Uncle Nine: You were supposed to drive corpses, so you summoned the Monkey King!

After finishing the roast duck, Qiu Sheng returned to the room next door.

Lin Chen lit the kerosene lamp on the table.

Dim the lamp wick, and the light just illuminates the desktop.

He rummaged through the cloth bag and took out talisman paper, a purple bamboo pen, and cinnabar powder.

When traveling, it is advisable to carry protective amulets, especially amulets for detecting auras.

This talisman is harmless; it is used specifically for warning and tracking.

Lin Chen ground ink, dipped it in cinnabar, and began to draw on the yellow paper.

He drew ten Qi-detecting talismans and added five more Fiery Talismans.

Lin Chen put away his brush and ink and walked to the window.

There were few pedestrians on the street.

The main gate of the Peace Inn was half closed, leaving only a small door open. Red lanterns swayed in the wind at the entrance.

Lin Chen took out a Qi-detecting talisman, activated his magic power, and pasted the talisman on the windowsill.

An alarm will be triggered if there is any change in magical energy within fifty steps.

It was late at night. The sound of Qiu Sheng snoring came from next door.

Lin Chen lay down fully clothed, placing the lightning-struck wooden sword beside his pillow. He wasn't dead asleep; he was keeping some energy in.

It's past midnight.

The talisman on the windowsill was getting hot.

Lin Chen opened his eyes.

He rolled out of bed and walked to the window, looking out through the crack.

The small door of the Peace Inn across the street was ajar.

A figure emerged.

The man was wearing a long black and gray robe, with a felt hat pulled low over his head, and carrying a leather suitcase in his hand.

The man looked around, then walked quickly along the wall into the depths of the alley.

Lin Chen focused his mental energy on it.

There was no fluctuation of magical power. An ordinary person?

wrong.

An ordinary person carrying a suitcase walking along a wall in the middle of the night wouldn't walk this quietly. This person walks without making a sound.

Lin Chen didn't move.

This person might be a notorious thief in the inn, or a smuggler.

It's uncertain whether it has anything to do with the Nine Nether Sect. Zhao Si hasn't arrived yet; we can't afford to cause any unnecessary trouble.

The man in the felt hat disappeared at the end of the alley. The heat from the Qi-detecting talisman subsided.

Lin Chen memorized the man's figure.

He is about 5 feet 7 inches tall, with his right shoulder slightly lower than his left shoulder, and he is someone who habitually lifts heavy objects with his right hand.

Nothing happened in the latter half of the night.

The streets were bustling again early the next morning.

A breakfast vendor pushes his cart and calls out his wares at the alley entrance.

Qiu Sheng yawned and pushed open Lin Chen's door.

"No movement, is there?"

"No." Lin Chen tossed him two copper coins. "Go downstairs and buy four fried dough sticks and two bowls of soy milk."

After breakfast, the two took turns keeping watch for one hour each.

There was nothing unusual in the morning; the people coming in and out of the inn were mostly ordinary guests.

The sun slowly began to set after noon.

At three-quarters past noon, Lin Chen sat by the window, sipping a cup of cold tea.

A figure appeared at the entrance of the alley.

He was tall and thin, carrying a large bamboo basket on his back, and walked with a slight limp in his left leg.

Lin Chen put down his teacup.

"They're here."

Qiusheng leaned over and peered out through the crack in the window.

"Is it him? Zhao Si?"

"right."

Zhao Si walked to the entrance of the Peace Inn, but didn't rush in.

He stood there wiping his sweat with the towel draped around his neck, glancing around the streets on both sides to make sure no one was following him before stepping into the inn.

"They've gone in." Qiu Sheng rubbed his hands together. "Shall we go over too?"

"Change your clothes," Lin Chen said.

The two men took off their Taoist robes and put on gray short jackets, looking like two shop assistants who had come to the city to do small business.

After leaving the Yuelai Hotel, Lin Chen did not go directly into the Heping Inn.

He bought two bags of peanuts from a street vendor and handed one to Qiu Sheng.

"When we go inside, find a table in the corner and sit down."

"I'd like a pot of coarse tea, not something expensive."

"Don't stare at the building upstairs; use your peripheral vision to look."

The two stepped into the Peace Inn one after the other.

There were more than a dozen square tables in the lobby on the first floor, and about seven or eight people were sitting there.

The air was filled with the stench of sweat, alcohol, and cheap tobacco.

Lin Chen chose a table near the bottom of the stairs and sat down. The location was inconspicuous, but he could see the lobby and the stairs leading to the second floor.

The waiter ran over with a towel draped over his arm.

"Gentlemen, would you like to have a meal or stay the night?"

"A pot of fine wine." Lin Chen placed a few copper coins on the table.

