Chapter 36

Feng Yan woke up in the inn, looked at the decorations around, and was already certain he had arrived here.

Regarding the morning's events, Feng Yan still felt somewhat uneasy; he slowly got up, walked down the inn's hallway, Chen Hao opened the door, the two met face to face, each nodded, then went downstairs to get something to eat.

Downstairs, the innkeeper saw Feng Yan, Wang You, and Chen Hao come down, they sat at the table; he directly called the waiter to have the back kitchen prepare two dishes; after they were ready, the waiter hurriedly brought the dishes to the table, then quickly ran off, afraid something might happen. As a result, just as the waiter's front foot stepped away, there was a Bang!, and the inn's back door was kicked apart again. The innkeeper felt great anguish inside, yet seeing the people before him, he could not afford to offend them, feeling distressed but daring not to show it.

The innkeeper stepped out from behind the counter and said to the person before him, "Steward, what wind blew you out here? Please, let me serve you a pot of good tea."

The steward, holding his head high, said, "Innkeeper, the decor here is not bad; it seems you've made quite a bit of money. What's the matter? Won't you take something out to present to me, the steward?"

"What are you talking about?" the innkeeper said, putting on a fawning smile, turned and went to the counter, took a small bag of gold, presented it with both hands, and said respectfully, "Steward, this is my modest token; please accept it, no need to stand on ceremony."

"Ah, how could that be? If you told the adventurers here that someone was extorting, wouldn't I be asking for a beating?" the steward said, feigning refusal with a smile, while slowly taking the innkeeper's gold from his hand and slipping it into his own pocket.

Seeing the steward accept the money, the innkeeper continued, "Then what about the matter I asked you to handle earlier? Can it be...?"

The steward waved his hand and said, "Don't mention it. That dwarf crew originally said they'd deliver the grain straight to your inn, but who would have thought that on the way, two adventurers showed up, beat up the bounty hunters I hired—without even mentioning it—and then threw out a large chunk of gold, buying up everything and leaving it all behind! You tell me, isn't that infuriating?"

Feng Yan and Chen Hao watched the two exchange questions and answers; Feng Yan whispered to Chen Hao, "These two guys talking about bad deeds—surely they're not referring to us, are they?"

Chen Hao replied to Feng Yan, "What do you think? Yesterday we made such a big fuss; most likely they found out there are adventurers here, and soon the king of this place will show up and invite us to the palace, huh, huh—really annoying. Besides, there are dwarves here, and everything costs money."

Looking at the scene before them, Feng Yan said lightly, "This is the power of money."

Seeing Feng Yan and Chen Hao, the steward bowed respectfully and said, "My lords, please follow me into the palace."

The innkeeper urged Feng Yan's group, saying, "Exactly, gentlemen, go to the palace."

Feng Yan pulled Chen Hao aside and asked, "This guy is asking whether we'll go to the palace—what should we say?"

Chen Hao thought for a moment, then said, "Flatly refusing would obviously not be good, and moreover..."

Feng Yan understood and said, "Should we also consider Wang You's feelings?"

Chen Hao nodded; Feng Yan understood, walked straight to Wang You's front, and said, "We're going to the palace—will you stay here, or come with me and Chen Hao to have a look, and then spend some time playing over there?"

Wang You obviously couldn't forget that scene, but Feng Yan made another request; she didn't speak, just nodded.

Feng Yan said to Wang You's face, "Rest assured, with me and Chen Hao, no one will bully you; if anyone does, then let them disappear!"

Chen Hao walked over and asked, "All settled?"

Feng Yan nodded and said, "It's settled, but I'm probably recalling that incident, feeling a bit afraid; I guess we'll be keeping a close eye on that prince—this guy hired bounty hunters, which isn't the main point; the most important reason is, of course, Yang Xin, since we no longer have the Adventurers' Tome in our hands, meaning that against Yang Xin's assassinating crossbow bolt, we'll almost certainly be hit without even noticing, and even if it doesn't kill us, it'll be a serious wound."

After hearing that, Chen Hao also found it difficult, then immediately analyzed: "Since Yang Xin and his group are here, other adventurers have arrived as well; and since we've become the bounty hunters' target, that means we can handle a few small fry, but we can't deal with multiple adventurers, so the best course is to go to the palace—first, it can prevent bounty hunters from showing up anytime to cause us trouble; and, if my guess is correct, Yang Xin is surely by the prince's side."

After hearing Chen Hao's analysis, Feng Yan said, "So that means Yang Xin is likely with the Prince of Li Kingdom; those bounty hunters are the ones the Prince of Li Kingdom sent to take our heads, and Yang Xin is somewhere preparing to assassinate us, right?"

