Exile? A mad, wicked woman empties the national treasury to escape famine.

The innkeeper smiled, his gaze falling behind Ji Yunshu. Seeing that there was indeed no one behind her, he chuckled twice.

"Hehehe, I told you when you left that it was too late today and you might not be able to find anyone."

She's a grown woman; if she gets lost in this desolate wilderness, she'll definitely find a way to spend the night on her own. You don't need to worry too much. Just rest, eat and drink your fill, and get a good night's sleep. When it's light tomorrow, you can go out and look for her much more easily.

With so many people in our inn, plus your own group, finding someone will definitely be quick.

Ji Yunshu twitched her lips. If she hadn't noticed something was wrong, if Chen Shi hadn't already been sent into her space to rest, and if she hadn't taken Chen Shi out of the clutches of Da Hu and Er Hu, she might have really believed what the innkeeper said.

They really thought Chen had just gotten lost.

If it weren't her today, if it were an ordinary person who got lost, Ji Yunshu wouldn't dare to think any further about how things would have developed.

Seeing the innkeeper's smiling face, she didn't bother to expose him and turned to look at the situation inside the inn.

Compared to before, the inn is much quieter now. Small groups of people are still sitting together drinking, but it's not as lively as before. The second floor is also quiet, and the candles in the rooms have all been extinguished, so everyone must be asleep.

"Thank you for your trouble, boss. We'll rest for today. I'll go tell my family about the situation, and we'll go out to look for people together tomorrow morning." After saying that, Ji Yunshu turned around and prepared to go upstairs.

The innkeeper nodded repeatedly from behind, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Alright, alright, sir, you can go upstairs and rest first. Hot water is ready in the room. You can wash up first, and I will send someone to bring up the food that was prepared for you earlier."

"Please have your meal first, and get a good rest tonight. Don't worry, tomorrow morning I'll have my men go out and help you look for people. We know this area very well, and with our help, it will definitely be much easier."

Ji Yunshu listened to the innkeeper's words, turned around and looked him over. Seeing his smiling face, she felt a chill in her heart.

The innkeeper was a real wolf in sheep's clothing. Her family had all gone missing in this desolate, snowy wilderness, yet the innkeeper didn't tell her to search for them overnight. Instead, he told her to rest first and look for them the next morning.

Calling him cold-blooded is one thing, but he even prepared hot water and food. Yet, his demeanor only made Ji Yunshu more certain that something was amiss today.

Thinking of the old princess and Madam Li still in the guest room, Ji Yunshu dared not waste any more time and nodded casually:

"Okay, boss, thank you for being so thoughtful. Since it's all prepared, bring it up. I can eat it and get some rest soon."

She paused, looked at the innkeeper, and said meaningfully:

"It must have been really tough for you, boss. You're so thoughtful and considerate of everything. It's such a remote place, but thankfully you have an inn here, so we can rest without any worries. No wonder your business is so good."

The innkeeper chuckled, his face stiffening. He felt that Ji Yunshu's words were somewhat inappropriate, but he couldn't refute them, so he could only nod with a smile.

"Not at all, it's just what we should do to make money. Serving customers is our top priority; the customer is our god."

Hearing these words, Ji Yunshu was too lazy to pay attention to him anymore. She turned around and went upstairs, arriving first at the door of the old princess and Li Shi's room.

Listening intently to the sounds inside the room, there was no noise at all, and the candles were out.

"Knock, knock, knock!" Ji Yunshu gently knocked on the door. "Sister-in-law, Mother, are you home?"

Hearing no response from inside, she knocked on the door again: "Sister-in-law?"

The room was eerily quiet. Ji Yunshu felt a little uneasy. Could something have happened to her sister-in-law and the old princess while she was out for only a short while?

"Sister-in-law? Sister-in-law???" Her knocking on the door became faster and faster.

Just as she was about to push the door open and go in, a candle lit up the room, the door creaked open, and Li's familiar face appeared in the doorway.

Li rubbed her eyes, looking at Ji Yunshu with a worried expression:

"How is it? Did you find your second sister-in-law? Is she alright?"

She was so tired these past two days that she was waiting for Ji Yunshu to come back in the house, but she ended up falling asleep while waiting.

Ji Yunshu glanced around and saw that there was no one on the second floor. She slipped into the room, closed the door behind her, and pulled Li Shi to sit on the stool.

"Sister-in-law, have you noticed anything unusual in this inn?"

Li was somewhat bewildered, not understanding why Ji Yunshu asked such a question. After thinking for a moment, she answered truthfully.

"What's wrong? Nothing else has happened at the inn since you left."

Hearing this, Ji Yunshu felt a little relieved.

Just then, the window creaked open, revealing a dark figure slipping through.

Li was somewhat surprised and stepped slightly in front of Ji Yunshu. Just as she was about to ask who the person was, she saw Ji Yunshu walk out from behind and quickly walk towards the person.

"Mo Yao".

Li was taken aback, but when she saw who it was, she excitedly ran forward and looked at Xie Moyao with great enthusiasm: "Third Brother!"

The three met, and Li was incredibly excited as she looked at Xie Moyao's tall and elegant figure.

Xie Moyao asked impatiently, "How is it? Yunshu, sister-in-law, nothing unusual happened at the inn, right?"

Ji Yunshu nodded: "So far, we haven't found anything unusual. However, there are far fewer people in the hall; they're probably all resting."

I noticed something was off about the innkeeper and the waiter, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. What about you? Have you noticed anything unusual around here?

Xie Moyao pursed his lips and shook his head, saying:

"No, I walked around the area and didn't find anything unusual. There were some people in the backyard who were still awake at this hour, seemingly drinking and chatting. I was far away and didn't listen to what they were saying, but overall, I didn't find anything strange."

Ji Yunshu pursed her lips:

"Hmm, I haven't found anything else. Let's leave it at that for tonight. Everyone should rest. We can talk about anything else tomorrow."

I have a feeling this inn is very strange; I'll be extra careful about what I hear when I'm resting at night.

After discussing it, Xie Moyao jumped out of the window and returned to his original room.

Ji Yunshu briefly recounted the events of the evening to Li Shi, instructing her to be mindful of any activity at the inn before leaving her room and returning to her own.