The Drunken Immortal Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation as the town's foremost century-old establishment-even the threshold of its finest guest room was sheathed in gleaming brass.
Pushing the creaking, rickety wooden wheelchair, Lin He followed the attentive waiter into the room.
Sandalwood incense burned inside. Soft brocade quilts covered the carved bed, and a small rosewood couch stood beside the window.
For the two of them, who had spent who knew how long sleeping on hard plank beds in a dilapidated wooden house in Emerald Mountain Village, this was nothing short of paradise.
But even the softest bed could not withstand the protests of their stomachs.
They merely gave their faces a quick wash before Lin He wheeled Su Qiuran back downstairs.
It was mealtime in the main hall. Voices roared like water at a boil, and the aroma of cooking fumes mingled with wine rushed to greet them.
"Waiter, bring us some food!" Lin He found a quiet spot in a corner, settled the wheelchair in place, and slapped down several pieces of silver with sky-high swagger.
"A whole signature crispy roast goose! And twenty grilled lamb skewers-extra cumin, easy on the chili! Bring whatever other specialties you have, and make it quick!"
"Coming right up! Just a moment, honored guests! One whole roast goose, twenty skewers-!" Drawing out the call, the waiter ran toward the kitchen, beaming.
Su Qiuran swallowed, her gaze fixed on the glistening roast meat at another table nearby. "You really went all out ordering," she muttered. "Can our little bit of silver stand up to you spending it like this?"
"Money's a bastard. Once we've spent it, we'll earn more."
Lin He poured Su Qiuran a cup of coarse tea and laughed in a lowered voice. "Comrade Su, we earned three Spirit Stones and three taels of silver today. We ought to have a decent meal, at least. Look how thin you are. There's barely any flesh left on your legs."
Su Qiuran rolled her eyes at him. She was just about to retort when a wonderfully fragrant crispy roast goose arrived at their table.
Oil still sizzled on its golden skin, giving off an enticing meaty aroma.
Su Qiuran's eyes lit up at once. Forget ladylike restraint-she picked up her chopsticks, seized a large, succulent piece of roast goose leg, and popped it into her mouth without caring how hot it was.
"Mmm... delicious!" Su Qiuran mumbled indistinctly, her cheeks bulging like a hamster's.
Watching her look for all the world like a starving ghost reborn, Lin He could not help smiling. He picked up a skewer and began eating too.
After the day's life-and-death struggle, this peace and good food felt especially precious.
Just then, several men at the next table who looked like wandering martial artists grew red-faced from drinking. Their voices rose, carrying clearly over to Lin He's table.
"Did you hear? Several more mud-legged peasants traded Fanged Spotted Rabbits for Spirit Stones at the Li Household's buying station today! Damn it, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone for a rabbit! Where else could you find a deal like that?"
A scar-faced man gulped down a mouthful of wine, his eyes full of envy.
"You're telling me!" another tall, skinny man agreed. "I heard word from the county town-the Li Household really is getting desperate this time."
"That guardian spirit beast of theirs seems to have reached some critical stage called 'atavism'!"
"Atavism?" The scar-faced man froze.
"Exactly! Apparently, they need to extract bloodline essence from huge numbers of Fanged Spotted Rabbits to refine a special spirit pill."
The tall, skinny man lowered his voice, but his deliberately mysterious manner still made everyone at several nearby tables prick up their ears.
"They say that spirit pill can help the spirit beast get past this hurdle. Think about it-once their guardian spirit beast successfully undergoes atavism, won't the Li Household's strength advance by leaps and bounds?"
An old man beside them stroked his beard and sneered. "Hmph, more than leaps and bounds. Within a hundred li of here, the Li Household, Lin Household, and Su Household were originally all ninth-grade Qi Refinement immortal clans, standing like the three legs of a tripod."
"If that spirit beast of the Li Household really comes into its own, they might ride that momentum right back into the ranks of eighth-grade Foundation Establishment Immortal Clans! Will there even be any question who calls the shots in the county town then?"
"An eighth-grade Foundation Establishment Immortal Clan..." Everyone at the table sucked in a breath.
