As the name suggests, friends from far away are welcome to stay at the inn.
Just by looking at the name of the inn, one would think that the innkeeper is hospitable and generous.
When the Biyan carriage stopped in front of Penglai Inn, the inn was still open for business as usual, and everything looked normal on the surface.
"Lord Commander."
Several officers from the Criminal Investigation Department who were hiding in the dark and were responsible for tracking Penglai Inn came out of the dark to welcome Jin An's arrival.
When the carriage was stable, Jin An, the old Taoist priest, and Fatty Li got out of the carriage together, and the old dog who learned how to dress also followed this time.
Perhaps because the food in the Five Zang Taoist Temple was too good, the old dog gained weight rapidly and gradually became like a pig. He made a muffled sound when he jumped out of the carriage.
This old dog was brought by Jin An on his own initiative. When he came to handle the case, it was indispensable to use the sensitivity of the dog's nose.
The owner of the inn is a short, fat, middle-aged man with a thick belly. Now that the news about the spice shop has spread, the Criminal Investigation Department chopped off the head of a ninth-grade chambermaid when they arrived. They wanted to conduct a thorough search of the spice shop. When they saw the Criminal Inspector
The commander parked his car in front of his inn. The innkeeper, who was greedy for life and fearful of death, had already rolled out of the inn like a meat ball, and was afraid to greet the Criminal Investigation Department and his party.
"Little citizen Li Dajin has seen Shen Wuhou... No, he has met the Commander of the Criminal Investigation Department... No, he has met Wu, the martial arts master Immortal..."
It stands to reason that those who can open a shop and do business in a spice shop filled with people from all walks of life are people with extraordinary vision. What kind of swords and swords have they not seen? This inn owner would not be so scared just because the Criminal Investigation Department came to his door.
right.
It can only be said that those who know the current affairs are heroes. The Criminal Investigation Department dares to kill even the servants. Only at this time will a fool dare to fight against the Criminal Investigation Department.
People who can open a shop in a spice shop do have extraordinary vision, but it is also true that they know how to observe words and emotions and assess the situation.
If he had been a stupid person doing business in the spice shop, he would have been eaten to the point of leaving no bones.
When doing business, you need a person who can be flexible and flexible, and be harmonious and make money.
What is dignity?
Can dignity be eaten as food?
Can dignity make a neck invulnerable?
Fatty Li said easily: "We are all members of the Li family. Fatty, I am Li Zhiqiang Li, and you are Li Guo's Li. If you don't accept your mistake, you will be so scared."
"?"
The innkeeper was a little confused for a moment, what a god Li Zhiqizhuang and Li Kui.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly and immediately cried out and said: "I'm wronged by you, my lord!"
"Now everyone in the capital knows that the Criminal Investigation Department entered the Spice Shop to arrest spies and traitors who rebelled against the enemy! Anti-corruption requires evidence, crackdown on crime requires a list, and counterinsurgency does not require evidence or a list to directly implicate the Nine Clans! The commander suddenly
When I enter a small shop, even if I am innocent, I will be so frightened that my legs will become weak and I will not be able to stand still, for fear that there will be a click and everyone’s head will fall to the ground!”
Are all the Li family members so lively?
Jin An, the old Taoist priest, and the old dog all looked at Fatty Li, who looked a little anxious. He lightly kicked the innkeeper with his foot and told him to straighten his back and speak properly, so as not to make him look like he only knew how to bully.
Just like the common people's evil officials, as long as you have never done anything wrong, you will naturally be upright and not afraid of the shadow.
Plop, the opponent sat down on the ground without kicking him.
It seems that my legs are really weak, not just pretending.
The accompanying criminal inspectors were all veterans and familiar with various procedures, so they directly picked up the innkeeper and walked to the inn.
Jin'an and others also entered the inn and were taken to the back kitchen of the inn.
"My lord, the exorcism talisman of my humble duty is that it spontaneously ignites at the door of the kitchen for no apparent reason."
