Chapter 9: The First Employee

The next morning, Lin Yuan arrived at the southern gate earlier than necessary.

Green River City was already busy.

Merchant wagons waited outside the walls while cultivators and ordinary travelers passed through the gates.

Lin Yuan found the meeting place and waited.

Su Mei hadn’t agreed to take the job.

If she didn’t come, he would return to Blackstone Wasteland alone and find someone else another time.

Still, having another pair of hands would make reopening the tavern much easier.

A quarter of an hour passed.

Then Lin Yuan spotted a familiar figure among the people leaving the city.

Su Mei walked toward him with a cloth bag over one shoulder.

Lin Yuan looked at the bag.

"So you decided to come."

"I decided to see the place."

"Good enough."

Su Mei stopped in front of him.

"Three low-grade spirit stones a month. Food and lodging included."

"Yes."

"And the spiritual Qi is better than the surrounding wasteland."

"Yes."

She nodded.

"If the place is completely different from what you described, you bring me back."

"Agreed."

That settled it.

Lin Yuan took out his wooden flying artifact.

Su Mei looked at the narrow wooden board.

Then at him.

"This is your flying artifact?"

"It works."

She examined the faded formation patterns.

"It looks old."

"It still works."

After a brief hesitation, Su Mei stepped onto the board behind him.

Her belongings went into Lin Yuan’s storage bag.

Lin Yuan circulated his spiritual Qi.

The formation patterns flickered to life, and the board slowly rose from the ground.

Su Mei immediately lowered her stance.

Lin Yuan glanced back.

"First time?"

"Just fly."

Lin Yuan smiled and turned east.

The wooden board accelerated away from Green River City.

The return journey took longer with two people.

The extra weight increased the spiritual Qi required to control the flying artifact, forcing Lin Yuan to rest more frequently.

Green fields gradually disappeared.

Villages became rare.

Then the earth turned grey and vegetation thinned until Blackstone Wasteland stretched around them.

Su Mei had been curious during the first part of the journey.

By the third day, she mostly stared at the empty landscape.

On the fourth, she finally spoke.

"You really weren’t exaggerating about the wasteland."

"I didn’t think I was."

"There’s nothing here."

"There’s cheap land."

Su Mei looked at him.

Lin Yuan kept his attention ahead.

Before long, the old trade road appeared in the distance.

He adjusted their direction.

A few structures slowly came into view.

The courtyard.

The crooked tree.

The stable.

And Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Lin Yuan lowered the flying artifact.

They landed near the road.

Su Mei stepped down and looked around.

Her gaze moved from the tavern to the empty wasteland surrounding it.

"This is it?"

"Wandering Cloud Tavern."

She looked at the building again.

From the outside, there wasn’t much to admire.

It was still an old roadside tavern standing almost alone in Blackstone Wasteland.

Lin Yuan walked toward the entrance.

Then he noticed the ground.

Footprints.

Several sets.

Wheel marks were visible near the road as well.

Lin Yuan stopped.

Someone had visited while he was gone.

Judging by the tracks, probably more than one group.

His eyes moved toward the sign beside the entrance.

Temporarily Closed.

Leaving for Green River City had cost him some business.

But the tracks also meant travelers were beginning to notice the tavern.

Another reason hiring someone had been necessary.

Lin Yuan removed the sign.

He unlocked the doors.

"We’re back."

Su Mei followed him inside.

Then stopped.

Lin Yuan continued for several steps before noticing she wasn’t behind him.

He turned.

Su Mei stood near the doorway, quietly looking around.

Six tables filled the main room.

Twenty-four seats.

A counter stood near one wall.

The furnishings were simple, but everything remained remarkably clean after more than a week without anyone inside.

More importantly, the spiritual Qi was different.

After several days traveling through Blackstone Wasteland, even Su Mei could immediately feel it.

She took a slow breath.

"The Qi really is better."

"I told you."

Su Mei stepped farther inside.

Her fingers brushed across one of the tables.

Almost no dust.

She looked around once more.

For the first time since leaving Green River City, some of the doubt on her face disappeared.

Lin Yuan headed toward the kitchen.

Everything was still in place.

The Spirit-Assisted Kitchen Stove was intact, and the supplies he’d left behind remained undisturbed.

He began taking out the new ingredients he’d bought in Green River City.

Su Mei joined him.

"Where do these go?"

Lin Yuan pointed toward the storage shelves.

