At an inn at the crossroads in the heartland of Beiyuan Circuit, the innkeeper watched the many Jianghu people inside with great caution, silently praying that nothing would happen.
His inn was not located within a prefectural city, but at the intersection of several prefectures, catering specifically to traveling merchants.
Those merchants did not travel at night. Sometimes darkness had already fallen before they reached a prefectural city, so they would rest at his little inn.
Ordinary Jianghu people, however, did not usually come to his small inn.
Those Jianghu people were highly skilled and bold enough to match; naturally, they had no fear of traveling at night.
Their pace was swift. Even if they needed to rest, they would surely seek out the better inns within a prefectural city rather than come to his somewhat shabby little establishment.
Yet for some reason, several Jianghu people had come to the inn today. They did nothing but sit there after ordering a few small dishes, their auras terrifying enough to scare away several groups of customers. The innkeeper dared to be angry but dared not speak.
Just then, the inn's doors were pushed open, and a simply dressed young man entered while supporting a middle-aged man who appeared to be in poor health.
The sky outside had already grown dim, and the sun could no longer be seen, yet the two still wore bamboo hats, which struck the innkeeper as rather strange.
Still, he stepped forward and politely asked, "Will you be eating or staying the night?"
The young man lowered his voice and said, "Bring us your best dishes. No vegetables—only meat."
The innkeeper nodded and immediately headed for the kitchen.
His inn was tiny, so he served as both proprietor and waiter. The cook was his wife.
The young