Chen Hao nodded, indicating his agreement with Feng Yan's words.

Thus Feng Yan approached the steward and said, "First, thank you for your kingdom's king's concern; I and Chen Hao are grateful being here, but we don't have a decent set of clothes; this morning we'll buy clothes at your kingdom's market, this afternoon we'll visit your kingdom's palace, and please trouble you, Steward, to give a heads-up."

"I understand the meaning of the two adventurers," the steward replied respectfully while preparing to leave, "I will go back and report truthfully to His Majesty the King; I take my leave."

"Wait a moment!" Chen Hao shouted, then threw a lump of gold toward the steward, saying, "Since we've come all this way, we can't let you make the trip for nothing, right? This is a small piece of gold—consider it a greeting gift; please accept it."

The steward wore a smile, happily walked out of the inn, thinking, "Today I really walked into fortune!" He completely failed to notice that a pair of eyes were constantly fixed on Feng Yan and Chen Hao inside the inn from above his head; that person's waist bore a golden scabbard that, under the sunlight, reflected a gleam that shone into Feng Yan and Chen Hao's eyes.

They instinctively blocked the light, saying, "Why is this sunlight so weird?" Then they planned to go out and buy a piece of clothing to wear when meeting the king ahead, and then harshly mock that prince; thinking of this, Feng Yan and Chen Hao cracked their mouths open, revealing smiles.

"Do you two think the same?" Wang You asked. The two nodded simultaneously; Wang You felt worry rise in her heart.

"It's getting late, Wang You, you stay here first; we'll go buy a piece of clothing. And, innkeeper, please help Wang You buy a piece of clothing as well—she's not convenient to go out; just let us know the cost when we return." Feng Yan said to the innkeeper; as soon as he finished speaking, the two had already left the inn.

Wang You worried inwardly: "Hope nothing goes wrong, and you come back safely."

The prince was in the palace, drinking wine, with a beauty accompanying him; he embraced left and right, greatly enjoying the pleasure, soon becoming addicted and unable to pull himself away; his face flushed, he held a wine cup and poured the drink into the mouth of the woman nearest him, shouting in a drunken frenzy, "Drink, finish it and then we'll keep playing!"

The woman choked on the wine and couldn't speak, yet the king kept pouring wine into her mouth; finally she couldn't bear it and spat it out outright. She partly thought she had been saved, and secretly rejoiced in her heart that she had preserved her life.

Then the prince kicked the woman directly with his foot; only to see the prince arrogantly say, "You people are nothing but my playthings; as playthings, you dare to spit out the wine I personally gave you to drink! Truly ignorant of your betters—come, drag her away, deal with her according to the rules! Whoever lasts the longest will receive five taels of gold!"

The woman knew her fate, so she also did not resist; the palace gates opened, and armored soldiers dragged the woman out. Poor woman—she had merely not finished drinking the wine the prince forced on her, and yet she met this fate! She deeply understood that in the military camp, she was merely a tool for the soldiers to vent their bestial lust, and that it would be indefinite; when she was on the verge of death, still possessing a sliver of consciousness, the soldiers would lift her up, toss her into the parasol grove, where the hungry wolves of the forest would slowly gnaw at her body until she became a pile of white bones; after several heavy rains, she would completely turn into fertilizer for that forest, and she had already resigned herself to all of this.

As the soldiers dragged her away, she thought, "Perhaps this is fate!" Then she closed her eyes, accepting the arrangement of fate that toyed with her.

At that moment, a guard entered from outside to report, shouting, "Adventurer Yang Xin and Wang Tingwan request an audience!"

The prince waved his hand, signaling them to come in; Yang Xin, seeing the prince's appearance, teased, "Prince, this scene truly leaves me speechless—should I say you are a lecher, or that it's just human nature?"

Both remarks were barbs; the prince heard them but was unfazed, saying, "In this country, money is everything—because I control wealth, I am the prince; because I am the king's son, so penniless commoners can only obtain the money they need to survive under our control, that glittering gold; thus, I and my father are the rulers of this nation—anyone who dares to oppose me and my father must die! Not to mention those who humiliate me—this time I sent the top bounty hunter; this time, will he still not die?"

Yang Xin laughed and said, "He's the one who shot me with an arrow in the Giant Kingdom and then chopped off one of my arms; if it weren't for that miraculous magic book, I would have long lost the capital to contend for victory in this world. As merely the chief bounty hunter, do you think you can kill him? Besides, I've heard that your father king has already sent the steward to invite those two into the palace hall, and your assassination attempt this time is the last chance; if it fails and they reach the palace interior, do you think your palace guards can stop his red sword?"

