Chapter 60 Pretending
Ever since Lei Biao took Su He and others away from Long'an Inn, the tense atmosphere suddenly relaxed a lot, and the inn gradually returned to its previous bustle.

In order to thank Ding San for his generous help, Liu Xunyi not only did not make things difficult for him, but also took the initiative to invite him to drink. In name, it was to express gratitude, but in fact, Liu Xunyi wanted to find out some information about the Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace from Ding San.

Liu Xunyi had just arrived and was unfamiliar with the place, but Ding San had been here for many years and must be familiar with everything about the Jade Dragon Palace. Instead of running around like a headless fly, it would be better to ask Ding San for some useful clues.

Ding San was also a person who never refused anyone who came to him. He was in awe of Liu Xunyi just now, but after three glasses of wine, he quickly became familiar with him. Without waiting for Liu Xunyi to ask him any questions, he took advantage of the alcohol and began to talk to Liu Xunyi nonstop, many of which were about the Yulong Palace.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the two of them continued to drink and chat, and they were still unaware that it was already late at night.

Ding San, with a red face and a smell of alcohol, held Liu Xunyi's arm affectionately and taunted him in a vague manner, "Little brother, do you know who that Master Cao is? He is the little bully of Huodu City. He only knows how to eat, drink and have fun all day long. He is not good at literature or martial arts. In short, he can't do anything. He relies on his father being the head of Yuhu Hall to be so domineering in Huodu. In fact... In fact, there are many people in Huodu City who don't like him. Who says it must be done by outsiders? Maybe he was kidnapped by people in the city."

"It is said that a good father will have a good son. Master Cao has such a son. I am afraid he must be worried to death." Liu Xunyi echoed calmly.

"Who said it wasn't?" Ding San narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "But there's nothing we can do. It's because Hall Master Cao has only this one precious son. Who else can he love but him? He disciplined him when he was young, but later he just let him do whatever he wanted. Anyway, with Hall Master Cao's ability and status, even if this kid is a cripple, the Cao family is enough for him to enjoy a life of luxury. This is what they say: no matter how capable a person is, he can't live as comfortably as a reincarnated ghost. Hehe... By the way, do you know what Tianxianglou is?"

"I think it should be a place with willows and smoke?" Liu Xunyi said with a smile.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Ding San's eyes widened and he nodded repeatedly, "Tianxianglou is full of slutty women who can seduce men. How do you know? Have you been there too, little brother?"

Liu Xunyi smiled bitterly and said, "You said that this Mr. Cao was kidnapped early this morning. Most people should still be asleep at this time. Yuhu Hall is in Huodu. It is impossible for Mr. Cao to stay overnight in an inn without going home. Therefore, the Tianxiang Tower that can make him linger here can only be a brothel."

"Smart! If it weren't for the gentle embrace of women, which man would spend the night in Tianxiang Tower?" Ding San raised his wine glass to Liu Xunyi and said, "Little brother is really a smart man. You understand everything at once. I saw it just now. Based on your ability and conversation, you are definitely not those mediocre people, let alone some shitty coolie. You must be doing great things in Huodu. Hehe..."

Liu Xunyi did not give a direct answer to Ding San's speculation. Instead, he raised his glass and clinked it with Ding San's, then drank it all in one gulp.

"Little brother." Ding San moved closer to Liu Xunyi, lowered his voice, and asked solemnly, "Tell me the truth, why did you come to Huodu?"

"To earn some money for a few drinks..."

"Are you kidding me?" Before Liu Xunyi could finish, Ding San waved his hand and said to himself with a disinterested look, "We didn't know each other until we fought. I treat you as a friend, but you refuse to tell me the truth. It's boring! It's really boring!"

"Where did you get this from, Brother Ding?" Liu Xunyi asked back, pretending to be wronged, "Why didn't I tell you the truth?"

Ding San narrowed his eyes slightly, grabbed Liu Xunyi's hand, then stretched out one of his fingers and slowly wrote a few words on Liu Xunyi's palm, then smiled mysteriously and said, "You came here for this."

When Liu Xunyi recognized the words written by Ding San on his palm, his face changed immediately. Those were clearly the four words "惊风化雨".

Liu Xunyi was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time. He just stared at Ding San with a serious look. He would never admit it easily before finding out Ding San's real purpose.

On the other hand, Ding San grinned, let go of Liu Xunyi's hand, and whispered: "Would a Central Plains expert like you come to the Western Regions for no reason? You must have come here for this, right?"

"How do you know this thing is in Huodu?" Liu Xunyi asked tentatively.

"There is nothing in Huodu that I, Ding San, don't know." Ding San put on an arrogant attitude, put the meat dish into his mouth, and said with a smack of his mouth, "It's just that some things have nothing to do with me, so I'm too lazy to care."

Facing Liu Xunyi's puzzled look, Ding San smiled, stepped forward, and whispered, "Actually, I have a little brother who works in Yuhu Hall. He told me that Hall Master Cao has not been in Yuhu Hall for quite a while, and no one knows where he went. As far as I know, Hall Master Cao will not easily leave Huodu. He must have some unspeakable secrets for being away for so long this time. After that, news came from Central Plains that someone had snatched the Jingfenghuayutu in public at Lu Mansion in Jiangnan. Not long after, Hall Master Cao came back inexplicably. I calculated the time and it was almost right, so I guess Hall Master Cao was most likely the one who did it."

After listening to Ding San's words silently, Liu Xunyi's mind once again emerged the tragic death of Mo Cen's family of three in Lu Mansion that day. He thought to himself: "It turns out that the man in black who didn't even let go of a baby is Cao Qin, the head of Yuhu Hall." Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi subconsciously clenched his right hand into a fist, and then with a crisp "click", he accidentally crushed the wine glass into pieces.

