Chapter 53: The Joyful Inn

  At the moment when He Lian and Sang Xiao were amazed by the man's handsome appearance, he had already walked slowly to their front. Before Sang Xiao could ask a question, the man spoke up: "Two young brothers, I am Ling Xiang, please forgive me for disturbing you. I saw that you two came from the direction of Lan Yue City and seemed to be visiting our Meteorite City for the first time. You may not know about the situation in Meteorite City, so I want to give you some advice. You should know that Lan Yue City and Meteorite City have been sworn enemies for a hundred years. Although in recent years, both cities have focused on developing their economies and no longer provoke each other into war, our ordinary citizens in Meteorite City still hold some hostility towards Lan Yue City. Therefore, I want to remind you two that after entering Meteorite City, be sure not to tell anyone that you are from Lan Yue City, and do not stir up trouble. Otherwise, I guarantee that you will definitely encounter unexpected troubles!"

  The man named Ling Xiao finished speaking, and Helian Nuo didn't think much of it, but Sang Xiao had unknowingly developed some good feelings towards him. As a noble born into a prestigious family, Sang Xiao had always placed great importance on etiquette and social hierarchy in his heart. The man before him was articulate and refined in his speech, with impeccable manners that completely suited his taste. As a result, the more Sang Xiao looked at Ling Xiao, the more he liked him, feeling as though they were long-lost friends. Seeing that Helian Nuo hadn't responded after Ling Xiao finished speaking, Sang Xiao stepped forward and said, "Thank you, Brother Ling, for reminding us. My brother and I will be sure to pay attention. Moreover, we've brought a grand gift for the people of Xingcheng this time, and I believe it won't be long before everyone in Xingcheng welcomes our arrival!"

  "Oh? Then I'll be waiting with bated breath! Alright, you two have had a long and tiring journey, it's better to find a place to rest for the night. Not far from here, there is an inn called Yue Lai, which is my brother's small business. If you don't mind, you can go there to stay, just mention my name and you will receive the best treatment!"

  Xiang Xiao heard this and smiled lightly, saying: "In that case, thank you, Brother Ling. We'll meet again!" After finishing speaking, he cupped his fists in respect towards Ling Xiang, then jumped onto the horse carriage and headed into the city.

  As the carriage disappeared into the distance, Ling Xiao's smile also faded away bit by bit, replaced by a cold and arrogant expression. After a moment of contemplation, Ling Xiao said to someone, "Pass on my orders to the hall master: immediately dispatch a few skilled members from the Dog Unit to follow that carriage, and make sure to keep an eye on every move of everyone in it. I won't allow any of them to escape our surveillance. Also, send a message via the Pigeon Unit to the city lord, saying that two people from Lan Yue City have entered, and their behavior is extremely suspicious, as if they are plotting something. Ask the city lord to be prepared. Finally, order the Eagle Unit and Wolf Unit to stand by at all times!"

  "Yes!", a gloomy voice responded from the shadows, and then several breaking wind sounds faded away into the distance.

  He paused for a moment, and then Ling Xiao spoke again: "Tell Hu Lao San that I have a batch of goods in my hand that he will definitely be interested in. Let him prepare to take over!", This time, however, no one responded, but Ling Xiao knew that his order had already been transmitted extremely quickly and effectively. In the past decade or so, there had never been a single mistake among his subordinates.

  "Two little ones, welcome to the City of Sin!" Ling Xiao slightly raised the corner of his mouth and then mysteriously disappeared into the shadows under the city wall.

  Xiao and He Lian were enthusiastically watching the scenery along the way, unaware that they had already been calculated by someone. The two cities of Xingxing and Lan Yue are only a hundred miles apart, but their customs and architecture are vastly different. The buildings in Lan Yue City are mostly square with arched tops, while here, there are sharp-topped houses everywhere. Moreover, the women walking on the street were dressed extremely revealingly, indicating that Xingxing City has an open atmosphere. The vendors on both sides of the street were selling food that neither Xiao nor He Lian had ever seen before. A strange aroma wafted through the air, making both people and the little wolf swallow their saliva. He Lian was fine, although he was very greedy, but his nine years of living in the forest had cultivated his endurance. However, Xiao could no longer hold back his hunger, and after hesitating several times, he finally spoke up to He Lian: "He Lian brother, I wonder how much further we need to go to reach the Yue Lai Inn that Ling Xiang mentioned? Can...can we buy some food on this street to fill our stomachs for now?"

  As soon as Sang Xiao finished speaking, the little wolf that had been drooling with anticipation pounced on Helian Nuo's feet, its big eyes looking up at him pitifully, its expression pleading.

  "This...", actually, Helianuo had been hungry for a long time, but he didn't know why his subconscious kept feeling that this fallen star city was hiding some kind of huge crisis. The strange entrance and exit of the city gate, the mysterious appearance of the handsome man Ling Xiao, all made Helianuo feel uneasy. What annoyed him most was that usually clever Sang Xiao had somehow gotten it wrong and directly told Ling Xiao, whom they had just met, about their destination, although not in detail. Anyone could hear from Sang Xiao's words that this group of people must be carrying something important or some kind of message. This would undoubtedly make the already perilous journey to the fallen star even more difficult.

