Simultaneously traversing: the pinnacle of all realms

Early in the morning, Lü Ze asked Tong Xiangyu for a few sheets of window paper to cover the holes—he did it carefully, even pressing the edges firmly with paste.

Then I started chopping wood and boiling water.

Bai Zhantang, carrying a towel, passed by and glanced at him several times before finally unable to resist saying, "Xiao Zezi, you seem a bit different from yesterday?"

"How is it different?" Lü Ze asked.

"I can't quite put my finger on it," Bai Zhantang tilted his head, scrutinizing him, "but... you seem more energetic?"

"Maybe he slept well."

"That's true." Bai Zhantang didn't think any further.

Lu Ze filled the water vat, swept the yard, and was neatly stacking the firewood at the kitchen door when he heard hurried footsteps outside.

When the curtain was lifted, Li Dazui rushed into the inn with a vegetable basket on his left and a clucking chicken in his right hand, his face pale.

"Shopkeeper! Something terrible has happened!"

Tong Xiangyu, fanning herself, didn't even look up: "What's wrong? Have vegetable prices gone up or salt become more expensive?"

"It's much more serious than that!" Li Dazui slammed his vegetable basket on the table, stuffed the chicken under the table, and said breathlessly, "The government office has posted a notice! The 'Male and Female Devils' have come!"

"What?"

Tong Xiangyu's fan fell "thud" onto the counter.

Bai Zhantang nearly dropped the bowl in his hand, then darted in through the doorway. "What did you say? The Male and Female Duo? You mean those two who've been making headlines in the martial arts world lately?"

"It's them!" Li Dazui's face turned green. "I heard it from Blind Wang. He said these two are ruthless and have been vandalizing everything they've done since the Eighteen Mile Shop!"

Bai Zhantang's voice changed, "How far are they from here?"

"I heard they were in Zuojiazhuang yesterday, and there wasn't anywhere around for them to cause trouble, so I guess they're heading to Qixia Town today!"

Tong Xiangyu took a deep breath, looked around, and said, "What are you all so afraid of? The person hasn't even arrived yet and you're already so scared. Go back to what you were doing!"

Everyone went about their own business, but the atmosphere inside the inn became somewhat quiet.

Lu Ze pondered as he stacked firewood. According to the plot, the male and female duo would soon appear, then wreak havoc, and finally Guo Furong would be subdued by Tong Xiangyu. He wasn't worried about his safety—with Bai Zhantang around, even if a fight broke out, nothing serious would happen.

He was just a little curious about what Guo Furong was really like, since the other people and actors in Tongfu Inn were all different. When he watched the show in his previous life, he thought she was quite interesting; although she had a spoiled princess temper, she wasn't a bad person at heart.

After tidying up the courtyard, Lü Ze went to help Lü Qinghou with the accounts. As Lü Qinghou worked on the abacus, he sighed, "Brother Ze, why is the world so turbulent? I was originally planning to try my luck in the autumn imperial examinations this year, but it seems my life is more important."

"Brother, you are very learned, you will definitely pass the exam," Lü Ze comforted him.

"Sigh, I'll take your kind words," Lu Qinghou said, shaking his head. "Confucius said, 'Do not enter a dangerous state, do not reside in a chaotic state.' But Qixia Town isn't exactly a dangerous or chaotic state, so how come there's this 'Male and Female Duo' here..."

Lu Ze suppressed a laugh and didn't reply.

-

There was hardly any business all day, and Manager Tong was anxiously waiting for Bai Zhantang to go out and find out more information.

"Shopkeeper, many people in town aren't even doing business today. I guess they've all heard the news that the Twin Demons are coming to Qixia Town, and quite a few have simply left!"

Tong Xiangyu's expression changed, and she suddenly stood up: "No, Zhantang, you rest. Da Zui! Go and fetch Officer Xing!"

"Alright!" Li Dazui darted out, took a couple of steps, then turned back. "Boss, I still have chicken stewing in the pot!"

