Chapter 53: The Old Crow Inn
Chapter 53: The Old Crow Inn
Walking along the street, Lin Xun noticed he was being looked upon by many eyes, some of which revealed the hidden look of greed.
Lin Xun knew the huge hide bag on the horse was drawing too much attention. An experienced veteran would instinctively know immediately what was hidden inside with only a quick glance and could tell the value of the goods simply by sniffing it.
Besides, a man and a horse alone, was difficult not to notice.
In the distance there was a sudden commotion, gathering a crowd of onlookers about it. Upon arriving, Lin Xun saw a man in an animal skin, with no time to run, having his head slashed off by a practitioner. Blood sprayed out everywhere, creating quite a horrific scene.
Instead of being shocked, the crowd cheered loudly, fearing that there was not enough drama to enjoy.
“How dare you steal from me. You are courting death. Bah!
The practitioner took up his long knife, shot a malicious look at the corpse on the ground, and strutted away.
It was a murder on the street in broad daylight!
No one came to stop it. Obviously, people here were accustomed to this kind of thing.
It was not long before two guards hurriedly cleaned up the headless body and carried it away. Within seconds, the street was restored to its former liveliness, as if the murder had never happened.
Upon seeing this, Lin Xun squinted his eyes and realized that the Green-sun Tribe was definitely not a place of rules. Having a strong force was an indispensable condition to survive and thrive here.
Before long, Lin Xun again saw two groups of people fighting in the street, seemingly for a batch of goods. Quickly the fight was forcibly stopped by a passing practitioner, who killed two people directly. The bloody action shocked the people around and instantly resolved the dispute.
Under the prosperity, dirty undercurrents emerged.
Words of a prisoner in the mine prison he once lived in suddenly came to him, the meaning of which was too abstruse for him to understand back then.
But now walking in Green-sun Tribe, looking at those greedy gazes hidden in this bustling city, suddenly he understood.
However, Lin Xun was not afraid now. He realized that there were just a few practitioners, and most of them merely reached the Martial Realm. Practitioners at Gang Spirit Realm were rarely seen.
If anyone dared to covet his goods, Lin Xun wouldn’t mind giving him an unforgettable lesson. But fortunately, Lin Xun seemed to have some luck today. No troublemakers came out, even though he noticed quite a few greedy peering eyes along the way.
As night fell, it was getting dark.
Lin Xun stopped in front of a building, named the Old Crow Inn. He cast two copper coins to the waiter for taking care the scaly horse. Then Lin Xun himself entered the inn, deciding to go to the Keystone Business to barter early the next morning.
The first floor of the inn was furnished with many tables, all of which were alive with the noisy sounds of eating, drinking, and chatting.
The owner was the Mono-eyed Bruiser who had a rather fierce face and was drinking lazily.
Lin Xun’s entrance instantly lit up several eyes, and all of which fell straight to his huge hide bag more than a head high.
After seeing Lin Xun’s young face, undisguised greed overflowed from their eyes.
However, some people drew back their sights. A person of some intelligence would know a 13-year-old teenager, who dared to carry a hide bag of hundreds of pounds all alone, must be a powerful role.
“In house?” Asked the Mono-eyed Bruiser sitting behind the counter, absent-minded.
“Yes, check me in”, Lin Xun nodded with a smile.
“Twenty copper coins for one night.”
Taking a quick glance at Lin Xun, the Mono-eyed Bruiser replied shortly, which immediately aroused a fresh burst of laughter.
“Cyclops, cheating customers again? Did you forget how you lost that eye?”
The Mono-eyed Bruiser ignored the laughter, looking at Lin Xun without any explanation.
“Good.” Lin Xun quickly took out twenty coins and handed them over, “Where is the room?”
“That room is yours tonight.” The Mono-eyed Bruiser raised his finger, pointed to the corner of the second floor, and then continued drinking lazily.
Lin Xun smiled and said, “Thanks.” Carrying the hide bag, Lin Xun went upstairs.
Seeing Lin Xun enter his room, a drunken fat man suddenly came to the counter and said, “This is a rare lucrative kid. The goods he carries is worth at least this much.”
Saying that, he stretched out four fingers in front of the Mono-eyed Bruiser.
But the Mono-eyed Bruiser seemed completely unaware of him and continued drinking. After a long time, he glanced at the fat man and said, “Fatty Shiao, you’ve been in the Green-sun Tribe for almost six years? Do you plan to stay here forever?”
His face changing suddenly, Fatty Shiao asked, “What do you mean?”
The Mono-eyed Bruiser sighed and said, “Take a word of advice. Just leave this boy alone. He is not a guy to be trifled with.”
