After selling the bear pelt, Ye Yun checked into a decent inn with his bundle on his back. It was a Heavenly Grade room, though nowhere near as nice as the Shanhaiyuan where Zhang Xiaofan and the others had stayed in the original story. Unlike the luxurious Shanhaiyuan, this inn didn't give everyone a private courtyard, but it did provide both food and lodging. And precisely because it wasn't so luxurious or high-class, all sorts of people came and went. More people meant more news, and some of it might be just what he was looking for.
After tidying up his room, Ye Yun went downstairs and handed the bear paw to the waiter to have the kitchen prepare it. Then he found a seat by the window and asked the waiter to bring out a few house specialties.
The other dishes arrived quickly, but the bear paw took longer, so Ye Yun waited while quietly savoring the food on the table. Most of his attention, however, was on the conversations around the inn. Unfortunately, most of them were useless. People talked about things like how the silver buried beneath a tree at Old Wang's in the west of town had gone missing, or how Old Li's daughter in the east was pretty and had caught Old Zhang's eye. Ye Yun was sorely disappointed.
Never mind. Treasures belong to those who deserve them. I didn't come down the mountain solely to hunt for treasures. Experiencing this world's local customs and sampling its delicacies is worthwhile too. The most important thing is to temper myself. As for treasures, I'll take them as they come. There are plenty of treasures in the myriad worlds—if I want one, I can just go get it.
Once his thoughts had settled, Ye Yun felt much more at ease. He left only part of his attention on the activity in the inn and focused most of it on the feast before him, carefully savoring each dish. When he had eaten about half the food, the waiter finally brought out his bear paw. The moment it appeared, everyone in the inn stopped what they were doing and stared fixedly at the dish in the waiter's hands.
When the waiter set the bear paw on Ye Yun's table, Ye Yun not only enjoyed being the center of everyone's attention, but also heard a chorus of people swallowing hard. He paid them no mind. Picking up his chopsticks, he gently split the bear paw, made translucent from steaming, and lifted a golden, glistening piece of meat to his mouth. He savored it, then swallowed. By then, he could hear even more people gulping.
"This bear paw is excellent. Much better than roasting it. Here, this is for you." Very pleased with the taste, Ye Yun casually took out a small silver fragment about the size of a peanut and tossed it to the waiter. The waiter thanked him and ran off delightedly.
When Ye Yun had eaten about half the bear paw, a young man dressed like a scholar in a worn-out Confucian robe set down his chopsticks. Carrying a plate of spiced peanuts and another of greens stir-fried with meat, he came over, set them down quite naturally, and took a seat. Smiling, he said, "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends come from afar? Brother, from the way you're dressed, you must be from out of town. I'm a local scholar, and I feel a great affinity for you. How about I show you around?"
Ye Yun glanced up at the scholar, then lowered his head and went back to tackling the bear paw in front of him. The scholar didn't take offense. He kept smiling and didn't reach for any of the other dishes, eating only the two plates he had brought over.
Ye Yun found this amusing, but still ignored him. Just then, a tall, fierce-looking man carrying a long saber strode over with a series of heavy thuds. He pulled out the long bench beside Ye Yun, sat down with swagger, grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the table, and reached for the bowl of bear paw.
The others in the inn shook their heads. Some looked regretful, some sympathetic, some indifferent, and some gleeful, but not one of them spoke up.
"Smack!"
The man's chopsticks were knocked away by Ye Yun without the slightest hesitation.
The scene left everyone else in the inn dumbfounded. The man was even more stunned. Two or three seconds passed before he angrily stood up and glared at Ye Yun, his murderous aura palpable. "Boy, what do you mean by that?" At the same time, the other two men who had been sitting with him picked up their sabers and took up positions behind Ye Yun, looking hostile.
Ye Yun calmly picked up another bite of food and asked at an unhurried pace, "What do you mean, 'what do I mean'?"
Ye Yun's reaction made Gu Dahai's pupils contract. A native of Heyang City, Gu Dahai had once stumbled upon a manual as a boy. Driven by curiosity and a longing for the immortals who soared through the skies, he began practicing the movements of the little figures shown in the manual. In the end, he really did manage to learn something. He couldn't fly through the sky or burrow into the earth like an immortal, but he could easily scale walls and rooftops.
Once, while helping his parents sell their goods, he had beaten up a rich young master who tried to force them to sell, along with the young master's retainers. Gu Dahai had worried he would be punished for it, but the young master had backed down instead. He hadn't dared say a word and had even paid Gu Dahai compensation. After that, Gu Dahai began his career of "robbing the rich to help the poor," seeking suitable targets in various inns. Since he knew Heyang City inside out, most of his schemes succeeded. Of course, he had occasionally run into someone he couldn't handle, but he had usually found a way out. Yet this young man was so calm and composed that Gu Dahai had a bad feeling. Someone who could stay this composed was either utterly confident or a clueless fool.
I hope it's the latter. Gu Dahai silently prayed, then prepared to use his usual tactics to intimidate Ye Yun. Unfortunately, all the gods must have been on holiday today and hadn't heard his prayer, because the man he was about to provoke was Ye Yun.
Gu Dahai steadied himself and said viciously, "Boy, you knocked away my chopsticks and ruined my meal. I paid a hundred taels of silver for this bear paw. What are you going to do about it?"
"Pfft." Ye Yun couldn't help laughing. With an amused look, he said to Gu Dahai, "You bought this bear paw? I don't remember selling it to you."
Gu Dahai rested his right hand on his saber and stared at Ye Yun with savage eyes. His voice turned cold. "Boy, what did you say? Say it again!"
Seeing that Gu Dahai was genuinely angry, the scholar, Zhang Zifeng, hurriedly ingratiated himself with him. "Boss Gu, please don't take offense. My brother here hasn't seen much of the world. The splendor of this place has gone to his head, and he got confused. I'll make him pay you back right away." Then he turned to Ye Yun and whispered, "Brother, this is Boss Gu, a well-known figure in Heyang City. His saber is as fast as lightning, and he can scale walls and rooftops. Now that he's set his sights on you, you should just give in and pay him some money. Otherwise, you'll be in trouble—and serious trouble."
Ye Yun's eyes lit up at that. "Boss Gu? So you're the local strongman around here. I happen to need a well-informed guide. You've come at just the right time."
Before you continue