# 210. Whoever Hung the Bell Should Unite It
This was a two-story small building, constructed with a mix of limestone bricks and wood, showing signs of years of wear and tear.
The shop owner was a thin middle-aged man with sharp eyes, scrutinising the three cloaked figures standing at his door.
"Dear customers, would you like to buy some dog meat?" the shop owner tentatively asked.
Song Tingfeng replied in a raspy voice, "How much for the dog meat outside and how much for the dog meat inside?"
Upon hearing this, the shop owner immediately plastered a smile on his face, recognising them as seasoned patrons.
"Dog meat outside is one cash of silver per ounce, inside, it's three cash."
Considering the quality, three cash of silver for private prostitutes was actually not much cheaper than in the capital. As old hands in this business, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao shook their heads in disapproval.
Xu Qi'an didn't think much of it. Since entering this line of work, he had mingled with the industry's elite. A tea gathering would cost ten taels of silver; three cash were nothing... What? I got it for free? Oh, that's fine then.
The shop owner got up and led the three inside. It was then that Xu Qi'an noticed the owner had a limp.
Inside, the indescribable sounds became clearer; the soundproofing was terrible, chaotic noises were echoing around.
*If Brother Chun were here, he'd definitely say, "Move at my lead: one-two-one, one-two-one, in out in out..."* Xu Qi'an internally mocked.
The shop owner chuckled, "All the girls are occupied. Why don't you gentlemen wait a bit? I can get you some cooked meat."
It had just gotten dark, and the girls were already busy. The black market's dog meat business was thriving... Xu Qi'an didn't plan on waiting, having other intentions.
Xu Qi'an kicked open the room door, startling the girls inside who screamed. He went on to kick open more doors, drawing a chorus of angry shouts.
Several men, barely clothed, rushed out to confront Xu Qi'an.
He knocked each one down with a single hit. After dealing with five or six men, they stopped coming. He then took a deep breath and declared:
"Shop Ding No. 15 is reserved for tonight. Get out now. Your expenses will be covered by Master Song."
Hearing this, the patrons cooled down significantly. They accepted their fate since someone else was footing the bill, and there were plenty of dog meat shops in the black market.
By now, the shop owner had retreated to the cutting board, where he kept a meat cleaver. His hand rested on the handle as he narrowed his eyes and said in a dark voice:
"You aren't here to buy meat, you're here to cause trouble?"
"Calm down, shopkeeper. I'll explain shortly." Xu Qi'an said, then gathered the naked and half-naked women into one room and barked:
"Kneel down! Hands on heads!"
The bewildered women complied.
"Nobody leaves this room without my permission," Xu Qi'an said. Once they nodded fearfully, he closed the door and returned to the first floor.
The shop owner was still facing off with Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.
Xu Qi'an shut the shop door, then sat at the table and produced half a jade pendant, saying in a deep voice, "Do you recognise this?"
The shop owner's eyes fell on the pendant. In the candlelight, it was warm and smooth, with a clean break made by something sharp.
Xu Qi'an clearly saw the shop owner's pupils contract.
"What's your relation to Zhou Min?"
"You don't need to know. Just tell me, do you recognise this pendant?"
The shop owner nodded slightly, "Wait here."
He limped into a room on the east side. Due to his limp, he usually stayed on the first floor. The rooms on the second floor were for clients.
Xu Qi'an gave Zhu Guangxiao a look, signaling him to follow the shop owner to prevent any tricks.
Soon, the shop owner returned with half a jade pendant and a booklet, which matched Xu Qi'an's piece perfectly.
"You're here for this, right?" the shop owner said, handing over the booklet. "This is what Zhou Min left with me."
"Aren't you curious about anything?" Xu Qi'an didn't take the booklet immediately but stared at him.
"Would you tell me if I asked?"
"Not really, but you handed it over too easily."
The shop owner sighed, “When Zhou Min gave me this booklet, he instructed me to only hand it over to someone with the jade pendant. Even if he came himself without it, I wouldn’t give it to him.
"It doesn't matter if you don't reveal your identity. I only recognise the pendant, not the person."
*Recognising the pendant but not the person... because the one coming for the evidence might not be Zhou Min himself... An old spy's cautious mind. It's a pity he's dead...* Xu Qi'an then took the booklet, concentrating on it for a moment. It was an account book, recording the "unexplained" disappearance of military supplies from the Imperial Guard, each entry meticulously noted.
With this "evidence," Inspector Zhang could arrest and interrogate the second-rank Military Commander, although it wouldn't be enough for an immediate conviction.
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao exchanged glances, seeing the joy in each other's eyes. With the evidence in hand, their trip to Yunzhou was nearly concluded.
"What’s your relationship with Zhou Min? Why did he trust you with this booklet?" Xu Qi'an asked casually, taking a sip of tea.
"I was a wandering warrior. Once, because I meddled in someone’s affairs, I offended a local official's son. He brought people to beat me up, and that's how my leg got broken. They were planning to take me out of the city to bury me alive, but Lord Zhou saved me. I owe him my life," the shop owner smiled wistfully.
