Moving

Shaqima had only asked on a whim, never expecting the finely dressed man in front of him to really be Lin Lei.

"How come you're in town?"

Lin Lei smiled at the clearly timid young man and asked curiously.

"Uncle... Uncle told me to come find you. He said it must be hard for you to watch the monster corpses all by yourself, so he wanted me to keep you company."

Shaqima had stammered at first, but Lin Lei's kind expression gradually put him at ease, and he began speaking more smoothly.

"I went to look for you at the town market, but you weren't there. So I searched around town, and then I ran into you.

"Um... did you sell that big bear?"

Shaqima gestured animatedly as he explained. Seeing that Lin Lei had nothing in his hands and only a yellow dog by his side, he wondered what had happened to the Earth Demon Bear that had once been laid out in Lin Lei's yard.

"I sold it."

Lin Lei didn't explain further. He didn't know Miss Alice, and saying too much would only sound like he was showing off. That wasn't the kind of person he was.

"Have you eaten?"

Seeing the conversation begin to falter, Lin Lei spoke to his timid fellow villager.

"Let me buy you a meal."

"No, thanks. I'm not hungry."

Shaqima turned down Lin Lei's offer, but his stomach started growling as he spoke. He hadn't felt hungry while they were talking about other things, but the moment food came up, his stomach gave the most honest response.

Hearing his stomach rumble, the already-shy Shaqima turned bright red. His dark skin flushed a deep reddish black, like a cooked shrimp.

"I've still got food with me."

Shaqima stubbornly refused, even taking off the bag on his back as he spoke. Inside the ragged cloth were three or four black loaves—the kind hard enough to use as weapons.

Lin Lei quietly watched Shaqima, ignoring his refusal. He pulled him along to a place called the Beast Tavern. Lin Lei was much stronger, and Shaqima couldn't resist, so he had no choice but to follow.

As they entered the tavern, a waiter hurried over to greet them. The unlikely pairing of a country bumpkin and a rich young man clearly surprised him, but he maintained proper manners and showed no sign of looking down on them.

He led Lin Lei and Shaqima to a window-side table on the second floor, then left. Only once he was some distance away did he mutter a few complaints under his breath.

The waiter thought no one could hear him from that far away. He didn't realize Lin Lei could easily hear every word. The waiter hadn't said anything too insulting, just made a few snide remarks, so Lin Lei could only shake his head and pretend not to hear.

After the waiter left, a young waitress came over and handed the menu to Lin Lei, who was sipping tea.

"The tea in this world is really good. It's almost as good as the Da Hong Pao I used to drink."

Lin Lei admired the tea to himself as he took the menu.

Knowing Shaqima wouldn't order anything, Lin Lei picked out a few meat dishes that looked good and handed the menu back to her.

Lin Lei glanced around. The tavern was about sixty or seventy percent full, and the food seemed popular. Most of the diners were burly men. Judging by their auras, they were all ranked mercenaries.

"That makes sense. Who among the ordinary townsfolk would eat at a tavern? These are all desperate men who live by the sword."

Lin Lei smiled wryly. But he didn't look down on the mercenaries; in fact, he respected them.

A territory could never be peaceful without mercenaries. For starters, there were goblins, which sprang up like weeds no matter how many times they were cut down. Any grown man could take on ten of those monsters.

And then there were the roaming monsters, ogres, and forest trolls. Those alone were responsible for half of all human casualties. Without mercenaries willing to throw themselves into the fight one after another, the losses would be even greater and more horrific.

"Crash!"

The sound of tables and chairs colliding came from downstairs, followed by a barrage of curses. Curious, Lin Lei looked down.

Two groups were facing off in the street, which had been empty a moment before. The wounds still bleeding on their bodies suggested they had fought their way out of the tavern. Several broken chairs and tables lay on the ground.

Mercenaries getting into fights was nothing unusual. It happened two or three times nearly every month. The tavern owner hadn't come out while they were fighting. One side would pay for whatever they broke, so he wasn't too worried.

There were plenty of onlookers downstairs, crowding around the fight in several layers. For the people here, watching others brawl was a decent form of entertainment.

"So it's not just people back in China who like to watch a spectacle. This world's got plenty of onlookers too."

Lin Lei muttered to himself as he sipped his tea.

"They won't actually fight, sir."

The young woman from before came over again, setting down the dishes as she spoke to the two of them, who were watching the commotion below with rapt attention.

"Why not?"

Lin Lei asked curiously, picking up a large chicken leg and feeding it to Ah Huang. The shy Shaqima also looked over, his eyes fixed on her.

