Chapter 234: The Third Master

The inn inside was already closed, the tables wiped clean, and the chairs stacked upside down on them. The street outside was bustling with activity, but this, the largest shop on the street, was quiet and empty.

The waiter looked at the fiery-red, heroic, and spirited girl before him, remembering the dark talk he had just spoken which she had fully understood. His face burned.

Zhang Xia saw the waiter staring blankly and waved her hand in front of him, "What are you thinking about?"

The waiter nervously glanced at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper pushed aside the abacus and ledger on the counter, walked out with a majestic stride, and cupped his hands, saying, "Truly, a great flood has rushed into the Dragon King's Temple. Forgive my humble waiter's lack of skill, showing off before you all and making a fool of myself. According to Jianghu rules, pretending to be divine and playing ghosts in front of a superior but failing means I must stab myself to resolve the offense."

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man, dressed in a short, black, tight-fitting outfit. He didn't look like a shopkeeper, but more like a镖头 (biāotóu - dart head) who traveled the country.

His face was ruddy and full, his temples bulged, and he spoke with the resonance of a large bell, clearly a trained practitioner.

Strange rhyming couplets of jargon at the entrance, a trained practitioner as a shopkeeper – this Long Men Inn (龙门客栈 - Lóngmén Kèzhàn) was exceptionally mysterious.

It was warm inside the room. Chen Ji took off his large cloak from his shoulder and hung it on his arm, saying flatly, "There's no need to stab yourself. Since the shopkeeper is so open, we have no reason not to forgive."

The little waiter exhaled in relief.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, "I'll make a decision. How about I waive your room fees?"

At this point, Chen Ji shook his head, "We're planning to stay for a long time. I'm afraid that would be too much for the shopkeeper. There's no need to waive the room fees. Just prepare three rooms for us..."

Zhang Zheng quickly interrupted, "One room. Just prepare one Di Zi Hao (地字号 - Dì Zì Hào - Earth Character Number) room for us. We just need a few more beds and quilts, and we'll pay extra."

The waiter doubtfully said, "We still have many empty rooms in our inn."

The shopkeeper pressed the waiter's shoulder and smiled, saying, "The guest is paramount. However many rooms the guest wants, we'll prepare that many. Don't talk nonsense. But since you are so magnanimous, my Long Men Inn cannot be unappreciative. I will arrange a Tian Zi Hao (天字号 - Tiān Zì Hào - Heaven Character Number) A room for you, and charge the price of a Di Zi Hao A room, how about that?"

Zhang Zheng lowered his voice, asking in a whisper, "We already said forget it, why is he still hung up on it?"

Zhang Xia replied, "These are Jianghu rules. We should accept the favor, and then the matter will be settled. After we leave, we can't mention this again, so as not to shame Long Men Inn."

"So that's how it is..."

Zhang Xia, learning from the men, cupped her fists and smiled, "If we decline again, it will be disrespectful to the shopkeeper. We accept the favor and will stay in the Tian Zi Hao room."

The shopkeeper politely cupped his hands, "Thank you all for your generosity. Little Six, lead the guests to the Tian Zi Hao A room."

"Yes," Little Six replied, bowing to Chen Ji and the others, "Guest officers, this way please."

He stepped onto the wooden floor of the inn, which creaked.

Just as they were about to go up the wooden stairs, Chen Ji suddenly perked up his ears, seemingly hearing a rustling sound from below. This sound... was like a sharp iron tool grinding back and forth on a whetstone.

Chen Ji's step paused, and the grinding sound from underground also stopped.

Little Six stood in the middle of the stairs and turned his head, "What's wrong, guest officer?"

"Nothing, let's go," Chen Ji smiled and lifted his foot to follow.

After Chen Ji and the others went up to the second floor, someone flipped down from the shadows on the beam, landing lightly beside the shopkeeper.

It was a limping waiter, holding a kitchen knife, "Shopkeeper, is it a cold-faced point (official) or an eagle claw (spy)?"

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and looked towards the end of the stairs, "Doesn't seem like it. Official masters might not be so easy to talk to."

"The eunuch party?"

