Chapter 161: The Fish Takes the Bait

Looking at the slender finger less than an inch from her lips, Fei Yu blinked.

"You learned quite a bit from Miss Ruyan. It seems the money wasn't spent in vain."

"I learned this from Miss Cuicui."

Yan Jing withdrew his finger with a leisurely smile.

Next, the two of them made a trip to Old Monkey's place to drop off the Hand Fish.

After that, they headed home.

Around dinnertime, Old Master Liu returned, dripping with sweat.

"Young Master, the man is dead."

"Master Liu, have some tea first."

Yan Jing raised a hand, gesturing toward a bowl of freshly brewed Herbal Tea on the table.

"Alright."

Old Master Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead and downed the Herbal Tea in one gulp.

He immediately bared his teeth in a grimace at the sheer bitterness.

"Young Master, this tea is a bit bitter. Where did you buy it?"

"Xiao Yu, I told you the tea was too bitter!"

Yan Jing called out to Fei Yu in the kitchen.

"If it's too bitter, give it to Master Liu! I'll brew another pot!"

Fei Yu's voice drifted out from the kitchen.

Hearing this, Old Master Liu smacked his lips, suddenly feeling like the tea in his mouth had grown even more bitter.

"Please continue, Master Liu."

Yan Jing prompted.

"Right... where was I... Oh, yes, Young Master. The man is dead."

"Which man?"

"The one we were looking for. The coachman."

"How did it happen?"

"I don't know. When I went looking, he was already gone. There was blood all over the floor. I asked around, but I couldn't get a straight answer from anyone."

Old Master Liu let out a long sigh.

"Young Master, I was a step too late."

"Don't sigh."

Yan Jing smiled. "Perhaps you were more than just one step too late."

"Hearing you say that makes me feel much better."

Old Master Liu nodded.

The new Herbal Tea arrived. The old man poured a bowl for Yan Jing first, then one for himself, and finally looked at Fei Yu.

"Xiao Yu, do you want any?"

"You go ahead and drink, I'll pour my own."

Fei Yu was very polite.

The old man nodded in gratification, but he quickly realized something was wrong. Yan Jing and Fei Yu were both looking at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to take the first sip.

It didn't seem to be a matter of politeness after all.

"Xiao Yu, did you simply never learn how to brew Herbal Tea?"

The old man set down his bowl.

"I thought I learned it properly."

Fei Yu looked puzzled before turning to Yan Jing.

"Then again, the Young Master should drink first."

"Ahem."

Yan Jing picked up the bowl next to his hand, and then... moved it a little farther away.

"Let's talk business first, Master Liu."

He looked at Old Master Liu across from him.

The old man understood perfectly and also pushed his bowl a little farther away.

"Tomorrow, I'll take a trip to East Street and ask if any unfamiliar street vendors showed up that day."

After sunset, the ghost market on East Street would close.

The only places allowed to remain open were the Funeral Shops.

If they wanted clear answers, it had to wait until tomorrow.

"Alright. I'll leave it to you, Master Liu."

"But this probably won't be quick, Young Master."

The old man looked at Yan Jing. "After all, we have to proceed covertly."

"Actually, there's no need to be that covert..."

"What did you say?"

The old man thought he had misheard.

Yan Jing smiled and patted the old man's shoulder.

"The faster we get results, the better, Master Liu."

...

...

Over the following days, they settled into a steady routine.

Basically, every day followed the same pattern:

In the morning, Old Master Liu went out to look for clues.

At noon, Fei Yu went out to buy groceries.

In the afternoon, Yan Jing and Fei Yu went to the Opera House to watch a play.

In the evening, Old Master Liu returned to report on his progress.

Although Yan Jing had said the faster they got results the better, the pace wasn't ultimately up to the old man to decide. He could only unravel the threads bit by bit, and if he ran into difficulties, he would ask Yi Ji for help.

However, compared to a few days ago, there were clear results.

"I think I've tracked down that person's forged identity."

"There's a grain shop on that stretch of road. Because of the recent rain, the plaster on their wall had been peeling for days. Afraid the grain would get damp, they called someone in to patch the lime plaster."

"On the day of the repairs, their familiar old artisan came. But strangely enough, that day, he didn't use any of his usual artisan techniques; he just patched the plaster quite ordinarily."

"Furthermore, I asked the shop owner. The plaster that day definitely had a stronger, more pungent smell than usual."

The old man wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"I went looking for the old artisan. He lived over by Artisan Alley on West Main Street. But they said he moved away a few days ago, and no one knows where he went."

"It must be him."

"You've worked hard, Master Liu."

Yan Jing nodded and picked up the Herbal Tea on the table.

"A toast to you!"

With that said, he drained it in one gulp.

Watching Yan Jing, the old man felt a profound sense of respect. If it had been wine on the table, this gesture wouldn't have been a big deal, but it happened to be Fei Yu's Herbal Tea. This proved the Young Master genuinely felt he had worked hard.

"Young Master, I'll join you."

The old man picked up the bowl in front of him, but Yan Jing reached out and stopped him.

Yan Jing tightly shut his eyes and furrowed his brow, as if savoring the lingering aftertaste of the Herbal Tea.

"Don't, Master Liu. The kick today... is a bit strong!"

Heeding good advice keeps a man fed.

The old man blinked and set his bowl back down.

Right at that moment, Fei Yu walked over carrying the food.

Seeing Yan Jing's expression, she hurriedly placed the dishes on the table, reached out, and gently massaged the spot between his eyebrows.

"I told you not to eat so many plums while watching plays these past few days. Eating too many makes you dizzy."

"It's fine, Xiao Yu. Tomorrow I still want to eat that Fangji stinky tofu from East Street."

Yan Jing spoke slowly, his eyes still closed.

