Qin Xun took out five gold coins and placed them on the table.
The short-haired woman's eyes lit up. She hurriedly snatched up the five coins and fixed Qin Xun with a bewitching gaze.
"Little brother, you've got money! How about this? You keep me from now on, and I'll do whatever you want?"
"We're out of money, out of money! Those five gold coins are all we have left!" Xu Chao said hurriedly.
The short-haired woman called to a young man drinking nearby, "A Hu, get your things and take him upstairs to treat his wound."
"Why is it a man? What about Sisi, the one from last time?" Xu Chao was plainly dissatisfied with the pockmarked young man.
"Everyone wants Sisi. Wouldn't she be worked to death? But if you add another half a gold coin, I can send Sisi instead!"
"I've never seen anyone with a blacker heart than yours. Half a gold coin just to change people? You really think we have money to burn?" Xu Chao turned to Qin Xun. "Give her another half!"
"Huh?"
Qin Xun stared at Xu Chao, utterly bewildered.
"What difference does it make whether a man or a woman treats you?"
"That's what you don't understand. Women have delicate hands and clever fingers, so they do a better job. Men are clumsy and heavy-handed. You might pay the money and still not get the wound treated properly!"
"Why not give me a whole coin? I'll get the two of you each a set of new clothes that fit, and prepare a feast for you too!" The short-haired woman leaned on the bar, smiling.
Qin Xun placed a gold coin on the bar.
He did need a feast and a clean set of new clothes right now.
The short-haired woman looked every bit the money grubber as she gleefully put the coin away. Then she called toward the door, "Sisi, Sisi, we've got a customer! He wants you to treat him!"
"Coming, coming!" A pretty woman in a short pink skirt walked in through the door. Her gaze quickly settled on the injured Xu Chao. "Come on, upstairs!"
Qin Xun looked at the woman's shapely figure and her long, pale legs.
He finally understood why Xu Chao would rather spend the extra half a gold coin.
"Wait here for me," Xu Chao told Qin Xun. "Don't go anywhere!"
"Wait!" Qin Xun grabbed Xu Chao. "Are you sure you're really going upstairs to have your wound treated?"
"What else?" Xu Chao's gaze never left Sisi in her short pink skirt. He pulled Qin Xun's hand away. "Just wait here. Get something to eat first. I'll come down when it's done!"
"That's quite a nasty wound," Sisi said, her long legs swaying as she followed Xu Chao upstairs.
Qin Xun looked back at the short-haired woman. "Are they really treating his wound?"
"What else? Do you have any wounds that need treating? If you give me another half a gold coin, I can personally take care of them for you!"
Qin Xun narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the short-haired woman, who was propping up her chin with both hands and gazing at him with watery eyes.
The short-haired woman brought out a small cake and placed it in front of Qin Xun. "Go ahead and eat. He might need half an hour before he comes down."
Qin Xun's stomach was already growling.
The tempting cake before him was no less alluring than those long legs in black stockings outside.
But he didn't eat it.
Instead, he looked at Mengmeng, who was crouching on the floor.
Should he let Mengmeng try it first?
But if Xu Chao found out he'd used Mengmeng to test for poison, he'd most likely beat him to death!
Besides, he couldn't quite bring himself to do it!
"Pretty cautious. Looks like you're not a complete newbie." The short-haired woman scraped off a bit of cream with one slender finger and put it in her mouth. "Satisfied now?"
Seeing that the woman had eaten some, Qin Xun quickly picked up a fork, speared a piece of cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
The woman propped up her chin with both hands, her eyes curving into crescents as she watched Qin Xun. "You are still a bit of a newbie. Didn't it occur to you that the cake might actually be poisoned, but I have a way to cure myself?"
Qin Xun froze for a moment, then looked up at her. "What's your name?"
"Chen Qiao. They all call me Sister Qiao'er!"
"Are you the owner here?"
"Yes!"
"Do you know Brother Chao?"
"You could say that. A year ago, he and a few others stayed here for a few days, then ran off without settling the bill!"
"Do you have a map of the Fallen Zone?"
"Only a rough map of Zones 80 through 120."
"How much?"
"Half a gold coin if you take it with you. If you look at it here, you can do that for free!"
Qin Xun took out a gold coin and put it on the table. "Don't give me the other half back. Get me a few things!"
"What things?"
"Two daggers, the sharper the better! Darts, or small throwing knives will do. If you have them, get me eight. And a rope with an iron hook, the kind you can use to climb walls!"
"Darts? You know how to use them? Can you hit your target?" the woman asked with a smile.
Qin Xun flung the steel fork in his hand!
Bang!
The fork struck a target hanging on a wall more than ten meters away, dead on!
Right in the center!
The woman looked over, then turned back to Qin Xun, her eyes full of astonishment.
"You can't be more than seventeen or eighteen. How did you learn to do that?"
"Two years, more than seven hundred days. Except under special circumstances, I practiced a hundred times a day!"
"All right, I'll get them ready for you!" The woman pushed the gold coin back. "Keep your money. I'll give them to you for free!"
"Thanks!"
Chen Qiao handed Qin Xun a map, then gave him another fork.
Qin Xun unfolded the map and studied it while eating his cake.
"Sorry to trouble you, but where are we now?"
"Here!"
Chen Qiao touched a spot with her slender finger.
Qin Xun glanced over the map.
Their current location was already two hundred kilometers from Zone 108.
They had been on the move since the early hours of the morning, and had also caught a ride on a truck for more than two hours along the way.
That distance was within his expectations.
As long as the people from the Dark Pavilion had no special methods, then, as Xu Chao had said, they definitely wouldn't be able to track them here anytime soon.
Qin Xun looked at Zone 96 again.
He made a rough calculation of the distance.
They were now below Zone 103.
Zone 96 was to the left of Zone 103.
From here, Zone 96 was a little over three hundred kilometers away.
On foot, even without wasting any time or encountering any danger along the way, it would still take several days.
They would be doing well to arrive within a week.
But if they had a car and drove straight along the highway, they could get there in a day.
That was too risky, though. The Dark Pavilion might have set up checkpoints on the highways to stop them.
Even if they weren't caught on the spot, they would once again find themselves being hunted.
"Whimper, whimper!" Mengmeng rubbed against Qin Xun's shoes.
"A Hu! Get this dog some food and water!" Chen Qiao called to the pockmarked young man.
The young man called A Hu went around to the kitchen and brought out a plate of food and a bowl of water, placing them in front of Mengmeng.
Mengmeng only glanced at them before continuing to rub against Qin Xun's shoes.
Chen Qiao pressed her whole chest against the wooden bar and leaned over to look at Mengmeng on the floor. "Why won't Mengmeng eat?"
"Brother Chao probably has to come down and tell Mengmeng to eat first."
Qin Xun had just raised his head when he saw Chen Qiao's firm body pressed against the wooden bar. For a moment, he lost his train of thought.
When Chen Qiao looked at him, he hurriedly pulled his gaze away and pretended to study the map, like a thief with a guilty conscience.
But his reddening face still gave him away!