The Yuexin Inn Boss said, "This... A few of the chefs happened to have urgent Family matters and took leave to go home."
"Heh... Are you going to tell me that their homes are far away from here? Or perhaps that you don't even know where their homes are?" Lu Zhenghai sneered.
The Yuexin Inn Boss fell silent, his body already trembling slightly.
Following this, Huang Xiu questioned him with a mix of stern reprimands and angry curses.
However, the Yuexin Inn Boss still didn't utter a sound, as if he had suddenly turned mute.
"Brother Lu, this person definitely has a problem. Take him away and have Wei Xing, the Squad Leader Wei, under your command interrogate him. I believe we will have an answer soon," Huang Xiu said.
Lu Zhenghai, however, chuckled and said, "Chief Huang, I probably already know the answer."
"Tell us quickly!" Chief Huang widened his eyes.
Princess Mingzhu stared at Lu Zhenghai without blinking, the admiration and excitement in her beautiful eyes growing stronger.
Lu Zhenghai pointed at the Yuexin Inn Boss:
"Judging from the changes in his expression and demeanor, it is clear that there are indeed more chefs and assistants in the back kitchen."
"But due to involvement in the case or other reasons, they have been hidden."
"Therefore, the question becomes: where were those chefs and assistants hidden?"
... Lu Zhenghai continued:
"We already searched just now. There is no visible place to hide people in the Inn."
"Those chefs and assistants are either not inside the Inn, or..."
... "Hurry up and speak! Don't keep us in suspense!" Princess Mingzhu reprimanded, unable to wait any longer.
"Or the Yuexin Inn has secret rooms, cellars, basements, and so on," Lu Zhenghai threw out the final answer.
As soon as these words were spoken, the Yuexin Inn Boss's face turned ash gray.
Lu Zhenghai smiled broadly: "Tsk, looks like I guessed correctly."
"Brother Lu, you are truly brilliant! I will immediately take men to search!"
Chief Huang was incredibly excited. He led his subordinate Squad Leaders and Lieutenants to restart the search.
Lu Zhenghai was not in a hurry. Instead, he looked at the Yuexin Inn Boss: "You are an ordinary person. Presumably, you are not the mastermind behind the escort agency case. You might even have been forced by the murderer. If you confess now, it counts as rendering meritorious service, and you will most likely save your life."
The Yuexin Inn Boss suddenly knelt down, continuously kowtowing, but saying nothing.
"Speak!" Princess Mingzhu coldly shouted, her Grandmaster Realm aura pressing down toward the Yuexin Inn Boss.
The Yuexin Inn Boss was just an ordinary person. How could he withstand it? In an instant, blood stained the corners of his mouth, his face looked withered, and he was practically prostrate on the ground.
But he still did not utter a sound.
"His weakness has been seized upon. His wife, children, or perhaps his elderly mother have been controlled by the murderer, so he dares not speak," Lu Zhenghai guessed casually.
The Yuexin Inn Boss looked gratefully toward Lu Zhenghai.
"Let's go. We should follow Chief Huang as well. We don't want the murderer to be found and then harm someone. Third Miss Yu, don't forget, you came on this trip to protect us. You might have to act soon."
Lu Zhenghai first signaled a few Lieutenants to restrain the Yuexin Inn Boss, and then he walked toward the inner part of the Inn.
Princess Mingzhu followed beside Lu Zhenghai. At some point, she had taken hold of a short sword.
The short sword was at least Heaven-Grade.
Truly damn rich. As expected of a Princess.
Right at this moment.
Chief Huang shouted excitedly: "Come quickly, Brother Lu, Third Miss Yu, come quickly! There's something else inside this well!"
Everyone rushed over immediately.
It was in the Inn's small garden, which contained several wells, likely used for watering flowers.
Chief Huang stood beside one of the wells, his face flushed red.
After everyone approached, Chief Huang pointed toward the bottom of the well:
"It looks like a well, but actually, a three-foot-wide hole has been opened in the well wall. It is most likely the entrance to the basement."
"The opening is covered tightly by a disguised lid, fitting so seamlessly that you wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely."
