Chapter 165: Arrogant Salt Smugglers

Seeing that Captain Zhao insisted on pretending to be “blind,” Gu Ning’an simply pointed to Mao Cuicui and said with a smile, “Is it this young lady?”

“Uh…” Captain Zhao was momentarily speechless. He squinted and stared at Mao Cuicui for a while before slapping his head and nodding. “Yes, yes, it’s this young lady. Every time I come out at night, my eyes get blurry, and I didn’t recognize her at first.”

Although Captain Zhao’s acting was quite good, the problem was that in this situation, it was somewhat “clumsy.”

Gu Ning’an had no intention of exposing him. He just continued, “Earlier, Miss Mao already told me that a man named A’Yong, also known as a stone broker, was killed by the accomplices of salt smugglers.”

“Now, these murderers are drinking and playing cards at a gambling house called ‘Good Fortune’ on the east side of the city. They haven’t even changed out of their bloody clothes… Captain Zhao, if you bring your men there now, you’ll catch them red-handed.”

Upon hearing this, both Mao Cuicui and Captain Zhao looked solemn.

Mao Cuicui never expected that Gu Ning’an would accurately describe the location and situation of the salt smugglers.

After all, even she, the victim, didn’t know where they had gone.

Was Mr. Gu just guessing blindly, or had he already sent people to investigate as soon as she mentioned A’Yong’s death?

Mao Cuicui turned sideways, her face showing a look of confusion that Captain Zhao did not see.

To Captain Zhao, it was clear that Mao Cuicui must have told Gu Ning’an about everything, and now that Gu Ning’an revealed all the details, he was clearly hinting to him—”I’ve told you where they are. It’s up to you whether you arrest them or not.”

If Captain Zhao didn’t arrest them, it might not be as simple as losing his official status… He immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said, “Please rest assured, Mr. Gu. I will definitely bring these criminals to justice!”

“I will bring justice to the deceased and fairness to Miss Mao Cuicui!”

Gu Ning’an nodded. “Good, I wish Captain Zhao success in his investigation.”

“Thank you for your kind words!” After saying this, Captain Zhao adjusted his waist blade and led the group of constables waiting in the courtyard out of the small courtyard.

Once they left, Mao Cuicui looked at Gu Ning’an and, after thinking for a moment, lowered her voice and asked, “Mr. Gu, was what you just said true? If it’s not true, and you really have no official position, it could bring trouble to you!”

Gu Ning’an smiled. “Of course, it’s true. But as for trouble, there’s no need to worry.”

“Then…” Mao Cuicui paused, then continued, “I’ll go back to collect A’Yong’s body. If there are any issues, Mr. Gu can just blame it on me…”

“Let Mu Sheng accompany you,” Gu Ning’an said, and just as he finished, Mu Sheng rushed back into the room, grabbed her big wooden box, and walked into the courtyard.

Mao Cuicui hesitated. “A’Yong’s body looks horrible. If Mu Sheng goes, she might get scared…”

“Just hurry up. I’ve seen more corpses than you’ve ever seen salt,” Mu Sheng urged.

“Mr. Gu…” Mao Cuicui clearly didn’t believe it, and looked at Gu Ning’an again.

Gu Ning’an waved his hand. “She’s not lying. She works with the dead…”

Mao Cuicui wanted to say something else, but Mu Sheng, who was getting impatient, ran into the room and pulled her out…

…

The night was as dark as ink, and the crescent moon was obscured by thick black clouds.

In a gambling house called “Good Fortune,” the lights were bright, and the atmosphere was intense.

At the central gambling table in the gambling house, several burly men, reeking of alcohol and still dressed in bloodstained clothes, were shouting and laughing as they played cards, gulping down fine wine brought by the servants.

“Place your bets, no more bets!” The dealer shook the dice cup and called out loudly to the crowd before him.

A shirtless man with a few drops of blood splattered on his face pulled out a black cloth pouch from his chest and poured out all the silver inside.

With a clatter, the sound of coins rang out. The pouch contained not only loose silver but also strings of copper coins.

A rough glance estimated the total to be around fifty taels of silver.

“Here, I’m betting big on this one!” The shirtless man boldly pushed the silver forward.

“Brother Zheng! That money includes our shares too! If you win, don’t forget to share with us!”

“Exactly! We worked hard for that pouch of silver!”

“Hard my ass! When we were dealing with that woman earlier, you were the weakest one! Just a couple of moves and you were done! I was the one who put in the real effort to make her submit!”

“Don’t bring that up! I haven’t had much practice lately. If I win tonight, I’ll head over to Lingering Fragrance to train my skills again.”

“You still pay for that? Do we ever pay for what we do? We make money from it instead!” A man sneered and cursed before turning to the dealer with a laugh. “Hurry up and roll the dice! I’m ready to collect my winnings!”

The sight of these men in their bloodstained clothes was terrifying, but the dealer only chuckled before vigorously shaking the dice cup. He tossed and spun it in the air for more than a dozen rounds before slamming it onto the table.

“Big! Big! Big!”

“Small! Small! Small!”

As the dice were about to be revealed, the gamblers surrounding the table shouted out their bets, as if yelling louder would make the outcome favor them.

Swish!

The dealer swiftly lifted his hand and stared at the dice.

“One! Two! Four!”

“Small!”

“The house wins!”

At these words, the losing gamblers groaned, some clutching their heads, some cursing, and a few looking ready to flip the table. But at the sight of the bloodstained thugs, they swallowed their frustration and slunk away in defeat.

“Brother Zheng! What the hell! We worked for hours, and you lost it all in one go!”

“Ah! Don’t blame Brother Zheng. Before the roll, we all thought it’d be big too!”

“Why did we all bet on big?”

“Obviously because of that woman!”

At this, the salt smugglers exchanged knowing grins. Losing fifty taels meant nothing to them—it wasn’t their money, after all. Unlike ordinary gamblers, they had no reason to get upset.

The shirtless man stood up, adjusted his belt, and grinned lecherously. “Let’s play a few more rounds. If we lose everything, we’ll just go find her and earn some more!”

Immediately, the smugglers’ smiles twisted into something sinister. Their rowdy laughter made it clear their minds were already far from the gambling table…

Among the crowd, a constable disguised as a gambler observed the salt smugglers for a while before placing a bet himself. After losing, he cursed under his breath and left the gambling house. With a quick movement, he slipped into a nearby alley.

Inside the alley, over thirty constables armed with blades stood densely packed. Captain Zhao leaned against the wall, cradling his long blade. When the scout returned, he immediately asked, “How is it?”

“Boss, those salt smugglers are definitely in there. They haven’t even cleaned the blood off their hands and faces!”

“They’re acting arrogant, like they’re not afraid of getting caught at all… I think it’s because the one leading them today is Zheng Er…”