Suzhou was a major city in the Central Plains. Not only was it strategically important, but its scenery was also beautiful. The saying "Heaven above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below" praised this earthly paradise!
The Fox Demon had once brought Su Mei to Suzhou City. She, too, had only recently emerged from the mountains then. Before that, she had always cultivated in deserted places. In terms of worldly experience, she knew even less than an inn's shop assistant from some small town. (Li Xiaoyao: I'm catching strays while lying down...)
That was why the bustling, prosperous city of Suzhou had stunned the Fox Demon. It was also during that trip, in pursuit of pleasure, that she began abducting young women from the surrounding areas, planting the seeds of her future downfall.
Su Mei's little head naturally wasn't occupied with any such thoughts. She was busy looking this way and that, dazzled by the assortment of strange and wonderful things for sale at the shops and stalls lining the road. There was so much to see she could hardly take it all in!
"Uncle... give me one of those... what are they called... candied hawthorns! Mmm... so good!"
Gao Xu walked beside Su Mei, watching as she clutched the delicacies she'd bought along the way in both hands. Her little mouth never stopped moving, and she even darted over to a candied hawthorn vendor and called out around a mouthful of food. She was the very picture of someone eating what was in her bowl while eyeing what was in the pot—never satisfied with what she had. He couldn't help shaking his head with a laugh. This girl must have been starving!
"Big brother, slow down! You're making me miss all these stalls... Oh, could you give me some more round things? I've run out of the ones you gave me earlier. Heehee!" Su Mei finished off her newly acquired candied hawthorns and wiped her mouth. Just as she was about to rush toward her next target, she realized she'd run out of the coins Gao Xu had given her, so she flashed him an ingratiating smile.
"Come on, you're spending them way too fast. That was enough to cover an ordinary family's expenses for half a month!" Gao Xu stared at Su Mei in astonishment, then glanced at her flat little belly. You really couldn't judge a book by its cover. Had all that food gone into a bottomless pit? It was terrifying!
"But it's a rare opportunity, big brother! Don't be so stingy! Please?" Su Mei seemed a little embarrassed, lowering her head and touching her slender, pale index fingers together as she murmured, "Hurry! The glutinous rice cakes that old man is selling smell so good. I bet they taste amazing. They'll be gone if we don't hurry!"
"All right, all right. Here!" Gao Xu saw that Su Mei had already come up beside him and grabbed his sleeve. At this rate, she'd start tugging him back and forth next. He rubbed his forehead and reluctantly handed her a purse.
As it happened, his coins hadn't fallen from the sky. They'd come from the bandits on Ghost Yin Mountain.
Those bandits who had made the mountain their stronghold might not have had much else, but they had plenty of money. The chests dropped by Tai Zhuonan's Miao Tribesmen had contained nothing but points, while the bandits' chests held coins.
Coins were the currency used for trade in the Chinese Paladin world. They could be spent at weapon shops, item shops, jewelry shops, and other places in the story world, but anything bought there could only be used in that world and couldn't be taken out.
There weren't many coins, and Gao Xu would only be staying for a few hours. He decided to spend them all on Su Mei. It seemed like a good way to let the little fox, newly separated from her parents, enjoy a good meal.
The only problem was that this little fox had a huge appetite. In just an hour, she'd spent several hundred coins—and she'd only been choosing things from roadside stalls! If they'd gone to a large restaurant instead, the money would've been gone long ago.
Fortunately, it wasn't all cost with no return. Su Mei's loyalty kept rising along with the curve of her little belly.
By the time Su Mei patted her stomach and declared herself stuffed, and Gao Xu had returned to his former state of poverty, her loyalty had settled at 34 points. It was still quite a ways from 50, and those next 16 points would be harder to earn, but it was a lot more reassuring than the 0 she'd started with.
Just as Su Mei had gotten her fill and was preparing to go see the Hundred Arts Troupe perform acrobatics, the two of them passed a restaurant. A sudden commotion erupted from inside.
