A Few Too Many Talents

If you don't use the official post stations, the only options are privately run inns.

The villagers had previously thought it would be difficult to run an inn in the village, and even if one existed, it would surely be deserted.

But upon entering Tongfu Inn, the clamor immediately filled everyone's ears.

There were two backpackers, one old and one young, eating in the inn, while three middle-aged men were gambling around a table. With the waiter and others also there, the inn didn't seem deserted.

When everyone entered the guesthouse one after another, it became even more crowded.

The two grooms who had accompanied Zhang Debiao had already reserved seats and rooms, and were urging the waiter to serve the dishes.

When Zhang Xuezhou and his group arrived at the inn, the waiter had already started serving the dishes.

The guesthouse didn't offer an order service; you basically ate whatever was available.

Taro, sunflower, and wolf meat hunted by hunters are the main dishes, along with millet rice.

The food was no worse than what was served at the prefectural governor's mansion. Although the taste was a bit inferior, everyone was so hungry that they didn't care and ate heartily.

Zhang Xuezhou ate taro half-heartedly.

For someone who has drifted with the tide for years, the taste of food no longer poses a problem for Zhang Xuezhou.

Even in real life, Zhang Xuezhou is not picky about taste.

As he expressionlessly fulfilled his body's nutritional needs, a sudden thought struck Zhang Xuezhou.

He looked at the taro, which resembled rotten mud, and then chewed it carefully.

"I never expected that eating a taro cake would make my mouth so numb!"

Before Zhang Xuezhou could fully discern the truth, he heard a coachman mutter something that left him speechless.

If the taste is right, then he also got to eat a taro girl.

However, compared to the groom's numbness, his symptoms were much milder; he only felt slightly uncomfortable.

Perhaps it was because the taro in his bowl was smaller, or perhaps his beginner's antidote technique had some effect, which caused Zhang Xuezhou's symptoms to be less obvious than others.

After taking the Grain Avoidance powder and relying on the Grain Avoidance technique to endure for seven days, he did not eat too quickly.

After everyone had finished eating and drinking and gone upstairs to their bedrooms, he was still slowly eating.

"None of them can stay up all night!"

Despite being a person full of energy, Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to fall asleep even though it was already dark.

He shared a room with Dong Zhongshu and kept talking about Dong Zhongshu.

"You've been sleeping for seven days, so don't disturb me," Dong Zhongshu said helplessly. "I'm really sleepy now!"

"You don't need to do any work. What's the difference between sitting in the carriage all day and falling asleep?" Zhang Xuezhou said. "Get up and chant scriptures! I like listening to you chant scriptures!"

Please, let me go!

Dong Zhongshu muttered something and covered his ears with his coat.

He doesn't want to study Confucian School classics right now; he just wants to get some sleep.

"Heaven and earth possess a vast and righteous spirit..."

The noisy chatter of Zhang Xuezhou reached Dong Zhongshu, who realized he shouldn't have taught the boy the relevant recitation content in the first place.

If Zhang Xuezhou didn't know these things, the other party would never have bothered to recite them.

"I promised myself I'd go to sleep right at 9 PM, but I'm already in bed before 7 PM is even over!"

The sound of small complaints woke Dong Zhongshu, who had been dozing off, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

Dong Zhongshu did indeed have a habit of going to sleep at 11 PM, regardless of whether he was tired or comfortable; this was almost an unwavering part of his routine.

He rarely goes against his own routine.

Zhang Xuezhou's incessant chatter prompted Dong Zhongshu to form his fingers in a muttered chant. Dong Zhongshu exhaled a breath of ashen air before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Why are you blowing smoke?

Zhang Xuezhou's surprised voice came from behind, and Dong Zhongshu waved his hand, signaling Zhang Xuezhou to be quiet.

"They've spiked the food," Dong Zhongshu whispered. "We've probably stumbled into a den of thieves!"

"Why is this a den of thieves? The people here seem very welcoming," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Enthusiasm and thievery are two different things," Dong Zhongshu said. "Adding something to food is definitely a sign of malicious intent!"

"What was added?"

"The Liezi records that 'Bian Que then made the two men drink poisoned wine, and they were unconscious for three days. He then cut open their chests, took out their hearts, and replaced them with their own.' We are afraid that we have consumed something similar to this poisoned wine," Dong Zhongshu replied.

"Then the cost for them to poison us would be far too high!"