"The humble post was afraid of alarming the snake, so he checked out of Peng Lai Inn briefly and asked Liu Ping, Song Laowu, Hai Fu, and Han Xuyin from the same group to stay and watch the inn to prevent anyone from getting wind of it and escaping. Then the humble post immediately reported the abnormality here to Sun.
Deputy Commander."
Among the criminal inspectors holding the weak-legged Li Dajin, a forty-year-old man with a slim build, who did not appear to be powerful but could give people a calm and sophisticated look, cupped his fists and reported the situation to Jin'an.
Jin An looked at the other person with admiration: "What's your name?"
The big man clasped his fists and did not dare to look at Jin An: "Your Majesty, Commander, Zhang Yong is in a humble position."
Everyone in Jin'an praised: "You did a good job this time. The personal safety of brothers always comes first. When encountering uncertain dangers, there is no need to take risks. It is never wrong to be cautious."
"As long as people are still here, there will be no difficulty that cannot be solved. It is your fault that none of your achievements will be missing."
Jin An's remarks that he puts human life first, rather than using his subordinates as cannon fodder to gain merit, greatly boosted the morale of the Criminal Investigation Department.
This is the importance of following the Mingzhu.
When the innkeeper heard about the exorcism talisman, his expression immediately changed: "There is an exorcism talisman... there is evil in it?"
Jin An did not answer, but asked the old Taoist priest and Fatty Li to go in and see what was going on. As soon as he heard about Chuoxie, Fatty Li immediately perked up and clasped his fists at Jin An energetically: "Thank you, Taoist Master Jin An, for your help."
Then he and the old Taoist priest burst into laughter and entered the back kitchen one behind the other.
Next, I heard the sound of rummaging for pots and pans in the back kitchen, and after a while, I saw Fatty Li walking out carrying an khaki linen bag.
Bang.
Fatty Li threw the linen bag on the ground, revealing that there were some Nanyang spices in the linen bag that looked like water spinach leaves.
"Little brother, do you still recognize this Nanyang spice?" the old Taoist priest said mysteriously.
Jin An recognized it at a glance and said: "The last time we cooked mutton hot pot in Beijing, I remember that there was a kind of flavoring condiment, and this one, it seems to be called laksa leaves?"
When talking about mutton hot pot, everyone in the Criminal Investigation Department couldn't help but think of the last time Jin'an and his friends were chased by goats all night for stealing mutton. Jin'an even hid in the Criminal Investigation Department for several days and did not dare to return to the Five Zang Taoist Temple.
That time in Jin'an, they chewed some raw garlic, but they couldn't suppress the smell of sheep. When they returned to the Taoist temple, they were still smelled by the goats.
The more I recall the memory of that day, the more profound it becomes. Everyone in the Criminal Investigation Department looked at the spices in front of them, and their eyes were obviously different. Even raw garlic could not suppress the aroma. Next time you make mutton hot pot, why not try adding some of this Nanyang food?
Spices add flavor?
When investigating a case, you encounter evil spirits and your life is threatened at any time. At this time, you are still distracted and want to eat. This is the unique sense of security that Jin'an brings to the Criminal Investigation Department.
People will only think about solving the problem of food and clothing when they are in an absolutely safe environment.
The old Taoist priest nodded: "Yes, it is laksa leaf. This spice is famous for its unique spicy taste, which is more like a mixed taste of mint and thyme."
"If it weren't for your high official position and generous salary, little brother, we wouldn't be able to enjoy this blessing."
With Jin An's cultivation level, he could tell at a glance that there was something wrong with the spice in front of him.
At this time, the old Taoist priest said to the innkeeper: "Black dog blood can drive away evil spirits. Do you have black dog blood here? If you don't have black dog blood, yellow dog blood will do."
"As long as it's bloody, that's fine."
As soon as the old dog heard that his hair was blowing, he immediately pretended to be lame, deliberately raised his front legs and howled in pain.
