Chapter 81: East-West Inn (Part 4): A Zoo! Part 2

People from both sides went to count the horses. Mu Qian Tan asked the person beside her in an utterly contemptuous tone, “He says he trained until midnight. Does he usually work that hard?”

The troupe members looked at each other. Since it was right in front of everyone, they could only mumble that they didn’t know much about it. Hu Xinsu thought of something and looked at Hu Zhong with shock and suspicion. He spoke up. “He does train a lot. Too much.”

Hu Zhong immediately blew up. “What kind of talk is that? You can’t train yourself, so you won’t let others?”

Hu Xinsu’s face was cold. “I didn’t mean that. But our Monster Play Troupe doesn’t perform by abusing demons. You’ve gone too far.”

The Black Fur Monkey was nearly strangled breathless. Hu Zhong said, “What’s the point of saying that now? Don’t you know who holds this troupe together? Without me, you’d have folded long ago!”

Hu Xinsu had not yet responded. The waiters soon returned and reported that no horses were missing, meaning Zhang Bai had not run at all.

A sheen of sweat appeared on Hu Zhong’s forehead, and he could barely stand. “Even though I saw him, it might not be that waiter who did it… Instead of suspecting everyone here, why not ask Tan Que? How did you find the body?”

Tan Que had not expected the matter to involve her. She froze for a moment, hugged Lingdang, and said, “I brought my princess out for a mosquito snack, and we even ate a gecko…”

Hu Zhong said, “What kind of bullshit princess? Who would buy that excuse? Were you the one who did it and then pretended to scream to draw attention?”

Tan Que was stunned. Someone had actually called her world’s cutest Lingdang Princess “bullshit.” She flew into a rage and unleashed a torrent of abuse. “Who the fuck are you calling shit? You ragged sack of a fucker daring to curse my princess! Asshole straight to mouth spewing shit-talk, stinking so bad even dung beetles pinch their noses and fuck off!”

No one had expected that to be what set her off. Hu Zhong was stunned by the barrage of filth. Tan Que was furious and raised her foot to kick him, but Shang Shan held her back desperately. At that moment, Mu Qian Tan said, “Don’t just stand there. Search again. Since Zhang Bai didn’t leave, he must be hiding somewhere.”

Hu Zhong cleared his throat, still struggling. “Why go to such trouble?”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Why are you panicking? Afraid we’ll find something bad for you?”

Hu Zhong flicked his sleeve. “Talk with evidence.”

Shang Shan spat. “Pah! You slandered Tan Que earlier without evidence.”

Tan Que said, “Exactly! The immortal and Shang Shan are right! My princess and I both approve.”

The Black-Faced Man and Torch Brother led people to search separately, even flipping up patches of turf. Hu Zhong was practically dripping sweat, while that woman remained utterly calm. Her gaze was on him, but it did not reach her eyes—as if he were no more than insignificant dust, not even worth an ant.

It had been like this from the start… Flames rose in Hu Zhong’s eyes, and his fists cracked from clenching.

Before long, the Black-Faced Man found Zhang Bai in a water jar downstairs. He had been knocked out, his belt loosened—likely attacked from behind while going downstairs to relieve himself. The back of his head was a bloody mess, his back soaked with blood through his clothes. He was curled up squatting in the empty jar. Fortunately, he was still breathing. He might be savable.

The crowd awkwardly lifted him out and laid him on the ground. They all looked hopefully at the black-clad woman, but she did not move.

Tan Que saw this, hugged Lingdang Princess, and squatted down. “Princess, quick, save him.”

Lingdang Princess opened her big mouth and stuck out her pink long tongue, licking at the back of Zhang Bai’s head lick by lick, as if sucking out his brain marrow. This scene was still too gruesome for ordinary mortals. Everyone turned their faces away one after another, only feeling their own napes grow wet and sticky.

Not missing that man’s hateful gaze, Mu Qian Tan smiled, took two steps forward, and leaned down to pluck a few strands of black monkey fur from Hu Sheng’s collar. “Hu Zhong, you were far too careless, leaving such obvious evidence behind. Weren’t you just asking to be found out?”

Shang Shan gazed at her with victory in her grasp, unable to hold back her beaming smile, her eyes sparkling bright. She nudged Tan Que with her elbow and whispered, “Quick, look at my master!”

That strand of monkey fur drifted away on the wind. This could have been explained away with some excuse, but Hu Zhong was already furious from the woman’s contempt. His eyes turned blood-red, and in the next instant, he drew the gleaming short sword from his waist and lunged to stab!

At that moment, Hu Xinsu shouted, “Brother Zhong! Are you going to make another mistake on top of the first?”

Hu Zhong shoved him aside. “Shut your mouth! It’s all because of you! I’ve given so much for the troupe, following him from the days when the Monster Play Troupe had nothing. We finally achieved some success, but now he’s handing the troupe over to a sickly weakling like you. Why? Just because you’re his son?”

Hu Xinsu cried out miserably, “Father said long ago that you act too extreme and don’t care at all about the lives of demons. He said the troupe would face disaster under you—and hasn’t it come true?”

