Chapter 352 - The Foshan Journey (Part 5)

After his examination, he confirmed Huang Tianyu was in no mortal danger. Only then did he turn back to berate the inn manager.

"What kind of inn is this! A den of thieves!"

The manager approached with a pained expression, bowing repeatedly. "This is entirely our fault. Please, gentlemen, calm yourselves."

Fortunate indeed! Liu San thought. That they'd managed to catch Qianqian and avoid turning this business trip into a disgrace was quite accidental—all thanks to Gao Di.

After the evening party had dispersed, Liu San had taken Shucui to his room. Disrobing and undressing, they enjoyed each other's company. Shucui served him with all her might, and the two were well-matched. After several rounds of lovemaking, Liu San felt somewhat fatigued. He was about to dream of Duke Zhou when someone knocked on his door—it was Gao Di.

"It's so late—why aren't you sleeping instead of running around?" Liu San scolded unhappily.

Gao Di glanced toward the inner room before whispering, "Doctor Liu, there's something not right about those singing girls who came tonight!"

Calling someone's origins "not right" meant they were up to no good. Liu San immediately grew alert. After all, when it came to experience with this era's society, this street urchin Gao Di had far more than any of them.

"Wait here." Liu San went back inside and casually threw on a shirt. He wasn't worried about money being stolen—the large sums and valuables had all been deposited at the counter. Even if Shucui was a villain, she could only steal some loose silver and copper coins.

"Where is the gentleman going?" Shucui asked, her fragrant shoulders half-exposed as she lay in bed, seeing him about to leave.

"Going to take a bath—too hot," Liu San answered casually while carefully locking the door behind him.

The corridor wasn't a good place to talk, so Liu San led Gao Di to a corner.

"What's going on?"

"I went into the city today and heard some news. Recently there have been several cases in Guangzhou where someone slipped drugs into drinks, knocked people out, then robbed inn guests. Because they hadn't followed the proper rules of 'paying respects to the dock,' the constables from the yamen investigated privately. Word has it that a suspicious outside woman who speaks Mandarin is quite suspect—this person is probably a lone bandit. The local thieves' bosses don't even know her origins!"

"Wait—'paying respects to the dock?'"

"Mm. Pickpockets, sneak thieves, con artists... any kind of underworld figure who wants to work in this county has to, by custom, pay tribute to the head constable. Otherwise they'll find no foothold here. At best they're driven out; at worst they're caught and thrown in the yamen—if they don't die, they lose a layer of skin at least."

"Really dark." But this wasn't the time to discuss Ming-era governance. "This thief?"

Gao Di nodded. "After the masters ordered singing girls, I happened to overhear an attendant mention there was an outside girl who speaks Mandarin. Putting two and two together, I grew suspicious. So I went to inquire further with the inn staff—turns out something was indeed wrong."

"What—Shucui is the thief?"

"Shucui isn't the thief. She's registered here and paid her dues." Gao Di wiped sweat from his forehead. "But the one who went to Shopkeeper Huang's room—she hadn't registered with the inn at all."

"Call him 'shopkeeper' out here." Liu San frowned. "It's Qianqian?"

"Yes. This Qianqian did business for the first time today. She came with Shucui, supposedly her new 'sister.' The inn wanted her to register, but Qianqian said she'd register next time—and weaseled out of it."

Liu San nodded. This alone didn't prove anything, but at least Shucui was probably clean—Qianqian was highly suspicious!

"You and Chen Tong—both of you, watch by Huang Tianyu's door!" Liu San said. "I'll go see the manager and have them help keep watch."

Gao Di's deduction proved accurate. Deep in the night, when all was quiet, Qianqian emerged from the room with a large bundle on her back. Those waiting outside immediately seized her.

Though Qianqian was slender and slight, she had some martial skills. Gao Di and Chen Tong had barely approached when she beat them to the ground. It was only when the inn's security guard stepped forward that they finally knocked her down and bound her. Even bound, she wouldn't settle down—kicking wildly and screaming shrilly, attracting curious guests from every room. Only when the guard looped a rope around her throat did she finally stop.

"This is entirely our fault for poor supervision in allowing this villain to infiltrate. We've startled you honored guests," the manager kept bowing and apologizing. "Let me suggest this: room charges are waived for all of you. If your friend needs to see a physician and have medicine prescribed, all expenses will be covered by the inn. We'll also host wine for you all to help settle your nerves..."

"We'll discuss that later." Since Qiwei was essentially a transmigrator group enterprise now, Liu San wasn't particularly interested in pursuing responsibility. "You all step outside for now. I want to have a proper talk with this female thief."

Hearing he wanted to interrogate Qianqian, the manager's brow furrowed. "That may not be quite appropriate. Whether to release her or hand her to the authorities—that's your decision, sir. But conducting a private tribunal..."

"Who said anything about a private tribunal?" Liu San thought: I'm not some S&M enthusiast seizing an opportunity. "Relax—I just want to know what drug she used, so I can treat my friend!" He paused. "If you're not comfortable, you can stay here and witness."