The shopkeeper put his hands behind his back and thought for a moment, "If it were the eunuch party, they would directly come and ransack my inn. They wouldn't pretend to be guests. You've also seen the eunuch party in Gu Yuan city; they are the most lawless ones."

"Then who are they?"

The shopkeeper thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out, "Recently, there are many demons and monsters in Gu Yuan. Who knows where they came from."

The waiter tentatively said, "Jing Dynasty spies?"

The shopkeeper's eyes shifted, "Doesn't seem like it either. But you go out tomorrow and investigate. These few people seem to have just arrived in Gu Yuan. Maybe someone saw them when they entered the city. But you must be careful; don't get caught by these crossing-the-river dragons."

The waiter didn't understand, "Those few people don't look particularly difficult."

The shopkeeper said calmly, "What is a crossing-the-river dragon? A crossing-the-river dragon is someone who clearly sees that this place is unusual yet still dares to walk in."

The man asked in a low voice, "What are they here for?"

The shopkeeper returned behind the counter and said slowly, "Guests who come to my Long Men Inn must have heard rumors and are looking for something. No rush. If I don't find them, they will come to find me sooner or later. We'll know then."

Just at this moment, the thick cotton curtain was lifted, and the cold air from outside rushed in, causing the inn's candlelight to flicker.

The waiter turned and said, "Guest officer, are you staying or... Third Master! A rare guest. Didn't you go to the capital?"

The newcomer was a middle-aged man with a long saber hanging from his waist. His left eye was blind, with only white left in the socket, a fierce intensity burning within.

He brushed the dust from his body, took out a copper coin from his sleeve, and threw it across the air towards the shopkeeper with forceful momentum.

The shopkeeper leaned back slightly, and two fingers in front of his nose clipped the copper coin. He examined the coin in front of him, seeing the two characters "灯火" (dēnghuǒ - lamplight) cast on it.

The shopkeeper's gaze brightened as he asked, "Third Master, is the supervisor master back in Gu Yuan?"

Third Master said calmly, "More and more lawless. Is the supervisor master's business something you can inquire about?"

The shopkeeper's face darkened, "Being polite, I call you Third Master. If not for you being an attendant to the supervisor master, what are you? When you were under the general, you were just a defeated soldier. I just asked if the supervisor master is back in Gu Yuan, why are you so anxious?"

Third Master let out a cold laugh, "Put away your little thoughts. The supervisor master is not someone you can speculate about. If you break the rules again, I will kill you."

The shopkeeper sneered and rolled up his sleeve to his forearm, "Just you?"

Third Master's left hand pressed on the saber hilt, "Try me."

Tension was thick in the air. The waiter quickly smoothed things over, "Two masters, there are still many guests in the inn. Don't alarm them; otherwise, everyone will be punished by the supervisor master. Shopkeeper, Third Master brought the lamplight copper coin, surely for a proper reason."

The shopkeeper was silent for several breaths, then rolled down his sleeve again and said lazily, "Speak, what matter brings you to my Long Men Inn?"

Third Master asked coldly, "Just now several people entered your inn. Arrange them in the room next door for me. Remember, don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't say what you shouldn't say."

The shopkeeper looked upstairs suspiciously, then turned his head and asked, "Wait, who are these few people, that you actually came to watch them? Is this your business, or the supervisor master's business?"

Third Master did not answer.

The shopkeeper asked again, "Are they to be killed, or do they carry something the supervisor master wants? If they have something the supervisor master wants, I'll just kill them at midnight and take it to the supervisor master."

Third Master said impatiently, "Are you finished or not? The supervisor master is not in Gu Yuan; I came back alone."

"Then why didn't you say so earlier!" The shopkeeper suddenly lost interest and waved his hand, not looking at him again, "Little Five, lead Third Er to the Tian Zi Hao B room. Right, call up the guest in Di Zi Hao C later; he should be sent away."

Third Master raised his eyebrows at the call of "Third Er" but finally said nothing.

Inside the Tian Zi Hao A room, Xiao Man squatted on the ground laying mats. Zhang Zheng sat on a chair nearby, bored and using iron tongs to poke the charcoal that had just ignited in the charcoal basin.

