Early the next morning, an indescribable air hung in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion's finest guest room.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the carved wooden window, falling in patches across the alcove bed.
Lin He lay sprawled on his back, feeling refreshed from head to toe, comfortable down to the very spaces between his bones.
After tempering his body twice with pure Essence of the Sun, not only had his skin become impervious to blades and spears, but his stamina and explosive power in certain respects had also reached inhuman levels.
He turned his head toward Su Qiuran, who was wrapped in a thick quilt with only her head showing.
Her cheeks bore a stunning, wine-red flush, fine beads of sweat still clung to her temples, and her long hair lay scattered across the pillow. Her seductive peach-blossom eyes were tightly shut, her lashes trembling slightly.
"Wifey, stop pretending to sleep if you're awake." Lin He grinned and gently poked her exposed shoulder. "Well? Were you satisfied with your husband's prowess last night?"
Su Qiuran snapped her eyes open and glared fiercely at him. She yanked the quilt higher and spat through gritted teeth, "Heh, you certainly had plenty of strength!"
"Hehe, of course." Lin He raised his eyebrows smugly.
"Get lost! Don't take advantage and then play innocent." Su Qiuran spat the words out, blushing. She tried to prop herself up on her arms, only to frown and slump back down.
She glared at Lin He and snapped, "Hurry up and bring me my clothes. I'm hungry."
Right on cue, a "ga-ga-ga" scratching came from outside the door.
The little fellow Goudan had evidently spent an aggrieved night in the corridor and was now anxiously clawing at the door with his short, thick paws.
"Right away. Allow me to help my lady wife dress." Lin He rolled out of bed, casually threw on a robe, let Goudan in, then deftly got Su Qiuran ready and lifted her into the battered wheelchair.
An incense stick's time later, Lin He wheeled Su Qiuran into the Drunken Immortal Pavilion's ground-floor dining hall.
Despite the early hour, quite a few people were already seated there, a mix of all trades and walks of life.
Lin He found a pleasant seat by the window and ordered a basket of crab roe buns, two bowls of thick congee, and several plates of delicate appetizers.
The two lowered their heads to sip their congee while keeping their ears pricked for the conversations around them.
As everyone knew, an inn's dining hall was always where news traveled fastest.
Sure enough, several men carrying swords and sabers at the next table were discussing something in lowered voices, though they could not keep their booming voices down at all.
"Have you heard? Something huge happened behind Green Mountain last night!" A scar-faced man gulped down some tea and spoke mysteriously.
"How could I not? They say the tremors went on for half the night, and the sealing formation at that Immortals' Mass Grave from decades ago has completely failed!" a thin man chimed in, greed gleaming in his eyes.
"Several groups of ruthless types headed into the mountain in the middle of the night, saying they were going in to seek fortuitous opportunities.
"Plenty of high-level cultivators fell in that great battle back then. Pick up even one Storage Bag, and you'd be set for life!"
"Oh, please. You need to survive to claim a fortuitous opportunity." The scar-faced man sneered. "The Yin Qi there is so thick it could freeze a living person into an icicle. Going in without a few ways to save your hide is just serving yourself up on a platter."
"But now that word's getting out, Rogue Cultivators from hundreds of li around will probably be heading this way. The heavens are about to change."
Lin He's hands paused slightly as he peeled apart a bun, and he looked up to exchange a glance with Su Qiuran.
Su Qiuran gently blew on the hot congee in her spoon and said in an extremely low voice, "Looks like I guessed right last night. The formation has stirred, and cultivators have entered the game. We absolutely must not go anywhere near Green Mountain for the time being."
"I'll listen to my wife." Lin He swallowed half a bun in one bite and nodded in complete agreement.
Just then, a commotion broke out outside the Drunken Immortal Pavilion's entrance.
"Shoo, shoo! Where did you beggars come from? Don't get in the way of our business!" The waiter's disgusted voice came from the doorway.
"Young fellow, have a heart. We'll just stand to the side. We won't go in. We're looking for someone..." A hoarse, familiar voice rang out, carrying a measure of awkwardness and pleading.
