Chapter 595 - 591: Get Lost

"I'll take this room!"

An indifferent voice spoke as three figures walked in through the entrance.

All three newcomers were exceptionally tall. Judging by their shadows, they stood over eight feet tall.

Hong Yu couldn't help but frown and turn to look.

The three were not human. Their upper bodies were almost identical to a human's, except their ears were long and slender, like a horse's.

They all wore rigid armor on their upper bodies. The armor was simple in design, but it accentuated their muscular physiques. Their well-developed muscles, even their eight-pack abs, were clearly visible. It was a type of close-combat Battle Armor made from a special material.

What truly caught Hong Yu's attention was that their lower halves were not two-legged like a human's, but resembled the hindquarters of a horse. Their four hooves made a crisp CLIP-CLOP sound as they trod on the floor.

Each of them held their head high with arrogance.

This was especially true for the young Centaur in the lead, who was clearly much younger than the others. His face was a mask of haughtiness, as if he alone was supreme in all of heaven and earth.

Hong Yu was taken aback. "Centaurs?"

The Shopkeeper showed no particular reaction to their arrival, maintaining his indifferent demeanor. 'This Shopkeeper must have a powerful backer,' Hong Yu thought. The Shopkeeper said coolly, "This room has already been taken by this gentleman!"

The young Centaur glanced at Hong Yu.

He didn't even consider asking for Hong Yu's opinion, instead just glancing at the middle-aged Centaur behind him.

The middle-aged Centaur stepped forward, took a leather pouch from his robes, and poured out its contents—twenty Soul Stones. He said flatly, "According to the rules of the Nanshan Collection, everything goes to the highest bidder. Here are twenty Soul Stones. We'll be taking this room!"

The Shopkeeper glanced at the Soul Stones, then took back the key from the counter. He looked at Hong Yu. "They're right. That is indeed the rule here. If you want the room, you'll have to offer a higher price!"

"..."

Hong Yu's expression darkened.

A stampede of curses ran through his mind. 'It's just not my day, is it!'

But night was about to fall. If he didn't find a place to stay soon, he would likely be thrown out of the collection. He had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept it. "Twenty-one Soul Stones!"

The Shopkeeper looked impassively at the Centaur.

The Centaur frowned slightly and looked at the youth. It was clear the young one was in charge.

The young Centaur trotted forward on his four hooves and looked down at Hong Yu, sneering, "Twenty-one? Heh, so you're just a pauper. If you're poor, don't pretend to be rich. Aren't you embarrassed, raising the bid one stone at a time?" He looked at the Shopkeeper. "Thirty Soul Stones!"

Before Hong Yu could speak...

...the youth continued, "Kid, I can see it's not easy for you being alone, so let me give you a piece of advice. I am Ma Lie, the Third Young Master of the Centaur Tribe's leader. The Young Master of the Nanshan Collection's Lion Tribe is a good friend of mine. If you know what's good for you, you'll scram. Otherwise, if I get angry and kill you, no one will bat an eye!"

Hong Yu had originally planned to just let it go and find another place.

But being provoked like this, he was instantly furious. He sneered, "Fifty Soul Stones. I'm dead set on getting this room!"

"Good, very good. You've got some nerve, kid."

Ma Lie's face fell. He said in a menacingly sarcastic tone, "One hundred Soul Stones. If you dare to bid against me again, I'll drag you outside and beat you to a pulp."

Hong Yu didn't answer.

Instead, he looked at the Shopkeeper and asked, "Shopkeeper, you have stables here, don't you?"

The Shopkeeper paused, confused. "Of course we have stables. Why? Do you have a mount you need to keep in the back?"

Ma Lie, however, chuckled. "Looks like you know your place, kid! Realized you can't compete with me and decided to go sleep in the stables? Hmm, since you're being so sensible, I've decided not to beat you up!"

"Kid, are you running a fever?"

Hong Yu looked at Ma Lie with a bizarre expression.

