Pitter-patter—
By nightfall, the rain had started coming down harder.
Chen Guan saw that the cave was too small and sat below ground level. Draping a piece of oxhide coated in tree sap over himself, he came out.
For now, he just needed to find somewhere proper to stay, so he wouldn't have to spend the whole night bailing water out of the cave.
Around ten o'clock.
With the oxhide over his head and rain pouring down, Chen Guan spotted a modest roadside inn at the foot of a mountain beyond the woods.
Its lights shone brightly, and shadows moved inside.
It seemed to have quite a few guests.
"That'll do."
Seeing the inn, Chen Guan suddenly realized he was a little hungry.
He jogged the last two li.
But as he ran—
When he realized the rain was no longer splashing against his face, Chen Guan immediately tossed off the oxhide.
The weather could be a real pain in the ass.
He'd just found somewhere to shelter from the rain, and now the damn heavens had stopped it.
But he was already here.
Might as well have a meal.
Tap, tap—
He walked into the inn.
A quick glance around showed twelve tables, nine of them occupied.
Business seemed good for a rainy night.
Some of the guests had slightly damp clothes. It was obvious they'd come in to avoid the rain and decided to grab a bite while they were at it.
They might even stay the night.
"Waiter, bring me a pot of wine!"
Chen Guan looked around, found a seat by the window, and settled into it with his legs spread wide. Catching the aroma of the dishes at the next table, he added,
"Bring me five jin of braised meat, a plate of stir-fried wild greens, and a big bowl of mixed-grain noodle soup."
"Whoa... That guy can put it away..."
Hearing Chen Guan's order, several diners glanced over at him.
At a look, it was clear Chen Guan was exceptionally tall and sturdy.
He looked like a man with strength to spare.
But Chen Guan was a cultivator, and he sat there in a completely relaxed slouch, without a trace of a martial wanderer's air about him.
Unlike the two Knight-Errants over there, who stayed alert even while eating, their backs slightly straight, ready to move at any moment, hands resting close to their weapons.
That was how martial wanderers out on the road usually behaved.
Anyone who traveled far and wide could tell they were the sort of people not to be trifled with.
Chen Guan, on the other hand, had the face of a young man.
Add his unusual ears and relaxed expression, and—
On closer inspection, he seemed a little strange, but in a rather endearing way.
Especially when Chen Guan sat on a little stool and curled up his tall frame. From behind, he really did look like a round, chubby panda.
For a moment, the diners thought that aside from his sturdy build, Chen Guan looked like someone easy to bully.
At the same time—
At two other tables sat wealthy patrons, most of them around six feet three, all broad and barrel-chested. Yet they wore fine Brocade Cotton clothes like wealthy merchants or local gentry.
While Chen Guan waited for his food—
They, too, stole several glances at him.
"That man doesn't look like he has any internal energy..."
Their eyes met briefly, then they went back to chatting about their own affairs.
"Sir! Your wine!" The waiter cheerfully brought Chen Guan his wine, then bent down and poured him a cup.
Chen Guan savored the wine in silence, glancing at the burly wealthy patrons while listening to them boast about everything under the sun.
And those wealthy patrons could really drink.
"Come on... bottoms up!"
"Big brother, let me toast you too!"
The guests in the inn shouted over drinking games and chatted among themselves.
After several rounds of wine and a few courses of food—
Compared to the diners around them who had drunk too much, they showed little sign of being drunk.
But at eleven that night—
Chen Guan had just eaten four jin of meat and half a bowl of noodles. He was about to take a breather before finishing the rest of his food—
When the dozen or so wealthy patrons exchanged glances. Four of them split off and blocked the front and back doors.
Whoosh—
Two more rushed into the kitchen, seemingly to grab someone.
The rest of the wealthy patrons, along with their leader, a tall, burly man, suddenly drew their long blades. While many of the diners were still eating or staring in confusion, the man shouted,
"Put down your chopsticks! The Pengfeng Stronghold has business here!"
"If you want to live, stand still!"
"The Pengfeng Stronghold?"
"They're bandits from the mountains..."
At those words, and seeing the blades in the men's hands, the diners sobered up in a panic.
