Chapter 89 - 85: Du Yu the Tiger Slayer
Qin Ziwen glanced at the four of them and said bluntly, "If you suspect this is a crooked inn, you’re free to leave. I won’t stop you."
Seeing the Shopkeeper act so boldly, the three constables were a bit surprised.
One of the constables looked displeased and was about to lash out, but Di Wu slammed a hand on the table and roared with laughter. "Haha! Shopkeeper, you’re a straightforward man! It was I, Di Wu, who misjudged a gentleman by my own petty standards."
Qin Ziwen said, "My shop just opened, so there’s not much to eat. I only have some smoked and cured meat, but I do have several jars of wine."
Di Wu took a small Silver Yuanbao from his waist and slapped it on the table. "Bring plenty of that smoked meat, and a few jars of wine! We’re drinking our fill today."
A constable beside him hesitated. "Di Wu, we’re still on official business. Should we really be drinking?"
"It’s so hot, and it’s been a long, tiring journey. What’s wrong with having a little drink?" Di Wu feigned displeasure. "What, you’re not going to give me any face?"
The constable on the left fell silent, while the one on the right raised his head, gazing at the tavern’s thatched roof.
Qin Ziwen went to serve them, glancing at the sky outside with a slight frown.
’I was planning to go up the mountain today. It would be best if these customers left soon, or it’ll delay my trip to get the card.’
First, he brought a jar of wine and placed it on the table.
Then, he fetched several large ceramic bowls from the back kitchen and set them down.
"Gentlemen, please start drinking. I’ll go heat up the meat." As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of the Silver Yuanbao on the table.
In his vision, the surface of the Silver Yuanbao was emitting a faint yellow glow.
Qin Ziwen took the yuanbao and left through the back door of the kitchen. He took it out again to look, and it was still giving off a faint yellow glow. It wasn’t his imagination.
The yellow glow was very faint. It didn’t seem to be radiating from within the yuanbao, but more like something clinging to its surface.
Just then, the Home interface appeared.
A message popped up.
[Small Silver Yuanbao (Three Taels): Silver Coins acquired through trade. Can be used for transactions in certain specific buildings.]
’So the money earned from the tavern actually has this kind of use.’
Qin Ziwen was a little surprised.
’But yesterday morning, I also snatched some Silver Coins from that scholar. Why didn’t they have a yellow glow? Could it be because they were ill-gotten?’
Gently weighing the yuanbao in his hand, Qin Ziwen returned to his bedroom and placed it under a drawer. He then went to the cellar, cut off about a pound of cured meat, and carried it back into the kitchen through the rear entrance. He lit the firewood and put the meat in a pot to steam.
In the meantime, he found Li Tieshan, explained the situation, and asked about prices.
He asked how much a jar of Yellow Rice Wine, weighing over twenty jin, plus a pound of smoked cured meat, would roughly sell for.
Li Tieshan said, "Sir, that mostly depends on the quality of the wine. It can range from a few cash coins per pound to dozens or even hundreds of coins per pound. Of course, that’s in the city. Like that constable said, out here in the barren wilderness, in such a remote place, it’s normal for the price of food and drink to double. Three taels sounds about right."
After a pause, Li Tieshan added, "And I’m talking about a time of dynastic stability. If the times were chaotic, the price could be several times higher, even more than ten times."
Returning to the kitchen, while Qin Ziwen waited for the meat to cook, the constables in the main room began to talk loudly.
"Brother Du, the three of us are just following orders. We apologize for any offense we’ve caused along the way. We hope you won’t hold it against us."
"You are only following orders. What is there to blame?" The speaker’s voice was loud and resonant.
An image of the prisoner who had been escorted in appeared in Qin Ziwen’s mind.
He was powerfully built with disheveled hair. The three constables were quite tall themselves, but compared to the prisoner, they were still shorter by half a head.
In the main room, the three constables drank merrily, but the lively sounds gradually died down.