“Bullshit! Just excuses!” Hu Zhong swung his sword wildly, the gleaming blade flashing back and forth before their eyes. The Black Fur Monkey bared her teeth, growing more anxious the longer she watched. Suddenly, she let out a shrill screech, leaped onto his arm, snatched the sword from his grasp while he wasn’t paying attention, and swung it wildly. One slash cut across his throat, blood spraying three feet, and he collapsed with a boom. He died just like that.

The Fur Monkey, covered in blood, screamed madly as she brandished the short sword. The people around had already scattered in panic when Hu Zhong drew his sword, leaving an empty space nearby. Seeing the sword about to strike Hu Xinsu, Shang Shan jumped in, gripped the blade with one hand, and placed her other hand on the Black Fur Monkey’s head to soothe her. “It’s okay now. Don’t be anxious.”

She comforted her over and over, wiping the blood from the black monkey’s face with her palm to reveal her little face. The black eyes reflected the girl’s gentle features, and the cries gradually quieted until they fell silent.

Shang Shan quietly took the short sword away and picked up the scabbard to sheath it.

Hu Zhong’s corpse was still bleeding nonstop, his eyes bulging wide in utter unwillingness. If things were as he said, the reason for the murder wasn’t hard to guess.

He must have found Hu Sheng after dinner to ask about the final ownership of the Monster Play Troupe. Not getting the answer he wanted, with alcohol fueling his rage, he struck at Hu Sheng. Only after the kill did panic set in. Spotting Zhang Bai who had come out to relieve himself, he decided to frame him.

Any clear-eyed person could see the terrible relations between the East-West Inn factions—they ignited at the slightest spark. He placed the corpse in the middle of the main road and hid Zhang Bai. When discovered, the two sides would surely argue endlessly amid the chaos of voices, buying time to push the matter aside. Then, in the confusion, he could whisk Zhang Bai away, and no one would suspect him.

With Hu Xinsu’s frail health, he could find some excuse later to seize power. The Monster Play Troupe falling into his hands was only a matter of time.

He staged this whole play, only for it to end in such a ridiculous way. It was hard to know what to say.

After a night of chaos, fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.

Zhang Bai still hadn’t woken, but his injury hadn’t been too severe to begin with, and his condition had stabilized. He should pull through. Mu Qian Tan scolded the crowd, “You could’ve handled this little matter ages ago instead of wasting time arguing.” Both groups hung their heads and took the lecture without a word.

Hu Xinsu gathered the two corpses. The group pooled their money to hire an extra carriage, went to a nearby town to buy two coffins, and temporarily housed the bodies in a temple. They planned to take them home for burial after returning from Pot City.

Then, the group continued onward to Pot City. No matter the grief, the journey they had embarked on could not be halted. The Monster Play Troupe left behind by their old leader had to shine in Pot City.

The carriage rolled along the dirt road, wheels creaking. The curtain was lifted, sunlight poured in, brightening the interior, filled with the faint aroma of tea.

After leaving the East-West Inn, Mu Qian Tan had naturally joined the Monster Play Troupe’s caravan, heading together to Pot City.

They showed enough respect to this immortal, giving her the largest carriage. Mu Qian Tan gladly accepted. No more crane-driving—she could sleep all the way to the destination. It was perfect in every way.

The only imperfection was that the carriage felt a bit too much like a zoo.

“Her name is Ugly Fur.”

The Black Fur Monkey was gnawing on a peach, while Lingdang Princess rubbed her face with her feet. Zhengchun perched on Shang Shan’s shoulder, Red Satin coiled atop her head. They all tilted their heads, curiously eyeing the Black Fur Monkey and the Pink Frog, as if seeing these creatures for the first time and finding them quite intriguing.

Stroking Ugly Fur’s head with both hands, Shang Shan complained, “Why call her that? She’s clearly very pretty.”

Tan Que said, “I think Hu Zhong came up with it on a whim.”

Shang Shan huffed, “Why didn’t he call himself Hu Ugly then?”

Tan Que said, “He’d still be ugly even without the name!”

The two clutched their stomachs and burst into laughter, rolling around the carriage and nearly knocking over the tea table before finally stopping after a good while. Shang Shan rubbed her eyes and swung her feet. “I want to perform with your troupe too.”

Her friend wanted to join the fun, so of course Tan Que wouldn’t refuse. She said happily, “Sure! You have a parrot and a red snake. What do you want to perform?”

Shang Shan laughed. “I want to do Ugly Fur’s act—the monkey swallows the sword!”

Tan Que exclaimed in shock, “You want to swallow a sword?”

Shang Shan nodded. “Yeah! Don’t believe I can? Cough cough, open your eyes wide. Watch me perform it for you.”

Tan Que quickly sat up straight, hugging Lingdang Princess as she watched intently. Shang Shan tilted her head back, pinched the sword tip with one hand, and was about to shove it into her mouth. Suddenly, a little black furry hand reached out in front of her mouth to block it.

Shang Shan froze and looked down. It was Ugly Fur, who had dropped her peach. One paw blocked the sword tip, the other barred her lips, and she even shook her head—as if telling her that it hurt too much and she shouldn’t do it.