Once the dishes had been set on the table, Su Mu quietly slipped a silver ingot to the waiter. The waiter's eyes darted about, and he swallowed before immediately catching on.
"Does the honored guest need anything else?"
"Has anything interesting happened in Black Mountain Town lately? Tell me about it."
Su Mu began eating, while the waiter launched into a long-winded account beside him.
"About a month ago, a fire broke out at the home of a family selling baked flatbreads on the north side of town. It burned so fiercely at the third watch that the flames lit up the sky. Luckily, it rained afterward—"
"More than half a month ago, that landowner Zhang in town took a ninth concubine. She's from Little River Village to the south, and she's quite a beauty—"
Su Mu listened for a while, his brows furrowing slightly. The waiter noticed and thought for a moment before speaking up. "If you mean something major, about five or six days ago, all the constables in town went out. There seemed to be people from the Qingyun Army with them, too. They later brought several people back to town, men and women, all looking rather young. But I don't know exactly what happened."
Men and women, all rather young?
Su Mu's thoughts stirred. He quietly made a note of it, then waved the waiter away.
With a rooster's crow, the world turned bright.
Early the next morning, Su Mu went to the Black Mountain Town Patrol Division with his Blade Catcher token. The town's constables were quite cautious. After inspecting it several times and confirming his identity, they settled him in at the patrol office.
"Brother Li, we'll be setting out first thing tomorrow morning. You'd best stay in today and conserve your strength."
"Very