Volume 1: Spring in Wulong Town Chapter 164: Fighting Dogs Among Single Dogs
On the letter, Pan Yu addressed Hua Yingxiu as "Xiu'er".
And Hua Yingxiu said herself that this was her maiden name!
When they first met Tang Zheng, Ban Yilou and the others still called her "Flower Girl". They probably called her that all the time when they were outside.
Only at night when Madam Zhao and Hua Yingxiu were alone in the inn would the name "Xiu'er" appear!
So, no matter where Pan Yu learned Hua Yingxiu's name, she almost told them it clearly in the letter.
It's just that they didn't notice it.
"From the address on the letter, we determined that Pan Yu had made the move at the inn. Xu Qingyan and I then searched all the guest rooms you had stayed in one by one. Sure enough, we found Pan Yu at the fourth-to-last inn you had stayed in!"
"..." Hua Yingxiu's face turned pale when she thought that she might have been in the same room with Pan Yu. Even Mrs. Zhao looked uncomfortable.
"But, every time we stay at the hotel, Old Zhao patrols the door at night, and Manager Ban is also next door. How did he get in?" Mrs. Zhao questioned softly.
"He followed you in after you checked into the hotel!"
"What is that?"
"He was already in the room before you entered the store!"
"..." Mrs. Zhao opened her lips slightly, "But, we haven't arrived yet? How does he know which room we are staying in?"
Tang Zheng smiled slightly and did not answer. Instead, he turned his face to Hua Yingxiu: "Miss Xiu'er, you like the color blue, you like a big soft bed, you like a light-colored fine silk mattress, you like the sunlight shining in through the window at dusk, and you like being able to look out the window at the distant mountains and rivers in the morning...right?"
Hearing Tang Zheng tell her so many of his preferences in one breath, Hua Yingxiu was slightly stunned, and her pretty face behind the veil immediately blushed.
When Ban Yilou saw Hua Yingxiu's expression, he immediately knew that what Tang Zheng said was probably true!
But how can a grown man know such private preferences of a girl in the boudoir?
"Ahem!" Tang Zheng saw that Ban Yilou and the others were looking at him a little off track, so he immediately continued, "Xu Qingyan and I have seen the guest rooms you stayed in along the way. It is not difficult to conclude these things through the layout of the rooms... And what I can do, is it difficult for Pan Yu to do it? How many inns did you stay in along the way? After continuous observation all the way, he guessed which inn you would stay in next and what kind of room you would choose. It is really not a difficult task."
Ultimately, it was because Hua Yingxiu 's personal style was too obvious, and Ban Yiluo and the others' anti-reconnaissance awareness was not strong enough.
Therefore, it is easy for others to catch the pattern and make mistakes!
"If the mountain doesn't come to me, I will go to it..." Hua Yingxiu and the others finally understood what it meant that Pan Yu was not approaching them, but they were approaching Pan Yu!
Pan Yu had already hidden in the room early, waiting for them to enter the guest room.
Tang Zheng continued quietly, speaking one sentence at a time...
"I asked the innkeeper. That night, Pan Yu had booked the room that Xiu'er was going to stay in advance. He didn't cancel it until the moment you arrived at the inn, leaving it empty to ensure that you could stay. He then sneaked into the room right after that..."
"However, his lack of strength has become his Achilles' heel!"
"Although he could hide in the room smoothly, he also knew that Mr. Ban, who was at the top of the three-star level, was next door, and Zhao Shanhe was waiting at the door. He had no way to knock Sister Xiu'er unconscious and abduct her without making any noise!"
"If it was in the past, when his strength was really not enough, he should have given up..."
"But Miss Xiu'er's beauty and temperament were so attractive that he couldn't let her go. So, he still hid in the room, but he didn't kidnap Miss Xiu'er. Instead, he stretched out his dirty hands to my Red Spider Golden Silk!"
Tang Zheng showed his white teeth in a chilling smile.
It is hard to say whether Pan Yu would have been defeated so easily if he had not provoked Tang Zheng!
Unfortunately, he got into trouble.
What’s more, the material that was moved was Tang Zheng’s very important fan dagger.
"Wait, Master Tang, even if Pan Yu was already in our room, there is no way he could have swapped the Red Spider Golden Silk and left the Cicada Wing Water Silk, the Mirror Flower Wax, and the Seven-Qiao Exquisite Box intact!" The question was also the question that Hua Yingxiu and Ban Yilou wanted to know.
To use Tang Zheng's words from his previous life, both the box containing the Red Spider Golden Silk and the sealing silk scarf were disposable props.
Once it is unsealed, how is it restored?
…
For a moment, the courtyard fell into silence.
Tang Zheng smiled and stretched out another finger: "First of all, it may be related to his astrological talent..."
"Astrological talent?" Ban Yilou curled his lips, "You're not going to talk about telekinesis again, are you?"
"No, no, no, his astrological talent has been demonstrated just now." Tang Zheng pointed at Pan Yu on the ground, "You should have seen his astrological totem... I usually call it a chameleon, um... it's also commonly known as chameleon!"
When Tang Zheng revealed Pan Yu's astrological chauvinism, Tang Xuan, who knew the characteristics of this animal, immediately covered her mouth.
He avoided conscription, was good at disguise, and was especially good at traveling at night.
"That's right. The characteristic of evasion is that it can blend into the environment. So Pan Yu's astrological talent should also be this kind of camouflage skill, disguising himself and making himself invisible... I have to say, this is really the attribute of a homebody destined to be alone..." Tang Zheng complained, and then continued, "Xiu'er, when you light the candles, he can't come out openly, but once you turn off the lights..."
Tang Xiaotang took a deep breath.
Good at disguise...