Soon, he added, “No, much more than that.”
With his face changing drastically with a twisted expression, Fatty Shiao forced a bitter smile after a long while and said, “I see.” He turned around and left.
The Mono-eyed Bruiser squinted as he watched Fatty Shiao walking out of the inn. He had given his advice, whether this fatty would listen or not had nothing to do with him afterwards.
The Mono-eyed Bruiser lifted his glass and looked at the ripple of amber-colored wine, murmuring, “Days won’t be peaceful now…”.
Meanwhile, at the Wu business.
As one of the leading commercial banks of the Green-sun Tribe, Wu Business could be said to be rich in wealth and stable in foundation. The owner behind it was said to be a “Big Shot” in the Donglin Town of the empire.
In the night, the back hall of Wu Business was still ablaze with lights.
Wu Deyong sat in the honor seat, sullen and silent.
He was sent to the Green-sun Tribe to take charge of Wu Business. He was about 40, in the prime of his life, and was also a member of Wu clan in the Donglin Town. He reached seventh level of Martial Realm and was a prestigious figure in Green-sun Tribe.
Below Wu Deyong sat the men in charge of business affairs, who all at that moment looked silent and dared not speak out.
“As of today, it is already three days beyond the time limit agreed with the great deacon, Wu Henshui. But so far, no news at all. What do you think of this matter?”
Wu Deyong’s words broke the silence in the hall.
“It’s more than two thousand miles from here to the Feiyun Village. Maybe the deacon has been delayed along his way.”
Someone said carefully.
“Hmm! Even if something happened, with the great deacon’s meticulous mind, he would certainly send a subordinate back to deliver the message, but there is none. Do you think this is normal?”
Wu Deyong frowned.
“Master, do you believe that some accident has happened to the deacon?”
Someone couldn’t help but ask.
Wu Deyong fell silent with a scowl. Obviously, that was what he worried about.
At that moment, a servant hurried into the hall, said, “Master, there comes news from the city guard! He said that a young man riding the scaly horse of Lian Rufeng entered the Green-sun Tribe this evening.”
As soon as he said this, Wu Deyong’s eyes lit up. He remembered Lian Rufeng, a captain of the guards from Feiyun Village.
“Where is the young man now?” Wu Deyong asked.
“According to the news from the spy, the boy now stays in the Old Crow Inn.” Quickly replied the servant.
“Something does not add up. If the young man had been sent back by the deacon, he should have come to Wu Business first, but now he’s gone to the Old Crow Inn. I smell a rat,” said a man with knitted eyebrows.
Wu Deyong’s eyes flickered and, after a moment of silence, waved his hands, saying, “Send a group to the Old Crow Inn. Bring me back the boy by any means!”
The servant immediately took the order and disappeared into the dark.
Musing for a while, Wu Deyong soon changed the conversation and warned, “Gentlemen, the three thousand mountains have not been very peaceful in recent days. Many of the top figures from the empire have come together for the ‘peerless treasure’. During this time, please be careful to stay away from any trouble, for even I can’t save you!”
Everyone nodded solemnly.
They all knew it too well that in recent days many strange faces had appeared in the Green-sun Tribe, including some powerful nobles. Because of this, they needed to keep a low-profile.
“All right, that’s all for today. You can all leave now. I’ll let you know when we sort everything out with the boy.”
Wu Deyong waved.
Now that things were falling into place, there was no need to drag in so many people.
Most importantly, in Wu Deyong’s opinion, the teenager from Feiyun Village should be brought back without any incident.
The Old Crow Inn, in a room on the second floor, Lin Xun first checked the room thoroughly and then threw the leather bag into the storage ring.
Outside, Lin Xun had to expose the hide bag to cover up his possession of a storage device. However, since no one was here, there was no need to take the trouble to do that.
All he had to do was to take it out when leaving the inn. “I rode the scaly horse of Lian Rufeng into the Green-sun Tribe with no idea whether the Wu Business got any news by now. But no matter what, the problem should be solved sooner or later.”
Lin Xun lay on the bed with crossed legs, dreamily getting lost in his own mind.
He knew very well that the Wu Business would never let go of Wu Henshui’s death easily. It would be better to settle the matter in the Green-sun Tribe so that they wouldn’t have the chance to pick a fight at the Feiyun Village.
That was why he strayed all the way into the Green-sun Tribe, riding the scaly horse of Lian Rufeng, to try and attract the attention of the Wu Business.
Although it was dangerous to do so, he already had a plan in mind so he was not nervous.
While Lin Xun was thinking about it, four or five men in gray had already taken advantage of the night and slipped into the Old Crow Inn.