<<Previous Chapter | Martial Peak | Next Chapter>>
Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
A moment later, the group of four stood in front of what looked like an inn. There was an open space before the building, and the flags were erected on the ground. Even though there was no wind in the void, a rustling sound was heard as the flags flapped freely.
Now, they had nowhere else to go, and they knew nothing about the Outer Universe. More importantly, all of them were considered weak in this place. Now that they had finally come across what looked like an inn, they certainly had to take a look. It would be wonderful if they could find out where Great Moon Province was from the people here.
However, Old Fang appeared worried, “Little Brother, could this be a bandits’ inn?”
Yang Kai gave him a look and grinned meaningfully, “Even if it’s really a bandits’ inn, it’s too late for us to leave now.”
Upon hearing that, Old Fang turned pale as he looked up at the flags; however, before he could derive anything useful from the flags, a person stepped out of the inn with a bright smile on his face, “Welcome, honourable guests!”
Yang Kai turned his head, only to see a person who looked like a shop boy, flashing a fawning smile at them, a white towel draped over his shoulder. He looked just like the shop hands he had come across in the past.
At that instant, Yang Kai fell into a dazed state for a moment before he subconsciously activated his Divine Sense to find out about this person’s cultivation. However, he was stunned by the outcome as he couldn’t make out how powerful this shop hand was. Despite the bright smile on this person’s face, he didn’t seem to have existed at all, which was extremely peculiar.
Yang Kai believed that this person must have an artifact that could conceal his cultivation. Even if an Open Heaven Realm Master was standing in front of him, they probably wouldn’t be able to detect anything.
Since they had arrived at this place, there was no way they would just leave, so Yang Kai nodded gently and led his companions inside.
From the outside, there was nothing special about the inn as it was just a building that was made of red bricks and green tiles; however, upon entering, they realised that it was different from what they had expected.
The hall was spacious, easily accommodating over twenty tables. Besides that, there was a second floor.
Presently, it was hustling and bustling in the hall. Most of the tables had been occupied as the guests drank wine and chatted. The customers were dressed up in all different kinds of styles. Some of them were obviously from the same great force as they wore similar robes. Some of them were dressed up differently, but they were apparently from the same group.
There was a counter near the entrance, and behind it was an accountant who was loudly fiddling with a golden abacus. Inside the hall, shop boys could be seen moving around as the delicate dishes exuded an aromatic scent.
When Yang Kai and the others stepped into the hall, the accountant took one look at them and continued fiddling with his abacus.
The shop hand from before hospitably led them to an empty table and wiped it with the white towel on his shoulder before asking, “What would you like to order?”
“What do you have?” Yang Kai looked around and absent-mindedly asked.
The shop boy said proudly, “Whatever you want to eat, we’ll be able to prepare it for you.”
That was indeed a bold statement, so Old Fang grinned meaningfully and asked, “Are you able to prepare Dragon livers and Phoenix hearts?”
The shop boy replied, “We can get them for you, but you’ll have to wait as they’re out of stock now. If you’re not in the rush, you can stay for three to five years and we’ll definitely acquire the dishes for you.”
The corner of Old Fang’s mouth twitched as he muttered, “Are you serious?”
The shop boy said, “It depends on whether you’re patient enough to find out if it’s true.” He placed the white towel over his shoulder and declared, “Integrity is the key to our First Inn’s success; otherwise, we wouldn’t have survived until now. Don’t you agree?”
Yang Kai coughed, “We don’t need Dragon livers and Phoenix hearts. Just get us some of your signature dishes and some bottles of wine.”
“Good. I’ll be right back,” the shop boy replied and turned around to leave.
“It’s really an inn,” After the shop boy was gone, Old Fang looked around and spoke to Yang Kai via Divine Sense, his voice filled with disbelief.
Yang Kai nodded, “It doesn’t look like a bandits’ inn either. Maybe we can ask the shop boy whether Great Moon Province is in this territory.”
Ah Sun’s gaze brightened when she heard that and nodded her head repeatedly, “We certainly have to ask him about it.”
It was still noisy in the hall, and observing from the side, Yang Kai detected some auras that were clearly in the Open Heaven Realm. Apparently, there were Open Heaven Realm Masters present. However, some of those people were just like them who had only condensed a Dao Seal and had yet to reach the Open Heaven Realm.
After some observation, Yang Kai was finally able to set his mind at ease. This wasn’t a bandits’ inn, and the cultivation of the people coming in and out of the inn varied. In that case, they didn’t have to worry about their safety.
The workers in First Inn were pretty efficient and in just a quarter hour, the shop boy returned with four delicate dishes, a bowl of soup, and two bottles of wine, which were an ample meal for the group of four.
It wasn’t certain what the dishes were made of, but they looked appetising; moreover, the aromatic scent made them feel eager to have the food immediately. Ah Sun gulped repeatedly as though she hadn’t eaten anything for a few hundred years.
“All the dishes are ready. Please enjoy,” the shop boy said and wanted to leave.
Yang Kai quickly raised his hand, “Shop hand, there’s no rush. Can we get some information from you?”
The shop boy turned around with a smile on his face, “Our First Inn serves guests from all over, so we’ve gathered all kinds of information. We can sell the information to you, depending on what you want to ask.”
“Sell the information to us?” Yang Kai frowned, “Do we have to pay?”
