Chapter 132: Iron Lady Inn (Requesting Monthly Passes)

Iron Thorn Ridge.

The sky grew dimmer, yet the rain intensified; travelers from the Jianghu, coming from north and south, took shelter at the Iron Lady Inn outside the ridge, and the muddy road beyond the door was already devoid of footprints.

The inn was old and yellowed; the upper-floor rooms leaked wind, and traces of swords and blades remained on the tables, chairs, and walls.

He Can, dressed as a Jianghu traveler, held several bird feathers in his hand, circling the table while chanting "Meow meow, ma ma~" the Wu Sect's soul-conducting incantation, occasionally adding:

"Zhang Chu, that damn fellow, didn't die, yet you, old sir, went first. What a pity..."

"But don't rush, old sir; you and Zhang Chu, we might just come to keep you company in a few days..."

On the table stood a book titled "The Amorous History of Master Sikong," originally a treasured volume of Ye Shirong, brought here to occupy the injured. Last night, the two fled in such haste that they had no chance to take other items; now that the residence had been sealed by the authorities, only this single relic remained to mourn the dead.

Beside the tea table in the room, Zhang Chu held a teacup, his expression gloomy; he paid no heed to He Can, who had been frightened into madness, his gaze fixed on the old man beside him.

The old man wore a black cloak; beneath the hood, black smoke swirled, so close that one could not see his face. The only thing that could identify him was a black banner leaning against the wall, five chi long, inscribed with the eight characters: "Xuan Ming Rides the Waves, Cold Abyss Guides the Souls."

As the Incense Master, Zhang Chu knew this man was a Ghost Envoy of the Mingshen Sect, named "Wei Yunya," who usually operated in the shadows, responsible for recruiting new members and enforcing the sect's doctrines; he generally addressed him as Third Master, and he had never even seen the Second Master above him.

Wei Yunya had originally been Ye Shirong's superior, but since Ye Shirong had unexpectedly sacrificed himself for the faith yesterday, the leadership naturally fell to him; now, gazing at He Can performing the ritual, he spoke calmly:

"Xie Jinhuan struck the war drum in the Linde Hall, awakening the killing nature of body cultivators; Old Ye was likely exposed because of this. The Second Master personally rushed to silence him; although he was injured, fortunately Old Ye kept his mouth shut and did not betray the secrets before he died..."

Zhang Chu had followed Ye Shirong for over ten years; with the man suddenly gone, even a demon Daoist could not help feeling a touch of desolation in his heart:

"There are countless experts in the Linde Hall; even Cao Fuer, standing beside the Emperor, failed to detect anything unusual. How did Xie Jinhuan see through it?"

Having finished the ritual, He Can tucked the book into his bosom and interjected:

"I told you long ago that Xie Jinhuan was sinister, but you wouldn't believe me. Now do you know how powerful my master is, able to hide for six or seven days?"

Zhang Chu indeed had no way to refute him.

Wei Yunya raised a hand to signal He Can to take a seat and continued:

"According to today's rumors from the capital, Xie Jinhuan was Empress Dowager Guo of Northern Zhou's lover before she entered the palace, and he learned the divination and qi-observation arts of the Divination School..."

He Can was stunned: "Is there such a thing?! I was wondering why I couldn't find anything on this fellow, and he's so fierce it's inhuman... Wait, did Xie Jinhuan's background get exposed? Did the imperial court arrest him?"

Wei Yunya shook his head: "If the Great Qian imperial court could kill loyal ministers based on mere rumors, it would never have accumulated the current national strength; they have not yet taken notice."

He Can pondered briefly, then slapped his palm:

"Then it's over. Xie Jinhuan must have calculated this mess onto you; he just killed Old Ye yesterday, and today he's framed. Who else could it be but your Mingshen Sect?"

?

Zhang Chu frowned and turned his head as well:

"Right, if it wasn't us framing him, who else could it be? Li Gongpu?"

"Possible."

Wei Yunya himself hadn't figured out who, for no reason, concocted such a scandalous rumor to trap Xie Jinhuan.

However, if Xie Jinhuan had trouble, then they were safe; that was good news at least.

Wei Yunya didn't dwell on this matter and continued:

"There were several official documents in Ye Shirong's room; they were normal Gongwenjuan Sect paperwork with no flaws, but their content was related to the current situation.

"Xie Jinhuan must have entered Ye Shirong's study; although it's unlikely he could deduce our plans through official records, to be safe, we must act in advance..."

