Green Mountain
Chapter 293 - 235, Rules of the Inn

Chapter 293: 235, Rules of the Inn

"""

At midnight, sounds of a door opening came from the neighboring Room B, as someone lightly stepped on the wooden floor of the corridor, went out the door, and descended the stairs.

Xiao Man was startled awake while sitting on a small chair. She vaguely opened her eyes, only to see Wu Yun, unbeknownst to her, lying next to Zhang Xia’s pillow, holding his hands and asleep.

Xiao Man felt annoyed. Throughout the journey, no matter how she tried to please Wu Yun, he heartlessly refused to come close to her, but now he was willing to sleep next to Second Miss Zhang. This was too heartless.

She looked up.

Chen Ji still stood in the same spot, gazing out the window with the Whale Blade held in his arms, his back straight.

Xiao Man thought, if Master were to wear the silver armor and white cloak of the Yulin Army, with white pheasant tail feathers inserted in his helmet, wouldn’t he look more imposing than those of the Yulin Army?

But was this still the same person from her memory, the bastard of Chen Mansion who would bow his head in silence after just a few words of scolding from Mrs. Liang and Wang Gui?

Xiao Man’s eyes darted around, and she quietly stood up, holding her clothes’ hem and approached Chen Ji to test the waters, "Master..."

Chen Ji suddenly spoke up, interrupting, "Xiao Man, thank you."

Xiao Man’s eyes widened: Huh?! Why is Master suddenly thanking me? Could it be about the incident earlier when I let Taotie help Master vent his anger, and Master found out?

When did Master find out? Was it when I was making seals and got seen? Or did eating too much arouse suspicions?

Chen Ji calmly spoke without turning his head: "Throughout our journey to Guyuan, you never complained of fatigue or hardship. No matter who we faced, regardless of their status, you always stood in front of me to protect me. Thank you."

Xiao Man felt a huge relief inside her, immediately relaxing; so this was what Master meant.

She spoke up, "Master, there’s no need for formalities. I am your maid; it is my duty to do all this..."

Chen Ji spoke again, "Xiao Man, don’t worry about your identity."

Xiao Man panicked inside.

Identity?

Could it be that Master knows about my identity from "Lantern"? Was it overheard when I talked with Su Zhou? Or did I accidentally speak in my sleep?

Chen Ji soothingly said, "Once we reach the Imperial Capital, I will ask Lady to return your indenture to you. Whether you choose to stay or leave afterwards is up to you. If you decide to leave, I will secure a dowry for you. If you stay, I will increase your monthly salary."

Xiao Man felt her emotions tumultuously vacillating between high and low, her heart pounding wildly.

But hearing that she could retrieve her indenture, she couldn’t suppress her joy: "Master must keep his word; it was you who said you would return my indenture. No regrets."

Chen Ji made an acknowledging sound, softly saying, "Go back and rest, I’ll continue to keep watch."

"Oh."

Dazedly, Xiao Man returned to her small chair, and only when her bottom touched the chair did she remember: wasn’t she supposed to test Master?!

She suspiciously looked at Chen Ji’s figure, growing even more doubtful!

Ah! When did Master become so cunning... He must have been led astray by Zhang Zheng!

At that thought, she stealthily stretched out her leg and kicked the sleeping Zhang Zheng nearby. Yet Zhang Zheng did not even open his eyes, simply turning over and continuing to sleep.

Xiao Man muttered, "Sleeping so soundly, one wouldn’t know if they were killed!"

At that moment, Chen Ji was staring through the window cracks at the stable, wanting to see if the fat man who had entered the stable would come out again. However, he had been waiting for over an hour and still saw no sign of him.

Could there possibly be a secret passage leading out of Guyuan Military Town beneath this stable? Where did the neighboring guest go in the middle of the night; could they too be leaving Guyuan City?

But Chen Ji waited until dawn broke and still did not see anyone entering or leaving the stable. Only when the rooster crowed did the inn’s workers come with feed for the horses.