Lin He froze, then whipped his head around. Five or six country folk in ragged clothes, covered in mud, stood at the entrance while the waiter shooed them away like flies.
The man in front had a battered hunting bow on his back and a swollen left cheek. Who else could it have been but Old Man Sun?
Beside him were the village chief leaning on his walking stick, Granny Zhao, and several other familiar villagers from Emerald Mountain Village.
"Don't shove them! Don't shove them!" Lin He hurriedly set down his chopsticks and rushed over in long strides. He caught the waiter just as he was about to start pushing and slipped a few copper coins into his hand. "They're my friends! My friends!"
The waiter weighed the coins in his hand, then saw that this was the generous guest staying in one of their finest rooms. His face instantly broke into a smile. "Oh, sir, you should've said so sooner! Please come in, everyone, come in!"
At the sight of Lin He, Old Man Sun's cloudy eyes lit up. He grabbed Lin He's sleeve. "Young Lin! We finally found you!"
"Elder Sun, what brings you to town? Didn't you say last night that you wouldn't leave the village no matter what?" Seeing their bedraggled state, Lin He hurriedly ushered them in. "Come, come, sit down inside first. Whatever it is, we can talk it over."
Lin He led them to a large round table in a corner of the dining hall and grandly waved the waiter over to bring another tableful of steaming stuffed buns, steamed bread, and meat soup.
Old Man Sun held a bowl of hot soup, his hands still trembling slightly, and lowered his voice to tell Lin He, "Young Lin, something terrible has happened!"
"Before dawn, the town authorities sent a cultivator lord to our village, banging gongs and beating drums, shouting that a great crisis was coming to Green Mountain and any mortal who valued their life should pack up and flee!"
"A cultivator delivered the warning?" Lin He raised his eyebrows.
"Exactly! That lord's voice boomed like a great bell. The whole village could hear him the moment he spoke!" The village chief swallowed half a steamed bun and interjected, still shaken.
"He said all the villages near Green Mountain had to be emptied."
"The town authorities will put up shelters outside the walls and arrange places for us refugees."
Old Man Sun wiped the soup from the corners of his mouth and looked at Lin He. "I thought, since you two are from our village too, there ought to be a place for you in those arrangements."
"So I came running to let you know. Whatever you do, don't go back. That mountain is full of immortals fighting now!"
Warmth stirred in Lin He's heart as he listened.
Even while fleeing for his own life, this old man had remembered to come and warn him. He had to acknowledge that kindness.
"Elder, I'll remember this." Lin He patted Old Man Sun's shoulder, took the opportunity to pull a small cloth pouch from inside his robe, and quietly slipped it into the old man's hand.
"We caught six rabbits yesterday and exchanged them for six Low-Grade Spirit Stones. By the rules, half of that is yours. Keep them safe. Whatever arrangements the authorities make now that you're in town, having something in reserve will make life a little easier."
Old Man Sun squeezed the hard little cloth pouch, and his expression changed instantly.
He pushed it back toward Lin He's chest as though he had been shocked, shaking his head like a rattle-drum. "No, no! I can't accept this! If you hadn't slapped me awake yesterday, these old bones of mine would've been left in that sinister place!"
"The rules are the rules. Just take it." Lin He frowned and forced it into his hand.
"Young Lin, if you still regard me as your elder, don't shame me like this." Old Man Sun was as stubborn as a mule, clamping his hands over his pocket.
They went back and forth for quite some time. In the end, Old Man Sun would accept only one stone and refused the rest no matter what Lin He said.
Looking at the stubborn old man, Lin He sighed helplessly and tucked the Spirit Stones back inside his robe. Then he took out two taels of broken silver and stuffed them into the old man's belt without allowing any argument.
"Fine. If you won't take the Spirit Stones, you have to take these two taels of silver." Lin He put on a stern face. "Consider it a token of respect from me. Refuse again, and we're strangers from now on."
Old Man Sun touched the weighty silver at his waist, his eyes growing a little red.
His shriveled lips parted, but in the end, he only nodded firmly, swallowing the words of thanks.