"Thank you, thank you!"
Fugui cupped his hands and bowed to the attendant in thanks.
Seeing that none of the three seemed to need anything else, the attendant said, "Then I'll take my leave."
"Hey!"
Shen Lang reached out, about to call the attendant back, but Fugui stopped him.
The attendant glanced back, and Fugui smiled. "It's nothing. The three of us will just chat among ourselves. Please go ahead. We'll find you if we need anything later."
The attendant nodded and left.
Shen Lang frowned. "Brother Fugui, why did you stop me? I'm hungry and drenched in sweat. I was just about to ask him to get me some food and hot water. It wouldn't take much time anyway!"
"A full belly, a good drink, and a bath—that's how you get a proper night's sleep!"
"It's only the third watch at most. It isn't late!"
"It's not a matter of time," Ye Qianfan said with a smile. "We can't do any of those things!"
"Why?"
Shen Lang was puzzled.
At those words, Fugui turned to Ye Qianfan. "You picked up on it too, Brother Ye?"
"Yes, I did." Ye Qianfan nodded. "Normally, there's no need to tip an attendant with a little gold ingot weighing two taels. I suspect you were trying to get some clues out of him, Brother Fugui."
"Exactly." Fugui nodded. "But the Demon-Quelling Office seems to have rules, so he could only reveal one thing: that we should get some rest early."
"And after I spent that much money, if the food, hot water, and so on were really safe to use, he would certainly have been eager to provide them. After all, he'd get another tip!"
"But he didn't offer anything. That means we'd best not do those things."
"Brother Shen Lang, you know