He stretched his view again, seeing that the torches and fire pots on the distant city wall had all been extinguished.

Fortunately, the Jing Dynasty Heavenly Strategy Army did not come.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Ji handed the Whale Blade to Xiao Man, then turned and walked out the door: "Guard the room well."

Sitting on the chair, Xiao Man watched Chen Ji’s departing back. Once the door closed again, she quietly unwrapped the cloth from the Whale Blade and drew about a foot of the blade.

The blade was shining intensely that Xiao Man could clearly see her own reflection, which she had never seen on such a fine blade, not even at her Aunt’s house.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Man stroked her hair with the blade, then nonchalantly sheathed it.

Chen Ji carefully went down the stairs; in the main hall of the inn’s first floor, three workers were arranging the tables and chairs.

Seeing him descend, they stopped their tasks, greeted him with their hands clasped: "Guest, blessings to you."

Chen Ji nodded and continued to the back yard. The shopkeeper signaled to Xiao Wu, who then hobbled after Chen Ji.

"Guest, may I help you with anything?" Xiao Wu asked smilingly.

Chen Ji replied with a smile, "I’m going to groom my horse."

Xiao Wu quickly said, "Guest, let me handle such dirty, tedious work. The stable is a filthy place with a strong odor."

Chen Ji explained: "My horse is temperamental and doesn’t tolerate handling by others."

Speaking thus, he walked directly to the stable and reached out his hand; Zaozao moved forward to nuzzle his palm.

Xiao Wu praised: "Guest, your horse is truly extraordinary. Even the battle horses trafficked from the north... do not rival its robustness."

Chen Ji opened the stable door and led Zaozao out, "Please fetch two pounds of roasted soybeans mixed with two eggs, and charge it to my Superior A Room."

Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment but eventually agreed, "Alright!"

Listening to the departing footsteps, Chen Ji glanced around the stable using his peripheral vision.

Inside the stable, over twenty horses were tethered to posts, the floor covered with thick straw. Perhaps the secret passage lay beneath one of these straw piles.

At that moment, Chen Ji suddenly noticed an official’s hat in the corner of the stable, deformed by being trampled by a horse hoof.

"""

Why is there a corrugated official hat scattered here? Was it from the fat man last night?

The fat man indeed wore a corrugated official hat, but late last night, the style of the hat was quite similar, and Chen Ji was not sure if this was the fat man’s.

Chen Ji held a wooden comb and combed the floating fur off Zaozao, waiting for Xiao Wu to bring back soybeans. But it was not Xiao Wu who came back, but the Shopkeeper.

The Shopkeeper brought a wooden basin up to Zaozao, who remained indifferent.

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Let me do it."

He took the wooden basin and put it in front of Zaozao, who snorted loudly and gobbled up the contents.

The Shopkeeper marveled, "Guest, this horse of yours is truly spirited. Just now, Xiao Wu told me others can’t touch your horse, and I didn’t believe it."

While talking, his gaze swept toward the stable, and he also saw the official hat, immediately frowning.

The Shopkeeper moved a few steps to block the view between Chen Ji and the official hat, smiling as he asked, "Guest, where are you from?"

Chen Ji answered indirectly, "Shopkeeper, how did that servant become crippled just now?"

The Shopkeeper narrowed his eyes slightly, "No need to hide it from you. We were all from the border army before; Xiao Wu got shot through the ankle by a Divine Archer of the Jing Dynasty Heavenly Strategy Army from over a hundred steps away on Quwu Mountain."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Doesn’t our Ning Dynasty have Firearms? But last night when I passed the South City Gate, I didn’t see the border army carrying Firearms."

The Shopkeeper chuckled, "Firearms are only equipped for the three major camps, and they won’t be distributed to us at the Guyuan City, Dusi Prefecture."

Chen Ji puzzledly said, "Why, aren’t they all used to fight the Jing Dynasty rebels?"

