It took another full hour before everyone finally descended to the foot of the mountain.
According to Qin Gang's instructions, the main road lay ahead after reaching the base.
As they emerged from the woods and stepped onto the main road, they discovered that the surroundings were desolate wilderness and farmland, still nearly twenty miles away from Hetou Village.
Walking on the main road, Liu Rumei pulled Chen Xiaobei aside and whispered, "A few days from now, I want to bring some food and supplies for Grandpa Qin and the others."
Xiaobei considered for a moment and nodded, "This must be kept quiet. You can bring people up stealthily then."
Liu Rumei nodded, then pointed discreetly behind them, "Grandpa Qin just warned us not to reveal the secret passage down the mountain to outsiders."
Chen Xiaobei naturally understood Liu Rumei's intention. He deliberately slowed his pace and walked up to Chen Daqiang and Chen Sanliang. "You two listen carefully, no one is allowed to speak of this, not even to your wives."
"If this matter leaks out, you two will no longer be village guards."
The two nodded repeatedly, "Understood, understood."
They both knew the importance of the situation. Losing their positions as village guards meant being kicked out by Chen Xiaobei, a significant loss. This whole experience was no more significant to them than a few bowls of chicken.
By the time they reached Hetou Village, it was already dark. Chen Xiaobei led them on another large detour, carefully crossing the river on the ice from the opposite bank. They walked until they reached the foot of Qingniu Mountain, then circled around to the mountain's base, emerging from the foothills once more.
This was to create the illusion that they had come down from the mountain, and it fit the timeline perfectly, as Chen Xiaobei and the others had said they would return before dark.
As the group returned, the entire Hetou Village buzzed with excitement.
Cui Hongyu quickly organized people to prepare a feast to welcome them.
...
Meanwhile, at Sihai Restaurant in Xiaojia Town.
That evening, another table of guests arrived. They were all unfamiliar faces, and upon entering, they requested a large private room on the second floor.
Doing business, one naturally welcomes all guests with a smile. Feng Xiaoyue quickly ushered them into the room and instructed the staff to serve tea.
The middle-aged man at the head of the group waved his hand at Feng Xiaoyue. "Innkeeper, bring us your finest wine and dishes."
As he spoke, he took a silver ingot from his sleeve and placed it on the table.
Feng Xiaoyue smiled and approached, pouring a cup of tea for the man. "Esteemed sir, please wait a moment, the food and wine will be served shortly."
She said this, put down the teapot, casually took the silver ingot, gave a slight bow, and turned to leave.
However, the middle-aged man grabbed her hand. "Ah, proprietress, why the hurry? Would you do me the honor of sitting down for a drink with me?"
Having worked at Sihai Restaurant for so long, Feng Xiaoyue had seen her share of patrons. She had encountered many such businessmen and knew that this kind of situation could be dangerous. The best course of action was to appease them.
With that in mind, Feng Xiaoyue gave a slight bow and stepped back, using the opportunity to break free from the man's grip.
"Esteemed sir, please wait. I will fetch the wine to accompany your drink."
After speaking, Feng Xiaoyue turned and left, retrieved a pot, and re-entered the private room. She poured a cup of wine for the middle-aged man and another for herself.
Then, she raised her cup. "Sir, please."
The middle-aged man raised his cup and drank it down in one gulp. Feng Xiaoyue, clearly careless and unsuspecting, downed her cup in a few gulps.
But as soon as the wine went down, Feng Xiaoyue felt a wave of dizziness and her vision went black. She fainted.
A cold smirk flickered across the middle-aged man's lips. "Such a greenhorn, to be so easily drugged."
He then gestured to a young man beside him, who immediately stepped forward.
The young man unfastened his robe, revealing a densely coiled rope around his waist. He untied the rope and bound Feng Xiaoyue to himself.
At this point, someone had already stepped forward and opened the window of the private room.
Outside the window was a wall. This was the back of Sihai Restaurant, facing away from the bustling streets of Xiaojia Town. Beyond the wall lay farmland.
The young man leaped out the window and quickly disappeared.
The middle-aged man waved his hand, and everyone returned to their seats.
Soon, a waiter brought the food and wine. The middle-aged man, acting as if nothing had happened, urged everyone to eat and drink.
They devoured the meal with gusto, quickly finishing their food and drink. They went downstairs, paid the bill in silver, and then left noisily.
As Sihai Restaurant was preparing to close, Xiao Mu, who had been busy all evening, finally came to his senses. He suddenly asked several waiters, "Huh? Where did Sister Xiaoyue go? I feel like I haven't seen her all night?"
At Xiao Mu's question, everyone looked at each other, recalling. "That's right, that's right, we haven't seen Proprietress Xiaoyue for a long time."
Xiao Mu panicked and searched from the front yard to the back, from the first floor to the second, but found no trace of her.
The group gathered again, recounting the last time they had seen Feng Xiaoyue. Finally, a young waiter said, "I remember Proprietress Xiaoyue going to entertain guests in the second-floor private room. She even asked me for a pot of wine, saying she wanted to have a drink with the guests."
"Yes, yes, but when I went to serve dishes later, I didn't see her."
Xiao Mu shook his head. "That doesn't add up. My sister wasn't in there when those people left!"
The waiter became a little anxious. "Really, really!"
Xiao Mu stomped his foot and led the way to the second floor. He entered the private room, which was a mess of dishes and bowls, but there was no sign of Feng Xiaoyue.
"That's strange, where could she have gone?" Several people sat down helplessly, looking at each other.
Just then, they heard someone shouting from the first-floor lobby, "Sister, Sister, it's time to close, isn't it?"
Hearing this voice, Xiao Mu's eyes lit up. This was Xiao Yatou's voice. He rushed downstairs from the second floor in three steps. "Sister Xiao Yatou, something bad has happened, Sister Xiaoyue is missing."
Xiao Yatou's eyes widened. "How can a living person just go missing?"
"It's true, it's true! They said a table of guests came and wanted Proprietress Xiaoyue to drink with them, but after that, she was never seen again."
Xiao Yatou also became anxious upon hearing this and rushed with Xiao Mu to the second-floor private room.
"It was in this room, and no one saw her after that. But when the guests left, it was the same people who arrived," Xiao Mu stammered a bit.
Xiao Yatou's eyes widened as she scanned the room. Finally, her gaze fell on the window. She walked over and pushed the window open with a sweep of her hand.
After looking around the window for a long time, everyone discovered a clue. When viewed from a specific angle, there was a faint footprint on the windowsill.
Xiao Yatou reached for an oil lamp and leaped out the wall.
She lit the oil lamp, squatted down, and examined it closely. There were two deep footprints, and it was clear they were made recently.
Seeing this, Xiao Yatou exclaimed, "Oh dear, Sister Xiaoyue must have been abducted through the window!"