The atmosphere in the tavern grew livelier as the night deepened, with more and more people arriving and filling the place with the chatter of various dialects from all corners of the land.
"Brother, is this… a TV drama being filmed?"
Zhang Dabiao was somewhat stunned by the scene before him, especially when two sword-wielding female warriors entered. He stared at them blankly until one of them half-drew her sword, jolting him back to reality.
I was also a bit taken aback. When I arrived, I had come with Old Ghost and hadn't noticed anything particularly special. Now, it seemed I had underestimated this "half-yin realm" that wasn't truly "real."
I joked, "Ahem… if TV dramas were filmed like this, they'd definitely be a huge hit. Stop staring at them, or your wife might hit you."
For the first time, I saw a troubled expression on Zhang Dabiao's face. When he heard me say "wife," he suddenly couldn't bring himself to laugh, his expression one of utter dejection.
Zhang Dabiao lost interest in looking at the female warriors. He poured himself a drink, downed it, and sighed.
"Brother Zhang, did I say something wrong?"
I studied the Yin Gua, which prohibited me from reading the fortunes of the living. However, the deceased and the living shared some similarities, and I dared not break the rule that I could only read the fortunes of yin entities, not the living.
But after reading the fortunes of so many yin entities, I naturally became adept at discerning subtle details in the appearance of the living. Although there were differences, they were still quite clear.
"Heh heh… No, you're overthinking it."
A smile played on Zhang Dabiao's lips, but to me, it was no different from crying. However, since he didn't want to talk about it, I didn't press further. Everyone has their own secrets.
As we were talking, the first floor of the tavern was already seven or eight tenths full, with seven or eight waiters rushing about their tasks.
Not only yin entities and malevolent spirits had come, but also living people. One group of six caught my attention.
After entering, they found a table in the farthest corner. Even though Zhang Dabiao and I had chosen a relatively inconspicuous spot, they opted for a table in the most secluded corner, right next to ours.
Once seated, they began to order food and drinks.
"Alcohol" has received mixed reviews from the world. Some consider it the elixir of sobriety, capable of elevating the talented to great heights or granting courage to the cowardly to act with reckless bravery. Yet, others believe it to be the source of all sins. In any case, since its inception, there has been endless debate about whether alcohol is good or bad.
However, in my opinion, alcohol is a good thing. If one had a lot of alcohol, it would be quite difficult to gather information in a place like this tavern.
Take the group next to me, for instance. After a few drinks, they became emboldened and started speaking without restraint.
"Third… Third Brother, you… you say that kid surnamed… surnamed Li, used such a scoundrel method to deal with Big Brother. Do you think we're still worth working for them?"
As I was serving Zhang Dabiao, I noticed one of the tomb robbers, whose face seemed somewhat familiar, speaking with a slurred tongue.
"Shut up," another tomb robber, with whom I had crossed swords before, said fiercely after glancing around. "You want to die? I'll kill you right now."
After being reprimanded by Third Brother, the first tomb robber didn't stop his complaints. Instead, his voice rose by a third.
"What… what's the big deal? It's just that he lost… lost because of that woman. For this… this reason, he got Big Brother killed. I say, we should fight them, why should we… buy them anything…"
"Slap…"
A crisp sound of a slap echoed suddenly, making it impossible not to notice.
Several nearby tables turned their attention to them. The one called Third Brother quickly apologized to those around them, saying his brother was drunk and speaking carelessly, and asked for their indulgence.
Third Brother grabbed the fellow and said fiercely, "Er Mazi, are you crazy? Talking about this here, if Young Master Li finds out, he'll skin you alive! It doesn't matter if you die, but don't drag us down with you."
Er Mazi, after being slapped twice, seemed to sober up. He specifically glanced at our table, the closest to them, and seeing that we weren't looking at them, he said, "Third Brother, this is so frustrating. We were just…"
"Enough, stop talking. If you say anything more, I'll kill you before Young Master Li does."
A while later.
"Third Brother, why do we have to find him! The ancient corpse Big Brother found was even better than the previous one. Why do we need her?"
"Er Mazi, do you think I'm talking nonsense? I told you, ask again and I'll kill you."
"Third Brother, I'm just not convinced. Big Brother is dead like that, and you could actually do it. Just kill me then."
"You… Sigh, why do I have such a foolish brother?"
Er Mazi seemed accustomed to Third Brother's scolding and shamelessly pressed on, "Third Brother, just tell me."
Third Brother was now a cautious person. As he spoke, he deliberately looked around, especially at our table with Zhang Dabiao, staring for a long time without speaking.
Only when I thought Mazi had recognized me did he finally speak.
"Here, it's not entirely Big Brother's fault." The one called Third Brother sighed and continued, "It's all the fault of that bastard Song Qingyun."
Upon hearing his name, Zhang Dabiao was about to turn around, but I stopped him by pretending to drink and gave him a look, signaling him not to act rashly.
Fortunately, that table of tomb robbers didn't notice our subtle movements.
Er Mazi slammed his wine cup on the table. "Song Qingyun? The scoundrel Big Brother hired to examine the corpse?"
Seeing that he had again drawn the attention of those around them, the one called Third Brother wished he could slap Er Mazi to death. He gave him another slap.
"If you keep this up, I won't say anything more."
Er Mazi sneered, looked around, "Heh, Third Brother, you continue. Most of the people here are the dead. Even if they overhear, they won't understand what's going on."
"Sigh, I don't want to scold you either. Today, we just need to see if that kid enters the Prince's mansion. The rest has nothing to do with us. Alright, enough said, let's drink."
The subsequent words were all idle chatter, having nothing to do with the information I wanted to gather.
Zhang Dabiao glanced at the group of them sideways. If I didn't feel that this was not the right place, I would have probably dealt with them.
"Brother, is this the news you wanted to know?"
I gave a wry smile. "I don't have a habit of being insulted to my face, but from their words, they seem to want me to enter the Prince's mansion. I wonder why."
Whether I entered the Prince's mansion or not had nothing to do with it. The Yin Bamboo Forest was located behind the Prince's mansion, adjacent to Qingfeng Mountain. If I didn't enter the Prince's mansion, wouldn't I still be able to enter the Yin Bamboo Forest?
Just as I was pondering that there was no more news to be heard and was about to leave,
A commotion erupted at the entrance.
A squad of ten guards, led by a burly man with a beard, rushed in.
"Does the shopkeeper see this person?" Saying this, he unfurled the scroll in his hand, which contained a portrait of a person.
Zhang Dabiao, with his sharp eyes, took a quick glance and exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't that you?"