The inn looked like it was already closed for the night. The tables were wiped clean, and chairs were overturned on them. While Kuqa Street was bustling with activity, this largest establishment on the street was deserted.

The inn worker looked at the spirited young woman in fiery red before him. Recalling that she had understood all the argot he had just spoken, his face burned with embarrassment.

Seeing the worker lost in thought, Zhang Xia waved her hand in front of him. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

The worker furtively looked back at the innkeeper.

The innkeeper pushed aside the abacus and ledger on the counter. He strode powerfully out from behind it, cupped his hands, and said, “It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. Please forgive my young worker’s inexperience; he made a fool of himself by showing off in front of you esteemed guests. According to jianghu rules, if one tries to play tricks in front of a master and gets caught, one must stab oneself to settle the score…”

The innkeeper was a middle-aged man dressed in a black short-sleeved martial arts outfit. He looked less like an innkeeper and more like a hardened escort chief who had traveled far and wide. His face was ruddy, his temples bulged, and his voice boomed like a bell. Clearly, he was a martial artist.

The strange couplet, the argot used for entry, and the innkeeper being a martial artist made this Dragon Gate Inn unusually mysterious.

The room was warm. Chen Ji took off his heavy cloak from his shoulders and draped it over his arm. He said calmly, “There’s no need to stab yourself. Since the innkeeper is being so straightforward, we have no intention of holding a grudge.”

The young worker sighed in relief.

The innkeeper pondered for a moment. “I’ll make the decision,” he said. “How about I waive your room fees?”

At this, Chen Ji shook his head. “We plan to stay for a long time, and I fear the innkeeper would regret it if we stayed too long with no charge,” he said. “There’s no need to waive the fees. Just prepare three rooms for us…”

Zhang Zheng quickly interrupted, “Just one. Prepare one ‘Earth’ character room for us. We’ll just need a few extra blankets, and we’ll pay more.”

The worker asked, puzzled, “We still have plenty of empty rooms in our inn.”

The innkeeper pressed down on the worker’s shoulder and said with a smile, “The customer is always right. Whatever rooms our guests want, we will prepare for them; don’t talk nonsense. However, since you’re so generous, it wouldn’t be right for my Dragon Gate Inn to be unappreciative. How about I arrange for you to have a ‘Heaven’ character Room A, but charge you the price of an ‘Earth’ character Room A?”

Zhang Zheng lowered his voice to a whisper. “We said it’s fine, so why is he still insisting?” he asked.

Zhang Xia replied, “This is jianghu etiquette. Only by accepting this favor will the matter be considered settled. After this, we can’t bring it up again outside, so as not to cause the Dragon Gate Inn to lose face.”

“I see…”

Zhang Xia cupped her hands like a man and chuckled. “If we decline again, we’d be disrespecting the innkeeper,” she said. “We accept your kindness and will stay in the ‘Heaven’ character room.”

The innkeeper politely cupped his hands. “Thank you for your generosity,” he said. “Little Six, lead the guests to ‘Heaven’ character Room A.”

“Yes,” Little Six responded. He bowed and said to Chen Ji and the others, “Guests, please follow me.”

His footsteps creaked on the wooden floor of the inn.

Just as they were about to ascend the wooden stairs, Chen Ji suddenly pricked up his ears. He seemed to hear a scraping sound coming from beneath the floor, like a sharp metal object rubbing back and forth on a whetstone.

Chen Ji’s footsteps halted, and the grinding sound from below also ceased.

Little Six, standing halfway up the stairs, turned back. “Is something wrong, guests?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Chen Ji said with a smile. He then lifted his foot and followed.

Once Chen Ji and the others reached the second floor, someone agilely dropped down from the shadows on the rafters, landing lightly beside the innkeeper.

It was a lame worker, holding a cleaver in his hand. “Innkeeper,” he asked, “are they officials? Or secret agents?”

The innkeeper squinted, looking toward the end of the stairs. “Unlikely,” he said. “Officials aren’t usually so easy to deal with.”

“What about the eunuch faction?”

The innkeeper, with his hands behind his back, pondered for a moment. “If they were the eunuch faction, they would simply overturn my inn; they wouldn’t pretend to be guests,” he said. “You’ve seen the eunuch faction in Guyuan City; they are the least disciplined.”