"What time is it for you to be arguing about this! Hurry up and go!"

Li Dazui really ran away this time, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The lobby was in an uproar.

Mo Xiaobei stood with her hands on her hips: "The duo? Let them come! I'm not afraid!"

"What do you know, you little brat!" Bai Zhantang pulled her down to sit. "Those two are ruthless killers!"

"Really ruthless killer?" Mo Xiaobei's eyes lit up. "That's incredible! Aren't your eyes dry?"

"Xiao Bei!" Tong Xiangyu scolded, turning to Bai Zhantang and asking, "What else did you find out?"

Bai Zhantang swallowed hard. "I heard they're highly skilled in martial arts, appearing and disappearing without a trace, always choosing dark and windy nights to strike. Some had their legs broken, some were stripped naked and hung from roof beams, and there was one—"

"Alright, alright, stop talking!" Tong Xiangyu covered her ears. "I don't want to hear any of this!"

"Shopkeeper," Lü Qinghou peeked out from behind the counter and said weakly, "I think this matter should be reported to the authorities—"

"I've already sent Big Mouth to invite Constable Xing!" Tong Xiangyu interrupted him.

"That's good, that's good," Lü Qinghou breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt something was off, "But what about Officer Xing...?"

Before he could finish speaking, everyone fell silent for a moment.

Indeed, everyone knows how incompetent Officer Xing is.

Lu Ze sat on a stool to the side listening, but he didn't panic. Guo Furong, after all, was just a runaway young lady. Her martial arts skills were mediocre, but she wasn't some heinous villain.

But he couldn't say that, because no one would believe him anyway.

After about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, Li Dazui came running back, panting heavily.

"Officer Xing... Officer Xing..." he gasped, leaning against the doorframe, "He's here... in the back..."

Everyone looked out onto the street.

Officer Xing strode over unhurriedly, one hand on the hilt of his sword, the other behind his back, his face bearing an expression that said, "This officer is busy with official duties, but I've made a difficult trip." He even stopped at the entrance of the inn to adjust his hat before stepping inside.

"Oh, everyone's here." Constable Xing glanced around.

Tong Xiangyu hurried forward to greet him, "Officer Xing, you've finally arrived! We heard that the 'Male and Female Duo' were coming—"

"The duo of male and female slayers?" Constable Xing raised his hand, interrupting her, his expression turning serious. "You both knew?"

"It's all over town!" Li Dazui chimed in. "Officer Xing, you have to do us a favor!"

Officer Xing cleared his throat, sat down at the table in the middle of the hall, placed one hand on the hilt of his knife, and struck a pose full of official authority.

"This pair of ruthless bastards—" he drawled.

"This constable has long heard of them. According to reliable intelligence from the yamen, these two are notorious thieves in the martial arts world, who specifically choose to strike on dark and windy nights. Their methods are extremely cruel, and their hearts are extremely vicious—"

Constable Xing took a sip of the tea Bai Zhantang handed him, then cleared his throat. "Although I haven't confronted them directly yet, according to the case files—"

"What does it say in the case file?" Li Dazui pressed.

"The case file..." Constable Xing paused, "It's clearly written in the case file that these two men are eight feet tall and have waists of eight feet—"

"Isn't it square?" Mo Xiaobei interjected.

"Let me give you an example!" Constable Xing glared at her. "In short, he's extremely tall and imposing! With a blue face and fangs! His eyes gleam with ferocity! He'd eat people alive!"

Tong Xiangyu turned pale upon hearing this: "Old Xing, don't scare us..."

"I'm not trying to scare you," Constable Xing said righteously. "I'm just warning you to be on your guard! This duo of male and female thugs are quite formidable. As the head constable of Qixia Town, I'm naturally going to deal with them to the very end."

Tong Xiangyu's face broke into a smile: "Officer Xing, rest assured, our Tongfu Inn has always supported the work of the yamen. Zhantang, go and bring some snacks."