Wang Tingwan stood beside Yang Xin, looking at the prince's fearful eyes, and said disdainfully, "During the day nobody will make a move, but at night, that's not certain."

The prince grew more frightened the more he thought; looking at Yang Xin, he felt this was his lifeline, his voice trembling as he said, "Save me—if this assassination attempt fails, I will surely be killed by them; so if you save me, take whatever gold and jewels you like from here!"

Seeing the prince's terrified state, Xin's face broke into a smile.

Feng Yan and Chen Hao were strolling the streets when they saw a clothing shop; the garments inside were extremely exquisite and splendid, and the two, too lazy to pick further, directly told the boss, "Boss, bring out your most expensive clothes!"

The boss looked at Feng Yan and Chen Hao and reminded them, "Gentlemen, the most expensive clothes are never displayed out front; please come to the inner room!" Having said that, he led the two inside; upon seeing the garments within, they couldn't help but sigh.

"How about that?" the boss said, somewhat pleased, "Feel free to pick whatever clothing you like."

Feng Yan pointed to a black Tang suit and said, "This one—how much?"

"Sir, that's two taels of gold," the boss replied.

"Not bad, Chen Hao, which one have you taken a liking to?" Feng Yan asked.

Chen Hao didn't bother choosing; he simply pointed directly at one, selecting a blue Daoist robe, and said, "This one."

"Ah, you truly have good taste; both of you have picked the shop's finest garments—will you wear them directly, or should I have them packaged and sent to your residence by my assistant?" the boss asked.

"No need to trouble yourself; we two will just put them on right here," Chen Hao answered the boss.

The two changed clothes; Feng Yan donned the black attire, appearing somewhat cold and stern, while Chen Hao's blue robe looked notably youthful and vigorous.

"Hey, Chen Hao, you say we two bought clothes, having entrusted the innkeeper to buy for Wang You—will she be angry?" Feng Yan asked.

"Who knows?" Chen Hao replied, then noticing the people behind them, he said, "We're being tailed!"

Just as they were about to leave, a flying dart shot straight at them; they dodged it, and then a figure drew a blade and lunged straight at the two!

The two leapt backward; Feng Yan shouted, "Chen Hao, you go first!"

"But what about you?" Chen Hao asked.

I'm fine, Feng Yan had Black Sword come over, Feng Yan gripped Black Sword and continued: "You keep watch around for Yang Xin; I don't know where his arrows will come from."

The black shadow swung at Feng Yan again; Feng Yan blocked with his sword, making a loud bang; Feng Yan forced it to deflect, then thrust at the black shadow, but the shadow dodged sideways and Feng Yan's thrust missed; seeing Feng Yan reveal an opening, the assassin slashed directly at his back, and seeing the blade about to fall on himself, Feng Yan thought: "It's over, I'm really screwed this time—do I really have to die here?"

In an instant, a red sword came out of the Black Sword, blocked the assassin's attack, and the Red Sword also said: "I said, can't you be more careful? If it weren't for this great deity happening to be effective just now, you'd have been done for."

"Hehe." Feng Yan scratched his head and said, "It's fine, isn't it?"

"Truly unbelievable!" the black-clad assassin said upon seeing this; knowing it was unfavorable to her, she retreated.

"You okay, Feng Yan?" Chen Hao asked.

"I'm fine, the Red Sword saved me." Feng Yan said.

"Good then." Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, let's hurry to Wanggong." Chen Hao said.

Yang Xin at a high point in the distance had already prepared to shoot his arrow, but upon seeing the Red Sword appear out of thin air, he still gave up, feeling the matter was too strange, and abandoned the action.

"Looks like we'll have a proper showdown." Yang Xin, looking at the two before him, said with a smile.

Returning to the inn, Feng Yan and Chen Hao told Wang You what had happened; Wang You asked, "Do we really have to go?"

"Yes, here I cannot guarantee your safety." Feng Yan said, looking at Wang You's clothes; Feng Yan once zoned out, and Chen Hao kicked him, after which he slowly recovered.

Feng Yan and Chen Hao came to the palace; the soldiers arranged a temporary palace, and the soldiers said: "The king is handling military affairs; he will receive you two tomorrow."

Wang You followed behind them, his eyes full of worry.

They opened the door of the temporary palace; the sky was already getting dark, Feng Yan and Chen Hao's bodies slowly faded, and Feng Yan said to the Black Sword, "Take good care of her." After that, the two returned to reality once more.