Chapter 034 – A Thorough Check
Three days later…
By dusk, a tall, lanky teenager pushed a cart to a stop in front of the Ginger Tavern in Silver Creek. On the cart rested a large wild boar. Wiping sweat from his brow, the youth glanced at Li Yuan and said reverently, “Li Yuan, we’re here.”
Li Yuan nodded, hoisted the wild boar onto his shoulder with impressive ease, and walked straight into the tavern through its back entrance. The day before, he had already arranged things with a contact there, a connection originally introduced by Uncle Wang.
Watching Li Yuan’s display of strength, Tian Bao was filled with awe. Over the past couple of days, he’d seen just how formidable Li Yuan really was. Li Yuan’s archery, in particular, seemed almost supernatural.
Before long, a middle-aged man with a slight paunch, clearly a manager, came to see Li Yuan out. In this chaotic time, a dependable stream of fresh meat was worth its weight in silver. This manager had learned Li Yuan was no pushover; the man brought in boar he’d hunted that very morning, not covered in too many wounds and perfect for the tavern’s needs.
“Bring your next catch here,” the manager said with a smile. “If it's fresh, you’ll get a fair price.”
Li Yuan returned the smile. “Of course. We’ve been doing business for a while now; I’ll always make sure it’s fresh.”
Then he beckoned Tian Bao over. “Kid, come say hello.”
Tian Bao hurried forward. “Hello, Uncle Wu.”
Manager Wu nodded. “Follow Li Yuan’s example. Before, he brought in deer, hares, pheasants. Today he’s already moved on to wild boar! Young hunters like him are impressive.”
Tian Bao beamed with admiration. “Yeah! My boss is the strongest man in the village!”
“Don’t listen to him exaggerate. I’m just a regular hunter." Li Yuan just laughed. "This kid is from my village. If I ever can’t make a delivery myself, I’ll have him handle things.”
“That’s fine, I’ll remember him,” Manager Wu replied, smiling at Li Yuan.
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Li Yuan felt the satisfying heft of new silver in his pouch. When the Qian Family and Bear had still been around, he mostly stuck to hunting small game. But now he had free rein to take down boars and even bears. Bigger prey meant better prices.
This time, he’d brought in a sow that Manager Wu estimated at just under 150 kgs. The Ginger Tavern paid him 30 taels of silver—split into two 10-tael ingots, five 1-tael nuggets, and 50 large coins.
Li Yuan tossed Tian Bao two large coins.
Surprised, Tian Bao quickly tried to refuse. “Boss, why are you giving me money? It’s your boar, and you taught me how to hunt. I can’t possibly—”
“Take it,” Li Yuan insisted. “Go back to the village. I’ll be along later.”
“Okay.” Tian Bao took the cart and headed home.
Li Yuan lingered for a while, then circled back to the tavern. A kitchen hand spotted him and waved. “Hey, Li Yuan. You're still here?”
Li Yuan smiled. “Is Manager Wu around?”
“Sure, I’ll call him.” The hand dashed off, but ended up taking quite some time. Li Yuan waited patiently, and only after about the time it would take to burn two sticks of incense did Manager Wu appear, looking harried.
“Did you need something?”
Li Yuan grinned. “It’s getting dark, and I’ve got some silver in my pocket. Thought I’d treat you to a drink.”
Manager Wu gave him a knowing look. “You rascal, you must have something else in mind.”
“Nothing special,” Li Yuan said. “You’ve been such a help, I’d feel bad not treating you to a meal now that I’ve made some money. I’m not an ungrateful man.”
“Slogging through the mountains for a living is tough,” Manager Wu replied. “You've earned every bit of coin you make.”
Li Yuan suddenly suggested, “How about Heavenly Scent Pavilion?”
Manager Wu was startled. He’d thought Li Yuan might just buy him a simple meal and some cheap wine. Heavenly Scent Pavilion, however, was one of the most high-end establishments in Silver Creek, a place common folk could rarely afford. If Li Yuan was that serious…
“Well…if you’re set on it, I won’t say no,” Manager Wu said. “But it’s busy here until closing. Let’s go at the Hour of the Boar. So, 9 PM. Sound good?”
“Works for me.” Li Yuan smiled. “I’ll take a little walk while I wait.”
