At the entrance of Qinghe Store, the only tavern, Xiao Chen held the knife in his hand, looked around, opened the door and walked in.
It was approaching noon, and there were already several tables of customers in the tavern.
The loud and noisy shouts and the sound of punches that were louder than the previous one made people feel irritable instantly.
The waiter had already greeted him enthusiastically, bowed his waist, tried his best to make the smile on his face look brighter, and said, "How many guests are there?"
"One of you, do you have a quieter seat? This hall is too noisy." Xiao Chen frowned slightly and glanced at the people who were punching loudly.
"Yes, yes." The waiter nodded and bowed for a while, "There are private seats upstairs. Not only is it clean, but you can also watch the scenery on the street. Your Majesty, please come this way."
With that said, the waiter took Xiao Chen to a staircase and stepped aside, waiting for Xiao Chen to leave first.
Walking up to the attic, there are seven or eight private rooms in a row.
Arriving at the private room by the window on the far right, Xiao Chen turned around and said, "One pound of soju and two pounds of mutton, just bring them up."
He walked into the private room and sat down near the window. Through the window lattice that had a hint of cold wind, Xiao Chen raised his eyes and watched every move of the people on the street.
Although this private room is located above the attic, the noise in the hall can still be heard, but it is much smaller due to the distance.
The reason why he came to this place that he didn't like at all was because Butler Wang told Xiao Chen that the man in black with the sword on his back once haunted here.
Even if you find someone from the government who used to hang out in Zhang Shan's house, you still have to go through a lot of troubles to get something useful.
And if the man carrying the sword was really the murderer of Zhang Shanren's family, he would just have to be taken down by force and interrogated.
Near noon, several groups of guests came and went in the tavern, but the man carrying the sword never appeared.
"Perhaps, the murderer had already left the Qinghe store after killing Zhang Shanren's family." Xiao Chen stretched out his right hand and rubbed his temples.
The soju in this tavern has a high alcohol content. After drinking it, I feel comfortable all over and my head feels a little dizzy.
A few days after Wang San's death, the murderer stayed at the Qinghe store, just because he was afraid that things would not be done satisfactorily and that flaws would be exposed.
The death scene of the good man's family is full of loopholes. According to the other party's vigilance, he should stay there for a few days.
Perhaps, the other party has changed the place of entry and exit, and I am afraid that I won't be able to wait for someone.
After draining the last bowl of wine, Xiao Chen was about to leave when the waiter called out from downstairs: "Sir, two pounds of beef and two pounds of soju?"
"Well, let me warm the soju. It's freezing out here, but it's still nice to drink hot wine." A man's voice continued.
"Okay, sir, sit down first, I'll prepare it for you right now." The waiter's voice is always so enthusiastic.
"Alas, most of the people who go to the pub to drink are in groups. It's the New Year's Eve and they don't stay at home to accompany their families. They are like me and have a stomach to drink." Xiao Chen shook his head and looked downstairs curiously.
Look.
In the corner of the hall, there sat a middle-aged man with a full beard, wearing a thin blue jacket, which looked out of place in this northern winter.
The pair of fast boots on the soles of the feet are very similar to Jin Yiwei's standard fast boots.
"Jinyiwei?" Xiao Chen suddenly sobered up from the drunkenness, his mind was spinning rapidly, and his eyes were fixed on that person without taking a step away.
It seemed that he was a little cold or a little hungry. The man patted the huge bamboo hat leaning against him twice: "Xiao Er, hurry up. Why are you taking so long today?"
"Come on, come on. There are a lot of guests today. This pot of fresh beef will be cooked soon." The waiter's ever-splendid voice came from the back kitchen.
"Hurry up, uncle, I won't pay for the wine and meat if you wait any longer." As if he was not satisfied, the man kicked the bamboo hat lying beside him to the ground.
In an instant, Xiao Chen's eyes narrowed to a slit, and a murderous intention slowly rose in his heart.
The moment the bamboo hat fell to the ground, a three-foot Qingfeng Sword was leaning against the wall.
The half-inch wide scabbard, two feet six inches long, and four-inch long hilt are enough for an adult man to perform a series of difficult actions such as chopping, stabbing, slashing, and cutting at will.
And inside the half-inch-wide scabbard, the three-thirds-wide blade is an absolute weapon for sealing the throat with one sword.
Recalling the bone-deep fatal wounds on the necks of Zhang Shanren's family, the three-foot green-edged sword in front of him made Xiao Chen's blood surge.
However, there were still several tables of guests enjoying themselves in the hall, so Xiao Chen suppressed the idea of taking action at this moment.
The purpose of his trip was to find out the mastermind behind Wang San's murder, and the man in blue shirt in front of him might be the breakthrough in this case.
What he wanted to do was to capture this person alive without alerting him.
Slowly sitting down again, Xiao Chen's entire consciousness was locked on the other person.
As dusk approached, the man in blue shirt finally had enough to eat and drink. He put a five-tael silver ingot on the table, got up and left.
Xiao Chen didn't dare to be negligent. As soon as this person walked out of the door, he jumped down from the attic.
Under the surprised look of the waiter, he placed a handful of broken silver on the counter and rushed out of the door.
In winter in the north, when the sun is slightly westward, the temperature begins to drop.
At this moment, the snow all over the street has solidified into smooth ice skates. Looking around, there are almost no pedestrians, only a blue figure walking slowly with a huge bamboo hat on his head.
With a distance of five feet, Xiao Chen followed lightly.
Half a quarter of an hour later, the man in blue came to the door of an inn. After a short pause, he seemed to have noticed someone behind him, and walked straight towards the desolate place outside the town.
The outskirts of Qinghedian Town are endless fields.
The hard-working people of Qinghedian kept the fields clean.
The exposed black soil had already been covered by the heavy snow the day before. Days of sunshine had only slightly reduced the thick snow.
Although it was already dusk, under the reflection of the snow-white earth, the surroundings were bright and there was no hint of darkness.
Looking around, the entire earth is like a complete snow-white carpet, holy and elegant.
In the center of the "carpet", the man in blue shirt suddenly stood still with his back to Xiao Chen and stopped moving forward.
Handing the Liblade in his right hand to his left hand, Xiao Chen walked forward with firm eyes.
"Who are you?" The man in blue shirt raised his hands in front of his chest, but still did not turn around. The three-foot green-edged sword held tightly in his left hand only had a short scabbard exposed from the side.
The bamboo hat was held low, and the hem of his blue clothes swayed in the cold wind.
If you don't think of the tragic situation in which Zhang Shanren's family was killed, this man's posture would look like a martial arts hero.
"Who are you?" Xiao Chen's face was calm, but his right hand slowly pressed on the handle of Libian's knife.
