Stranger Danger

Chapter 331: All Cattle Inn

White Lords smile turned meaningful. One, you, an early-stage Spirit Purifier, managed to snatch us from the hands of Huo Hao, an early-stage Spirit Master. That proves that you have great potential. Two, you carry a lot of secrets, and frankly some parts of you are an enigma even from us. We are fairly certain that youll make for an interesting master.

Something flickered behind Ye Qings eyes, but he didnt say anything.

Aaaaaaand finally, we are just a weak, pitiful Strange Artifact. We are as delicate, frail and helpless as an innocent young girl whom anyone could overwhelm should they so desire. When we fell into Huo Haos hands, we had no choice but to do his bidding. Now, we have to do your bidding.

White Lord said with a pitiful voice, But only if you feed us properly, of course!

Ye Qing was silent for a moment. Then, he broke into a sudden grin and said, In that case, Im pleased to make your acquaintance.

Regardless of whether White Lord was telling him the truth, Nanke undoubtedly represented a golden opportunity. He couldnt think of a real reason to discard it.

Hahaha Lil White at your service, my dear master! White Lord replied in an exaggerated fashion.

We promise you wont be disappointed, Black Lord supported its companion as usual.

Who are you talking to, Joyless? It was at this moment Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai walked over after hearing an unfamiliar voice. Huh? Whats that?

Ye Qing put away Nanke and said, Its called Nanke, a rather unique Strange Artifact. Let us walk as we speak.

On the road, Chu Nianjiu took a sip from his wine gourd to calm himself a little. Holy shit! Ive never heard of such a Strange Artifact! Its practically as good as the Martial Tower!

Thats what they said, but I wont know if its true until Ive tested it, Ye Qing replied.

He could have pretended that Nanke was just a mundane object and enjoyed its benefits himself, but one, Chu Nianjiu and Lin Yuhuai were his friends; two, they had both contributed to him obtaining Nanke; and three, Nanke could be shared with others. Hence, he saw no reason not to share it with his friends.

Ive heard of Nanke before, Lin Yuhuai said suddenly. The man had been conspicuously quiet until now.

What do you know, Brother Lin? Ye Qing asked.

Lin Yuhuai thought for a moment. Youve both heard of the Strange Artifact Register, right?

Ye Qing and Chu Nianjiu nodded. The Strange Artifact Register was a ranking list distributed by a sect known as the White Jade Capital, and it recorded some of the most famous Strange Artifacts across the world.

Five towers and twelve cities,

Look up to find the White Jade Capital.

White Jade Capital was a mysterious sect in jianghu that supposedly possessed a powerful Strange Artifact known as the Watcher of Heavens. Omniscient in a sense, it automatically recorded the Natural, the Construct, and the Human. The Natural referred to extraordinary objects that were born naturally, the Construct referred to extraordinary objects that were created artificially, and the Human referred to extraordinary humans.

Thanks to the Watcher of Heavens, White Jade Capital was able to create all kinds of ranking lists such as the Heaven, Earth and Human Champions Ranking that listed the best warriors in the entire world, the Natural Creations Ranking that listed the greatest natural creations of the world, the Strange Artifact Register that recorded some of the most famous Strange Artifacts of the world and more.

Lin Yuhuai continued, Assuming my memory isnt playing tricks on me, Ive seen Nanke on the Strange Artifact Register before. Its ranked quite highly among its peers too. Its review regarding the Strange Artifact was: One hundred years, a Nanke dream. All to prepare, a life of conflict.

Er, Im gonna need you to break that down for me, said Ye Qing while scratching his head. He understood the individual parts of the sentence, but he couldnt quite figure out what the whole sentence meant.

Lin Yuhuai answered, One hundred years, a Nanke dream refers to Nankes ability. Its more or less the same as what you told us.

All to prepare, a life of conflict referred to the fact that all owners of Nanke were famous warriors who shook the world during their time such as the Young Marquis Huo Wushang from a hundred years ago, the Sky Climbing Qilin\' Xiang Tianling, the \'Absolute Truth\' Fang Xing, the Grand Snow Gentleman\' Yu Tianxing and so on.

Wait a second. Arent they all warriors who died young because of one reason or another? Chu Nianjiu rubbed his nose.

Lin Yuhuai nodded. Exactly. That is why it says, all to prepare, a life of conflict at the end. Everyone who owned Nanke was an extraordinary warrior, but their life was also full of turmoil. So much turmoil that, as far as we know, none of them had ever died a peaceful death.

Thats why you need to be careful, Joyless. In a sense, Nanke is a cursed object.

Thank you for the warning. I will. Ye Qing smiled. He wasnt too surprised because he had a feeling that this was the case.

Eh, most Strange Artifacts are cursed objects. As long as youre strong enough to ward off the curse, then theres nothing to be afraid of, Chu Nianjiu declared boldly before sipping his wine. By the way, can we use Nanke?

Naturally.

Oh ho! Now were talking! Chu Nianjiu snapped his fingers. Do you want to give it a try tonight?

Sure. Why not? Both men exchanged wide grins with each other.

As long as you know what youre doing. Lin Yuhuai shook his head at the duo.

All Cattle Inn? A gloomy-looking man wearing a tight martial outfit recited the name on the inns roof before speaking to his companions, This is it. The young Taoist should reach this place by nightfall, and barring exceptional circumstances, he should stay the night here. This is our chance to eliminate him.

Okay. What should we do, squad leader? A Dark Guard[1] asked.

The young Taoist is extremely powerful. It would be folly to attack him directly.

The leader of the group thought for a moment before saying, Lets do it this way. Well kill everyone inside the inn and pretend to be the innkeeper, the waiters and more. Well poison the food and drink and kill him once hes weakened.

