The Innkeeper - Chapter 2257: Guest House I

Chapter 2257: Guest House I

Leaving a safe city and stable job so abruptly did not really take Pearl by surprise. This was not the first time they were running away, after all. What did confuse her was that instead of running and hiding in another city, or leaving everything behind to erase their traces in the wilderness, as they had done in past years, they were… opening up an inn called the Guest House, or something like that.

Over the past few months, the numbness Pearl had been feeling had started to fade away, and her emotions started to come back, if only a bit. She still had no hope. The way she saw it, they were simply enjoying their final days before being caught.

Although she did not quite understand what River was thinking, she did not question him. It wasn’t that she was naturally submissive – it was just that most of the drive in her had faded. Now, she just went through life as it came.

River, on the other hand, spoke excitedly about their future, promising bold claims. The Guest House would be an amazing adventure, in his words, and she merely agreed.

The person they had rescued was actually the City Lord of Blue Stone city, and the son of Duke Quaz. Not only had he agreed to hand over a deed for the land to River, he had also granted him help in building the Guest House, with a promise to visit it once it was complete.

The man was amiable and friendly, but more than that, he was incredibly sharp. He was not simply grateful that River had helped out, but also saw tremendous potential in investing in River’s future – though that was obviously not something he shared openly like that. Of course, what the City Lord did not know was one of the reasons his impression of River was so great was because of Lex’s tiny interference.

So, as River and Pearl sat on the leading carriage, looking forward to their future, a small caravan followed, filled with carpenters, builders, laborers and architects.

Even the supplies for a small set up were provided by the City Lord, though if River could provide more himself then the size of the building could grow.

During this entire time, Cliff had only appeared once, and even that was to transmit a very specific set of instructions about the location of the construction, and the design. To be specific, Cliff required a basement, and everything else was irrelevant.

Although Pearl was sceptical, the days that followed were genuinely very fulfilling. The two of them befriended all the craftsmen, and from start to finish worked with them in the construction of the Guest House, instead of simply standing and watching over as typical lords do.

At nights they camped around a fire, in the mornings they hunted some wild game, and during the day they worked. The days were fulfilling and rewarding, until just a week before the Guest House was complete.

Cliff showed up, and told River to go to a specific location nearby that was about an hour’s jog away. It was in the middle of the wilderness, far away from the road with no signs of any civilization nearby. Then he was told to dig.

After about three hours, River dug until suddenly his shovel hit something that sounded like a box. After some investigation, it turned out to be a wooden box, buried in the ground for an unknown number of years. Upon opening it, he found one gold coin and a dozen silver coins.

River was stunned. All the wealth he’d handled his entire life, if accumulated, might barely match the contents of the box.

The gold was spent on acquiring a list of materials that Cliff required, while the silver was left as funds for River and Pearl to use once the Guest House was opened. Without any staff, they would be the ones who would have to work and do everything, so at least they wouldn’t need to pay a salary.

The location of the Guest House wasn’t bad. The intersection was between three great cities the size of Blue Stone city, as well as one mining town.

In short, the road saw decent traffic most days so getting guests should not be too hard. However, this far from the cities, they were vulnerable to attacks from wild animals, and the occasional bandit.

River assured everyone by tapping on the shield in his left arm – and the one he wore on his back, and the one he wore on his right arm – that he would be fine. He’d given up the sword – calling it too flimsy – and instead chosen the route of bashing people with shields after his last success.

Lex, however, had long stopped paying attention to River’s antics. He was convinced that the boy had fallen on his head at some point while escaping from his enemies, and forgave him for having extravagant ideas. Not like he could buy a glock to fight against cultivators in the Land of Rivers.

Building the Guest House here was a decent excuse, because underneath it, in the basement, Lex arranged a formation using the materials he had River buy using the gold coin.

Using all of the spirit energy he’d accumulated so far, Lex set up the formation, and linked it to the trapped node of spiritual energy within this land. The formation would gather the spiritual energy within it, and Lex would be able to absorb it from the necklace even if he wasn’t in the basement itself. He merely needed proximity.

This was a good first step, as it would expedite his recovery by a great amount. However, it was only the first step. What he needed to decide now was… should he keep using River and Pearl to navigate this land, or should he go off on his own once he had enough energy?

While he tried to figure out his next steps, the Guest House was finally complete. All the workers bid them farewell and left for the city once more, leaving River and Pearl with only the supplies they ordered for the Guest House, leaving the two of them alone.