Unparalleled Duo
Chapter 38 - 38 26 The Black Store Part 1

38: Chapter 26: The Black Store (Part 1) 38: Chapter 26: The Black Store (Part 1) The commotion last night had left the inn in a state of turmoil, but the end was quite simple.

After all, Sun Yixie had money.

For a village inn like this, not to mention compensating for a roof, even if he were to buy the entire place, Sun Yixie wouldn’t bat an eye; seeing the money in place, the innkeeper naturally wouldn’t say much more.

Unfortunately, the “female ghost” who attacked Brother Sun and Huang last night…

ultimately got away.

Although Huang Donglai and Sun Yixie could basically deduce that she was the “faceless woman” behind the Lu Zhou incident, not having resolved her last night left them somewhat uneasy.

The enemy was hidden while they were exposed; on their subsequent journey, they could only be doubly cautious to prevent another ambush.

Of course, having such an enemy appear wasn’t entirely a bad thing…

The Jianghu was just such a place, where even if you were doing good, you would offend people—do small good deeds, and you’d offend the vicious and ruthless; do big good deeds, and you’d offend the hypocritically virtuous ones.

Human hearts were easily envious, greedy, and selfish…

Gamble in power, sex, fame, or fortune, and you foster grudges and resentments.

Getting used to having enemies around you was also a good thing; it was much better than being caught off guard and stabbed in the back one day while walking down the road.

…

That day, the two men continued on their way, having traveled more than ten miles, and entered a forest path in the late afternoon.

According to the directions they had asked for earlier, passing through this road would take them to a place called Liu Family’s Mansion.

However, after walking for an hour in the forest, they had not yet found their way out, which made Huang Donglai wonder if Brother Sun had led them astray again.

Just then, the path ahead suddenly cleared, revealing a tavern among the sparse woods.

There is a saying, slight smoke shrouds the lonely residence, the tavern’s flag fluttering in the free-flowing wind.

After traveling for most of the day, both men were hungry and thirsty, and their horses were showing signs of fatigue; it was the perfect opportunity to rest inside and ask for directions.

Soon, they tied up their horses and entered the tavern.

The tavern was small, with only three or four sets of tables and chairs outside the counter, and the door to the kitchen was right beside them, only covered by a piece of cloth curtain.

Inside the counter sat a woman, attired in a way that indicated she was the proprietress.

This lady, just over thirty, did carry a bit of charm—yet her face was slightly overpowered by makeup.

When she saw Brother Sun and Huang enter, she glanced up with a calculating look, immediately putting on a delightful smile, leaning against the counter, and purposefully displaying her voluptuous curves before speaking, “Oh, I was wondering why my heart was thudding nonstop today.

It turns out prestigious guests have arrived~” As she spoke, she gently patted her chest with her overly-pale hand in an exaggerated manner, “Gentlemen, what fortunate wind has blown you two to my door?”

Before the madam-esque proprietress could finish, Sun Yixie’s beady eyes had already swept over her several times, from head to chest (the counter blocked anything below) and back again.

After scanning her, Sun Yixie sneered inwardly, but outwardly he sported an obscenely sly grin, pretending to be hooked as he replied, “Heh…

Passing by, stopped in for a cup of wine.”

The proprietress giggled at that, though it was unclear exactly what amused her.

She then waved them inside, “Gentlemen, please take any seat, make yourselves comfortable.” After saying this, she turned and shouted into the kitchen with a raised voice, “My man, we have ‘esteemed guests,’ hurry out and greet them.”

She put a noticeable emphasis on the term “esteemed guests,” seemingly signaling something to her partner.

Of course, Brother Sun and Huang caught all these details and kept them in mind…

Before they even sat down, they exchanged looks that said it all.

No words were needed for both to understand—this was definitely a blackhearted shop.

Once Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai were seated, a burly man emerged from the kitchen.

Back in the day, his height, pushing one meter eighty-five, was considered quite remarkable; as for his face, it wasn’t handsome but not ugly either, it just carried a hint of ferocity.

The proprietress had called this burly man “my man,” indicating that he was her husband, yet he was not the boss but the cook cum waiter…

Despite its size, the operable power of the tavern belonged to the proprietress; neither martial prowess nor cunning did her husband match her.