The look made Ma Lie pause. He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hong Yu turned back to the Shopkeeper and continued, "Shopkeeper, your guest rooms are for people, right? Shouldn't things like horses, dogs, donkeys, and mules be staying in the stables?"

The Shopkeeper froze for a moment, then realized what he meant. His face flushed red as he struggled to suppress a laugh.

Ma Lie still hadn't caught on.

The middle-aged Centaur beside him whispered, "Young Master, he's saying we should be staying in the stables!"

"What?"

Ma Lie exploded with rage, his face turning pale and then green with utter humiliation.

Because of their appearance, there had been an old joke about the Centaur Race since ancient times, mocking them for trying to live in houses like humans when, as half-horses, they should be living in stables.

But as powerful experts emerged from the Centaur Race and their status rose, no one had dared to tell that joke for a very long time.

Even Ma Lie himself had forgotten about it.

How could Ma Lie possibly tolerate Hong Yu mocking him like this to his face?

He roared in fury, "Drag him out of here and give him a savage beating!"

"Yes!"

The two Centaurs were about to make their move.

But the Shopkeeper snorted coldly. "This is the Bright Moon Pavilion. Anyone who dares cause trouble here makes an enemy of the Bright Moon Tribe."

"This..."

Ma Lie's two subordinates froze, a trace of hesitation and fear on their faces.

Even someone as arrogant as Ma Lie couldn't help but shrink back and rein in his bluster upon hearing the name "Bright Moon Tribe."

He shot a vicious glare at Hong Yu, then turned to the Shopkeeper. "Shopkeeper, here's one hundred Soul Stones for the room. Hurry up and give me the key!"

The Shopkeeper, however, looked at Hong Yu. "One hundred Soul Stones. Are you going to offer a higher price?"

Hong Yu fell silent.

He had given most of his Soul Stones to Feng Xue Xin to power the Soul Crystal Cannon. Now, he only had about a thousand or so left.

But he had other uses for these Soul Stones, uses related to the upcoming South Mountain Gathering Festival. He absolutely couldn't squander them.

'But Ma Lie is being so aggressive. If I just walk away now, I won't be able to vent my anger!'

At this thought, the corners of Hong Yu's lips curved up. Feigning fury, he said, "Damn it! I've been wandering the world for decades and I've never been so humiliated. The highest bidder gets it, right? Fine! I'm seeing this through to the end! Shopkeeper, here are five hundred Soul Stones! I'm taking this room!"

"Five hundred?"

The Shopkeeper's eyes lit up.

Just as Ma Lie was about to speak, the middle-aged Centaur beside him reminded him in a low voice, "Young Master, we have important uses for our money. Five hundred is too expensive."

"This..."

Ma Lie hesitated.

Seeing this, Hong Yu's heart sank. 'This isn't good. If he doesn't raise the bid, won't I actually have to pay five hundred Soul Stones?'

'That's more than half of my assets!'

He immediately put on a look of contempt and mocked him coldly, "Tsk tsk, and you call yourself the Third Young Master of the Centaur Tribe. Looks to me like you're not much richer than I am. Let me throw your own words back at you: if you don't have the money, don't show up pretending you do. What an embarrassment!"

"You..."

Two streams of hot air shot from Ma Lie's nostrils. The Centaur Race was an incredibly proud people. He roared, "Who the hell says I don't have money? It's just five hundred Soul Stones! I just thought it was too little! I'll take this Celestial Level room for one thousand Soul Stones!"

As he spoke, Ma Lie took out a thousand Soul Stones and slammed them on the counter.

He glared at Hong Yu, his eyes bloodshot and filled with thick Evil Qi. "Kid, I dare you to bid again!"

Faced with the enraged Ma Lie...

...Hong Yu suddenly threw up his hands and smiled. "My my, what a rich man! A Celestial Level room that costs ten Soul Stones, and you're willing to pay a thousand for it. That's enough for me to stay somewhere else for a hundred days. Well, I won't compete with you anymore. I hope you enjoy your one-thousand-Soul-Stone room. Sleep well and have sweet dreams!"