Gao Xu stopped. A huge sign hung over the tall entrance, four grand, flowing characters inscribed across it: "Linxiang Restaurant."
"It's so pretty in there. The food must be amazing!" Su Mei peeked inside and saw the lavish decor, with its green-tiled roofs and ornate rafters, every brick and tile carefully crafted. She gazed at it in anticipation, drooling.
"You're not full yet?" Gao Xu's face darkened, but then the faint sounds of a commotion inside caught his attention. He listened for a moment, then turned to Su Mei's expectant gaze and smiled. "Maybe we really can get a big meal in there. Come with me!"
"Welcome, honored guests! Please, follow me!" While the two were talking, the shop assistant had already come over and waited nearby. Seeing Gao Xu was interested, he led him and Su Mei, who was still looking around, into the restaurant.
Once inside, the faint cursing, crying, and shouting they'd heard earlier grew clearer. The shop assistant's face stiffened. He was just about to say something to distract Gao Xu when a short, thin figure suddenly burst out from behind a curtain beside the counter and dashed for the restaurant's entrance. A burly man chased after him and kicked him to the ground.
"Look at you, running off and disturbing the customers! I'll teach you a lesson today!" The man's brows knitted angrily and his face was full of malice. He viciously kicked the raggedly dressed, miserable-looking child several times, cursing under his breath.
As he dragged the child out by the collar to teach him another lesson, a short figure stepped in front of him. It was Su Mei, outraged by the injustice. She glared at the man and shouted, "Why are you hitting him? You're so mean!"
Seeing that Su Mei was a child too, the burly man didn't lose his temper. Instead, he explained to Gao Xu, who had come forward, "Honored guest, you don't know the situation. This kid's been coming here to beg for food all the time lately. Our manager believes in making money through friendliness, so he's let the kid eat and drink for free many times. But now he thinks our Linxiang Restaurant is easy to bully and has even dared to steal! If we don't teach him a lesson, he'll never stop!"
Restaurants usually believed in making money through friendliness. They certainly wouldn't normally treat a child this way. The burly man spoke with such conviction and showed no hesitation at all; it seemed clear he was telling the truth.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was so hungry, I just couldn't help myself..." The child lay on the ground, repeatedly kowtowing and apologizing to the burly man.
A look of sympathy crossed Gao Xu's face. He sighed. "He's young and doesn't know any better. You don't need to go this far. Tell me, how much has he eaten here?"
Su Mei stepped forward to help the child up and wiped the grime from his face without the slightest hint of disgust.
Seeing Gao Xu's dignified appearance and imposing bearing, the burly man assumed this generous gentleman meant to pay the child's bill. That would suit everyone just fine, so he promptly replied, "You're truly compassionate, honored guest. This child's lucky to have met you. The total comes to five thousand coins, or five taels of silver!"
"Five taels?!" Gao Xu's gaze turned cold. His voice held not a trace of emotion as he said, "You'd better think carefully. I'm no easy mark. If you're going to demand an outrageous sum, at least use your eyes!"
Su Mei raised her head beside him and glared furiously at the burly man. She'd just eaten so much herself, and it had only cost a few hundred coins—less than one tael of silver. That was already enough to cover a typical family's expenses for a month! How much could this child have eaten? Even if the food in a restaurant was expensive, it couldn't cost that much!
"You've got it wrong, honored guest! Five taels is the bare minimum. I'd never deceive you!" The burly man grimaced and waved his hands, quickly explaining, "I'm not demanding an outrageous sum. It's just that this little devil has an incredible appetite. His stomach's like a bottomless pit! If we hadn't caught him in time, he would've cleaned out the whole kitchen!"
"Just as I thought!" Gao Xu had been waiting for the burly man to say those words. He considered it for a moment, then said slowly, "There's something strange about this child. He's not as simple as he looks. You've had some bad luck... What a shame, such a fine restaurant..."
His final words were barely audible, but the shop assistant, waiting nearby, happened to hear them.
The shop assistant's face changed at once.
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