In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

However, the surrounding area is mountainous and there are no waterways, so even with so many people, it would take a whole day to get there, not to mention horses, food, and more...

In an instant, Hong Qi and the others realized that they were about to take forceful action.

Since there were quite a few of them, they could only enter the Immortal Slaughtering Formation to stay for the night.

In addition, hundreds of merchants also had to enter Zhuxian Town to rest temporarily because the waterway was blocked.

The official road was blocked by Wanyan Kang and others, but the waterway was blocked by Zhang Xiaoshan. The purpose was to force merchants on the waterway to switch to land routes and enter Zhuxian Town.

In an instant, Zhuxian Town, which was originally full of assassins, was now packed with customers.

This left Wanyan Kang in a very awkward situation, cursing that fool for blocking the waterway, which caused Zhuxian Town to be overcrowded, making any action highly unpredictable.

Chapter 185 Night Falls, Murderous Intent Emerges

"Make way! Make way! Make way..."

Because the waterways were blocked, the docks were bustling with activity from the morning onwards.

Some 'foolish' merchants unloaded their goods and found themselves blocked on the main road as soon as they got on, leaving them stranded in Zhuxian Town with their goods.

This scene sparked a chorus of curses throughout Zhuxian Town.

"Gentlemen, my name is Jin Buwen from Bozhou. Originally, the waterway was blocked, so I had to take the land route."

But now that the land routes are blocked, it will probably be another two days. Since wealthy customers have gathered today, we'll trade the gold here on the spot and have it brought up!

When everyone saw the wine jars being carried up, they immediately realized that Jin Buhuan's goods this time were actually wine.

"This is Gujing Gongjiu, which has been aged for ten years. Apart from the tribute wine, this is the best batch."

Originally, a jar of ten-year-old wine cost fifteen taels of silver, but today it costs ten to twelve taels—no, ten taels!

As he spoke, he tore open the seal, and a rich, fragrant aroma of wine filled the entire restaurant.

Zhuxian Town is just a small town; where could one find such fine wine? Everyone's eyes lit up at that moment.

They were going to be staying in this small town for the next few days, so how could they not have good wine? And what they wanted came true.

"If you find ten taels a jar too much, we can sell it individually for two hundred cash per pot (six taels/sixteen taels)!"

Upon hearing Jin Bu'er's offer, the entire restaurant immediately became lively, and the merchants burst into laughter.

The wine jar should weigh thirty catties. Even if the water vapor evaporates, each jar should still weigh at least fifteen taels.

In this way, it's not a price reduction at all; it's clearly a return to the normal price.

However, even if one could afford a jar, ten taels would not be a small sum, so it would be better to sell a pot for two hundred coins.

At this moment, the restaurant owner was on the verge of tears. This wine seller was completely unconventional. Not only did he refuse to sell to them, but he was also stealing business from their restaurant.

In a short while, the seemingly few customers bought three jars of bulk wine.

"Objective, objective, ten taels, how many jars do you have?"

"Hahaha, old shopkeeper, you can't afford it!"

Jin Bu'er smiled smugly, causing the shop owner's face to darken instantly, and he said fiercely:

"Why can't you afford it? Does Mr. Jin look down on people?"

"It's not that I look down on the old shopkeeper, but I plan to sell this wine in Kaifeng."

The goods brought this time by land alone numbered three hundred jars.

"And on my boat at the dock, there are still 2,700 jars, maybe even several jars of tribute wine. Could the manager possibly come up with that much money?"

Upon hearing Jin Bu'er's words, everyone couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect.

This is a shipment worth over 30,000 taels of silver, making them among the top merchants in the industry.

As for the Zhang family's tendency to spend tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of taels of gold at a time?

Just like an ordinary person might buy a handbag for a few tens or hundreds of dollars, but top-tier luxury goods can easily cost tens or hundreds of thousands, or even millions...

Even if they had a big meal here, it wouldn't necessarily cost them a tael of silver.

But in Zhang's shop, a small cake costs one or two taels of silver, and it is highly favored and sought after by young ladies and noblewomen.

"Where can I find premium aged wine, Manager Jin?"

Suddenly, a young man in fine clothes walked in from the crowd, looking at Jin Bu'er with curiosity, clearly attracted by the tribute wine.

"That's right, there are six jars in total, all of which are aged for more than thirty years."

But the price? One hundred gold coins per jar!

Hiss...

Upon hearing Jin Bu'er's outrageous demand, everyone gasped.

What does one hundred gold coins mean? If it were exchanged for the loose wine from earlier, it would be equivalent to one gold coin for one pot of wine!

"Haha, easy enough. As long as Manager Jin's wine is right, what's six hundred gold coins?"

As he spoke, the young man took out a gold note worth one thousand gold coins.

"But do you want my men to go to the dock to pick up this wine?"

"Of course, of course..."

"In that case, Manager Jin, here's a thousand gold coins, and I'll also cover your three hundred jars of wine. I invite everyone to drink until you're completely drunk!"

"Thank you for the wine, young master!"

"Young master is so generous!"

