CH 3.2

They continued to bump along on horseback all afternoon. Lei Lei was no longer in the mood to ask questions. All the bones in her body seemed to be falling apart. Seeing her like this, the young master found it difficult to continue so he ordered to take a rest in Jin Jiang City. He also had Butler Zhao inquire about buying a carriage. Since the delay was caused by that woman, Butler Zhao almost gave Lei Lei a death glare.

Taking his image into account, the young master dismounted outside the city and walked. With her feet firmly on the ground, Lei Lei suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.

Jin Jiang City was located in the central area of the martial arts world. It was lively and bustling with towers and pavilions, and heavy traffic. The entertainment life here was also very rich as there were many teahouses, restaurants, street performers, and cockfighting. The sounds of drums, gongs, and zithers mingled together. It was not difficult to glimpse the superb architectural level and glistening vigour of this martial arts world. Apart from the wine seller in front of the store occasionally shouting, “Who walks the world of martial arts without drinking?”, or a heroic voice singing, “Give a shout if you see injustice on the road!”, everything else was fine.

Everyone stopped at the entrance of a large inn.

The young master said, “Let’s just stay here for one night.”

Looking at the three antique characters, “Jin Jiang Inn”, Lei Lei immediately thought of the Jinjiang Time Traversing Corporation. Immediately, she was not tired anymore and angrily stopped the young master, showing resistance, “We can’t stay here!”

Given her sonorous tone of voice and firm attitude, the two servants and Butler Zhao were frightened. They thought there was something wrong with this inn so they remained silent and dared not speak.

The young master did not object and said lightly, “Then let’s change to another one.”

After walking around 35 streets and looking at 35 inns, the sun had already set and they all returned to their original location, stopping in front of the Jin Jiang Inn. Except for the young master, everyone had expressions of extreme indignation. This girl was crazy!

Butler Zhao said angrily, “Young Master, look…”

The young master glanced at the dejected Lei Lei. Then he walked towards the Jin Jiang Inn, making a decision with his actions.

Lei Lei could not say anything. Moreover, her legs were already weak from walking so she could only follow in desperately.

For heaven’s sake, they were all called Jin Jiang Inn!

From Jin Jiang Inn Number 1 to Jin Jiang Inn Number 35!

It was said that two years ago, Leader He regulated the management of the inns as a convenient means to put an end to black shops. All the inns in the world of martial arts were renamed “Jin Jiang Inn”, distinguished by the city registration number so the customers can easily tell the difference by city and number. Those without numbers or had other names would have to be black shops. Although this reasoning was plausible, Lei Lei firmly believed that it was just the design guy from the R&D department being lazy, too lazy to think of a good name for the inns. At the same time, she was quite depressed. It seemed like she would not be able to resist it.

Fortunately, the inn was not bad. The bedding was fluffy and Lei Lei slept soundly until it had gotten dark and there was a knock on the door.

Butler Zhao stood outside the door, “Young Master tells you to go downstairs to eat!” His expression seemed to hold deep hatred for her, making Lei Lei think that the old man really wanted to see her starve to death.

Having brought trouble and made mistakes, Lei Lei knew how to behave in a delicate situation. She followed him downstairs without a word.

The young master was waiting downstairs.

After bathing, he was still wearing a blue and white robe but the style was slightly different than before. It was natural and unrestrained, with some leisureliness. Lei Lei noticed that he was almost inseparable from his sword. It was said that a man with a sword was elegant and when the sword was in this young master’s hand, it was not at all crass. It showed refined grandeur.

Butler Zhao put on an amiable smile, “Young Master, dinner has been arranged at the restaurant opposite.”

The young master nodded and led the group out.

Night shrouded Jin Jiang City. The streets were brightly lit and people were hurrying to and fro. The urban landscape was different to daytime, igniting romance between young men and women. “Give a shout if you see injustice on the road!” was replaced by “Just this blooming flowers and full moon” or “You and I are entangled, lingering, and flying”. It was quite a different feeling of amour.

“The sound of the flute outside Lu Xia Tower rises, and intoxicated guests from central Shu arrive.”

An antique couplet hung on either side of the main entrance to the restaurant. It was full of the martial arts world atmosphere with a scholarly touch, quite elegant and richly decorated. Inside, it was warm and full of guests which made people feel good from a glance. However, after looking up and seeing the three flamboyant characters on the plaque reading “Shu Ke Restaurant”, Lei Lei retreated immediately, “Not this restaurant!” She resisted resolutely.

