Chapter 285 - 153: Words as Precious as Gold (Part 2)

But to find clear answers to these questions...

’It’s best to wait until I find Tang Shiqing and the old wine drunkard and have them explain it to me in person.’

As for Tang Huayi... their relationship was now truly complicated, a tangled mess of threads. Jiang Ran couldn’t bring himself to use any real force against her.

So, for the time being, the matter was left at that.

’Still, as long as I have her in my grasp, I’m not worried about failing to get what I want in the end.’

Just like that, the night passed.

The next morning, Jiang Ran made a trip to the county yamen.

When he returned, he had collected a hefty sum of reward silver.

He was really starting to think this Assassin’s Order was a wonderful thing.

With this order, a head was whoever he said it was.

It made things far too convenient.

When he got back to the inn, he found Tang Huayi acting as if nothing was wrong.

She had once again used the Heavenly Mechanism Star Shifting Great Transformation Skill to change her appearance back to that of ’Li Tianxin’.

She was sitting at a table, drinking tea and chatting idly with the Great Master and Luo Qingyi.

Ruan Yuqing wasn’t in the main hall; she was likely resting in her room.

Jiang Ran had Luo Qingyi call Ruan Yuqing down.

Then he took out the silver notes and started dividing the spoils on the spot.

It was Ruan Yuqing’s first time seeing this, and she quickly waved her hands in refusal.

"No, really, I have enough silver to get by."

"Don’t be a fool. Take it. Don’t try to save him money, he’s loaded."

Tang Huayi snatched the silver notes and placed them in front of Ruan Yuqing.

Then she went to take some for herself, but was slapped on the back of the hand by Jiang Ran.

Tang Huayi stared blankly at Jiang Ran.

"What was that for?"

"Don’t you know how much work you actually did?"

Jiang Ran gave her a sidelong glance. "Do you have the gall to take any of this money?"

"I..."

Tang Huayi thought for a moment and realized that aside from helping to stop those ’Evil Ghosts’ controlled by the Soul-Loss Gu, she hadn’t done anything else at all.

Although she had killed both the Ghost Chef and Prince Yu, the problem was... those two weren’t worth any money.

In the end, she could only pout, grab a plate of peanuts, and start munching on them furiously.

’She had figured things out by now. Anyway, Jiang Ran won’t let me die.’

’He only poisoned me to keep me from running away. I might as well just accept it. Eat what I should eat, drink what I should drink.’

’After all, my reasons for following Jiang Ran are to protect him and to make sure he doesn’t go chasing skirts.’

’As for the latter, I didn’t really have the right to say anything before.’

’But now that my cover’s blown, I don’t have to hold back anymore.’

’When I need to say something, I’ll say it, as long as no one else can hear.’

’Thinking about it, this is actually much more convenient than before.’

After splitting the money with Luo Qingyi and Ruan Yuqing, Jiang Ran also started to eat and drink.

They were only halfway through their meal when an uproar erupted outside.

"What on earth are you doing?"

That was the waiter, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Following the sound, they saw a man dressed in black standing in front of the door, completely blocking the inn’s entrance.

He neither came in nor moved aside.

As a result, guests coming and going had to take the long way around.

The waiter had noticed him, and figuring this wasn’t right, went over to see what he wanted.

He asked if he was there for a meal or a room, but the man remained silent.

Seeing this, the waiter got a little annoyed.

That’s why he had angrily shouted his question.

However, the man paid the waiter no mind, acting as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

The waiter clapped his hands together in frustration.

"Fine, fine, fine. I don’t know what kind of riffraff you are."

"You’ve got guts, you do. Just you wait right here!"

After saying this, he turned and rushed into the inn.

A moment later, he emerged again with a group of people trailing behind him.

Jiang Ran almost laughed when he saw them.

It looked like he’d rounded up everyone: the cooks from the back kitchen, the woodchopper, the vegetable washer, and the dishwasher.

There were even two elderly aunties, probably the ones responsible for washing the guest room bedding.

The most intimidating one in the whole group was a fat, big-eared chef wielding a large butcher’s cleaver.

"That’s him!"

The waiter pointed a finger, looking for all the world like a bullied child who’d run to get his parents.

A scene like this was a rare sight indeed.

Jiang Ran and the others forgot to eat, watching with rapt attention.

The Great Master, on the other hand, just kept shaking his head, looking utterly exasperated.

The man didn’t even look up, continuing to ignore them.

The chef let out a vicious laugh.

"Where did this punk crawl out from, daring to cause trouble at our inn?"

"Haven’t you asked around the neighboring towns and villages who I, Old Li, am?"

"Back in the day, I was a cook in a bandit stronghold! This cleaver has been with me for over a decade. I’ve chopped up cows, sheep, and pigs with it—and I’ve chopped up men, too!"

"Kid, if you leave now, I’ll let this go."

"If you don’t, we’ll see what’s harder—your head or my blade!"

At his words, the crowd’s spirits were instantly lifted.

They were rolling up their sleeves, ready to watch someone get cut down.

But the man remained unmoved.

Chef Li’s brow furrowed. He glanced around, suddenly finding himself in an awkward spot with no easy way to back down.

He immediately grunted.

"Fine, fine, fine! You refuse the path to heaven and choose to barge through the gates of hell!"

"Then you’ll see what Old Li is made of!"

With that, he let out a battle cry.

He then rushed forward, eyes squeezed shut, and brought the cleaver down in a wild chop.

The chop was, frankly, a mess.

It had no technique, no Inner Strength, and absolutely no aim. Halfway through the swing, he seemed to regret it; he tried to pull the blade back, his wrist trembling as if he was about to lose his grip.

A gasp went through the crowd.

Chef Li quickly opened his eyes.

But his hands felt empty. He quickly looked around.