Yanzhou Observations, Part One

In the autumn of the 322nd year of the Great Chu Dynasty, a caravan traveled from Sili to Yanzhou via Yumen. The owner of this trade route would lead a caravan on this route every year, but this year seemed to be a little different.

"Father, in previous years we would bring in herbs and grains, but this year it's all silk! These are things for wealthy families. Yanzhou is a godforsaken place full of martial arts practitioners who fight and kill. Even if they could afford them, they wouldn't know how to use them!"

In the center of the caravan, inside a carriage, a man in his early twenties looked at the somewhat desolate land around him. Recalling the news he had heard, he couldn't help but feel puzzled by his father's rash change of goods this year.

"All you do is go to the teahouse to listen to storytelling and watch music, why don't you pay attention to any serious news!" The caravan owner, nearing fifty and already an old man for someone who didn't practice martial arts, glared at his son but didn't scold him further. His son had always been sent to the surrounding shops to hone his skills and wasn't familiar with this kind of trading, so he could only explain:

"Most of the stories told by those storytellers are fabricated. Even if there are some strange tales of the martial world, they are all old stories. The way of 'business' is nothing more than buying low and selling high. If you want to know where to buy low and where to sell high, you must grasp the latest information. This requires cultivating some information channels. Otherwise, do you think that the money your father throws out on the road is just for showing off? Without these expenses, how would they tell you the latest information?"

"Father, you're right." Although the young man was still a bit hot-tempered, he had been training in the Chamber of Commerce for several years and naturally understood the reasoning behind his father's words. However, before he could ask his father about his family's network of connections, he heard his father sigh:

"Actually, Dad's method is outdated. Nowadays, the Yuelai Inn is a good business. You can buy the information you want for just a few taels of silver. It's convenient and fast. But you have to remember that information is the lifeblood of a business. No matter how convenient and easy it is for them, you still need to manage your own channels. It doesn't matter if they are a little slower or worse, but you must have them."

Upon hearing this, the young man nodded thoughtfully, but then said:

"Father, is there Yuelai Inn in Yanzhou that you mentioned?"

"I heard that there are in every prefecture and state in the world..." The old merchant heard his son's sudden question and followed his gaze to look out the window. He saw an inn made up of several small buildings in the middle of nowhere, which looked like a small village. The signboard read "Yuelai Inn".

"What time is it now?" The old merchant squinted, glanced at the signs, flags, and sails, and then asked the driver.

"Master, it's already late afternoon!" The coachman glanced at the sun, turned his head, and replied. The old merchant estimated for a moment and then said:

"Discuss with some of the bodyguards and rest here today."

"Okay!"

The news spread quickly, and several bodyguards escorted the host and his son into the main hall of the inn.

The lobby was extremely spacious, with more than a dozen fine eight-immortal tables, easily seating a hundred or so people. Further up the stairs, there were also some private rooms, making it seem no different from the flagship store in Beijing.

"How many guests are in your party? Are you here for a meal or to stay the night?" The waiter immediately greeted them, noticing the familiar layout, and asked.

"Our caravan has six vehicles and forty people. Are there any rooms available?"

"We might not have enough superior rooms, but we definitely have enough shared rooms and standard rooms!" the waiter immediately said. The old merchant nodded, took out a silver ingot, and handed it to the waiter, saying:

"Bring us a table of food and wine, and help settle the people outside in as well as feed the livestock."

"Alright, please come in!" The waiter immediately greeted his colleagues, and someone went out to help settle the animals and servants. The old merchant, along with his son and bodyguard, found a seat by the window, greeting his convoy while observing the situation inside the shop.

He then realized something was wrong.

Although there was no Yuelai Inn before, there were quite a few such outhouses in Yanzhou, but most of them were filled with strange and eccentric people who had been corrupted by demonic energy. However, at this moment, the guests in the inn looked quite normal.

No, that's not normal anymore.

