Chapter 57: Bullying the Newcomers at the Inn
In the Long'an Inn, the waiter arranged a guest room for Liu Xunyi. Liu Xunyi took off the tattered linen clothes on his body, changed into a green cloth dress, put on a bamboo hat, and deliberately pulled it down to cover his face.

After a simple tidying up, Liu Xunyi came to the lobby of the inn and casually ordered two side dishes and a pot of hot wine. While secretly looking at the bustling guests in the inn, he drank slowly and silently thought about how to find the whereabouts of the Jingfenghuayutu.

Before we knew it, the Golden Crow had set in the west and the Jade Rabbit had risen in the east.

The night view at the foot of Tianshan Mountain is very charming. The red sunset hangs on the top of the mountain, forming a very sharp contrast with the white snow on the top of the mountain. The fish-scale clouds, one after another, press from the end of the sky to the sky above Huodu City, showing a red background with gold edges under the reflection of the sunset, which is very beautiful.

Liu Xunyi had never seen such a wonderful sight in his life. For a moment, he was attracted by the scenery outside the window and couldn't help but stare at it in a trance.

"Why did that woman appear in Huodu?"

After drinking the glass of wine, Liu Xunyi stared deeply into the glass in his hand, frowning slightly, secretly thinking about the familiar figure he had just seen outside the Longxiang Inn.

That person was Xunzhen, the mysterious woman with whom Liu Xunyi had fought when he went to Yanmen Pass to save Minister Jia of the East Palace several months ago when Liu Xunyi was still working in Tianji Pavilion.

Xunzhen once led a group of Western Regions masters to kidnap the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Lord Jia, and then fled all the way west to Yanmen Pass, but was stopped by Liu Xunyi, Qin Wei and a group of golden sword lieutenants who had ambushed in advance. Although Liu Xunyi only met this woman once, because the matter was of great importance, he was deeply impressed by her.

Liu Xunyi thought to himself, "Xunzhen was able to judge my martial arts skills through my brief fight with the Western Regions master. I guess this woman must be a cautious person. Therefore, she will never forget me easily."

This was the most headache-inducing thing for Liu Xunyi. Xunzhen not only had seen his face, but also knew that his real identity was the young guard of the Tianji Pavilion in the East Palace, and not a man of the underworld.

In other words, as long as Xunzhen and Liu Xunyi meet in Huodu City, Liu Xunyi's true identity will be exposed by her immediately, and once this matter is spread, Liu Xunyi's plan to get close to Luo Tianjin will also be shattered. This means that Liu Xunyi's mission has failed, and the opportunity to make achievements will no longer exist, and his happiness with Zhao Xin will also... vanish.

This was the kind of ending Liu Xunyi absolutely did not want to see. Although Huodu was thousands of miles away from the Central Plains, there was no wall that was impenetrable. Moreover, he came here for the Jingfenghuayutu. Once his identity was exposed, there would be no need for him to return to the Central Plains. I was afraid that the Tianshan Yulong Palace would spread the news to the world first.

Liu Xunyi cannot and dare not take any risk in this matter.

Because of Xunzhen's sudden appearance, Liu Xunyi had to cover his face tightly with a hat to avoid being accidentally seen by her.

"Xunzhen has a close relationship with the three major sects in the Western Regions. Could she be from the Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace?" Liu Xunyi pondered over and over again, puzzled, "No, although the Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace is far away in the cold ridges of Tianshan, it has always regarded itself as a martial arts sect in the Central Plains. The three major sects in the Western Regions are foreign martial arts. The two have always kept their distance and should not be mixed together. What's more, even if there is some contact between them, the three major sects in the Western Regions will never bow down to the Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace at the same time, let alone be ordered by the people of the Jade Dragon Palace. So Xunzhen should not be from the Jade Dragon Palace, otherwise she would not live in the Longxiang Inn. Since she lives in the inn, she is an outsider... Then what is her purpose in coming to Huodu? Is she just passing by by chance, and maybe she will leave in a day or two?"

Liu Xunyi secretly guessed Xunzhen's intention, hoping that everything was just a coincidence, and secretly praying that she had nothing to do with the Jingfenghuayutu. However, the more Liu Xunyi warned himself not to worry about it, the more hints emerged in his heart, telling him that this was not a coincidence, and he would confront Xunzhen in Huodu sooner or later.

