Chapter 59 Yunzhou
The Cloud Boat Inn has a long history; it can be said that Extraordinary City's current status in the North is due to this inn.
Perhaps it's a bit of an exaggeration, but the Cloud Boat Inn has been in Extraordinary City for over three hundred years. The first innkeeper, Cloud Boat, was a highly skilled cultivator who practiced the Way of Tranquility. In the chaotic world, he used everything he had to create a peaceful place. Countless cultivators and monsters who had fallen on hard times in the North had gotten a cup of hot tea at the small Cloud Boat Inn back then—Cloud Boat of the North, the Daoist Master of Tranquility.
Unfortunately, time flies, and peace never lasts. After Yunzhou entered the cycle of reincarnation, the inn gradually declined—at this time, Yunzhou's granddaughter, Yunqing, stepped forward.
This woman was extremely shrewd in business. Although her cultivation level couldn't match her grandfather's, she didn't miss any opportunity. She single-handedly transformed Yunzhou Inn into the number one inn in the North through various promotional methods such as martial arts competitions, fashion shows, sword dances, and joint ventures, combined with her grandfather Yunzhou Daoist's reputation and connections.
Yun Zhou spent his entire life seeking peace, using his life to cultivate the Way of Peace, hoping to create a peaceful place for the world. Yun Qing, however, was not so noble. She suffered hardships in her childhood, and it was the mutual help and support of the Yun clan that raised her. Therefore, after growing up, Yun Qing devoted herself to running the inn, just to ensure that the Yun clan would be at peace forever. — Yun Zhou of the North, the Daoist Master of Peace.
Different paths seem to lead to the same destination. Leaving aside the Yun family, at least all the cultivators in the world have become interested in this inn. Not to mention mortals, even the monsters of the North want to sneak into this Cloud Boat Inn to take a look.
At that time, Extraordinary City was even more powerful than any other major city in the Nine Provinces. Not to mention the distant ones, the four northern provinces of Ji Province, You Province, Liang Province, and Qing Province all knew that Extraordinary City was home to extraordinary people, and the land of Yunzhou was a gathering place for eminent figures.
Although that happened many years ago, the reputation of Yunzhou Inn remains strong. The predecessors gave their all, and the successors have lived up to expectations. While business has had its downturns, the current generation of the Yun family is extremely astute and continues to run Yunzhou Inn well in this prosperous era.
Nowadays, there are indeed no more life-or-death battles in this inn, but cultivators often gather here to eat, stay, hold auctions, and exchange sparring. Occasionally, one can even witness some rare excitement.
"You are a person from Wengu?"
As Qingyu’s calm voice rang out, many screens on the first floor were pulled open, and people’s gazes kept turning to the second floor. On the third floor, a waiter even thoughtfully opened the door so that people inside could better watch the excitement.
Jian Xuewen Gu, the number one swordsman, just now, that endless chilling aura from the young man in the Azure Netherworld...
Shangguan Han'er noticed that everyone was looking this way, but no one was looking at her. They were either looking at the woman on the first floor who was barely visible in the private room, or at the useless Wen Gu branch beside her.
She concealed the anger deep in her eyes and said in a sweet voice, "That's right, he is Wen Gu Jianxiu. You have injured him so badly, Brother Wen Gu and the others will not let you off!"
Shangguan Nan hesitated for a moment. He glanced at his older sister and whispered, "Second sister..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" Shangguan Han'er glared at him, then looked at the weak white-robed boy with concern, "Youyou, are you alright?"
Wen Guyou gave her a forced smile. He was fine. He was willing to do anything for Han'er.
"Now that you know, why don't you apologize!"
"The Wen family will not let you get away with this!"
Qingyu leaned back, the girl crossed her arms, and looked up with a leisurely yet somewhat amused posture. What a loving couple, Wen Gu Jianxiu!
She looked at the white-clad youth's trembling hands, which he could barely hold onto his sword, and couldn't help but smile and speak again.
"Girl, you talk too much."
“From beginning to end, I’ve been asking you, I’ve been asking him… are you a man of Wen Gu?”
Her tone was calm and her voice filled the room. The cultivators in the inn were all at ease. No one cared about the ridiculous questions and accusations from the girl in yellow. They were just waiting for an answer.
At this moment, the girl in red was asking if this good-for-nothing who couldn't even hold a sword was a descendant of Wen Gu, the number one swordsman in the world.
It was supposed to be a calm question, either yes or no, but the woman in yellow spoke first, while the boy in white remained silent—it was somewhat ridiculous.
At this moment, Qingyu raised her eyes, drawing everyone's attention.
