That night, the people of Sunset City could not sleep.
No one knew how they had made it through. Some tossed and turned in bed, eyes wide open as they waited for dawn.
Others were consumed by their thoughts, trembling with excitement one moment and too anxious to sit still the next.
The bounty of twenty thousand spirit stones was like a fire, setting the entire city ablaze with unrest.
Naturally, Wang Xian knew nothing of this.
He slept soundly that night. What did other people's lives and deaths have to do with him?
At daybreak, before the mist over Sunset City had even dispersed, the inn's main hall was already packed.
At this hour on ordinary days, the waiter could still lean behind the counter and sneak in a nap.
But today was different.
Before the chairs had even been taken down from the tables, people were already pushing open the doors and entering.
One, two, three... In less than half an hour, not a single seat remained empty.
Kettle after kettle of water was boiled. The waiter was drenched in sweat, his legs darting between the tables and chairs as if fitted with wind-and-fire wheels, until even his voice had gone hoarse from shouting.
As he poured tea for the guests, he grumbled to himself:
Was this an inn or a teahouse? If you wanted to drink tea and chat, why not go to Heavenly Fragrance Tower in the city? They had girls singing ballads and fine spirit tea there. What were you all doing crowding into this shabby inn?
Just then, someone kicked open the inn's front doors.
"Bang!"
With a dull crash, the two door panels flew open to either side.
A woman stood in the doorway, a longsword hanging at her waist. Her brows carried