16: Gold inlaid with jade

"Whew~"

Just then, the old wooden door of the inn was suddenly pushed open. The raging wind outside blew in through the crack in the door, making everyone's clothes flutter and dislodging a strand of hair from the landlady's forehead.

Jin Xiangyu tucked the fallen strand of hair back behind her ear and squinted at the doorway.

A an old man and a young man, dressed in the sheepskin coats most common in the frontier, walked in from outside. The old man had a head of white hair but no white beard.

The young man beside him had a high nose, thin lips, and sword-like eyebrows that slanted into a few strands of dark hair falling by his temples. Although he was covered in dust from his journey, it still couldn't hide his perfect features and the noble air of a rich Young Master.

When these two entered, the atmosphere in the inn immediately solidified, and everyone, with a tacit understanding, stopped speaking.

Some narrowed their eyes, a dangerous glint flashing within, while others gripped the long knives on their tables as if ready to strike at any moment.

The old man sensed the unusual atmosphere as soon as he entered the inn and sharply scanned his surroundings, whereas the young man seemed like a novice, ignorant of everything.

Closing the door again, the young man heavily patted the dust off his body, muttering curses under his breath.

"Damn it, finally found a place where people can stay! My mouth has been so bland these past two days, I could almost taste a bird!"

He walked over to the table where the four men had been killed earlier. As if not seeing the bloodstains still on the floor, the young man sat down nonchalantly, a gleaming silver ingot slapping onto the table.

"Boss, bring out all your best wine and dishes for this Young Master!"

"Oh, I didn't expect to meet such a handsome young man in this godforsaken place!"

"Handsome Young Man, are you interested in going upstairs to chat about life with me?"

Seeing the young man's handsome appearance, Jin Xiangyu's eyes seemed to be melting.

The young man raised an eyebrow, seemingly attracted by the woman's charming looks, and a wicked smile curved at the corner of his lips.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect to meet such a beauty as you, elder sister, in this wilderness."

"Just wait until this Young Master has eaten and drunk his fill and has some energy, then we can go upstairs and fight three hundred rounds!"

"You rascal, elder sister will go prepare your food right away!"

The young man's address of "elder sister" made the landlady tremble with delight. She lightly tapped the young man's forehead with her finger, then wiggled her hips provocatively as she walked into the back kitchen.

Once the landlady left, the atmosphere inside the room became even more tense. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the old man and the young man, wanting to act but seemingly hesitant, not daring to make a move.

The young man casually grabbed a piece of leftover beef from the table and eagerly stuffed it into his mouth, chewing heartily and nodding repeatedly.

"Mmm, delicious! Old Man Cui, you eat too!"

These two were precisely Su Ming and the old eunuch Cui Hui, who had escaped from the Great Qian Imperial Palace.

On that day, after Cui Hui activated the Great Teleportation Talisman, it directly transported the two of them to this desolate Wild Desert, where they walked for a day and a night without seeing anyone and almost died of thirst.

Fortunately, they encountered a group of bandits who were foolish enough to try and rob them. Instead of succeeding, they were stripped of their clothes and robbed of two camels by the old man and the young man, ultimately losing their lives.

They relied on these two camels and the dried provisions from those bandits to make it here.

After two days of interaction, Cui Hui and Su Ming had become familiar with each other, and the initial estrangement in their conversations had disappeared.

"I say, Young Ancestor, we're now fugitives from Great Qian, no matter how you look at it. Can't you be a bit more low-key?"

Cui Hui found this young man increasingly unfathomable.

When killing those bandits, he had initially thought this pampered Young Master would be unable to bring himself to do it. Who knew that this Young Master's methods were even more ruthless than his own?

He didn't even need to lift a finger to deal with those dozen or so bandits; Su Ming easily handled them alone. The look of lingering satisfaction on his face afterward sent a chill down Cui Hui's spine.

Su Ming grabbed another piece of beef and stuffed it into his mouth, replying indistinctly:

"Afraid of what?!"

"This isn't within Great Qian's borders. That woman Su Yiyao can't possibly send a large army to hunt us down!"

Hearing the name Su Yiyao, the old eunuch couldn't help but chuckle.

"Heh heh, she is your elder sister after all. You don't seem sad at all about your own elder sister trying to kill you."

Su Ming's greasy lips curled into a cold sneer.

"The moment she tried to kill me, she ceased to be my elder sister."

The two spoke without any intention of lowering their voices, as if everyone else in the room were dead.

Hearing their conversation, a bald, burly man at a nearby table finally couldn't hold back. He rubbed his gleaming bald head, a sinister grin on his face.

"Heh heh heh, I didn't expect it to really be you two!"

"Linglong Pavilion has offered a reward of ten thousand taels of gold for your heads. Today, this unexpected fortune has finally fallen into my lap!"

"Lend me your heads!"

The bald man suddenly erupted, drawing a large saber hidden under the table and slashing it towards Su Ming's head.

Seeing someone make the first move, the others could no longer sit still. They all drew their weapons, looking at the two sitting at the table as if they were sheep fallen into a pack of wolves.

"Whoosh~"

Just as the bald man's long saber was about to land on Su Ming's head, a chopstick suddenly shot out from the back kitchen, directly impaling the man's wrist.

The bald man screamed in pain, and the long saber in his hand immediately clattered to the floor.

Clutching his bleeding wrist, the bald man glared fiercely towards the back kitchen and yelled:

"Jin Xiangyu, what do you mean by this?!"

Jin Xiangyu walked out again, carrying a steaming basket of buns, and shot a seductive glance at the bald man.

"Guests are guests. Whatever matters there are, wait until my guests have eaten their fill!"

Then she looked around, continuing:

"And the rest of you, too. If you want to stay here, sit down obediently, or don't blame me for turning hostile!"

The landlady of Dragon Gate Inn had long commanded respect. Although their faces were filled with unwillingness, everyone still snorted and sat back down in their seats.

Su Ming's expression was normal, as if he were an outsider, as if none of it concerned him.

From beginning to end, his mouth hadn't stopped, and only after he had eaten every last bit of beef on the plate did he let out a satisfied burp.

"Burp~"

"My second elder sister really went all out, actually offering ten thousand taels of gold for my head."

Jin Xiangyu turned and sat directly in Su Ming's lap, her eyes alluring.

"My little rascal, from the moment you walked in, elder sister saw your noble aura. You clearly aren't an ordinary person. So you're that legendary number one Young Master from Great Qian, Su Ming!"

Su Ming seemed quite pleased with this title. He chuckled, his hand intentionally or unintentionally caressing Jin Xiangyu's ample bosom.

"You flatter me. Could it be that elder sister also wants my head in exchange for those ten thousand taels of gold?"

.......