"Taoist Master, is rooster blood okay? I remember that the chef would leave rooster blood alone every day, and then secretly sell it to the Fushou restaurant to enrich his own pockets. Although I know that the chef is a bit dirty, I usually turn a blind eye.
Eyes, as long as it's not too much." The innkeeper said fearfully.
?????55.?????
The inn cook who was standing aside honestly made his move and lowered his head in shame. It seemed that these people usually did some petty theft, but they just met the owner who was nice to talk to and didn't expose their little thoughts in person.
Seeing the old Taoist priest nodding, the innkeeper hesitated for a while and said he was timid. Could the Taoist priest accompany him to the kitchen to get the rooster blood?
The old Taoist priest agreed happily.
The process of taking the rooster's blood was very smooth. After getting the rooster's blood, the old Taoist priest took out a blank piece of yellow talisman paper in front of thirty or forty pairs of eyes. He used a langhao pen to draw the rooster's blood on the yellow talisman paper.
Draw the talisman.
"This is called the evil spell."
The old Taoist priest put away his pen and picked up the yellow talisman, then placed a porcelain bowl brought from the kitchen. He poured out half a bowl of Sanyang wine from the wine gourd, then ignited the anti-evil spell and threw it into the Sanyang wine bowl.
.
Wait until the spell burns out.
He drank the talisman water and sprayed it onto the linen bag, and immediately he saw a black ghost handprint appear on the linen bag.
The ghost's handprint was as black as ink, and when it touched the sun, it would emit foul-smelling black smoke, which was even more stench than the smell of rotten pork that had been left out for a long time in the summer.
Of course the old Taoist priest was not going to such trouble just for a linen bag. He began to walk into the kitchen, kept drinking talisman water and spraying it, looking for other ghost handprints in the inn.
After a while, the old Taoist priest walked out of the kitchen and shook his head at Jin An: "The kitchen is very clean. Only this bag of Nanyang spices came back with something unclean."
Fatty Li was careful. He observed the size of the handprints and palm prints on the linen bag, and analyzed: "People who do heavy and hard work all year round will have thicker and shorter fingers. The palm prints on the linen bag have long and slender fingers, indicating that this person does not work all year round."
People who do heavy and hard work, or who are very young and have not been in the inn for a long time."
"First we can exclude the cooks, and then we can exclude the clerks who are over thirty years old. Then by comparing the size of the palm prints, we can preliminarily infer that this person is very young, has not done any hard work, and can freely enter and exit the kitchen..."
Fatty Li stood up and said to the innkeeper: "You are the most familiar with the situation of the waiters in the store. Call all the waiters who meet the above conditions. I will know who is a human and who is a ghost."
Unexpectedly, the innkeeper said: "I already know who it is!"
Then, with a livid face, he pulled out a tall, thin boy of 17 or 18 years old from among the rows of inn clerks, threw him at Jin An's feet, and said with a livid face: "This man is going to be beaten or killed.
It all depends on the judgment of the Criminal Investigation Department. I hope that the commander will make it clear to you. What this person did has nothing to do with our store. The villain really doesn’t know anything."
When the seventeen-year-old boy saw that the innkeeper was about to abandon him, he immediately turned pale with fear. He knelt down and hugged the innkeeper's leg, regretting and crying that he was wrong.
Jin An always looked calm, neither happy nor angry, making it difficult for outsiders to figure out what he was thinking.
In fact, with Jin'an's Yang Nian, he could see the source of the problem as soon as he entered the kitchen. He could see from the beginning that the 17 or 18-year-old waiter who was kneeling on the ground and crying bitterly had a strange horoscope.
This person's forehead has black hair, which represents the heaven of his parents, and is the sign of being without a father or mother. People who have no father or mother are less likely to be rich and have a lot of poverty throughout their lives. However, this person is seen with gold in his wealth and silk palace, but this little bit of gold is looming.
