Silence. A graveyard would have more noise than this. Better yet, the corpses would be a more receptive crowd. If he pointed his nose high enough, some might even roll over.
The young master’s gaze swept across the inn, a hint of a blush forming on his cheeks. Then, he doubled down.
“Did you not hear me?” he shouted.
When intimidation tactics didn’t work, it was time to single someone out. The three figures made their way to the centre of the inn, stopping before a bald man wearing dirty clothes. Everyone knew that there were degrees of baldness. This was no ordinary bald person—he even had his eyebrows shaved off.
“You. You’re standing in my spot. I’ll give you three seconds to bow down and leave this place.”
The bald man grunted, his hand slowly reaching for the knife by his side. Then, the two servants came closer, and he thought better of it. Although anger twisted his expression, he still stood up and went to the side.
“I don’t like his attitude. Servants—teach him a lesson.” The nasally voice ordered, and immediately, the two by his side sprung into action.
One of them, like an eagle swooping down, grabbed the baldy’s head with a claw technique, bringing him to the ground. The second one made a hand gesture, and a ray of fire pierced his stomach. The flames spread across his body until the man was crying in pain, rolling around on the floor.
All around him, people stood up, weapons in hands and qi in circulation. Any loose spark would unleash dozens of techniques upon this inn. The only thing preventing that were the two servants, who coldly looked around the room. Jun noticed He Ming slipping inside the kitchen.
“Look, boy. We’ve got front-row seats. Do you think he’ll mention his parents or his grandpa?” Jun whispered to Chen Hao, who had backed up near the wall. The boy wanted no part in this.
‘Unfortunately, there’s no fiance here to steal. B- for the effort. A true young master would have sensed the Hidden Extreme Yang Body Chen Hao has and provoked him.’
Meanwhile, the young master had kicked up his feet on the table, idly eyeing the crowd.
“Innkeeper! Where’s my food? I told you to bring out the best you have. You better hurry, or else this inn will be ash.”
As he said that, he pulled out an ancient-looking bronze sword. It was cracked and rusted, but as the young master shook it, a ten-foot blade of fire emerged from the sword. Immediately, the looks around him changed. Gone was the apprehension, replaced by envy and greed.
But, before anyone here could make a move, the door to the kitchen opened and Liu Wei came out. His chef’s hat was missing, and his sleeves were rolled up. On his left hand was a tattoo of the same dancing woman that was on the entrance door. On his right hand was a viper, coiling around his arm, revealing fangs that dripped venom on his palm.
“What seems to be the problem here?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at the young master.
“Good. The chef himself has come out to welcome me. Now, I want you to scurry back to your kitchen and prepare me the best meal you can. If it doesn’t satisfy me, you can rebuild your inn in the courts of hell.”
The young master flicked a single spirit stone in the direction of the chef. It hit him accurately in the stomach, though it failed to make the man react. Liu Wei put on a smile, and several patrons immediately retreated away from him.
“Sir. This inn is owned by the Lu family. You can either properly pay for the meal or get out.”
‘Oh, crap. It’s about to go down.’ Jun was biting his nails in anticipation.
“For these words, you can pay with your life. Servants, kill him.” The young master snorted, flicking his sleeve towards the chef.
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Before the servants could even move, they collapsed on the floor, green veins bulging from their faces. As their heads hit the ground, Jun saw two centipedes crawl out of their mouths. The young master’s amulet shattered, and his body was engulfed in flames, but he still spat out a mouthful of blood. He, too, dropped to the ground, crawling back in fear.
“You dare? Do you know who I am? I-I’m the inner disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect! My elders will have this place burned to the ground if you touch me!” he yelled, scrambling to get out of the inn.
Liu Wei took a step, appearing in front of the young master. Jun had to strain his eyes to see flickers of something striking the man’s meridian points. In return, the young master grabbed the bronze sword, but as he pointed it at the chef, nothing happened.
“Huh? Where did my qi go?” he yelled in surprise and then panicked as he realised the chef had grabbed his hair. Screaming and wailing didn’t stop Liu Wei from dragging him across the floor.
“Let me go! My elders have my life lamp! They’ll know if you do something to me!”
The chef ignored his words, soundlessly dragging him to the back of the inn, where the back door was located. As they went into the back alley, the door closed behind them, and not a single sound could be heard anymore.
“Holy shit. They really took him out back. The chef is going to Old Yeller the poor bastard.”
This proved that the arrogant young masters one read about in novels couldn’t exist in real life. A random chef of a run-down inn could be a master in disguise.
‘Still a better fate than offending whoever the main character is in those novels. Usually, an entire sect would get slaughtered because of one misspoken word.’
Still, Jun wondered how the inn would deal with the consequences, as well as what this Lu family was.
Slowly, the inn resumed its normal activities, though the topics of conversation naturally turned towards the young master. From what Jun could gather, there was some sort of delegation being sent here from other three local sects.
“The Demon Prince’s Ravine is opening up soon. The sects need to decide how many people they’re going to send to get killed.” He Ming commented, appearing next to their table.
Chen Hao naturally asked for more information, to which the server shrugged.
“Don’t offend anyone and you won’t be sent to that battlefield. You’re too weak to meet anyone important anyways. Elders don’t punish mosquitoes—they squish them.”
“I’m cultivating whenever I can to get stronger. There’s just not enough time while I’m working in the shop.” Chen Hao retorted.
“Open your eyes, look at the inn before you. Everyone is breathing in spiritual force, even if it is relatively little here. Meditation can improve the speed, and it’s important when consuming pills, but you should be absorbing spiritual force every second, even when you’re asleep.”
He Ming impatiently explained, but it was evident to Jun that if he truly hated Chen Hao, he wouldn’t bother answering questions. Then again, they were the only two kids in a place full of adults.
“It’s so slow compared to further up the sect. Aren’t you falling behind in comparison to those living closer to the lake?” The boy asked a question long on his mind.
“There are more opportunities to make spirit stones here than where the ‘robed’ disciples go,” he said, emphasising the word with disgust.
“Steal. Murder. Pillage. It doesn’t matter what you do, but if you want to get ahead, you need to make spirit stones. Only then can you buy the pills and opportunities needed for cultivation.”
“But... You said I’m weak. How do I make money when everyone else is stronger?”
He Ming calmly placed down the platter. Then, with a wild look in his eyes, he grabbed the hems of Chen Hao’s shirt, dragging his head to look at him.
“Struggle! You lack motivation, or anything to drive you! You’ve grown up too sheltered. Only when you become desperate can you move forward.” The boy’s murderous gaze met Chen Hao, who shied away. Then, as if regaining his confidence, he met He Ming’s eyes.
“Qi Refining cultivators are not as strong as you think. Those further up the sect are just as sheltered as you. They think that they’re safe, and don’t even bother to trap their homes or learn any useful techniques.”
“When I was younger, I would break into their houses and steal everything they had. If the job required it, I would even deal with them in their sleep. Guess what? They could easily beat me in a straight fight, but not a single one of them even woke up when I did it.”
He Ming let go of Chen Hao, who exhaled the breath he had been holding.
“If you were brave, you would find out where the woman lives and knife her in her sleep. But, you aren’t brave, nor are you smart. You would die from her traps if you tried.”
The server picked the platter back up, turning to leave. Before he could, a yell came from a boy who was sitting down.
“I want to learn. I want to become powerful enough to resolve my own problems, and not be commanded by others!”
He Ming paused. Then, in front of Chen Hao’s disappointed eyes, he moved back to the kitchen.
The boy balled up his fists.