Star Trace Gate

Ren Ye, his beloved concubine, Lao Liu, Xu Bangzi, Little Bat, and the three heroes from Jingshan left Qingliang Mansion at the hour of Si.

A group of eight people, riding eight top-quality horses, left Qingliang Prefecture and headed straight for the depths of Lingnan Prefecture.

The mountains along the way are undulating and the scenery is beautiful, like a fairyland on earth, but unfortunately, no one has time to appreciate it.

They galloped all the way until the early afternoon when they arrived at a town beside the official road and stayed in a small inn.

This place is a hundred miles away from Qingliang Prefecture.

After entering, the little bat told everyone to be quiet, and only shouted to the innkeeper: "We came down from the mountains, please serve us good wine and good meat, but please don't add anything to the food, otherwise, don't blame me for tearing down your three shabby houses."

"Yes, yes, gentlemen, please wait a moment, we will be there soon." The shopkeeper replied politely.

Old Liu, who was sitting in the south seat, asked curiously: "What is the bonus...?"

"Some dirty tricks commonly used in the underworld, such as kidnapping or extortion." The little bat explained with a simple smile: "The people here have always been tough. Those who wear cloth are ordinary people, and those who hold steel knives are bandits. Everyone should be careful...!"

Lao Liu was speechless: "What a chaotic place, but it sounds exciting."

Soon, the food was served, four cold and four hot dishes, including braised beef, traditional roast chicken, etc. It was not rich or delicious, but at least it filled my stomach.

During the meal, Ren Ye whispered to the little bat, "How is the investigation of the groom named Zhang going?"

The little bat heard the sound and glanced at the sky outside, then replied softly, "I sent a message via carrier pigeon to contact a group of bandits here. Your Highness, don't worry, we just need to wait for the message."

"Yeah." Ren nodded.

"Eat more." The beloved concubine gracefully tore off a chicken leg and placed it on Ren Ye's plate.

Seeing this scene, Old Liu said sourly: "Alas, no one tore the chicken leg for me, this meal is tasteless."

Xu Bangzi looked at him very politely, reached out and took a chicken butt, put it in Lao Liu's bowl and said, "Brother, have a chicken anus to taste the saltiness."

"...Do you think you are funny?"

The two of them were chatting in a sweet and affectionate manner, interacting frequently.

After a while, the meal was almost finished, and the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground was heard outside the door.

After taking a look, the little bat immediately went out to greet him. After a while, he brought back a middle-aged man with an untidy beard and a sword hanging from his waist.

The two sat down, and Little Bat introduced: "Second Master, this man is Dalihu, a brother who hangs out around here."

Although he has a simple and honest character, he is very experienced in the world. In front of outsiders, he deliberately hides the title of "Your Highness".

Dalihu clasped his fists and said, "I greet you, Second Master."

"Thank you for your hard work, brother." Ren also exchanged a few words with the other party, and then took the initiative to ask: "Do you know the groom named Zhang?"

Upon hearing this, Dalihu took out a portrait from his arms, spread it on the table, pointed at the person in the painting and asked, "Second Master, take a look. Is this the person you are talking about?"

Ren also carefully identified it and shouted in his heart: "Fuck, is this a professional?"

That’s right, the person in the portrait is the groom named Zhang.

"Yes, that's the person." Ren Ye replied immediately.

"That's right." Dalihu put away the portrait and said, "This man is called Zhang Changshou. He followed a group of bandits a few years ago and made a living on the official road. Later, he met a tough guy and his legs were crippled. He can only do some livestock business. When I came here, I asked a horse racer who was familiar with him. I heard that he got rich some time ago and was very ostentatious. However, he suddenly disappeared recently."

"When did you disappear?"

"Probably six or seven days ago." Dalihu frowned.

Ren also calculated the time in his mind. If it was six or seven days ago, then Zhang the groom should have gone to Qingliang Prefecture first, and after delivering the goods, he did not return here.

He sat down to think for a moment, then asked softly, "Where are the other members of the cavalry following him?"

"No one has seen them either." Dalihu shook his head. "They probably haven't returned here either. However, this guy named Zhang is quite lustful. I sent someone to inquire about him and found out that he was having an affair with a brothel's madam. After he became rich, he stayed there for quite a while and we had frequent contact."

"Does this madam know the whereabouts of Zhang the groom?" asked Old Liu.

"I'm not sure, but it's a simple matter. Let's go together and ask about it." Dalihu seemed to be talking about a trivial matter.

"This matter is too important to the Second Master. We must not alert the enemy." The little bat added.

"I know, I know." Although Dalihu was very ugly, he was very respectful to Ren Ye and others.

"It's getting late. If you want to go over and ask, let's go over there."

"Okay." Dalihu raised his head, waved his hand and called out, "Lao Li."

The shopkeeper looked up when he heard this and bared his teeth, "What do you want, Tiger Lord?"

"brush!"

Dalihu flicked his wrist and threw out a piece of broken star source, which landed steadily on the counter: "Say what you should say, and don't say what you shouldn't say. Keep your mouth shut so that you can do business better."

"Yes, yes, Master Tiger!" The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly.

"We've already been bothering you by coming here, how can we allow you to...!" Even the shameless Ren Ye felt a little embarrassed at this moment and wanted to take the initiative to pay the bill.

Unexpectedly, Dalihu waved his hand very boldly: "You are Master Wu's sworn brother, which means that in Lingnan Prefecture, you are the second master of all the heroes of the Green Camp. What does a little bit of source mean to you? Please don't be polite."

