"Yo, got your paycheck?" After handing over the money and food to Director Zhao, he didn't miss the chance to tease him a bit.

"These days, you have to spend money everywhere. You're not young anymore; you should start saving some." The person standing at the service desk was the owner of this inn. He managed everything his family had here and didn't really hire anyone, doing it all himself.

This small place doesn't have many residents to begin with. Most of the time, the rooms are empty. A temporary worker comes over on weekends to help out. There's no business during the week, but when the weekend comes, those ladies of the night come around. The foreigners from across Xuefu Road find it cheap and clean here, naturally becoming regulars, so by that calculation, he doesn't really lose out, making a little profit.

"I'm just muddling through, getting to the age you mentioned, maybe I can retire and come here to work for you? We two old buddies can play chess and have a few drinks; it'd be perfect."

"There's still a few years until then." The boss laughed heartily at Director Zhao. "Don't forget your umbrella."

How many times has it rained this year? The rain was so dense that it was like a curtain, swishing around. Seeing the weather, it didn't look like anyone would stay at the inn. The boss started tidying up the notebooks on the service desk, then went to the front door, brought the advertisement hanging outside back into the shop, and started closing the doors and windows.

"Bro, did you hear them talking just now? That Director Zhao is the director of the local police station here." Hua Qingyi was tapping the table, and the food on the plate was barely touched.

"We're heading up." Xiao Lin called out to the boss behind him. "We'll take this food up with us, calculate how much it is."

"You can take it up directly, and we'll count it with the room fee. I'll collect the plates when you check out tomorrow." Seeing that they were leaving, the boss squinted his eyes into a line. It wasn't too late yet, but at an old age, working a whole day was tiring.

"Ah, let me take it. How could I let the guests carry plates themselves!" After saying this, the boss closed the door and used a big tray to deliver the dishes and wine from the table to Xiao Lin's room. "Rest well, check out before noon tomorrow."

Once the boss left, Hua Qingyi locked the door. He set the food and wine aside, then took a packet of pills out of his pocket and placed it in front of Xiao Lin. "I got these pills from that entertainment hall. They're pretty common, but if you have money, you can buy drugs."

Xiao Lin picked up the pills, a typical street drug. "Check this out." He opened a kraft paper bag, revealing a dose from the hardware store, much more concentrated than the half pack of pills Hua Qingyi found.

"Isn't this the potion we saw in the Middle East?" Hua Qingyi held up a bottle of pink liquid, shaking it under the light. As it swayed, a layer of transparent substance mixed within it; that was the essence of the whole bottle. "Looks very pure in concentration."

"Oh, this one's for you, for boosting vitality." Xiao Lin threw another bottle of clear liquid to Hua Qingyi with a mischievous grin. "They say it works well, keeps you going all night, perfect for you."

"Bro, am I that pathetic?" Hua Qingyi suddenly wanted to punch the face across from him. If he'd known, he wouldn't have followed him to the North District. If word got out, how would he mingle in Yanjing again!

"How would I know if you're really that pathetic? I wasn't exactly standing next to you, watching you work." Xiao Lin took the bottle from Hua Qingyi's hand, opened the lid, and sniffed it. "Take these back for testing to see the ingredients. It's colorless and odorless; you can't smell anything."

"Should we hand it over to Dragon Soul to handle?" Hua Qingyi cautiously capped the bottle, knowing it might contain toxic substances.

"Not for now, let 'Underworld' handle it. Didn't the old man say there are signs of division within Dragon Soul? Sending it over now would cause trouble."

"Didn't they say they found nothing illegal at the checkpoint entering Yanjing? How did these get past the checkpoint?"

Xiao Lin put the solution back into the kraft paper bag. "Looks like we'll have to stay in the North District a bit longer. Who knows how many such shops are around."

"Bro, are you worried that Fourth Master will use the North District to expand his territory?"

"I'm thinking maybe these drugs were already smuggled into Yanjing through special channels before Fourth Master even arrived. Now that this potion is just hitting the market and hasn't reached the city center yet, it's only circulating in this small area. There could also be similar shops on Xuefu Road across the street. I'm concerned that if these potions spread across all of Yanjing, other cities will start selling them one after another, making it harder for us to stop it."

"Usually, when smuggling into the domestic market, it's easier to use water routes or trains; long-distance buses are easier than air. But every checkpoint has strict security now; without connections, it'd be tough to pass."

"So we should privately investigate their background. Smuggling such a large batch of illegal drugs without detection is unlikely. I suspect there are Fourth Master's people in Yanjing, and they hold high ranks."

Suddenly, flashes of light flickered outside. Xiao Lin walked to the window as familiar police lights roared by, followed by another car. "Looks like something happened outside."

"Do we need to check it out?"

"No, this isn't the time for us to show our faces. It could be just another crime scene, not much related to us." Xiao Lin let down the curtains and returned to the table. "Have someone monitor that hardware store without alerting them first. We'll talk after we find out the source."

"This isn't the Middle East. Fourth Master doesn't have his power range here, so he won't be too blatant."

"Not necessarily. Precisely because this isn't the Middle East, problems are more likely to arise. Hidden things are harder to identify." Xiao Lin lit a cigarette, unsure how deep the waters ran in the North District. Here was a forgotten corner; no one in their right mind would reach into such a poor place, so who knows how much is hidden here.

"We're heading back tomorrow. Dan Qing staying here is inconvenient. Also, don't tell anyone about this, including your old man; my old man came here for the illegal drugs issue. He probably has news on this; our target is Hong Lian, depending on the situation." Xiao Lin didn't think he should intervene in this matter. After all, he wasn't yet the leader of the Xiao Family. Since even Dragon Soul was unaware of it, it was under central jurisdiction; he couldn't interfere publicly or privately unless the old man spoke up. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to recommend votes or monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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