The three men seemed to be the boy's subordinates.
The scar-faced man leaned respectfully toward the boy's ear. "That's already quite good. Let's stay here tonight. It isn't safe to travel after dark."
"Are they all commoners?" The boy swept his gaze over the people roasting meat on the bank, glancing at Qin Xun not far away as well. He covered his nose in disgust. "What a revolting smell!"
The air held only the aroma of roasting meat.
The so-called revolting smell was nothing more than the boy's deep-seated disdain for commoners.
"Young master, keep your voice down. Half the people staying here are not to be trifled with. If you make them angry, they won't care whether you're a noble."
The boy smiled contemptuously. "Am I an ordinary noble?"
"Of course you're no ordinary noble!"
"Besides, what if I do make them angry? Are you lot just here to eat for free?"
"Of course not. We'll protect you at all times!"
"Is that a tavern in there?" Curious, the boy walked over. "I didn't expect there to be a place to drink somewhere like this. Come on, let's go have a look."
Chen Qiao, who was working on the accounts behind the bar, looked up.
One glance was all it took for her to tell that the boy was a noble.
Her reasoning was the same as Qin Xun's.
"How many of you? Are you eating or staying the night?"
The boy ignored Chen Qiao and wandered around the tavern with his hands behind his back. The men holding a spear and a three-section staff followed close behind him.
The scar-faced man came to the bar and set a few banknotes on it.
"Four of us. We need two larger rooms, and prepare dinner for us too."
"The dining room is being renovated, so you can only eat here."
"No problem. Bring it as soon as you can, and make it the best you've got!"
"The best? This isn't enough money."
The man took out a few more banknotes and put them on the bar. "Bring us a few cups of hot water first."
"All right, find yourselves somewhere to sit." Chen Qiao put the banknotes in a drawer and called out, "A Hu, four customers. Make them the best meal we have."
As the man left the bar, Qin Xun happened to walk in from outside.
"Looking good!" Chen Qiao's eyes lit up as she looked Qin Xun over. "Sure enough, a handsome man looks good in anything."
"Where's Mengmeng?"
"Upstairs."
"Can I go up and see Brother Chao?"
"Sure, he's upstairs. Go on up."
There were five rooms on the second floor, all of them sickrooms.
Xu Chao was in the last room. The others were empty.
He lay naked on the sickbed, white bandages wrapped around several parts of his body.
Mengmeng lay at the corner of the bed, head drooping.
Without making a sound, Qin Xun stood beside the bed and quietly watched Xu Chao.
"What is it?"
Xu Chao weakly opened his eyes, glanced at Qin Xun, and closed them again.
"I came to see if you were all right."
"I'm fine. I've had worse injuries than this. I'm mostly just exhausted. A night's rest will fix me up."
"Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? Oh, right, Chen Qiao came up and told me you're a Psionic Power user?" Xu Chao opened his eyes again.
"Yeah."
"Look at you, your Qi Gate opened on its own! She said you had a lot of Spirit in your body, not like someone whose Qi Gate had just opened. What happened?"
"I don't know either."
"Come here, let me take a look." Xu Chao pushed himself up and placed a hand on Qin Xun's chest.
After sensing him for a moment, he pulled his hand back. "It really doesn't seem like your Qi Gate just opened, but either way, it's a good thing. When I get some time, I'll teach you properly how to use Spirit."
"Sister Qiao'er already taught me the basics. I tried practicing while I was bathing just now, too. Now I can use Spirit for a minute without my body feeling tired, but I still haven't quite figured out how to absorb Spiritual Qi."
"One minute is nowhere near enough. When something really happens, you need to be able to use a lot of Spirit for half an hour without your body getting tired. You've only just learned the basics, so keep practicing for now. As for absorbing Spiritual Qi to cultivate, I'll teach you when we're completely safe and have time."
"Okay."
"I'm starving. Go downstairs and get me something to eat, and bring a portion for Mengmeng too. Go easy on the oil and salt for Mengmeng's."
"Okay, I'll go tell Sister Qiao'er."
"Say, you keep calling her Sister Qiao'er. Have you taken a fancy to her?" Xu Chao grinned mischievously.
"No way. She said everyone calls her that. I can't exactly call her Boss Chen, can I?"
"Even if you have, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm a man too. When I was your age, I liked pretty older sisters like her too. At eighteen, with spring stirring in your heart, that's perfectly normal!"
"Believe what you want."
"If you like her, go after her. Don't leave yourself with regrets! I get the feeling she likes you quite a bit too!" Xu Chao teased Qin Xun as he walked away.