The sole reason this couple teamed up was the man’s compliance.

Whatever his wife asked—east, he went east; west, he went west; kill, he killed; trade human flesh, he would do without hesitation…

“Gentlemen, would you prefer something stronger or on the milder side?” Without even letting the guests settle in, the proprietress sashayed over to their table, plopping herself down next to them.

Her husband, the cook, was wiping the table and pouring tea as if his wife’s flirtatious demeanor was the most natural thing for him.

“Hehehe…” Sun Yixie returned the favor with a particularly sleazy laugh, “Well, the stronger the better, of course.”

“Uh…

Same for me,” Huang Donglai tagged along nonchalantly, seeing Sun Yixie’s over-the-top act and feeling like he couldn’t match Brother Sun’s realistic performance, so he opted to keep it simple.

“Good~ Such open-hearted gentlemen,” she remarked upon hearing this, then glanced up and signaled to her husband, “My man, bring up a pot of our homemade ‘Leopard’s Guts’ wine and whip up two appetizers to pair with it.”

“Got it.” The cook nodded, acknowledging the order, and retreated to the kitchen.

In fact, whether its name was “Leopard’s Guts” or “Bear’s Guts” was irrelevant…

Whatever the cook would bring out later, in Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai’s eyes, it was the same—poisoned.

Before long, the cook brought out the wine first.

Counting the time…

mixing in the poison, stirring, these few minutes did indeed match up.

At the moment, the tavern was devoid of other customers, and the proprietress naturally poured the wine for Brother Sun and Huang, insisting on toasting them herself.

Sun Yixie watched clearly as the proprietress dipped her little finger into her own cup after pouring the wine—most likely, she had something concealed in her nail that could neutralize the poison in the wine.

But Brother Sun and Huang didn’t have such luxuries, and they surely wouldn’t knowingly drink the tainted wine.

So, as Sun Yixie lifted his cup to his lips, he suddenly paused, frowning, “Sss—Ah, look at my memory.

I meant to relieve myself as soon as I came in, sat down, and forgot, but now I’ve remembered, haha…

Proprietress, wait a moment for me, I’ll be right back, and then we can drink together.”

Having said that, without giving her a chance to cling to him, he stood up and left.

The proprietress, holding back her anger, her mouth twitching faintly, managed to squeeze out a smile, and called after Sun Yixie’s departing figure, “Sir, come back quickly, yes?

The latrine is behind the patch of woods after you turn left outside!”

Seeing that Brother Sun had already made a break for it, Huang Donglai felt he had to follow suit, so he stood up and went after him.

“Eh?

Where might you be heading, sir?” The proprietress promptly questioned him upon his rising.

“I’ve got a stomach ache, even more urgent than his,” Huang Donglai had no pride to worry about and followed Sun Yixie’s lead with his own ‘urgent’ excuse; after all, it’s harder to detain someone claiming to need to defecate.

After both men had left, the proprietress hurriedly took a few steps to the door to confirm that they were indeed heading toward the latrine and that the horses were still there before she relaxed, sitting back down, muttering, “Tsk—Two young lads, full of nonsense.”

At this moment, her husband, the cook, peeked through the curtain from the kitchen, “How did it go?

Are they hooked?”

“They went to the latrine,” she replied irritably.

“They didn’t run off, did they?” The straightforward cook voiced his concern, lacking subtlety.

“If they had run off, would I still be sitting here?” She shot back a glare but quickly settled down, continuing, “Don’t worry, I checked, they didn’t…,” then she sneered coldly, “Heh, these two youngsters have already been captivated by me; they’ll be back soon enough.

Just wait to drain their blood and cut their flesh.”

“Ei, good.” The cook acknowledged and went back to sharpening his knife in the kitchen.

After a moment of silence, the proprietress sat there, wearing a look of anticipation, murmuring to herself: “Ah, such rare, fat sheep—both their attire and horses are of fine quality; undoubtedly, there’s plenty of gold and silver in their packs…” As she spoke, she sipped the wine she had neutralized, licking her voluptuous red lips, “Hmph…

Today, they’ve come across me, ‘Arrowhead Red’ Zhu Xiaowan.

They’re out of luck.”

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