···

"Young master is very generous. To be honest, I, Jin, brought a total of ten jars of tribute wine."

Since you are so generous, young master, I, Jin, will not take advantage of you. I will not be a greedy person and will sell you eight jars!

As he spoke, Jin Bu'er had already written a receipt and sent it to the expert beside the richly dressed young man to collect it.

Seeing this, Murong Fu couldn't help but lower his guard.

The 300 jars of fine wine were far too much for the people in the hotel to drink, so they all dispersed. One hundred jars ended up with the gold-protecting team.

"Please thank your young master for his kindness on our behalf, but we are all escorts and cannot drink alcohol on the road!"

· ········Requesting flowers· ········

With hundreds of jars of fine wine, even the most avid drinkers could distinguish the good from the bad.

Moreover, this is clearly a trap; once they get drunk, they will be slaughtered that night.

"It turns out that you are all escorts. We were too rude and did not take this into consideration."

However, there's no reason to take back the gift from the young master. It's left here for today; please handle it as you see fit."

"Thank you!"

Seeing that those people weren't in a difficult position, Zhuo Qianshan and Lin Zhennan didn't break off relations.

But at this moment, everyone knew that the other party was already preparing to attack them.

It's not about openly robbing them of their famous swords, but rather about using various temptations to lower their guard before suddenly striking.

"Haha, since they've brought it, let's have a bowl to liven things up!"

......... 0 0

They are fully aware of tonight's battle and cannot avoid it.

Tearing open the seal of a jar, Hong Qigong took a swig and then laughed heartily:

"Good wine! Everyone, have a bowl and get your spirits up!"

"Alright!"

As soon as Hong Qi spoke, they knew the wine wasn't poisoned, and there wasn't anything else poisoned in it.

Otherwise, Hong Qi's discerning palate, capable of tasting countless delicacies, wouldn't miss a single off-flavor.

····

"Young master, there is no problem."

At this moment, the expert who went to retrieve the eight jars of tribute wine returned and whispered something in the young man's ear.

Their mission was to test Jin Bu'er's capabilities, but unfortunately, the Zhang family's merchant ships were not marked at all and had been prepared beforehand.

"Send eight jars to the inner courtyard!"

"Yes, son!"

A lavish feast was held in a restaurant, and countless people became drunk, unaware that a deadly threat was approaching.

At night, Jin Bu'er, amidst the crowd, suddenly opened his eyes and looked outside.

The fire was already raging, indicating they were about to be burned alive. The ruthlessness of their methods suggested there were more assassins below, testing how many of them were enemies.

Fortunately, they were prepared.

Zhang Xiaoshan had anticipated their ruthlessness, fearing they might leave no one alive in the entire Zhuxian Town, so he made preparations in advance.

"Oh no! Oh no! Fire! Everyone wake up! Let's put out the fire together..."

The anxious voice carried outside, and Murong Fu couldn't help but reveal a cold and cruel smile.

Chapter 186 Insidious Tactics and Deadly Intent in the Dark

"Fire! Fire..."

Those who woke up one after another were immediately shocked and looked at the raging fire outside in disbelief.

As the fire spread, thick smoke entered, gradually waking even those who were engrossed in their drinks. They then looked at the raging fire outside in horror.

"Is this a rip-off?"

"This fire was set from the outside; they want to burn us alive..."

In the midst of the chaos, Jin Bu'er still managed to speak calmly and methodically:

"Everyone, go to the kitchen and get some water. Wash your clothes when they get wet!"

"Good, go find water, wet your clothes and rinse it out."

A group of people rushed to the kitchen, but as soon as they entered, they found that the water tank had been destroyed and water was everywhere.

In an instant, despair filled everyone's eyes.

"No, everyone, look at why the water is converging here. This isn't a drainage area."

Following the trail of water, the group saw that most of the water had gathered in one place before sinking into it.

At this moment, Jin Bu'er's reminder made everyone realize what was going on.

Looking at the puddle, with just a little force, the bluestone brick was lifted.

Suddenly, a secret passage appeared before everyone's eyes.

Although it looked like it had just been dug, no one cared about the "900s" at the moment. Under Jin Bu'er's command, one after another, they crawled into the secret passage.

This is precisely the masterpiece of the Nine Gates Earth Craftsmen.

As for how to find the tomb raider? As the Golden-Faced Buddha of Ghost Street, it's naturally not difficult.

Moreover, there was also Lei Laowu, the Heavenly Official of the Tomb Raiders, who could easily dig a secret passage in a day. Zhang Xiaoshan had Jin Bu'er stationed here, and that's when he came up with this idea.

Who told them that when they came in yesterday, the entire restaurant was full of assassins!

"what happened?"

Just as Murong Fu was wondering why there had been no movement for so long, a figure suddenly flew out.

However, it wasn't due to qinggong (lightness skill), but rather because someone sent him out.

Murong Fu, in particular, recognized him immediately upon a glance and accepted the gift.

"Where are the people inside?"

"Lord Li, they found a secret passage in the kitchen and all escaped."