The Lucky Inn.
This was the finest inn in Du Family Town, situated right next door to the Lucky Gambling House.
“Yawn-“
A pretty young girl with her hair tied in twin buns and wearing a pink pleated skirt walked down from the second floor, yawning widely. It was the very same girl riding the white tiger that Jiang Han had encountered in the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range. After descending the mountain, she had headed straight for Du Family Town, checked into the inn, and slept straight through to the present.
The first floor of the inn served as a dining hall. She found an empty table, sat down, and waved over a waiter. “Do you have any Floral Antelope meat? Bring me two catties. And a deep-sea sturgeon. Oh, and a pot of your finest Jade Carved Wine…”
The girl rattled off four or five dishes along with a pot of fine wine. The waiter listened in complete bewilderment. He blinked and said awkwardly, “Guest, we don’t have a single one of those dishes here. In a small place like ours, where would we find such rare mountain and sea delicacies?”
The girl’s face filled with impatience. “Then just bring me a serving of your five best-selling dishes and your finest wine. Meat only, no greens!”
“Right away, guest! Please wait a moment, I’ll have it prepared immediately!”
The waiter had a sharp eye. One look told him this young lady was someone who did not lack money, and he immediately bustled off to get things sorted.
Very quickly, the food and wine were served. The girl grabbed a braised pork joint thicker than her own arm and began to gnaw on it.
Despite her delicate and beautiful appearance, her table manners were anything but elegant. The way she tore into that pork joint resembled a burly man who had been starved for days.
It didn’t take long for the massive joint of meat to be mostly devoured. The girl tore off chunks of meat while taking massive gulps of wine.
In mere moments, a full catty of fine wine vanished into her stomach. The surrounding diners clicked their tongues in secret amazement, all of them quietly guessing which prominent clan this young miss hailed from to be so bold and uninhibited…
The girl paid zero attention to the gazes of the other diners. She buried her head and ate ferociously, covering her mouth and hands in grease. After polishing off another pot of wine, her crystalline little face flushed a rosy red, looking incredibly adorable.
“Whoa! Something huge has happened!”
“This is truly unbelievable…”
Right at that moment, waves of exclamations drifted over from the Lucky Gambling House next door. Hearing the commotion, the diners in the inn lit up with excitement. They quickly abandoned their tables and rushed straight out toward the gambling house.
“So noisy!”
The girl continued eating for a while, but the gambling house remained in a raucous uproar. Furrowing her brows, she beckoned the waiter over. “What are they doing over there? Why is it so loud? It’s ruining my meal.” Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
“Guest, I am truly sorry, but this matter is out of our hands!”
The waiter bowed repeatedly in apology while explaining, “The Lucky Gambling House is right next door. It’s likely that slaughtering fiend, Jiang Han, has caused another massive incident. That’s why the gamblers are so worked up…”
“Slaughtering fiend? What slaughtering fiend?”
The girl curled her lips, speaking noncommittally. “In a backwater little place like yours, you actually have a slaughtering fiend? How many people did he kill? And who did he kill-just commoners?”
“No, not at all!”
The waiter shook his head, his expression turning serious. “Guest, you might not know, but every single person this man killed was a martial artist. Quite a few of them were experts at the ninth level of the Purple Mansion Realm! Over a hundred people were hunting him down, and in just a single day, he slaughtered nineteen of those experts. They say the streams in the Heavenly Fox Mountain Range ran red with blood…”
“Oh?”
A hint of surprise flickered across the girl’s face. She grabbed another pork joint, took a sip of wine, and said, “Tell me the details. If your story is good, I’ll reward you with ten Profound Stones.”
“Ten Profound Stones?!”
The waiter shivered, thinking he had misheard. Even working himself to the bone, he barely earned two Profound Stones a month. Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat and immediately began to vividly recount the tales of Jiang Han.
Inns were places of constant transit, making them the easiest hubs for information to spread. And even if they missed something, the Lucky Gambling House was right next door. They could get their hands on almost any piece of news the moment it broke.
This particular waiter was extremely well-versed in the ins and outs of Jiang Han’s exploits. Starting from the very beginning when Jiang Han killed Jiang Hu and his group, he recounted the cause and the entire sequence of events exactly as they had happened. He even added a few dramatic embellishments of his own, turning the story into a tale as thrilling as a professional storyteller’s performance.
Two incense sticks of time later, the girl had eaten and drunk her fill. She wiped her hands and asked with some confusion, “Jiang Henshui’s son? Why would he slaughter his own clan? What was the reason?”
The waiter hesitated for a moment before leaning in and whispering, “I heard it was because the Third Elder of the Jiang clan wanted to gift Jiang Han’s younger sister to a great personage from higher up as a concubine. Jiang Han was backed into a corner and had no choice but to fight back…”
“Higher up?”
The girl’s interest was instantly piqued. “A great personage from which faction?”
The girl pulled ten Profound Stones from her robes and tossed them onto the table. “Just tell me, and all of these are yours.”
Seeing the ten Profound Stones, the waiter’s eyes lit up. He quickly scanned his surroundings, leaned even closer to the girl, and whispered, “Word came out of Jiang Family Town. They say it’s Lord Han Shiqi of the Yunmeng Pavilion. Whether it’s actually true, this lowly one couldn’t say. But I heard Lord Han will be coming to wed Jiang Han’s sister before long…”
“Han Shiqi?”
The girl’s eyes flickered. This time, she didn’t press for more details. Pointing at the Profound Stones on the table, she said, “These are all yours. Go find out what just happened over there, and bring me a portrait of Jiang Han.”
“Many thanks, Miss!”
Overjoyed, the waiter scooped up the Profound Stones and immediately scurried off to the gambling house to gather news.
A brief moment later, the waiter returned, clutching a wanted poster bearing Jiang Han’s likeness. He whispered excitedly, “The latest news just came in. Jiang Han launched a surprise attack on Jiang Family Town! He killed four people and even burned down the Jiang family’s Elder Courtyard! This is a portrait of Jiang Han.”
The girl took the portrait and swept her eyes over it. An ‘I knew it’ expression appeared on her face. She broke into a wide grin, revealing two small canine teeth, and muttered to herself, “Quite interesting.”
Having received such a massive windfall today, the waiter was naturally in exceedingly high spirits. He eagerly flattered her, “Miss, this lowly one can tell your background is extraordinary. Do you think Jiang Han’s bizarre abilities are truly divine abilities? I’ve never heard of anyone Awakening a divine ability while in the Purple Mansion Realm. Could it be… it really is some kind of demonic art?”
“Nine times out of ten, it’s a divine ability!”
The girl considered it for a moment before speaking slowly, “Just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The outside world is vast and boundless, filled with all manner of wonders. Earth-shattering geniuses emerge endlessly. Let alone Awakening a divine ability in the Purple Mansion Realm, there are even those born with innate divine abilities. Those are called Innate Dao Embryos.”
“Demonic arts? Demonic arts, my foot. If someone practices a demonic art, even the lowest-tier martial artist would be able to sense their sinister, evil aura…”
“Since there’s a good show to watch, this lady will stay here for a few more days.”
The girl stood up and stretched lazily. Tossing out a few more Profound Stones, she turned and headed back up to the second floor.
Inside her room on the second floor, the girl gazed out the window and let out a cold snort. She muttered, “Han Shiqi, you old dog. I’ve long heard you were rotten to the core and guilty of monstrous crimes. Now, I finally have the chance to catch you red-handed. Let’s see how you explain yourself to the Penal Law Hall later.”