suddenly heard a few familiar secret signals outside. The medicine worker cautiously looked left and right, and seeing that the others in the kitchen had not returned, he quickly fished out a medicine packet hidden in the kitchen and tucked it onto his person before heading out. This was the profit he had been skimming from the back kitchen recently.

In this day and age, medicinal materials were even more precious, and even scraps could be sold for a good price. People like them who worked in the medicine hall kitchen could all skim quite a bit of profit. Every time they took a little, they would accumulate it, and after a period of time, they would trade it away to exchange for other supplies.

As long as they did not go too far, these things were tacitly approved by the managers.

Even the "middleman" responsible for picking up the goods was an insider of the medicine hall.

At this moment, hearing the transaction signal outside, the medicine worker in the Anxiang Hall back kitchen complained inwardly: Why did the person picking up the goods choose this time?

Today, a distinguished guest came to the teahouse in front, and the Hall Master also came; he dared not leave for too long.

The medicine worker indeed did not leave too far; while he was handing over the goods, his gaze remained fixed on the kitchen side.

The kitchen had front and back doors; the front door was used for serving dishes, and it was also the door he was currently watching.

After quickly finishing the transaction, the medicine worker returned to the kitchen. During this time, he did not see any outsiders come over, and he had no other thoughts in his mind. Out of caution, he reached out and touched the teapot. The tea was still very hot.

The medicine worker felt relieved and carried it out to hand to the waiter.

The back door of the kitchen remained closed.

It was just that no one in the medicine hall discovered that outside the back door, the person originally guarding this place had left for a while.

In the front tea room, snacks and tea were served one after another, and everything seemed the same as usual.

Zhang Dalang walked out of the alley and, in a corner where no one noticed, poured out the contents of a leather bag he had been hiding, which hit the ground with a faint, crisp clatter. It was actually some crushed ice!

After finishing this, he rolled up the leather bag and put it away, and Zhang Dalang continued to patrol the street as usual, specifically walking in crowded places and making some noise from time to time, appearing as if he were very busy and diligently patrolling. Until evening, Zhang Dalang finished his day's work and went home.

He pushed the door open, entered the courtyard, and went into the house.

Just as he was about to light the lamp, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

In the room, far from the window, two figures were silently hiding.

They had no presence at all, like two shadows merging into the night, and when they suddenly moved, one who didn't know better would have thought it was a haunting!

The intruders wore dark, tight-fitting clothes, with leather sewn onto key parts of their bodies for protection; one look told him they were not easy to deal with!

After a moment of surprise, Zhang Dalang reacted quickly.

There was no lamp lit in the room, and the night had not yet completely darkened; the dim light made it impossible for him to see the other party's features clearly, but he could still judge their builds. They were definitely not people he knew!

Nor did they look like the people the Medicine Gang dealt with!

He did not know the other party's identity, but Zhang Dalang had done too many things that could not see the light of day, and at this moment, the situation before him was not within his expectations and was very likely to be unfavorable to him. Therefore, after reacting, Zhang Dalang turned around to flee at the first opportunity!

But unfortunately, as he turned, he discovered that two more people had blocked his way from behind at some unknown time.

The winter sky darkened quickly, and as the cold night wind blew, the streets that were somewhat noisy during the day became quiet.

At this time of year, and in this kind of world, there was basically no one walking outside in the town after dark.

Zhang Dalang's Residence emitted a slight sound, but this little noise would not disturb the neighbors.

Before long, several figures walked out of the house.

They stepped lightly, and even while carrying a person, it did not hinder their swift movements; they soon left under the cover of the night.

Zhang Dalang was gagged and blindfolded, and his heart felt waves of chill.

He flashed through the things he had done during the day and thought of many past events, but he could not confirm whose people these were.

People from the Six Great Clans?

Regardless of which side sent them, one look and they were clearly elites!

He couldn't beat even one of them, let alone four?!

Therefore, without making any commotion, he was quickly pinned down.

Zhang Dalang's heart was full of doubts and also terrified.

Which matter had been exposed?

How should he respond next?

His confusion did not last long.

Although he was blindfolded, he was too familiar with the town of Shenyi Gu; at this time, he should have been brought to the small huts on the edge of the town that served as warehouses. Shenyi Gu often had medicinal material trades, and the town was constantly expanding outward, with some large and small warehouses added to the edges, belonging to various medicine halls or some medicine shop owners. At this moment, he was brought to one of these small huts.

If it were a warehouse for cargo transit, these small huts indicated a small scale and could not be those of the large medicine halls.

People from a small medicine hall?

Or perhaps from some medicine shop in town?

Who exactly was it?!

Entering the room, the people who had carried him over pushed him to the ground without mercy.

Zhang Dalang tried his best to calm himself down, pondering how to escape.

There was the smell of burning candle wax in the room.

The cloth covering his eyes was removed.

His blurred vision gradually became clear, and he looked at the person sitting not far in front of him.

The moment he saw clearly, Zhang Dalang's face turned deathly pale, all the plans in his mind were smashed to pieces, and he stared forward, shocked as if he had seen a ghost! "How could it be..."

Not far away, a person sat by the table.

The dim, yellow light of the candle shone on the other party's face.

That handsome, young face was one Zhang Dalang had cursed all night yesterday, and had even directly taken secret action against during the day today.

The other party should not have been here!

He should not have been sitting here safely and so calmly!

But the fact was, not only was the other party sitting here safe and sound, but he had also set up this kind of formation!

Zhang Dalang's mouth opened and closed; he wanted to say something, but in his extreme shock, he did not know how to begin.

Harboring a fluke of hope?

Trying to convince himself that the other party's actions were for some other reason?

But Zhang Dalang was not a stupid man.

He knew that his schemes had very likely already been exposed!

Rong Huan, who came from Xinzhou, the famous Young Master Rong, was also said to be someone favored by the Xinzhou Xunweis.

Then, were these few who had laid hands on him people from the Xinzhou Xunweis?

Thinking of those rumors regarding the Patrol Guard Division...

Zhang Dalang lowered his eyes in terror and sat powerlessly on the ground, beginning to tremble as if possessed by a ghost.

Wen Gu smiled faintly, watched Zhang Dalang's reaction, and only then said:

"The long night is endless, and I have no heart for sleep. It is likely because I drank too much tea."

"It shouldn't just be me who cannot sleep; I imagine everyone should be unable to sleep tonight, right?"