Chapter 10: Word Spreads

Morning came quietly to Blackstone Wasteland.

Lin Yuan opened the doors of Wandering Cloud Tavern and turned the wooden sign toward the road.

Food — Water — Wine — Rooms

After being closed for more than a week, the tavern was open again.

Behind him, Su Mei was already preparing the main room.

She checked the tables and cups before joining Lin Yuan in the kitchen.

Rice steamed beside the Spirit-Assisted Kitchen Stove. Vegetables had been washed, meat sliced, and dough prepared for noodles.

Su Mei looked over the ingredients.

"What do you usually serve?"

"Whatever travelers will eat."

She looked at him.

Lin Yuan understood the problem.

Together, they settled on several simple dishes.

Noodles with roasted meat.

Rice with stir-fried vegetables and meat.

Soup.

Steamed buns.

Tea and wine.

Lin Yuan would handle most of the cooking. Su Mei would take orders, serve customers, prepare tea, and handle simple dishes when necessary.

It was a simple arrangement.

Now they only needed customers.

The first hour passed quietly.

Then the second.

Su Mei sat near the counter while Lin Yuan prepared ingredients for later.

The old trade road outside remained empty.

Lin Yuan wasn’t surprised.

Blackstone Wasteland hadn’t suddenly become busy because he’d hired someone.

Su Mei, however, occasionally glanced toward the road.

"You said travelers stop here."

"They do."

She looked outside again.

"Eventually?"

"Usually."

Su Mei decided not to ask further.

A while later, she suddenly stood.

"Someone’s coming."

Lin Yuan looked toward the road.

A cloud of dust had appeared in the distance.

Four wagons were approaching from the west, each pulled by a pair of Ironhoof Beasts.

Around a dozen cultivators traveled with them.

Lin Yuan stepped outside.

The caravan slowed as it approached the tavern.

A broad-faced man with a short beard sat beside the driver of the first wagon. His cultivation was stronger than most of those around him, though still within Qi Refining.

His eyes settled on the sign.

"Wandering Cloud Tavern?"

"That’s right."

The man jumped down.

He looked at Lin Yuan, then at the building behind him.

"So it really exists."

Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"You’ve heard of it?"

"From Black River Trading Company."

Lin Yuan immediately understood.

Zhao Jian had kept his word.

The man looked toward the courtyard.

"They said there was clean water here."

"There is."

"Food?"

"Yes."

"Rooms?"

"Four."

The man’s expression relaxed.

He turned toward the others.

"We stop here."

The quiet courtyard immediately became much less quiet.

Within minutes, twelve cultivators had entered Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Some chose tables while others remained outside to check the wagons and Ironhoof Beasts.

Su Mei moved between the occupied tables.

She poured tea, explained the available dishes, and collected orders.

In the kitchen, Lin Yuan worked at the stove.

Meat hissed against the pan.

Vegetables followed.

Another pot simmered nearby.

For once, Lin Yuan didn’t have to leave the kitchen every few minutes.

He didn’t need to carry dishes to the tables, refill tea, or stop cooking because someone wanted something.

Su Mei handled the front.

Lin Yuan handled the kitchen.

Nine customers had nearly overwhelmed him when Zhao Jian’s caravan first arrived.

Today there were twelve, and the work felt easier.

Hiring Su Mei was already proving worthwhile.

After the first dishes reached the tables, the caravan leader approached the kitchen.

"Owner."

Lin Yuan looked up.

"Need something?"

"Water. Enough for the road."

"Ordinary or Spirit-Touched?"

The man paused.

"There’s ordinary water too?"

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Cheaper. Good enough for your Ironhoof Beasts and normal use."

"And the other?"

"One low-grade spirit stone per large jug."

The man had already heard about it from Black River Trading Company.

"Bring two Spirit-Touched jugs. We’ll refill the rest with ordinary water."

"Su Mei."

She came over, and Lin Yuan explained what they needed.

The caravan had storage artifacts, of course. Most cultivators who traveled regularly did.

But storage space wasn’t endless.

For merchants, every large container of ordinary water carried inside a storage bag was space that couldn’t be used for valuable cargo. A reliable place to refill supplies made the shorter Blackstone route considerably more practical.

The Ironhoof Beasts alone consumed far more water than their riders.

That was where an actual roadside stop became useful.

The Spirit-Touched water was different.

Nobody needed it.

But when the first jug reached the table, the caravan leader still poured himself a cup.

He drank.

His expression changed slightly.

"There really is spiritual Qi."

A cultivator beside him reached for the jug.

The leader pulled it away.

"Get your own cup."

"It’s from the same caravan."

"And?"

The others laughed.

The water was clean and cool, with a faint trace of spiritual Qi.

It wasn’t enough to noticeably increase someone’s cultivation.

It was simply better water.

In the middle of Blackstone Wasteland, that was enough to make it worth buying for those willing to spend a little extra.

One of the younger cultivators leaned back after finishing his meal.

"The Qi inside the tavern is better too."

The caravan leader nodded.

"Black River mentioned that."

Su Mei was carrying empty bowls toward the kitchen when she heard him.

Her gaze briefly moved toward Lin Yuan.

