"Senior Brother, there’s an inn here, why don’t we take a break?"

Two knights wearing conical hats and veils galloped along the Chidao on horseback. From a distance, they saw the towering peaks of the Juelong Ridge disappearing into the clouds, blocking out the sky and sun. They paused at a fork in the road,

"Junior Sister, hang in there a bit longer. Our master specifically instructed me that this trip is to rush out of the mountain without delay to meet Senior Brother Luo’s family.

You secretly followed me out, and we’ve already delayed by visiting various places. I’m afraid..."

"Wah wah wah, I, I just wanted to accompany you, and you blame me!"

"Ah no, no, that’s not what I meant..."

"Honored guests..."

The innkeeper’s assistant, while nibbling sunflower seeds, looked at the quarreling couple by the inn’s entrance,

"Ahead is Juelong Ridge, with its steep and treacherous paths. It’s better to rest and eat your fill before crossing."

"That’s right!!"

"Well... is there a spot?"

"Yes, yes, please come in, honored guests! What would you like to eat? We have freshly butchered lamb and freshly picked young tea leaves."

The man dismounted, not in a hurry to enter, but used his sword to lift the curtain at the entrance, glanced inside the inn, and said indifferently,

"No need, just two bowls of plain noodles. A pot of boiling water."

The woman, still upset, was even more displeased hearing that and stomped into the inn,

"Why not have lamb! You won’t even let me drink tea! You don’t care about me!"

The man almost jumped in surprise, but fortunately, there were no other customers in the inn. The assistant, too, expressed a good-natured smile, unfazed, as he wiped tables and set out bowls and chopsticks, providing some relief as he helplessly sat down with his junior sister.

"Junior Sister, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that outside food might be unclean and not to your taste.

We don’t need bowls and chopsticks, we brought our own."

The assistant smiled nonchalantly and went to the kitchen to busy himself.

The junior sister didn’t make an unreasonable fuss — perhaps because she saw her senior’s skillful care in preparing utensils — and her attitude was reasonable, so she nodded generously,

"Senior Brother, you’re too cautious. We’re currently in the Capital Prefecture, under the Emperor’s feet, there’s nothing to worry about."

The senior couldn’t help but sigh,

"These days are different; Junior Sister, you haven’t left the mountain for decades and don’t know that in these troubled times, people’s hearts are unpredictable. The land is chaotic, demons are rampant, everyone is in danger, and we should be wary."

The junior sister snorted coldly, as if resenting his lack of spirit,

"Look at your lack of ambition! As members of the Mystic Sect, our descent from the mountain is for trials and tribulations! Encounter demons, fight demons; meet monsters, slay monsters! If you fear wolves ahead and tigers behind, what can you ever achieve!"

The senior was reprimanded into submission, nodding repeatedly without daring to talk back. He used the hot water brought by the assistant to clean the bowls and chopsticks and brewed tea for his junior sister with their own tea leaves.

"Arrest officer, there’s an inn, how about we take a break?"

Two Six Gates constables, escorting a prisoner in shackles with tattoos on his face, also traveled along the Chidao from north to south and arrived in front of the inn at the crossroads.

"Oh, officers, please come inside, please come inside. We have freshly butchered lamb and freshly picked young tea leaves."

The assistant continued to smile broadly, enthusiastically greeting them.

The lead constable’s eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows furrowed,

"I’ve been to this place years ago, how come there’s an inn now? Who are you?

In this remote wilderness, what kind of business are you doing? Is this perhaps a place that harms travelers?"

The assistant smiled,

"Oh officer, what are you saying? These days are chaotic, and common folks like us are, of course, fleeing everywhere for a place to stay.

Our boss was once a cook in the Capital, who also fled with the refugees during the chaotic times.

But when we reached Juelong Ridge, we were blocked by the mountains and heard about demons and bandits running amok, so we dared not hastily venture further.

Seeing there were many refugees passing through, they simply opened an inn here to make some living.

In the past couple of years, those who could flee have fled, those who perished have perished, and few people come by anymore, so business has become sparse." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The lead constable evidently did not believe his words and signaled with his eyes.

The constable understood immediately, drew his sword, and leaped into the inn, searching around, then came back out.

"No one inside."

The lead constable glared at the assistant,

"Where’s your boss?"

The assistant smiled wryly,

"Maybe he’s gone to the back mountain for a dump? There usually aren’t many people.

Officer, if you don’t trust us, you can just leave, I won’t stop you."

The prisoner lost his patience and rattled his shackles noisily,

"Hey! This is taking forever! The worst that can happen is losing our heads! Even if we’re treated like livestock! What’s the big deal!

Stop dilly-dallying! If you’re going to go, go quickly! If not, at least let me have a drink! Thirsty——to death!!"

The lead constable was obviously wary, but when he looked toward the towering Juelong Ridge, he hesitated.

Though there’s a risk of this being a black inn, they could at least rest here. Besides, they’re the Martial Gods of the Left Supervisor of Thief Catcher; they’ve seen all kinds of Jianghu tricks and just need to be cautious. However, if they really have to climb over mountains, they might not find a clean sip of water for hundreds of miles amidst demons and monsters.

"... Boil a pot of hot water."

"Alright, come inside please."

"Wow, there’s an inn here."

Coming down from Juelong Ridge, arriving at the fork in the road, Chen Xuantian also looked up at the flag of ’There is an Inn’ and turned to see the child perched on a pole.

"Why don’t we go inside for a drink?"

The child didn’t respond.

Chen Xuantian shrugged and limped into the inn, casually flipping his shoulder pole to place the swaddled child on a bench, and laid his sword bag on the table with a beaming smile, calling out,