The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 17 Drinking tea at a tea shop, Taihe Money Exchange robbed

"You could say it's very similar to lightning in the sky. Just like a horse needs grass and a person needs food, this thing needs electricity. And the electricity comes from the sky. However, you can't use lightning; you need electricity from the sun. If it's safe on the ship, I do have something that can generate electricity using sunlight that I can show you."

"Was that also given by that reclusive master?" Qingwei continued to ask.

"Yes," Luo Yifei replied without saying anything more.

As the sun sets and the sky is filled with stars, the moon of this planet appears much dimmer. This moon isn't called the Moon; the people of the Floating Continent call it Nightfall Star.

The group fell silent, all exhausted from a day's journey. Qi Yuan went to relieve Bi Li and rode off on horseback.

……

Not long ago, Sanmu saw Fan Ye catching up from behind. He ran even harder.

However, his obese body made running quite strenuous, and he soon began to pant heavily, his pace gradually slowing down.

Fan Ye stopped behind him, and only slowly walked up after Sanmu stopped and caught his breath.

Sanmu was too exhausted to run any further, his face flushed as he gasped for breath.

"Let's go rest at that teahouse up ahead." Fan Ye said, ignoring Sanmu, and walked over on his own.

Fan Ye ordered a pot of tea, poured himself a cup and drank it all in one gulp, then poured the rest directly into a bowl.

The tea shop owner, seeing the fierce-looking new customer, didn't dare ask any questions and quietly brewed tea, occasionally refilling tea for other customers.

This place is close to the city gate. Merchants and travelers who come in from the north gate, unless they are from wealthy families who have made arrangements for them, will stop by the shopkeeper's shop to rest and order a pot of tea to quench their thirst.

But this burly man chased a fat man all the way from the city. The fat man was still leaning against the wall, panting, while the burly man arrived at the teahouse, sat down, ordered a pot of tea, and started drinking it himself.

The tea shop owner had been operating at this city gate for many years and naturally sensed that this person had ill intentions. However, there were still some guards at the city gate, so there was no need to worry about this person overturning his stall.

Sanmu, panting, rested for a while until his breathing gradually calmed down. He slowly walked to the teahouse and came to Fan Ye's table. He picked up a bowl stacked on the table and poured tea from the pot, but the pot was empty before the bowl was full. Sanmu picked up the bowl and gulped it down.

"Boss, two more pots, please," Fan Ye called out to the tea shop owner.

Hearing the burly man's shouts of "Buy!", the tea shop owner quickly brought over two pots of tea and removed the empty pots from the table.

“Come with me from the North Gate later. Qi Yuan will come to redeem you, right?” Fan Ye said to San Mu.

Sanmu continued drinking tea without answering. He only stopped after finishing both pots of tea.

"Give me all the silver."

Sanmu knew he couldn't beat Fan Ye, and besides, causing trouble at the city gate wouldn't end well, so he obediently took out his money pouch.

There was no silver inside, only some copper coins. Fan Ye took the money bag, took out three copper coins, and placed them on the table.

The tea shop owner glanced at the copper coins on the table, pointed to the sign hanging in the shop, and said to the two, "One copper coin for one pot of tea refers to copper coins minted by the Southern Han Dynasty. In the City of Freedom, it takes 19 copper coins to equal one."

Fan Ye's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he glanced at the tea shop owner. The owner bowed respectfully.

Fan Ye emptied all the copper coins from the money bag, leaving exactly three strings and six copper coins, with each string containing 20 copper coins.

Fan Ye untied the bag containing the paper money and counted the coins one by one.

Meanwhile, at Taihe Money Shop, Fan Ye's men were counting the bags of silver that the manager had handed over.

Not long after Luo Yifei finished withdrawing the money and left, the door of Taihe Money Exchange was closed by several people who had been waiting inside.

Those men were Fan Ye's subordinates; they were the ones who robbed Qi Yuan and his group on the road in the Western Shu Kingdom that night.

The moment the door closed, the guards of Taihe Money House were about to make a move when a dagger was already pressed against their necks by Fan Ye's men.

At the same time, the other men had already placed their daggers against the throats of the Taihe Money Shop employees.

The shopkeeper was led to the backyard with a knife to his neck. The guards and waiters were also pushed to the backyard.

People passing by Taihe Money Shop were quite puzzled, as Taihe Money Shop never closed, yet it was closing early today.

Meanwhile, the informants planted by Taihe Money Exchange across the street immediately went to the government to report the case.

All the people from Taihe Money Shop were tied up in the backyard, and the manager was forced to fill the bags of several people.

Soon, the shopkeeper was also tied up. The group slipped out from the back and blended into the crowd before the officials arrived, scattering in all directions.

When the officers and soldiers arrived at the bank, they saw that everyone was tied up and began a search and arrest operation.

At the north gate of Shigang Town, the group that robbed Taihe Money Exchange mingled with the procession leaving the city. There was also a manure cart in the procession.

Just after the manure cart left the city, Fan Ye and Sanmu joined the queue behind it.

Just as news of the manhunt reached the city gates, Fan Ye had just come out of the city.

When the officers and soldiers searched to the north gate of Shigang Town, Fan Ye's men had already mounted their horses and were galloping away.