The girl asked, "Does he even deserve it?" The crowd laughed, "If he does deserve it?"
The atmosphere became eerily quiet for a moment. Wen Guyou unconsciously lowered his eyes. He couldn't say anything reckless. As the young man struggled with his thoughts, Shangguan Han'er shook his sleeve forcefully and whispered, "Your surname is Wen Gu, what are you afraid of! Even if things get really bad, you still have my sister and the Shangguan family!"
"Second sister, they look dangerous... Eldest sister said we're not allowed to cause trouble..."
After much hesitation, Shangguan Nan still whispered those words. Shangguan Han'er struggled for a moment, then remembered Shangguan Ming's words, and finally let go of Wen Guyou's sleeve.
Wen Guyou felt a sense of relief. Avoiding the gazes of everyone on the first floor, he said, "I am... Wen Gu, from a collateral branch..."
As soon as he said this, a few sparse laughs and sighs immediately rang out in the inn. Wen Guyou's face turned red. He lowered his head and gritted his teeth in resentment, feeling that the group of teenagers on the first floor were extremely hateful!
"What's so funny! You've gone too far!"
Shangguan Han'er looked at Qing Yu on the first floor with hatred in her eyes, "He is from a collateral branch of the Wen family, but I am the legitimate daughter of the Shangguan family. You hurt people without cause, and we will never let you go!"
Shangguan...
So that's how it is. A ripple of emotion stirred in Qingyu's heart for a moment, but then a gentle breeze swept by, and she suppressed the hatred in her heart. The girl turned to look at Qin Tianshu and said calmly, "Didn't we say we ordered food? Where is it?"
Qin Tianshu raised an eyebrow, smiled, and fanned himself, saying loudly, "Yunzhou Inn is a peaceful place. Now, in full view of everyone, Wen Gubang attacked and injured people. We cultivators merely retaliated, yet we were slandered by the eldest daughter of the Shangguan family of Youzhou—what, now you won't even serve us food! Are you going against the inn's intention to maintain peace and tranquility?"
"You, you're talking nonsense!"
Zhang Xuan stared at the swaying water in the teacup on the table, finding the woman named Shangguan's chatter extremely annoying. From the very beginning, they had attacked without cause, and the initial sword energy even carried killing intent. They couldn't compare in cultivation level, so they compared in family.
After Zhang Xuan thought of this, the young man smiled inexplicably. He leaned back in his chair and in an instant, his hand touched the scabbard of his sword—Blood Moon was drawn an inch from its sheath, and its cold light fiercely headed towards the second floor.
Shangguan Han'er watched helplessly as her bangs fell down, and her breath caught in her throat—
"ah--"
"bass--"
Another strand of hair fell from her forehead, her bangs were trimmed symmetrically on both sides. Shangguan Han'er's legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground with a "thud". The woman's eyes were blank and she stopped crying, but she just couldn't come back to her senses.
The Blood Moon sword slid back into its sheath with a clang. Zhang Xuan raised his eyes, his youthful voice carrying a hint of mischief.
“Shangguan’s eldest daughter, I think your eyes are covered by your hair, so you can’t see the situation clearly.”
"I'm kind-hearted, so I'm giving you a haircut."
"Of course, if you still can't see clearly, then I think there's something wrong with your eyes."
He wouldn't mind fixing her eyes.
The inn fell silent. Hearing the arrogant and sarcastic words of the young man wielding the knife, Shangguan Han'er on the second floor dared not utter another sound.
Lin Fanxiang lowered her eyes and smiled silently. In fact, Zhang Xuan has not been a truly righteous sword cultivator all these years. Just look at how he went to smash the wall with a stone to vent his anger back then. Everyone said he was young, and he really believed it. He called his older brother and sister very affectionately. Openly and secretly, he was a somewhat naughty boy.
No one knew where it was, but on the third floor, someone gently opened their eyes.
How interesting: the cunning scholar, the Lin family of the Word Spirit, the sword of Wen Gu of Youzhou, and the knife of the Li family of Dongqingzhou.
There were two others, who seemed to be a powerful demon and someone from the Demon Suppression Pavilion.
That's good. It will probably be even more lively here in a couple of days.
...
In the ensuing silence, the innkeeper finally came out to settle the matter. Several servants brought dishes to the first floor, while a few others went up to the second floor to help with the chaos.
Shangguan Han'er was too frightened to speak. Wen Guyou clutched his chest, trying to catch his breath, blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth. Shangguan Nan stood beside them, supporting them from both sides, but eventually gave up.
The boy sighed, but his eyes couldn't help but drift to the aloof girl in the West Lake dress in the lobby on the first floor. Dou Dou was still whimpering on the ground, with wounds on her legs.