It means that you are not born with wealth and honor. You should have just made a windfall recently. There is evil in the gold, and a black energy is forcing towards the palace of life. If the palace of life shows signs of collapse, it means that the source of this windfall is not right, and it will also lead to an unlucky death.
Looking at the bulging veins on his ears, we can clearly see that this is due to insufficient yang energy, stasis of qi and blood due to cold and dampness, and a weak spleen. He must have seen something he shouldn't have seen in the past few days, and he has been in a state of panic.
Jin An did not reveal all this at the beginning, but watched the old Taoist priest and the people from the Criminal Investigation Department tossing around. He wanted to train the Criminal Investigation Department.
There is always a banquet in the world. He will leave the Criminal Investigation Department one day. Now he can help the Criminal Investigation Department as much as he can.
After all, the other party was just a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old. In addition, he had been frightened by changes in the past few days and lived in fear every day. His mind was at its most vulnerable. Fatty Li could easily interrogate all the inside information with a few casual threats.
This person, Li Yan, was not a native of the capital, but could barely be regarded as a distant relative of Li Dajin, whom he had nothing to do with for eight lifetimes.
A few years ago, Li Dajin went back to his hometown to pay homage to his ancestors' graves. He saw that this man was very pitiful because he had no father or mother, and his surname was Li. He felt pity for him, so he brought him to the capital to help him and provide him with food.
Perhaps because he lost his family early and his mind matured early, Li Yan's cleverness made Li Dajin love talents and cultivate his followers, so he transferred Li Yan from the front hall to the accounting office to serve as an apprentice to Mr. Accountant.
, help him with some unimportant business.
Because of manpower shortage, he just handed over the kitchen purchasing work to Li Yan last year.
It stands to reason that Li Dajin treated Li Yan well. As long as people's hearts are fleshy, they should know how to repay kindness. Moreover, Li Yan is only responsible for simple purchases and not responsible for specific financial transactions. There is no chance to get kickbacks from him.
But Li Dajin underestimated the temptation of the prosperous and luxurious capital to a person who had been accustomed to a life of poverty since childhood.
Li Yan did act very clever, but it was precisely because he was so clever that he gradually became more thoughtful.
The rich man behind Li Dajin was quite powerful in the capital and in the spice shop. Someone took a fancy to Li Dajin's carriage, which was rarely checked in the spice shop, so he bribed Li Yan with gold and silver and secretly helped them transport it secretly.
Some shameful things.
The items he was asked to smuggle a few times at first were normal. Although Li Yan did not see it with his own eyes, he knew in his heart that the other party was a second-rate dealer who was engaged in reselling Nanyang spices.
The huge profits in the spice shop are almost monopolized by a few companies, so there are always some stinking ditch rats who are not afraid of death and keep an eye on this huge piece of fat.
He doesn't need to help the other party smuggle every day, usually two or three times a month, so Li Dajin never notices anything unusual. And the other party is also generous, giving him a handful of money every time.
It's so easy to make money just by making money from side projects.
Li Yan originally thought that he didn't have to worry about anything, he just had to help people smuggle things honestly, don't look at things he shouldn't, and don't ask too many questions when he shouldn't, so there wouldn't be any trouble for him.
But there is a saying that goes, "Too much cleverness is the end of life."
A person is not afraid of not being smart, but he is afraid of being too smart.
The first few times seemed to be just to test whether his mouth was tight, but then the trouble began. In addition to smuggling and reselling spices, the other party actually smuggled in living people. On several occasions, he smuggled people wanted by the court and hid in the spice shop.
However, the reward for smuggling a living person is also high, and you can get two coins at a time.
Money can make the world go round.
Seeing that the other party gave him enough money, Li Yan chose to remain silent and pretended not to know anything. He planned to quit his job at the inn after a few more jobs, then leave the capital, return to his hometown and open a restaurant. This life was considered worthwhile.
However.
He still underestimated how much trouble he was in.
Until one day, the other party used spices to mask the smell of corpses, allowing him to smuggle the dead...