Chapter 333: Encounter

Before reaching the remote town, they passed a lone inn, a tattered wine flag fluttering weakly outside.

Chen Pingan sloshed his wine gourd, deciding to replenish his supply. He could discern the quality of wine; he had tasted the Forget-Worry Wine of Yellow Millet Paradise and the mellow brew of Osmanthus Island. He wasn't too particular about the tavern swill of roadside establishments, either.

Outside the inn, a scrawny yellow dog lay basking in the sun. Spotting Chen Pingan and his companions from afar, it shot to its feet, baring its teeth and barking ferociously.

What kind of hospitality was this?

A little cripple, wielding a knife, rushed out, pointing the blade at the dog. "Bark again, and I'll take your dog head!" he threatened with surprising force.

The dog, suddenly subdued, slunk back to the ground.

The lame boy looked up, spotting the rare sight of travelers. Quickly hiding the knife behind his back, he grinned, "Don't be afraid, esteemed guests! This isn't a black-hearted inn. We run an honest business!"

The gaunt, hobbling youth, seemingly afraid the travelers would turn and flee, took the initiative. He turned and shouted into the main hall, "Landlady, we have guests! Quickly wipe down the tables! We have your favorite kind: handsome young gentlemen, scholars even!"

Having announced the good news, the inn attendant turned back, bowing and gesturing, "Esteemed guests, please come in! Our landlady has a family recipe for plum wine, and my master makes the best roasted whole lamb this side of the border! It's unique!"

Chen Pingan and his companions entered the inn.

The main hall was for eating and drinking, with few tables, suggesting a lack of business. The second floor offered rooms. The hall was currently empty save for a woman perched on a long bench, cracking melon seeds. She glanced askance at the cripple's so-called scholars, not holding out much hope. That little grub, raised in a cesspool, wouldn't know the meaning of "handsome" if it bit him.

The woman wore a red silk robe with yellow floral patterns, a style showing prosperity, although time had taken its toll, giving it a greasy sheen.

The woman was plump and rosy-cheeked, with an alluring figure. Moreover, her fair complexion hid any flaws. She was already in her thirties, but still wouldn't lose out to those pretty, fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girls.

Her eyes brightened. With a delicate, charming "Oh my!" she dropped a handful of melon seeds to the floor, casually shuffling them under the table with her embroidered shoes. She swayed her slender waist, moving toward Chen Pingan like a serpent. With a slap, she lightly patted the shoulder of the handsome young man in white robes, squeezing it casually. She hadn't expected to find such a treasure. Not only handsome, but with some strength to him, not one of those pretty-boy weaklings!

Seeing her overreach, aiming for his chest, Chen Pingan sidestepped, causing her hand to miss. He chuckled, "Landlady, I'd like to buy three or five jins of wine, no food or lodging. I'll be on my way after. I heard your establishment has a family recipe for plum wine. How much is it?"

The woman reluctantly withdrew her hand. "Young master is in such a hurry to get to Fox Town? I wouldn't scare you just to drum up business, but that place is often haunted by ghosts and demons, capable of driving people mad. It's worse this year. Many merchants and travelers have suffered. No one's died, but they're all running around crazy, needing someone to hold their hands. So, young master, why not stay at our inn? We have plum wine, as much as you want, at a fair price. The best five-year brew is only a tael of silver for two jugs. And a whole roasted lamb! Fill your belly, stay the night..."

Here, the woman raised an eyebrow, filled with spring passion. "This sister will personally bring you your foot-washing water."

Pei Qian's mouth watered. The words "roasted whole lamb" stopped her in her tracks.

She wiped her mouth and tugged lightly on Chen Pingan's sleeve.

Chen Pingan considered it, then asked Wei Xian, "Can you drink?"

Wei Xian nodded. "I have a bottomless stomach."

Chen Pingan turned to the landlady and smiled, "We won't be staying, but we'll have a meal. Besides the wine for the table, prepare an extra five jins of plum wine for me to take away."

The woman waved at the little cripple. "Go pick out a lamb for your old hunchback master! Remember, it needs to be a good balance of fat and lean. Pay attention, and stop thinking you'll find some cheap master to teach you peerless skills. That kind of luck won't fall on you! Now, hurry up and get going!"

The boy muttered under his breath, then dashed off.

The three sat down. As the bench was empty, the woman went to the counter, grabbed a few small dishes of snacks, and placed them on the table. Then she sat across from Chen Pingan. "Judging from your accent, young master, you're not from Daquan? You're a scholar traveling for study? From Bei Jin?"

Chen Pingan smiled. "From even further south."

The woman leaned forward, grabbing a handful of dried fruit she'd bought from Fox Town. Her ample breasts pressed heavily against the table. She noticed the young gentleman always smiled at her face with pure eyes. This surprised her. Were there really cats that didn't eat fish? She smiled and asked, "Shall we have some wine first? I can keep you company. When the roasted lamb arrives, we'll be pleasantly tipsy, and then tearing off golden, oily lamb legs...the taste is divine!"

