The Azure Mountain

Chapter 135: The Inn

Heavy, measured breathing.

Amidst the rugged mountain paths, Chen Ji waded through weeds and brush, looking back over his shoulder three times for every step he took.

Feng Huai, who had been tailing him, had vanished. Even Feng Lie and his giant axe were nowhere to be seen.

Gripping Whale Blade tightly, he abruptly abandoned the mountain path and dove into the woods, hiding his body within the dense shadows of the tree canopy.

However, just as Chen Ji looked back once more, a flash of blade light suddenly erupted from the canopy in front of him. Like a ribbon of silk yanked straight from the Milky Way, it chopped down right at his head.

The howling wind was accompanied by a shrill, piercing shriek.

Chen Ji subconsciously raised his blade to block, but before he could even lift it halfway, the tip of Feng Huai's blade had already stopped right between his eyebrows.

In the ensuing silence, the blade tip did not fall.

Breathing heavily, Chen Ji recalled everything that had just happened.

He didn't know when Feng Huai had hidden in the trees, nor did he know how Feng Huai had guessed he would take this exact path. He simply felt like a novice chess player, every single one of his moves perfectly predicted and countered.Feng Huai's face was smeared with grass juice, and tree branches were bound across his body. His blade tip remained completely motionless, not trembling in the slightest. "Earlier, the King only had us fight on the mountain peak to protect you, so that we would merely compete in pure martial skill. But true slaughter is not just about skill."

Chen Ji looked thoughtful. "Slaughter?"

Feng Huai asked solemnly, "What is slaughter?"

Before Chen Ji could answer, he continued, "True slaughter means anticipating your enemy's thoughts and seizing the initiative. It means utilizing everything at your disposal—mountains, rivers, trees, and the human heart—to end your opponent's life."

With that, Feng Huai withdrew his blade and slowly retreated into the forest behind him. Just before he faded into the shadows, he said softly, "Teacher, this is what you taught us back then. Now, it is my turn to teach you."

It was only at this moment that Chen Ji realized Feng Huai's strength extended far beyond mere blade techniques, and that the true slaughter was only just beginning.

From noon until dusk, Chen Ji was assassinated by Feng Huai time and time again upon this Green Mountain. Moving like a phantom, the man held nothing back, demonstrating his lifelong learning Thoroughly and Vividly.

If he walked in the woods, he was killed. If he walked by the river, he was killed. Even if he walked out into the open, he would simply be surrounded and killed by Feng Huai and Feng Lie.

Sometimes, Feng Huai stuck to a tree looking exactly like a piece of bark. Other times, he resembled a piece of driftwood floating down the river. Whatever he disguised himself as, he became it flawlessly, forcibly turning Green Mountain into an utterly terrifying ghost mountain.

Only this time, Feng Huai no longer dealt the killing blow. Time after time, he pulled back at the very moment of delivering a lethal strike, leaving Chen Ji standing alone to recount every single detail of the encounter.

At one point, Chen Ji was walking across an open clearing when he looked back toward the mountain peak.

Leaning on the royal banner, Xuanyuan stood quietly at the very highest point, looking down at him. It was impossible to tell if the expression on his face was one of mockery or pity.

...

...

"Chen Ji, wake up Chen Ji!"

Someone slapped Chen Ji's shoulder, and he instantly shot to his feet, subconsciously swinging the Whale Blade in his hand in a vicious chop to his left!

In that split second, when he first raised his arm to swing the blade, he was still within the dense twilight of Green Mountain's forest. But by the time his arm fell, he had returned to the sunset glow of Yichuan County Town, his hands completely empty.

Hesitant, Chen Ji looked down and scanned his surroundings. Mr. Wang, Bai Li, the Prince Heir, Chen Wenzong... an entire cartful of people sat on the ox cart, staring up at him blankly. Bai Li's hand—the one that had slapped his shoulder—was still suspended in midair.

The ox cart had already stopped right beside the "Joyous Welcome" Inn. Its old, two-story wooden gatehouse looked like it had seen many years.

Wang Daosheng carefully examined Chen Ji for a moment before casually asking, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Chen Ji hurriedly played along. "Yes, Sir. I just had a nightmare."

Wang Daosheng smiled. "It must be because you haven't rested well. After we settle into this inn, everyone should get to bed early."

At this moment, several waiters came bustling out of the inn with bright smiles. "Please, esteemed guests, come inside."

