Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 666 The Comb Maker
“Brother Qi, those guys just now, they didn’t look like good people at all, especially that weasel-faced kid hiding in the back wearing a Taoist robe. I could tell at a glance that he was definitely the kind of person who was rotten to the core.”

A constable said to the constable Qi Tongwei.

Another constable, with his head down, added, "There are five of them in total. As the saying goes, 'five is not enough to make a flower bloom.' They're probably either out hunting or searching. Perhaps they're here to scout the place."

"Five or less, nothing will happen" is a term used in the martial arts world, meaning that if you want to do something big, it's basically impossible to succeed with fewer than five people.

The saying goes, "To rush into the wind is to be a robber, and to crawl is to be a thief."

These constables had very sharp eyes; they could tell that Xiao Ran and the others were definitely not good people.

Qi Tongwei raised the broadsword at his waist and sneered, "The tricks of these Jianghu people, no matter how you look at them, are nothing more than wind, horse, swallow, sparrow, porcelain, gold, appraisal, leather, color, and hanging. They certainly don't have any other skills. These next few days, keep your eyes open. As long as you catch them in the act, lock them up in the dungeon."

"promise!"

The constables all bowed.

Qi Tongwei then sniffed, looked at the noodle shop in front of him and smiled, "Let's go, we just got paid today, let's go have a bowl of mutton offal noodles."

As they were talking, Qi Tongwei subconsciously reached into his pocket and touched something. Suddenly, his smile froze on his face, and his hand unconsciously rummaged around inside his pocket.

"Where's my wallet?!"

Qi Tongwei was incredulous and astonished to find that his purse was gone. Unconvinced, he quickly searched for it again.

"Boss, I saw you with your purse in your pocket today, how come it's gone?"

"Could it have fallen off?"

"Impossible! We were all following along, how could they have fallen off without us noticing?!"

Listening to the incessant chatter of his followers, Qi Tongwei suddenly recalled what Xiao Ran had said to him.

"I would never do anything like cheating or swindling..."

"Scamming, cheating...stealing??"

Qi Tongwei's eyes widened, and he slapped his thigh: "What audacity!!"

The group of people didn't know what was wrong with Qi Tongwei, who looked furious.

"Good, good, good! These scoundrels are incredibly audacious! They've made a fool of me! They deserve to die! They deserve to die!!"

No wonder Qi Tongwei was so angry. He cheated, swindled, and stole. Xiao Ran only mentioned cheating, swindling, and stealing, but not stealing.

Then, right in front of him, they stole his purse.

There are such audacious thieves in the world who even remind the victims before stealing their belongings.

What angered Qi Tongwei was that he hadn't understood at all and was only just realizing it now. This was tantamount to being slapped in the face in public, so how could he not be angry?

"I've been playing with eagles for half my life, and I never thought I'd be blinded by a sparrow!" Qi Tongwei's face was full of resentment, and the knuckles of his hand gripping the knife hilt turned white.

Even the slow-witted henchmen should have realized something by now, and immediately jumped out and said, "Boss Qi, let's go and catch him right now!"

"Hmph, what's the use of going now? To catch a thief red-handed, you have to catch an adulterer in the act. What evidence do you have now that he stole it?"

Qi Tongwei wished he could lock Xiao Ran up in jail right now, but the problem was that he had no evidence. Without evidence, he couldn't arrest her, so he had to swallow his anger and suffer in silence.

"So you're just letting them get away with this? That's a month's salary for you."

Someone said, unwilling to accept it.

Qi Tongwei took a deep breath to calm himself down: "How can we let them get away with this? All of you go and keep a close eye on this guy who stole my money. No matter what, I will send him to jail."

"promise!"

The group bowed and accepted the order.

But the next second, Qi Tongwei's expression suddenly changed slightly, and he smiled at the group: "Um... I'm out of rice at home... you guys..."

Upon hearing this, the henchmen immediately understood and scrambled to scrape together some loose change from their pockets, managing to get by...

"Tea's here!!"

The waiter brought the teapot to the table, and before leaving, he wiped the table again: "Please enjoy your tea, sir."

Huang Le was already thirsty, so he picked up the teapot and poured a cup for everyone. But before the tea could even reach his lips, Xiao Ran reached out and pressed it down.

Xiao Ran held the tea under her nose and took a gentle sniff...

"Ahhh... Achoo!!"

Xiao Ran rubbed her nose, then put the tea on the table and shook her head at Huang Le.