Hong Yu laughed heartily, pocketed his Soul Stones, and turned to leave.

Ma Lie: "..."

It was only then that he realized he had been tricked.

He tried to take back the Soul Stones, but the Shopkeeper had already swept them up with lightning speed and handed him the key with a beaming smile.

Ma Lie's face flushed crimson, his anger uncontrollable.

He wished he could rush out and fight Hong Yu to the death.

But something seemed to occur to him, and he calmed down. He said to the middle-aged Centaur, "You, keep an eye on that kid. I want him to end up on the streets. Once he's kicked out of the Nanshan Collection tonight, find a chance to..." He drew a hand across his neck.

"Yes!"

The middle-aged Centaur nodded and followed Hong Yu from a distance.

「In the next half hour.」

Hong Yu went to more than a dozen different inns, but the Centaur stuck to him like a shadow, snatching up any room Hong Yu tried to take.

In the process, even though they spent a huge sum of nearly three thousand Soul Stones, they succeeded in preventing Hong Yu from finding a place to stay.

"Damn it, this guy is really persistent."

Hong Yu was incredibly frustrated.

Little did he know, the Centaur was even more frustrated. Staring at his now-empty money pouch, he was on the verge of tears. 'That was ten years of my private savings! It's almost all gone now. I wonder if the Young Master will reimburse me.' As he thought this, his gaze toward Hong Yu grew colder. 'It's all this kid's fault. I'll make him pay later.'

Hong Yu had a similar thought. 'Maybe I should just leave the city, kill this guy, and take his key?'

He was quite tempted by the idea!

But on second thought: 'Forget it. Better to avoid more trouble right now. It would be bad if my identity was exposed because of this!'

Suppressing the impulse to kill the Centaur and take his key, Hong Yu walked into a residential area.

"Huh? There are no more inns here?"

His expression soured. Just as he was about to turn back, someone behind him shouted, "Hey, hey! Friend over there! Are you looking for a place to stay?"

"Hm?"

Hong Yu paused. He saw a skinny human boy run over, bouncing with every step. Panting, the boy asked him, "Big brother, are you looking for a place to stay?"

Hong Yu nodded.

The boy was overjoyed. He grinned. "It's so late, all the nearby inns must be full. If you don't mind, you could stay at my house. But, as for the price..."

A shy look appeared on the simple-looking boy's face.

Hong Yu smiled. It was rare to run into another human. He laughed. "How much for one night at your place?"

"O-one Soul Stone per night."

Seeing Hong Yu's surprised expression, the boy thought it was too expensive and quickly added, "I-if that's too much, big brother, I-I can make it cheaper. How about one Soul Stone for two nights?"

The boy looked at Hong Yu with a hopeful expression.

Hong Yu studied the boy carefully and saw his fear and anticipation. He seemed terrified of being rejected. Hong Yu couldn't help but smile. "Deal!"

"Oh yeah!"

The boy cheered and was about to lead Hong Yu away when the Centaur suddenly rushed over. He glared viciously at the boy. "Where did this little brat come from? Scram!" He looked at Hong Yu and sneered, "Kid, the Young Master gave an order. I absolutely cannot let you find a place to stay!"

"Th-this gentleman, I... big brother and I already..."

The boy began to speak hesitantly.

The Centaur slapped at him, but a cold glint flashed in Hong Yu's eyes. With a "Hmph," he sent the Centaur flying with a kick and said coldly, "Get lost! If I see you again, I'll roast you like a whole horse and eat you."

"Y-you..."

A flash of terror appeared in the Centaur's eyes.

He clearly hadn't expected the unassuming Hong Yu to be so powerful that he couldn't even fight back. He sputtered out a threat and fled in disgrace.

Hong Yu went home with the boy, but just as they stepped through the door, they heard a bloodcurdling scream from inside...

"N-no..."