Assistant General Nie brought quite a number of soldiers, and the Bai Family and Yin Family also had plenty of guards. Except for those left to watch over the luggage, only two managers and Daji didn’t come to bathe, so everyone else was in the bathhouse, making it seem fully occupied at a glance.

The opposing party was silent for a moment, realizing that their dozen or so people wouldn’t be able to overpower such a large crowd. Moreover, looking at the scars on their bodies, they didn’t seem like people to be trifled with.

So, after a brief silence, the opposing party turned around and left with their people.

Assistant General Nie snorted, then turned and patted his soldiers on the shoulders, saying, "Hurry up and wash, then go out and guard the adults."

Bai Shan and others carried their baskets back upstairs, informed Mr. Zhuang to go for a bath as well, and then turned to find Manbao.

Manbao and Zhou Liru hadn’t returned yet. After pondering for a moment, Bai Shan dried his hair and led Daji to wait outside the bathhouse, worrying they might encounter any trouble on the way back.

Bai Erlang and the others had nothing to do, so they followed him.

Thus, the five men sat opposite the women’s bathhouse entrance, with Bai Erlang suggesting, "Should we shout out so those inside know we’re waiting out here?"

Bai Shan said, "Let them take their time. We don’t have anything to do anyway, just wait."

A passing attendant was startled by the five, briefly showing various expressions upon seeing them staring at the women’s bathhouse entrance. He hesitated but eventually said nothing and left.

Not long after, a young woman swayed over, smiling and waving her handkerchief upon seeing them, "Oh my, why are you gentlemen sitting here?"

She approached, ignoring their wet hair and freshly bathed appearance, directly pointing in another direction, "Are you young masters here to bathe? Let me take you; the men’s bathhouse is over there."

Bai Shan responded politely with a gentle expression, "We’ve already bathed and are waiting for our companions here."

The woman paused, then waved her handkerchief with a smile, "Oh, are you afraid our inn would eat up the little ladies inside? This isn’t a dubious place, it’s a respectable inn."

Bai Shan replied, "We are not worried about others, and we have nothing else to do, so we’re just waiting here. Please carry on, sister."

"Well..." She was there to persuade them to leave. What kind of behavior is it for several men to squat opposite the women’s bathhouse?

Just as she hesitated, the bathhouse door opened, and Manbao and Zhou Liru came out with flushed cheeks.

Bai Shan hesitated for a moment, then approached, wrapping Manbao in a cloak and placing a hat on her.

Manbao was momentarily bewildered, with only half her face exposed. She said, "Why? I’m not cold."

Bai Shan replied, "The wind is strong, be careful not to catch a cold."

Where would the wind be from?

Zhou Liru asked from beside, "Little uncle, what about me?"

Bai Shan paused, realizing he forgot about Zhou Liru.

Seeing him slip up, Bai Erlang and Liu Huan laughed heartily, slapping their thighs indiscreetly.

Daji turned and left, returning shortly with a cloak for Zhou Liru.

Zhou Liru finally put it on but continued to pout and complain to Manbao, "Aunt, uncle isn’t worried about the wind, he’s worried about you being seen by others, right?"

The woman beside also withdrew her amazed gaze. Manbao saw her and asked with a smile, "Who is this?"

The woman waved her handkerchief with a laugh, saying, "I’m the innkeeper’s wife; my husband is the innkeeper at the front. I was busy at the back just now, and it’s a disrespect not to welcome the distinguished guests upon their arrival."

Most patrons staying at their inn were men. Even those accompanied by women tended to be concubines or secret lovers; some weren’t even lovers but directly purchased maids or singers traveling with them. So she rarely came to the front; a bunch of smelly men, what’s worth hosting?

Clearly, the two young ladies that arrived this time were different from the previous ones. The innkeeper’s wife couldn’t help but treat them more courteously, smiling as she escorted them upstairs, and her smile faded once they were inside and she turned downstairs.

She happened to encounter a furious bearded man leading people downstairs. She raised her eyebrows, glancing at the attendant, who whispered, "They suffered a loss at the back earlier and went to argue with the innkeeper, only to be muddled by him."

He chuckled, saying, "When does our innkeeper ever reason?"

The woman reached out, tapping his head, glaring at him and saying, "What are you talking about? How is it that the master doesn’t reason?"

"Yes, yes, my foul mouth deserves a beating."

Meanwhile, the bearded man stepping into the courtyard adjacent to the inn slapped someone across the face, almost knocking them to the ground. He suppressed his anger, saying, "Didn’t Big Brother warn not to provoke them? Yet you all turned a deaf ear, even whistling, and now our reputation is trampled. Are you satisfied?"

No one dared utter a word; the one slapped was the person who had whistled at Bai Shan and the others earlier.

He dared not speak, standing aside with his face covered in his hands. Someone, unable to watch, defended him, "Fifth Brother, Eighteen didn’t do anything, weren’t those officials overreacting?"

"Right, why fear them? With the emperor distant, there’s just a few officials..."

"A few officials, but weren’t they outnumbering us?"

Their words were cut short, rendering them speechless for a moment until one spoke up, "What’s to fear? Wait until the brothers return..."

"Enough, quiet down. Behave yourselves for the next couple of days; Big Brother will be back shortly. Anger him, and it won’t just be a slap from me."

The group shivered collectively, nodding in agreement with their heads lowered.

Bai Shan took the cloak from Manbao and hung it on the rack, sitting beside her as she dried her hair, recounting the earlier conflict at the bathhouse entrance, "There’s no commotion now, so it probably didn’t escalate into a fight. But those people’s gazes were unpleasant; they’re clearly not decent folk. Even if we’re only staying for one night, we need to be cautious."

Manbao nodded in agreement.

Bai Shan advised, "During evening meals, let’s not go downstairs. Let’s eat in our rooms, while Assistant General Nie and the others eat downstairs."

Mr. Zhuang was unwilling to eat in the room, saying, "You six younger ones eat in the room; we’ll eat downstairs."

Wei Xingren also assured them not to worry.

Manbao knew they wanted to seize the chance to gather information, so she didn’t object, nodding in agreement.

Liu Huan was surprised, "You truly don’t want to go downstairs?"

Seeing his eagerness, Bai Erlang pulled him back, saying, "Stay calm. Didn’t you see their unfriendly gazes? We’re all so good-looking, we need to be careful."

Bai Shan nodded in agreement, "Knowing there is danger, how can we venture down and invite more? We treasure our lives."

Liu Huan was unconvinced, "But you confronted them in the bathhouse entrance..."

Yin Huo replied, "If we retreated then, the trouble would’ve been worse."

Bai Shan nodded, "Not going down to eat is to avoid trouble, but if trouble comes, we must respond forcefully. Retreating only invites disrespect, leading to more trouble ahead."

"Fine, I can’t argue with you, but I really want to go down and see. I’ve never dined at a desert inn before."

Bai Shan reassured, "No problem, we’ll eat tomorrow."

He added, "We’ll have breakfast downstairs, and once we’re done, we’ll depart."