Downstairs.
The noble boy threw his chopsticks onto the table and frowned. "How is anyone supposed to eat this?"
"Young master, it's already quite good to get food like this outside the district. If you really can't eat it, we can go out and roast some meat. Surely that would suit your taste?"
"You eat. I've got no appetite." With his arms folded, the boy looked around at the people drinking in the tavern, bored out of his mind.
Qin Xun came to the bar. "Sister Qiao'er, could you prepare two meals for us? One for Brother Chao, and go easy on the oil and salt in Mengmeng's."
Qin Xun had already eaten two pieces of cake and was quite full.
"All right, wait here a moment. You can take them up in a bit."
Chen Qiao called out to A Hu again and told him to prepare the food.
Afterward, she brought Qin Xun another piece of cake.
"Sister Qiao'er, I really can't eat any more."
Qin Xun naturally didn't want to pass up a rare delicacy like cake, but he really couldn't eat any more now.
"Eat it. Otherwise, it'll go bad after tonight."
"All right, thank you."
Qin Xun lowered his head and ate the cake. "Sister Qiao'er, I'm curious. Why did you open a shop here? Of course, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"To make money."
"Like you said, the people who come here aren't ordinary people. Aren't you afraid something dangerous might suddenly happen that you can't handle?"
"Danger? Where in the Fallen Zone isn't dangerous?" As Chen Qiao spoke, she poured a glass of a drink she had mixed herself into her mouth.
"True. At least here you don't have to suffer oppression from those nobles." Qin Xun then asked curiously, "Which district are you from?"
"What, checking up on your big sister? Have you taken a fancy to me?"
Chen Qiao suddenly leaned in close to Qin Xun's face, and a fragrance washed over him.
"Just asking." Qin Xun's face reddened again.
He really had just been asking, with no other thoughts in mind.
"I can't really say which district I'm from. I was born outside the districts. When I was little, I went to a lot of places with my parents, but many years ago, I got separated from them. Then I met my master."
"Your master?"
"Yes, the master who adopted me and taught me to use Spirit. She also helped me create my Psionic Power. This shop was originally hers. Two years ago, she said she had something to take care of and left it in my hands. She hasn't come back since."
"Have you gone looking for her?"
"I'd really like to, but I'm afraid she'll come back the moment I leave." Chen Qiao lowered her brows. "To be honest, I'm really afraid something's happened to her."
"Don't worry, she'll be fine. Maybe she'll come back after a while."
"Let's hope your words come true!"
The noble boy sitting a few meters away looked thoroughly bored. "Is there anything to do for fun around here?"
The scar-faced man, his head lowered as he ate, shook his head. "No. If you want some fun, I'll arrange something when we get back."
"I'm bored to death right now." The boy's gaze fell on Qin Xun, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Look, isn't that some fun right there?"
The scar-faced man turned around and glanced at Qin Xun, then turned back. "Young master, this isn't like being inside the district. Let's get some rest early after we eat."
"But I'm bored to death right now. I want some fun!"
"Young master..."
"Shut up! I brought you out here to keep me entertained, not to tell me what to do!"
The scar-faced man took a deep breath. After thinking it over, he nodded. "All right, I'll go ask."
Seeing Scarface head straight toward him, Qin Xun stopped eating his cake.
"Which district are you from?" the scar-faced man asked, standing beside Qin Xun.
"Can I help you?"
"That's our young master back there. He wants something from you."
Qin Xun glanced at the boy. "What is it? I don't think I know him!"
"I didn't say you knew him. He just wants something from you."
"Whatever it is, tell him to come over and say it himself."
"I want to fight you. As long as you fight me, this money is yours!" The young master stood up and walked over to Qin Xun, pulled five gold coins from his pocket, and placed them on the bar.
The entire tavern fell silent in an instant. More than a dozen customers quietly watched them.
"I don't know how to fight."
"You look about my age. How could you not know how to fight?"
"Hey, don't cause trouble in my place!" Chen Qiao's gaze turned cold as she lightly tapped her fingers on the bar.
"I'm only inviting him to fight me. How is that causing trouble? If anything gets broken, I can pay you ten times its price!"
Chen Qiao's face remained cold. "It's not about the money. I don't allow people to fight and cause trouble here!"
"If both sides agree to spar, how is that fighting and causing trouble? We won't fight in here, either. We'll go outside, so it won't affect your business! If anything, it'll liven the place up!" The boy pulled three more gold coins from his pocket and placed them on the bar. "If that's not enough, I can add more."