Xiao Man glared at him fiercely, "What are you doing? Lay your own bed yourself!"

Zhang Zheng said lazily, "Can't you help me lay it?"

Xiao Man glared at him, "I am the young master's maid, not your maid."

Zhang Zheng's eyes widened, "Why do you always find me displeasing? Everything you say is with guns and sticks."

Xiao Man smoothed the mat with both hands and said unhurriedly, "Someone who seeks flowers and asks willows still wants others to speak well of them. Don't lead my young master astray."

Zhang Zheng quickly explained, "When I seek flowers and ask willows, I mean I disdain even a glance at those top courtesans! Although my brothers nearby are like this, I am pure."

Xiao Man sneered, "Yes, yes, yes. In a pot of plain rice, you are the only grain of uncooked rice."

Zhang Zheng opened his mouth but was speechless for a long time.

Zhang Xia by the window turned her head, "Are you two incompatible? Why are you always arguing... Hush!"

Just as she was speaking, footsteps were heard from outside the door.

Chen Ji was originally standing on the edge of the window frame with Wu Yun, silently looking outside through the gap. At this moment, he suddenly turned around, his gaze following the sound, as if seeing the figure in the corridor through the door and wall.

The next moment, the door next door creaked, someone pushed the door open and entered the room, and then there was no more sound.

Zhang Xia dipped her finger in the teacup and wrote on the table, "It's a guest of Long Men Inn."

Chen Ji frowned and shook his head, also dipping his finger in the water, "We just moved into room A, and immediately someone moved into room B. Be careful; walls have ears."

Zhang Xia nodded, turned around, and whispered an explanation to Zhang Zheng and Xiao Man.

Chen Ji turned back and cast his gaze outside again.

The Tian Zi Hao rooms in Long Men Inn were on the third floor, already the highest point in Gu Yuan city. He could gaze far, even seeing the flickering firelight on the distant city wall, with the border army soldiers coming and going like small black ants.

Inside the city wall, short earthen houses were scattered high and low. On the densely packed rooftops, powerful figures occasionally jumped to and fro.

Looking closer, Long Men Inn's backyard was spacious, with stables, wood sheds, a kitchen, and cattle sheds all complete. Singing and drinking sounds drifted over from the neighboring brothel.

Xiao Man finished laying the mats and walked to Chen Ji's side, saying in a low voice, "Young master, rest early."

Chen Ji shook his head, took the teacup, and dipped water to write on the window frame, "You all sleep first. I'll stand guard for the first half of the night, and Xiao Man, you stand guard for the second half."

Xiao Man's heart jumped, *Ah me.*

She suddenly felt a little guilty. It was strange; with the big man Zhang Zheng here, why would the young master ask her to stand guard? Could the young master have seen through something? Had the young master discovered her official identity? Had the young master discovered something else?

Many thoughts flashed through Xiao Man's little brain, a chaotic mess. She had originally planned to probe her young master, but her young master's single sentence had thrown her off balance.

Deep into the night.

Zhang Xia slept on the ground mat in the inner room. Zhang Zheng tilted his head and slept on the ground mat in the outer room. The room's Eight Immortals table had been moved to one side, freeing up sleeping space. In the end, no one slept on the beds; everyone slept on the ground.

Xiao Man moved a small chair to sit by the charcoal basin, no longer sleepy. Chen Ji stared outside, while her round, slippery eyes stared at Chen Ji's back, unsure of what she was thinking.

At this time, even the singing from the brothel next door had stopped. Chen Ji's gaze, however, became fixed, and he became alert.

In the darkness, a waiter was seen sneaking out of the octagonal building, followed by a fat, silk-clad fatty. The two of them walked all the way towards the stable.

Upon entering the stable, the thatch shed blocked the line of sight, and Chen Ji could no longer see the two figures.

A moment later, the waiter walked out of the stable, cautiously looking around. After confirming it was safe for a while, he tightened his collar in the cold wind, exhaled into his hands, rubbed them together, and returned to the octagonal building.

The fat-headed, big-eared fatty had disappeared forever inside the stable.