Lu Kui led the Cold Edge Hunting Group away in a fury, and the clamor inside the Welcoming Guest Inn gradually died down.
The diners still murmured here and there. Their glances at Li Yun and Xu An held a mix of sympathy and eagerness to watch the spectacle.
Xu An's hand tightened slightly around his wine cup. His earlier joy had vanished, and his expression remained grave.
Li Yun had lost all interest in drinking as well.
He beckoned the innkeeper over and asked him to pack up all the unfinished dishes on the table.
He ordered two more soft dishes that Xu An's Mother liked, had them packed with the rest, then got up to pay.
Carrying the food, the two silently left the Welcoming Guest Inn and headed toward the wooden house in Western City's Commoners' District.
The streets bustled with people, but Xu An kept his head down the whole way and said nothing.
His brows were drawn tight and his lips pressed together. Worry filled his heart.
Li Yun saw it and knew what troubled him.
The Cold Edge Hunting Group had roamed the Icefield around Carter City for years. They were ruthless and never showed mercy.
Humiliated at the inn and deprived of a vast sum of Frost Crystals, they would never let the matter rest.
The Icefield was nothing like the city. No city guards patrolled it, and no rules held sway.
Once someone stepped onto the Icefield, the group could lie in ambush, kill him, and dump his body in the snow. No one would investigate.
Xu An had grown up in Carter City and seen plenty of bloody clashes between hunting teams. His fear of a vicious force like the Cold Edge Hunting Group had long since taken root.
A fear