Killing Monks

Guangyuan took the water and slowly drank a few sips.

Clear water flowed over his chapped lips, moistening his parched throat. He put down the gourd, picked up a steamed bun, broke off a piece, and slowly chewed it.

The steamed bun was very hard, as hard as a rock. He chewed it very slowly, bit by bit, until the dry, hard bun was chewed into a paste before swallowing it.

My whole body aches.

Every bone, every muscle, every meridian is aching.

But he pulled through.

He looked at Hu Dafu, whose face was covered in dust and whose eyes were red.

He swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth and said in a hoarse voice, "It's alright now."

Just those three words.

Hu Dafu's tears welled up instantly.

After Guangyuan woke up, Hu Dafu felt much more at ease.

He had more strength to drive the cart, his back was straighter, and he could wield the whip more steadily.

The donkey cart continued south.

Day after day.

The sun rises and sets, the moon waxes and wanes.

After traveling for several days, an inn suddenly appeared ahead.

The inn stood alone by the official road, surrounded by weeds and with distant mountain shadows.

A flagpole stands at the entrance, with four large characters written on the flag: Sifang Inn.

Outside the inn, a sedan chair was parked.

A red sedan chair.

Hu Dafu recognized him at a glance.

His hand jerked violently, and the reins nearly fell off.

He turned his head and started gesturing "woo-woo-ah-ah" to Guangyuan in the truck bed. After spending so much time together, Guangyuan could understand his gestures.

"You mean," Guangyuan slowly began, "that you've seen this sedan chair before?"

Hu Dafu nodded vigorously.

"The person in this sedan chair wanted to kill you," Guangyuan continued. "They let you go just because they saw you were mute?"

Hu Dafu nodded again, this time even more forcefully.

"This is an inn," Guangyuan said. "We'll stay here tonight."

His whole body was still in pain, but his eyes had regained their clarity.

"It's alright, I'll take care of everything."

Hu Dafu looked at him and nodded vigorously.

The two got off the donkey cart and walked into the inn one after the other.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a mixture of smells of alcohol, sweat, and some inexplicable tension rushed out.

The waiter came up to us with a smile on his face, but the smile looked forced no matter how you looked at it.

"Sir, would you like a meal or a room at the inn?"

"Let's have a meal and stay at an inn," Guangyuan said. "A superior room. And some of the best fodder."

The waiter's smile froze for a moment.

He rubbed his hands awkwardly and said with an apologetic smile, "Sir, I'm so sorry. Our inn... is already full. We have no food left either. I'm truly sorry."

Guangyuan looked at him.

The waiter's eyes darted around, glancing into the lobby every now and then.

Guangyuan followed his gaze.

The atmosphere in the lobby was tense.

Several tables were set up, each occupied by a distinct group of people.

The most conspicuous table was on the east side, where four burly men surrounded a young man in red.

The young man was in his early twenties, with a handsome face, red lips and white teeth. He was leaning lazily against the back of his chair, fanning himself with a folding fan.

Four burly men, broad-shouldered and wary, were clearly trained fighters. They noticed Hu Dafu, were slightly surprised, and then spoke to the young man in red.

The young man in red looked at Hu Dafu and Guangyuan with great interest.

At another table, two people were protecting a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was dressed in a silk shirt and looked like a wealthy merchant, but his eyes were sharp and his posture was as steady as a mountain, which was definitely not an ordinary businessman.

The two men protecting him had their hands on the hilts of their knives, ready to strike at any moment.

There was another table with the innkeeper and two waiters. The innkeeper, who was in his forties, was fair-skinned and had a big smile on his face, but the nervousness beneath the smile was impossible to hide.

When Guangyuan entered, they were at each other's throats.

The lobby was unusually quiet.

It was so quiet you could hear the wind blowing through the flagpole outside the window.

The young man in red glanced at Guangyuan, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment before lazily looking away.

The wealthy-looking man didn't even glance at him.

The shopkeeper glanced at him, his gaze complex. There was wariness, helplessness, and a hint of...surprise?

Guangyuan withdrew his gaze.

He looked at the waiter and slowly began to speak.

"Fully booked?"

The waiter nodded vigorously.

"Is there no food left?"

The waiter nodded again.

Guangyuan didn't ask any more questions.

He simply turned around and took a step outside.

Suddenly, he stopped.

He glanced back at Hu Dafu and the other people watching him.

He turned his head and said something to the waiter.

"Then give us a room."

The waiter was stunned, his smile freezing on his face.

"Huh?" He chuckled dryly. "Sir, this... isn't that inappropriate? Our inn is fully booked! Really fully booked!"

"There's nothing wrong with it."

Guangyuan's gaze swept across the lobby. The different groups of people each occupied a corner, and the table in the middle was empty, with only a few benches that no one was sitting on.

"I don't see many people here," he said. "It's probably not full."

The waiter opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but saw that Guangyuan had already stepped inside, with Hu Dafu following behind him.

The waiter reached out to stop him, but withdrew his hand halfway through.

He didn't know what to do, so he could only turn to look at the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter.

He was in his forties, fair-skinned, and dressed in a clean silk shirt, looking like a friendly and prosperous businessman.

But Guangyuan's gaze fell on his hands with their large knuckles, and then on his demeanor and the way he stood there. He seemed casual, but in fact, he was as steady as a mountain.

Earth realm warrior.

Guangyuan understood the situation.

The shopkeeper was also sizing up Guangyuan.

He looked at the young man with unsteady steps, a strange glint in his eyes. Unsteady steps meant either injury or illness.

Anyone who dares to venture in like that must be either crazy or has something to rely on.

He grinned, a smile that held a hint of probing.

"Sir, our shop is indeed full. You see…"

"My friend and I were just passing through."

Guangyuan interrupted him: "What you should do and what you should do is none of our business."

He had already noticed something strange about this inn.

The shopkeeper's eyelid twitched.

He had been in the underworld for over twenty years, encountering all sorts of people, from the most righteous to the most ruthless. But someone as arrogant as him was truly rare.

His smile deepened, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"If our service is inadequate, then, sir..."

"The poor service is naturally the fault of you, the manager," Guangyuan said, looking at him and enunciating each word clearly.

After he finished speaking, he ignored the shopkeeper and led Hu Dafu straight inside.

He walked to the empty table opposite the young man in red, pulled out a bench, and slowly sat down.

Hu Dafu sat down next to him, watching the young man in red and his attendants.

Now, he has someone backing him up; he's no longer someone who just passed by and got killed at will!