The shop hand replied, “There are no free meals in this world. Regardless of what kind of information it is, it has some value in our inn.”
“How much do you charge?”
“It depends on what you want to ask. Some information is cheap, while some information is expensive.”
Yang Kai felt speechless at how profit-minded they ran their business, but after giving it a thought, he realised that it wasn’t surprising. In this Outer Universe, it was difficult to look for anyone to ask about any information. Since they were able to do this kind of business, they must have their own unique capabilities.
“I want to know the location of a certain great force,” Yang Kai said.
“Which great force?”
“Great Moon Province.”
The shop boy extended his hand, “One hundred Open Heaven Pills, please.”
Old Fang almost sprayed out the wine from his mouth, “O-One hundred Open Heaven Pills? Why don’t you just rob us?” Having served as a Worker in Seven Wonders Land, only receiving a wage of 3 Open Heaven Pills a year, Old Fan could not believe that this little piece of information cost 100 pills. Gazing at the dishes in front of him, he gulped. If such a piece of information was already so expensive, how much did these dishes cost? He subconsciously covered his Space Ring.
The smile on the shop boy’s face seemed to be eternal as he commented, “You’re free to decide whether you want to ask.”
After a nod, Yang Kai fished out a hundred pills from his Space Ring and passed them to him. The shop boy took them and gave Yang Kai a jade slip, “The location of Great Moon Province is inside. You just have to check it.”
Yang Kai infused his Divine Sense into the slip and immediately saw something like a Star Chart. Upon getting his bearings, he found their current location and that of Great Moon Province. After calculating the distance, he couldn’t help but be shocked.
“How is it?” Ah Sun asked anxiously.
Yang Kai passed the jade slip to her, “It’s not in this territory. We’ll have to go through two more Territory Gates before we reach the Great Territory that Great Moon Province is in.”
Ah Sun took a look and realised that just like what Yang Kai had said, Great Moon Province wasn’t in this Great Territory. If they wanted to go there, they still had a long way to go. That revelation made her feel dejected.
Yang Kai raised his head and stared at the shop boy, “How do we move past a Territory Gate?” As he spoke, he fished out another hundred Open Heaven Pills.
The shop boy replied, “Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters can pass through the gates as they please. People who are below that realm need to buy some defensive flight-type artifacts, which are sold in every Star City.”
“Is there a Star City in this place? Where is it?” Yang Kai passed a hundred pills to him again.
The shop boy gave him another jade slip, “Just follow this route and you’ll reach there in a month.”
Without the need to have a look, Yang Kai knew that it must be a map.
“Are all of you new to the Outer Universe?” The shop boy suddenly asked.
This wasn’t any kind of big secret; moreover, what Yang Kai had asked was all basic knowledge, so anyone could deduce that they were new to the Outer Universe. Therefore, he nodded, “En.”
“In that case…” The shop boy gave it a thought, “Since you’ve already paid for three pieces of information, I’ll give you some basics for free as a bonus.”
“Many thanks,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
The shop boy went on to say, “Let’s talk about the First Inn first. Our business spans the entire Outer Universe, and we have a shop in every Great Territory. If you come across any trouble you’re unable to solve, like you’re being hunted down by your enemies, you can seek refuge in our inn. Inside our inn, no one is allowed to fight. Otherwise, the consequences would be dreadful for that person.”
A shocked Yang Kai asked, “Does your inn serve as a shelter as well?”
The shop boy smiled meaningfully, “Everyone who steps into our shop is our guest, so it is only natural we ensure they are provided a safe environment. If anything happens to our guests inside our inn, how would we continue running our business?”
Despite his nonchalant tone, Yang Kai understood the profound meaning behind his words. Initially, he thought that this was just an ordinary inn, but now it seemed that this business had some powerful backers. If that wasn’t the case, this shop boy wouldn’t have dared to say such a thing. It had to be noted that many people who roamed around the Outer Universe were Open Heaven Realm Masters.
“Let’s move on to the Great Moon Province…” The shop boy smiled gently, “Perhaps you won’t need to travel there yourselves. Just wait here for some time, and you may see some people from Great Moon Province.”
“Why?” Ah Sun hurriedly asked.
“Because something has happened in this Great Territory. Many people from different great forces have come to this place for a certain event.” The shop boy pointed at the hall, “Why else do you think so many people have come here?”
“What happened?” Yang Kai was curious as he reckoned that it must be something serious; otherwise, it couldn’t have attracted so many people to gather here.
The shop boy gave it a thought and heaved a sigh, “Forget it. Since you’re new here, you probably don’t have much wealth with you. I’ll give you the information for free.” Then, he passed one more jade slip to Yang Kai and swung the white towel across his shoulder, “Enjoy your meal. Call out to me if there’s anything else you need.”
Let some new alliances and fireworks begin!
I reckon I stacked up quite a lot of chapters. Almost 2 months worth.
Mercantile but decent. Seems like some business relationships for YK are being set up. I wonder if his alchemical background will crop up any time soon?
Ah yes, Yang Kai has finally found a savepoint and triggered the Tutorial menu.
Your comment is quite true, The First Inn will be an arc of its own after Yang Kai meets its owner.
I think it’ll become an arc long before that, unless you mean the owner/manager of this particular establishment.
thanks 👑