"Mai Laoguang" was the name of a small eatery, as well as the name of its owner.

  (T/N: 麦老广; Mài lǎo guǎng in Chinese or Mak Lao Kwong in Cantonese, means for the restaurant: “traditional or original Cantonese food”, and means for the owner, "Old Mai from Guangdong”)

  The aroma of Mai Laoguang′s roasted meats was said to be so enticing that it could lure people and dogs from within a ten-mile radius to his doorstep. Mai Laoguang was the owner, head chef, and waiter of this small eatery.

  Aside from roasted meats, Mai Laoguang only sold pin rice and porridge. If you wanted alcohol, you had to go next door to "Yan Maoyuan Wine Shop" to buy it, or bring the roasted meats there to enjoy with your drink.

  Some people advised Mai Laoguang, "Why not sell alcohol as well? Wouldn′t that earn you more money?"

  But Mai Laoguang was a stubborn man, and most "Lao Guang" (Cantonese) people were stubborn. So, if you wanted alcohol, you had to buy it yourself. If you weren′t satisfied with this arrangement, there was nowhere else to go.

  Because Mai Laoguang′s roasted meats were not only the best but also the only ones avaible in the area.

  In the mountain town, people were so frugal that they wouldn′t even light oil mps—let alone spend money eating out. So, even if someone tried to compete with Lao Guang′s business, they would soon be forced to shut down.

  Mai Laoguang never had a bad impression of Wang Dong and Guo Dalu′s group, because although they were poor, they never ran up a tab.

  Every time they came, they always had at least a couple of silver ingots on them—and they ate a lot. No restaurant owner would dislike customers who ate a lot.

  Directly across from Mai Laoguang′s pce was “Niangjiu′s House," where Wang Dong and his group often went.

  (T/N: 娘舅家; Niángjiù jiā, lit. means Maternal Uncle House. But here it is A Gambling Den or Underground business.)

  Right next to Niangjiu′s house was a pawnshop.

  Every time they came, they would stop by Niangjiu′s House first, and when they walked out, they always looked much more confident than when they went in.

  But today was different.

  As they passed Niangjiu′s house, they didn′t even stop. They walked with their chests puffed out, looking like their pockets were far from empty.

  Mai Laoguang was both relieved and puzzled. “Did these brats switch to stealing or something? Where′d they suddenly get so much money?”

  This time, there were four of them. Before they even stepped through the door, Mai Laoguang went up to greet them, speaking in his awkward Mandarin:

  "Why have you all come so early today?”

  (Nothing in the world is scarier than a Cantonese person speaking Mandarin.)

  Fortunately, Guo Dalu was already used to it. Even if he didn′t fully understand, he could always guess. He ughed and said, “It′s not that we came early—it′s that the money came early. Give us two roast geese, five pounds of crispy pork, and an oil chicken.”

  Mai Laoguang blinked and asked, "Want rice and wine?"

  Guo Dalu replied, "Of course. Bring us a few pots first, and we′ll settle the bill together."

  His voice was louder now because he had a gold ingot worth a full ten teeth on him.

  Since they were here to gather information about who had been robbed, spending a dozen tons of gold was no big deal. When you′re hungry, you can′t even be bothered to talk, let alone gather information.

  So, their consciences were completely clear.

  As the wine level in the bottle gradually dropped, their sense of responsibility rose.

  If you drink someone else′s wine, you should do something for them.

  They were definitely not the type to freeload.

  So, Guo Dalu asked, "Have you heard any news these past couple of days?"

  "No. The most sensational news in town was that Mrs. Wang, who ran the grocery store, had given birth to twins."

  They began to feel puzzled.

  Guo Dalu said, "Maybe they didn′t steal these things around here."

  Yan Qi insisted, "They must have."

  Guo Dalu asked, "Then why hasn′t anyone reported being robbed? Stealing from so many households in one night is a big deal. The town should be in an uproar by now."

  Yan Qi expined, "It′s not that no one was robbed, but that they′re not talking about it—they don′t dare."

  Guo Dalu asked, "Being robbed isn′t something to be ashamed of. Why wouldn′t they dare to speak up?"

  Yan Qi said, "If someone′s wealth was obtained through shady means, they′d have to swallow their bitterness in silence if it got stolen. They can′t compin."

  Guo Dalu ughed and said, "If that′s the case, then it′s not our problem. We′ve done our best, haven′t we?"

  By now, most of the wine had gone into his stomach, nearly squeezing out all sense of responsibility. He suddenly felt very rexed and called out loudly, "Bring us a few more pots of wine!"

  Before Mai Laoguang could step out the door, three people suddenly walked in.

  The first person was tall, dressed in shimmering, golden clothes that looked quite luxurious. The second person was even taller and unusually thin. But no one really noticed what these two looked like.

  Because all eyes were drawn to the third person.

  This person was entirely cd in bck—bck clothes, bck pants, bck boots, bck gloves, and a bck felt hat pressed tightly over his forehead. In fact, even without the hat, no one could see his face. His head and face were completely covered by a bck cloth mask, revealing only a pair of knife-sharp eyes.

  This was the attire of a night traveler, suitable only for sneaking around in the dead of night to do shady deeds. Yet here he was, wearing it openly in broad daylight.

  What did he look like?

  What kind of person was he?

  No one could see, and no one knew. There wasn′t an inch of him visible to the eye.

  But for some reason, everyone felt that every inch of him radiated danger.

  The most dangerous thing, of course, was the sword on his back.

  A four-foot-seven-inch-long sword in a bck sheath.