  Seeing He Lianuo seemed hesitant, Sang Xiao hurriedly continued: "He Lian big brother, don't worry, we won't get off the carriage, just call over a merchant on the carriage to buy some food to fill our hunger, it's unlikely anything big will go wrong!", Xiaolang also hastily looked at He Lianuo with pleading eyes, his chubby wolf head nodding quickly like a chicken pecking at grain, and his pitiful eyes already had some tears welling up.

  Glaring at Sang Xiao with a bad temper, He Lianuo finally softened and nodded slightly in tacit agreement.

  Little Wolf let out an excited whoop as soon as he saw He Lianuo nodding, the tears that had been welling up in his eyes were instantly flung to the farthest reaches of the sky. Sang Xiao was also extremely delighted, hastily pulling out a few silver coins and calling over a vendor to buy some food.

  Before long, the silver coins in Sang Xiao's hand were spent, and the carriage had several baskets of crystal-clear food. These foods were all made very delicately and were extremely creative. Even Sang Xiao, who had seen a lot, couldn't name some of them. He Lianuo casually picked up a pastry and took a bite. It was quite good, this Meteorite City's food, except for the price being a bit higher, the taste was also very good. The few people devoured the several baskets of food in no time.

  The food in the carriage had just been eaten, and Xiang Xiao, who was sharp-eyed, discovered the Yue Lai Inn that Ling Xiao had mentioned. He Lian Nu stretched his head out of the carriage cover to take a look, and this Yue Lai Inn was not a small business as Ling Xiao had said, but rather an extremely luxurious small palace! The Yue Lai Inn occupied a vast area, with a spacious courtyard that could accommodate eight horses and carriages. The steps were all paved with precious jade crystal stones, which looked dazzlingly beautiful. The magnificent and majestic front gate emitted a subtle, elegant fragrance. Xiang Xiao, who was born into a wealthy family, knew at a glance that the two large front gates were made of Lanxiang Iron Tree, also known as "Golden Wood". Just these two gates alone were probably worth tens of thousands of gold coins.

  Suppressing the shock in her heart, Xiang Xiao carefully stopped the carriage on the square in front of Yue Lai Inn. The spacious square already had several luxurious carriages parked, and compared to them, Xiang Xiao's was simply a pile of trash that could run!

  It seemed that he was afraid of being ridiculed, so Sang Xiao raised the collar of his long shirt to cover half of his face before jumping off the carriage. He Lianuo, on the other hand, didn't have any concerns. In his opinion, the carriages in the square were just a bit more stylish and didn't seem to be worth showing off about - weren't they all just two wheels and a canopy? Weren't they all running on the ground? Did looking good mean you didn't need horses to pull them?

  Just as Helian was about to get off, a carriage that was several times more luxurious than the ones on the square stopped steadily in front of Sang Xiao. The driver, dressed in finery, looked at Sang Xiao's dusty clothes and then at the dilapidated carriage beside him, and couldn't help but snort from his nose, saying with a sarcastic tone: "Wow, this Yue Lai Inn is really getting more and more outrageous, how can it let just anyone in? If you ask me, some people should hurry up and leave on that pile of rotten wood. The things here aren't for just anyone to enjoy!"

  "Alas, well said! This Yue Lai Inn is really too disappointing. It's a place where people rest and eat, how can they let a mad dog bark non-stop here?!" Just as the horseman finished speaking, a voice came from the carriage behind Sang Xiao, this voice also sounded strange and was clearly imitating the horseman's tone.

  The groom heard this and couldn't help but feel a surge of anger, turning his head to see a black-clad youth smiling brightly at him, with an expression full of disdain on his face, as if speaking to the groom was beneath him.

  "You... you're just a young whippersnapper, who do you think you are, daring to speak to me like that!", the horse driver's face turned bright red as he stuttered and shouted.

  "What are you, just a servant who runs errands for others, what qualifications do you have to act like a big shot in front of me!!" Helianuo's voice also trembled with several decibels higher, obviously extremely disgusted with this kind of sycophant.

  "You... you...", the groom pointed at Helianuo, stuttering and unable to say another word. That one sentence of Helianuo's had thoroughly struck his sore spot. Yes, no matter how luxurious his attire was, no matter how generous his monthly salary was, no matter how glorious he appeared in front of others, he was ultimately just a groom, a groom who was nothing without his noble master!

  "That's enough, aren't you ashamed enough? Get down at once!", He Lianuo was about to take advantage of the situation and counterattack when a extremely pleasant and melodious female voice suddenly came from inside the carriage.

  Although the groom was unwilling in his heart, he did not dare to disobey his master's words. He could only glare fiercely at Helian Nuo and walk away with the whip.

  He Lianuo was about to speak when the pleasant female voice sounded again: "It's my fault for not teaching my subordinates well, offending you two, please forgive me. This hundred gold coins will be my compensation to you!"

  As the voice fell, a bulging purse was thrown out of the carriage and landed on the ground with a thud. The purse was filled to the brim with gold coins that clinked together in a pleasant jingling sound!