Zhang Xuezhou was surprised.

He had seen many Evil Dao things with Wu Chao, but none of the poisoned wines could make someone unconscious for three days.

Considering that even the most low-class items in Wu Chao were quite expensive, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the inn had gone to great lengths to deal with them.

If the other party is unlucky, they could lose everything, even their pants.

"Could it be that they knew we were carrying a lot of valuables before we even entered the village?" Zhang Xuezhou wondered.

As Lineage salt merchants, Zhao Liang's caravan was naturally Not Short of Money; the carriages contained at least fifty strings of cash, if not a hundred.

If this money were used to buy pork, it would be enough for the entire caravan to eat over 5,000 catties of meat. Even if they ate 10 catties a day, it would last them for nearly two years.

For ordinary people, this is undoubtedly a huge fortune.

Given the sheer amount of wealth the convoy was carrying, Zhang Xuezhou felt it was understandable that someone would sabotage it.

But this was their first time visiting the village, and the villagers were also meeting them for the first time. So, it was a bit abrupt to use such a large sum of money to deal with them.

"Don't make a sound yet. Let's see who's behind this in a bit," Dong Zhongshu said.

Zhang Xuezhou had three thousand questions in his mind, and Dong Zhongshu wasn't much better off either.

However, he was still in the territory of Bashu at this time, Dong Zhongshu had heard Wen Weng mention some Bashu legends.

This reminded him of something, and his expression immediately darkened slightly.

He waved his Law Treasure fan, and the small oil lamp in the room went out instantly.

After instructing Zhang Xuezhou to lie down, Dong Zhongshu closed his eyes and continuously unleashed his perception, listening to every sound he could hear to make judgments.

"Wonderful, wonderful, originally I just wanted to attack the grandfather and grandson, but I didn't expect that a large group of gangsters came today!"

He used all his senses but couldn't hear a single unusual sound, yet Zhang Xuezhou mimicked the sound.

"Have they all been taken down?"

"If they've been poisoned by the opium, there's no way they could have collapsed by 7 PM (戌时)!"

"Go quickly and inform the king that this time they've brought some good goods!"

"Once the King has finished selecting those tough, skilled fighters, it'll be our turn!"

"That's right, I'm thinking of taking a thigh to make bacon for winter!"

"I feel like my arm has a good chewy texture; it won't spoil easily even if buried in the cellar!"

"We still need to share some with the others, after all, it's too difficult to lure people to our village!"

Let's greet the people first!

The voice Zhang Xuezhou was speaking clearly did not come from one person, but rather involved several people.

Dong Zhongshu made a quick assessment, then shook his head. When the Law Power in his fingers manifested, his ears instantly grew to more than twice their original size.

The faint, rustling sounds also reached his ears.

"It's those three gamblers!"

Dong Zhongshu didn't hear the content of the three people's conversation clearly, but he could identify the speakers.

"You can hear this clearly without using any magic?"

Dong Zhongshu pricked up his protruding ears after casting the spell, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou's senses were too sharp.

It's not surprising that someone could use Technique Method to hear conversations downstairs, but to be able to hear clearly using only one's own senses, Dong Zhongshu had to admit that Zhang Xuezhou was exceptionally gifted, possessing the potential of a thief to pinpoint locations by listening to the wind.

He had not used Technique Method to investigate, fearing that he might alert the enemy.

Only after Zhang Xuezhou spoke and determined that the people downstairs were just low-level thugs did Dong Zhongshu use his magic to confirm.

"Naturally aquatic, with keen senses... wait, this guy also eats with us, and seems completely unaffected by the poison. Doesn't that mean he's born with the ability to ward off poison?"

As Dong Zhongshu wiggled his prominent ears to confirm the participants, he felt that Zhang Xuezhou's qualifications were far too outstanding.

This is someone who has surpassed many cultivation Technique Method without engaging in any actual cultivation, making them someone to be envied and even envied.

He twitched his prominent ears, and only when the sound of footsteps echoed downstairs did Dong Zhongshu's gaze turn serious.

The doors to the private rooms were gently pushed open, and several people poured in.

"Two people are lying in this room, the four of you hurry up and carry them out!"

The command came, and not only Zhang Xuezhou, who squinted through a crack, saw the people clearly, but Dong Zhongshu also saw the villagers who had greeted them earlier coming to carry the people.