The mountain town had only about three hundred households, but now, every house had its lights on, and their doors were wide open, as if they were welcoming the God of Wealth.

  Except they weren′t welcoming the God of Wealth—they were welcoming the God of Pgue.

  Dozens of men wearing red-tasseled hats and bck uniforms, armed with swords and carrying torches, were searching house by house.

  As soon as Yan Qi and Guo Dalu reached the town, they spotted Jin Shi standing in the middle of the street, hands behind his back, barking orders like a general commanding his troops on the battlefield.

  Guo Dalu stepped forward with a smile. "Marshal Jin, are you pnning to turn this pce into a war zone?"

  Jin Shi's face was initially cold and stern, but when he saw Guo Dalu approaching, a smile finally appeared. "This was a st resort. Otherwise, we would never dare to disturb the good citizens."

  Yan Qi asked, "Since you know they′re good citizens, why disturb them at all?"

  Jin Shi sighed. "We only know that the stolen goods are still in town and haven′t been moved yet, but we have no idea which house they′re hidden in. So we had no choice but to mobilize constables from all eighteen nearby counties to search every home."

  He then smiled again and continued, "As long as we find those stolen goods, Feng Qiwu won′t be able to escape this time."

  Guo Dalu asked, "So does that mean I can′t enter the town either?"

  Jin Shi′s eyes glinted. "What business do you two have in town so te at night?"

  Guo Dalu answered, "Drinking."

  Jin Shi asked, "At Mai Laoguang′s shop?"

  Guo Dalu nodded. "Yeah! We′ve finished all the wine up on the mountain, but our thirst isn′t satisfied yet."

  Jin Shi chuckled. "We already searched that pce earlier tonight. All we found was a single gold ingot. You two may go ahead—no problem at all. Please!"

  He signaled the patrolling constables to stand down and stepped aside to clear the way.

  After walking some distance, Yan Qi finally ughed. "Looks like he gives you some special treatment."

  Guo Dalu grinned. "That′s only because he has no clue about my background."

  Yan Qi ughed as well. "Those names you mentioned before—are they really all your masters?"

  Guo Dalu replied, "Not a single one of them was a lie."

  Yan Qi said, “Your martial arts aren′t exactly top-notch, but even they wouldn′t be able to train a disciple like you.”

  Guo Dalu replied, “I didn′t learn the strengths of their martial arts—I learned their weaknesses.”

  Yan Qi frowned. “Weaknesses?”

  Guo Dalu expined, “Whenever I noticed a fw or a weakness in someone′s technique, I made sure to avoid making the same mistake. That′s what it means when they say, ‘In the company of three, there is always something to learn.’ No matter who you encounter, there′s always something you can pick up.”

  Yan Qi shot him a look. “Didn’t expect you to actually have some wisdom.”

  Guo Dalu straightened up and said seriously, “There′s no need for me to be modest in front of you. My wisdom is naturally vast.”

  Yan Qi couldn′t help but ugh and asked, “Then where did you learn your strengths?”

  Guo Dalu said, “Have I ever asked you about the soles of your boots? Or about how you supposedly died seven times?”

  Yan Qi replied, “No.”

  Guo Dalu grinned, “Then why are you asking me?”

  Mai Laoguang was an old bachelor, and his shop only had four small rooms.

  One was the storefront, one was the kitchen, one was his bedroom, and the most important one—the roasting room—was in the back.

  The door to this room was always shut because Mai Laoguang′s roasted meats were made using a ‘secret recipe.’ If anyone managed to steal it, his livelihood would be ruined.

  When Yan Qi and Guo Dalu arrived, Mai Laoguang was inside the roasting room.

  Though the door was closed, the rich, mouthwatering aroma of roasted meat seeped through the cracks.

  Guo Dalu swallowed and called out loudly, “Lao Guang, you′ve got customers! Aren′t you coming out?”

  After a long moment, Mai Laoguang finally emerged, his entire body glistening with grease, as if he had just rolled around in a vat of rd.

  When he saw Guo Dalu, his face lit up with a smile. "No one in the mountains is getting any sleep tonight. Business will be booming by morning, so I roasted a few dozen extra ducks—hence the extra workload."

  Guo Dalu chuckled. "Old Guang, you don′t have a wife, you don′t have kids, and you′re so frugal you won′t even buy yourself a new set of clothes. What′s the point of making so much money?"

  Mai Laoguang replied, "I spend my days covered in grease. Why would I need fancy clothes? Besides, you can never have too much money—the more, the better."

  Yan Qi ughed. "Now that′s the honest truth."

  Mai Laoguang said, "An honest man speaks honest words."

  Guo Dalu nodded. "Mai Laoguang really is an honest man. I heard that even after living here for over a decade, he′s never once set foot in the alley behind Widow Zhao′s chastity memorial."

  Yan Qi asked, "What′s that alley?"

  Guo Dalu grinned. "A fine pce—filled with beautiful women, all gentle and affectionate."

  Yan Qi shot him a look. "And you′ve been there?"

  Guo Dalu shrugged. "It′s not that I don′t want to go. It′s just that every time I get drunk, I never manage to make it there."

  Yan Qi asked, "Then why not go when you're sober?"

  Guo Dalu replied, "Because when I′m sober, I don′t dare to go."

  Yan Qi′s expression turned cold. "You? Afraid?"

  Guo Dalu said, “I′m just worried that once those beauties y eyes on a handsome man like me, they′ll never let me leave.”

  Yan Qi couldn′t hold back his ughter and said, “And yet, they just had to set up a pce like that behind a chastity memorial arch. Don′t you think that′s enough to make someone die of frustration?”

  Mai Laoguang said, “It′s so te at night, and you two still want to drink?”

  Guo Dalu replied, “He wants to try your freshly roasted duck.”

  Mai Laoguang nodded. “Alright, I′ll go pick out a nice, fat one.”

  He turned and walked inside, but to his surprise, Guo Dalu followed behind him, saying, “I′ll come take a look too.”

  Mai Laoguang stopped and frowned. “The back is dirty. What′s there to see?”

  Guo Dalu grinned. “I don′t mind dirt. I′m already dirty enough as it is.”