Chapter 17: Wang Hai

The morning light was bright. The townspeople woke up one after another, feeling as though they had slept more soundly than ever before in their lives, and were now full of vigor.

Just as the people were preparing to head out for work, a shrill, mournful cry suddenly erupted from the direction of the town’s only inn.

"Father—!!"

Curious onlookers gathered in front of the inn to see what was happening.

They saw over a dozen people dressed in martial attire, looking like members of the Jianghu, surrounding the inn and shouting that they wanted to identify the murderer.

Guests who had stayed the night tried to leave, but were forced back by these men brandishing their weapons.

Seeing the others had drawn their blades and had bloodshot eyes, the guests dared not persist and retreated into the inn’s lobby, though they could not help but grumble.

"Which inn doesn't have a few deaths? Who knows who you offended?"

"Exactly. Instead of thinking about your own enemies, you're making things difficult for us."

The guests huddled together, complaining incessantly.

A young woman walked down from upstairs, her face streaked with tears, her hands and clothes stained with dried blood. It was Zhao Ying, the daughter of Zhao Dehua.

Zhao Ying walked before the guests, took a deep breath, and then bowed deeply.

"Everyone—" she choked back a sob, "I have offended you."

"I am Zhao Ying, the Young Chief of the Tiger Might Escort Agency in Yanzhou Prefecture."

There were many escort agencies in the world called "Tiger Might," but only a few were famous. Those who often traveled the Qilu region had all heard the name of the Yanzhou Tiger Might Escort Agency, and the crowd fell silent.

Zhao Ying continued, forcing herself to speak: "The Chief of the Tiger Might Escort Agency, my father Zhao Dehua, was murdered by villains last night and died tragically in this inn."

"His body is currently being kept in one of the guest rooms."

"My father walked the Jianghu for over a decade, always righteous and never doing evil. You all should have heard of him."

"As a child, if my father is murdered and I do not seek the truth and revenge, I have no face to walk the Jianghu again."

"Today, I only ask that you consider my father’s decade of integrity and grant me this convenience."

As she spoke, Zhao Ying paused for a moment and beckoned.

The dozen or so escorts surrounding the inn entered, encircled the guests, and drew their weapons, looking at them coldly.

This caused the guests to retreat and huddle together.

Zhao Ying bowed again and said, "This is a matter of Jianghu vengeance. I only wish to check if you possess Wu Gong. If not, I will immediately see you out."

"If you do possess Wu Gong, I ask that you come with me. If it is determined that you are unrelated to this, our Tiger Might Escort Agency will naturally offer an apology!"

Although Zhao Ying was young and had little experience in the Jianghu, she had been trained by Zhao Dehua for many years, and her own temperament was resilient.

Faced with such a sudden tragedy, she was able to force herself to stay calm.

This combination of intimidation and persuasion, paired with her delicate features and her tear-streaked yet composed demeanor, effectively cornered the disgruntled guests.

Of course, the menacing escorts nearby also played a significant role.

Immediately, a guest stepped forward: "Young Chief, do not blame us. We were just unaware of the situation and spoke rashly."

"I have long heard of Chief Zhao’s reputation for chivalry. If you wish to investigate, start with me."

Zhao Ying thanked him, stepped forward, and grasped the man’s pulse to examine him carefully.

Seeing that he had no internal Qi and no signs of practicing martial arts, she immediately bowed in apology and sent him out the door.

Seeing this, the remaining guests cooperated honestly with Zhao Ying’s investigation.

There were few guests who had stayed the night, and in a short while, the lobby was empty. Among the guests from last night, there was not a single person who practiced martial arts.

Seeing this, Zhao Ying said nothing more and turned to go upstairs to collect Zhao Dehua’s body.

Suddenly, she remembered something, ran downstairs, grabbed the innkeeper’s hand, and demanded sternly: "Which room did the three people who ate at our table last night stay in!?"

Upon receiving the answer, Zhao Ying immediately called the escorts upstairs and kicked open the door to Li Miao’s room.

The room was already empty.

