By the time the innkeeper heard the news and rushed over, the inconsiderate fellow was already gone.
That time, the innkeeper worried that the prepared bait would be gone, and they wouldn't be able to find anyone else. What should they do? However, he didn't expect that on the seventh day, bait wouldn't be needed.
The innkeeper wasn't entirely sure what the bait was for, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that Lin Yanqin herself was that entity.
And there was something else the innkeeper hadn't concealed.
That was, if someone moved into Lin Yanqin's room before the incident and refused to leave, they would also meet with misfortune.
This was enough to prove that even Lin Yanqin, who appeared so harmless, possessed a certain degree of danger. The innkeeper, being afraid of death, naturally treated Lin Yanqin with extreme caution.
Regardless, it was always right not to offend Lin Yanqin.
When Ye Tiancheng and Liang Ping discussed the situation, they felt it was quite normal. Lin Yanqin, after all, was not human, but a residual soul burdened by deep obsession. It was impossible for her to be completely without abilities or danger.
Even if her appearance was harmless, it couldn't change Lin Yanqin's essence.
Generally, anyone with a bit of sense wouldn't act so rashly. However, one had to respect biodiversity, otherwise, why would there be so many fools and villains in the world?
Everyone understood this.
Knowing Lin Yanqin's dangerous nature, Ye Tiancheng and the others would be more vigilant and pay more attention when interacting with her.
Fortunately, at this time, Lin Yanqin should have no reason to attack them. Nie Chongyang and the little fox were both capable and wouldn't be unprepared for Lin Yanqin. Even the little fox, whose thoughts tended towards simplicity in some matters, couldn't possibly be unaware of the threat Lin Yanqin might pose.
This meant Ye Tiancheng didn't need to worry about anything happening to the little fox and Nie Chongyang.
After the innkeeper finished explaining to Ye Tiancheng, he said with a distressed expression, "Consider me shameless, but I'm really too hungry. I'll tell you everything you want to know if you give me some food and water."
Hearing the innkeeper's plea, Ye Tiancheng's gaze fell upon him.
After a moment's thought, he asked Liang Ping to wait in the room and then walked out. Ye Tiancheng went to the front desk and to his surprise, the employee who had run away yesterday was still there, guarding the front desk.
As soon as the employee saw Ye Tiancheng, he shivered all over.
He quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet Ye Tiancheng's gaze. But at this moment, he also didn't dare to run.
Otherwise, if Ye Tiancheng was displeased and took him along to keep his boss company, what then? The employee still didn't know what had happened to his boss, whether he had fallen into Ye Tiancheng's hands.
This employee didn't think there was a high possibility of his boss surviving in Ye Tiancheng's hands.
After all, they were accustomed to double-crossing each other, and there wasn't much loyalty between them. Moreover, if the boss was gone, he could smoothly take over the inn, and this territory would be his.
Although the boss would surely keep some secrets, the employee had followed him for a long time and was very familiar with many things about the inn. If the innkeeper were no longer around, it would be easy for the employee to take over.
Ye Tiancheng saw that the employee was still there. Although it was somewhat unexpected, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility.
The place was sealed now, and no one could leave.
If there were any way to get out, Ye Tiancheng thought, the innkeeper wouldn't have risked staying in this inn during such a time.
Since the innkeeper hadn't left, it must be because he couldn't.
After all, the innkeeper was such a life-loving person, terrified of death. He would naturally try to avoid anything he perceived as dangerous.
If he knew it was dangerous and didn't avoid it, it could only be because he had no other choice.
Ye Tiancheng walked to the front desk and tapped on the counter.
At this point, the employee finally dared not ignore Ye Tiancheng. Since someone had greeted him, if he didn't respond, he might incur Ye Tiancheng's displeasure, and then he would be in trouble.
He wasn't as good at self-preservation as his boss.
The employee nervously swallowed, then quickly raised his head, forcing a smile at Ye Tiancheng, and asked solicitously, "Sir, is there anything you need?"
Ye Tiancheng said to the employee, "Prepare some food and drink and send it to your boss. Keep him in the room opposite ours. When you're ready, just send it to him."
The employee showed a slightly surprised expression but didn't dare to delay in responding to Ye Tiancheng.
Therefore, he quickly and efficiently replied, "Yes, alright! I'll arrange it immediately!"
Saying that, the employee cautiously looked at Ye Tiancheng again and asked, "Sir, do you and your companions also need help preparing food?"
Ye Tiancheng glanced at him.
The employee flinched again.
Ye Tiancheng then withdrew his gaze and said in a very cold tone, "No need. Just remember to prepare food and water for your boss every day. Our matters are none of your concern."
The employee didn't dare to retort and watched Ye Tiancheng as he finished speaking and turned to leave.