Only the two Knight-Errants looked startled for a moment before instantly reaching for their sword hilts.
"Bandits?" Chen Guan hadn't expected the bandits to be so good at disguising themselves.
He hadn't suspected a thing at first.
Their outfits were so bright and polished, their clothes so neat and proper.
Compared to the other bandits he'd seen, who wore a haphazard jumble of clothes and didn't care about their appearance, these men were a world apart.
Anyone who didn't know better would've thought they were off to discuss some big business deal.
And this business of killing and robbing was certainly big enough.
"Grandpa, spare me..."
"This humble one only has this much..."
As the diners got up in fear, begged for mercy, or fumbled for their silver—
Chen Guan, sitting there as steady as a mountain, stood out like a sore thumb in the inn.
Then footsteps came from the back door. The bandits who'd gone into the kitchen brought out the cook and the guests staying in the rear courtyard.
The burly leader tilted his head and eyed Chen Guan, who was still sitting there.
"Did this half-grown brat not hear what I said?"
Hum—
The blade trembled.
The burly man pointed its tip at Chen Guan's neck from a distance.
"You're young, so I'll take pity on you and say it again. Money or your life?"
"I'm afraid I want both." Chen Guan looked at the fierce men.
"Oh?" Seeing that the young man amused him, the burly man grinned like a cat toying with a mouse. "What did you say? You want both?"
"Hahaha..." The others burst into laughter at Chen Guan's answer.
"Has this kid had too much to drink?"
"Big brother! Let me deal with him!"
As they laughed, the men approached Chen Guan slowly, weapons in hand.
They figured Chen Guan looked young, and he didn't even have a proper way of walking. He was basically just bluffing.
He was trying to scare them off by putting on the voice of an expert.
They saw people like him all the time. That was why they'd pretended to be merchants at first, watching everyone's every move in secret, just in case they ran into someone tough.
"Brothers, hold on."
But when the burly man saw his men getting ready to act, he raised a hand to stop them.
Chen Guan had just insulted him.
He wanted to deal with him himself.
Tap, tap—
After holding his men back—
The burly man approached Chen Guan with a contemptuous look, sword in hand.
"Kid, do you know who I am?"
As he spoke, the burly man stopped a zhang away. His long sword flickered beneath the lamplight, sketching a flower of swordlight before pointing at Chen Guan's neck.
"I'm the second-in-command of Pengfeng Mountain. They call me the Pengfeng Sword!"
"The Pengfeng Sword..."
"He's an expert at the Post-Heaven Great Accomplishment stage..."
The diners in the inn cried out in alarm when they heard the name.
Most of them were Knight-Errants and merchants who traveled the nearby roads. Naturally, they knew the name of this expert.
Even the two Knight-Errants who'd wanted to resist fell silent. They reached for their money pouches, ready to buy their lives.
"Since you've heard of me, hand over your money!"
Seeing this, the Pengfeng Sword felt a swell of pride.
But when he saw Chen Guan still sitting there, unbothered and coldly ignoring him, he couldn't keep up his calm, lofty act. His face burning with anger, he shouted at Chen Guan,
"Truly, a newborn calf fears no tiger!
Looks like you've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve, kid?"
His eyes were bloodshot.
"State your name and let me hear it! Maybe I'll leave your corpse intact instead of feeding you to the wolves piece by piece."
"Fine..." Seeing him lose his temper, Chen Guan smiled. His wrist shifted slightly where it rested on the sword's sheath, and spiritual energy sent the long blade flying free.
"Then listen closely..."
Whoosh—
The next instant, the blade leaped from its sheath.
Chen Guan covered the distance of a zhang in a single stride. In the blink of an eye, the crowd saw only a flash of blade light streak across their vision, and the long blade took the Pengfeng Sword's head clean off!
In the very next moment, Chen Guan shot into the startled bandits.
Amid cries for mercy and the crack of blades severing necks—
Chen Guan darted through the crowd, weaving back and forth.
In a mere dozen seconds—
Chen Guan stood with his blade in hand. All around him, the onlookers were stunned, while the bandits' corpses slowly toppled to the ground.
"I'm Chen Guan."
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