When Ding San saw Liu Xunyi's reaction, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Liu Xunyi ask in a flat tone: "How dare you assert that the Shocking Wind and Rain Map is in Huodu based on just these?" Although Liu Xunyi was quite impressed by Ding San's rough but meticulous approach, he still did not give in easily.

"Not entirely." Ding San said, "But I found that there are a lot more people coming to Huodu recently than before. As the saying goes, there must be something wrong when things are abnormal. Why would so many masters come to Huodu for no reason? There must be something attracting them. Then what do you think can attract these people to come thousands of miles away? Of course, it must be the picture that was stolen not long ago. Hehe..."

Liu Xunyi kept thinking about Ding San's words in his mind, and seemed to hear some clues from them, so he asked: "You said that many people from the martial arts world came to Huodu during this period? Who are you referring to?" "For example, you, and those Mongolians just now, aren't they from Chifengling?" Ding San said bluntly, "And some others..."

"Are there another group of people from the Western Regions?" Liu Xunyi suddenly thought of Xunzhen and asked subconsciously.

"There are too many people from the Western Regions coming in and out of Huodu. I wonder who you are talking about?" Ding San asked back.

"It's just... there was a woman..." Liu Xunyi explained while recalling Xunzhen's appearance, "She was very young and very beautiful..."

Ding San couldn't help but smile evilly when he heard that, and said, "There are actually quite a few beautiful women in Huodu, but a beauty who looks like a fairy has really come in these two days. Compared with her, those mediocre women in Tianxiang Tower are simply not worthy of attention. I heard that Hall Master Cao wanted to find an opportunity to invite her to Yuhu Hall for a chat, hehe...but his precious son suddenly got into trouble, so he gave up the idea."

"It's her!" Liu Xunyi had seen Xunzhen's appearance with his own eyes, and naturally knew that her appearance was definitely extremely eye-catching in Huodu City.

Ding San smacked his lips and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Isn't that right? That fairy is from the Central Plains just like you, not from the Western Regions."

Liu Xunyi was stunned when he heard this, and muttered to himself in astonishment: "From the Central Plains? Did I say it wrong? Or did Ding San see it wrong?"

"Now it's your turn to tell me." Ding San smiled wickedly, approached Liu Xunyi, and asked expectantly, "Are you here for that thing?"

Liu Xunyi put down his wine glass and said with a smile, "Didn't you say that some things have nothing to do with you and you don't bother to care? Why are you so curious about me now?"

"There are benefits!" Ding San straightened his neck, his face full of the word "benefits", "Who would do something that has no benefits?"

"What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi obviously didn't understand what Ding San said, "Do you want that picture?"

Ding San laughed and said, "I heard that the map contains the treasure of the Jin Dynasty. If we can find it, wouldn't we become rich overnight? Haha..."

Liu Xunyi could not deny it and smiled bitterly: "It is possible to become rich overnight, or to lose your life overnight."

"So I'm not greedy." Ding San hurriedly stated his position and said seriously, "I don't expect to get that thing, but I can make a deal with outsiders like you. Although you don't know about Yulong Palace, I know a lot of things. As long as you are willing to give me some benefits, I will help you to find out the information." After that, Ding San winked at Liu Xunyi, as if to say that asking him for help would definitely be worth it.

Liu Xunyi sneered, "You turned pale when you were frightened by Lei Biao just now. Why would you help others?"

"Although I'm not very courageous, I have ways." Ding San smiled mysteriously, "At least I can find out the news about Yuhu Hall and the map for you. If you wander around in Huodu blindly, can you find the map?" As he said that, Ding San suddenly put on an appearance of not waiting for time and whispered, "I can tell you that the Jade Dragon Festival will be in three days. At that time, all the famous people in the three flags and twelve halls of the Jade Dragon Palace will gather at the Great Tianchi to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Dragon Palace Master. Master Cao will definitely take the map up the mountain on that day. Once the map enters the Jade Dragon Palace, even the king of heaven will never be able to get it. So... If you want to ask me for help, you must hurry up, otherwise you will miss it! Considering that we are destined to be together, you give me one thousand taels of gold and I will help you find the map, how about it?"

"I really underestimated you." Liu Xunyi stared at Ding San with a half-smile, while Ding San looked at Liu Xunyi expectantly, as if waiting for Liu Xunyi to ask him for help. However, he never expected that Liu Xunyi would suddenly change the subject and said with a faint smile: "It's a pity that you really found the wrong person this time. I am not interested in Yuhu Hall or Jingfenghuayutu."

Under Ding San's slightly disappointed gaze, Liu Xunyi slowly stood up, waved his hand and threw a few copper coins on the table, and smiled at Ding San: "I'm drunk, I'm going to go back and have a good sleep. It's fate that we can drink together tonight. I'll treat you to this drink, but you can take your Qin Banliang back. I'm really not worthy of it, haha..."

After saying that, without waiting for Ding San to speak again, Liu Xunyi had already staggered towards the guest room upstairs, holding the sword. After Liu Xunyi left, Ding San's drunken face inadvertently showed a hint of intriguing strangeness.

It was almost midnight, and the Long'an Inn was completely silent. The once bustling lobby was now empty. Only a weak candlelight on the counter provided the last hint of yellow in the lobby. The waiter who was on night watch had already fallen asleep on the table, unable to resist the sleepiness.

In the dim light, a black shadow suddenly flashed out from the second-floor guest room and flew into the lobby, his feet landing without making any sound. Then his figure flashed, and the whole person rushed out of the inn door like a gust of wind.

Under the moonlight, a man in black was speeding through the streets of Huodu, his face covered by a black scarf, revealing only a pair of deep and clear eyes. The owner of these eyes was none other than Liu Xunyi, who should have been drunk and fast asleep in bed.

……

(End of this chapter)