Chapter 44: Chapter 44

On the second day after Liu Rouwei arrived at The Little Tavern, Zhao Jiu hung up the “Closed” sign.

A First-Rank expert was sitting right there. If Zhao Jiu failed to keep the young lady happy, the consequences were more than he could bear.

For three consecutive days, Zhao Jiu accompanied Liu Rouwei and her maidservant around Liangzhou. Gao Qi replaced him as the useless layabout occupying The Little Tavern.

After all, Gao Qi was getting on in years. Who could bring themselves to make trouble for an old man?

Truth be told, Liangzhou was not large. It was practically a small town. Even Zhao Jiu himself did not know what there was to see.

To his astonishment, however, the three of them stopped to eat and drink as they followed Liu Rouwei’s whims, yet somehow failed to finish exploring the town after two full days!

Shopping truly was a talent written into women’s genes!

Although Zhao Jiu lamented his fate, he still had to accompany her properly. Once he promised someone something, he had to do it well. That was Zhao Jiu’s principle.

By the third day, they had explored most of Liangzhou. Zhao Jiu was so exhausted that he could barely straighten his legs, yet Liu Rouwei somehow felt that she had not seen enough!

Zhao Jiu and Gao Qi stared at each other helplessly. One was physically more exhausted than Zhaocai, while the other was mentally more exhausted than Zhaocai.

Only after the two men repeatedly tried to persuade her did Liu Rouwei finally relent. She agreed to rest for a few days before returning to Hexi.

Zhao Jiu and Gao Qi breathed sighs of relief at the same time. Despite being separated by at least forty years, the two men instantly felt a bond of mutual sympathy.

Four days passed in the blink of an eye.

Liu Rouwei departed for Hexi, and Zhao Jiu returned to his leisurely life from a few days earlier. Every day, he drank tea, cultivated, and slept.

Now that those exhausting days were over, he naturally had to rest and recuperate.

Only on the eighteenth day of the second lunar month did Zhao Jiu lazily change the sign back to “Open.”

Six Fingers had received several jobs, but they were merely revenge killings involving Ninth-Rank or Eighth-Rank martial artists. The targets were far away, and the jobs offered little profit. After thinking them over, Zhao Jiu declined them.

By the time the third lunar month arrived, Liangzhou City had completely returned to normal. It was as if the deaths of the two Gang Chiefs and the bandit attacks before the New Year had never happened.

The restaurants had reopened as well, allowing Zhao Jiu to resume idling away his days eating and waiting for death.

The weather was not as cold during the third month.

Zhao Jiu had already thoroughly mastered the Yuqing Xuanxu Scripture he had purchased during the New Year. The quality of his True Qi had increased dramatically, and his strength had risen with the tide.

He estimated that after cultivating for a little longer, advancing to the Second Rank would occur as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

In the pleasant third month of spring, all things returned to life, though a lingering chill remained in the air.

The Little Tavern had seen little business over the past few days. After eating and drinking his fill, Zhao Jiu lay in the courtyard for his usual afternoon nap.

On leisurely days, one had to indulge properly. On days with business, one had to earn money properly!

While Zhao Jiu drifted in and out of sleep, a man pushed open the doors of The Little Tavern.

Zhao Jiu did not rise. He merely repeated the same perfunctory spiel he gave every other customer.

The man did not disturb his sleep. He picked up a jug of Huadiao Wine, sat beneath the tree, and slowly drank.

The sun had already set and the sky had grown dim by the time Zhao Jiu awakened.

He was surprised to see that the man had not left. This was the only customer he had received in nearly three days. In a good mood, Zhao Jiu gave the man a complimentary jug of Immortal’s Intoxication.

The man did not stand on ceremony. He smiled and continued savoring the wine in his cup.

“Shopkeeper, you have wine, but do you have anything to eat with it?” the man asked warmly.

Zhao Jiu had been about to say no when he suddenly remembered the glutinous rice balls in his Storage Space. As though compelled by a ghost, he answered, “I do.”

Realizing that he had misspoken, he hurriedly explained, “It isn’t a conventional dish. It’s a little creation of my own—glutinous rice balls. I’ve always been afraid they wouldn’t taste good, so I’ve never dared charge money for them.”

They certainly were unconventional. Very few people stuffed meat inside glutinous rice balls.

As for calling them glutinous rice balls, that was what Zhao Jiu had originally intended to make. What else was he supposed to call them—dumplings?

The man’s interest surged, and he promptly called for Zhao Jiu to bring him a bowl.

Zhao Jiu naturally did not stand on ceremony either.

Two taels of silver per bowl. No credit!

The corner of the man’s mouth twitched when he heard the price.

It seemed Eunuch Chen had not exaggerated in the slightest. This man truly valued money as much as his own life.

When Zhao Jiu gave him the complimentary jug of wine, he had wondered whether he had found the wrong person. Now he knew he had come to the right place.

The man was none other than Lu Wenyu, who had hurried here from the Capital.

“Two taels it is. But this old man is hungry, so I’ll have to trouble you to hurry, Shopkeeper.”

