Catching Monsters

Chapter 356 I'm Not Thirsty

Jiang Yun was quite clear about this; these so-called Gu worm spells were transmitted through a special kind of rhythmic sound.

The thing that is placed into the human body through magic is called a worm.

The mother insect, however, is in the hands of the one who cast the spell.

When a spell needs to be cast, the mother insect emits a very regular vibration sound, causing the offspring insects to kill.

Of course, Jiang Yun could choose to force the Gu worms out, but the risk was very high, and Jiang Yun was not 100% sure of success.

Only by directly controlling the person who cast the curse can Tao Yuelan's safety be ensured.

Jiang Yun dared not delay for a moment. Before leaving, he said to Wu Chi, "Steward Wu, hurry up and go to the Southern Garrison Command to find Commander Chen Yi and tell him that there is a problem with the Five Fragrances Pavilion."

"Yes."

……

Wuxianglou is located on the east side of the inner city. It is a high-end restaurant in the capital and can be considered a long-established brand in the city.

However, because there are so many merchants in the capital, there are countless restaurants and hotels for dining and lodging. So, Wuxianglou came up with a unique idea during this period and found some performers who were skilled in acrobatics from the Western Regions to perform.

This has also made Wuxianglou's business quite prosperous recently.

As soon as Jiang Yun arrived at the entrance of Wuxianglou, he heard cheers coming from inside. The waiter at the door, seeing that Jiang Yun was dressed in an extraordinary manner, approached him with a smile and said, "Sir, I'm sorry, Wuxianglou is already full. If you want to go in, you will have to make a reservation and come back tomorrow."

Jiang Yun casually tossed out one or two taels of silver.

After the waiter took it, his expression changed slightly, and he said with great joy, "Sir, please come in. I made a mistake. There are private rooms upstairs."

With the income of this gatekeeper, it would take him a long time to save up one tael of silver.

Soon, the servant led Jiang Yun inside. There were more than twenty tables in the main hall, and a wooden platform had been set up at the back of the hall.

At that moment, a middle-aged man performing acrobatics was standing on the stage.

"Is it this person performing every day, or are there other people?"

The waiter who led Jiang Yun to the private room said with a smile, "Sir, this entire opera troupe was invited from the Western Regions by our manager. It cost a lot of money, and there are more than ten people in total."

"There are also two women from the Western Regions, who are beautiful and charming, and have a unique charm compared to the women from our Central Plains."

Soon, Jiang Yun was led to a slightly quieter private room, where she could see the performance on stage through the window.

The waiter turned around to have someone serve the dishes, but Jiang Yun raised his hand, signaling him not to rush: "I have some questions for you. Answer truthfully, and this silver coin is yours too."

After saying that, Jiang Yun took out another tael of silver and placed it on the table.

Seeing this, the servant quickly wiped his clothes with his hand, overjoyed. This gentleman was truly generous: "Sir, please ask. As long as I know the answer, I will answer it without reservation."

"How many people are in this opera troupe invited from the Western Regions? What is the exact number?"

“Ten…thirteen people.” The servant thought carefully for a moment before confirming, “Eleven men and two women.”

"Where do you live?"

"Our manager rented a courtyard in the outer city for them."

“Write down the address,” Jiang Yun said.

The servant didn't know what Jiang Yun was planning to do, but of course, he quickly did as he was told, and soon an address was written on the paper.

Jiang Yun asked a few more questions, but the servant couldn't answer them. Clearly, his knowledge was also very limited.

"Alright, call your manager over here," Jiang Yun said, handing over the two taels of silver.

"Alright." The waiter breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He was really worried that the customer wouldn't give him the two taels of silver if he couldn't answer the last few questions.

Soon, a portly shopkeeper arrived quickly after being notified by his servant.

"I heard this distinguished guest wishes to see me?" the shopkeeper said with a smile. "My surname is Huang, and my given name is Fugui."

"Manager Huang, please have a seat." Jiang Yun said, then asked, "Where did you hire this opera troupe? What do you know about them?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Fugui frowned slightly and stared at Jiang Yun warily: "Sir, you..."

Jiang Yun immediately understood what this guy was thinking; he was probably worried that he was being poached by another restaurant.

He took out his Imperial Guard badge and threw it on the table: "Look carefully before you answer my questions properly."

I saw the waist badge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, especially the words "Thousand-Household Commander" on it.

Huang Fugui felt a slight tremor in his heart. As the manager of Wuxianglou, he often had many important people dining there.

Even so, the fact that a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had come to his door still made him feel uneasy.

"Alright, can you answer my question now?" Jiang Yun asked with a smile.

"Yes, yes." Huang Fugui nodded, then said respectfully, "Sir, actually, this opera troupe wasn't brought here by me from the Western Regions..."

"The Western Regions are remote and difficult to reach, and few people have ever been there."

“Only occasionally would slave traders bring slaves from the Western Regions.”