“Then where are they from?”

The innkeeper thought for a long time but couldn’t come up with an answer. “Recently, there have been many strange characters in Guyuan,” he said. “Who knows where they came from?”

The worker tentatively asked, “Spies from the Jing Dynasty?”

The innkeeper’s eyes flickered. “Doesn’t seem like it,” he said. “But tomorrow, go out and do some reconnaissance. These people seem new to Guyuan; maybe someone you know saw them entering the city. But be careful not to fall into the hands of these ‘crossing-the-river dragons’.”

The worker asked, confused, “Those people don’t look particularly troublesome.”

The innkeeper said calmly, “What’s a ‘crossing-the-river dragon’? A ‘crossing-the-river dragon’ is someone who clearly sees that this place is unusual, yet still dares to walk in.”

The man quietly asked, “What are they here for?”

The innkeeper returned behind the counter and said unhurriedly, “Guests who come to my Dragon Gate Inn must have heard rumors and have something they seek. No hurry, I won’t look for them. They’ll come looking for me eventually, and then we’ll know.”

Just then, the heavy cotton curtain was pulled aside, and a blast of cold air rushed in, causing the inn’s candlelight to flicker wildly.

The worker turned and said, “Guests, are you staying the night or… Third Master! What a rare guest, weren’t you in the capital?”

The newcomer was a middle-aged man with a long saber at his waist. His left eye was blind, only the white of the eye remaining in its socket, giving him a formidable and ruthless appearance.

He brushed dust off his clothes, pulled a copper coin from his sleeve, and flung it through the air at the innkeeper with sharp force.

The innkeeper leaned back slightly and deftly caught the coin between two fingers right before his nose. He held the coin up to examine it, seeing the characters “Lantern Fire” cast upon it.

The innkeeper asked with piercing eyes, “Third Master, has the Supervisor returned to Guyuan?”

Third Master calmly replied, “You’re getting more and more out of line. Is the Supervisor’s business something you can inquire about?”

The innkeeper’s face darkened. “I only address you as Third Master out of courtesy,” he retorted. “If you weren’t serving beside the Supervisor, what would you be? When you were under the General, you were just a defeated subordinate. I merely asked if the Supervisor had returned to Guyuan; why are you getting so agitated?”

Third Master sneered. “Put away your petty thoughts,” he said. “The Supervisor is not someone you can scheme about. If you break the rules again, I will kill you.”

The innkeeper scoffed, rolling up his sleeves to his forearms. “You?”

Third Master’s left hand rested on his saber hilt. “Want to try?” he challenged.

In the tense standoff, the worker hurriedly stepped in to mediate. “Gentlemen,” he said, “there are still many guests in the inn. Please don’t disturb them, or both of you will face punishment from the Supervisor. Innkeeper, Third Master brought the ‘Lantern Fire’ coin, so he must have important business.”

The innkeeper was silent for a few breaths, then lowered his sleeves. “Alright,” he said lazily, “what business brings you to my Dragon Gate Inn?”

Third Master asked coldly, “A few people just entered your inn. Arrange them in the room next door to me. Remember, don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask, and don’t say what you shouldn’t say.”

The innkeeper cast a suspicious glance upstairs, then turned back and asked, “Wait, who are these people that *you* are here to observe? Is this your business, or the Supervisor’s?”

Third Master did not answer.

The innkeeper asked again, “Do you want them killed, or do they carry something the Supervisor desires? If they have something the Supervisor wants, I’ll kill them in the middle of the night, retrieve it, and send it to the Supervisor.”

Third Master said impatiently, “Are you ever going to finish? The Supervisor isn’t in Guyuan; I came back alone.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier!” The innkeeper suddenly waved his hand dismissively and didn’t spare another glance. “Little Five, take ‘Thirdy’ to ‘Heaven’ character Room B. Oh, and later, tell the guest in ‘Earth’ character Room C to get up; it’s time to send him on his way.”

Third Master’s eyebrows twitched at the informal address “Thirdy,” but he ultimately said nothing.

In ‘Heaven’ character Room A, Xiaoman was squatting on the floor, spreading out a mattress. Zhang Zheng sat bored on a nearby chair, using iron tongs to poke at the newly lit charcoal in the brazier.

