Stranger Danger

Chapter 145: Here Comes Trouble

The first thing Ye Qing saw upon entering the Cuiwei Boat was a wide, circular stage that looked like it was carved out of jade. A woman was playing her pipa on it. Dining tables and chairs arrayed around the stage, and the customers were all listening to her performance intently.

Every time she plucked a string, it sounded like someone was striking a bead against the frame of a jade abacus; crisp and melodious. Every customer listening to her performance looked intoxicated even though some of them weren’t drinking.

Before Ye Qing came in, he had imagined that the atmosphere would not be too different from a restaurant or a brothel[1]. He also expected to be welcomed by cute, scantily dressed girls who were all too eager to inquire about his well-being and discuss the mysteries of life one way or another.

But that was not the case with the Cuiwei Boat. The girls were lightly dressed, but they exposed very little skin. Their behavior and mannerisms were extremely refined and elegant as well.

Even the customers were perfectly silent. They were all giving their full attention to the performance. The atmosphere was comfortable and calming to say the least.

It was at this moment a female attendant walked up to them and whispered, “Would you like to dine in the main hall or the guest rooms, dear customers?”

Chu Nianjiu answered just as softly, “A room, please. I’ve booked a place under the name Chu Nianjiu this noon.”

The attendant was visibly surprised. “Lord Windcatcher! My apologies for not recognizing you sooner. I—”

Chu Nianjiu interrupted, “It’s okay. Go bring a few jars of Cuiwei Rainflower Brew to our room, and don’t worry about escorting us. I know where the room is.”

The attendant bowed respectfully and replied, “At once, my lords!”

After she left, Chu Nianjiu led the four of them to his room with practiced ease. They chatted while enjoying the wonderful song and dance at the main hall.

“I thought you said you’ve run out of Cuiwei Rainflower Brew? What the hell is that you’re holding in your arms then?”

Suddenly, an angry shout erupted from outside the guest room. “You’re not even holding one jar, but several! I’ll kill you, you lying bitch!”

“You misunderstood, Young Master Luo! These brews had been reserved by a customer beforehand!” A familiar voice answered. It belonged to the female attendant who greeted them earlier.

“And who in the world would need these many brews? Aren’t they afraid that they’ll choke to death?” Young Master Luo continued to complain loudly.

“Is that Luo Feibai I hear? Man, is this fate or what?” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise as he exchanged a glance with everyone.

The man making a commotion right outside their door was none other than the so-called second young master of the Luo Clan, Luo Feibai. The young man had left with his tail between his legs this morning, and Ye Qing thought that that was the last he saw of him. He didn’t think that they would meet again on the very same day.

“You know what? I want to see who this customer is with my own eyes!”

“Young Master Luo, please don’t—”

“Get out of my way!”

Outside, Luo Feibai walked up to the room and kicked the door open. Sneering, he looked into the room and uttered, “Who the fuck do you think you are… to… to…”

Luo Feibai stopped talking halfway through his villain monologue. It was because he finally recognized the faces inside the room, each and every last one of them. His eyes bulged like a noisy duck who was suddenly caught by the neck.

“What were you trying to say, Scion Luo? Care to finish your sentence?” Wei Yueshan sneered and crushed the tea cup in his hand.

“I… er…” The blood drained away from his face, but he was unable to form even a single sentence.

Today must have been the unluckiest day of his life. This morning, he had tried to rob Ye Qing only to get his ass kicked at the Pacification Bureau. Later this evening, he decided that he would drown his worries away with the Cuiwei Rainflower Brew only to be told that they had run out of stock. Words could not describe how apoplectic he felt when he realized that that was, in fact, not the case. Just when he was about to unleash fire and brimstone on the sonuvabitches who had ruined his night, he discovered that it was the very same fuckers who had ruined his day. How unlucky was that?

Technically speaking, he could deal with Wei Yueshan and Xu Banren. They were just Lieutenants, and the Luo Clan was equipped to handle a couple of Lieutenants.