"Brother Lu, what should we do now? Should we open this lid directly and enter the basement?"
"Or should we dig out the entire top of the well, enlarge the entrance, and then enter the basement?"
... "Dig out the entire top."
If they opened the lid and went straight in, they might fall into an ambush, so it was better to be careful.
Huang Xiu immediately ordered the Lieutenants to start digging.
However, just as they started digging.
Suddenly.
"Whoosh..."
The lid suddenly flew open.
"Kill!"
Accompanied by an angry roar.
More than ten fierce-looking men shot out from the well.
These men were all wielding boning knives, their muscles bulging, and their bodies radiating surging Qi and blood.
They were all Martial Artists!
But the strongest among them was merely a Ninth Level Innate Realm expert.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the Embroidered Uniform Guard, after all. Almost without Lu Zhenghai or Huang Xiu giving the order, the hundreds of men immediately surrounded them and formed a battle array.
"Ding ding ding..."
"Kaka kaka..."
During the exchange, weapons constantly clashed, producing jarring sounds.
Princess Mingzhu charged into the fray, the short sword in her hand strange and ethereal, moving like a dance.
Its power was immense; every stab severely wounded a person.
Even the leader, who was at the Ninth Level Innate Realm, failed to last three moves against Princess Mingzhu and was severely wounded and captured alive.
After only half an incense stick's time, the battle ended.
The dozen or so men were all severely injured and completely incapacitated. They were forced to kneel on the ground, a xiuchun saber pressed against each of their necks.
"Are there still people down there?" Lu Zhenghai glanced at the Ninth Level Innate Realm leader.
"Dog official!" The Ninth Level Innate Realm man contemptuously spat out saliva.
"Wei Xing, he's yours!" Lu Zhenghai said casually.
Next, a group of Embroidered Uniform Guard formed a wall, surrounding Wei Xing and the Ninth Level Innate Realm man.
"Ah ah ah ah..." Then they heard the Ninth Level Innate Realm man's extremely mournful screams.
Princess Mingzhu's expression changed slightly, but she did not intervene.
After the time it takes for one incense stick to burn.
The Ninth Level Innate Realm man finally couldn't bear it: "I'll talk, I... I'll tell you everything... There is only the proprietress down there..."
"Oh? Tell us in detail, why did you commit the escort agency case?" Lu Zhenghai asked.
The Ninth Level Innate Realm man had already broken down and dared not conceal anything:
"Originally, the proprietress and the boss were very much in love, and they had a cute child who was about ten years old."
"More than two months ago, an escort team from the Imperial City, about seven or eight people, checked into the Inn."
"Everything was fine originally, but that night, one of the seven or eight escorts insisted on drinking alcohol in his room in the middle of the night."
"The proprietress could only send someone to deliver the wine and dishes, and the person she sent was the boss and proprietress's son."
"The boy was about ten years old, sturdy and smart, and often helped the boss and proprietress with chores."
"But who would have thought that night—whether because it was too dark or the boy was too careless—while carrying the wine and dishes through the garden, he must have accidentally fallen into the well."
"It wasn't until half an hour later that the boss and proprietress realized something was wrong and went to look for the boy. They couldn't find him anywhere until the next day when they found him in the well."
... As everyone listened, they felt an unpleasant taste in their mouths.
Lu Zhenghai said: "So, the proprietress grew to hate the escorts?"
"Yes!" The Ninth Level Innate Realm man said: "The proprietress has an extremely strong thirst for revenge. It seems that only by killing all the escorts in the world and then using the escorts' meat to cook dishes for other escorts to eat can she satisfy her hatred."
"So, you killed the first batch of escorts, used their meat to cook dishes for the second batch of escorts to eat? Then killed the second batch of escorts and used their meat for the third batch of escorts to eat?... Repeating this cycle?" Lu Zhenghai was somewhat speechless.
"Yes, yes, yes..."
"The Inn Boss is an ordinary person, and the proprietress should be ordinary too, right? How did she manage to recruit Martial Artists like you to be chefs?"
That's very strange!