Chen Pingan nodded in agreement.

The woman fetched a jug of wine and four large white bowls from a stack. Breaking the mud seal, she poured wine into the bowls. The plum wine was an amber color, exceptionally clear and unclouded. Just one glance would intoxicate a true wine lover. The woman was quite pleased, and smiled as she introduced her family recipe, explaining the different ages: half-year, three-year, and five-year brews. Even the worst, the half-year brew, had once been praised by a wandering hero from the capital, who, after drinking it, raised his thumb and exclaimed that Daquan's capital didn't have such a fine wine.

Pei Qian, with a naive face, asked, "People from the capital only drink the half-year brew?"

The woman was caught off guard, quickly recovering. "That hero was just trying it out first. Later, he bought several jins of the five-year brew, just like your young master."

Pei Qian's smile didn't reach her eyes. She feigned understanding. "Oh, I see. People from Daquan's capital are really not generous. Buying some wine, and they have to try it first? Unlike my...dad. He'd just buy the most expensive five-year brew..."

Chen Pingan flicked her forehead, causing her to clutch her head in pain.Chen Ping’an shifted the large bowl of plum wine in front of Pei Qian to Wei Xian on his other side, allowing the self-proclaimed "inexhaustible" founding emperor of the Nanyuan Kingdom to have two bowls for himself. Two bowls shouldn't be a problem for him.

Pei Qian rubbed her head, feeling aggrieved, "Can't I even have a tiny sip? We've walked so far, I'm thirsty, and my throat is burning!"

The little girl's lips were cracked and almost bleeding. If it weren't for the demon-suppressing talisman on her forehead, which unleashed her incredible stamina, she definitely wouldn't have made it to this inn.

Money makes the world go round, or rather, a talisman makes her travel. In the end, it all comes down to money.

Chen Ping’an chuckled, "Who uses wine to quench thirst? Go ask the proprietress for a bowl of water later."

Pei Qian glanced at the flashy old woman, snorted coldly, crossed her arms, and turned her head away, refusing to look at the woman.

The woman didn't mind and got up to bring a bowl of tea, placing it gently in front of Pei Qian. "Drink, it's on the house."

Pei Qian immediately held the bowl with both hands and gulped it down in one breath.

She wouldn't pass up a free drink. She disliked the old woman, but not the tea in front of her.

Chen Ping'an and Wei Xian exchanged a look.

Chen Ping'an sighed inwardly, thinking that this innkeeper was no pushover. She held grudges just as much as Pei Qian. Just now, when she was facing away from them, she secretly spat into the bowl of tea, twisted her wrist, swirled the tea slightly, and placed it on the table, leaving no trace.

However, the plum wine truly was exceptional. Apart from not containing any spiritual energy, it was already comparable to the osmanthus wine on the island ferry. He definitely had to fill his gourd with it later. If that wasn't enough, he'd have Wei Xian carry a few more jars. Since he dared to call himself inexhaustible, he must be a lover of wine.

Chen Ping'an sipped the approachable and charming plum wine, which burned like hot coals going down but warmed his stomach. His mood improved, and he asked, "Proprietress, have you ever heard of the Yao family's border army?"

The woman casually replied, "Of course. Everyone who makes a living on the border knows about the Yao family's iron cavalry. I'm not boasting, but a young general surnamed Yao once brought a group of followers to my inn, devoured an entire roasted lamb, and left a huge silver ingot on the table. But those soldiers, even when they're just eating and drinking, are intimidating. I don't dare to get close. I always feel like they're carrying a murderous aura."

The woman gently patted her chest, but her already taut clothing seemed to struggle under the weight.

Chen Ping'an asked, "Does the Yao family's border army have a good reputation?"

The woman smiled, "Good or bad, how would common folk like us know? We never have the chance to interact with those nobles. But, their reputation isn't bad. It's passable, after all, I've been running this inn for over a decade, and I haven't heard any rumors of the Yao family bullying anyone. The most I've heard is that someone from the Yao family made a great contribution, received an award from the court, and got promoted to a high official, or that someone died in battle in the northern Beijin Kingdom, and his wife became a widow. That's about it, just those kinds of small talk, it's really tiresome to hear."

Chen Ping'an nodded, gaining a general impression of the Yao clan, who had migrated from the Li Zhu Grotto-Heaven to the Tongye Continent.

Wei Xian had already finished a large bowl of wine, and this was his second. His face was flushed, but his eyes were bright. "The border army neither harasses the people nor cultivates influence. They're clearly trying to show the Emperor that they have no intention of establishing a separatist regime. That's a wise move. Otherwise, an emperor who feels like he's surrounded by strangers wouldn't dare to trust them."

The woman was stunned for a moment. "Sir, what are you talking about?"