"With a broken leg, roaming the Jianghu was a joke, so I settled in Baidi City... When he entrusted the booklet to me, I had a bad feeling something would happen to him. I couldn't do much to repay my debt, but I could at least keep his things safe."
"Thank you," Xu Qi'an nodded, silently adding: Leave the revenge to us.
The shop owner cut a few pounds of dog meat for them without charging, but Xu Qi'an insisted on leaving five taels of silver, not for the meat but to cover Master Song's tab.
Song Tingfeng repeatedly looked back, regretful, "Since we can't go back now, why not stay in the shop? I've already paid for it..."
"Yeah, there are beauties to serve us," Xu Qi'an teased, "Go back if you want, they're still wet and ready."
"...," Song Tingfeng thought Xu Ningyan's words were too crude. He should have said: They're waiting for my lord to pick the fruits.
.....
Late at night, in a large mansion.
Li Miaozhen sat cross-legged on the bed meditating, her long, lustrous black hair cascading down, highlighting her wheat-coloured face, which exuded a vigorous heroism.
Having been in Yunzhou for over a year, either training private soldiers or fighting bandits in the mountains, her once fair complexion had turned wheat-coloured.
However, as a disciple of the Heaven Sect, she didn't care about appearances. Their philosophy was: I have no feelings!
Without feelings, why bother about looks?
Finishing her meditation, she focused and sensed for a while, finding no trace of her demon in the mansion.
*She hasn't returned?*
*Three Bronze Gongs should be easy for her, not to mention that Xu Qi'an is a wastrel drained by wine and women. There shouldn't be any problems.*
*She should have been able to extract information by charming them during the day, so why hasn't she returned yet?*
*Could it be that she went against her orders and got infatuated?*
Li Miaozhen immediately dismissed this thought. This spirit had been with her for years and was obedient. In life, she was a good girl and, in death, a nearly grievance-free, kind ghost. Knowing Xu Qi'an's weakened state, she wouldn’t drain his vitality.
*Maybe she got playful...* Li Miaozhen pulled the quilt over herself and went to sleep.
The next day, after finishing her morning routine and breakfast, and still not seeing her demon back as the sun rose high, she realised something was wrong.
She immediately drew a simple yin-yang bagua formation in the courtyard, placed cemetery soil, corpse oil, and a cat’s eye in specific positions.
Then she took out a crumpled paper man, placed it on the yin-yang fish, and activated the formation with her qi.
In a realm unseen by ordinary people, the paper man absorbed the yin energy from the items, twitched its hands and feet, then staggered to its feet, only to collapse back into a normal paper man.
Li Miaozhen's face grew serious. The paper man, once attached to her demon, still held her residual energy and should have led her to it.
Such a result indicated three possibilities: one, she met an untimely end and her soul dissipated; two, she was sealed; three, she left Baidi City, beyond the paper man's sensing range.
Regardless of the possibility, it meant she was in trouble.
*Whoever Hung the Bell Should Unite It!* Li Miaozhen thought.
…
The courier station!
"Finished reading it yet? Is that account book authentic?"
In the room, Song Tingfeng asked Xu Qi'an, who was bent over the table, scrutinising the account book, with a loquat candy in his mouth.
Zhu Guangxiao, meanwhile, sat cross-legged, meditating and practicing his Qi.
"Do you even know what reconciling accounts means? It's like interrogating a suspect; you need to cross-examine face-to-face," Xu Qi'an replied irritably.
"Then why are you reading it so intently?" Song Tingfeng yawned. He hadn’t rested well at the inn last night, still suffering from the aftereffects of the illusion spell he encountered the previous day.
Song Tingfeng was just waiting for Inspector Zhang to return so he could hand over the task and then go to the constabulary to commission a search for his beloved Susu.
"At least I can get a rough idea of the contents," Xu Qi'an answered.
"I’m going to the privy," Song Tingfeng said, not wanting to argue further.
After Song Tingfeng left the room, Xu Qi'an turned to Zhu Guangxiao, who was still meditating, "Do you want to look for Susu?"
Zhu Guangxiao opened his eyes, gave him a glance, but said nothing.
"Still haven't made up your mind?" Xu Qi'an smiled.
"Mmn," Zhu Guangxiao replied.
Xu Qi'an irresponsibly continued, “What’s there to think about? You and Susu have already consummated your relationship, but that stinky sister at home hasn't even let you hold her hand, right? Yet she shamelessly demands a hundred taels of silver from you. Is she crazy for money? That old man treats his daughter like gold... Forget it, let’s not badmouth her.
"Have you seen my aunt? She's a top-tier beauty. When my second uncle married her, the bride price was only twenty taels. Why does your fiancée think she’s worth a hundred?"
A hundred taels of silver—an ordinary family would need to save for five years without spending a cent, and usually ten years to amass such an amount.
Caught between his brothers and his fiancée, Zhu Guangxiao chose to remain silent. But he couldn't help but think of Susu's sweet moans and her enchanting demeanor.
Just as Old Zhu was about to say something, Song Tingfeng's voice called from downstairs, "Ningyan, there's a guest..."