"Do you have hot water?" Zhang Xia asked.

"We do, we do!" the waiter hurriedly replied. "It's boiling in the backyard as we speak. But a pot of hot water costs two copper coins."

Zhang Xia couldn't care less about the price. "Do you have bean feed for horses?"

The waiter grinned. "We have that too! Valued customer, a magnificent steed like yours must be fed only the very best bean feed!"

Zhang Xia tossed her riding crop to the waiter with a laugh. "You've got a silver tongue!"

Fumbling to catch the crop, the waiter bowed and scraped as he led them inside.

Before entering, Chen Ji subconsciously inspected the environment inside, sweeping his gaze across every nook and cranny, deeply afraid that Feng Huai would jump out from somewhere.

"Chen Ji, what are you looking around for?" Bai Li asked curiously.

Snapping back to reality, Chen Ji laughed at himself internally. To think that Feng Huai's assassinations had actually given him a psychological shadow.

The first floor of the inn was scattered with several square 'eight immortals' tables. A few tables of guests were currently eating, while the guest rooms were located on the second floor.

Perhaps his nerves were simply pulled too taut, but the moment Chen Ji stepped over the inn's threshold, he felt as though every single diner intentionally or unintentionally swept their gaze his way.

Chen Ji massaged the spot between his eyebrows. Was he being too vigilant, leading to a misunderstanding?

While rubbing his brow, he lowered his head and used his peripheral vision to scrutinize all the diners.

No, it wasn't a misunderstanding!

These people had wine on their tables, but not a single one had taken a sip. Their eyes were clear, and their complexions were perfectly normal.

Most crucially, every single one of these diners had a Short Blade concealed in their sleeves. Others might not be able to tell, but Chen Ji could.

He took a step forward and gently tugged on Wang Daosheng's arm. "Sir, this inn is a bit dirty. Let's find another one."

Wang Daosheng was slightly taken aback. "Oh?"

The innkeeper behind the counter hurriedly stepped out, smiling apologetically. "This esteemed guest must be joking! Out of all the villages and towns within ten miles, our Joyous Welcome Inn is absolutely the best! When the great merchants traveling north and south arrive in Yichuan County Town, they only ever stay here with us."

Chen Wenxiao turned to sneer at Chen Ji. "You don't have the life of a young nobleman, but you certainly have the disease of one. This inn is already extremely nice. None of us have complained, yet here you are turning your nose up at it?"

Chen Ji didn't look at him, keeping his eyes on Wang Daosheng. "Sir?"

Wang Daosheng gave him a deep look. After a moment of thought, he said, "Then we shall go look at another one."

With that, he turned and walked out the door without the slightest hesitation.

However, they walked a full two miles down the long street, searching all the way until the sun set in the west, and they only found three other inns.

And without exception, all three inns were fully booked. There were even people sleeping in the stables. The vast majority of them were travelers heading to Luhun Villa to spectate the literary gathering.

Chen Wenxiao complained, "We need to hurry back to the Joyous Welcome Inn, or there won't be any rooms left there either! Chen Ji, if you want to act crazy, could you not drag the rest of us down with you? You can't even handle this tiny bit of hardship. It looks like Physician Yao has spoiled you far too much!"

Bai Li frowned. "Why do you have to speak so cruelly? That inn really wasn't clean earlier."

Right at that moment, Wang Daosheng suddenly turned and asked Chen Ji, "It wasn't because it was dirty that you wanted to change inns earlier, was it? Speak your reason."

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment before finally voicing his concerns. "Back in the inn, many of the guests were carrying Short Blades on their persons. They were acting highly suspicious."

Chen Wenxiao suddenly burst out laughing. "You really haven't traveled far from home, have you? What's wrong with carrying a blade?"

Prince Jing also smiled. "I thought it was something serious... In this day and age, it's perfectly natural to carry a blade when traveling long distances. Even if you don't run into mountain bandits or robbers, you still need to protect yourself from the exploitation of local thugs."

And with that, Prince Jing pulled a Short Blade from his sleeve. Both Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao retrieved Short Blades from their cloth bundles, and even Zhang Xia drew a dagger from her boot.

Chen Ji: "..."

He had noticed Prince Jing carrying a blade, but he never expected everyone else to be armed as well.

For a moment, Chen Ji couldn't think of anything to say in rebuttal. All he could do was cup his hands in apology. "My apologies. I made a mountain out of a molehill."