Especially good at night walking...
As soon as Hua Yingxiu and the others turned off the lights, even if there was still moonlight coming in through the window, Pan Yu could walk out openly without being discovered at all!
"So, Pan Yu successfully got the Seven-Qiao Linglong Box?" asked Mrs. Zhao.
"Yes." Tang Zheng nodded.
"But the exquisite box is sealed. If he opens it and replaces the contents, the noise will be so loud that it won't alert us. Besides, how can he put it back together? He can't do it!" Mrs. Zhao said affirmatively.
"Yes, he couldn't do it." Tang Zheng did not refute this point, "So, he didn't open it."
"Not opened?" A group of people were waiting and looking at Tang Zheng.
"He swapped the entire Seven-Qiao Linglong Box, including the cicada-wing water silk and mirror-flower wax, all together!" Tang Zhengdao said.
Everyone gasped!
They originally thought that the Seven-Trick Box was an unsolvable secret room and no one could enter and replace things.
But Pan Yu came so decisively that he directly replaced the entire secret room!
"No! That's absolutely impossible!" Mrs. Zhao couldn't help but deny it.
Whether it is cicada-wing water silk, mirror-flower wax, or seven-piece exquisite box, they are all the most exquisite crafts of the Yaoshan tribe!
How could a dirty flower thief imitate a whole set so realistically?
Moreover, according to the timeline Tang Zheng mentioned, it should have only taken Pan Yu a few days from making the decision to actually switching the items. What kind of amazing craftsmanship would it take to make a set of seven-piece exquisite boxes within a few days?
Tang Zheng said nothing, but just pointed at the dreamlike environment left by Pan Yu.
Hua Yingxiu and Madam Zhao looked at each other.
Tang Zheng continued speaking...
"Pan Yu is always pursuing perfection. What he thinks about every day is the dreamlike proposal scene. Therefore, he must, and must, spend the most energy to study... the Yaoshan tribe!"
"The whole continent knows that anything produced by the Yaoshan tribe is a favorite of beautiful women! Whether it's the Seven-Qiao Exquisite Box, the Cicada Wing Water Silk, or the Mirror Flower Wax, it is indeed the unique technology of the Yaoshan tribe... But, even I have thought about it, it would be very cool to wrap these things as gifts and give them to girls, let alone Pan Yu who thinks about how to please the goddess every day? Don't tell me you haven't thought about it?" Tang Zheng said while winking at the men present.
In the end, all he got were blank and unbelievable responses...
What kind of person would think of using something so precious and important from the Yaoshan tribe just as gift wrapping?!
Tang Zheng touched his nose speechlessly. "A philosopher named Li Ning once said that everything is possible! Not to mention the distant past, just a few days ago, the entire Wulong Town believed that I, Tang Zheng, could never win over the genius Luo Fei of Bailianfang in casting... What happened?"
Similarly, how can Hua Yingxiu and the others be sure that no one's craftsmanship can match that of the Yaoshan tribe?
"But... why did Pan Yu go to so much trouble to replace the Red Spider Golden Silk? What on earth was he trying to do?" Tang Xiaotang asked.
"Of course we have to keep Sister Xiu'er in Wulong Town!" Tang Zhengdao said.
Every day in the inn, Hua Yingxiu and the others only stayed for one night, so Pan Yu couldn't wait for an opportunity.
Therefore, he could only replace the things that were very important to Hua Yingxiu and leave the beauty in a fixed place!
And this place is Wulong Town!
As long as Hua Yingxiu stayed, there was still a lot of time to come, and he could slowly, slowly figure out a solution...
"Is it really that necessary?" Hua Yingxiu knew that she was very beautiful, but she didn't think that she was worth other people's trouble and efforts. If one plan failed, she would come up with another one.
"It's not that you are not capable of that, but... that he is not capable of that..." Tang Zheng sighed, "I declare in advance that the following content is made up by my imagination without any responsibility..."
"Tell me, tell me." Tang Xiaotang and Tang Xuan said quickly.
"Everything starts with Pan Yu's motive for committing the crime..." Tang Zheng's voice calmed down a bit, and he had already turned into a storytelling tone...
It was not the first time that Tang Xiaotang and the others had listened to the story, and they all stared at Tang Zheng with blinking eyes.
Tang Zheng's voice spread across the night sky...
"Pan Yu is wealthy and skilled, but he has a wretched appearance and is clumsy in speech. His greatest wish in life is to marry a beautiful woman as beautiful as a flower as his wife!"
"If life has four seasons, Pan Yu's life was spring before she was fourteen..."
"Until he reached the age of marriage, his life...instantly entered winter!"
"Between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, he was tortured by his elders' pressure to get married, and experienced the blow of countless failed blind dates..."
"He, Pan Yu, has embarked on a road of no return as a single man trying to capture a goddess!"
"When he was eighteen, he made up his mind that he would kidnap all the beautiful women on the continent and propose to them. In his opinion, as time went by, he would eventually meet a blind woman who was willing to marry him, right?"
"So, after he had been on the run and committing crimes for several years, he unexpectedly ran into the most beautiful woman he had ever dared to imagine—Miss Xiu'er from the Yaoshan tribe... Well, I'll make a bold assumption. His inner monologue at the time must have been something like this..."
"My name is Pan Yu. I have never given up the dream of having a beautiful wife! Just now, I saw Miss Hua Yingxiu, who was so beautiful that she could make fish sink to the bottom of the water, geese fall to the ground, and the moon hide in shame. It immediately ignited a fire in my heart. I, Pan Yu, felt that at this moment, I was about to explode..."
"The above is his motive for committing the crime. It's the story of a poor single man who dreams of winning over a goddess..."