He picked up the teapot and carefully filled Xing Bo's mouth with tea. "How about we treat you to dinner at the inn tonight? We also have a pot of good wine here."

Officer Xing stiffened, gave an awkward laugh, put down his cup, and got up to walk out.

"Don't go, Lao Xing..."

Shopkeeper Tong chased after him to the door and started pulling and tugging. He then began to calculate the amount of wine owed by Constable Xing, at which point Constable Xing's expression turned serious.

"There's a murderous aura about him!"

"Where? Where?"

Officer Xing pointed around at the surrounding rooftops. "There! We're there! There it is!"

He shouted, "Where do you think you're going, you little thief?" With that, he drew his knife and disappeared in a flash.

Everyone looked at each other.

"Meeting! Meeting!" Manager Tong called everyone in, and they sat in a circle in the main hall.

As soon as it got dark, the innkeeper put the doors back on and added a bolt to the entrance. A lamp was lit in the lobby, and several people sat around the table, but no one had any appetite.

"How did two devils end up in our town?" Manager Tong sighed.

Bai Zhantang remained calm, looking like a wise man. "Don't worry, they're just two petty thieves. Back in the day, when I was roaming the martial world..."

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of tiles colliding came from the roof.

"Oh my god, oh my god~" Everyone was startled. Bai Zhantang, who had just said he wasn't afraid, grabbed Mo Xiaobei and crawled under the table.

Lu Ze also stood up subconsciously, and Lu Xiucai pulled him to hide behind the counter, tightly gripping the wine spoon in his hand.

Meow~

Tong Xiangyu sat there looking around, "One cat has scared you all like this. Come out, come out, stop sticking your heads out!"

The group sat down and began to complain: the Zhao family girl from Zuojiazhuang, the doctor Xue from Shibalipu, Uncle Ge from Xilianghe, the peddler from Balizhuang, the hunter from Heifengling, the locksmith from Baishiqiao, and the woodcutter from Weigongcun—

As if remembering something, Lü Xiucai trotted into the counter, grabbed a feather duster, and handed it to Manager Tong while dusting off the feathers.

"Shopkeeper, this is something I made myself. I'm keeping it for you to protect yourself."

Tong Xiangyu's face stiffened, and she forced a smile as she declined, "Good scholar, keep it for swatting mosquitoes."

After the interlude, everyone gathered together again, sighing and complaining, when suddenly there was a "knock knock" at the door.

Everyone turned around at the same time, hurriedly got up and gathered together.

Amid the shoving, Bai Zhantang managed to ask, "Who...who is it?"

A voice came from outside the door: "It's me. Open the door. I need a room."

"Who are you? We're closed!"

"Fifty taels of gold." Upon hearing this, Lü Ze was stunned, thinking to himself, "My God, do you know what you're saying?"

Upon hearing this, Tong Xiangyu rushed forward and unlatched the door, saying, "Please come in, sir."

The door opened.

There was a person standing at the door.

He was a young "gentleman," dressed in black, with a headscarf, a face as white as jade, carrying a bundle on his back, and waving a sword in his hand.

Lu Ze squinted and glanced at it.

Then he almost burst out laughing.

Although this "young master" deliberately lowered his voice, his eyebrows, his figure, the cloth strip covering his neck, and his clothes tied crookedly clearly indicated that he was a girl.

Guo Furong, disguised as a man, came to stay at the hotel.

The male and female duo, here they come!

Tong Xiangyu looked her up and down and immediately recognized her as a woman. She wondered whose young lady had run away from home, and breathed a sigh of relief. Surely she wasn't one of those two monstrous figures, both eight feet tall.

He greeted them warmly, "Please come in, sir. Zhan Tang, close the door."

Watching Guo Furong follow Manager Tong upstairs, Lü Ze knew that the official plot of "My Own Swordsman" had begun.