But the Peacemakers? Maybe Ye Qing didn’t count because this was his first day at the job, but Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuan were veteran Peacemakers with real power in their hands. They were most definitely beyond the Luo Clan’s influence.

More accurately, they could provoke the Peacemakers, but the cost was too great to be worth it.

“Why aren’t you talking? You were so confident when you were yelling at the female attendant earlier!” Wei Yueshan taunted.

“I’m sorry. It was my mistake,” Luo Feibai gritted his teeth and apologized.

Wei Yueshan scoffed, “You think an apology is enough to make up for what you did? Does that mean I can beat you up now and say sorry later?”

Ye Qing chuckled. Wei Yueshan truly was Gu Suitang’s disciple. Their temperament was more or less the same.

Luo Feibai turned blue in the face. “I already apologized, Lieutenant. What more do you want?”

Wei Yueshan smacked the table and sneered, “I want to kick your ass. What are you gonna do about it?”

Luo Feibai abruptly looked up and glared daggers at Wei Yueshan, but in the end he didn’t dare to say or do anything.

Wei Yueshan snorted, “Man, what a coward. I can hardly believe that it was you who had tried to frame our Patrolman. With your balls, your father should have named you ‘Luo I Suck’!”

“Enough, Yueshan. His older brother and I are friends, so let’s leave this here, shall we?” Lin Yuhuai spoke up after he deemed that Luo Feibai had received a suitable amount of rebuke.

“Hmph! Get out of our sight!” Wei Yueshan waved him off with a disgusted expression.

“Thank you, Lord Lin. Goodbye!” Luo Feibai saluted and left immediately. He did not want to linger for even a second longer.

But before he could step away, Wei Yueshan scoffed, “Hmph! There really isn’t a bone in him! He would’ve died ages ago if he didn’t have a good brother!”

Outside the room, Luo Feibai shuddered and clenched his fists so hard that veins were popping on his arm. His face was contorted into an expression of pure fury as well.

“Are you alright, young master?” One of Luo Feibai’s servants asked kindly after noticing his expression, but it was a mistake.

“Did I ask for your concern!? Fuck off!” Luo Feibai yelled and hit the attendant on the chest. The poor man let out a bloodcurdling scream and fell to the ground, unmoving. It was impossible to say if he was still alive or not.

“Let’s go!” ordered Luo Feibai before heading straight for the exit.

It was at this moment something happened. Luo Feibai had just taken two steps when he suddenly collapsed to the ground. It was so sudden and unexpected that it took his servants a couple of seconds to react.

“Young master!”

“Young master!”

They rushed to his side and shook him back and forth, but he didn’t react. Eye bulging and face as pale as a sheet, his pupils kept shrinking until all life had vanished from his eyes.

“He… he’s dead?” A servant mustered his courage and tried to feel Luo Feibai’s pulse, but there was nothing. He was so scared that he collapsed on his butt.

“The young master’s dead…”

“The young master’s dead!”

Everyone looked as white as a ghost. No one knew what the hell just happened, much less how to fix this situation.

The commotion was hardly quiet, so many customers were drawn out of their guest rooms. Cries of shock ensued, and it wasn’t long before a crowd had gathered around the young master’s dead body. It was chaos.

Suddenly, a man cut through the crowd and asked loudly, “What’s going on over here?”

Luo Feibai’s servants subconsciously turned toward the person. When they saw who it was, their eyes lit up like they had found their savior. “Constable Li! Thank heavens you’re here! Our young master, he… he’s dead!”

“What?” Constable Li’s full name was Li Lang, and he was a middle-aged man in his thirties. He possessed a stern, intimidating face that could easily cower people into submission. When he frowned, the nearest crowd literally flinched and took a step away from him. “Is that your second young master, Luo Feibai on the ground?”

“Yes, constable!” A servant answered, and Li Lang’s heart dropped. The Luo Clan was a highly influential family who had started as a humble river merchant. Their foundation was solid, and their connections were not to be underestimated. The patriarch of the Luo Clan was called Luo Chunchao, and Luo Feibai was the son of his first wife. Therefore, his death was absolutely going to cause a massive splash in Luo Shui.

