Volume Two: Winds Rise in Anxi Prefecture — Chapter 140: Yingtian Restaurant

The Yingtian Inn is a place of mysterious ownership, yet its bold claim that anyone who enters its doors may escape disaster suggests a power of significant influence.

There were no footmen to greet guests at the main gate. Lu Jiuzhang had no choice but to lead the ferocious man, Bai Xiaosu, and the large black dog inside himself.

In the right-hand chamber on the first floor, a woman in her twenties, dressed in a long gown of silk gauze embroidered with gold thread and a top patterned with chrysanthemums, looked at Lu Jiuzhang with a bright smile. "For four?"

"Do monsters count?" Lu Jiuzhang asked, puzzled.

"Damn it, Master Jiu, why wouldn't a monster count? No, wait—I am no monster; I am a divine beast." The black dog glanced at the woman in the chrysanthemum-patterned top. "Give me a superior room; don't worry about the others."

"One superior room, one hundred gold taels!" The woman picked up a brush and recorded it on paper.

"Damn, wait a second—is that one hundred gold taels for a month?" the black dog asked hurriedly.

"Certainly not. A superior room is one hundred gold taels per night, a middle-tier room is ten gold taels per night, and a lower-tier room is one gold tael per night."

Seeing the black dog's reaction, the woman immediately realized this creature could not afford a superior room, and her tone grew less welcoming. "We also have the four top-tier suites—Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow—at one thousand gold taels per night!"

One gold tael is equivalent to one thousand silver taels, meaning one thousand gold taels equals one million silver taels.

Damn! This is highway robbery!

The black dog had spent great effort raiding two bandit dens only to earn a little over one hundred thousand silver taels. By that math, it could only afford a single night in a superior room.

"Four lower-tier rooms, for half a month!" Lu Jiuzhang took a large amount of silver from his storage ring, covering the counter.

Four gold taels a day for four people meant sixty gold taels for half a month, which amounted to roughly sixty thousand silver taels. Lu Jiuzhang only had about four or five hundred thousand silver taels to his name; in an instant, an eighth of his wealth was gone. *Consider it a sacrifice to avoid misfortune,* he thought, hoping there would be no trouble while staying here.

"Four lower-tier rooms!" the woman shouted toward the door. Immediately, a footman approached to lead Lu Jiuzhang and his companions to their lodgings.

On the way, the footman explained, "Inside each room is a numbered token. As long as you carry this token within Anxi Prefecture, no one should dare cross you."

"Dining is available on the first and second floors of the guest wing."

"Once settled, we hope you do not wander the inn unnecessarily, so as not to disturb other guests—especially those staying in the Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow suites."

"Upon checking out, you must return the token."

Lu Jiuzhang nodded; there are rules in every establishment, and since he had been warned, he had nothing more to say.

"What if a guest with a lower-tier token gets into a conflict in Anxi Prefecture with someone holding a superior-tier token?" the black dog asked.

The footman looked troubled. It was the first time anyone had asked such a question. Most guests lived in peace. Those who entered Yingtian Inn were usually burdened by trouble; they rarely ventured out, preferring to stay inside and wait for their problems to be resolved. Some would leave once their troubles passed, while others, unable to resolve their issues or pay the fees, were eventually kicked out. The footman had once seen a man get hacked to death in the street the moment he stepped out of Yingtian Inn. Afterward, the killer continued to move freely through Anxi Prefecture without consequence.

Passing through an antique garden, the footman led them to a pavilion. It was several stories high, one of about four or five similar structures.

"You will be staying in this building," the footman said, pointing ahead. "Third floor, on the right!"

He led them up and soon arrived at the door. "My lords, this is the place." After dropping them off, the footman departed.

The group entered their room. The layout was quite simple: a suite containing a bedroom and an outer area with a small table and several floor cushions. A black iron token lay on the small table.

*Such a simple token—couldn't it be forged?* Lu Jiuzhang wondered, picking it up. A split second later, he felt a faint trace of spiritual power. It contained the power of an array? No wonder! Arrays were not easily replicated—the cost was simply too high.

Placing the token in his storage ring, Lu Jiuzhang lay down on the bed, intending to rest for a while.

...

In the "Heaven" suite of the Yingtian Inn, the setting was far different from the simple lower-tier rooms; it was a private residence. The estate occupied a vast area, surrounded by gardens, with a small lake at its center containing a pavilion. A veiled woman sat within.

"Mistress!" A footman approached, bowing respectfully. "Prefect Xu of Anxi requests an audience."

"Show him in."

"As you command!" The footman turned and walked quickly away.

Minutes later, a stern, middle-aged man stepped into the pavilion. He bowed slightly. "The Mistress has such refined taste!"

"One does not visit a temple without a reason, Prefect Xu. No need for pleasantries; speak your mind," the veiled woman said coldly, her age impossible to discern.

"Er..." Being addressed so bluntly left the Prefect somewhat embarrassed.

"Those in officialdom seek either promotion or self-preservation," Prefect Xu said slowly. "I have come today seeking a future."

"I visited Yingtian Inn once several days ago, but you were not here. I have come again today, hoping you might lend me a hand."

"Oh?" The veiled woman remained unhurried. "I am but a woman; how could I possibly help Prefect Xu? If you seek a future, you have come to the wrong person."

"The Governor of Northern Foothills County stands behind you—a man who governs a territory and holds immense power. If you seek a future, why come to me instead of him? Isn't that like trying to go south by driving your chariot north?"

The Mistress's point was clear: if you want to advance, why not go to your own faction or your superior? Why come to her?

"To be frank, although the Governor is not of the same faction as the Zhong family, he has a deep bond with their patriarch," Prefect Xu explained. "The destruction of the Zhong family will not necessarily implicate others, but the Governor's position is so prominent that it will inevitably draw jealous eyes."

"If the Governor can barely protect himself, how can we hope to fare any better?" Prefect Xu sighed deeply.

He had been agonizing over this for some time. The Governor and the current head of the Zhong family shared an extraordinary relationship, which was why many members of the Zhong family held key positions in Northern Foothills County. If Prefect Xu remembered correctly, a member of the Zhong family even served as the Chief of the Demon-Slaying Division in Changshui County, under the jurisdiction of Anxi Prefecture.

Now that the Zhong family had been wiped out, its patriarch brutally killed, and most of its members murdered—either openly or in the shadows—the situation was dire.