As you command, Everyone in the squad responded.

Its still early though. Why dont we eat lunch at this inn before we kill them? A Dark Guard suggested.

The man mulled over the suggestion. Sure. I see no reason to make lunch ourselves when we can save ourselves the trouble.

A wise decision, squad leader.

The squad had just entered the inn when a woman walked up to greet them. Are you here to eat or to stay, customers?

The woman was in her thirties,[2] but she was still very beautiful. She also wore a revealing dress that flashed her assets just enough to draw a mans gaze, but not enough that it would be immodest. She was like a beautiful wildflower in these barren, dangerous lands.

For a time, everyone stared at the woman for a good few seconds. Some were even swallowing from how dry their throat was.

Youre going to embarrass me if you keep staring at me like this, customers. The woman giggled at their wide-eyed reactions.

Oh! Ahem. You are? The squad leader coughed to cover up his embarrassment.

I am the innkeeper of All Cattle Inn. You may call me Mrs. Jiao. The woman smiled brightly. Please, come in.

Mrs. Jiao (Lovely)? A fitting name. One of the Dark Guards licked his lips and allowed his eyes to roam freely across her body. He didnt try to conceal his lust at all.

Mrs. Jiao didnt seem to feel it, however. She simply beamed at him and said, You have a sweet mouth, customer.

After the Dark Guards had occupied a table, Mrs. Jiao asked, What do you like to eat, customers?

What do you have? The squad leader asked.

Mrs. Jiao answered, You might have already figured out from our inns name, but we are an inn that specializes in beef. There isnt a single part of a cattles body that we cannot cook into a delicious meal, and our cook is proficient in all kinds of cooking methods such as stir fry, deep fry, stew, boil and more. As for our signature dishes, we have boiled beef, stir-fried tripe, crystal beef tendon, dried beef head meat, charcoal-grilled short ribs, oxtail soup and more.

Thats a lot of choices. Im not sure we can arrive at a decision quickly. Do you have a suggestion, innkeeper?

One man abruptly grabbed her hand and chuckled. It needs to be sweet, tender and smooth.

Hmm? Are you talking about my hand or the dishes? Mrs. Jiao lightly extracted her hand from the mans grip and suggested, Since there are so many of you, why dont you try out our specialty, the Beef Buffet?

The Beef Buffet? Ive never heard that before. Sounds like its worth trying. The squad leader then asked, Is your beef fresh?

Im offended by that question, customer! We slaughter our cattle on the spot! Itll be the freshest beef you ever taste! Mrs. Jiao giggled. If you dont believe me, I can take you to the back garden so you may pick a bull yourself.

Ill go! A Dark Guard who was just as lecherous as he looked hurriedly jumped to his feet. Ill come with you to the back garden, innkeeper! Dont worry, brothers! I promise Ill pick a big and strong bull so you may enjoy lunch to your hearts content!

Lets go, innkeeper!

Before anyone could react, the guy was already pulling Mrs. Jiao toward the back garden.

Hmph! Its been a while since he became a Dark Guard, and Yang Yun still couldnt fix his lecherous nature! Hes going to die to a woman someday! A Dark Guard who was just a little too slow to make his move grunted with clear jealousy.

Thats because hes a rapist who specifically targets married women back in the day. He would never have been accepted into the Dark Guards if the young master didnt think highly of his movement art and poisoning skills, another guy echoed in agreement.

I can hear your jealousy all the way from here. Its only going to get worse when the screaming starts, so you best plug up your ears while you still can! Another guy taunted.

That lucky bastard. Someone sighed enviously.

Noticing that the conversation was steadily spiraling out of control, the squad leader decided to rein them in. Enough. The walls have ears. Zhao Lei, Ju Shui, scout out the area and check if theres anyone else staying in the inn besides the staff. I dont want to miss anyone when we clean out the place later!

As you command, two Dark Guards responded before leaving to carry out their orders.

At the back garden, Yang Yun watched Mrs. Jiaos plump, swaying bottom and felt his mouth growing drier and drier. When they arrived at the cattle pen, Mrs. Jiao said, This is the place, customer!

Yang Yun reluctantly removed his gaze from Mrs. Jiaos body and looked at the cattle pen in front of him. He immediately exclaimed with surprise, Heavens, your cattle pen is massive! The cattle look pretty amazing too! What shiny fur and fat, strong muscles!

Hahaha! Our cattle are quite famous, you see. A lot of inns and restaurants buy their cattle from us! Mrs. Jiao giggled.

Yang Yun checked out the feeder tray. I can see why. Your cattle eat better than many people. White mantou, candied fruit, jerkies and even flatbreads? No wonder your cattle look as strong as they are.

Well, the best feed produces the best cattle, dont you agree? Mrs. Jiao smiled. Have you made your selection, customer?

I sure have. I choose you. Yang Yun chuckled.

Mrs. Jiao giggled behind her hand. You flatter me, customer, but Im asking which bull you want for your lunch!

Yang Yun took one step forward and embraced her. The bull can wait. Why dont we do something else first?

Haha! Please dont, customer. It wouldnt be good if someone else sees us! Mrs. Jiao struggled, but she was unable to break out of Yang Yuns iron grip.

Like theres anyone at this place at this time, Yang Yun replied while fondling Mrs. Jiao everywhere. And even if there is, I cant wait any longer.

1. I dont think you guys have forgotten it already, but these guys were planning to assassinate the young Taoist Qi Xuanyun under Duanmu Yus order a few chapters ago.

2. Imagine someone in her fifties. In this day and age unless youre a warrior you age quite rapidly due to hard work and living conditions.