Three days remained until the final trial of the Emperor's Tomb.
Tide Dragon City, the Human World Inn, late at night, near the end of Hai Hour.
Senior Jiang Yu sat in his usual spot in the southwest corner of the inn's ground floor, his face turned sideways toward the night breeze outside the wooden window. A jug of aged liquor stood on the long table before him, and his right hand occasionally turned the pages of an ancient book as he read and drank.
Beside the jug, two plates of drinking snacks had already been emptied. But with a book to accompany his wine, he looked anything but shabby; rather, he seemed quite at ease.
Midnight, Zi Hour, was approaching. The Human World Inn, bustling all day, had fallen quiet again. Upstairs and downstairs were empty, save for Jiang Yu's table and the distinguished guests in the Hong Pavilion private room upstairs.
Normally, the Human World Inn closed after Xu Hour, but since the distinguished guests upstairs had not left today, the innkeeper could only stay with them.
Senior Jiang Yu and the Park District Squad had been staying at the Human World Inn for nearly a year, so naturally, they knew something of its proprietor.
The innkeeper of The Human World Inn was surnamed Hong. He was in his forties, exceedingly smooth in his dealings, and looked very well-fed, weighing at least two hundred and fifty jin. Moreover, his inn stood in the busiest, most central part of Tide Dragon City, with four floors and over twenty guest rooms. To outsiders, his business was substantial indeed, and he counted as a man of considerable means.
Thus, whenever the proprietors of the surrounding shops saw him, they respectfully called him Boss Hong.
Ordinarily, Shopkeeper Hong would certainly have been