Chapter 37: Reencounter with Lin Buxi

The next day, early morning, two Six-Fan Gate constables set off first to report the news in Linjiang County. Shortly after, the Yong'an County magistrate personally led a group of county constables to the Wang family residence to deal with those who had died there the previous night.

Meanwhile, Zhuo Qingfeng departed for Yunzhou City with a dozen Six-Fan Gate constables and the two bounty hunters, White-headed Man and Scholar.

At the same time, Gu Mo also boarded a carriage and left Yong'an County.

Gu Chudong, driving the carriage from outside, asked, "Brother, if you had directly encountered Silver Fox last night, could you have defeated him?"

"No, absolutely not," Gu Mo replied. "I simply can't imagine how fast his sword is. So many masters were all killed with a single strike to the throat, without even a chance to make a sound or give a warning. I've never seen such a sword, nor can I imagine it."

Gu Chudong took a deep breath and said, "But can a sword really be that fast? Even legendary Grandmasters probably couldn't achieve that, could they? I won't even mention Hermit and the Tong family brothers. How did he manage to prevent those dozen Six-Fan Gate masters, including two of Zhuo Qingfeng's direct disciples and Wang Yuanbao, a first-rate master himself, from even crying for help or drawing their blades in resistance? Is that something a human can do?"

Gu Mo was silenced. A night had passed, and he still couldn't fathom the speed of Silver Fox's sword!

"No wonder Silver Fox is so arrogant, daring to issue death notices before every kill," Gu Chudong said with lingering fear. "Brother, we should be more cautious when taking on missions from now on. It would be a huge problem if we encountered a master like Silver Fox again. This time, fortunately, there were many people and many masters, so Silver Fox fled directly. If it had just been us there, the fight would have been terrible!"

Gu Mo frowned slightly. For some reason, he felt that Gu Chudong's words had just sparked a fleeting idea in his mind, but he couldn't grasp it. "What was it?" Gu Mo pondered to himself.

"Brother, we didn't lose out. Even though we didn't catch Silver Fox, this trip wasn't in vain," Gu Chudong said cheerfully. "Before we came, didn't Boss Yan say Wang Yuanbao gave us five hundred taels as a reward? Boss Yan takes thirty percent, so we still have over three hundred taels."

"Forget about that money; we don't need it."

"Why not?"

"Boss Yan put a lot of effort and money into getting that invitation. We didn't catch Silver Fox, so she suffered a big loss. Let's let her use that money to cover her expenses."

"Alright, sigh. Why is Silver Fox so strong?"

...

As dusk approached, the carriage sped along a mountain path. The night deepened, and the mountains and forests faded into shadows. A mountain breeze rustled through the trees, their leaves whispering. A faint light flickered at the end of the winding mountain trail — an inn.

A tavern flag flapped in the wind outside the inn. The character for "wine" on it was faded and mottled, as if telling tales of time's passage. The inn door was ajar, emitting a warm, dim light.

Gu Chudong said proudly, "Brother, I told you! I remembered clearly there's an inn here. We don't have to sleep rough tonight!"

Gu Mo stepped down from the carriage and praised with a smile, "Chudong is the best."

"Hehe," Gu Chudong grinned, saying, "A few days ago, when we passed by here during the day, I deliberately noted that there was an inn. I thought then that if we were passing through in the late afternoon on our way back, we could stay here."

"Chudong is gaining more and more experience in the martial arts world," Gu Mo continued to praise generously.

Gu Chudong was very pleased, then called into the inn, "Is anyone here?"

"Coming! Coming!" Soon, a waiter with a towel draped over his shoulder emerged. He smartly took the reins from Gu Chudong's hand and said, "Please come in, esteemed guests. I'll lead your horse away and tie it securely. Don't worry, we have excellent feed here."

"Mm." Gu Chudong responded, then helped Gu Mo into the inn.

Stepping inside, several oil lamps flickered dimly. There were only a few patrons, perhaps three to five people, drinking their wine quietly.

The innkeeper was a lean old man with sharp eyes. As soon as he saw Gu Mo and Gu Chudong enter, he immediately brought over a pot of tea, pouring it while warmly asking, "Are you two stopping for a meal or staying the night?"

"Staying the night, and please bring some food quickly." Gu Chudong quickly ordered a few dishes, and the innkeeper immediately left to give instructions in the kitchen.

"This inn is a bit run-down. I hope the rooms don't smell," Gu Chudong murmured, then picked up his teacup, ready to drink, when he suddenly heard Gu Mo whisper, "The tea is poisoned."

Gu Chudong paused slightly, then slowly put down his teacup and whispered, "Brother, what should we do? Is someone trying to harm us?"

"It might not necessarily be directed at us. Let's observe first," Gu Mo said.

Just then, a mixed array of footsteps sounded from outside, and a group of people appeared at the entrance. There were five or six of them, all dusty from travel, each carrying large and small bundles, looking very serious. They seemed to be traveling merchants.

As soon as they entered, they sat down, and one middle-aged man loudly called out, "Waiter, bring us all your best wine and dishes!"

After the waiter acknowledged their order, the group began chatting. From their conversation, it was clear they were indeed traveling merchants, likely specializing in valuable medicinal herbs. They were all boasting about how shrewdly they had acquired good items cheaply in various places.

"Huh!" Gu Chudong suddenly uttered a soft exclamation.

"What's wrong?" Gu Mo asked.

"Brother, among those merchants, one looks like that annoying guy, Lin Buqi," Gu Chudong said. "But the lighting in this inn is too dim; I can't see clearly. I might be mistaken. Why would Lin Buqi be a traveling merchant?"

However, as Gu Chudong was wondering, the merchant resembling Lin Buqi also spotted Gu Mo and Gu Chudong. He then turned to the other merchants and said, "Brothers, I see an acquaintance here. We used to do business together. I'll go say hello."

Immediately, the man walked towards Gu Mo and Gu Chudong.

As the man approached, Gu Chudong was surprised to find that it truly was Lin Buqi. However, this Lin Buqi was nothing like his arrogant self at the Wang family residence; his clothes were common, giving him the appearance of a nouveau riche.

Gu Chudong had no goodwill toward Lin Buqi. After all, this person had wildly provoked Gu Mo at the Wang family residence a few days prior, spouting arrogant words and even presuming to gain fame by stepping on Gu Mo.

"Hmph," Gu Chudong snorted coldly.

"Oh, young lady, we meet again! I was just planning to visit your esteemed father after I returned!" Lin Buqi suddenly spoke, completely out of context, then sat down with a smiling face. Just as Gu Chudong, full of questions, was about to ask, Lin Buqi suddenly whispered, "Did you drink the tea? It's poisoned. This is a rogue inn!"