Thinking of this, Liu Xunyi suddenly felt upset. As dinner time approached, the increasingly noisy noises in the lobby of the inn made him feel particularly anxious.

However, just when Liu Xunyi was drinking in a confused state, a sloppy old man with body odor suddenly sat down next to Liu Xunyi. The old man was a little fat and greasy, and he and Liu Xunyi seemed extremely crowded sitting on the same bench.

Without waiting for Liu Xunyi to ask, the old man picked up the wine jug from the table and poured himself a glass, which he drank without hesitation. Then he smiled at Liu Xunyi, revealing a mouthful of rotten yellow teeth. His greasy face and messy tangled gray and black hair were truly disgusting.

The old man grinned at Liu Xunyi, and suddenly a foul smell came out of his mouth. Liu Xunyi, who was about to ask what was going on, turned his head subconsciously and exhaled in great dissatisfaction, as if to calm his churning stomach.

"My friend, the journey must be very tiring, right?"

The old man spoke first. His voice was as greasy as his attire, as if there was a large piece of oil cake in his throat, making it a little stuffy.

Liu Xunyi looked around, and after a while realized that the "friend" the old man was referring to was himself. He was inevitably surprised and said lightly: "You have recognized the wrong person."

"That's right!" The old man laughed, and took the initiative to stretch out his hand to Liu Xunyi's shoulder, "I am talking to your friend."

Liu Xunyi waved his hand to block the old man's arm and said calmly: "But I don't want to talk to you. There is an empty table next to you, please help yourself!"

The old man was not angry. He reached into his pocket and fumbled for a while, then took out a stained copper coin. He threw it on the table with a clang and said with a smile, "This is a treasure dug out from the outskirts of Huodu. It's a genuine Qin Banliang. Take a look."

Liu Xunyi glanced at the copper coin on the table. He knew at a glance that it was not a "Qin Ban Liang" at all. It was clearly an ordinary Song copper coin, except that the old man had smoothed out the words "Chun You Tong Bao" on the copper coin and deliberately made it look old, pretending it was an antique.

"So what?" Liu Xunyi was obviously not interested in exposing the old man's lies, and his tone remained as calm as water.

The old man raised his eyebrows, looking very secretive, and shook his three fingers at Liu Xunyi, saying, "I'll give you a bargain today, only thirty taels."

The old man's words almost made Liu Xunyi spit out the wine in his mouth. Only then did he completely understand that the old man was clearly trying to blackmail him.

Liu Xunyi looked up and down at the slovenly old man. The more he looked, the more he felt that the old man's words and deeds were no different from those bullies he had seen in his childhood. "Take your 'Qin Banliang' and get out of my sight." Because of the suffering he had in his childhood, Liu Xunyi had never liked this kind of people, so he said coldly, "You've got the wrong person!"

"No way?" The old man sneered indifferently. Not only did he drink Liu Xunyi's wine, he even picked up his chopsticks and ate the dishes without any hesitation. He looked like a meat on the rolling knife and laughed, "I have been in Huodu for most of my life. I can tell at a glance whether you are from another place. As the saying goes, when you are away from home, it is better to have less trouble than more. Buying my things can not only get you a bargain, but also keep you safe. This deal is a sure win."

"Oh?" Liu Xunyi hated being threatened the most in his life. When he heard the old man's implication, a cold light flashed in his eyes and he asked in a low voice, "If I don't buy it, can you still eat me?"

"I can't eat you, but there are people who can." The old man stared at Liu Xunyi with a teasing look in his eyes and sneered, "If you buy this Qin Banliang, I will save your life. If you don't buy it, I'm afraid you won't survive tonight." As he said this, the old man pretended to look regretful, sighing and shaking his head.

"Save my life?" Liu Xunyi slowly picked up the copper coin on the table, held it between two fingers and looked at it with interest.

"That's right." The old man couldn't help but show joy when he saw Liu Xunyi give in.

Liu Xunyi nodded slightly with a half-smile, then took the initiative to put his left arm around the old man's neck, and then pinched the copper coin with two fingers of his right hand and held it horizontally in front of the old man. Under the old man's hesitant gaze, Liu Xunyi pinched his fingers slightly, and the copper coin was instantly folded like a piece of paper.

