Chapter 284: Chapter 284: A Horse for a City Courtyard, People with No Eyes

"Sir, take a look. Is this superior-grade feed acceptable?"

The waiter brought out the fodder for the Qing State Horse. It contained hay, wheat grains, and peas—all excellent feed, good enough even for a person to eat.

Evidently, the waiter recognized it as a superior Qing State Horse and knew that anyone who could ride such a steed was either rich or noble. Although the man’s actions were strange, it was understandable to be so careful with such a valuable animal.

After all, a single superior Qing State Horse could be traded for a fine courtyard home in the city, so of course, one had to guard against theft.

"Not bad. I’ll settle the bill for this with the room fee."

Yang Chan nodded. He didn’t grandly declare, "This piece of silver is your reward," like a storyteller might. He just spoke nonchalantly, his expression unreadable.

While traveling, Yang Chan always remembered not to flaunt his wealth. He knew it was a major source of trouble and had no intention of bringing such problems upon himself.

"This way, sir."

The waiter placed the superior fodder in front of the Qing State Horse and only spoke to Yang Chan after watching it begin to eat.

He did this to show Yang Chan that the fodder hadn’t been tampered with. Qing State Horses were very picky, especially superior ones; if they didn’t like what they were given, they simply wouldn’t eat.

"Good."

Yang Chan glanced at his Qing State Horse, which was now eating happily, and left with his mind at ease.

’If it still gets stolen despite all these precautions, I’ll have to chalk it up to bad luck. I’ll just arrange for someone to hunt them down later. After all, superior Qing State Horses are rare in Qing State.’

’If some short-sighted thief dares to make a move, they’ll inevitably be found. And when they are, they’ll be in for more trouble than they can handle.’

Youjian Inn looked weather-beaten from the outside, but the interior was decently furnished. While not as luxurious as the inns in White Jade City, everything looked new.

Walking into the inn, Yang Chan saw quite a few people were already inside, eating, drinking, and chatting cheerfully.

When Yang Chan entered, a few people gave him a second glance, but otherwise, there were no issues.

The waiter led Yang Chan to the shopkeeper’s counter.

"Shopkeeper Hu, this guest would like a superior room. We still have some available, right?"

the attendant asked the shopkeeper, who was busy with his accounts.

"Of course, we still have superior rooms. How many nights will you be staying, sir?"

Shopkeeper Hu looked up from his work at the waiter’s words and asked his question upon seeing Yang Chan’s youthful face.

"Just one night."

Yang Chan replied flatly.

He noticed that this Shopkeeper Hu was actually a master of the External Refining Steel Realm. Aside from his rather mediocre accounting skills, he seemed decent enough.

He had seen the man make a mistake in his calculations, but Yang Chan wasn’t one to meddle. He didn’t care in the slightest—it wasn’t his bill, after all.

Whether the shopkeeper overcharged or undercharged had nothing to do with him.

"One night is fine. There’s still a superior room available, T-shaped Room Number Six. Xiaoli, take our guest there."

"That’ll be a deposit of two taels of silver. We’ll settle the difference when you check out."

"If you need anything else, just let Xiaoli know. You look weary from your travels. Our inn’s food is quite good; you might want to order something to try."

As Shopkeeper Hu recorded the entry in his ledger, his eyes flickered when he mentioned the price. He stared intently at Yang Chan, and only after seeing him take out the silver did he produce the key and continue his introduction with renewed enthusiasm.

He had seen that Yang Chan had quite a bit of silver on him and naturally wanted to earn a little extra.

"Alright. Waiter, please lead the way."

Yang Chan looked at the waiter, took the key from Shopkeeper Hu’s hand, and followed the attendant upstairs.

The attendant didn’t stop until they reached a room on the third floor.

"Sir, this is the superior room, T-shaped Room Number Six. You can go ahead and open it to take a look," the attendant said enthusiastically.

"If you need anything else, sir, just let me know, and I can go prepare it right away."

He watched as Yang Chan opened the door, looked around, and murmured, "Not bad," before asking again.

"Not for now. You can go on and get busy, waiter. I’ll call you if I need anything,"

Yang Chan said with a wave of his hand.

’The food here might be good, but I have no intention of eating anything from an unknown source. If this place were run by one of the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Affiliated Forces, I might consider it, but otherwise, forget it.’

’Even if it’s not poisoned, there’s no telling if there’s a problem with the ingredients. It would be truly disgusting if they used... special materials in their cooking.’

To avoid such a possibility, Yang Chan had refused outright.

"Oh. Well then, just give me a shout if you need anything, sir,"

the attendant replied, his face a picture of disappointment.

He had been so enthusiastic in the hopes that Yang Chan would order more, which would in turn increase his own earnings. After all, his wages were directly tied to the spending of the guests he served.

The more his customers spent, the more money he made, and vice versa.

If he didn’t serve any guests, he wouldn’t earn any wages at all. Of course, the inn still provided food and lodging, but for an attendant trying to earn more to support his family, it was only natural to hope his guests would spend as much as possible.

’Looks like being young is a problem too. I should dress more maturely and cover up my handsome face a bit. Otherwise, I’m just too eye-catching.’

After the attendant left, Yang Chan shut the door. He recalled that ever since entering Youjian Inn, he had noticed a few people staring at him. He wondered if they had marked him as a fat sheep.

On Huayun Dao, there weren’t many people like him—fair-skinned and remarkably handsome. Most were rough-looking men, and many even appeared sallow and gaunt, a clear sign of malnutrition.

This place was a world away from White Jade City. There weren’t many well-dressed people around, so his appearance was naturally conspicuous.

Previously, when Yang Chan was in Tan City and Taiyu City, he had spent most of his time with people from the Cyan Yuan Sect and hadn’t seen much of the city folk. He had, however, seen people on the road who couldn’t survive due to the drought, but that was a long time ago.

The situation in Qing State had certainly improved since then, but one couldn’t be too optimistic, especially in a place that wasn’t even a proper city.

’I hope no one is foolish enough to try anything. Otherwise, I’ll have to send them on their way.’

Yang Chan’s perception was sharp, and he could naturally sense the ill-intentioned malice directed at him.

He had no interest in dealing with these people, but if some of them couldn’t see clearly, then he would just have to help them wash their eyes, lest they be born with poor vision in their next life as well.

He hadn’t seen the proprietress of Youjian Inn, but he could confirm her presence within its walls. Although she had concealed her aura, he had still scanned the area upon arriving. Yang Chan could only sense her approximate location, but he couldn’t pinpoint her.

He didn’t make an issue of it, naturally pretending he hadn’t noticed anything as he followed the attendant to his room.