He Can frowned: "The Blood Hua Yao Dan loses its medicinal properties and cannot be stored for long, but the medicine won't go far, and people can run. Why not have the higher-ups go personally to handle matters in Weizhou and Jingzhou? Finish the job and leave; you could even save the trouble of using things like mad corpse flowers..."

Wei Yunya shook his head: "If we could go, why would we need your reminder? You are not one of the demon Daoists; if you feel fear in your heart, you may simply disband and leave."

He Can glanced at the door, pondering slightly:

"You can torture your own people; are you sure that after I walk out that door, you won't silence me?"

"No."

"I'm not stupid; your group of demon Daoists is far easier to guess than my master's style. If I dare step out, I'll become part of Third Master's body. I'm young and vigorous; perhaps I'll be used to consolidate the Second Master, then cultivate with Third Master afterward, and Third Master's black smoke will all turn green, full of the breath of spring..."

Wei Yunya offered no response to this test.

He Can hesitated, then took a seat beside him, picked up his teacup, and said:

"Third Master, rest assured; although I am a disciple of Tai Shu Dan, unlike my master, I am absolutely loyal. Even if Zhang Chu betrays the Mingshen Sect, I will not."

Zhang Chu replied: "Tai Shu Dan is loyal to no one; you are loyal to whoever stands before you. One is a thankless wolf, the other a fence-sitter."

He Can wanted to argue a few more words, but Wei Yunya, who was seated, suddenly raised his hand, and the room instantly fell silent.

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

A string of horse hooves sounded from the distance, still a li away.

Zhang Chu glanced at the sky, feeling that no one should be arriving at this hour; he stood up, went to the window, and peered out through a crack in the wall.

The sky grew dimmer, and rain was falling outside; the wilderness below the ridge was a dark blur, where seven small black dots could be seen galloping along the muddy road.

The seven riders on horseback were all cloaked in black; the two horses at the rear seemed to carry shields and crossbows, standard equipment of the government office; the leader's cloak fluttered, faintly revealing a white robe...

?!

Zhang Chu's face suddenly changed, as if seeing ghosts and demons; he turned and grabbed his sword:

"Run!"

He Can asked nothing, stood up, grabbed his gear, and rushed out the door.

Whoosh, whoosh...

?

Wei Yunya, holding his teacup and sitting in his chair, found that the room was empty in the blink of an eye and felt somewhat bewildered.

However, after taking a sip of tea, black mist rose from his entire body, and he silently floated out of the room...

—

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Seven galloping horses sped forward, arriving at Iron Thorn Ridge at dusk.

Tieji Ridge is a range of hills; cross it and you reach Hongzhang County, a shortcut, but for seven or eight li on either side there are no human traces, bandits from the Jianghu often ambush travelers within, so common folk basically avoid this route, and even Jianghu people rarely cross the ridge at night.

Xie Jinhuan, needing to save time, naturally chose the Jianghu route; now wearing a rain-proof cloak and leading the group at the front, he spotted a lone inn outside the ridge and asked:

"Brother Yang, haven't we been here before? What was that occasion?"

"Gugu?"

Meiqiu poked her head out from under the cloak to look, saw the heavy rain, and缩 back in.

Yang Dabiao walked on the side, holding an official sword, scanning the surroundings for movement; hearing this, he replied:

"Monk Jibi's nephew was holding a wedding feast; we came to drink wine. I tagged along to mooch a meal. You came along to play back then, stayed one night at the Iron Lady Inn, and crossed the ridge the next day."

Linghu Qingmo, seeing only this desolate spot with no village ahead and no inn behind, knew it was a hotspot for accidents, and frowned, saying:

"Why not take the main road?"

Liu Qingzhi, acting as Linghu Qingmo's lackey, had come along this trip with his partner; hearing this, he pointed at his Constable robe:

"Those who can wear this green skin are usually skilled in martial arts, backed by the imperial court, and empty-pocketed; any bandit with a normal brain wouldn't think of taking a bite and inviting trouble."

"Oh."

Linghu Qingmo thought that made sense, and asked again:

"Back then, Xie Jinhuan was only a bit over ten, right? He looked like a carved jade doll; weren't you afraid he'd be kidnapped?"

Yang Dabiao hurriedly waved his hands: "My lord Linghu underestimates Jinhuan. Brother Jinhuan's martial arts were average back then, but his mouth was no worse than now; he called out 'Sister' upon entering, coaxing the innkeeper into giving a fifty-percent discount on the spot, plus two extra dishes, just to make sure he wouldn't go hungry..."

?

