The winds outside blew calmly, but the air inside the room was as still as a frozen pond. Long Xiao sat rigid on the chair, his hands clenched in his lap. He watched as the innkeeper tilted her head, her gaze locked on his.
"Fellow Cultivator, you said your tea was spiked, making you fall unconscious for three whole days?" she asked, her voice a soft, low hum that seemed to calm the very air around them.
Her expression was a mask of placid contemplation.
"If you could point out the maid who served you that day, her fate will be sealed." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper, a conspiratorial glint in her eyes.
"Of course... for her 'unworthy service,' that is."
She picked up her cup, her lips curving into a wicked grin that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"However, the three times the price offer still stands."
Long Xiao's jaw tightened. He wanted to speak, to argue, but the words caught in his throat.
"Fellow Cultivator," she continued, setting the cup down with a delicate clink.
"Since we're talking business, I'd like to introduce myself before continuing." She smiled, a gesture that was all charm and no warmth.
"My name is Xu Lianhua." She leaned forward, a playful, enigmatic smirk on her face.
"May I know your name?" she asked, her eyes studying him with an intensity that made his skin prickle.
"I'm Long..." He swallowed, his mind racing. "The name is Xiao Long." He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure.
"Senior Xiao Long..." she called, the name rolling off her tongue as if testing its flavor.
She let a soft chuckle escape her lips. "You asked what the clothes are for, didn't you?"
She leaned back in her seat, her gaze a mixture of mischief and amusement.
"They are your work clothes."
Long Xiao stared, his face a mask of clear surprise. "Excuse me, work clothes?" he sputtered.
"Yes. Work clothes," she affirmed, her grin widening.
Lianhua sighed, a dramatic flutter of her eyelashes.
"Since you've had no insights on Xiao Hua yet and you owe me spiritual stones, I certainly cannot allow you to roam freely.
So... in the meantime, you'll work for me. And perhaps you'll even be able to pay me without needing her," she said with a slow, deliberate wink.
She stood, the silk of her robes rustling like a whisper of fire.
"Anyways, you'll be under my radar until your dues are settled. Do we have a deal?" Her words hung in the air, a final offer with an unspoken threat.
She took two steps toward the door. "If yes, please change into the clothes and come down.
You know... the workers don't sleep in the VIP rooms, so you might as well prepare to change rooms.
Unless... you want to pay three times the original price as already discussed?" She winked, the mischievous glint in her eyes the last thing Long Xiao saw before the door clicked shut, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
He stood up abruptly, the chair falling behind him. He began to pace, activating the Divine Rant.
Divine Rant Activated
---
Okay so what exactly just happened?
I'm...speechless.
Xu Lianhua!
She's... she's a monster.
A money hungry one that is.
Work for her?
Do I look like some sort of servant?
I know I do not have any money.
And practicing unrighteous acts would trigger divine punishment.
Meaning I lose hard-earned merits.
Given that I descended without knowledge.
But that doesn't mean I have to work for a mortal.
Especially a money hungry one.
Hmph!
I have to stay calm.
For now, I can only agree.
I must choose to see the bigger picture.
Although it still doesn't change the fact I'm being degraded.
But I shall reluctantly agree for the benefits.
Divine Rant Deactivated
---
Long Xiao came to a halt. With a heavy sigh, he opened the drawer and brought out the robes.
And with a heavy heart, he slid into them, tugging away his beautiful robes embroidered with golden and turquoise thread that swirled with constellations gently in the drawer.
Long Xiao left the room with the token and descended the stairs.
"I seriously don't want to do this." He gritted his teeth.
The inn was silent to the extent you could hear a fly fly by. It wasn't crowded like the first day he arrived. No customers were present. It was closed. Only the workers were present. They were standing in a row, their hands behind their back, heads hung low as if lined up for judgement.
Xu Lianhua was seated at a table.
"Ah Senior Xiao Long, I guess you being here now is a yes." She grinned rising from her seat.
"So we have a deal."
She walked towards Long Xiao, passing by the workers as she extended her hand.
He hesitated before shaking it.
Through the handshake, she slipped a bracelet onto his wrist.
"With this, you won't get more than a kilometre away from me."
Her eyes darted to the token in his left hand.
"Well then, Senior Xiao Long," she said with a smirk, putting her hand on his shoulder "get ready to work. Remember, I treat my workers like...family."
Xu Lianhua pulled back, her gaze turning contemplative as she stood before her workers.
"But first... Senior Xiao Long, could you point out the one who served you?" Lianhua asked, using her cultivation to lift a chair.
It settled down gently, a few metres away from her workers. Xu Lianhua sat down gracefully. She brought out a curved dagger from her sleeve which caught the light as she toyed with it.