Ye Tiancheng had temporarily moved the innkeeper to the room opposite their own. The locks in this inn were not difficult to open, and Ye Tiancheng wasn't worried about damaging them. Even if they were damaged, the innkeeper was handcuffed and couldn't open the door himself, so there was no need to worry at night.
At most, it would be a bit noisy.
Liang Ping had the key to the "silver bracelets" on the innkeeper's hands, so they didn't need to wait for Nie Chongyang to return to handle this.
Ye Tiancheng didn't intend to keep the innkeeper in their room indefinitely, as his presence would be too inconvenient. Ye Tiancheng really disliked such situations.
Even when Nie Chongyang and the others escorted prisoners in the past, they would accompany them on the way back, hand them over, and then be done with it.
But with the innkeeper here, they couldn't leave, and they had to keep him locked up, as releasing him was not an option. This was very troublesome.
Ye Tiancheng preferred to keep things simple.
Moreover, he couldn't get any more new information from the innkeeper. After interrogating him and repeatedly asking the same questions to ensure the credibility of his statements,
Ye Tiancheng discovered that the innkeeper's longevity was partly due to luck, combined with his black heart and ruthless nature.
He first found the location of this inn, a place where Lin Yanqin's special events were easy to handle and the land was easy to occupy. Most people wouldn't want to compete with him for it. Then, he mastered certain survival skills within the special events, such as luring bait to save himself.
Furthermore, the innkeeper was sufficiently rule-abiding.
Undeniably, rules were crucial in Xiaojing City. Even non-humans had to abide by them, otherwise, those non-humans wouldn't be knocking on the door of that dilapidated inn every night without directly breaking in.
Breaking in shouldn't be particularly difficult for them.
However, it was likely that even non-humans were unwilling to bear the consequences of violating the rules.
But from this, it was evident how much power the entity behind Xiaojing City possessed. This must be a formidable opponent. If the other party were ordinary, they wouldn't be able to achieve such a feat.
Even possessing a fragment of the Fuxi Qin wouldn't easily accomplish this.
After instructing the employee to remember to bring food to the innkeeper, Ye Tiancheng paid little attention to that matter. He didn't need that person anymore. As long as he was fed and didn't starve to death, other things were irrelevant to him.
When Ye Tiancheng returned, he waited for a while longer.
Around noon, Nie Chongyang and the little fox returned. Of course, when they needed to reunite after parting ways, the first thing they would do was verify each other's identities.
After all, no one wanted their companion, with whom they had traveled, to be replaced by someone else at some unknown time without their knowledge.
Moreover, if a companion were replaced, their situation would become extremely dangerous.
In short, caution was necessary.
After verifying each other's identities, Ye Tiancheng asked Nie Chongyang and the little fox.
He asked, "What did you discover this morning when you followed Lin Yanqin? What is this new clue that Lin Yanqin mentioned?"
Upon hearing Ye Tiancheng's question, Nie Congliang couldn't help but rub his temples.
He replied to Ye Tiancheng, "It's not that we found nothing. Mainly, Lin Yanqin was frightened. It seems someone else broke into her room again, and this time, they left obvious traces that even Lin Yanqin could recognize."
As he spoke, Nie Chongyang looked around and realized something was amiss.
He then asked Ye Tiancheng, "Where is the innkeeper? Why isn't he here?"
Liang Ping answered Nie Chongyang.
Liang Ping told Nie Chongyang, "He's been staying in our room, which made our movements inconvenient. Also, the innkeeper was clamoring for food, so after considering it, Ye Tiancheng sent him to the room opposite."
Ye Tiancheng also explained to Nie Chongyang, "We've already asked him some questions. This person probably has nothing more to reveal and is of no use to us. However, he harbors ill intentions towards others, so we can't just let him go, or the consequences would be endless."
"Therefore, I went to the front desk and found that his employee was still there. I asked his employee to bring him water and food daily. He won't starve or die of thirst. Apart from not being able to release him for now, we don't need to concern ourselves with him anymore."
Nie Chongyang said with some surprise, "You've already squeezed all the information out of him?"
Ye Tiancheng shook his head.
He said to Nie Chongyang, "This is the result after a thorough interrogation. The innkeeper has lived this long and is doing quite well thanks to his ruthlessness, his hard heart, and good luck."
"The things he knows are also limited. He's already revealed most of the valuable information. Asking further won't yield better results."
"On the contrary, if he's caught by us, he might fabricate some nonsensical things to deceive us in order to survive, leading us down the wrong path. That would be a loss."
Liang Ping agreed with Ye Tiancheng and showed Nie Chongyang the notes he had taken.
Liang Ping said, "Ye Tiancheng is right. The innkeeper had nothing more to say and had started fabricating things. We couldn't get any more information."