Zhao Ying reached out to touch the bedding; it had long since lost its warmth.

"The bedding is ice-cold; they have been gone for at least an hour. The city gates just opened; if they were traveling, why leave so early?"

"We were all drugged last night and only woke up an hour ago to find my father dead. These three left at that time, proving they were definitely not drugged."

"We met them the night before last, and coincidentally, we were attacked. Last night, my father met with disaster, and coincidentally, they were not drugged and left early."

"Among the guests who stayed last night, besides us, only those three possessed Wu Gong."

"This matter is absolutely related to them!"

"It must be those three!"

She ran to the stables and saw that Li Miao’s horses were gone.

"If they were still in the city, leading the horses would be very conspicuous. People are easy to hide, but horses are hard to conceal. They must have ridden out of the city to escape!"

Thinking of this, Zhao Ying shouted sharply: "Mount up! Leave the city! Pursue!"

The group immediately mounted their horses and chased after them.

————————

On the official road, Li Miao, Wang Hai, Li Xiaosi, and Mei Qinghe were riding their horses.

Wang Hai looked at Mei Qinghe, who was trailing behind in silence, and whispered to Li Miao: "Thousand-Household, where did you catch that girl?"

Li Miao had been busy half the night and had watched a good show; he was satisfied and was currently closing his eyes for a nap on his horse.

Hearing this, he replied lazily: "The one seeking revenge the night before last, from the Huashan Sect."

"Her Wu Gong is only slightly worse than yours, her talent is good, and her character isn't bad either. Perhaps I'll give her a secret agent badge later; she’ll be half a colleague to you."

Wang Hai immediately looked troubled: "She’s the one who sought revenge on that escort chief the night before last... Thousand-Household, I smelled blood when I got up this morning."

"You didn't play that escort chief to death last night, did you?"

Wang Hai was certainly not questioning Li Miao.

Having been by Li Miao’s side for many years, he knew his Thousand-Household’s nature: he liked to "play" with villains, and most of the time, they ended up dead. Toward good people, he generally maintained a respectful distance and would not take their lives.

Wang Hai himself practiced a claw technique called "Leaf-Plucking." Although the name sounded elegant, it actually meant "stripping a person of their branches and leaves until only a human trunk remains," which was ten times more sinister and ruthless than Zhao Dehua’s claw technique.

Putting himself in others' shoes, he knew that with the claw technique Zhao Dehua practiced, his nature could not have been one of kindness.

What troubled him was how to handle the escort team if they caught up. Li Miao would definitely be too lazy to act, so he would certainly have to deal with it.

"Kill them all?"

"It's not impossible, but I'm afraid the Thousand-Household wouldn't be happy."

Li Miao glanced at Wang Hai sideways.

He had been in service for twenty years, and his subordinates had come and gone, but he kept Wang Hai by his side for a reason.

First, he was very loyal, one could even say blindly loyal.

Second, he only recognized Li Miao; no one else could suppress him.

Third, don't let Wang Hai’s harmless, sidekick appearance fool you—he would even blush when teased by Li Miao.

In reality, his nature was extremely extreme; he was ruthless and vicious, often cutting weeds and pulling up roots. If let loose, he would sooner or later be a great disaster.

To those he recognized, he was submissive. But to others, Wang Hai was a vicious imperial eagle dog, just like in the model operas. Everyone in the Embroidered Uniform Guard knew that Li Miao kept a wolf cub that would eat people without spitting out the bones.

Li Miao knew what Wang Hai was thinking and said: "If they catch up, you go and reason with them."

"Don't kill anyone."

Wang Hai said: "Thousand-Household, I don't even know what's going on..."

"Otherwise, why don't you let Miss Mei go with me?"

"That works." Li Miao turned back and shouted.

"Little Mei! Go with Wang Hai and reason with Zhao Dehua’s men."

Mei Qinghe nodded silently, pulled the reins, and stopped by the road with Wang Hai, waiting for Zhao Ying and the others to catch up.

Li Miao and Li Xiaosi continued their journey slowly on horseback.

(End of chapter)