—I don't know why they made this fuss.
...
Yun Jiacheng slowly appeared from somewhere on the first floor. The young man had a smile on his face and a composed demeanor. He raised his hand in greeting in the center of the hall and said...
"Yunzhou Inn is a peaceful place. Ordinary sparring is fine, but seeking revenge and bloodshed is against the rules. Today, it was Yunzhou Inn's oversight that caused this commotion. We will handle the rest of the matter with both parties. However, we would like to reiterate one point."
"Northern Cloud Boat, Daoist Master of Peace and Tranquility."
His last sentence was imbued with spiritual power and authority. After he finished speaking, the onlookers on the second and third floors gradually dispersed, and screens were drawn on all sides of the first floor to block out the sound and sights.
Yun Jiacheng smiled and turned around to personally lead the servants to serve dishes to Qingyu and the others, talking about social etiquette as he watched the servants arrange the dishes.
"Heavenly Book had stayed at our Cloud Boat Inn before, and now it has come full circle and passed by our inn again, bringing so many friends with it—what a coincidence!"
"What just happened was due to our shop's oversight."
"Please rest assured, the Yunzhou Inn will cover your food and lodging expenses for the next few days."
Qin Tianshu smiled. He didn't stand on ceremony with Yun Jiacheng. After all, the Wen clan's initial attack at Yunzhou Inn without cause was a violation of Yunzhou's rules.
"Brother Jiacheng, today is September 25th. I remember that October 1st is the biggest auction in Yunzhou, right?"
Yun Jiacheng gave a forced smile, "Yes, you've come at the right time. Recently, quite a few cultivators have come here, all for this auction."
Qin Tianshu looked at Yun Jiacheng with a half-smile.
Yunzhou Inn is extremely large, and its overall shape is that of a "回" character. It consists of three floors, with the front for dining, the back for living, and the middle open space for the back courtyard pavilions, corridors, gardens, and green terraces.
Leaving aside the back building, which is where the innkeepers stay, let's focus on the front hall. The entire first floor is a dining area, with a huge platform in the center, supposedly prepared for the recent auction. The second floor has excellent private rooms, which can sometimes be used as guest rooms. As for the third floor, it's a place for very powerful or influential people to drink tea and discuss business—
The Yun family had a clear division of labor: Yun Jiacheng was in charge of security on the first and second floors, his brother Yun Jiabai was in charge of security on the third floor, and the food and management were the responsibility of other members of their family.
As for the safety of the first and second floors, at least in the incident just now, Yun Jiacheng failed to protect either floor. Of course, it's also possible that he knew nothing would happen and was just watching the show from the sidelines.
"Brother Jiacheng, putting everything else aside, given our relationship and what just happened, you should at least give us some tangible benefits."
Yun Jiacheng glanced at him. The brat had already shouted that Yunzhou was not peaceful downstairs, and forced him to come out. Now he was taking advantage of his kindness.
He waved his sleeve to dismiss the waiters who were serving the dishes, and at the same time, he had them draw the screen—in an instant, silence fell over both inside and outside; it was a magical soundproofing device.
As expected of a century-old inn, it's a large and established business; even a simple screen can provide soundproofing.
"If you become my brother-in-law, not to mention an auction, the entire Yunzhou Inn will be your resource."
Upon hearing this, everyone except Qin Tianshu couldn't help but smirk. Zhang Xuan pursed his lips and blinked obediently, "Brother Tianshu, I didn't expect this..."
Wen Chuan also turned his head to look at him. The boy's light eyes were filled with a mischievous smile and surprise that he had expected it. He didn't say anything, but his eyes said it all.
Qin Tianshu gritted his teeth, "Brother Jiacheng, wasn't this all over a few years ago?"
Yun Jiacheng shrugged. "My sister isn't married yet. She said she's waiting for you."
Qin Tianshu: "Impossible. Miss Jiawu is capable of taking things in stride. I believe she wouldn't say something like that... Brother Jiacheng, stop teasing me. Let's talk about the auction."
Yun Jiacheng smiled and stopped joking with Qin Tianshu. He said, "Let me be frank with you. This auction depends on what you need. Otherwise, it would be useless for me to say everything."
Qin Tianshu frowned and looked at his friends. "Think about it, everyone. Think about what we need."
These are the connections he built up over his travels, the "good boss" he just discovered in the chaos of battle—don't waste them.
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A note from the author:
Yunzhou: Yunzhou of the North, Daoist Anning (zhang)
Yun Qing: Cloud Boat of the North, Daoist Anning (chang)
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