The shopkeeper first went to ask his men, and then went from room to room to ask the tenants if they had seen the three horses.

In order to attract business and welcome guests, the door of the inn was always open, and the men went out to look down the street to see if they could find the whereabouts of the horses.

Alayanzong sat on the front steps of the building, first clearing his mind. He felt that it was impossible for the three horses to get out of the inn on their own, and that the reins should have been tied all the time, and even if the reins were opened, it was impossible for all three horses to break the reins at the same time.

Also, why did three of their horses go missing, while the others are unharmed?

This shows that there are thieves! Then who is here to steal horses? The thieves started stealing horses, and they targeted the three of them, to be exact, against him Alayanzong!

When he first arrived here, if he hadn't met the Bone Urging and Wanyan Clan, he wouldn't know any of the people here, and he would never have dealt with them, let alone have old hatreds.

That's the new grudge!

Offended.

Just offended!

There's no one else but the gangsters!

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the horse thief had something to do with the gangsters, so he stopped worrying and waited for the shopkeeper to come back and learn about the situation from him.

The moon gradually rose, and the sky was much brighter. About half an hour later, the shopkeeper returned to the inn with a few men.

Alayanzong had already sat on the wicker chair in front of the counter, drank four or five cups of tea, and now finally stopped feeling thirsty.

As soon as the shopkeeper entered the room, he saw Alayanzong waiting there, and his face was full of apologies, and he said, "This guest officer, I really can't help it, the horses have not been found. Well, you look at this, you estimate the price, and the store will compensate for it. ”

Seeing that the shopkeeper's attitude was particularly sincere, Alayanzong guessed that he would not be a profiteer, but more like a man of duty, and that losing the horse was not his shopkeeper's wish, so he pushed the cup of tea that had just been poured over and said:

"Shopkeeper, I'll talk about compensation later. I'll tell you something else, maybe it has something to do with the lost horse. ”

When the shopkeeper saw him say this, he sat down beside him, not knowing what he wanted to know, and hurriedly asked, "What do you want to know, guest officer, I know everything." ”

Alayanzong glanced at the few guys standing behind him, "Let's let a few little brothers go back and rest first, and the two of us will talk." ”

The shopkeeper waved his hand, and several guys left one after another, leaving only the shopkeeper on duty sitting at the counter, listening to what they had to say.

Alayanzong asked, "There is a group of gangsters in the city, almost all of them are between sixteen, seventeen, eighteen or nineteen years old, it seems that they have all practiced fists and feet, and they are agile. Is there such a group of people?"

The shopkeeper affirmed without hesitation: "There is such a group of people who often bully people on the street, but no one cares. The key is that they don't bully the locals, they specialize in picking up outsiders to bully, so more locals are better than less, and no one wants to be nosy. ”

Alayanzong nodded, "That's it. ”

The shopkeeper seemed a little nervous, "What's the matter, guest officer, have you met them?"

"They met, and we fought, and I packed them up. ”

"Receive... Harvest... They're street bullies, a dozen or so! Are you alone or the three of you?" the shopkeeper looked like he didn't believe that Alayanzong could beat the gangsters.

Alayanzong waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. I want to ask the shopkeeper, have these people ever stolen anything, or are they vindictive?"

The shopkeeper blinked, took a breath, and said, "I don't know much about this. I've only heard of them bullying people, and I've never heard of anyone beating them, so I don't know if they retaliate, let alone steal or not. ”

Alayanzong took a sip from the teacup, but did not speak, as if thinking.

The shopkeeper continued: "Do you suspect that they stole the horse?"

Alayanzong nodded lightly, and inadvertently saw that the shopkeeper was glancing over here, and when he saw Alayanzong looking at him, he hurriedly lowered his head and pretended to be there to read the account book.

The shopkeeper sighed, "Ouch, if they steal it, there will be some trouble, and it will be difficult to mess with!"

When the Alayan Sect heard this, he asked, "Why is it not easy to mess with?"

The shopkeeper picked up the tea bowl, drank saliva to moisten his throat, and said: "That's the case, there has been a good martial arts style in this city since ancient times, and the teenagers of every family have practiced martial arts since childhood, especially the official eunuchs and wealthy families, and they even invite famous teachers to invite masters to teach children martial arts."

"Those gangsters are almost all children of rich and noble families, and each family is a figure with a head and a face, besides, who doesn't protect the calves. If it was really the horses they stole from, it would be better to say something. If it weren't for the horses they stole, they wouldn't have been able to make something out of nothing. Guest officer, there is no real evidence, I don't think it is easy to go to them. ”

Alayanzong felt that the shopkeeper's analysis made some sense, and nodded again.

He seemed to be complaining to the shopkeeper, and he seemed to be talking to himself: "Looking for evidence is nothing more than human evidence and physical evidence, and human evidence is that someone wants to see them leading the horse, and the physical evidence is naturally the horse." ”

The shopkeeper nodded again and again, "That's it, there is no evidence, we won't provoke them." Even if the guest officer is not afraid, you pat your ass and leave, but my store can't be moved, if they come to me to find fault in the future, I won't be able to do business. ”

"That's that, that's. Alayanzong felt that the shopkeeper's worries were very necessary, and without ironclad evidence, he would not provoke them, not because he was afraid, but because he did not want to cause trouble to the shopkeeper.

Alayanzong continued to analyze: "If they come to steal the horse, even if they will fly the eaves and walk the wall, but the horse will not, and will still pass by the door after all. But Xiao Er said that he didn't see anyone leading the horse. ”

As he spoke, Alayanzong turned his head to look at the guy on duty.

The shopkeeper quickly shook his head, "I... I really didn't see it!"

The shopkeeper also turned his head and asked, "Think about it again, do you have any impressions?"

The shopkeeper shook like a rattle, "No, no impression!"

Alayanzong turned his head and asked the shopkeeper, "By the way, is there a back door in the inn?" ”

The shopkeeper hurriedly replied, "Yes, there is a back door, and there is only a small corner door at the back of the stable, but the back door is usually locked." ”

"Locked?" Alayanzong suddenly thought of something, "Is it locked on the inside, or is it locked outside?"

"Inside. The shopkeeper replied without hesitation.

Alayanzong stood up, "Let's go, let's go and have a look." ”

The shopkeeper also got up, "Okay, I'll go with you." ”

Just when the shopkeeper turned around and was about to go out with Alayanzong, the shopkeeper seemed to have accidentally knocked over the stool, sat on the ground, and hurriedly got up and sat down again.

When the shopkeeper heard the movement, he turned around and said, "It's not good to sit, if you lose the image of the inn, you can stand if you can't do it." ”

The shopkeeper hurriedly straightened his posture and sat there upright.

The shopkeeper's gaffe Alayanzong had already seen it, but he didn't say anything.

The shopkeeper led Alayanzong to the backyard, and there was indeed a small corner door behind the stable, but it was relatively hidden, and he couldn't see it directly when he stood in the yard.

There was an iron lock hanging on the door, and Alayanzong tugged at it, and the lock was very strong, so he asked the shopkeeper, "Who has the key to this lock?"

"There's one at the counter, I've got one here, and one in my room to spare. ”

"How long has it been since this door has been opened?"

"This door is basically not open, and it has been at least half a year since the last opening. ”

"Shopkeeper, go get a lantern or a candle. ”

"What do you mean...... officer?"

"See if anyone has touched this lock?"