To mortals and rogue cultivators like them, those in the Qi Refinement Realm were already immortals far above them. The Foundation Establishment Realm? Those were practically beings out of legend, who could kill them more easily than crushing an ant.
"So there's bound to be a good show coming."
The old man sipped his wine, a sly glint flashing in his eyes.
"Would the Lin Household and Su Household just watch the Li Household grow powerful? I reckon there'll be no shortage of stumbling blocks laid in secret.
"Small fry like us should earn a few Spirit Stones and get out fast. Don't get dragged into the immortals' battles."
Holding half a skewer, Lin He gradually slowed his chewing.
He instinctively glanced at Su Qiuran. She too had stopped gnawing on the roast goose, her peach-blossom eyes narrowing slightly, a thoughtful gleam flickering within them.
"Did you hear that?" Lin He said, his voice audible only to the two of them. "No wonder those rabbits are worth so much."
"Looks like the Li Household really has been driven into a corner."
Su Qiuran pulled over a piece of coarse straw paper and wiped the grease from her mouth.
"But that old man's right. Once this balance is broken, the Lin Household and Su Household definitely won't sit still. When immortals fight, mortals suffer."
"Who cares whether they fight?" Lin He snorted, his gaze sharpening. "This bounty has a time limit."
"Once the Li Household's spirit beast finishes breaking through, or the Lin and Su Households step in and ruin things, these rabbits won't fetch Spirit Stones anymore."
He turned to Su Qiuran, his tone firm. "Our initial accumulation of capital all depends on this round. First thing tomorrow morning, I'll return to Emerald Mountain Village and find Old Man Sun to head into the mountains again. While the market's still good, we'll rake in as much as we can."
Su Qiuran's brows furrowed slightly at his words. Looking at Lin He's face, which seemed a little sharper after the day's fighting, she recalled the bushy-bearded hunter whose throat he had slit with one stroke. Her heart tightened for no apparent reason.
"The mountains must be a pot of boiling chaos by now." Su Qiuran sighed and placed a remaining piece of lean meat in Lin He's bowl. "People die for wealth, and birds die for food. That bushy-bearded man today was only the beginning. The people heading into the mountains next will stop at nothing to snatch rabbits. You... must be careful."
Lin He shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth and waved dismissively. "Don't worry. Your husband here is a tough guy who's undergone body tempering now. That hundred-and-twenty-jin bow isn't just for show."
"Besides, with an old hand like Old Man Sun who knows Green Mountain guiding me, even if I can't beat them, can't I outrun them?"
Watching his brimming confidence, Su Qiuran's lips moved. She wanted to say something, but in the end, it became only a quiet, lingering sigh.
"Ah..." She lowered her head to look at her utterly senseless legs, a rare trace of frustration entering her voice.
"I feel pretty useless. You're out there risking your life every day, while all I can do is sit in this broken wheelchair without helping at all."
"If only my spirit root could recover sooner, or my legs could walk, I could at least keep watch for you or something."
Lin He froze. This was the first time he had heard this sharp-tongued Young Lady Su reveal such feelings of inferiority and guilt.
He was just about to offer a little comfort, a few mushy, heartwarming words, when his gaze dropped and happened to land on Su Qiuran's hand.
This delicate woman, whose eyes had just been reddening, whose voice had been dejected, and whose face had been covered in "I'm so useless," was taking advantage of her sigh to shoot out two fingers like lightning, precisely snatch the last-and fattiest-piece of roast goose skin on the plate, and stuff it into her mouth before thunder could reach the ears.
"Nom, nom..." Su Qiuran chewed with tremendous relish, grease coating her mouth, even narrowing her eyes in satisfaction.
Lin He: "..."
The comforting words he had prepared instantly stuck in his throat.
The corners of Lin He's mouth twitched twice. Lady, you're overacting!
You're calling yourself useless while snatching meat faster than I can!
Look at you eating with such relish, your face positively glowing-where's the slightest sign of guilt?!
Fine. This woman had a heart big enough to hold anything. He did not need to worry about her at all.