This is bad.

Li Lang’s frown deepened. He had come here to enjoy a drink with his brothers, and a murder case, one that would cost many people’s lives if it wasn’t handled properly, had landed in his lap. How unlucky was that?

As reluctant as he felt, Li Lang didn’t dare to treat this lightly. He immediately ordered, “Men, seal off the scene. Starting now, no one is allowed to leave the Cuiwei Boat without my permission!”

“As you command!” The bailiffs accompanying Li Lang immediately responded. They too were aware how serious the situation was and hurried to carry out their duties.

After Li Lang was finished giving his orders, he turned back to Luo Feibai’s servants and said, “Tell me everything that happened prior to Luo Feibai’s death. Also,” he pointed at the servant who had been struck unconscious or dead by Luo Feibai earlier, “What’s with that guy over there?”

The frightened servants quickly told the constable everything. When they finished giving their account, Li Lang thought for a moment before asking, “Just to clarify, you are certain that Luo Feibai argued with some customers in a guest room over the Cuiwei Rainflower Brews right before his death?”

“Yes…?” The servants hesitated a little because it was more like a one-sided beatdown than an argument, but it was probably unnecessary to mention that, so they didn’t.

“Alright, take me to that guest room right now!” Li Lang rose to his feet and ordered the servants to lead the way. They headed straight for Chu Nianjiu’s room.

“Oh no, here comes trouble!” Ye Qing half-joked as he enjoyed a sip of Cuiwei Rainflower Brew. It had a rich taste and a lingering aftertaste that made him want to go for another sip again and again. It was definitely worth its reputation.

Everyone in the room was an Astral Refiner at least, so of course they heard the commotion as clear as day. But of course, they didn’t hear the moment Luo Feibai died. They would’ve stepped out of the room to investigate if that was the case.

Slam!

Once again, the room door was opened roughly, and once again, an awkward silence permeated the air when Li Lang saw who the five men sitting inside the room were. The constable desperately wanted to say, “Sorry to disturb you. Goodbye!” and leave the place, but his sense of duty was ultimately greater than his fear.

Saluting the five men stiffly, he said, “Greetings, everyone. Something’s happened outside, so if you don’t mind…”

Before he could finish, Chu Nianjiu answered lazily, “No need for pretenses, Constable Li. We’ve all heard the commotion, and we know what you want to ask. Here is my answer.”

“Yes, we had an argument with Luo Feibai over the Cuiwei Rainflower Brew, or more accurately, we verbally ripped a hole in his ass before we told him to leave. He was perfectly healthy when he left the room, as evident from the fact that he had slapped one of his lackeys unconscious outside the room. Everyone saw this, so you know I’m not lying.”

“As for motive, we simply have no motive. We’d already vented our annoyance on him, and what kind of crazy would kill Luo Feibai over a couple of Cuiwei Rainflower Brews? He’s not worth it.”

Li Lang relaxed and echoed in agreement, “It is true that you have no motive to kill Luo Feibai.”

However, his statement was refuted by a low mutter, “That’s a lie! I know at least one person in there who absolutely has a motive to kill Young Master Luo!”

“What? What did you say?” Li Lang immediately turned around to look at the servant who said this.

The corners of Ye Qing’s lips turned up. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

The servant said, “This morning, the young master had tried to frame Lord Ye Qing for a crime, and his action had nearly resulted in his death. Therefore, it is definitely possible that Ye Qing had killed my young master for revenge!”

“You’re right! That has to be the case!”

“It’s him, it’s him, it has to be him…”

Here we go again, Ye Qing sighed internally. He wasn’t looking for trouble, but trouble just couldn’t help but look for him, could it?

It didn’t take long before Luo Feibai’s servants divulged everything that had happened this morning.

1. In ancient China, it’s quite common for high-class brothels to be a brothel/restaurant/theater. 👈

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