The Shopkeeper leisurely said, "The court doesn’t trust us, afraid that we would sell the Firearms secretly to the north... You seem quite concerned about the affairs of the border army, aren’t you a Jing Dynasty spy?"

Chen Ji nonchalantly said, "Shopkeeper, I’m looking for a Jing Dynasty spy, would you believe me?"

The Shopkeeper sized Chen Ji up and down, "You don’t seem like it. You rather seem like a top scorer going to the Imperial Capital for the imperial examination."

"Shopkeeper, you really know how to flatter," Chen Ji suddenly turned to look at the Shopkeeper, "Excuse me to ask, if I want to buy some information, where should I go?"

The Shopkeeper slightly smiled, "Guest, you’ve come to the right place. Come back here to the main hall during the hours of Chen, and you will find what you want."

...

...

During the hours of Chen.

Chen Ji, along with Zhang Zheng, Zhang Xia, and Xiao Man, descended the stairs, planning to simply eat breakfast at the Dragon Gate Inn.

However, as they walked down the stairs, they were all stunned. The main hall of the inn, which was empty last night, was now almost full of guests.

As Chen Ji came down from upstairs, the full hall of guests glanced sideways at him, then turned their heads back as if nothing had happened, engrossed in the dishes in front of them.

Among these guests, some carried knives, some wore swords, some sat alone, and some were seven or eight people crowded around the same square table eating sunflower seeds.

In the entire main hall, only the middle table remained empty.

Zhang Xia hesitantly said, "Why is it so lively?"

Zhang Zheng whispered, "The people of Guyuan are indeed strange, drinking so early in the morning?"

Chen Ji’s gaze swept over, noticing that each table had wine pots on it, but the pots were still sealed with red cloth, untouched.

Zhang Xia recalled, "I heard that in Chuanzhou it’s customary to drink in the morning. Even wealthy landlords would go to the street to order a small pot of braised beef and intestines, accompanied by strong liquor. But I’ve never heard that Guyuan has this custom."

Chen Ji walked to the empty table, about to sit down, but was stopped by Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu apologized with a smile, "Guest, this table can’t be taken."

Chen Ji inquired thoughtfully, "Is there any rule regarding this place?"

Xiao Liu hurriedly explained, "It’s not exactly a rule, but this table is reserved for the owner of the Dragon Gate Inn. If the owner doesn’t come, no one else can sit here."

Chen Ji asked indifferently, "Who is the owner?"

Xiao Liu smiled, "The identity of our owner must not be disclosed, but if it’s fated, you will meet her."

As they spoke, someone from the neighboring table got up and left, and the waiter led Chen Ji over there, "Guest, please sit here."

When Chen Ji sat down, he noticed that until that guest left, the wine on the table was still sealed with red cloth, and none was taken away.

Xiao Liu picked up a wine pot, "Guest, what would you like to eat?"

Chen Ji glanced at the menu hanging behind the counter, "Two baskets of steamed buns and four bowls of fine noodles."

Xiao Liu suddenly asked, "Guest, would you like vegetable buns or meat buns?"

Chen Ji smiled, "Vegetable."

"Guest, would you like grape wine from the Western Regions or Fire Saber?"

Chen Ji, intrigued, noticed that the waiter did not ask if he wanted alcohol, but directly asked what kind he wanted.

He looked around, then calmly chose, "Fire Saber, please."

The waiter called out loudly, "One pot of Fire Saber, please wait!"

As these words were uttered, glances and whispers erupted around him.

A moment later, the waiter brought over a new pot of Fire Saber, placing it on the table, "Guest, your wine has arrived, the steamed buns will take a bit longer."

Chen Ji hummed in acknowledgment.

As the waiter turned to leave, a man carrying a knife immediately stood up, came over to the table, and sat down audaciously, asking, "Young man, you have quite a face. Got any news to sell?"

Suddenly the surroundings quieted down, with several tables of guests pricking up their ears.