Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 49 The Six-Winged Bee Part 1

Chapter 49: Chapter 49 The Six-Winged Bee Part 1

Dawn.

The sky was pale blue, not yet fully bright.

Lin Xin rode on horseback, slowly following the earthy yellow horse path towards the massive city wall ahead.

The city walls were like a dense mass of blocks scattered across the hills and plains, with pointed red and yellow tiled roofs everywhere, and between the houses, large square walls enclosed many flat-topped buildings.

Some of the smaller, shorter pointed roofs were faintly hung with white silk.

On the horse path where the three men rode, a funeral procession blowing horns was approaching, with poles of white flags held high, adorned with various symbols to rest the deceased.

Two black coffins were being slowly pulled by oxen, surrounded by a group of relatives crying a mess, their eyes swollen red.

"This is the third one, why are there so many dead?" Yu Chang frowned and whispered. His words were such, but his gaze kept drifting among several beautiful women in the funeral procession,

"Something is not right," Shu Luoyi nodded. He was indeed closely observing the coffins in the funeral.

Lin Xin rode behind the two, silent.

Ahead was a vast city stretching for dozens of miles, but the closer they got, the more white silk representing funerals hung everywhere, and the more people looked numb.

Gazing towards the expansive Peacock City in front, it gave off a faintly oppressive and gloomy feeling.

The three men sped up, with more and more houses appearing on both sides of the road, transitioning from simple wooden homes to increasingly numerous white-walled courtyards.

Likewise, carriages and horses occasionally passed by them, sometimes even government convoys.

Yu Chang now took the lead, guiding the two towards his family’s residence.

Soon, they arrived in front of a large red-painted gate with stone columns and stone lions, guarded by two government soldiers, a strict vision indeed.

"The young master has returned!" As soon as they saw Yu Chang dismount, one of the scoffing soldiers promptly moved forward while the other turned to open the gate and shouted to report.

"Go tell my father that I plan to stay for a good few days this time, and I have brought two friends from the sect. Make sure to treat them well," Yu Chang said with a young master’s tone while smiling.

"Alrighty. I’ll call Xiao Liu!" The soldier seemed quite familiar with Yu Chang, smilingly turned to enter, and soon numerous lads came running out, some leading horses, some receiving belongings, all very attentive.

Lin Xin had no desire to impose here, after all, he was not close to Yu Chang.

"Brother Yu, I have another friend to visit, so let’s part here. I’ll come and bother you in a few days and we can act together."

After all, the mission this time wasn’t a difficult one - just to find a person and deliver a letter. They had taken on such tasks with the idea of managing other affairs, visiting family and friends.

"Then, may I know if Brother Lin has a fixed residence? It would be good for us to be able to contact each other," Yu Chang asked with a smile.

"You can find me at the Travelers’ Inn," Lin Xin provided an address he had booked in advance.

"I take my leave," he bowed.

"Farewell," Yu Chang and Shu Luoyi replied.

The three parted ways.

The Travelers’ Inn was a place Lin Xin had inquired about from Kong Yuhui; it was also one of the two largest inns in Peacock City.

After asking a passerby, Lin Xin quickly rode his horse to the inn’s front gate.

On the left, a luxury residence with Vermilion Bird eaves was under renovation, clanging from the inside, with a pile of bricks and stones outside, and workers coming and going.

After dismounting, the inn’s lads promptly welcomed him, took the horse, and gave him a horse tag with a number on it.

"You can collect your horse with this later," explained the lad.

Following him into the inn led to a vast space.

It was like standing in the open space of a hall, being able to see the configuration of rooms on the first to third layers on both sides.

From the bottom to the top, every layer was adorned with red lanterns.

Lin Xin looked up to see the ceiling was a black stone slab, with a few gilt characters carved into it: No Fixed Abode.

The inn was bustling with people, business seemed good. The lad led Lin Xin to the counter where he paid, left a deposit, and plenty of rooms were available. Lin Xin opted for a deluxe suite—a space that could accommodate three people.

A maid led him to the suite, which had rosewood furniture with silver edges and intricately carved designs, with occasional Eight Trigrams bronze mirrors for warding off evil on the walls.

Around the corner, there were large decorative vases, rockeries, wooden carvings, and more.

"Send a letter to the Kong residence in Peacock Sect, to Kong Yuhui, this is an insignia for contact," Lin Xin instructed the maid to summon the inn’s messenger, and pressed a Red Jade pendant, given by Kong Yuhui for contact, onto the envelope.

In his presence, the messenger sealed the envelope with red wax and left with the letter and the jade pendant.

Once the door was closed, Lin Xin slowly exhaled.

Looking at the lantern-adorned luxurious ancient bedroom, he felt an unreal sensation.

The room faintly emitted a fragrant scent, unidentified, but it smelt very refined.

Lin Xin walked up to the desk, on which a silver candlestick held three candles as thick as one’s wrist. There was also a yellow pear wood plaque on the desk that had some words written on it. They were all messages wishing guests a good night’s sleep, reminding them to stay safe, and to ring the bell if they need service.

Above the wooden plaque hung a row of red cords, each with a small sign dangling from it, inscribed with different words.