"Yes, yes." The manager could only agree. "Please proceed with your questions, sir. I won't participate. Just let us know whether to release her or turn her over to the authorities, and we'll handle it accordingly."

The attendants cleared away the leftover food and wine from the table, then sorted out Huang Tianyu's belongings. Liu San didn't know what drug Qianqian had given him. The symptoms looked like some kind of plant-based anesthetic: consciousness intact, but limbs and tongue numbed. For Chinese medicine detoxification, the standard approach was licorice and mung bean. He ordered someone to fetch the ingredients and brew a decoction, then had a basin of well water brought over. After splashing some on Huang Tianyu's face and seeing him gradually respond, Liu San judged there was no serious harm. The effects would wear off naturally soon enough.

"He's fine," said Qianqian, who was sitting on the floor. "Someone who's taken 'Supreme Bliss Powder' recovers in an hour at most. This lady is merciful—I wouldn't harm his life."

"This powder that harms people, and you call it 'Supreme Bliss'?" Liu San scoffed. "All medicines have toxicity. Overdose, and even if you don't die, becoming disabled ruins a man's whole life. If that person has parents or children, such sin is truly enormous!"

"It's not that easy to die from it—it's been used for hundreds of years! Besides, my ancestors passed down this name. I didn't come up with it!"

"Your ancestors did such wicked deeds and still gave it such a pretty name. Truly vile to the point of having no conscience." Perhaps because of his profession, Liu San deeply detested using drugs to harm people.

"Hmph! You dare insult my ancestors—just wait till my father beats the shit out of you!" The girl was still talking tough.

"Your father ought to beat the piss out of you!" Liu San threatened. "But your father is probably the same as you—not a decent person either. So I'll beat the piss out of you on his behalf..."

"You wouldn't dare!" Seeing Liu San roll up his sleeves while his eyes scanned around, apparently looking for implements of torture, Qianqian was still a young girl who hadn't weathered many storms. Caught in the act and now fearful of physical suffering, panic rose in her. She blurted out, "You'll regret hitting me."

"Oh? Why would I regret that?" Liu San was amused. "You're just a female thief. Even if I don't hit you, once you're handed to the authorities and taken to the yamen, the magistrate will strip off your pants and give you twenty strokes to start with..."

Now Qianqian was truly panicked, her little face flushing crimson. "You can't bully people like this! What are you going to do with me!"

"Nothing much—I'll have you turned over to the authorities shortly." Liu San made up his mind. Since the anesthetic was harmless, keeping this Qianqian served no purpose. Releasing her risked her following and seeking revenge—that would be troublesome. Better to have the inn hand her over tomorrow. A few days in jail, and they'd be long gone. As for what suffering this little girl would endure in prison—that wasn't his concern. Mercy had to consider who deserved it.

"Hmph, you dare turn me in." Qianqian sniffed, her face showing total indifference. "When that happens, it's you who'll suffer." She seemed to have made up her mind. "I didn't want to scare you originally, but since you're so ungrateful, you've only yourselves to blame." She twisted her waist. "Have Shucui reach into my bosom and take out a brocade pouch!"

Liu San signaled, and Shucui hurried over. She fumbled in Qianqian's clothing for a while, then retrieved a small brocade pouch and brought it over.

Liu San was cautious. He took it and felt it first—inside was something hard and heavy, like a piece of metal. The opening was sealed with a drawstring; it shouldn't contain any traps. He gently loosened the string and extracted a small bronze plaque, quite finely crafted, bearing two lines of gold-inlaid incised Song-style characters:

Heart and Soul of the Court Pillar of Border Affairs

Liu San's mind went blank, and he stood frozen for several seconds.

Holy mother of God—this was the Embroidered Guard!

Though Liu San was trained in Chinese medicine rather than Ming history, there were several people in the transmigrator group who walked around Bairen City wearing T-shirts printed with these eight characters. Everyone among the five hundred knew what these words meant.

How had they provoked this secret police organization? Liu San groaned inwardly. Yu Eshui had listed the Embroidered Guard among the particularly dangerous government agencies, cautioning everyone to be especially careful when entering yellow and red zones.

By now Huang Tianyu's numbness had faded, and he had come over to look.

"Good heavens!" he exclaimed.

"Scared now, aren't you!" Qianqian was utterly pleased with herself. "Hurry up and untie me, then kowtow a dozen times, and this lady will spare you."

Huang Tianyu asked nervously in a low voice, "Liu San, what do we do? This is trouble!"

"Mm." Liu San nodded. This plaque was exquisitely crafted—unlikely to be counterfeit, though they'd never seen the genuine article. If they had truly offended an Embroidered Guard operative, the consequences would be endless. It would endanger not just themselves and their mission but the entire transmigrator group... Murderous intent surged in Liu San's heart. Better to simply kill her and silence her.