Although Lu Wenyu felt that he was being fleeced, two taels of silver was pocket change to him. He wanted to see what kind of glutinous rice balls could possibly be worth two taels.

Zhao Jiu froze.

He had not expected to find an actual sucker!

The man had agreed to it himself. He could not blame Zhao Jiu. Zhao Jiu had already warned him!

“Very well. Please wait a moment,” Zhao Jiu said with complete composure despite his inward excitement.

He turned and entered the kitchen. Once he was out of sight, he retrieved the leftover glutinous rice balls from his Storage Space.

Seventeen remained in total.

He placed eight in a bowl and carried it to the table. After saying, “Please enjoy,” he sat down nearby.

Lu Wenyu stared at the “glutinous rice balls” in the bowl before him. Every one was a full size larger than an egg.

He was completely dumbfounded.

Fortunately, he was a man who had seen much of the world. Without allowing his expression to change, he asked, “Shopkeeper, did you make a mistake? Aren’t these glutinous rice balls somewhat large?”

“How could I have made a mistake? They cost two taels of silver. If I made them tiny, wouldn’t that make me a black-hearted swindler?” Zhao Jiu said with a calm chuckle. “Rest assured. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these glutinous rice balls.”

Black-hearted?

You’re far beyond black-hearted! You’re practically slaughtering your customers like pigs!

A jug containing barely three liang of Huadiao Wine costs one tael of silver. Even if you offered two jugs for the price of one, you would still be a thoroughly black-hearted bastard!

In Jiangnan, one tael of silver could buy at least two full jars of Huadiao Wine of this quality, yet you still claim you aren’t a swindler!

Lu Wenyu silently cursed him.

Although he remained doubtful, he picked up his spoon and took a bite.

After tasting the filling, Lu Wenyu exclaimed in surprise, “Shopkeeper, didn’t you say these were glutinous rice balls? Why are they filled with meat?”

“That’s right. They’re meat-filled glutinous rice balls. Is there a problem?” Zhao Jiu spread his hands innocently.

From beginning to end, he had never said that the glutinous rice balls did not contain meat!

After observing Zhao Jiu’s reaction, Lu Wenyu finally understood that this man truly could not be judged by ordinary standards.

The corner of his mouth twitched. He stopped speaking and ate the meat-filled glutinous rice balls with gusto, as though determined to get his money’s worth.

Zhao Jiu smiled when he saw that.

That was more like it. If the food could be swallowed, it was good food!

After finishing the glutinous rice balls, Lu Wenyu calmly wiped his mouth and asked with perfect composure, “Shopkeeper, should I call you Pockmarked Something, or should I call you Nine of Circles? You certainly made yourself difficult to find!”

Alarm bells immediately blared in Zhao Jiu’s mind.

Until he understood the man’s background, Zhao Jiu intended to bluff his way through. His expression remained perfectly normal.

“What are you talking about? What Pockmarked Something? What Nine of Circles? I’m merely the shopkeeper of this tavern.”

“Heh.”

Lu Wenyu scoffed. Seeing Zhao Jiu stubbornly refuse to admit anything, he did not bother explaining. He merely said indifferently, “You’re a Ghost Market assassin, aren’t you? Zhao… something-or-other? You exchanged several moves with Eunuch Chen of the Directorate of Ceremonial outside Chang’an. Am I right?”

“What Directorate of Ceremonial? You have mistaken me for someone else. I’m only a humble shopkeeper. How could I possess the ability to know an important figure from the Directorate of Ceremonial?”

Zhao Jiu wore a false smile while circulating his True Qi, ready to attack at any moment.

Although he refused to admit it, Lu Wenyu had already uncovered most of his identity.

Could Eunuch Chen have felt humiliated and decided to settle the score with an insignificant man like him?

Surely not.

Eunuch Chen was a First-Rank expert. Could he truly be that petty?

Seeing Zhao Jiu persist in his futile resistance, Lu Wenyu pressed two fingers together and gently held them above his wine cup without even touching the wine inside.

He scoffed.

“It appears some people simply refuse the easy way until they’re forced to take the hard way!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Wenyu released his aura.

A vast and majestic pressure crashed down upon Zhao Jiu like the Milky Way cascading from the Ninth Heaven.

In an instant, Zhao Jiu felt the whole world plunge into darkness.

Everything before him vanished. Only a single indistinct figure remained—the seated Lu Wenyu.

“I am Lu Wenyu, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!”

“Lord Lu, I am Nine of Circles,” Zhao Jiu answered decisively. “I’m a Ghost Market assassin. What are your orders, Lord Lu?”

Zhao Jiu’s reasoning was simple.

Even Liu Rouwei had managed to trace him here, so how could the Embroidered Uniform Guard possibly fail?

The man had already declared himself the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If Zhao Jiu still refused to show the proper attitude, that would be inappropriate.

Backing down was not embarrassing. Getting himself killed while pretending to be a badass was!

“Heh. At least you know when to yield.”

Lu Wenyu smiled unconcernedly and withdrew his aura. All of Zhao Jiu’s strange sensations vanished, and everything returned to normal.

“Well, you know how it is—put up the chastity arch first, then play the whore…”