Chapter 52: Staying at an Inn for the Night, A Secret Revealed by Surprise

Innkeeper Zhao beamed with a smile so wide and wrinkled it could crush a mosquito, rubbing his hands together as he asked, "Honored guests, are you stopping for a meal or staying the night?" His eyes scanned Yun Sheng and me back and forth like a pair of scanners, making my skin crawl.

With a smile that didn't reach my eyes, I replied, "Staying the night. The best rooms, two of them!"

The innkeeper immediately bowed and scraped, laying on the servility so thick that anyone watching would have thought we were members of the imperial family.

Yet, no matter how I looked at it, his smile seemed utterly fake, like a mask glued to his face.

I muttered inwardly, *This innkeeper definitely has something fishy going on!*

That evening, Yun Sheng and I strolled around the inn to walk off our dinner.

Suddenly, I overheard a few men at a neighboring table, dressed like martial artists, whispering mysteriously about some sort of treasure.

My ears immediately perked up. This was right in my professional wheelhouse!

"I heard there's a treasure hidden right here in this inn!" a bearded man said, lowering his voice.

"Really? What kind of treasure?" another man, as slender as a monkey, hurriedly pressed.

"Hush! Keep it down! They say that back then..."

I quickly pulled Yun Sheng closer to catch the details, but the bearded fellow suddenly clamped his mouth shut and cast a wary glance around.

That left me itching with curiosity, as if being clawed by a kitten.

My eyes rolled as a clever idea struck me.

Taking advantage of the moment Yun Sheng stepped away to use the outhouse, I secretly slipped a piece of broken silver to the waiter, Sun Xiao'er, and asked with a wink, "Brother Xiao'er, I heard there's a treasure hidden in this inn. Is that true?"

Sun Xiao'er turned pale, as if he had seen a ghost, and waved his hands frantically. "N—no such thing! Don't listen to their nonsense, honored guest!" With that, he bolted like a rabbit, leaving me completely bewildered.

Ha! The lady doth protest too much!

It seemed the rumor of the treasure was most likely true!

My mental abacus began clicking away furiously.

Back in our room, I conspiratorially told Yun Sheng, "I've discovered a secret!" Yun Sheng looked at me with wide-eyed curiosity.

Just as I was about to speak...

*Thud, thud, thud.* A strange tapping noise echoed up from beneath the floorboards.

I snapped my gaze toward Yun Sheng and lowered my voice. "Did you hear that?"

Ordinarily, this kid Yun Sheng seemed quite sharp, but he always fell apart at critical moments. His face drained of color as he grabbed my hand tightly, his palms slick with sweat.

I inwardly cursed him for a coward, while forcing myself to remain outwardly calm. After all, your big sister here had seen the great wide world; what was a little noise like this?

It was just a buried treasure, yet they had to make it as mysterious as tomb raiding.

"What are you afraid of? It's just a rat," I patted Yun Sheng's hand with feigned ease to comfort him, though my own heart was hammering wildly against my ribs.

"Rats... do rats dig tunnels?" Yun Sheng weakly retorted, his voice trembling on the verge of tears.

I: ......

Fine. This kid was completely useless; I would have to rely on myself!

Taking a deep breath, I pulled my self-defense rolling pin out from under the bed—don't misunderstand, this was what I used for rolling...

Ahem, for boning cowards on the head!

"Let's go! Let's take a look!" Wielding the rolling pin in one hand and dragging Yun Sheng with the other, I marched aggressively toward the source of the sound.

Following the noise, we arrived outside Innkeeper Zhao's door.

Goodness gracious, the commotion was even louder now, sounding as though someone were tearing the building apart.

I cautiously peeked through a crack in the door and saw that old scoundrel Innkeeper Zhao holding a tattered book by the dim candlelight, muttering incantations under his breath.

Treasure!

At a single glance, I concluded that the secret of the treasure was hidden within that book!

My mind raced at lightning speed, and a flash of inspiration gave me another brilliant idea.

I cleared my throat and shouted toward the doorway, "The magistrate's runners are conducting a search! Everyone open your doors!"

That single shout gave Innkeeper Zhao the fright of his life.

Fumbling clumsily, he shoved the book under the bed before rushing out in a panic to open the door.

Just that?

Just that?

Old man, you're still too green!

Taking advantage of the moment he stepped out, I pulled Yun Sheng and slipped into the room, making a bee-line straight for the underside of the bed—that book was mine now!

Clutching the book, I grabbed a still-dazed Yun Sheng and hurried back to our room.

By the light of the lamp, I opened the volume and found its pages covered in bizarre symbols, resembling some kind of ancient cipher.

I turned to Yun Sheng. "This thing... can you make any sense of it?"

Yun Sheng shook his head.

I sighed. What was I to do now? "Oh well, we'll figure it out tomorrow..."

Suddenly, the faint sound of light footsteps drifted from outside the hallway... Someone was coming!