“Something interesting happened at my place today. The owner of Eclipse Inn came by to get some food from my Inn. The inn was already falling apart but it seems that food has become so bad that even the owner has to go out to get a bite.” Chen Jing, the owner of Red Dragon Inn, laughed out loud.
This afternoon, one of the waiters had come by his office saying he had something to report. Although he was annoyed at being approached like that by a waiter, he decided to hear the man out. Hearing the news about the Eclipse Inn owner’s visit, Chen Jing was glad that he didn’t tell off the waiter and even rewarded him with a few coins.
He couldn’t wait to talk about the incident at the meeting of the Inn Owners Association of Hankou that night. Eclipse Inn had been the butt of the jokes at such meetings for decades now. Since they could do nothing about the Eclipse Inn itself, they could at least laugh at its misery.
While the small and medium-sized inn owners laughed along with Chen Jing, the other three largest inn owners became thoughtful. Zhao Li, the association’s fox-eyed master of schemes, and the owner of Joyous Inn noticed the subtle changes in the expressions of his companions.
“He visited the Phoenix Inn and Dream Inn as well? This is interesting. Why is the owner of the failing Eclipse Inn going around visiting our businesses?” Zhao Li’s words silenced the room.
The four leaders of the association and the owners of the four largest inns looked at each other’s expressions and confirmed Zhao Li’s suspicion. They didn’t even have to talk, the doubtful and contemplative expressions on their faces were enough to understand the situation.
Yang Mei, the only female owner in the meeting, and the owner of the Phoenix Inn was the first to break the silence. The woman with graying hair, decked in excessive amounts of jewelry spoke in a raspy old voice befitting her villainous appearance, “Maybe he wanted to check out our places to see what he can improve in his business? It seems plausible enough.”
Chen Jing scoffed so hard that his large belly could be seen shaking. “Ha! No matter how much he looks around my business, he won’t be able to revive that dying inn. He should just quietly sell that place and go retire somewhere in peace. Why even struggle for no reason?”
“Even a worm will turn as a dying struggle. It isn’t surprising if Ji She as a martial artist is doing something to try and revive his inn. The murim people are extremely tenacious if nothing else. Let us focus on important matters for now.” Zhao Li snickered while stroking his mustache.
The topic of discussion changed and the meeting continued for a few hours until everyone except the four leaders went away. When only the four of them remained, Zhao Li glared at Chen Jing, “How many times do you need to be reminded not to talk about buying the Eclipse Inn? If you make too much noise, we will just seem suspicious later.”
“What are you afraid of?” Chen Jing was a little drunk and annoyed. He continued, “We are at the last step anyway. As long as that rat of yours does his job properly, we can buy that place without problems. What is so suspicious about some inn owners buying an old inn?”
Huang Yan, the youngest member of the group and the young owner of the Dream Inn was silent the entire time. He was in the meeting representing his father who had recently retired. He finally spoke, “We can think about purchasing Eclipse Inn later. Right now, it is more important that we find out what Ji She is planning. Even if there is the slightest chance that Eclipse Inn might revive, we have to crush it.”
The plan to swallow the Eclipse Inn whole among the four inns had begun over a decade ago. The previous Governor of the region had some relationship with Ji She and had been protecting the Eclipse Inn from behind the scenes.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
While it was protected by the governor from the outside, inside the inn, some employees loyal to Ji She remained and barely kept the inn afloat. But all of that changed about a decade ago when the governor changed. The new governor was a man who could be persuaded with the shine of gold and silver.
As the old employees also continued to retire, the plan to bankrupt the Eclipse Inn and divide it among themselves began among the four largest inn owners.
They had tried to take over the Eclipse Inn individually at first. Each of them was scheming behind each other’s backs to become its sole owner but they kept foiling each other's plans. Every time one of them was close to taking over the place, someone would swoop in and disrupt them.
When they realized that it was a massive waste of their time and resources to fight among themselves, Zhao Li proposed a partnership where all four of them would have joint ownership over Eclipse Inn after they took it over. It was the best compromise given the situation.
Their joint plan was going well until a few years ago when Ji She retired from martial arts and returned to the Eclipse Inn full-time.
It was a slight hiccup but Ji She wasn’t as good a businessman as he was a warrior. So, they pressed on with the plan. Now, it was in the final stages and they were confident that the Eclipse Inn would be theirs in a year or two.
Yang Mei nodded in agreement with Huang Yan, “The kid is right. We have wasted too much time and effort on this to fail at the last moment. The Eclipse Inn should not be allowed to be revived.”
“I will look into it through the rat. You guys should keep your ears open for any information about Ji She and Eclipse as well.” Zhao Li nodded.
…….
“Captain, the beggars have sent some news.” A warrior in a black uniform gave a martial salute and bowed to the man behind the desk. The scholarly man wearing white and blue robes looked up from the documents in his hands at the soldier.
“What is it? Did those black faction bastards do something again? Damn cockroaches, they never go away no matter how many you kill. I just got a vacation and they are stirring things up again.” The handsome face of the captain distorted into a devilish frown.
The soldier felt the pressure emanating from the captain and shivered in fear. “No, captain. It is about the Silent Serpent. It has nothing to do with the black faction.”
The captain tilted his head in confusion, “Silent Serpent? That retired squad leader? What about him?”
“The beggars reported that he was seen walking around Hankou with a young boy. It is suspected that Silent Serpent has finally taken in a disciple.” The soldier reported while handing over the letter that came from the Beggars’ Sect to the captain.
After checking the letter's contents, the captain thought for a moment and ordered, “Since it is still unconfirmed, tell them to keep an eye from a distance. Although it is a matter of interest, there is no need to dig too deep. There is no need to report unless some major change happens.”
The soldier nodded at first but he kept looking at the captain with a conflicted expression. When the captain looked at him and raised his eyebrow, the soldier finally spoke, “Is it okay captain? We are talking about the Silent Serpent here.”
“Tsk. He is just a retired old man now. Don’t worry about that. It would be best if you focused more on finding the movements of the cockroaches instead. I don’t want my vacation ruined like last time.”
……
It was the third day since Zhi Fen’s training began. The training method was still the same, he just had to carry a lot of weight in iron and run until his bones and muscles gave out. After that, he would have to soak in a medicinal bath for a few hours which helped to heal his body.
“I will have to take out a separate loan just to buy medicinal herbs to train you. Do we really have to begin the renovations immediately? If we put it off for a few months, I would be able to manage with the emergency funds.” Old Man Ji lamented on the way to the bamboo forest.
Zhi Fen had noticed that his master had a strange aversion to loans. More than just an aversion, it was bordering on phobia or paranoia. The man would rather sell some valuables than to take any loans.
“It’s fine master. Once the renovation is done as I have told you, we will be raking in money like you have never imagined. Just trust me and hold on for now.” Zhi Fen comforted his master.
Of course, the comforting words fell on deaf ears. And strangely, Zhi Fen had a feeling that the old man was pushing him a lot more than the previous few days.