"Yes, you're welcome." The little bat added.

"Okay." Ren Ye could only nod slightly when he heard them say that.

As they were talking, everyone walked out of the inn, and Lao Liu and Ren also muttered, "These bandits are quite particular about what they do, and they are also very kind."

"Yes." Ren nodded.

……

After eating and drinking, everyone, led by Dalihu, rode away under the starry sky.

It took about an hour for everyone to arrive at a brothel near the official road. It was connected to six or seven towns and business was booming.

Many women who were dressed seductively and wore heavy makeup were walking around in the brothels.

However, Lao Liu's evaluation of them is: "Too strong, too professional, and no aesthetic appeal."

There was no other way. This was a desolate and war-torn area. Most of the girls working in the service industry were widows or captured country women. They could not even compare to the brothels in the Daqian Dynasty, let alone the lowest-class brothels in the border areas.

More than ten top-quality horses were parked in front of the brothel entrance.

Dalihu dismounted from his horse, with a steel knife hanging from his waist, and said, "We can just go in directly."

"Don't you need someone to lead the way or say hello?" Ren Ye frowned and said, "If you need to pay some money to find out, we are also prepared."

Dalihu was confused. After a long reaction, he smiled and said, "Here, look at the person. If the person is not right, the money in our pockets will be easily obtained by others. If the person is right, everything will be easy. Second Master, just follow me in."

"Okay." Ren didn't understand the ways of the ancient martial arts world, so he just led his men and followed Dalihu inside.

"Hey, gentlemen, come and play!"

"It's a long night...!"

As soon as everyone entered, a group of vulgar people surrounded them.

"Snapped!"

Dalihu pushed the three women away and said coldly, "Get lost!"

When the women saw how aggressive he was, they all walked away cursing at him.

Soon, a young man dressed in shorts came over and whispered to Dalihu, "Boss, the madam is playing with the gigolo in the side room!"

"go!"

Dalihu leads the team and everyone follows.

After a few breaths, they arrived at a side courtyard at the innermost part of the brothel and heard a woman's joyful howls coming from the room.

Xu Qingzhao frowned: "I won't go in."

"Oh!"

Before anyone else could say anything, Dalihu kicked the door of the side room open and walked in very directly.

"People... they are just having fun, what you are doing... is so bad, we in the underworld should also have some manners." Old Liu was confused, and followed curiously into the room, his eyes lit up and he said, "The battle is very intense!"

On the bed, a plain-looking man was half-kneeling with a confused look on his face.

Under him, a fair-skinned woman, not young but still charming, was lying.

The two of them stared at the dozen or so spectators in confusion.

After a moment, the man finally reacted and yelled, "You bastards, who let you in?!"

As he spoke, he reached out and picked up a short stick hanging on the bed.

The woman was so angry that she didn't even cover herself with the quilt. She stood up and cursed fiercely: "Damn it, is there anyone who dares to cause trouble in my territory?! Someone come!"

Shouts were heard everywhere, and thugs from the nearby courtyard came running from all directions with short sticks and steel knives. There were at least fifteen or sixteen of them.

At this moment, the little bat turned his head and looked at Ren Ye and said, "Second Master, you wait outside the door."

Ren was also a little worried: "You guys...!"

"Nothing, nothing!" the little bat replied with a smile.

Hearing this, Ren had no choice but to take his men out, leaving only Little Bat and Strong Tiger indoors.

Outside, a group of guards were about to rush over, but a young man next to Little Bat drew out his steel knife with a sharp look in his eyes and said briefly: "Qianli Green Camp, people from Jingshan. If you don't want to die, get out!"

With just one sentence, the group of thugs who were about to rush forward were all stunned where they were. After looking at each other, they each retreated a dozen steps.

When Old Liu saw this, he turned to the young man and asked, "You said you were from the Qianli Green Camp, so they believed you?"

"The whistle on my waist and the knife in my hand are only carried by people from the Qianli Green Camp," the young man replied.

Old Liu exclaimed: "Awesome! Are you still short of people? I feel like the empire isn't developing much...!"

……

indoor.

The madam put on her clothes and the man stood aside.

After a while, the madam spoke up: "Lao Zhang and I were just friends in bed. I don't know where he went."

The little bat took the man's short stick and asked in a simple and honest tone: "Then what can you do to find out his whereabouts?"

"Two thousand yuan. I can think about it carefully." The madam covered her mouth coquettishly and replied with a smile.

"Oh……!"

The little bat slowly stood up with the short stick in his hand, and bent down to look at her: "You are such a woman who loves money more than anything else."

After a while, the screams of a man and the curses and pleas for mercy of a woman were heard from the room.

Ren was also frightened when he heard this and tried several times to rush in to see what was going on, but was stopped by Little Bat's men.

After a while, the little bat came out holding a bloody stick, wiping the sweat off his face, and said, "We can find the groom now."

Ren Ye looked at the blood-stained short stick and instinctively glanced into the room, only to see the man lying on the ground wailing with blood spurting from his buttocks.

Old Liu was also shocked: "You stabbed it?"

"He actually asked me for the star source." The little bat replied.

"No, you stabbed it with this?" Old Liu wanted to confirm it again.

"I didn't poke him, I made him sit on the standing stick!" The little bat said as if it was a trivial matter.

Old Liu's hair stood on end. He looked at the honest-looking Little Bat and Dalihu again and suddenly muttered, "You guys are really kind!"