Chapter 417: Chapter 240: Playing Tricks and Pretending to Be Supernatural [Happy New Year]
Chu Qing slightly raised his gaze, glancing at the guesthouse in front of him, and at Luo Wushuang, who stood not far away.
He did not immediately inquire but instead gave a slight nod to Gentle, indicating that he understood.
Then, smiling, he said to Luo Wushuang:
"What happened just now?"
Luo Wushuang looked into the guesthouse twice, then said to Chu Qing:
"That group of people are infamous thieves from West Mountain, and it seems they came for the Taiheng Sect’s sword ceremony.
"It ended up that they somehow offended someone halfway. Seventeen or eighteen people came, and four or five of them died.
"They just came to the guesthouse, intending to carry the dead inside.
"Because of the Taiheng Sect’s sword ceremony, this place is filled with people from the Martial World.
"Such an ominous incident is naturally unwelcome.
"The innkeeper was in a difficult position, and finally agreed to place the bodies in the woodshed at the back. They both took a step back, and things quieted down."
As Chu Qing nodded, a waiter had already walked out of the guesthouse, who, upon seeing Chu Qing’s group, hurriedly greeted them warmly:
"I’ve waited with despair for you noble guests to finally arrive!
"Honorable guests, are you here for a meal or to stay?"
"At this hour, naturally to stay."
Chu Qing smiled:
"Are there any rooms available?"
"You’re lucky; we have exactly three rooms left."
"We’ll take them all."
Chu Qing casually tossed a piece of broken silver over.
The waiter awkwardly caught it, held it in his hand, examined it closely, and instantly smiled broadly, waving for a few people to take the horses:
"We’ll arrange your mounts in the backyard with the best feed for them, rest assured, dear guests.
"Please follow me."
Having others lead the horses away, he personally escorted Chu Qing and his group inside.
Just stepping into the main hall, they indeed felt various eyes fall upon them.
Some were filled with malice, some were inscrutable, and others were lightly mocking.
But when some eyes fell on Chu Qing, they quickly withdrew.
The malice dissipated, the inscrutability turned timid, and the mocking disappeared into invisibility...
As Chu Qing’s reputation grew, his appearance became well-known.
After all, he’s made numerous public appearances; with more people seeing him, more people naturally recognized him.
There happened to be a few people in the inn who had seen Chu Qing in person.
Faced with this Mad Saber, they naturally dared not act presumptuously.
Of course, there were also those who didn’t recognize him, and their gazes didn’t restrain. Yet, after scanning Chu Qing and his group, they gradually withdrew their gaze.
Chu Qing saw through all of this but did not care.
Given the current situation, even if the guesthouse were a black inn, at least for the next few days, it wouldn’t dare to act unscrupulously.
Too many people, too chaotic, too mixed.
A slight miscalculation might bring trouble... a black inn seeks wealth, killing is merely a means, not the end.
Now with so many people passing through like a pack of wolves, they can’t easily treat them as fat sheep to slaughter.
If they indeed have intentions, they would need to find sheep wandering alone.
The waiter led Chu Qing’s group upstairs, and low murmurs drifted into Chu Qing’s ears.
"Why has this master also come?"
"Surely for the Taiheng Sect’s sword ceremony."
"He now oversees the Blazing Hall; are those with him all masters from the Blazing Hall? Why don’t I recognize a single one?"
"What are you guys whispering about? Does this young man have a significant background?"
"Quiet! Don’t you want to live!? That one is..."
Murmurs continued, and by the time Chu Qing went up and down the stairs, it seemed no one in the guesthouse didn’t recognize him.
Three guest rooms, Chu Qing and Hua Jinnian shared one, Wuchen had one to himself, and Wu Qianhuan and Gentle shared another.
The two ladies seemed to get along much better now than before.
They had shared a room often enough along the way.
For convenience, Chu Qing had Gentle change her disguise again, reverting to women’s attire instead of male clothing.
Once the waiter left after showing them their rooms,
Chu Qing’s group gathered together...
Wu Qianhuan randomly poured tea for everyone, while Chu Qing looked at Gentle:
"When we entered earlier, did you notice anything in the hall?"
Gentle shook her head:
"The scent went to the backyard."
"Could it be them?"
Wu Qianhuan glanced at Chu Qing, thinking of that gang of infamous thieves from West Mountain.
Chu Qing pondered aloud:
"Prince Xue doesn’t know Gentle’s secret, which is an opportunity for us."
Gentle’s Celestial Fragrance Body was quite an important card.
Given the current circumstances, Prince Xue managed to thoroughly conceal himself so that people couldn’t distinguish him by scent.
If she learned that Gentle had the Celestial Fragrance Body, persisting in hiding herself, Chu Qing would find himself at a disadvantage.
But now that the opponent inadvertently left a trace, Chu Qing certainly wouldn’t let it slip.
However, he couldn’t be too rash... If they pounced and found nothing, alerting Prince Xue that Chu Qing had an abnormal method to seek him out,
it was uncertain whether she would figure out the key, but she would surely hide more diligently, making it even harder to find.
His contest with Prince Xue had advanced to a cat-and-mouse game.
It was natural to proceed with each step cautiously...
"Therefore, the key now is not to startle the snake... Let’s first determine whether the scent is indeed from Prince Xue, or... somewhere else."
Chu Qing softly said:
"Later, let’s split up. Gentle and I will check the backyard.
"Qianhuan, you, Wuchen, and Brother Hua, observe the situation with the group from West Mountain in the hall."
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