Innate chefs—it's not that they don't exist, but they absolutely shouldn't appear here.
"This..."
"Speak."
"Some of us were once bandits, some were Disciples of small Schools, and some were guards for large Families. We were all passing through the Tianmu Bamboo Sea recently and stayed at the Yuexin Inn. Then, the proprietress saw that we were lone Martial Artists and used herself to bait us into becoming chefs."
Used herself to bait them? Princess Mingzhu didn't understand at all and couldn't help but look at Lu Zhenghai.
Lu Zhenghai whispered to Princess Mingzhu: "It means the proprietress used her body as a price to recruit them..."
Under her veil, Princess Mingzhu's face flushed red, and she glared at Lu Zhenghai.
Huang Xiu asked curiously: "Is the proprietress very beautiful? She's just an ordinary person, yet she has such a huge attraction for you? She actually made powerful Martial Artists like you willingly become chefs and kill people for her?"
"The proprietress is indeed very beautiful, and she is very... very skilled at..." The Ninth Level Innate Martial Artist's voice grew much quieter.
Lu Zhenghai: "Did the escort who insisted on drinking in his room that night, indirectly causing the proprietress's child to accidentally fall into the well, die?"
"No!" The Ninth Level Innate Martial Artist sighed: "The day after that incident happened, those seven or eight escorts left. The proprietress dreams of those seven or eight escorts, especially the main culprit, passing through the Tianmu Bamboo Sea again."
Right at this moment.
What Lu Zhenghai never expected was... [Ding, intelligence refreshed.]
[Ding, in a mountain stream 17 li southwest of the Host, there is a waterfall. Behind the waterfall is a cave. Walk 25 meters into the cave, and you will encounter 5 forks. Take the middle fork and continue forward 11 meters. The Host will find 7,400-year-old stone milk.]
Lu Zhenghai's breath hitched.
Holy crap.
Is this awesome? Getting a surprise while investigating a case?
7,400-year-old stone milk?
Ten-thousand-year-old stone milk is a true treasure, coveted even by Heavenly Human Realm experts.
Although 7,400-year-old stone milk cannot compare to ten-thousand-year-old stone milk, it shouldn't be too far off, right? It is definitely a good item.
Lu Zhenghai transmitted a message to Aunt Yan: "Aunt Yan, is there only one non-Martial Artist woman in the basement? There are no other powerful experts lying in ambush, right?"
"There is indeed only one non-Martial Artist woman."
Lu Zhenghai felt relieved. He glanced at Huang Xiu: "Chief Huang, take your men down to take a look. For safety's sake, Third Miss Yu should go down too!"
He wanted to go look for the stone milk alone.
"Alright..."
Huang Xiu was all smiles. The case was solved within a day. Lu Zhenghai was amazing.
Although the main credit belonged to Lu Zhenghai, by following along this time, he could still get a share of the benefits.
"What about you?" Princess Mingzhu did not go straight to the basement but looked at Lu Zhenghai instead.
"I've been investigating all day and I'm exhausted. I'm going out for a walk to get some fresh air."
"I'll go with you."
"You should still follow Chief Huang. What if there's danger down there?"
However, Huang Xiu had already gone down to the basement and shouted loudly: "No danger, Third Miss Yu, you don't need to come down. It's too bloody down here; I'm about to vomit."
Princess Mingzhu scrutinized Lu Zhenghai: "Do you really just want to go out for a walk and get some air? I have a feeling something isn't right."
Lu Zhenghai couldn't be bothered to deal with her. He walked directly toward the outside of the Yuexin Inn, thinking that once he entered the bamboo forest, he would find a chance to shake her off.
Princess Mingzhu silently followed beside him.
Lu Zhenghai walked into the bamboo forest, following the direction indicated by the System, and Princess Mingzhu continued to follow silently.
She stayed glued to him.
It seemed that the quiet and secluded environment of the bamboo forest made her feel insecure.
"nickname, you are Mu Wan's good girlfriend after all. Is it really appropriate for you to follow me into this small bamboo forest?"
Lu Zhenghai suddenly stopped and asked with a half-smile.