Strange Behavior

"This spot is just right."

Xu Bai's position gave him a full view of the counter, clear at a single glance.

Feeling the progress bar slowly increase, he was delighted.

Before the dishes had even arrived, he sat there staring straight ahead.

Other than Yun Xiang's hand, he cared about nothing else.

At that moment, people came and went through the inn.

The golden progress bar was rising, and Xu Bai paid no mind to the people around him, staring without the slightest restraint.

In that short while, it had risen by the tiniest bit.

"This thing is better than the Heart Slaughtering Technique."

After roughly calculating the time, he found that if he stared without pause, it would take two nights.

In other words, it was more than twice as good as last night's Heart Slaughtering Technique.

Second rank?

Very likely.

He just did not know whether it was a cultivation method or something else.

If it was a cultivation method, he could directly break through to the eighth rank.

If it was not, then anything that could reach second rank was still nothing to scoff at.

Thinking this, Xu Bai stared even more carefully.

A voice came from nearby. The waiter carried over the dishes and set them on the table one by one.

"Please enjoy."

"Wait. Bring me some vegetable dishes too," Xu Bai said.

He had been so focused on watching the alluring proprietress that he had forgotten to order vegetables.

A person could not eat meat all the time. They would grow sick of it.

The waiter answered with another cheerful acknowledgment and hurried away.

After waiting a while longer, a plate of stir-fried greens was placed on the table.

Xu Bai ate the dishes and drank yellow wine, his eyes fixed intently on the Maple Leaf Tattoo on the back of Yun Xiang's hand.

Naturally, someone noticed this—for example, the diners at the next table.

Those diners were experts in this field as well, and gave him looks of fellow travelers on the same road.

Xu Bai did not care in the slightest.

He was an upright man.

Even if he had wanted to visit a pleasure house yesterday, he was still an upright man, because he had not managed to go.

I'm only gathering progress, Xu Bai thought as he took a sip of wine.

His gaze traveled upward from the back of Yun Xiang's hand. Not bad at all.

Time gradually passed. In the blink of an eye, he had spent an entire shichen on this meal.

Yun Xiang seemed to have something to do. She left the counter and went upstairs.

Xu Bai waited there for a long time, but Yun Xiang never came down. He quickly paid his bill and left the inn.

A good meal was worth waiting for.

Some things could not be rushed. She was here, and she could not run away.

Xu Bai left the inn.

It was still early. After giving it some thought, he began wandering around Sheng County again, planning to return for lunch at noon.

There were still other parts of Sheng County he had not explored. With his golden finger, he might as well see whether there were any fish that had slipped through the net.

He wandered here and there without finding anything. By the time it was nearly noon, Xu Bai returned alone to the Welcoming Inn.

He had come at just the right time, and there were not many people in the inn yet.

When the waiter saw Xu Bai, he wondered whether this guest had become addicted to the food.

"The usual," Xu Bai said.

The waiter hurried into the kitchen.

Before long, the dishes were set on the table.

At this time, there were still not many people in the inn.

The waiter wished him a pleasant meal and left again.

Xu Bai began eating and drinking, his eyes occasionally glancing toward the counter.

It was completely empty. Yun Xiang was not there.

Gradually, more people began arriving, and the waiter grew busy.

The silver he collected was placed into the box at the counter, yet Yun Xiang still did not come down.

Xu Bai could not help looking toward the second floor.

By this rhythm, she should have come down by now.

Could she be staying upstairs for the entire afternoon?

He could not figure it out, but he continued eating and drinking.

It was not until the afternoon, when the number of customers began to dwindle, that Xu Bai finally finished eating.

The counter was still empty.

Xu Bai paid his bill and resumed wandering around. When it was time for dinner, he returned as usual, ordered dishes, and began eating again.

Yun Xiang still did not come down.

Could she have vanished? he wondered.

The sun slowly set, and the number of people in the inn began to decrease.

Only after the last person had left did Xu Bai settle his bill.

When the waiter came over to collect the payment, Xu Bai paid him, then grabbed hold of him.

"Sir, this is..." Seeing the extra bit of broken silver in his palm, the waiter was puzzled.

"Keep it. I only want to ask you something," Xu Bai said with a smile.

The waiter looked left and right, cautiously pocketed the broken silver, and revealed a fawning smile. "Sir, ask whatever you wish. This humble one will tell you everything he knows and hold nothing back."

This was the first time in his life that he, a mere waiter, had received this kind of silver. He had long thought this guest carried himself in an extraordinary manner. It seemed his judgment had been right.

The waiter thought so to himself.

"Why is it that I never see your proprietress except during the day?" Xu Bai asked, pointing upstairs.

As soon as he said this, the waiter showed an understanding expression.

"Sir, if you have designs on the proprietress, you should give up as soon as possible. Though the proprietress has never married, a wealthy merchant from Sheng County came to propose to her some days ago, and she rejected him as well."

He had mistaken Xu Bai for someone interested in Yun Xiang and began trying to dissuade him.

In his view, even a wealthy merchant had been rejected by Yun Xiang, much less anyone else.

Since he had taken the money, he should offer a little advice so the man would not waste his time for nothing. Otherwise, he would not feel at ease accepting it.

"I would like to express my feelings too. I have to give it a try, at least. But your proprietress never comes down, so I have no opportunity. Is she always like this?" Xu Bai did not explain and simply went along with it.

The waiter glanced back at the second floor, leaned closer, and lowered his voice. "I don't know either, but ever since the inn was completed three months ago, the proprietress has been like this. I have no idea why. She stays on the second floor all the time. Oh, now that you mention it, I remember—the proprietress sometimes goes out too. Usually, she comes back at night."

Came back at night?

Xu Bai stroked his chin.

It seemed that while he had been away, Yun Xiang had already left the second floor.

A little strange...

Where had this woman gone in the meantime? She ran an inn, yet aside from the mornings, she was nowhere to be seen. What had she been doing? Under normal circumstances, Xu Bai would not have thought much of it, but the crucial point was the Maple Leaf Tattoo on the back of Yun Xiang's hand.

The fact that it could trigger the progress bar proved there was something within it worth comprehending. In other words, Yun Xiang was no simple person.

With that thought in mind, he remained silent.

The waiter cautiously asked, "Sir, do you have any other business?"

Xu Bai came back to his senses, shook his head, and rose from his seat, intending to go home.

It was already late. He would go back first and come take another look tomorrow.

"Take care, sir."

The waiter escorted Xu Bai to the entrance.

Xu Bai turned back and waved, telling him not to see him off any farther, then turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, the moment he turned around, he saw a luscious figure approaching from the distance.

Xu Bai did not leave. He stood where he was.

The figure gradually came into focus. Yun Xiang had changed clothes. Though she was still dressed in rough cloth, it could not conceal her captivating charm.

"Finished eating?" Yun Xiang spotted Xu Bai as well, stepped forward, and greeted him.

Xu Bai twitched his nose and smiled. "Full of food and drink. Your inn's dishes are truly delicious."

Although his expression did not change, when Yun Xiang spoke just now, he had caught the scent of blood.