Chapter Ninety-Two: Untitled

On the second floor of the Ever-Blessed Inn, after each had claimed a room, the two palace maids who had traveled with Zhu Yu helped him tidy up, while he changed out of his damp clothes.

No sooner had Zhu Yu finished dressing than a knock came at the door.

“Master, I have something to report,” said the man outside. It was Yu Huatian.

At that, Zhu Yu told the two maids still putting the room in order, “You may go out first.”

Though they were outside the palace, the two maids still offered a brief courtesy before leaving the room. And as soon as they were gone, Yu Huatian entered without waiting to be summoned.

Zhu Yu paid it no mind and asked, “What is it? What happened?”

“Master, this inn feels a little off. To be safe, should we take control of the people inside first?”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, just that. Master, people are treacherous; we cannot be too careful.” Yu Huatian’s warning was earnest.

“All right, I know you mean well, but the proprietor seems like a decent person. You’re thinking too much.”

“But...” Seeing Zhu Yu refuse, Yu Huatian tried to persuade him further, only to be cut off.

“Enough. I know you’re meticulous, but we can’t just seize people without cause. What would that make us, if not bandits?

Besides, don’t we still have you? Even if something truly does happen, I believe you can keep me safe.”

Originally Zhu Yu had wanted to say that he was, after all, a first-rate master. But after thinking it over, he could hardly bring himself to mention a master who had never truly exchanged blows with anyone.

“Anything else? If not, let’s go downstairs for supper.”

Hearing this, Yu Huatian shook his head. Seeing that Zhu Yu had no intention whatsoever of considering his advice, he felt somewhat disappointed. Yet at the same time, he was still pleased by the confidence Zhu Yu had shown in him.

And so he thought, with helpless resignation, that for now he could only remain at the emperor’s side, never letting him out of his sight.

What the two men discussing inside the room did not know was that downstairs, the people of the Ever-Blessed Inn were likewise discussing them.

“Xiangyu, what are you thinking? You’d risk your life for money? These people are suspicious enough as it is. With such caution, they’re either of great origin or fleeing for their lives. Either way, we can’t afford to get dragged into it,” Bai Zhantang said through gritted teeth.

“So what if they are? We just do our business. They can’t just go around killing people, can they?

Besides, they’ve booked the whole inn. With so many people eating and staying here, how much silver can that amount to? Have you even done the math?

And they don’t look short of money. They might even tip us. This time I’ll be generous—if they do, you won’t have to hand it over.”

Tong Xiangyu retorted, unwilling to back down.

“Boss, I’m with Old Bai. I just woke up and got dragged out of bed—do I still get to live?” Beside her, a woman in green clothes, eyes half-open, offered her opinion.

“Sleep, sleep, sleep. All you ever do is sleep. Besides sleeping, you’re eating. Guo Furong, tell me, what else can you do? Is it easy for me to keep this inn running? Have you forgotten what happened two days ago? I haven’t even settled that with you yet.”

After saying this, Tong Xiangyu felt even more indignant. She gathered herself, then once again launched into her sorrowful lament.

“I was wrong, I was truly wrong. From the very beginning, I never should have married into this place. If I hadn’t married here, my husband would not have died. If my husband had not died, I would not have fallen into such a heartbroken place. If I had not fallen into such a—”

“Stop! x2”

“I’m done with you. People have already moved in, and you still pull this act. Is there any point?” Bai Zhantang looked at Tong Xiangyu, who was pretending to cry, with exasperation.

“Just this once. Next time I’ll listen to you.”

With that, Tong Xiangyu gave them a little sweetness in return.

“Boss, Old Bai, what exactly are these people? They’ve got you both this scared.” As she spoke, Guo Furong’s curiosity was piqued as well. After all, the two before her were not the sort who had never seen the world.

One was the legendary former thief saint; the other was the young lady of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. What kind of storm had they not weathered? What sort of people could appear once and leave them both speechless?

“I don’t know. They just feel formidable—more frightening than the escort crews from my family’s runs. They don’t even seem like people from the martial world, but every one of them feels like a real expert,” Tong Xiangyu said.

“I can’t quite put it into words either. Killing intent doesn’t feel quite right. It’s more like a kind of ominous presence—do you understand? If this group sets their sights on you, they don’t even need to lift a finger, and you’ll feel as though you’re already dead. It’s terrifying. When I first saw them come in, I thought they were here to arrest me.”

“Oh, come on, Old Bai. You make them sound so sinister. I’ve seen plenty of people from the Eastern Bureau, and none of them were as scary as you make these folks sound.”

Guo Furong thought Tong Xiangyu and Bai Zhantang were teaming up to frighten her.

Bai Zhantang was just about to explain when a dense series of footsteps sounded from upstairs.

At the noise, Bai Zhantang quickly fell silent, terrified of being overheard.

What he did not know was that their conversation had already reached Yu Huatian’s ears, word for word.

After listening to them, Yu Huatian felt his mood improve by a fraction.

The young lady downstairs in green had excellent judgment. She knew the Eastern Bureau was no good; the men of the Western Bureau were indeed stronger than those of the Eastern Bureau.

He did wonder whether the emperor had heard what had just been said. If he had, that would be even better.

First came two elite men of the Western Bureau, going downstairs ahead of the others. Then came Zhu Yu and Yu Huatian, followed by the rest of the party.

Seeing the Western Bureau’s elites, Guo Furong began to understand Old Bai’s description.

“The honored guests are coming down. Please wait a moment—the cook is still in the back working on the dishes. They’ll be ready soon.”

Tong Xiangyu started to rise to greet them, but she was stopped by the two Western Bureau elites who had gone down first.

Seeing this, she did not feel awkward, only let out a couple of dry laughs before turning to Bai Zhantang and Guo Furong. “What are the two of you standing around for? Hurry up and wipe the tables for our guests.”

At her call, the two who had been frozen in place came to themselves and hurried off to work.

Watching their exchange, Zhu Yu smiled politely at Tong Xiangyu and took a seat at random.

What Zhu Yu did not notice was that Guo Furong’s wiping slowed and slowed, her eyes never leaving his face.

At that moment, Guo Furong furrowed her brows and thought hard in secret. Hiss—why does this person look so familiar? Have I seen him somewhere before? No, I must have seen him somewhere. Where was it?

Instinctively, she felt this was important, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not recall it. Only when she noticed that everyone in the hall was staring at her did she come back to herself.

Startled, Guo Furong quickly wiped the table before her a few times and moved on to the next one.

But just as she reached the next table, Bai Zhantang’s voice drifted over quietly from behind her.

“What are you daydreaming about? I’ve already wiped the rest.”