It was night.
He chatted with Mu Nanping until the hour of the ox.
At last, the two said their goodbyes.
Mu Nan'ning went back drunk as a puddle of mud, babbling nonsense the whole way about things being so tender and soft and lovely.
Clearly, she was very happy.
After Xu Qingxiao saw Mu Nanping off, Li Xin made a point of seeking him out and bringing him something.
Wu Yan's case file.
Getting Wu Yan's case file was not particularly difficult. Cheng Lidong's hair, however, was trickier; Li Xin needed an excuse.
Xu Qingxiao gave Li Xin a tip: take a few gifts to Cheng Lidong's house and visit him. Hair would not be hard to find.
Li Xin caught his meaning. After a little more idle conversation, he went back to rest.
Wang Ru, meanwhile, accompanied Xu Qingxiao to the inn.
Outside the inn, however, a crowd had already gathered. Many scholars were waiting there for Xu Qingxiao.
It was already the hour of the ox, and Xu Qingxiao did not want to disturb anyone's peaceful dreams, so he skipped the front entrance and climbed straight up.
Xu Qingxiao had not forgotten that he was a martial artist.
For a ranked martial artist, climbing through a window was simple enough.
With two quick bounds, he entered his room.
Fortunately, he had left the window open when he departed. The inn's attendant did not dare enter rooms without permission; even cleaning required the guest to ask before anyone would be sent up.
Otherwise, if anything went missing, there would be no explaining it.
Especially with a bunch of scholars around. Since ancient times, when had scholars ever stolen anything? Even if they had, it was merely borrowing for inspiration.
Inside the room.
Xu Qingxiao found a fire striker,