Chapter 94

After finishing their meal, Shen Yu calculated the time and parted ways with Pei Chunli.

Walking out of the Shiyue Pavilion, a waiter emerged from the adjacent alley, indicating that the items were still there.

The sky had darkened completely, and there were fewer pedestrians on the street.

Fortunately, there was no curfew, so their movements were relatively unrestricted.

The waiter’s elder brother was named Sanfu, and he worked at an inconspicuous inn in the capital. Such inns were quite popular among travelers entering the capital from all directions due to their reasonable prices and good locations.

Arriving at the inn, Sanfu led the two to a room in the backyard.

“These are all items left behind by guests staying at the inn,” Sanfu explained. “Sometimes guests come back to retrieve them, sometimes they abandon them here, and if no one claims them by the time, we dispose of them.”

Walking past the shelves, Sanfu pointed to one row and said, “Here, these are their belongings, all here.”

Shen Yu picked up a parcel and gently opened it with a dagger, then the second one, the third one…

Soon she noticed something amiss.

Turning around, she looked at Sanfu and asked, “What did those people look like?”

Sanfu recalled for a moment and said, “There were four people in total. Three of them looked to be around thirty, and one was older, but they were all tall, very tall.”

Speaking, he gestured a height about half a head taller than himself.

“They were sturdy, like…”

“Like martial artists?” Shen Yu asked.

“Yes!” Sanfu affirmed. “Fierce-looking, not easy to mess with, and very rough in speech, shouting at the staff.”

Shen Yu frowned.

This was strange; several people who sounded intimidating wouldn’t usually come to the capital to lodge a complaint. Usually, it would be the other way around.

Shen Yu’s thoughts shifted. “Did you hear that someone came to steal before?”

Sanfu had heard from his brother Sixi about this generous young master. Thinking that he had finally hit the jackpot today, he quickly replied, “Yes, they were robbed.”

“Only these few parcels were rummaged through?”

“Yes, only these.”

“Did they lose anything?”

Before Si Xi could interrupt, Shen Yu stopped him with a glance.

“No,” Sanfu replied.

“Why are you so sure?”

“The young master doesn’t know,” Sanfu said with a slightly bent posture, “but I inspected these items before they were placed here. I can assure you that nothing is missing.”

“Are you certain?”

“Positive!”

Shen Yu stared into Sanfu’s eyes. “But there are clearly items missing from these parcels.”

Sanfu’s eyebrows twitched. “What do you mean, young master?”

Shen Yu used the dagger to pick up an item from one of the parcels and threw it onto Sanfu.

“Restraints,” Shen Yu said. “Although they’re not made of refined iron, they’re not ordinary items either. It’s normal for ordinary people not to recognize them.”

“This…” Sanfu held the restraints in confusion. “What is this?”

“Restraints,” Shen Yu said. “Although they’re not made of refined iron, they’re not ordinary items either. It’s normal for ordinary people not to recognize them.”

“These have various knife marks on them, and judging from the degree of wear on the leather ropes, these restraints have been used for a long time. You said they looked like martial artists, and this fits perfectly.”

Sanfu looked at the restraints and indeed, they matched the description. The leather rope was almost worn out.

Si Xi, confused, said, “What does this have to do with missing items?”

Shen Yu continued toying with the dagger in her hand. “Since they are martial artists, they should carry knives or swords with them.”

Sanfu turned pale.

Shen Yu glanced at his face. “Isn’t that right?”

“Indeed, they had knives with them, but they took them when they left the next morning.”

“Is that so?” Shen Yu smiled. “Who would bring a knife to lodge a complaint?”

“Maybe they didn’t go out to lodge a complaint that day,” Sanfu’s back broke out in a cold sweat.

Shen Yu said, “That’s also a possibility.”

Sanfu’s heart slightly eased, but then he heard the young master in front of him ask, “But since they brought knives, why did they forget about the restraints?”

Si Xi suddenly understood.

His elder brother had a habit of stealing. Most likely, when he saw that the guests hadn’t returned, he stole from their parcels. This wasn’t the first time he had done such a thing.

Si Xi slapped Sanfu on the shoulder, feeling anxious. “What lies are you telling in front of the young master? What’s going on?”

Sanfu nervously glanced at Shen Yu before answering, “I…”

“You can rest assured,” Shen Yu said slowly. “If you tell the truth, I won’t turn you over to the authorities. But if I catch even a single lie, be careful of your tongue. I don’t like hearing lies.”

Sanfu swallowed hard and walked to the door, scanning the surroundings to ensure no one was listening before lowering his voice and saying, “They indeed didn’t take their knives when they left. I stole them.”

Shen Yu guessed that Sanfu probably didn’t know the value of the restraints and thought they were worthless.

“Where are the knives?”

“Sold them. I…I sold them.”

Shen Yu asked coldly, “Aren’t you afraid they’ll come back to look for them?”

Sanfu was nervous and didn’t know how to respond.

Shen Yu approached step by step. “Because you were certain they wouldn’t come back, you dared to act recklessly. Did you kill them?”

“I didn’t!” Sanfu yelled.

Si Xi quickly covered his mouth. “Lower your voice, speak quickly! What happened?”

Shen Yu was generous in rewarding, and in just over a month, she had made Si Xi earn more money than he could have in several years. Si Xi already regarded her as his master and followed her, confident they wouldn’t lack money.

Thinking of the scenes he had witnessed, Sanfu’s legs went weak, and he sat down in the corner, leaning against the shelf for support.

Muttering to himself, he said, “It wasn’t me, it was too… too terrifying.”

“Young master, I’ll keep watch at the door,” Si Xi said as he walked to the door, keeping a close eye on the outside through the crack.

Shen Yu squatted down in front of Sanfu. “Speak, from beginning to end, don’t leave out a single detail.”

Sanfu raised his head and looked at the ceiling, muttering in a hoarse voice, “That night…”

Part of what Sanfu said was true. Those people did indeed come to the capital to lodge a complaint, but he didn’t finish his sentence.

Sanfu was fond of petty theft, but he wasn’t greedy. Even if he stole a guest’s money pouch, he only took a bit of silver to avoid being caught.

That night, Sanfu was being lazy next door and heard a few people saying they were going to lodge a complaint and find a certain official. It was said that the adult had connections.

    Early the next morning, the four people went out.

    “Actually, they came back.” Sanfu said.

    Shen Yu asked: “When?”

    Sanfu began to tremble all over as he recalled what happened before.

    “I came back in the middle of the night and knocked on the door at night. I, I was lazy for a long time before I ran to open the door.”

    Sanfu did not open it directly, but looked out through the crack in the door, and saw an extremely terrifying scene.