Yesterday, she had only just arrived at Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Today, twelve cultivators were eating inside it because another trading company had recommended the place.

She returned to work.

The caravan remained for several hours.

Several travelers ordered more food before leaving.

Two bought wine for the road.

Their water containers were refilled, and the Ironhoof Beasts drank before being prepared for travel again.

By late afternoon, the caravan leader approached Lin Yuan.

"Zhao Jian said the owner was young."

"You know him?"

"We’ve traded a few times."

The man looked toward the road.

"We normally use the northern route."

"Longer."

"Much longer. But there are more places to stop."

His gaze moved toward the tavern.

"If we can refill supplies here, this route becomes easier."

That was exactly what Lin Yuan wanted.

He didn’t need travelers to depend on Wandering Cloud Tavern.

He only needed the tavern to make the Blackstone route more convenient than it had been before.

The man gave him a nod.

"We’ll stop again if we come through."

"You’re welcome anytime."

Soon, the Ironhoof Beasts began moving.

Four wagons rolled back onto the old trade road.

Dust rose behind them.

Lin Yuan watched until the caravan disappeared into the distance.

The tavern looked like it had actually been used.

Empty bowls covered two tables.

Several cups needed washing.

Chairs had been moved out of place.

Su Mei was already clearing the first table.

Lin Yuan joined her.

With two people, the work didn’t take long.

The caravan had spent eleven low-grade spirit stones in total.

Food, tea, wine, water, and other supplies.

A good reopening day.

Lin Yuan thought they were finished.

He was wrong.

The sun was sinking when three cultivators appeared on the eastern road.

They had no wagons.

All three traveled on foot, their clothes covered in dust from several days on the road.

When they saw the tavern, one of them pointed toward the sign.

"That’s it."

His companion looked at him.

"The place you heard about?"

"Should be."

That caught Lin Yuan’s attention.

The three approached.

"Are you still serving food?"

"Yes."

"And you have rooms?"

"Four."

The three exchanged looks.

"We’ll stay the night."

This time, Su Mei didn’t need Lin Yuan to tell her what to do.

She led them inside.

The three travelers ordered dinner, tea, and one jug of Spirit-Touched water between them.

They had their own supplies.

They simply preferred a hot meal after several days of traveling.

While Lin Yuan cooked, he heard one of them speaking to Su Mei.

"Someone at the southern market in Green River City mentioned this place."

Su Mei glanced toward the kitchen.

Lin Yuan heard it too.

Word had traveled farther than he’d expected.

When dinner was finished, Su Mei showed the three travelers upstairs.

Two shared one room while the third took another.

Fresh water was brought up.

The rooms were checked.

Extra bedding was prepared.

Lin Yuan remained downstairs the entire time.

He cleaned the kitchen and prepared ingredients for morning.

By the time Su Mei returned, everything upstairs had already been handled.

This was exactly why he’d hired someone.

Night settled over Blackstone Wasteland.

The tavern became quiet.

Lin Yuan was preparing to close the kitchen when footsteps came from the stairs.

One of the overnight guests came down.

"Owner."

Lin Yuan turned.

"Something wrong?"

"The opposite."

The cultivator glanced upstairs.

"The spiritual Qi is better inside the room too."

"The effect covers the building."

The man nodded thoughtfully.

"I noticed it downstairs, but it’s easier to feel when cultivating."

He looked around the quiet tavern.

"For a place in Blackstone, this isn’t bad."

Lin Yuan smiled.

"I’ll take that as praise."

"It was."

The cultivator returned upstairs.

Lin Yuan remained where he was.

The four rooms had always been there.

Until now, he’d mostly thought of them as beds for tired travelers.

But cultivators didn’t only sleep at night.

They cultivated.

The Minor Qi Gathering effect wasn’t particularly strong, yet compared with the thin spiritual Qi outside, the difference was obvious.

That made the rooms more valuable than he’d originally considered.

And perhaps, eventually, four rooms wouldn’t be enough.

By the time the tavern finally settled for the night, the three travelers had spent another five low-grade spirit stones.

Combined with the caravan, Wandering Cloud Tavern had earned sixteen low-grade spirit stones since reopening that morning.

A familiar interface appeared before Lin Yuan.

Territory Core

Owner: Lin Yuan

Territory: Blackstone Wasteland

Core State: Awakened

Core Level: 1

Spiritual Environment: Barren

Territory Revenue: 35 / 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Lin Yuan’s attention remained on the final line.

Thirty-five.

Yesterday, the tavern had been closed.

Today, fifteen cultivators had passed through its doors.

Three were still sleeping upstairs.

More importantly, two completely different groups had arrived because they’d heard about Wandering Cloud Tavern from somewhere else.

The old trade road hadn’t changed.

But the reason to use it was beginning to.

Lin Yuan dismissed the interface.

Su Mei walked out of the kitchen.

"Everything’s done."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Good."

She looked toward the stairs.

"Do people often stay overnight?"

"Not yet."

"Not yet?"

Lin Yuan looked around the tavern.

He thought about the caravan, the three travelers upstairs, and the empty land surrounding them.

"Maybe that’s changing."

Outside, Blackstone Wasteland remained as quiet as ever.

But along the old trade road, word of Wandering Cloud Tavern had begun to spread.