"Rice and flour there. Tea on the upper shelf. Wine stays near the back."

Su Mei nodded and started organizing.

Lin Yuan watched for a moment.

He had spent weeks doing everything himself.

Cooking.

Serving.

Cleaning.

Preparing rooms.

Carrying supplies.

Even something as simple as having another person put things away felt strange.

Useful, though.

Very useful.

He left Su Mei to finish and stepped into the courtyard.

The Spirit-Touched Well stood beneath the crooked tree.

Lin Yuan lowered the bucket and drew fresh water.

When he returned to the kitchen, he placed a cup beside Su Mei.

She picked it up and drank without much thought.

Then stopped.

Her eyes dropped to the cup.

She took another sip.

"There is spiritual Qi in the water."

"A little."

Su Mei looked toward the courtyard.

"From that well?"

"Yes."

"You use this for the tavern?"

"Drinking. Tea. Cooking. Customers can also buy it by the jug."

Su Mei looked into the cup again.

"How much?"

"One low-grade spirit stone for a large jug."

This time, she didn’t question the price.

After traveling across Blackstone Wasteland, Lin Yuan suspected she understood why travelers would pay for it.

She finished the water.

"The tavern makes more sense now."

"I told you people understand after they arrive."

Su Mei gave him a look but returned to the supplies.

Lin Yuan stepped back into the courtyard.

His attention moved toward the damaged wall.

That was next.

Repairing the wall took most of the afternoon.

The Stonehide Wolf had broken part of it, but years of neglect had weakened the surrounding sections as well.

Lin Yuan removed loose stones and rebuilt the damaged area.

There was no shortage of stone in Blackstone Wasteland.

The proper tools and binding materials he’d bought in Green River City made the work much easier.

His eighth-layer cultivation helped with the heavier pieces.

While Lin Yuan worked outside, Su Mei cleaned the guest rooms, organized the new supplies, and prepared the tavern for reopening.

Neither needed much from the other.

By late afternoon, Lin Yuan fitted the final stone into place.

He stepped back and inspected his work.

It wasn’t beautiful.

But the wall was whole again.

A familiar sensation appeared in his mind.

Lin Yuan’s attention shifted.

The Territory Core responded.

A translucent interface appeared.

Courtyard Wall

Condition: Usable

Quality: Ordinary

Enhancement Available

Cost: 10 Low-Grade Spirit Stones

Ten stones.

Lin Yuan currently had forty-two.

His gaze moved across the repaired wall.

After what happened with the Stonehide Wolf, ten spirit stones seemed like a reasonable price.

Lin Yuan made his decision.

Enhance.

Ten low-grade spirit stones disappeared from his storage bag.

A faint vibration passed through the wall.

Loose sections settled.

Small gaps between the stones tightened as spiritual Qi spread through the structure.

The change lasted only a short while.

When it ended, the wall looked almost the same.

But Lin Yuan could feel the difference.

The Territory Core changed.

Reinforced Courtyard Wall

Quality: Low Spirit Grade

Effect:

Structural Reinforcement — Significantly increased durability

Next Enhancement: Unavailable

Requires Core Level 2

Lin Yuan placed a hand against the stone.

Solid.

Much better.

It wouldn’t stop a truly powerful cultivator or spirit beast.

But another Stonehide Wolf wouldn’t break through it so easily.

Thirty-two low-grade spirit stones remained.

Lin Yuan dismissed the interface.

The courtyard was secure again.

Now the tavern could reopen.

By sunset, the last guest room had been cleaned.

Fresh ingredients filled the kitchen.

Wine had been stored.

Water had been drawn.

The tables downstairs were ready.

Su Mei came down from the second floor carrying a folded cloth.

"Everything upstairs is done."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Good."

She looked toward the entrance.

"What now?"

"Now we eat."

Su Mei paused.

"And tomorrow?"

Lin Yuan picked up the old Temporarily Closed sign.

He carried it outside and set it beside the wall.

Then he turned the main sign toward the road.

Wandering Cloud Tavern

Food — Water — Wine — Rooms

After more than a week away, the tavern was ready again.

Lin Yuan looked down the old trade road.

Several groups had already stopped here while he’d been gone.

Perhaps Zhao Jian’s recommendation had begun to spread.

Perhaps they had simply noticed the roadside sign.

Either way, travelers were coming.

Tomorrow, Wandering Cloud Tavern would open again.

This time, Lin Yuan wouldn’t be running it alone.