This time, including the young master, no one looked at her. They walked straight in.

Lei Lei really wanted to have a backbone and go on a hunger strike, but her stomach was more important than having a backbone. She was penniless and most of the energy from the half roast duck earlier had been consumed during the bumpy journey. After lingering for half a minute, she finally walked through the door.

Business in the restaurant was booming. Passing through several tables of guests, who knew how many times she said, “Excuse me,” before she finally found the group. The table was already filled with abundant food and wine. They did not pay much attention to her belated arrival and simply drew a clear line, automatically shifting to one side. A seat was immediately vacated next to the young master.

Under someone else’s roof, she had to bow her head. Lei Lei sat down to eat in silence.

It was probably because it was strange where the half roast duck had disappeared in the afternoon that this time, everyone stared at her chopsticks. No matter how thick-skinned Lei Lei was, she could not withstand it. She ate quite cautiously, scolding everyone in her heart. I didn’t eat your share, damn it.

Gradually, the young master also noticed something was wrong, “Why aren’t you eating the dishes?”

Lei Lei said implicitly, “I don’t have an appetite.” So many people were guarding against thieves!

The young master pondered, then instructed Butler Zhao, “Order half a roast duck.”

Under Butler Zhao’s contemptuous gaze, Lei Lei was moved to tears. Where could she find a man like “Xiao Bai” who was so considerate both inside and out? She had to find a chance to grab onto him!

In order to attract customers to the restaurant, there was a storyteller. At this moment, the man was spitting all over the place and under his glib tongue, the originally ordinary stories of the martial arts world had become extremely exciting. Occasionally, guests would chime in.

The man took a sip of tea, “Next, let’s talk about another matter. This is related to Young Master Xiao, Xiao Bai from the Bai Sheng Shan Village.”

Lei Lei immediately raised her head.

Sure enough, someone spoke.

“Xiao’s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade?”

“Precisely,” the man looked pleased with himself, “Bai Sheng Shan Village is known as the Big Dipper of the martial arts circles. It has always been their duty to safeguard the justice of martial arts. Because of this Phoenix Crying Blade, Qian Yue Cave and the Chuan Qi Valley dared not run amok and the world of martial arts can be peaceful…”

Someone interrupted him, “Old man, you don’t need to talk about this. Who doesn’t know Xiao Xiao’s Phoenix Crying Blade is the best in the world? Leader He is reputed to have ‘Xiao on the left, Qin on the right’. This ‘Xiao on the right’ refers to Young Master Xiao Bai.”

The man sneered, “How much can you know? Although Xiao Xiao’s Phoenix Crying Blade is famous, only Young Master Xiao Bai was able to practise the last form of the Xiao’s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade in the Xiao family. Leader He also personally admitted that it’s difficult to defeat him!”

Silence.

“Afraid it’s not true?” There was doubt.

The man was resolute and decisive, “It’s absolutely true! Young Master Qin Liu Feng’s personal book boy said it himself.”

Everyone was moved.

“Young hero!”

“It’s a pity that he’s always reclusive and it’s rare to catch a glimpse of him.”

“Young Master Xiao abhors evil as if it’s his personal enemy. However, Leader He would not send him to labour over trivial matters. Ever since he killed the ‘Sea Raksha’ two years ago, he hasn’t appeared in the world of martial arts, up until the longevity fruit incident.

…

It turned out that “Xiao Bai” was so famous! Lei Lei was pleasantly surprised and glanced over. She saw a proud expression on the faces of Butler Zhao and the others, but the young master’s face remained unchanged as if he had not heard anything. She could not help admiring him even more while snickering at those people. “Xiao Bai” was right in front of them and they did not even know.

Someone urged, “Why aren’t you talking anymore?”

The man smiled and said, “I was just about to speak. This Young Master Xiao has been in an arranged marriage since he was young.”

As soon as this remark came out, Lei Lei took a great blow. So he was engaged. Yet, soon she did not feel anything anymore. So what if he was engaged, he could divorce after marriage. As long as this time travelling girl took fancy to it, what fiancee, stand aside for me!

The men in the seats were curious and the women were disappointed, “Who’s the lucky young miss?”

The man said proudly, “This matter was not made public. Apart from this old man, it’s likely that no other person in this world can find out.”

Everyone was anxious, “Who is it?”

The man spoke leisurely, “Actually, this young miss is also from a fairly famous family. You all know her, she’s the daughter of Ye Tan City’s Old Master Hua, Young Miss Hua!”