Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 224 Interrogation of Duobaoge

The fog was thicker than when we first entered the city, and the plaque of the Duobao Pavilion was no longer visible under the banyan tree.

Hearing footsteps behind her, Zhou Zhao knew that Tao Shangshan and Chen Jiyuan had caught up. She turned around, but could not see the two figures not far away in the thick fog.

Such days shrouded in thick fog are indeed convenient for murder.

As Zhou Zhao pondered, he raised his eyes and looked towards the banyan tree branches above the Banyan Tree Inn. When He Tingshi came, he could still see the bird's nest, but now he could only vaguely see the broken branches of the banyan tree, which looked strangely eerie.

The area appeared completely silent, but the inn was filled with the bustling sounds of people.

"Ah! Sister Zhao! I almost bumped into you! Are you waiting for us here?"

Zhou Zhao looked away, only to meet Chen Jiyuan's eyes. Chen Jiyuan's feet were planted firmly on the ground, but his body was leaning forward. His hands swung in the air like a dog, grabbing Zhou Zhao's sleeve before he could regain his balance. He clearly hadn't expected Zhou Zhao to stop, and his eyes hadn't seen the person in front of him.

Zhou Zhao gave a soft "hmm," then turned around and entered the Treasure Pavilion with Liu Huang.

A thick curtain was drawn in front of the treasure pavilion, and some mist seeped in, but it was still much better than outside.

The shop was empty, with no new customers. When Zhou Zhao entered, the shopkeeper's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and he immediately asked, "Young lady, is there something wrong with that talisman?"

Zhou Zhao smiled at the shopkeeper, who was squinting, and said, "I'd like to discuss a big deal with you. Would you mind coming to a private room to talk?"

The shopkeeper nodded, beckoned someone to guard the shop, and then led Zhou Zhao and the others to a private room on the second floor.

Zhou Zhao looked closely and saw two tall and burly men standing in front of the elegant room, each holding a large knife. They were expressionless and exuded a faint aura of menace, clearly martial arts experts used to intimidate villains.

After the group entered the private room and closed the door, the innkeeper asked Zhou Zhao curiously, "I wonder what big deal you mentioned, young lady?"

Just then, Zhou Zhao suddenly moved his feet and rushed towards the shopkeeper like a bolt of lightning. The shopkeeper's pupils shrank sharply. He raised his palm to meet the attack and tried to call for help.

But as soon as he made the initial movement, he felt a tightness around his neck...

A cold, piercing blue dagger was already pressed against his throat.

"Whether you buy information or risk your life is up to you."

Zhou Zhao said in a calm tone, while Tao Shangshan, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed as if he had seen a ghost. "Aren't we supposed to be handling cases for the Court of Justice? Why are we bringing knives directly at them?"

"Who formulated the insect repellent in the talisman? Where did those missing people go?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper trembled. As he moved, the dagger slashed his skin. He quickly composed himself and said, "Young lady, why don't you put down the dagger? I will tell you everything I know."

Zhou Zhao shook his head. "Did you say the same thing to Li Youzhi when he came?"

The shopkeeper's expression changed. "Are you Lord Zhou of the Court of Judicial Review? Our young master said that if anyone else asks, we must not reveal it casually, but if it is Lord Zhou, we cannot hide it from you."

Duobaoge is owned by Prince Consort Fan, and their young master is Fan Lishen.

Zhou Zhao released his grip, and the shopkeeper, leaning on the antique shelf beside him, caught his breath before saying, "Young Master Zhou, you've misunderstood. Our Duobao Pavilion is by no means a murderer; we just want to make a little money."

After the blood mist appeared that year, the people in the city were filled with fear.

If someone is afraid, we should dispel that fear; this is a highly profitable way to make money.

"Our Duobao Pavilion has many dealings with people in the martial arts world, and we know a lot about extraordinary people and events. In my humble opinion, that blood mist is very likely a Gu worm. When the Gu worms gather together, it is a scarlet blood mist, but if they disperse, they instantly become small red dots, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is what is meant by appearing without a trace and disappearing without a trace." Zhou Zhao listened, not entirely believing what the Duobao Pavilion manager said.

Fan Lishen has been away from Chang'an for several years, and his whereabouts are uncertain. The person in front of him probably has never even met the young master, so he may not be loyal.

"Does Li Youzhi know anything about the Gu worms?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. He glanced at Tao Tingshi and Chen Jiyuan standing at the door, and lowered his voice, saying, "He probably doesn't know. He came to Duobao Pavilion to ask before, but I..."

The shopkeeper patted the money bag and continued, "I didn't say that firstly, he wouldn't pay, and secondly, we rely on this to make money."

Zhou Zhao was speechless.

She recalled the previous Cuju case, where Duobaoge would steal the ball as long as money was offered.

Here, you can't get anywhere without money, but with money, you can do anything.

Li Youzhi, a minor official in the Court of Justice, and under the supervision of He Tingshi, would certainly not be able to secretly spend money to buy information from Duobao Pavilion.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then asked, "How did you determine what kind of Gu worm it was, and who did you ask to prepare the medicine?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "I haven't confirmed it. I'm looking for Master Qi of Tianji Hall in Tianying City."

As he was speaking, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm. He instinctively cried out in alarm, trying to shout several times, but no sound came out at all.

He was rendered mute by Zhou Zhao's acupoint.

Zhou Zhao looked at him coldly, "You'd better understand that it's not because you're answering my questions for Fan Lishen's sake, but because I'm letting you suffer less for Fan Lishen's sake. You'd better behave yourself. With your excellent information network, you should know that I killed Hall Master Qi, and that I became the Hall Master of Tianji after him."

"Your conjecture is uncertain. We don't know the type of Gu worm, and we don't have any Gu worms on hand. How can we prepare the medicine?"

She hadn't figured out the ins and outs of Tianji Hall, but didn't she still have Ah Huang?

"Are you calm now? Do you know how to answer?"

The shopkeeper, his face pale, nodded silently.

Zhou Zhao released his speech acupoint, and he breathed a sigh of relief, clutching his arm.

“I have three Gu worms. That scholar exploded in front of my shop and created a blood mist. I secretly caught one of them. One of the constables in the county town is one of our people. He happened to be at the scene when Li Youzhi died and caught two more.”

I sent two of those Gu worms to Tianying City. One was killed by Hall Master Qi during his medicine testing, and the other he kept for himself.

As the shopkeeper spoke, his face deathly pale, he walked to the chest and took out a wooden box from it. He opened the box, and inside was a small green glass cup with a lid.

"There are seven of them here. They were collected by our people when the disappearances occurred. The reason we've been keeping an eye on them is to see if the Gu worms have changed, so that the Evil-Repelling Beads won't become useless and damage the reputation of our Treasure Pavilion."

Secondly, many wealthy people in this world are eccentric; someone might want to buy some fresh snakes, insects, or rodents, so it's better to be prepared.

What a wise saying, "Being prepared is always good!"
Zhou Zhao gave the shopkeeper a deep look and took the wooden box.

"Did Master Qi mention the origin of this Gu worm? When did he arrive here, and was there anything unusual about the Gu worm in your hand at that time?"