The waiter took the money and came over with a chipped teapot.

Lin Chen poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. It was very bitter, and had a lot of dregs.

He glanced around the lobby out of the corner of his eye. He didn't see Zhao Si.

"Where is he?" Qiu Sheng asked in a low voice.

"I'm going upstairs." Lin Chen tossed a peanut into his mouth.

He released his mental energy as soon as he came in. Zhao Si stopped in the innermost room on the second floor.

Lin Chen closed his eyes, his spiritual energy ascending the wooden stairs, passing through the second-floor corridor, and stopping outside the door. The door wasn't closed tightly, leaving a crack.

There were two people inside. One was Zhao Si, breathing rapidly. The other was breathing heavily, and there was no sound from him.

This aura is the same as that of the man in the felt hat who sneaked out last night in the middle of the night.

The second floor, room number 100.

Lin Chen focused his mental energy on the crack in the door.

You can hear people talking inside.

"Did you bring the things?" came a hoarse voice.

"I brought it, I brought it," Zhao Si said with a forced smile.

The bamboo basket fell to the ground.

The bag was untied.

"Boss, please check it," Zhao Si said.

The room was quiet for a while.

The contact person was inspecting the metal box.

"The yin energy hasn't dissipated," a hoarse voice said. "The seal is still intact."

"Of course, I put it in a bag as soon as I dug it out, and didn't dare touch it much."

"You didn't open it to look, did you?"

"Oh dear, I wouldn't dare even if you gave me ten lives!" Zhao Si said hastily.

"Ma San warned me that this thing is strange and shouldn't be touched."

With a snap.

A bag of silver dollars was thrown on the table.

"Final payment, five hundred dollars. Please."

Zhao Si's voice trembled.

"No need to order, no need to order, the boss is very generous!"

"Take the money and leave through the back door. Don't leave the city tonight; find a place to stay for the night."

He said in a hoarse voice.

"Understood, I know the rules. I'll leave now."

The door creaked open.

Zhao Si, carrying an empty bamboo basket, retreated from the room and walked downstairs with his head down.

Lin Chen withdrew his mental energy.

I picked up my teacup and took a sip of the bitter tea.

Qiu Sheng was peeling peanuts across the street, his eyes glancing towards the stairwell.

"Did you see that?" Qiu Sheng asked in a low voice.

Zhao Si walked down the stairs.

He didn't look towards the main hall, but turned into the passageway leading to the backyard.

He listened to the contact's instructions and slipped out through the back door.

"He's gone, shall we go after him?" Qiu Sheng asked.

"Ignore him." Lin Chen tapped the table.

"He's just a gofer; once he gets paid, his job is done."

"The person in question is upstairs."

Lin Chen looked at the innermost room on the second floor.

The door was locked shut.

Lin Chen extended his spiritual power over the area.

We got a bit closer this time.

That person was alone in the room, breathing steadily.

There was no fluctuation of magical power.

Lin Chen couldn't figure it out.

It's impossible for a high-level contact person from the Nine Nether Sect to have no cultivation at all.

Unless the Breath Concealment Technique is used.

Or perhaps they carried a magical artifact that could isolate their aura.

There were sounds of footsteps inside the house.

The man muttered something to himself.

The voice was very low, but Lin Chen, with his fifty points of mental strength, could hear it clearly.

"This piece of junk is really heavy... We need to contact the waterway immediately."

"Let's leave at midnight tonight, lest something unexpected happen."

waterway.

Tonight, the third watch.

Lin Chen withdrew his mental energy and picked up a few peanuts from the table.

"Walk."

Lin Chen stood up and threw a few copper coins on the table.

The two left the Peace Inn and returned to room 203 of the Yuelai Hotel.

"How's it going? A big fish?" Qiu Sheng asked, closing the door.

"The big fish wasn't killed, but its tail was exposed."

Lin Chen walked to the window and looked at the inn across the street.

"The contact is still inside. He's going to leave the city by water at midnight tonight."

"Waterway?" Qiu Sheng scratched his head.

"There is a large river outside the provincial capital that leads to the southwest."

"Going along the waterway is faster than going by land, and it's also less likely to be checked by the patrol police."

Qiu Sheng slapped his thigh.

"Shall we ambush him at the pier tonight?"

"We cannot forcefully block it."

Lin Chen pulled up a chair and sat down.

"The iron box is in his hands. If they make a move at the dock and alert what's inside, tens of thousands of people in the provincial capital will be in danger."

"Uncle Nine said that the box is a balancing container."

"Subject to a powerful external impact, or if the seal is broken..."

Lin Chen didn't continue.

Qiu Sheng shuddered. "What should we do then? Watch him leave?"

"Let him on board."

"Once on the water, with no shore in sight, he can do whatever he wants with it."