Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

When the words "but nine" came out of Thirteen's mouth, Ren Fengjue and Yu Lang exchanged a glance, their expressions quite unpleasant.

It turned out that the case was much more complicated than they had imagined.

The rain pattered against the window as Thirteen began to recall the events of the Qiongying Inn over the past three years since its opening…

Gezhen is a small town under Yan County, and it is a necessary passage between the northwest and the capital.

Due to the terrain, many merchants from the northwest would choose to stay overnight here when they went to the capital.

Despite its unfavorable location in Gezhen, "Qiongying Inn" has always enjoyed thriving business.

Because the place is large and spacious with plenty of rooms, it is the first choice for many out-of-town merchants.

Of course, besides that, the good business is also closely related to the innkeeper, Huang Yuqiong.

Legend has it that this owner, Huang, was a young widow who was not a native of Yan County. She opened an inn here on her own after her merchant husband died three years ago.

She is cheerful and loves to laugh, is charming and lovely, and loves to dress up.

This so-called "dressing up" is not just about her personal clothing and makeup, but also about the decoration of the entire inn, which is different from other places.

She loves flowers, not only planting them in the front and back yards and engraving their names on the room signs, but also placing fresh flowers at the front desk and in each guest room every day.

The shop on the first floor is kept clean and bright no matter the season, not to mention the guest rooms, even the stables are kept impeccably clean.

With such a reputation, word of mouth spreads, naturally attracting many people to come and seek it out.

But over time, with so many people and so many different opinions, the flavor inevitably changes.

Rumors began to circulate that she was "seductive to the bone," and that she lured men in one after another by "showing off her charms," ​​even subtly implying that widows often attract gossip.

Huang Yuqiong, however, did not care about these rumors. She thought that as a stranger who came here to make a living, it was already much more difficult than for others. If she had to care about some gossip, wouldn't she just be making herself unhappy?

When Thirteen stood up for her, she would pull Thirteen aside and say, "It doesn't matter if they say a few words. Anyway, I'm upright and honest, and I earn money with a clear conscience."

As she spoke, she would give Thirteen a bright smile, revealing a row of pearly teeth.

Thirteen was a beggar that Huang Yuqiong picked up on the way to Laige Town.

He was bitten on the leg by a rabid dog and was lying on the road barely alive.

When he was on the verge of death, Huang Yuqiong saved him. She not only paid for his leg injury treatment, but also kept him working in the inn after she opened it, providing him with food and lodging and paying him generous wages.

Thirteen once had no name.

He was abandoned by his parents when he was young, and an old beggar took pity on him and took him in.

Therefore, he was born a beggar and could only wander around.

But Huang Yuqiong said, "I am the youngest in my family, the twelfth child. You are younger than me, so why don't you call me Thirteen and be my younger brother in the future?"

Thirteen became his name.

She truly lived up to that, treating him like a younger brother.

Over the course of three years, the inn has become increasingly successful, but so have the rumors and gossip surrounding it.

Even when Huang Yuqiong walks down the street, she is often pointed at and gossiped about for no reason.

Thirteen saw it all, heard it all, and kept it in his heart.

Wanting to vent his anger on the landlady in secret, he sneaked into their yard at night and smashed their newly pasted window paper.

He managed to escape detection the first few times, but later he was ambushed, beaten, and taken to the authorities, where he was beaten half to death.

When Huang Yuqiong found out, she spent a lot of money to redeem him from the town official, but she didn't scold him at all.

She only promised him that once she had earned more money, she would close the inn and take him to the capital.

Beijing is a big city; there won't be so many rumors going around there, right?

They will definitely be able to accommodate them.

Thirteen also longed for this day.

One evening six months ago, a caravan of nine people arrived at Qiongying Inn.

As soon as they arrived, they declared that they wanted to book the entire inn.

Fortunately, summer is the off-season, as it is too hot and there are not many merchants coming and going.

So, under the hospitality of the proprietress Huang Yuqiong, the group of people checked into the inn.

At first, everything was normal, but at night, the group ordered food and drinks and went to the restaurant on the first floor to drink heavily.

In the midst of their drinking and revelry, they began to frequently summon the proprietress under various pretexts.

Finally, he simply asked her to drink with him.

Huang Yuqiong thought that as long as she dealt with them as usual, they would have their fun and go back to their rooms to sleep.

After all, caravans travel all over the country and it's hard work, so most people don't want to cause trouble.

And everything was just as she had predicted. Around 9 PM, everyone dispersed and went back to their rooms.

However, around midnight, the manager of the "Di" room suddenly called for the proprietress to bring more wine.

At that time, Huang Yuqiong was checking accounts with the accountant, so she asked Thirteen to send the wine upstairs. Before long, the sound of a wine jar breaking on the ground came from upstairs.

Then, the gang leader started cursing loudly in front of the door.

Huang Yuqiong thought that Thirteen had offended someone, so she took another jar of wine and went upstairs to apologize.

But the reason the gang leader smashed the wine was that he called for the proprietress, not the waiter!

Thirteen tried to reason with him, but was violently pushed to the ground.

Huang Yuqiong could only force a smile and personally delivered the wine to the room, also instructing Thirteen to fetch some side dishes from the kitchen.

Thirteen went reluctantly, but when he returned, he found the gate of "Di Zi Hao" (地字号) tightly closed, with two burly men blocking the way and preventing him from entering.

The landlady's cries for help could be heard from inside.

At this point, including Thirteen, there were only two employees in the shop: an accountant and a cook.

The accountant was just a weak scholar, and the cook didn't want to cause trouble. The other waiter, seeing the tall and imposing man guarding the door, was immediately intimidated. For a moment, they looked at each other, neither daring to go upstairs.

Thirteen-year-old Shier grabbed a stick and rushed to save the man, but was stopped by the big man with his bare hands.

His frail body was no match for the two men. Hearing Huang Yuqiong's cries for help, he became furious and bit one of their arms hard.

The man winced in pain, so he stomped on the other person's foot again, finally managing to squeeze inside...

But the moment he pushed open the door, he felt only despair.

The room was full of people.

Apart from the two guarding the door, the other seven were inside the room, surrounding Huang Yuqiong. Thirteen could only vaguely see a hint of blue...

That was the headscarf Huang Yuqiong used to tie her hair.

Thirteen screamed hysterically, but just as he was about to rush in regardless, he was knocked unconscious by a stick from outside the door.

When he woke up again, it was already the next day.

It was like waking up suddenly from a nightmare.

But the scene before him told him that it was not a dream at all.

Officials arrived, and they were county constables.

The room with the "Di" designation has been sealed off, and the shopkeeper has disappeared.

In his dazed state, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion, he was arrested by the government officials.

The head constable told him that all nine members of the caravan from last night were dead.