Girls' Literature
"Now that you two know there is no way out of this place, what are your thoughts?"
The scholar asked with refined courtesy.
"If we can't get out, then we really should find a place to rest our feet."
Ye Tian said.
"Though my inn cannot be called especially luxurious, it can still shelter you from wind and rain."
The scholar said, his meaning plain enough without being spoken.
"Are you the owner of this inn?"
Hong Ying asked.
"Otherwise, who would let a cripple occupy such a good location? Naturally, it is my territory, so I call the shots."
The scholar smiled brilliantly.
"May I ask how much it costs to stay here?"
Ye Tian asked.
"I see that the two of you are fated to meet me, and you are not like those idiots draped in black robes. Stay here with me. No one wants to come anyway; when they see that I do not wear a black robe, they are terrified of being associated with me."
The scholar's smile carried mockery, along with a touch of self-mockery.
"Even before death, one had to scrape out a living. After dying, I still could not escape it in this world."
"Are you a mortal?"
Ye Tian poured himself a cup of wine and drained it in one gulp.
"Of course not."
The scholar said.
"If I were a crippled mortal without the strength to truss a chicken, how could I occupy an inn in such a prime location?"
"Then why rush about for a living? You could casually visit any manor and become a retainer or an Attendant, or simply be an idle cloud and wild crane. If you do not wish to toil, why toil at all?"
Ye Tian said.
The scholar merely gave a bitter