The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#379 - A gathering place for luck

After Manager Qu politely saw Lu Jing out, he turned around and returned to the money house.

However, he didn't go back to the vault where he had been earlier to continue counting the silver. Instead, he went straight up to the second floor and entered a side hall on the east side.

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Manager Qu had previously ordered that no one should approach this side hall at any time.

Even he himself felt a rare sense of tension when he stood in front of the door.

In fact, Manager Qu himself didn't like what he was doing now, as it went against the Taiping Money House's consistent principle of keeping secrets for its customers. However, the person on the other side had too much influence.

Manager Qu couldn't afford to offend him at all. Even if the Taiping Money House's major shareholder were here, he wouldn't dare to say half a word of disapproval. Or, more accurately, this matter was tacitly approved by him.

Manager Qu tried his best to suppress the chaotic thoughts in his mind, reached out, and gently knocked on the door twice.

After a moment, a somewhat shrill voice came from inside, "Come in."

Manager Qu heard this, pushed open the door, and walked in.

He didn't dare to look up at the person in the room. His originally tall body was slightly hunched, and he tried to keep his eyes fixed on a small patch of ground in front of his toes.

Then he heard the person complain, "Honestly, are the guards of your Taiping Money House all useless? In broad daylight, they actually let a civet cat in, and it even bit my leg."

"Lord Tong was injured by a civet cat?" Manager Qu was somewhat surprised when he heard this, but after he reacted, he immediately said, "I'll go and fetch a doctor."

"Forget it, let's talk about business first." The person inside sighed, "Since you've come to me, that means that person has arrived, right?"

"No, it's a young man named Lu, who looks to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. He said he's a friend of Master Nan Zhai. He has half of the jade pendant and a letter from Master Nan Zhai in his hand."

"Hmph, he's quite cunning, not even two hundred thousand taels of silver could make him show his face." The owner of the shrill voice muttered, "But since it's a young man who came, you should have gotten out of his mouth where that person is, right?"

"No." Manager Qu shook his head.

The person immediately became angry again and launched into a barrage of scolding, "Have you lived all these years in vain? Your boss even praised you to me as being mature and prudent, but you can't even deal with a young man. I think you've lived all these years like a dog!"

Manager Qu silently endured the person's scolding until the person was tired of scolding and stopped to catch his breath before he spoke again, defending himself in a low voice.

"I talked to that young man named Lu for a few words and felt that he wasn't simple. I was worried that if I acted too eagerly or asked too bluntly, he would notice something."

"Bullshit! He's only eighteen or nineteen years old, how would he know so much? I think you're just making excuses for your incompetence." The voice raised a few degrees, sounding even more piercing.

Manager Qu didn't dare to retort again and could only lower his head even further.

The person scolded for a while, probably also annoyed, and then waved his hand, "Forget it, where is he now?"

"According to your instructions, Lord Tong, I've already told him the location of Manager He's residence. Next, he should go to Ox Market Street to find Manager He to understand what happened that day."

"Alright, you don't need to worry about the rest. My people will take care of it."

After the person finished speaking, seeing Manager Qu looking hesitant, he impatiently said, "What is it now?"

"Lord Tong, the other party is a Jianghu person," Manager Qu reminded him.

Before he could finish speaking, he heard the owner of the shrill voice sneer, "So what if he's a Jianghu person? He's only eighteen or nineteen years old, how powerful can he be? You said his name is Lu, don't tell me you think he's that recently rising star, Lu Jing?

"Don't worry, I know all the top experts in the capital. Now that he's shown his face, he definitely won't be able to escape from my grasp."

Manager Qu wanted to remind the person in the room that Lu Jing wasn't from the capital and that his accent seemed to be from the south, but he could already feel the other party's impatience. Knowing that if he spoke again, he would definitely be scolded mercilessly, he swallowed the words back down.

On the other side, Lu Jing was now heading towards Ox Market Street with the black cat.

Perhaps because it had already eaten its fill, the black cat looked a little lazy at the moment, unable to muster any energy. It lay on Lu Jing's shoulder, licking its paws, its eyes appearing somewhat dazed.

Lu Jing was dissatisfied with its passive attitude and said, "Hey, don't just enjoy yourself. You promised me before we left that you'd let me enjoy myself too."

Hearing this, the black cat barely roused its spirits and began to look around.

However, finding luck requires luck in the first place, and Lu Jing's luck was obviously average at the moment. The black cat didn't sniff out anything along the way.

It wasn't until they arrived at Ox Market Street that the black cat's body suddenly trembled, and then its eyes shone brightly.

Seeing this, Lu Jing's spirits also lifted, and he happily said, "Have you discovered new luck again?"

The black cat nodded.

"Where?"

The black cat looked up in the direction of a tea stall, and Lu Jing immediately looked in that direction as well. However, before he could find his target, he saw the black cat pointing at a toy vendor next to him.

Then its tail turned to two idlers playing chess under a tree not far away, then pointed to a farmer driving an ox cart, as well as a woman coaxing a child, and three old men sunbathing.

But then, he also noticed something was wrong.

Although those people were trying their best to hide themselves, trying to naturally blend into the surrounding environment, Lu Jing's eye skills allowed him to see a lot of things.

These people were obviously all Jianghu people, and there were many experts among them. After all, no matter how much they disguised themselves, the bulging temples and calluses on their hands were always difficult to hide.

Lu Jing then thought of something, and a look of realization flashed in his eyes.

He strode towards the three old men who were sunbathing. Noticing that Lu Jing was approaching, one of them was obviously a little nervous, and the spine of his back lying on the rattan chair stiffened.

Fortunately, he then heard Lu Jing say, "Old sirs, I would like to inquire about something. Is this where Manager He of Taiping Money House lives?"

Hearing these words, the old man who had been a little nervous relaxed his body and nodded, "That's right. Do you see the pear tree over there? Manager He's house is the one there."

"Thank you." Lu Jing smiled and then walked in the direction pointed out by the old man.