"Speaking of which, you stole his wallet, aren't you afraid he'll come back and arrest you?" Jin Chanzi looked at Xiao Ran. "When that constable drew his sword just now, I could feel a force on the blade. If he had drawn it, you probably wouldn't have been able to escape."

The power Jin Chanzi referred to wasn't Qi Tongwei's actual strength, but rather the power granted by the rules of the supernatural tales. It was as if the other party possessed some kind of privilege, allowing them to easily imprison Xiao Ran.

"Don't worry, the rules of the ghost story are very clear. He can only arrest us after catching us in the act or finding conclusive evidence that we did it. He can only catch a thief red-handed or an adulterer caught in the act. If he doesn't catch me in the act, he can't arrest me."

Xiao Ran was quick-witted; the moment the rules of the strange tales appeared before her, she had already noticed the details.

"Also, it would be better if you guys separated from me from now on." Xiao Ran said, looking at Huang Le: "Especially you, I've been taking on the most firepower for you, so you can't let me down."

Upon hearing this, Huang Le blushed immediately: "No, no, that won't happen."

Huang Le's professions are apprentice, spirit possessor, and puppeteer. He can't do anything else, but doing something immoral is definitely not difficult for him. It just depends on whether he's willing to use his brain.

If Huang Le can't even handle this matter, then for the sake of our brotherhood, Xiao Ran really doesn't need to take him along for the rest of the journey. He can just find a side quest to help him complete and then let him leave this labyrinthine city.

"Don't worry, I've already figured out how to do something bad."

As Huang Le confidently stood up and walked out, Xiao Ran, feeling uneasy, had Qing Hai follow him for protection.

"what about you?"

Xiao Ran turned her gaze to Jin Chanzi and Dai Long.

"Hahaha, Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, this humble Taoist has a brilliant plan."

Jin Chanzi grinned. As the saying goes, it's hard to do a good deed, but it's just a matter of a single thought to do a bad deed. How could such a thing be difficult for him?

Dai Long thought for a moment and said, "I'm fine with that too. I'm not good at murder or arson, nor am I good at swindling or cheating, but it's not difficult to cause trouble for a few people and swindle some money from them without them knowing."

"How about we have a competition?"

Jin Chanzi squinted and asked Dai Long.

Dai Long curled his lip: "No, I admit defeat. I can't compare to your rottenness."

"Hey, you really are... Oh well, I'm off."

Jin Chanzi got up and left, with Dai Long following behind.

Soon, Xiao Ran was the only one left in the teahouse. Looking at the bustling street, Xiao Ran was still wondering what she should do next.

"Still stealing? Those guys are probably already watching me. Trying this again will only backfire."

Xiao Ran squinted and pondered for a while, then saw a man carrying a load on a shoulder pole walk past her.

As he walked, he kept calling out, "Comb~~~head~~~!!!"

The term "篦!" refers to haircutting or facial trimming, and can be understood as a barber or shaving expert.

It's just that this name doesn't exist now.

The man's carrying pole had a copper stove for boiling water on one side and a wooden box for storing razors and combs, as well as a seat, on the other side.

This is the origin of the old Beijing saying, "The barber's pole is hot on one end only."

Xiao Ran's eyes lit up: "Isn't this a perfect opportunity for me to practice?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran stood up, casually tossed down one or two copper coins, and followed after them.

Seeing Xiao Ran leave, the waiter stepped forward to collect the money, and looked at the untouched tea on the table with a regretful expression.

"Strange, why didn't anyone drink it? What a waste of my laxative."

After saying that, when no one was paying attention, he poured the tea on the table back into the teapot.

"Hey buddy, bring me a pot of hot tea."

Just then, another group of people sat down at a table next to the tea stall. The waiter's eyes lit up, and he greeted them with a smile, carrying a teapot: "You're here!!"

On the other street corner, Xiao Ran came out carrying a shoulder pole, and she had changed into a simple long gown.

"Cough cough..."

Xiao Ran cleared her throat and then called out, "Comb!"

After shouting, Xiao Ran clicked her tongue, feeling that the shout didn't quite sound right.

I remember when I was a child, I saw a barber on the street riding a tricycle, singing a folk song as he rode.

Although it was something that happened a long time ago, Xiao Ran recalled it all after a little thought.

Xiao Ran smiled, picked up her shoulder pole, and walked into the street, singing in a voice mixed with her local accent as she went:

"The razor flashes, the copper bell rings, a hot towel wipes away the radiance, the official's hair is styled, the lady's makeup is done, the baby's first hair is put away in a brocade pouch, the young woman's black hair is trimmed, the old man's white beard is given a new makeover..."

(End of this chapter)