Qinxue led the four of them into Xing Tang Road. The sounds of hawking and bargaining filled the air. Xue's goal was clear: she headed straight for the inn where Shangguan Jin was staying.
There was only one inn on Xing Tang Road, called "You Jia Inn." The owner of You Jia Inn was a beautiful woman named Qiu Niang. Many passing merchants, captivated by her beauty, dared not make any moves against her. It was said that anyone who harbored ill intentions towards her ended up being chopped into pieces and made into human meat buns.
Qinxue entered You Jia Inn. Qiu Niang was behind the counter, clattering away on an abacus, calculating the inn's revenue for the period.
"Innkeeper," Qinxue approached the counter. "A room, please."
"All the guest rooms are full. We only have a few rooms left in our private loft, and the price is doubled. Would you like to stay, miss?" Qiu Niang asked, looking up.
"Yes," Qinxue said, placing a silver ingot on the counter. Qiu Niang's eyes instantly curved into a smile. She instructed the busy waiter, "Xiao Er, take these ladies to the loft. The first room upstairs is the largest; give it to these ladies."
"Right away, Innkeeper," the waiter eagerly ran over, slinging a white cloth over his shoulder. "Ladies, please follow me."
Qinxue immediately followed the waiter towards the back of the inn. The back housed the owner's private loft. Whenever the inn was full, the owner would rent out rooms in the loft at a high price.
"Are you traveling merchants, or just passing through?"
"Passing through," Qinxue replied. "Is it safe to stay here?"
"Of course, it's safe to stay here!" the waiter said without hesitation. "If you don't believe me, ask anyone. Who in all of Xing Tang Road doesn't know that You Jia Inn is the safest place?"
"But I heard someone was killed here?"
"Who said that? Nonsense! Who would dare kill someone here and not fear our innkeeper chopping them up?" the waiter said as he led the way. "Money can't be harmed, but if someone dies, who would still come here to stay? It must be a rumor! Ladies, don't believe it. This is the safest place there is."
"I heard in the market today that someone went missing from your inn, disappeared without a trace. Is that true?" Chu You, who was following Qinxue, asked curiously. Her childlike face made her hard to guard against. Coupled with her young age and innocent curiosity, no one would suspect she was intentionally gathering information.
The waiter led the group to the loft. "Don't listen to the rumors from outsiders. How could anyone disappear without a reason? They probably left in the middle of the night because they had something to do. If others didn't see them, they assume they vanished. They're just making a fuss over nothing."
"People leave in the middle of the night?"
"Yes, some merchants leave before dawn to save time. Others have special goods that need to be delivered at a specific time, so they leave at night." The waiter pushed open a door and let Qinxue and the others in. "Ladies, you will be staying in this room. It's large and clean. For food and drinks, you'll need to go to the main hall."
"Can't you deliver it to the room?"
"We're short-staffed and busy. Please, ladies, take your meals in the main hall." After speaking, the waiter closed the door and hurried back ahead.
Qinxue opened the window a bit and looked outside. If Ah Jin didn't disappear here, then he disappeared after leaving. According to the waiter, did he leave because of something, or was he meeting someone to deliver goods?
"Boss, I heard this inn's owner is an extremely fierce woman. Could the Shangguan family head have been captured by her?" Chu You asked curiously.
Qinxue shook her head. "Ah Jin has experts by his side. Whenever he travels with a caravan, there are always many skilled guards. Yet, no one was alerted. This indicates that there was no conflict within the inn. Have you informed Jiang Bai?"
"He's been informed. He should be here soon."
"I'm going out for a walk. You four keep an eye on everything happening in the inn. Report anything unusual to me."
"Yes, Boss."
Qinxue left the inn and walked down Xing Tang Road. People bustled back and forth on both sides of the street. Just then, a man sauntered up, holding a pipe with an embroidered sachet of orchids hanging from it.
"Miss, are you looking for someone?" the man asked, walking alongside Qinxue. He took a puff of his pipe, exhaling rings of white smoke that dissipated into the air.
Qinxue frowned slightly and increased the distance between herself and the man. As the leader of the hidden guards, Qinxue was highly vigilant, especially since the smoke the man exhaled carried a faint scent of orchids, not the pungent smell of tobacco.
Unusual occurrences often signal trouble. Moreover, Shangguan Jin had disappeared on Xing Tang Road. Qinxue became even more wary. "Who are you?"
"My surname is Chang, my name is Chang Yan," Chang Yan said with a smile, holding his pipe. "I usually work as an informant. Everyone here knows me as Chang Yan, or 'the all-knowing.' Seeing you looking around, you must be looking for someone."
Qinxue took a few more steps back until she could no longer smell the scent from Chang Yan, then stopped. "I'm not looking for anyone. I'm just visiting for the first time and am curious, so I'm looking around."
Chang Yan's lips curved into a smile, his eyes narrowing into slits like a proud cat. "Since you're not looking for anyone, miss, I won't disturb you."
Chang Yan turned and walked away slowly and leisurely. "If you do want to find someone, miss, go to Chen Wai Road and look for me. I'll give you a discount then."
Qinxue watched Chang Yan's back disappear at the end of the street. Her doubts deepened. Why would he approach her for no reason and confidently state she was looking for someone? Did he know something, or was he involved in Ah Jin's disappearance?
"Miss Qinxue," a male voice called from behind her. Qinxue had already drawn her sword to strike, but upon clearly seeing the person, she forcefully stopped her sword mid-air and then sheathed it.
"Why is it you?"
Jiang Bai rubbed his neck, feeling for a moment as if his head was no longer attached to his body. Even with the Shangguan family head missing in Xing Tang Road, did this formidable lady need to be so cautious?
"I was planning to go to You Jia Inn to find the Pavilion Master, but I ran into you on the way," Jiang Bai said in a low voice. "Our men have searched all of Xing Tang Road and found no trace of the Shangguan family head. According to our investigation, the Shangguan family head and his entourage were attacked after leaving You Jia Inn."
"Do we know where they were attacked?"
Jiang Bai shook his head. "The 'all-knowing' might know some clues, but I've tried to find him several times, and he avoids me. This suggests that the Shangguan family head's disappearance this time has other hidden reasons."