Chapter 159 - 160: The Offer

Chapter 159: Chapter 160: The Offer

Shi Feng looked at them with his sharp eyes moving slowly from Daniel to Paul to Lily to the drunk man on the floor, and his expression was calm and unreadable in the way that old men who had seen too much and done too much often wore their faces like masks.

"I wish you luck in the exam," he said.

Daniel nodded with the kind of casual confidence that made Paul want to sigh. "Thanks."

Shi Feng turned and walked toward the door with his slow, deliberate steps, and he stopped at the threshold and looked back over his shoulder with eyes that were sharp and measuring.

"Daniel," he said.

Daniel looked at him. "Yes?"

"Don’t disappoint me."

Daniel smiled a confident smile that suggested he had never disappointed anyone in his life and didn’t plan to start now. "I won’t."

Shi Feng nodded and walked out of the inn and disappeared into the night like a ghost or a memory or something in between.

Daniel stretched his arms above his head and felt his joints pop and his muscles relax with the kind of satisfaction that came from a job well done. "That went well," he said.

Paul stared at him with his mouth open and his eyes wide and the kind of disbelief that came from watching someone do something incredibly stupid and somehow get away with it. "Went well?" he repeated with his voice cracking. "You called a vice leader an old fart."

Daniel shrugged with the kind of casual indifference that made Paul want to scream. "He liked me."

"He liked you?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"He said he liked me."

"He said he liked your ambition. That’s not the same thing."

"It’s close enough."

Paul groaned and buried his face in his hands with the kind of defeated resignation that came from knowing there was no point in arguing with someone who was incapable of being argued with.

The door opened and Lyra walked in with Cheeky and Fluffy and Mittens and Brick Head following close behind, and they looked around at the destruction and the broken tables and the cracked walls and the debris on the floor with varying degrees of shock and confusion.

"What happened here?" Lyra asked.

Daniel shrugged. "A fight."

"A fight?"

"Yes."

"With who?"

"That guy." Daniel pointed at the drunk man on the floor with his broken body and his bleeding head.

Lyra looked at him with her eyes sharp and measuring. "Is he dead?"

"I don’t know. Maybe."

Lyra sighed and looked at Paul. "What happened?" she asked.

Paul shook his head. "It’s a long story."

"We have time."

"Okay. Daniel called a vice leader an old fart. The vice leader liked him. Now we’re going to take the exam."

Lyra stared at him with her mouth open and her eyes wide and the kind of confusion that came from hearing something so absurd that it couldn’t possibly be true. "What?"

"It’s a long story."

"You just told me the short version."

"The long version is longer."

Lyra sighed and looked at Daniel. "Is this true?" she asked.

Daniel nodded. "Yes."

"You called a vice leader an old fart?"

"Yes."

"And he liked you?"

"Yes."

Lyra was silent as she thought about it and processed it and tried to make sense of something that made no sense at all. "You’re insane," she said.

Daniel smiled. "I know."

Brick Head spoke with his voice loud and confused. "Where are we going to sleep?" he asked.

Paul looked at him. "Here. Of course."

Brick Head blinked. "Here? At the inn?"

"Yes."

"But we’re broke."

Paul looked at Daniel and Daniel looked at Paul and they both shared the kind of look that came from knowing exactly how broke they were.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "We’re broke. I gave the caravan guy all the silver."

Paul sighed. "Of course you did."

Daniel shrugged. "We needed to get here."

"I know. But now we have no money."

"I know."

"And we need to sleep somewhere."

"I know."

"And we need to eat."

"I know."

Paul groaned and buried his face in his hands with the kind of defeated resignation that came from knowing there was nothing he could do to fix the situation.

Lily spoke with her voice quiet and hesitant but also warm and genuine. "You can stay at my house," she said.

Everyone looked at her with their eyes wide and their mouths open.

"Your house?" Daniel asked.

Lily nodded. "Yes. I have a small house. It’s not much. But it’s warm. And it’s safe."

"We can’t—" Paul started.

"I want to," Lily said with her voice firm and her eyes determined. "You helped me. You saved me. It’s the least I can do."

Daniel looked at her with her kind face and her gentle eyes and her warm smile, and he felt something warm in his chest. "Thank you," he said.

Lily nodded. "You’re welcome."

She paused. "I have to close the inn in six hours. You can go out and come back then."

Daniel nodded. "Okay."

He looked at the others and his team and his family and his friends. "I’m going to go check out the city," he said. "Fluffy, Cheeky, Mittens. You’re with me."

Fluffy’s tail wagged with excitement. "Fluffy is going with Master!"

Cheeky nodded. "Okay."

Mittens nodded nervously. "Okay."

Daniel looked at Lyra. "You stay here. With Paul. And Brick Head."

Lyra blinked. "Why?"

"Because you’re human. They’re not." He gestured at Fluffy and Cheeky and Mittens. "People might stare. They might ask questions. They might cause trouble."

Lyra nodded slowly. "Okay."

Daniel looked at Brick Head. "You stay here too."

Brick Head puffed out his chest. "Why?"

"Because you’re an idiot."

Brick Head blinked. "That’s fair."

Daniel walked toward the door with Fluffy and Cheeky and Mittens following close behind, and he stopped and looked back.

"We’ll be back in a few hours," he said. "Don’t cause any trouble."

Paul nodded. "We won’t."

Lyra nodded. "We won’t."

Brick Head nodded with enthusiasm. "We won’t!"

Daniel looked at him. "I don’t believe you."

Brick Head grinned. "That’s fair."

Daniel shook his head and walked out of the inn with the others following, and they walked through the streets of a city that was busy and loud and alive with the kind of energy that came from people who were living their lives and pursuing their dreams.

Daniel walked in front with his hands in his pockets and his expression calm and his eyes curious.

Fluffy walked beside him small and quick and quiet as a shadow.

Cheeky walked behind him with her cloak pulled low and her hood covering her ears, hiding but also smiling.

Mittens walked beside Cheeky nervous and scared but present.

Daniel looked around at the buildings and the people and the stalls and saw a city that was nice and busy and prosperous.

He smiled a warm and genuine smile. "Let’s see what this city has to offer," he said.