His voice sounded agitated, somewhat nervous, and carried a deliberately subdued threat.
Bao Xiaoqin lightly stirred the water, saying absentmindedly, "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"
As she spoke, she did not even glance at the fat man. Her fingers traced circles across the water's surface, one after another, sending ripples spreading outward.
The moonlight reflected in the water was churned to pieces, breaking into a flowing sheet of silver.
The fat man gave a sinister chuckle. "This is Spirit Dawn Town. Everyone within three hundred li knows it. This is Wind and Rain Tower territory. Even the innkeeper may look fierce, but he still has to listen to Wind and Rain Tower..."
"I see!" Bao Xiaoqin smiled.
That smile was casual and dismissive, like an adult listening to a child brag about finding a piece of candy that day.
The fat man's pupils contracted slightly as he barked, "Since you know what kind of place this is, you still dared to come here?"
His voice suddenly rose, spiritual energy leaking out with his turbulent emotions and shaking splinters loose from the window frame.
Even the air around him seemed to grow heavy, like an enraged beast raising its hackles.
Bao Xiaoqin put on an innocent expression, and she did it perfectly...
Her eyes widened slightly, her lashes trembled softly, and the corners of her lips drooped just a little, like a child who had been wrongly accused.
She murmured, "I didn't come to provoke you. I'm only staying at the inn and wanted to take a bath. Is that not allowed either?"
She tilted her head, her voice soft and sticky like a freshly steamed glutinous rice dumpling—sweet and clinging.
The fat man grinned viciously. "Of all the places you could wash, why did you have to