Wang Daosheng shook his head. "It's fine. When traveling away from home, there is no great fault in being careful. The literary gathering at Luhun Villa has attracted far too many out-of-towners this time around. If we don't stay at the Joyous Welcome Inn, we truly will have to sleep on the streets tonight."

Chen Ji hummed his agreement. "Then we'll stay at the Joyous Welcome Inn."

The group returned to the inn, and the innkeeper still greeted them with a smiling face.

Chen Ji looked around. The diners from earlier had completely vanished.

He cupped his hands to the innkeeper. "I apologize for any offense given earlier. I hope you will not hold it against me, Innkeeper."

"What are you saying?" The innkeeper smiled amiably. "When you open your doors for business, how can you be afraid of customers finding faults? Rest easy and stay the night! Our Joyous Welcome Inn is wonderfully clean."

"Innkeeper, how many guest rooms are left?" Wang Daosheng asked.

Pointing to the second floor, the innkeeper replied, "There is only one Heaven-tier premier room and one Yellow-tier communal room left."

Chen Wenxiao raised his voice. "A communal room? When have people like us ever slept in a communal room?! Innkeeper, do we look like people who sleep in communal rooms? We have among us..."

He was just about to announce that the majestic Prince Jing was in their party, but Chen Wenzong cut him off just in time. "Innkeeper," Chen Wenzong asked politely, "I remember that when we first walked in, you said there were plenty of rooms."

The innkeeper looked troubled. "If you had settled in right away earlier, there were still three Heaven-tier rooms. But in the short time you stepped out, another group of traveling merchants arrived to stay."

Chen Wenxiao frowned. "I'll go find them. Since they're going to Luo City to do business, they'll undoubtedly give us some face."

However, Wang Daosheng raised a hand to stop him, his tone flat. "It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality. A communal room it is, then. As long as we have a place to sleep, it will do. Bai Li and Zhang Xia will take the Heaven-tier room. The rest of us will head to the communal room."

In this day and age, inns were like large, mixed courtyards. The front building was for overnight lodgings, while the backyard housed hitching posts, horse troughs, and stacks upon stacks of goods traded by countless traveling merchants.

Inns rarely had single rooms. Most spaces were communal rooms meant for merchants and horse caravans, accommodating ten to twenty people in a single room. Inns typically used the characters "Heaven, Earth, Black, Yellow" to name their rooms. Heaven-tier rooms were the best, while Yellow-tier rooms were always the most chaotic communal spaces.

Chen Ji looked at the innkeeper. "Innkeeper, is there truly no way to squeeze out one more Heaven-tier room?"

The innkeeper shook his head. "Esteemed guest, I truly cannot squeeze one out."

Chen Ji's heart sank.

Every inn in Yichuan County Town was overflowing with people, yet only the Joyous Welcome Inn still had rooms. In all likelihood, they had been waiting for someone.

Then, if they were the final group of guests, that meant his group was precisely who everyone here was waiting for.

But how could Prince Jing and Wang Daosheng fail to see through this?

...

...

The innkeeper led the group upstairs and stopped before the door to the Yellow-tier communal room, gently pushing the guest room door open.

The room was pitch black inside. On the massive communal bed large enough to sleep over twenty people, a few guests were already sound asleep beneath their blankets. Snores rose and fell throughout the room, and the stench of unwashed feet assaulted their faces.

Chen Ji said softly, "I'm sorry, Sir. I delayed us, forcing you all to stay in a place like this..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Daosheng and Prince Jing walked right in, acting like everything was perfectly fine.

Smiling, Wang Daosheng answered, "When leading troops in the field, my greatest wish was simply to have a mattress to sleep on and a blanket to cover myself with. The stench of those soldiers was countless times worse than this. It's fine."

Prince Jing laughed just as loudly. "I've led troops before too! I'm no less capable than Mr. Wang."

The night grew deep and quiet.

Chen Ji lay fully clothed on the communal bed, not even pulling a blanket over himself. Despite keeping his eyes closed, he had zero desire to sleep. He merely listened silently to the rising and falling snores around him.

Outside, the night watchman walked by, shouting the time. "The sky is dry and the air is parched, be careful with your candles!"

At this moment, a faint rustling sound echoed in the room, as if someone was getting up.

Chen Ji cracked his eyes open a tiny sliver, only to catch sight of Prince Jing silently slipping out the door.

Outside, someone spoke in a low voice: "This way, please. The master is already waiting for you in the backyard."