The Flying Swan turned out to be a pleasant and clean place. As soon as I entered, I could tell that it was a popular spot among the locals. The colorful tiled floors and the tables and chairs with a warm red colour paint gave the room a cozy and inviting look. A middle-aged man with a beard sat at the counter, engaged in conversation with a woman sitting beside him. He appeared to have lived a long life and exuded a welcoming demeanor.

As I made my way inside, the man got up from his place and approached me with a polite greeting, "Welcome to the Flying Swan, young master." I nodded in response, feeling his gaze fixed on me, and his eyes following my every move. He walked closer, never taking his eyes off me, and blocked my line of sight. "And how may I help you, young master?" he inquired, "Or would you like something to eat or drink?"

Lost in thought, I hesitated and stammered, "Um... I was hoping that perhaps you could find a spiritual room for me to stay in..." I was nervous about offending the man, considering he was the owner of the inn. "Of course, young master. And how long will you be staying with us?" he asked, trying not to appear too interested.

"Umm... well, I haven't... a month. I'll be staying for a month," I managed to say through my scrambled thoughts. "We do have several nice rooms available that would fulfill your requirement, young master. But may I ask, how do you plan to pay for them?" he inquired. I hesitated, unsure how to respond. "Of course, with cash," I replied absentmindedly, realizing that the term "cash" did not exist in this world. I quickly took out half a dozen spirit stones from my bag and showed them to the man, who instantly became cordial again.

"Very well, young master. The spiritual rooms on the second floor go for a dozen spirit stones a night. Which one would you prefer?" he asked with a smile.

"A room on the second floor would be perfect," I said gratefully.

"Then this one has just the one that would suit you. Do you have a steed as well?" the innkeeper inquired, now smiling.

"No, I do not," I replied, reaching into my bag and pretending to search for something. After a moment, I pulled out four hundred spirit stones and dumped them on the nearest table. The innkeeper's smile stiffened as he looked at the pile. I simply smirked at him and pointed at the stack, "This will cover my room and food." I stated firmly, feeling a sense of satisfaction as I taught him not to judge me based on my appearance. The innkeeper glared at me but said nothing. Instead, he turned to the woman who had been sitting with him. She nodded and stood up, bowing to me. "If you would follow me, young master, I will lead you to your room," she said, beckoning me to follow her. I complied, and we walked several steps until she led me to the second floor.

The woman walked over to the first door on the right off the hallway and announced, "Here is your room, young master," as she opened the door and handed me a copper token, presumably a key. She avoided looking directly at me. "Will there be anything else I can help you with?" she asked hesitantly.

"What time is dinner?" I inquired.

"There is always something available," the woman explained. "The full menu is served an hour before sunset until late."

"Thank you," I said simply and entered my room.

The woman nodded and left,

The room exceeded my expectations, far nicer than I had imagined. It had two windows, one opposite the door and another to the right, offering a picturesque view of the river outside. The bed was larger and softer than the one on the ship, and I sank into it with relief. There was a table with two chairs, a nightstand, and a framed picture of a swan in flight adorning the wall. To my delight, there was even an alchemy laboratory next to the bed and a small kitchenette on the opposite wall, complete with shelves of books on various subjects and an empty bookcase.

As I settled into the room, my thoughts drifted to the young woman who had captured my attention earlier. Her slight frame and unassuming appearance were in stark contrast to her identity as a cultivator, and I couldn't help but wonder about her story. However, fatigue soon took over, and my eyes grew heavy as I lay down on top of the soft blankets and sheets. Within minutes, sleep enveloped me, and my mind ceased to wander as I drifted off into a deep slumber.

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A young girl in Tsing Yi dress walked through the streets of Fangshi holding a fruit basket filled with green and yellow spiritual pears. She called out, "Selling pears, selling pears, sweet and crisp spiritual pears, produced on thousand-year-old pear trees, eating one is enough for ten days of practice, nourishing yin and beautifying the skin, brothers and sisters, come and have a look!"

Though she was attractive and had a sweet voice, most cultivators in the area were not wealthy enough to buy her pears, It wasn't until the young lady in Tsing Yi had walked halfway down the street that a middle-aged man with a square head and big eyes, dressed in yellow, stopped her with a friendly wave. "Excuse me, miss," he said, "how much for those spiritual pears? If the price is right, I'll buy them all!"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

As he spoke, the man in yellow reached out with his hand to grab the basket of Lingli pears the young lady was holding.

"The price is three low-grade spirit stones per pear," replied the young lady, her eyes flashing with a hint of disgust. But her face remained polite as she spoke. "If you buy all seven pears, I'll give you a discount and make it twenty spirit stones in total."

The man in yellow nodded, but before he could make the purchase, he asked to taste one of the pears first. He pulled out three small pieces of white jade from a pouch at his waist and handed them to the young lady.