"Alright, Young Master."

Hearing Yan Jing's words, Fei Yu's initially anxious expression settled into calmness.

Her Young Master had already eaten that stall's stinky tofu for three or four consecutive days.

...

The next day.

The old man went out bright and early.

He continued pursuing the trail of the plaster-patching artisan to find more clues.

Then, as noon approached, Fei Yu also went out.

East Street and South Street were originally adjacent, but recently, because Feinan Temple was resurfacing its outer walls, the intersection at Southeast Street had been blocked off. Therefore, the only way to get from South Street to East Street was to cut through the alleys of West Street.

This added quite a bit of distance.

Yan Jing continued to lean back in his recliner, reading the cultivation novel about the four great divine beasts.

Over the past few days, he had read up to the chapter on refining the Golden Core with the Black Tortoise, and the protagonist was about to achieve an unbreakable golden body.

Before the sun was directly overhead, Fei Yu returned.

"I'm back, Young Master."

Fei Yu entered the kitchen carrying bags of groceries of all sizes. "Food will be ready shortly. Today is the stinky tofu with eggplant and minced pork rice you asked for."

"Oh."

Yan Jing didn't even lift his head, entirely absorbed in the novel in his hands. At the last moment, as if suddenly remembering something, he added, "Add a bowl of Herbal Tea!"

"It's going to rain today. If you drink Herbal Tea and upset your stomach, I won't have anywhere to buy you medicine,"

Fei Yu said, poking her head out from the kitchen.

"Then brew a little less!"

Yan Jing said, "Master Liu isn't coming home!"

"Alright."

Fei Yu nodded.

Just like that, the two of them carried on—one reading a book, the other cooking.

It seemed Fei Yu had started preparing the stinky tofu first.

The stinky tofu from Fangji had a truly unique odor.

It wasn't a sharp stench that rushed straight to the crown of one's head, but rather a faint, almost soul-hooking musk.

"Bubble, bubble, bubble—"

About thirty or forty minutes later, the Herbal Tea came to a boil, bubbling as steam rose toward the ceiling.

Fei Yu walked out of the kitchen carrying the prepared stinky tofu.

Yan Jing seemed to have grown sleepy. The book covered his face, and the faint sound of his gentle breathing drifted out from beneath it.

"Young Master, don't just focus on visiting people in your dreams. Eat something to line your stomach..."

Fei Yu said.

Seeing Yan Jing not respond, a sharp gleam flashed in her eyes. She slowly walked toward him, reaching out to push his shoulder.

"Young Master, Young—"

Before she finished speaking, she let out a cry of alarm. The book on Yan Jing's face had fallen away, revealing a pair of wide-open eyes, and his hand had locked onto her wrist in a tight grip.

"Young Master, what are you..."

Fear and confusion flashed in Fei Yu's eyes as she desperately tried to wrench her hand free.

But the hand of the person in front of her was clamped down like an iron vise.

"You learned well, but you left quite a few flaws."

Yan Jing laughed.

A Little Bird flew out from his cuff, flapping its wings continuously to fan away the toxic gas lingering in the air.

"First of all, the secret signal is wrong."

"Signal... what secret signal?"

"Fei Yu's" expression shifted slightly, and even her tone and voice underwent a subtle change.

"Never mind that."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Furthermore, even though Xiao Yu hasn't bickered with me much these past few days, she would definitely react if she heard me ask for the Herbal Tea she brewed."

"Because I never willingly ask for Herbal Tea."

"The tea she brews is truly bitter."

"And the last point."

Yan Jing offered a faint smile.

"The water for the Herbal Tea just took thirty or forty minutes to boil. That's because you washed the medicinal herbs first, and then let them soak for a while, right?"

Hearing this, even though the situation was critical, "Fei Yu's" professional pride caused her eyes to widen.

"Is that wrong?"

"Heh." Yan Jing chuckled, a trace of bitterness surprisingly hidden in his smile.

"Xiao Yu's brewing process has always been to boil it directly, then let it simmer on high heat for over half an hour, and what's more..."

"She never adds sugar."

As soon as these words were spoken, "Fei Yu" froze.

Wouldn't that be explosively bitter!

"You understand now, right—"

Before Yan Jing could even begin to vent his grievances, a voice drifted in from outside.

"The simmering is to extract the essence of the herbs, and adding sugar is bad for the body anyway. I couldn't tell that you had such strong opinions about my Herbal Tea all this time, Young Master."

Hearing this, Yan Jing's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't timed this well.

Then, the real Fei Yu walked in, her expression perfectly calm.

"I told you not to mooch off others so much when you go out. You've become such a picky eater; one of these days you're going to get tricked."

As she said this, she looked at the imposter standing next to Yan Jing. Extending her slender hands, she adopted an opening martial stance, and her aura instantly shifted.

In a flash, her posture grew as straight as bamboo, and her breathing settled. Her clothes fluttered like a white crane spreading its wings.

Looking at this scene, the imposter "Fei Yu" instantly panicked.

At this moment, she finally realized this was a trap explicitly set for her.

Without her knowing when, she had already been exposed.

At that thought, she twisted her wrist, drawing a short blade from her sleeve and bringing it toward Yan Jing's neck.

Although her mimicry of Fei Yu wasn't completely perfected, she had discerned that Fei Yu was a martial artist. Thus, in every move and stance, she actually managed to capture a bit of authentic martial flair.

This was the ingenuity of an Actor Cultivator.

But from Yan Jing's hands, one pre-drawn Little Bird after another took flight.

Amid the sound of fluttering wings, Yan Jing blinked.

Instantly, the fake "Fei Yu" shuddered all over, feeling as if the surrounding scenery was rising infinitely higher.

And this was the ingenuity of a Cheat.