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Qin Ziwen lifted the pot lid; the meat inside was ready.
He scooped the meat out, placed it on a cutting board, and was just about to slice it when he heard Di Wu’s voice from outside. "Ah, Brother Du, to tell you the truth, I’ve admired you for a long time. Back when Lan County was plagued by a tiger, the local County Magistrate’s Office organized several hunts but returned empty-handed. They even lost a few Hunters. In the end, I heard it was you who went up the mountain and got rid of that vicious tiger. You’re the renowned tiger-slaying hero of Tongzhou."
The prisoner known as Brother Du replied, "The tigress had just given birth to her cubs and was weak. I just got lucky. I can’t be called a tiger-slaying hero."
Di Wu sighed deeply. "This time in Tongzhou, Brother Du, you killed that local scoundrel, Liu Er, in the middle of the street. It was a cause for celebration, truly. But killing someone in public sets a terrible precedent. The only reason Liu Er could run rampant in Tongzhou was because his sister is a concubine to the Detention Officer. Your exile to Youzhou is already the result of the Lord Governor’s intervention on your behalf."
"For this escort mission, someone sent me a message before we left, telling me to... dispose of you along the way. But you, Brother Du, are a hero. I, Di Wu, would rather die than help a tyrant do his evil deeds."
SMACK. The sound of a hand hitting the table came from the main room.
Di Wu said, "The key is right here. Today, my two brothers and I are drunk. Brother Du, take the key and go on your own."
Qin Ziwen was listening with great relish. He never expected to get a front-row seat to such fresh, juicy drama.
From the main room, a stool scraped across the floor, and Di Wu’s voice followed. "That shopkeeper has probably been eavesdropping in the kitchen this whole time. Let me go silence him."
Qin Ziwen: "???"
’Shit, I got caught in the crossfire.’
He was so stunned he didn’t even know what to complain about first. ’Is this guy a psycho?!’
’If you want to play the hero, then just let the man go! Why do you have to kill me, an innocent shop owner?’
’Okay, so I might have accidentally robbed a scholar of his book-satchel the day I opened, but that wasn’t on purpose!’
Just as Qin Ziwen was about to slip out the back door, Brother Du’s voice came. "There is no need for that. To have three brothers implicated and an innocent harmed, all for the sake of me, Du Yu... that is not what I wish."
Hearing their exchange from the main room, Qin Ziwen paused.
’He’s not coming to kill me?’
’Good that he’s not coming.’
’You ancient people are all the same, killing someone at the drop of a hat just to liven things up.’
’Making it feel just like a scene from *Water Margin*.’
Di Wu said in a low voice, "Brother Du! That Detention Officer Ji is an incredibly vindictive man. We all call him ’Petty Ji’ behind his back. If this doesn’t succeed, he’ll surely try other methods later. The situation everywhere is chaotic right now, with constant uprisings in the south. You should just go, Brother Du."
Du Yu’s tone was calm. "I have been an orphan since I was a child and grew up on the charity of my fellow villagers. I am all alone in this world, with nothing to tie me down. If Detention Officer Ji has some trick up his sleeve, let him bring it on."
"Ahem." Qin Ziwen coughed twice.
He stepped out from behind the door curtain.
Di Wu whipped his head around, his gaze fierce.
Qin Ziwen said to the two of them, "Don’t worry, I won’t report this to the authorities. By the way, if you really have nowhere else to go... how about staying here and working as a waiter?"
Di Wu stared at Qin Ziwen as if he were an idiot.
"You think this place can withstand a siege from the Government Office? A pursuit by constables?"
Qin Ziwen smiled faintly. "Why don’t you take another look? See if you can find me."
He lifted the curtain and, right in front of the two of them, took a single step through it.
About ten seconds later, Qin Ziwen lifted the curtain of the main entrance and walked back in.
Before him stood a dumbfounded Di Wu and an astonished Du Yu.
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