She used a "technique" with her hands to inspect the jade, then picked out a pear and offered it to the man in yellow. "Go ahead and try it," she said with a smile. "I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

The man in yellow looked embarrassed when his attempt to grab the basket failed, but he covered it up well and proceeded with the transaction. As soon as he was done with the exchange he turned to leave, and when he saw that the young lady was still waiting to make the final payment, he paused once more and turned around to face her. "How much do you want for this basket of pears?" he asked with his arms crossed. "Oh my!" the lady exclaimed with a grin, "Sixty spirit stones!" she exclaimed excitedly. The man in yellow nodded. He reached inside another pouch at his belt and removed it, then dropped it on the ground at the young lady's feet and strode away swiftly. The young lady bent down to pick up the storage bag and looked around for the man, but the man had already disappeared. She directed her spiritual sense into the pouch and after a moment a smile bloomed on her face as she began counting the spirit stones but moments later the man in yellow suddenly appeared in front of her.

Smack!

Suddenly, a loud smack echoed through the street as the man's hand came down hard on the young lady's cheek. Shocked, she stumbled back, clutching her burning skin.

"What a shameless little girl," he sneered, his face twisted with anger. "My uncle is willing to do business with you because you're young and inexperienced, but you dare to cheat me with these unripe, bitter pears? You're nothing but a greedy little profiteer, and I won't stand for it!"

Before he could finish his tirade, he grabbed the basket of pears and raised it high above his head, ready to smash it to the ground. The young lady watched in horror, tears welling up in her eyes, but before the basket could come down upon her head, someone grasped his shoulder from behind. "Don't you dare strike a defenseless girl!" cried an angry male voice, with a strong swing The young man pinched the arm of the big man in yellow tightly with his fingers, and said in a serious tone: "Tell me, how do you want to die?" the man in yellow was startled and scared as he tried to move away from the young but found his strength of 5th stage of Qi refinement lacking leading him to realize that the boy Infront of him was stronger than himself, he could only grit his teeth while resisting the pain in his arm, while showing flattering expressions to defend himself: "Young master, you misunderstood, Luo is not a villain, don't be fooled by this little girl's appearance, she My heart is dark! Deliberately selling..."

"Huh? Who do you think has a dark heart?"

The young man in Tsing Yi interrupted the man in yellow's defense with a gloomy face, and said in a cold tone: "Wang's junior sister is what kind of character, does Wang not know? How dare you talk nonsense to me?" My junior sister poured dirty water on her body, even if Wang is banned from entering and leaving by the market, your cultivation will also be abolished!"

" What!"

The man in yellow's complexion changed dramatically, his face turning ashen in an instant as he lost confidence in his sophistry. He looked at the young man, named Wang, who appeared much more talented and capable despite his young age. Before the man in yellow could react or say anything, Wang raised his left hand, which was filled with turbid white mist, and delivered a powerful punch that went clean through the man's chest.

Blood gushed forth from the wound, splattering against the pavement, and the man fell dead on his own two feet.

'"Young...You!" The man in yellow stared at Wang in shock, disbelief, and hatred in his eyes, a mixture of fear and fury as his eyes slowly dulled.

"You've killed him!" cried a horrified girl who was standing far off with others.

"What's wrong with killing a vile human being like him?! He deserved death for what he had done," yelled another girl who stood on the other side.

Soon, a discussion broke out among the crowd as they praised the young man and cursed the man in yellow.

The young man surnamed Wang turned around and gazed upon the gathered crowd, noticing that none of the men and women were making eye contact with him.

He then went to check on his junior sister.

When Wang arrived at her side and knelt down, he took her face in his hands and lifted her chin to meet his gaze.

'"Junior Sister, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered without batting an eyelash and smiled reassuringly at Wang.

"Come, let's leave then." Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the young woman and young man in Tsing Yi's dress walked away hand in hand, softly talking to each other, ignoring the rest of the world. Soon, the crowd also dispersed, leaving only the corpse of the man in yellow lying on the ground.

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Chen Hua's heart raced as she dashed into a narrow alleyway, gasping for air. "Brother! Brother!" she cried out desperately, her voice echoing off the walls. Suddenly, a man appeared in front of her, wielding a brush pen like a sword.

"What? What? What?" he demanded, scanning their surroundings in wild panic. "What's wrong with you? Did something happen?"

Sweat Tears streamed down Chen Hua's face as she held out her shaking hand to show her brother the dozen or so stones she had collected. "Brother!! Look! Look!" she shouted excitedly.

The man's eyes widened in horror as he saw the stones in her hand. "What happened? Who gave you this?" he asked urgently, his grip tightening on the makeshift weapon.

Chen Hua, still jumping excitedly with her heart pounding with fear and excitement, quickly explained what had happened during her encounter with the strange man. The man's face hardened with determination as he listened to her story.

"Don't worry, Sister," he said, his voice firm and steady. "We will go and meet this Young Master Lin tomorrow. Now come on, let's hurry home!" With that, he led her through the streets, following the path back home. They didn't speak again until they entered Chen Hua's yard.

"I'm going to go play!" Chen Hua announced loudly and ran upstairs, while the tall man headed straight for his room without speaking a word.