Xiaoman glared at him. “What are you doing?” she snapped. “Make your own bed!”

Zhang Zheng lazily said, “Can’t you help me make it?”

Xiaoman shot him a look. “I’m the young master’s maid, not yours,” she retorted.

Zhang Zheng’s eyes widened. “Why are you always so annoyed with me,” he complained, “always speaking with such sharp remarks?”

Xiaoman smoothed out the mattress with both hands and said unhurriedly, “Someone who frequents pleasure houses expects others to speak kindly to them? Don’t you dare corrupt my young master.”

Zhang Zheng quickly explained, “When did I ever frequent pleasure houses? What I meant was that I disdain those courtesans! Although my brothers enjoy such things, I keep myself pure.”

Xiaoman scoffed, “Right, right, right. In a pot of cooked rice, you’re the only uncooked grain.”

Zhang Zheng opened his mouth, but for a long moment, no words came out.

Zhang Xia, by the window, turned her head. “Are you two incompatible?” she asked. “Why are you always arguing… Shh!”

As she spoke, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Chen Ji, originally holding Wuyun, stood by the window frame, silently looking out through a gap. At this moment, he suddenly turned around, his gaze following the sound, as if he could see the figure in the corridor through the door and wall.

The next moment, a creak came from next door. Someone pushed open a door and entered the room, and then there was silence.

Zhang Xia dipped her finger in the teacup and wrote on the table: “A guest of Dragon Gate Inn?”

Chen Ji frowned and shook his head. He also dipped his finger in water and wrote: “We just moved into Room A, and someone immediately moved into Room B? Be careful; walls have ears.”

Zhang Xia nodded, then turned and whispered instructions to Zhang Zheng and Xiaoman.

Chen Ji turned around and directed his gaze back out the window.

The ‘Heaven’ character rooms were on the third floor of Dragon Gate Inn, making it the highest point in Guyuan City. He gazed into the distance, even able to see fires flickering on the distant city walls and border soldiers moving about like tiny black ants.

Inside the city walls, squat earthen houses were scattered haphazardly. And occasionally, figures of powerful individuals could be seen leaping across the densely packed rooftops.

His gaze then shifted closer. The Dragon Gate Inn had a spacious backyard, complete with stables, woodshed, kitchen, and cowshed. The sounds of singing and drinking games drifted over from the brothel next door.

Xiaoman finished spreading the blankets and walked over to Chen Ji, lowering her voice. “Young Master,” she said, “shouldn’t you rest early?”

Chen Ji shook his head. He took a teacup, dipped his finger in water, and wrote on the window frame, “You all sleep first. I’ll take the first half of the night, and Xiaoman, you take the second half.”

Xiaoman’s heart leaped. “Huh? Me?”

She immediately felt a pang of guilt. *Strange*, she thought. *With a big man like Zhang Zheng here, why would the Young Master ask me to stand guard? Has the Young Master figured something out? Has he discovered my official identity? What else has he discovered?*

Many jumbled thoughts flashed through Xiaoman’s mind. She had originally intended to probe her young master, but his single sentence had thrown her off balance.

Night deepened.

Zhang Xia made a makeshift bed on the floor and slept in the inner room. Zhang Zheng slept with his head tilted on a floor bed in the outer room. The Eight Immortals table inside had been moved aside to make space for sleeping. Ultimately, no one slept on the beds; they all slept on the floor.

Xiaoman moved a small chair and sat by the brazier, completely awake. Chen Ji stared out the window, while her round eyes watched Chen Ji’s back, lost in thought.

By this time, even the singing from the brothel next door had ceased. But Chen Ji’s gaze was fixed, and he suddenly seemed invigorated.

In the darkness, a worker stealthily emerged from the octagonal building. Behind him, he led a corpulent man with a large head and big ears, dressed in silk. The two made their way toward the stables.

Once inside the stables, a thatched shed obscured the view, and Chen Ji could no longer see them.

Moments later, the worker emerged from the stables, cautiously scanning his surroundings. After a while, confirming that all was clear, he tightened his collar against the cold wind, blew on his hands, rubbed them together, and returned to the octagonal building.

The corpulent man with the large head and big ears had vanished forever in the stables.