Linghu Qingmo blinked, glanced at the stern and extraordinary Xie Jinhuan, with a strange look in her eyes.

The ghost wife, ever present like a shadow, also muttered in her ear:

"Oh my~ so you've been good at winning over older sisters since childhood? No wonder you're so popular with women..."

Xie Jinhuan, being teased by Dabiao about past events, felt no embarrassment and smiled, saying:

"Back then I was young, just knowing proper manners. I remember when we arrived at Hongzhang County, slept until midnight, Brother Yang still got up sneakily, ran to knock on Uncle Fei's door, and asked, 'Does this place have...'"

"Eh?!"

Yang Dabiao's tiger-like frame shuddered; he hurriedly raised his hand:

"Jinhuan, don't slander me with your mouth! When traveling, how could I ask such ghostly things..."

Xie Jinhuan looked somewhat confused: "Does this place have a toilet? Didn't Brother Yang ask that?"

"?"

Yang Dabiao's expression froze; he began to recall carefully.

"Pfft~..."

"Haha..."

The accompanying men burst into laughter, clutching their bellies!

Linghu Qingmo couldn't hold it in either, but knowing Xie Jinhuan was making a vulgar joke, she quickly composed herself to avoid losing dignity in front of subordinates.

Yang Dabiao felt his good brother was a bit underhanded; his words had been drawn out, so now he could only grit his teeth and say:

"Uh... I did ask that back then. Jinhuan, your memory is truly good; I even forgot..."

"Hehe..."

The group joked like this, and soon arrived outside the Iron Lady Inn.

The guests in the inn's main hall were all three religions and nine schools of the Jianghu; a glance revealed helmeted martial artists, Monks, fortune-telling Mr., opera troupes; beside the stairs sat an old man slurping noodles, wearing a cloak with a row of medicine jars at his waist; a ten-foot radius around him was empty—clearly a loose rat from the Gu Du Pai.

Originally, the guests in the main hall were eating and chatting about Jianghu affairs; upon seeing seven people on horseback outside the door, they all turned their eyes, briefly scanning the lineup—three green skins from the government offices, two black skins in armor, two well-dressed white skins in plain clothes, and a sword that looked like a Daoist martial artist...

This damn thing is an Immortal Official leading an inspection!!

The inn instantly fell into dead silence; the Gu poison master eating noodles stood frozen with noodles hanging from his mouth, clearly wondering how even a remote backwater like this had government officials inspecting inns, forcing people to live in rat holes; is it easy for me to eat a bowl of hot noodles...

Xie Jinhuan, riding his horse, glanced around a few times, felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward; traveling the Jianghu isn't easy, he couldn't just pull out his weapon at every person; thinking it over, he lightly squeezed his horse's flanks:

"Let's go; find lodging in the town."

"Giddyap..."

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

Linghu Qingmo was still in the disciple stage, had never properly run the Jianghu; before leaving, she bent down to glance at the inn counter, wanting to see what the innkeeper looked like; result—fists big enough to stand on, arms wide enough to race horses on...

Truly the Iron Lady!

No wonder she gave Brother Jinhuan a fifty-percent discount; her mouth was too sweet...

The group galloped away on horseback, vanishing into the dark ridge.

And about half a quarter-hour later, another fast horse came galloping, stopping outside the inn:

"Whoa~"

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

Everyone in the inn fell silent again, turning to examine the attire—wearing a black cloak, face hidden, no weapon at the horse's side, but a leather pouch...

A poison rat from the Gu Du Pai!

Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued eating.

The old poison master, kept at a distance, seeing this attire, felt as if he'd seen family, and hurriedly called out:

"Daoist friend, there's a seat here."

The cloaked figure flipped off the horse; seeing these Jianghu minnows avoiding him like snakes and scorpions, he didn't approach to scare them; he came before the old poison master, asked, made a 'Chi Dragon Seal' gesture, and asked hoarsely:

"Daoist friend, did you just see a group of people pass by here?"

The old poison master, seeing the secret signal of the Chi Dragon Cave, hurriedly clasped his hands and made the 'Crescent Moon Seal' of the Broken Moon Villa, speaking in a low voice:

"They just left half a quarter-hour ago, seven fierce characters wearing dog skins; Daoist friend, are you preparing to pull off a big job?"

"Turn yourself in."

"Oh... I understand, after the Tai Shu Dan incident, it's hard to make a living in this line..."

The cloaked figure said nothing more and soon left the inn, leaping onto his horse and galloping away...

——

Requesting monthly votes~

(End of chapter)