The old man stared at this scene with his eyes wide open and cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"You can save my life, but who will save your life now?" Liu Xunyi's left arm clamped the old man's neck like a steel clamp, making it impossible for him to move no matter how hard he struggled. Instead, the clamp became tighter and tighter, forcing the old man to give up resistance in order to save his neck from being broken.

“This…young brother…I didn’t recognize gold and jade just now and bumped into you…” The old man saw that the situation was not good and hurriedly admitted his mistake, “I was blind and didn’t realize that you are a master. I even thought of cheating a few dollars from you. I am really blind…” The old man changed his attitude according to the situation and did not hesitate to scold himself. It was obvious that he had been here for many years with this skill and had already mastered the ability to speak differently to different people.

"You are not blind!" Liu Xunyi said with a smile, "You are looking for a foreigner like me, and you, Qin Banliang..."

"It's fake." Before Liu Xunyi could finish his words, the old man blurted out, "My little trick can only fool the young people from other places, how can it be hidden from your sharp eyes? I am also trying to make a living. Although I have done some evil things, I have never done anything like murder or arson in all these years. I am guilty, but the crime does not deserve the death penalty. Little brother, please don't bear grudges against me, why don't you just let me go like a stink bug!"

Liu Xunyi frowned, he knew this kind of people very well, they bully the weak and fear the strong, they cheat and deceive people with just their clever words, but they don't have the courage to kill or burn people.

"What did you mean when you said someone could eat me?" Liu Xunyi asked back, "Isn't that also false?"

"Yes..." The old man spoke subconsciously, but when he saw Liu Xunyi's eyes turned cold, he was frightened and quickly changed his words, "No... No, there is really someone who can cause trouble for you. In fact, it is not to cause trouble for you, but to cause trouble for you outsiders... Little brother, although you are capable, as the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. In Huodu, no one dares to mess with people from Yulong Palace, you'd better hide." The old man did not forget to flatter Liu Xunyi whenever he got a chance.

"What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi finally understood what was going on and asked, "You said that Yulong Palace wants to cause trouble for outsiders? Why is that?"

"Actually, not many people know about this matter, so it's not surprising that you don't know about it. I can tell you, but can you let me go after you listen to it?" The old man took the opportunity to propose conditions.

"That depends on whether what you said is worth your life. If it is, I will let you go." Liu Xunyi actually had no intention of killing the old man, but just wanted to scare him so that he would do less bad things in the future.

The old man was delighted when he heard this, and he quickly looked around, lowered his voice, and said seriously: "Little brother, you don't know, just this morning... the son of Master Cao of Yuhu Hall was kidnapped from Tianxiang Tower."

"Jade Tiger Hall?" Liu Xunyi was stunned and asked, "Suwen Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace has three flags and twelve halls under its command. Is this Jade Tiger Hall one of the twelve halls?"

"That's right." The old man nodded quickly and said, "The Twelve Halls of the Jade Dragon Palace are also known as the Twelve Zodiac Halls, among which the Jade Dragon Hall and the Jade Tiger Hall are the leaders. The Jade Dragon Hall governs Licheng at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, and the Jade Tiger Hall governs Huodu at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. Therefore, the power of the Jade Tiger Hall Master Cao in Huodu can be said to be all-powerful. Now Master Cao is furious and has ordered the whole city to be on alert, allowing only entry but not exit, and vowed to find the young master back. This matter is suspected to be done by an outsider, so the Jade Tiger Hall will strictly investigate all outsiders who have entered and left Huodu in the past two days. If there is any suspicion, they will be arrested and tortured. The original words of Master Cao were..."

The old man couldn't help but show hesitation when he said this. Liu Xunyi's heart sank and he asked, "What is it?"

"It is better to kill a thousand people by mistake than to let one go."

"Oh!"

Before the old man could finish his words, a figure screamed and flew into the inn, knocking over three or four tables before falling to the ground in a mess. The diners around were frightened and stood up to avoid the disaster.

Soon after that, a dozen men in white rushed into the inn. Each of them looked ferocious and terrifying. On the chest of these men in white, there was a lifelike black tiger head embroidered on it.

The Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace wears white snow as its clothing, and all its disciples wear white clothes. The three flags and twelve halls will have their own unique totems embroidered on the chest of the white clothes to distinguish each other. The black tiger heads on the chests of these white-clothed people represent the overlord of Huodu City, the Jade Tiger Hall.

……

(End of this chapter)