"I met this troupe while I was away from home, and I thought their skills were quite good, so I invited them to come to the capital." Huang Fugui paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "These people are kind-hearted and don't charge a penny. They said they just wanted a place to perform their acrobatics."

Hearing Huang Fugui's words, Jiang Yun picked up a brush and quickly drew the strange butterfly pattern from before, placing it in front of Huang Fugui: "Have you seen this pattern before?" Upon seeing the pattern in front of him, Huang Fugui's eyes visibly flickered slightly, but he still asked, "Lord Commander, this... could it be that they have committed some crime? Could you possibly make an exception for them?"

"answer my question."

Huang Fugui swallowed hard. During the time the opera troupe had been here, his Wuxianglou restaurant business had been booming; it was a walking money tree.

But Jiang Yun's gaze was also extremely oppressive. He finally took a deep breath, nodded and said, "I have seen this pattern before. There is a jade pendant worn by a girl in this opera troupe that looks just like this."

"I usually call her Butterfly Girl."

Butterfly Girl?

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun pondered for a while. Was there a problem with the entire opera troupe, or was it just this one woman?

If it's the latter, that's fine.

If the entire opera troupe has problems...

We need to control this woman first, and at the very least, we need to neutralize the Gu worms on Tao Yuelan's body.

"Where is this Butterfly Girl?" Jiang Yun asked with a smile. "I heard she's quite beautiful, isn't that right?"

Huang Fugui was slightly taken aback and subconsciously said, "Lord Commander, Butterfly Girl only sells her art, not her body."

"I don't care what she sells, I'll find a way to let her meet me alone outside."

"Butterfly Girl is currently in the backyard of Wuxianglou." Huang Fugui said, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

But seeing the threatening look in Jiang Yun's eyes, he forced a smile: "I'll try my best."

“I’ll be waiting for her on the second floor of the teahouse across the street from your Wuxianglou. Bring her over there.”

After Jiang Yun finished speaking, she walked out the door.

Watching Jiang Yun's retreating figure, Huang Fugui took a deep breath and headed towards the backyard of Wuxianglou. Now, the backyard of Wuxianglou truly resembled a theatrical troupe.

Several people were busy inside.

Huang Fugui greeted them with a smile and soon arrived at the door of a room, raising his hand to knock on the door.

Before long, the door opened, and a woman with an exotic appearance stood inside, smiling as she asked, "Manager Huang, is there something you need?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Fugui chuckled and said, "Butterfly Girl, it's like this, there's an important person who has heard that you have exceptional magic skills and would like to meet you privately. Would that be convenient for you?"

Upon hearing this, Butterfly Girl frowned. How could she not know what these important figures in the Zhou Kingdom were thinking?

She was about to refuse when Huang Fugui pleaded, "Butterfly Girl, that's a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I really can't afford to offend him. Why don't you go and meet him? In broad daylight, he can't possibly abduct a woman."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing these words, especially the words "Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard," a faint smile appeared on Butterfly Girl's face. She said, "Since the shopkeeper has said so, then I will go and see this Commander."

……

In the Mingyang Teahouse, on the second floor, Jiang Yun sat by the window, having already asked the waiter to brew a pot of fine tea.

To Jiang Yun's surprise, Manager Huang was quite efficient; not long after, he arrived with a beautiful woman.

The woman's eyes were like emeralds, her hair was wavy, she had the appearance of a Western woman, she wore a red gauze dress, and she exuded a faint fragrance.

This should be the appearance of the people from the Western Regions in this world.

However, this woman is definitely a top-tier beauty.

"Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jiang Yun." Jiang Yun smiled, gestured for Huang Fugui to proceed, and then glanced at him, saying, "Manager Huang, please go back first."

Huang Fugui glanced at Butterfly Girl somewhat awkwardly.

Butterfly smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, you should go back first."

Huang Fugui breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned to leave, afraid of getting into trouble.

"Commander Jiang, please have some tea." Butterfly sat down opposite him with a smile, and then personally brewed a pot of tea for Jiang Yun.

However, Jiang Yun could see that when she was making tea, some powdery substance fell into the tea.

"Let's switch drinks."

As Jiang Yun spoke, he handed her the cup of tea that she had given him.

With a faint smile on her face, Butterfly slowly said, "What does Commander Jiang mean by this?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see you drink tea, young lady. Go ahead and drink." Jiang Yun smiled and stared at the other person.

Butterfly frowned slightly and changed the subject: "Commander Jiang, you seem so young, yet you hold the position of commander..."

"Have a sip of tea first," Jiang Yun said, handing the cup of tea to her.

"Thank you, I'm not thirsty."

Jiang Yun suddenly grabbed Butterfly's wrist and said in a deep voice, "Butterfly, I told you, I'll let you have some tea!"

Butterfly's expression changed slightly, and she hurriedly shouted, "Indecent assault!"

The moment she opened her mouth, Jiang Yun swiftly picked up the cup of tea, poured it into her mouth, and then tightly pinched her lips, forcing her to swallow the tea.

(End of this chapter)