Inn

The big man narrowed his eyes and scrutinized him for a while. Seemingly unable to gauge his background, he weighed the bag Xiao Ming had tossed over, then replied with a fake smile.

"Certainly, sir. Please sit over here."

Xiao Ming looked in the direction he pointed, only to find that every table there was occupied. There were no empty tables left.

"There are no seats over there."

"Sorry, sorry, please sit here instead." Only after Xiao Ming pointed it out did the Scar-faced Big Man seem to suddenly realize his mistake.

He then pointed at an empty table on the other side. "Sir, please sit over there."

Xiao Ming glanced at the Scar-faced Big Man and silently walked toward that table.

Watching Xiao Ming's departing back, the scar-faced man revealed a savage smile and headed into the back room.

Back room.

A Black-faced Fatty with his plump upper body bare questioned the scar-faced man.

"So? Did you figure out where he came from?"

"Hehe, he should be some youngster who popped up from who knows where."

"Really? Don't get it wrong again. Just because someone is short doesn't mean they're a youngster. The Black Corner Region is full of mixed races; there are plenty of shorter races. Last time, you saw someone with a pale face and claimed he was injured and nothing to fear. You made us lower our guard and suffer badly. If Eldest Brother hadn't been strong enough, we would've been finished." The fatty spoke in a deep, muffled voice, his words filled with distrust. Clearly, he had been badly burned by him before.

The Scar-faced Big Man could not keep his face straight after hearing that. His face flushed red as he wanted to shout back, but fearing he would attract attention, he could only lower his voice and yell.

"Fuck, there was a reason for that! Who knew that sickly bastard cultivated the Profound Yin Art, such a cold and sinister cultivation method that turned him neither human nor ghost? Besides, we didn't lose out last time. That Profound Yin Art was a Profound Tier Low-Grade Cultivation Method."

Seeing that the fatty was still somewhat unconvinced, the big man could only explain further.

"Relax, I can't be wrong this time. That brat deliberately disguised his voice as an old man's, hid beneath a black robe, and even disguised his hands, but he still exposed a trace of a flaw just now."

"When he threw the money over, his wrist was exposed. Compared with the wrinkles on his palm, the skin on his wrist looked decades younger. And I deliberately told him to sit at a table with no vacancies, yet he calmly told me there were no seats. Hehehe, he's definitely some youngster from nowhere. He isn't very old, and his strength definitely isn't very high."

"If that's the case, we'll deal with him while we're at it tonight. Hehe." A vicious smile appeared on the fatty's honest-looking face.

"Right, to be safe, add something extra to his food." A sinister smile also appeared on the scar-faced man's face. Though he believed the black-robed youngster was not very strong based on his judgment, he still felt that some special measures were necessary for safety's sake.

"Mm, I'll add some Muscle-softening Powder."

Just as the two finished discussing it, a commotion of fighting suddenly came from the main hall.

The two frowned.

"Damn it, they actually dare cause trouble here. Let's go out and kill those pieces of trash."

Time rewound slightly.

On the other side, after Xiao Ming sat down, another waiter came over to pour him some water.

After thanking him in an aged voice, Xiao Ming merely placed the porcelain bowl in front of him without any intention of drinking.

Ignoring the probing gazes cast at him in secret, Xiao Ming simply focused on listening to the conversations around him.

Xiao Ming had not come to Green Rock Town by chance. He had come for the Green Rock Profound Water.

He remembered that, in the Simulator, the Green Rock Profound Water had belonged to two Fishing Guys. They liked to pretend to chat in the inn at Green Rock Town, deliberately revealing the location of the profound water to lure in passersby hoping to strike it rich.

Once someone took the bait and ran to the location they mentioned, the two men, who had Waited For A Long Time, would take them down in one go.

The crucial point was that these two Fishing Guys were not weak. They possessed the strength of Five-Star Great Dou Shi. With such underhanded behavior, even if someone luckily escaped their ambush, facing them alone afterward would likely end in disaster.

His simulated self had fallen for their trap once and had only managed to kill the two of them after swallowing medicine and unleashing a Power Burst.

Still, these two Fishing Guys were at least not empty-handed swindlers. The Green Rock Profound Water really was on them.

So naturally, he had come this time to "take" the item away. After all, it was a Heaven and Earth Strange Object, and it would benefit his Ling.

In any case, those two Fishing Guys were no good people.

"Ahahaha, that chick we caught yesterday was so tender."

"Oh? Next time, bring me along."

"..."

"Eldest Brother, we fought the Black Hand Gang a few days ago, and several brothers died. We can't just forget it!"

"..."

"Drink up and eat!"

"Cheers!"

"Pah, damn beast, you actually betrayed me!"

"Fuck, you little brat spat into your grandpa's bowl!"

"What the hell are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at you, so what?"

"What the hell is all this?" Xiao Ming's expression beneath the black robe was exceptionally vivid. Clearly, he had not found any trace of the two Fishing Guys. Instead, he had overheard some rather unbelievable conversations and turned his head toward the direction from which someone had just shouted "this lady."

"Blech." Feeling as though his soul had been assaulted, Xiao Ming hastily Turned Around and looked toward the other side.

If he did not turn away, he feared he would vomit up even yesterday's leftovers.

The moment he turned to the other side, Xiao Ming discovered that two groups were loudly confronting each other.

They were the very people from earlier: one person had been scolding his Little Brother for spitting into someone else's bowl, thereby offending the other group.

However, perhaps because the two groups were evenly matched, they had not started fighting. At the moment, both sides were exchanging words with an extremely high concentration of profanity.

The leaders of both sides stood together, spittle flying everywhere.

As their shouting grew louder and louder, Xiao Ming realized they had not refrained from fighting because their strength was comparable. Rather, they seemed to be wary of something.

Xiao Ming guessed that they were wary of the inn owner's strength, which was why they had not started fighting. Although the Black Corner Region was known as a place without rules—and indeed had no rules, with murder, arson, and daylight robbery going unchecked—

some factions would establish rules within their own territory to stabilize it and gain greater profits. For example, fighting was prohibited in an Auction House, and people from other factions were not allowed to ride Magical Beasts through the skies over the city.

If guests were constantly fighting in an inn, never mind whether the chairs and tables were expensive; simply replacing them over and over would become infuriating.

So this inn should have a rule forbidding violence, Xiao Ming thought as he lowered his head and rubbed his chin.

That was also how most business owners thought. But for the thugs of the Black Corner Region to behave so obediently, the owner of this inn had to be quite formidable.

Using his soul perception, Xiao Ming sensed that the auras released by the leaders of both sides during their confrontation were roughly at the level of Seven-Star Dou Shi, confirming his conclusion.

Since fighting was forbidden inside the inn, the two groups agreed to settle it outside. Just then, the Little Brother kneeling on the ground with his face full of blood, who had been getting scolded, suddenly Stood Up and kicked his Boss in the backside.

Thanks to Little Book Thief for the 1,500 Point Coin tip.