Manager Wu hurried off, and Li Yuan left the tavern to kill time. He needed to uncover the truth about the Blood Blade Sect once and for all, then decide if he’d proceed with his plan to move to Silver Creek.
He grabbed a quick meal of fried rice from a street stall near the tavern, watching travelers come and go. He could see the numbers floating above some heads—some as low as 0~1 or 1~2, others around 2~3. Suddenly, a 39~40 popped into view, attached to a man carrying an ornate blade at his waist. Li Yuan quickly averted his gaze, not wanting any trouble.
Li Yuan mused to himself, If I upgrade my bow to something better I’d probably be a bit stronger too.
The night air turned chilly as he waited, but he’d already told Yan Yu he might be late. He could only keep hoping he’d find a clear path to move to Silver Creek soon. Only there, apparently, was the security as solid as people claimed.
At last, Manager Wu emerged, and they made their way to Heavenly Scent Pavilion. Li Yuan, now a returning customer, asked straightaway for Madam Yun.
He was in luck. She’d only just finished with another patron. Spotting him downstairs through the beaded curtains, she quickly freshened up and sauntered over. A few other courtesans watched with curiosity, seeing an unremarkable-looking young man whose aura was nonetheless calm and quietly powerful.
Madam Yun swished her embroidered handkerchief and tapped Li Yuan playfully. “Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back?”
Li Yuan just smiled without replying. She led him and Manager Wu to a private room, summoned another woman to accompany the manager, and soon enough, they were clinking cups under lantern light.
Manager Wu wasted no time taking his companion to one of the smaller side chambers. Madam Yun then turned her attention to Li Yuan, teasing, “It’s late. Surely you’re not going home to your wife now? Need me to attend you for the night? I’ll take a quick bath, give you a lovely evening—”
Li Yuan shook his head. “Save me some money, will you? Tonight, no bed, but I’ll still pay your fee. I’ll come see you again next time.”
That earned him an arch look. “You’re a wife’s dream, you know,” she quipped, though he didn’t believe her sincerity.
She persisted. “Money aside, it’s a long night. What do you plan to do with me?”
“Just talk,” he answered, eager for more information about Gemhill County.
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By dawn, Madam Yun, unable to fight her fatigue, had drifted off to sleep. Li Yuan quietly settled the bill. This time it ran to six taels of silver because they’d stayed overnight. Closing his eyes to rest for a short while, he waited for Manager Wu to emerge.
Eventually, Manager Wu stepped out looking rather pleased with himself. The two men left the brothel together.
“Li Yuan,” Manager Wu said, “you’re a generous man. Next time you visit the tavern, let me at least buy you a few cups of wine.”
“No need,” Li Yuan replied. “If I come to the tavern, I’m there to do business, not to impose. But I do hope you’ll keep an eye out for any good deals on game.”
Manager Wu grinned. “No worries on that front. You can count on me.”
Li Yuan paused. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”
“Sure. What is it?” The manager was in an excellent mood.
“Do you have any relatives in the Blood Blade Sect?”
The question stopped Manager Wu in his tracks. “You… Why do you ask…?”
Li Yuan simply waited.
Looking baffled, Manager Wu shook his head. “I don’t have any family in the Blood Blade Sect. They’re a world apart from us normal folks. All I know is that in Silver Creek, the sect stands at the very top.”
“And if…someone offered to introduce you to the Blood Blade Sect?” Li Yuan probed.
Manager Wu’s eyes lit up. “Really? Tell me what they want! I’d give whatever I have if it means joining the sect!”
Li Yuan fell silent, realizing that was all the confirmation he needed. The Blood Blade Sect was indeed the place to be.
His conversation with Manager Wu wrapped up with Li Yuan laughing, “I’m just joking around. I was just curious how powerful that sect really is.”
Manager Wu gave a dry chuckle. Right, what was I thinking? He's just a hunter. How could he possibly have a direct line to the Blood Blade Sect? The difference between them is like earth and sky.
He sniffed. “They’re plenty powerful, I’ll say that.”
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After parting ways, Li Yuan didn’t head straight home. Instead, he hurried to Silver Creek's most upscale restaurant, Cicada's Cuisine, which Madam Yun had mentioned the night before.
For two taels of silver, he bought a fancy boxed breakfast. Then he made his way to White Cloud Alley.
Upon arriving, he stood in front of the second house on the left and knocked on the door.
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