’Breakfast’ ’Lunch’ ’Dinner’ ’Bath’ ’Tailoring’ ’Medicine Change’ ’Miscellaneous’

In total, there were seven signs.

Beside the Medicine Change, which Lin Xin didn’t understand, he could comprehend the rest.

"It’s truly a top-notch luxury bedroom... Eight taels of silver a day... Such luxury," he couldn’t help but sigh.

Moving to the low tea table, he sat on the wooden couch beside it. The couch, just like a wooden sofa, surrounded the tea table in a circle. In the center, there was an incense burner, with matching flint stones neatly arranged beside it.

He took off the four swords along with the ordinary longsword at his waist, shed his coat, and pulled the red cord for a bath.

Ding ding..

The faint sound of the copper bell came through.

Soon, not even five minutes had passed, when two muscular men carrying a large wooden tub knocked on the door.

After opening the door, he watched the two men place the tub in the suite’s special bathing area. Then others came in, carrying buckets of hot water, pouring it into the tub until it was full. A washcloth, a prepared nightgown, towels, and fragrant rose petals for the bath. Everything was quickly prepared, and then they just left.

"Um... what about the person to scrub my back?" Lin Xin was about to ask when he saw four young and beautiful girls, wearing only white gauze, leisurely walk in.

"We are here to serve you with your bath and change of clothes," the four girls said in unison, their sweet, tender voices making Lin Xin feel a little faint-hearted.

"This is seriously corrupt," he lamented in his mind. "It’s too decadent!"

Looking at the four pretty girls in front of him, if he lived this kind of life every day, Lin Xin suddenly understood why there were always so many prodigal sons in the historical dramas he had seen.

But after thinking it over, he waved aside all except one girl, who seemed more innocent. He wasn’t a saint nor a paragon of virtue. He would enjoy what life had to offer.

The girl’s service was not of that kind, rather she waited until he had undressed and entered the water before coming in to scrub his back and add hot water, but it was limited to just that, with only a slight ambiguous touch and friction.

Lin Xin took this opportunity to inquire about some matters here.

"Why is it that all around Peacock City, I can see funeral processions everywhere? Has there been an outbreak of the plague recently?"

The girl had a white jade hairpin, so Lin Xin simply called her ’Hairpin.’

"Yes, recently nobody knows if it’s the plague or something else, but many people have mysteriously fallen ill, and in just a few days become emaciated. Despite eating, they still seem to starve to death, it’s truly horrific to see, and it can keep you up at night," Hairpin said with a shudder as she recounted the recent events.

"But it’s said to be the plague? Several doctors in the city couldn’t find the root of the illness. Those who were close to the sick were fine, but it was the completely unrelated people who suddenly got sick. I heard that the chief physician from the Shengji Hall at the Capital rushed over too, saying it was some kind of insect sting."

"Insect sting?" Lin Xin sat up straight in the tub for her to scrub his back.

"Yes, bitten by an insect," Hairpin whispered.

"Have you studied before? Do you know how to read?" Lin Xin asked casually.

"Yes, I am from Green Pond Red Willow; my family used to be well-off, and I attended school. I even passed the primary scholar examination, but unfortunately, I didn’t make it through the prefectural exam and had to drop out before finishing my studies," Hairpin replied in a low voice.

Lin Xin nodded in understanding. In the Song State, women were also allowed to aspire for academic titles. To have learned up to the level of a primary scholar was the equivalent of a middle school student in contemporary terms.

Translated, it meant that Hairpin had to drop out of school when she was at the middle school level because her family fell on hard times, so she came out to work.

"So you’re not even eighteen yet?" Lin Xin further inquired.

"Yes, I just turned fifteen this new year," the girl replied softly.

Lin Xin glanced at her breasts, full in a way that didn’t seem quite like those of a fifteen year old, clearly doubting her claim. She was likely two years older than she said.

With Hairpin’s assistance, Lin Xin bathed and changed into new clothes. Not long after Hairpin left, Kong Yuhui arrived.

"Brother Lin, you truly have arrived!" Kong Yuhui’s expression was still indifferent, yet there was a hint of pleasure in his eyes.

The two men secured the door, sat down on the wooden couch, and Lin Xin poured him a cup of hot water.

Glancing sideways at the sky, it was already approaching late afternoon.

"Brother Kong, is there something you need my help with?"

"Nothing major," Kong Yuhui relaxed and chuckled, "Our Peacock Sect is unsurpassed within a hundred miles around Peacock City, and more than half of the government officials are disciples and elders of our sect. Even in the case of serious matters, there would be no need for you and me to take action."

"Then what is it? I had just settled in and sent you a message when you hurried over," Lin Xin said with a smile.

"It’s just that my family also has a few friends over, and they are all comrades from Jianghu I’ve befriended on my travels. I wanted to introduce you to them, have a drink, and get to know each other," Kong Yuhui clearly had more than this simple motive.

Before coming here, Lin Xin had thoroughly investigated the internal situation of the Peacock Sect.

Within the Peacock Sect, aside from Kong Yuhui, there were two other sect heir candidates, his sister Kong Xiushan and his elder brother Kong Lei.

Both were also internal martial arts experts with a wide network of connections. Knowing that he had just arrived and Kong Yuhui was already rushing over, it was likely an attempt to win him over to his side against the other two.

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