"Esteemed officials, please come in!" Li Qing lowered his posture to the utmost, gathering his qi and blood as much as possible, concealing his true martial arts cultivation.
The leading constable, with his hand resting on the hilt of his waist knife, stepped inside. He surveyed the surroundings and then chuckled lightly, nodding his head as he said, "There's no need to be nervous, Blacksmith Li. It's nothing serious, just a routine inquiry."
This was within Li Qing's expectations. If there were truly significant matters involving him, it wouldn't be as simple as just coming to ask questions.
"Feel free to ask anything, esteemed officials. I assure you, I will answer truthfully!" Li Qing promised.
"Have you been frequenting the tavern next door lately?"
Upon hearing this question, Li Qing had a rough idea of why these individuals had come. He felt a slight relief in his heart and replied without changing his expression, "Yes, I do enjoy going to the tavern for a couple of drinks when I'm not busy."
The next moment, the constable revealed the wanted poster that had been posted all over the city. "Then you should have seen this person."
Li Qing glanced at it and affirmed, "I've seen him. I've encountered him a few times at the tavern. I didn't expect him to be the Star Snatcher. Truly unexpected!"
Seeing that Li Qing was quite cooperative, the constable continued to inquire, "Since you know it's him, why didn't you go to the Prince's residence to provide a lead? Don't tell me you don't want that one hundred taels of silver?"
"Don't tell me you haven't seen the wanted poster."
In an instant, the several constables narrowed their eyes, staring intently at Li Qing's expression.
"Esteemed officials, it's truly a misunderstanding. I went to check the wanted poster this morning. Upon recognizing the person in the portrait, I was overjoyed. Unfortunately, someone else jumped out first, another patron who often visits the tavern."
"That patron rushed to the Prince's residence before I could. The information I had was no more than what he knew, so I thought, even if the Prince's residence is grand, they wouldn't pay one hundred taels for the same lead. That's why I didn't go."
It was a reasonable explanation, and it was indeed Li Qing's true thoughts at that time. He wasn't lacking that one hundred taels of silver and didn't want to engage too much with those noble heirs over this matter.
"Hehe, no need to be nervous. We're just asking a few questions. In fact, besides you, there are several others who have drunk at the tavern and haven't gone to the Prince's residence to provide leads on the Star Snatcher."
"Alright, tell us about the process when you saw the Star Snatcher, focusing on describing that person."
Li Qing assumed a thoughtful pose and cooperatively replied, "That person liked to drink from a wine jug."
After a round of questioning, Li Qing quickly pulled out a few pieces of broken silver, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, esteemed officials," while stuffing the silver into a few of their hands.
Thus, the constables left quite satisfied, without lingering or making things difficult for Li Qing.
Li Qing watched them leave, and his thoughts began to drift.
'The search effort is greater than I imagined. What kind of heinous act did the Star Snatcher commit to provoke such anger from the Prince's residence?'
With a sigh, Li Qing planned to close the shop's door, deciding not to go anywhere today to avoid trouble.
However, before he could close the door, another customer approached.
This person was tall and robust, and even the stout Li Qing felt a sense of pressure in front of him, as if facing a giant.
"Are you here to forge or to buy weapons?" Li Qing glanced at the man and asked.
"This knife, did you forge it?" The burly man spoke sparingly, his face tense as if everyone owed him several hundred taels of silver.
Li Qing looked at the long knife in the man's hand and suddenly remembered.
Wasn't this the knife he forged for Zhong Hui? How did it end up in this man's hands? Speaking of which, ever since the Xiao Cuiling incident, Zhong Hui hadn't returned to pay the remaining balance for the forging.
After mentally complaining, Li Qing replied, "Yes, I forged it. Zhong Hui still owes me a balance for it. How did this knife end up in your hands?"
Uncertain of the man's intentions, Li Qing had already become slightly wary. Clang!
The man casually tossed the knife onto the ground and said in a deep voice, "Zhong died. Before he died, he asked me to return the knife. He said he couldn't pay the remaining money, so just consider this knife as payment."
Upon hearing this, Li Qing was slightly taken aback, then sighed as he picked up the knife.
"I see. What a pity. Brother Zhong was such a good person, to die like this is truly unfortunate!"
Li Qing spoke from the heart; it had been less than a month, and he had already received news of a familiar person's death.
This jianghu truly devours people.
"Thank you for this matter. May I ask your name?"
The burly man replied succinctly, "Zhao Yuan!"
"Long time no see!" Li Qing placed the knife properly and cupped his fists in greeting.
Zhao Yuan remained silent, standing still for a moment.
The other party's attitude left Li Qing somewhat puzzled.
"Brother Zhao, is there something else you need?"
At this, Zhao Yuan nodded and replied, "Your knife is well forged. Can you help me forge another weapon?"
So he wanted to forge a weapon, and he only mentioned it after being asked. It was the first time Li Qing had met such an introverted person!
"Of course, no problem. What kind of weapon do you want? Please tell me your requirements."
"A knife, a big knife! A big knife weighing over three hundred jin!" Zhao Yuan said seriously, "How much would that be?"
"For three hundred jin, it would require at least fifty taels of silver." Li Qing thought for a moment and offered a price that was slightly low but not unreasonable.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Zhao Yuan directly took out two silver ingots from his pocket and handed them to Li Qing.
"When can I pick up the knife?"
"In five days!"
"Deal! Be sure to forge me a good knife!"
With that, Zhao Yuan turned and left, his decisiveness making Li Qing question whether he should consider raising his prices in the future.
However, feeling the weight of the two silver ingots in his hand, Li Qing set that thought aside.
Business was still relatively slow, and there was no need to raise prices. By forging a few more weapons for others, he could extend his own lifespan.
Thus, after accepting Zhao Yuan's order, Li Qing temporarily shelved his plans to head to Xiao Cuiling to hunt tigers.
"Sigh, I wonder how that Qi Kang fellow is doing. Can he survive in such chaos at Xiao Cuiling?"
After learning that so many had died at Xiao Cuiling, Li Qing resolved to be more cautious in the future.
There was no need to risk his life for some treasures or opportunities; living steadily was the best!
(End of Chapter)