Unlike ordinary martial arts practitioners with rough skin, they all had skin as smooth as jade. Compared to martial arts practitioners, they looked more like the nobles in the capital who lived in luxury. Compared to them, the few master-level bodyguards around him looked like farmers.

However, what was most striking about these wandering swordsmen was not their healthy skin tone, but rather their pale yellow hooded silk cloaks—

Nowadays, 70% of the customers in this shop are dressed in such silk, only in slightly different shades. As for the remaining 30%, they are also wearing yellow hooded capes, but the material is not silk, but wool, cotton, or linen.

"Dad, are all these people so rich? Why do they all like wearing silk?" The young man was also shocked, then complained:

"Dad, you didn't even bother to get the information properly. It's true that people here like silk, but they prefer yellow silk!"

The old merchant was somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this. The intelligence he had received from his network only indicated a large shortage of silk in Yanzhou, but he hadn't heard that they only wanted yellow silk! Or perhaps these people were all from the same sect, which was why they were all wearing yellow silk?

But before he could speak, the bodyguard beside him solemnly said:

"Master, be careful, something's not right here!"

Hearing the escort's words, the businessman immediately became serious. While making a posture that would make it easy for the escort to pick him up and run away, he winked at his son. After the other party also assumed the same "chicken pose", he said cautiously:

Tell me about it.

Upon hearing this, the bodyguard frowned and said:

"These martial arts practitioners are too young, and their strength varies greatly. Some of them have only just developed internal energy. Such people should not be in Yanzhou!"

"Are you saying that these people might be monsters from the Demon Cult?" The businessman's expression immediately became tense, but the bodyguard shook his head and said:

"It doesn't seem like it. Their Internal Force is upright, peaceful, calm, and refined. They also don't have the characteristics of Demonic Cult Demonic Person. I can't tell either..."

The merchant was secretly worried, but when he saw a waiter who had nothing to do but pace back and forth in the lobby, he immediately thought of something and beckoned to him.

The waiter, seeing the customer's greeting, immediately came over, wearing a professional smile, and said:

"Please be patient, sir, your food will be ready soon."

The old merchant, however, knew the proper etiquette. He immediately took out two taels of silver and placed them on the table. Upon seeing this, the waiter lost his fawning smile and became more serious, saying:

What would you like to know, sir?

"Why are all these people dressed in yellow silk? And when did Yanzhou start having martial arts practitioners below the Grandmaster level?"

The merchant asked tentatively, but at the same time moved a few steps closer to the window. Seeing this, the waiter smiled and said:

"These people were originally from Yanzhou, but they became disciples of Xuanjun. Because they practiced the <Xuanjun Secret Scripture>, they are not afraid of demonic energy and can travel freely in Yanzhou. Although their strength is not comparable to that of a Grandmaster, they are sufficient to deal with some peripheral Demonic Cult Demonic Person and escort supplies. As for the yellow silk cloaks they wear, those are weapons practiced by Xuanjun's disciples, called <Yellow Robe Eighteen Falls>."

"The name sounds like a close-quarters combat technique." The young man often frequented teahouses to listen to storytelling, so he had naturally heard of a skill called "Eighteen Falls with Clothes on Clothes."

Upon hearing this, the waiter smiled and said:

"Young master, you may not know this, but the fist and foot techniques taught by Xuanjun are called the <Heavenly Demon All Forms Fist>. It's a kind of 'imitative fist' that studies the attack methods of Demonic Cult Demonic Person to achieve the effect of breaking their moves. However, the Yellow Robe Eighteen Falls are practiced in the form of that yellow robe. It is said that this skill imitates the behavior of Demonic Cult Demonic Person ' 'Monster Cultivator' who contaminate weapons, but does the opposite. It infuses one's own True Qi into the robe. Over time, the robe will develop its own spirit. Combined with the technique, it will become like a living thing. If you touch it, you will fall. It can also automatically protect you. You see, the more golden the color of the clothing, the more profound the skill is. However, nowadays, there is a shortage of silk in Yanzhou, so many people can only use cotton, linen, and wool as substitutes, which greatly reduces its power..."