Wei Xian took a sip of wine, slammed his bowl on the table, and declared, "Wherever the hooves of our horses reach, that is our territory! This wine is delicious!"

The self-proclaimed inexhaustible emperor of the Nanyuan Kingdom, after uttering such bold words, became a drunken mess, collapsing onto the table and snoring loudly.

Now they had no choice but to stay at the inn.

Afterward, the little cripple and a hunchbacked old man worked together to bring a large platter of roasted lamb to the table. Chen Ping'an rarely ate so much, and Pei Qian was even more stuffed, almost forcing the last pieces of lamb down her throat. Chen Ping'an ate slowly and deliberately, not drinking too quickly either.

The proprietress sat behind the counter. Chen Ping'an had invited her to eat with them earlier, but she politely declined. Sharing a drink or two was fine, but it would be too shameless to eat with her guests, that's not how you run an inn. Pei Qian, with her stomach bulging, began to stroll around the table, otherwise, she would feel uncomfortable.

Chen Ping'an asked for three adjacent rooms upstairs, with Pei Qian in the middle. He helped Wei Xian upstairs and dumped him on the bed. Fortunately, his alcohol tolerance was poor, but his behavior was decent. He just fell asleep when drunk, without causing a scene or saying nonsense. Pei Qian went to her room, closed the door, and began to burp. Chen Ping'an took his bamboo trunk into his room and then went out, intending to go downstairs and ask the proprietress more about the customs and local conditions of the Daquan Dynasty.

Chen Ping'an noticed that a guest had arrived at the inn. He was disheveled, wearing a long green robe, and looked to be about thirty years old. He sat at a table, staring foolishly at the cold-faced woman behind the counter. There was no wine, no food, not even a plate of snacks on his table. The shop assistant, the little cripple, sat at the bottom of the stairs, looking at the man with disgust.

The hunchbacked old man sat on a long bench near the curtain hanging at the entrance of the kitchen, smoking a dry pipe.

Chen Ping'an wasn't in a hurry to go downstairs and leaned on the railing.

Earlier, when he intercepted the two assassins pursuing the Yao family's border army, the swordsman clearly had a backup plan. Chen Ping'an sensed a faint, violent aura in the distance, which should be a great demon with considerable power, at least equivalent to a sword cultivator. However, it suddenly appeared and disappeared, forcefully suppressed by a righteous aura. That was why the middle-aged swordsman had retreated in a hurry, and the warrior escort wearing the sweet dew armor had no choice but to flee with him.

Chen Ping'an looked at the disheveled green-robed man. His first impression was that this person might be the hidden figure who instantly killed the great demon, either a genius cultivator from a Sect-level organization on the Tongye Continent, or… like Zhou Ju'ran, from a Confucian Academy!But Chen Ping'an quickly lost his certainty, for the man was being annoyed by the proprietress, glared at by the little cripple, and ignored by the hunchbacked elder. Moreover, he was penniless and his situation was well-known by the inn. He had no chance to put on a brave face despite his poverty. A wave of sadness washed over him, and he looked at the woman with lovesick eyes, "Ninth Sister, I don't mind that you're a widow and have a child, really..."

Chen Ping'an smacked his forehead. Setting aside the man's identity and cultivation, just in matters of love between a man and woman, he was even worse than Chen Ping'an himself. It served him right that he was being treated so coldly. Who speaks to a woman like that? Those weren't sweet nothings; they were like stabbing the woman in the heart.

As expected, the woman, who had merely been cold before, raised her head and stared daggers at the bastard, gritting her teeth, "Believe it or not, I'll go get a basket of dung from the sheep pen and dump it on your head?!"

Chen Ping'an glanced at the woman again.

The man in the azure robes collapsed on the table, his limbs flailing wildly, especially his hands, which were like rags, lamenting miserably, "Ninth Sister, how can you be so heartless? How am I supposed to live? Is it just because I'm poor? But literature thrives on adversity. A scholar can't be rich, otherwise he can't write profound and immortal verses..."

The little cripple spat fiercely, "Immortal verses, my ass! Just your doggerel! Even I, who's never been to school, find it disgusting."

The hunchbacked elder seemed to choke, clearly also having lingering fears about the man's immortal verses.

The man in azure robes seemed to have suddenly seen the light. He immediately sat up straight, smiled, and looked at the woman, "Ninth Sister, are you perhaps afraid of hindering my brilliant future? That's why you don't want to be with me? It doesn't matter. I don't care about the worldly views..."

The woman couldn't take it anymore and said coldly, "Little cripple, old hunchback, get a knife! Whoever can kill him, I'll give them ten taels of silver!"

The old hunchback didn't move, but the little cripple had already taken off like a shot to the kitchen to get a knife.

The man in the azure robes stood up, straightened his clothes, then turned around swiftly and ran off like a puff of smoke.

Chen Ping'an no longer went downstairs. He returned to his room, closed the door, took out the second scroll, and placed it on the table: the martial madman, Zhu Lian.