Seeing that Lin Lei and Shaqima were willing to listen, she pulled a stool from under a nearby table and sat down with them.

"Why aren't you delivering the food?"

Lin Lei wondered why a server would dare to stop and chat with customers.

"She's the owner's daughter, Chunchun. She's only delivered food once today. She's not a waitress."

A man at the next table was clearly a regular. Hearing Lin Lei's question, he answered on her behalf.

"Who asked you? Can't you keep your mouth shut while you eat?"

The young woman, who had been gentle and timid until then, abruptly turned sharp-tongued and jabbed a finger at the customer's nose.

The customer clearly knew what she was like and didn't take offense. He just smiled magnanimously.

When Chunchun turned back to Lin Lei, she was once again all sweetness and coyness. Lin Lei found it hard to handle.

"Let's get back to the point. Why won't they fight?"

Lin Lei forced himself to regain his composure. Watching the two sides continue to trade insults below, he pressed her for an answer.

"Look at the woman on the left, the one dressed so provocatively. They call her the Red Widow. She's Thomas's mistress."

Chunchun pointed to the group on the left. Lin Lei and Shaqima followed her finger and indeed saw a rather scantily dressed woman.

"The one-eyed man leading the group on the right is a hired thug for the Feiyuyan Family. Those two sides represent the two great powers, the North-South Families. Do you think they'll fight?"

Lin Lei shook his head. He understood what Chunchun meant. Shaqima beside him shook his head too. He had figured out that the people below weren't going to fight.

"If they aren't going to fight, what's the point?"

Lin Lei grumbled to himself and called Shaqima back from watching. The food had been on the table for a while, and it would get cold if they didn't eat.

Chunchun stayed too, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and eating with them. Since Lin Lei had benefited from her explanation, he wasn't going to chase her away. He simply let her share the table.

The Beast Tavern had quite a few dishes: braised pork knuckle, steamed Eight-Treasure Chicken, boiled Longtan Crab, stir-fried Snow Tiger meat, and a spicy Seven-Star Chicken leg. But Ah Huang had already eaten the last one.

Lin Lei and Shaqima enjoyed the meal, but when it came time to pay, Lin Lei felt a pang. It had cost a full two gold coins, enough to feed an ordinary family for several years.

If Chunchun hadn't explained how each dish was made and what it did while Lin Lei ate, he would have thought they were robbing him.

After the meal, Lin Lei gave Shaqima a gold coin and told him to buy some things Lin Lei needed, then meet him at the town gate that afternoon so they could head back to the village together.

Lin Lei had now decided to buy a house in town and bring his parents over. That way, they would be safe when he went to Flower Territory.

Lin Lei knew the place to handle property purchases was beside the town government office. It was where residents went to take care of official business. He had planned to go there from the start, but then he'd run into Shaqima.

The office was not far from the Beast Tavern. Lin Lei only had to walk a short distance after leaving the tavern to reach it.

Meanwhile, in a private room at the tavern, one of the maids beside Chunchun asked her:

"Miss, why did you take the initiative to talk to someone today? Did you fall for him because he's handsome?"

"Don't talk nonsense. You never take anything seriously."

At that moment, Chunchun was neither as timid as she'd been at first nor as sharp-tongued as she'd been later. She was so calm it was unsettling.

"Didn't you notice the token hanging from his waist? That's the Flower Territory Centurion Token. Someone so young already has one. Knowing someone like him could do us a lot of good."

"Oh."

The maid still didn't seem to care much. Chunchun could only cover her forehead with a sigh.

She hadn't listened to a single word I said. Why had they sent such a complete novice—greener than fresh paper—to work with me?

While Chunchun was still worrying, Lin Lei had already been invited by the manager, who had judged him by his appearance, to drink tea in the VIP room.

"What good houses do you have here? Tell me about them."

Lin Lei wasn't distracted by the manager's attentive tea service. He went straight to what he wanted.

"Looking to buy a house? I'll find the list of properties registered here for you."

The manager began rummaging through piles of account books, tossing unwanted ledgers everywhere. Lin Lei frowned at the sight.

Fortunately, Lin Lei didn't have to wait long. Despite the manager's rough handling, the list was soon brought out.

Lin Lei glanced over it and ruled out the properties on the edge of town and those too close to the busy district. That left three choices: one hundred square meters, one hundred and fifty square meters, and two hundred square meters.

The one-hundred-and-fifty-square-meter house was the cheapest at one hundred and thirty gold coins. It was also the farthest from the town center and had been abandoned for many years, which was why its price had gradually fallen. But Lin Lei figured he'd have to renovate it himself, and he would also have to spend a substantial amount on furniture.