Peerless ( Meng Xi Shi )

Qiemo was a place where varying sorts of people gathered from all across the lands; tourist centers alone were ample in number, but so were incidents where competitors fought each other for customers. The guide knew about this, so he often used this excuse to bring tourist groups here in order to earn some extra income from commissions. An inn like the Tianyu Inn was filled with both people from the legal and illegal factions. Therefore, it's very common for them to lose an item or two. As long as everyone's lives were in safe hands, it was already quite a mass bit of luck. A great many merchants came here to live hoping for a peaceful stay rather than one filled with incidents. Even if some of their valuables went missing, they would simply pretend that they've dropped them somewhere. Nothing would be reported to the bureau, and even if it was, no action would be taken. Magistrate Gao Yi could not and wouldn't be able to interfere in affairs that took place in Duan Qigu's territory, neither was he willing to.

Although Cui Buqu and his group were not a lot of people, they had looked quite wealthy from the way they were dressed. In other words, they were sitting ducks waiting to be deprived of their valuables.

Perhaps it was because Cui Buqu and his group had been keeping an incredibly low profile, the guide underestimated them only to realize they were not easy pushovers.

He was dragged into a dark alley. After he had listened to Cui Buqu's words and had seen Qian Xian's expressionless face in the shadows looking like she would be committing murder anytime soon, his legs shivered under his weight against his will.

"Please spare me! I know I am wrong and have misjudged, but I have a family to feed and I was also forced against my will. How could I fight against them?! Please give me another chance, I would definitely bring you to a clean inn this time!"

Qiao Xian coldly glared at him. "Humour us if you want business, but if we find out that you cheated us again..."

A flash flickered in her gaze, blinding the tour guide. He came to realize that the flash had come from a dagger and was frightened into tears.

"To be truthful with you, now is the beginning of spring; the road is cold, and there are a lot of inns occupied in this city. The bigger inns were all already fully occupied, the only one with empty rooms were..." the guide cried.

Qiao Xian furrowed her eyebrows and turned around to look at Cui Buqu.

Those who could run an inn here were definitely people with a significant amount of power. The Zuoyue Bureau owned a secret stronghold in this city that was used to pass messages around, but it was never meant to be an inn, so it was an inappropriate place for them to live in.

At this moment the guide appeared to have remembered something. "I know there is an inn that might still have some empty rooms, only..."

Qian Xian impatiently said: "Don't stutter when you speak!"

The guide cried again, "It's cursed, though!"

Squeezing his throat, Feng Xiao exclaimed in a high-pitched voice: "How messy and rowdy this Tianyu inn is! There are sooooooo many people going in and out. I know it would smell with just a single look. Your wife, I would never be used to a place such as this! My husband, surely you wouldn't believe in bad luck? Why don't we take a look in the other inn?"

Cui Buqu gave him a hard, cold gaze that meant: If you want to see the cursed inn, then go see it for yourself, don't drag me down.

Feng Xiao returned a smile.

Truth be told, this smile wasn't scary. On the contrary, it was quite charming to begin with for people who have never seen Feng Xiao's real face before.

And so, Cui Buqu, Qiao Xian, and Jin Lian turned their gazes away in unison.

These were all carried out smoothly as if it was practiced.

Other people such as the guide, who didn't know the meaning behind Feng Xiao's smile, were bedazzled by it. He had even complimented how lucky Master Ye was to have managed to marry such a beautiful woman even though he looked chronically ill.

But after what had just happened, the guide wouldn't dare to look at someone else's wife. He simply wanted to carry on the journey and bring them across the street to the doors of a very well-hidden inn.

Two words greeted everyone's eyes: Yang's Inn.

Since Qiemo City was located in a very remote area, the dwellers there were also very odd people. The Yang's Inn was situated near a residential area with a food street and several more little stalls on its other side. Aside from the people who were pretending to wear Hanfus, there was no shortage of shops that sold non-local items. As night dawned, the food street bursted into life. The sound of crowds would come from the residential area as their children came out to play; there were also women who would urge their kids to return home for dinner, people fetching water from the well, those who had just finished work and was on their way home, as well as those who big each other greetings—a varying mix of energy. These were the reasons Qiemo city has become a legend in the plains of the deserts.

Those who were currently being hunted loved to live here; their motives were not difficult to understand—this place may not be as luxurious as large cities, but it offered all the basic necessities. The Sui Dynasty was far away, and so they were automatically given all the privileges that came with lawlessness. Even if they murdered someone here, they could escape being brought to justice. And thus, to them, Qiemo was a haven.

The strangest thing at present was that even though Yang's Inn had a strategist position in the city, it was very forlorn on the inside. The entire hall was empty and devoid of people.

Once the employees saw people stopping at their door, they immediately welcomed them in.

Qiao Xiao held the guide's shoulder and dragged him inside as well.

"My little lords and ladies, this way please. We still have a few luxurious rooms; how many of them would you like?" The employee asked, "I am also certain you are exhausted after an entire day of hurry; do you need some wine and food?"

Qian Xian nodded her head and went ahead to book a room and order some food.

The guide was as still as a needle, but once he saw that Qiao Xian had left, he immediately turned around with the intention to escape. However, as he stood up, a sharp sound whizzed past his ear—and he saw that a chopstick had pinned his pants against the wall only an inch away from his flesh.

He raised his head and turned around to see the woman in Han attire, Jin Lian.

"Where are you going?" Asked Jin Lian.

The guide: ...

His entire body was drenched in cold sweat; never had he thought that among these few people, even their women were par excellent!

Taking their abilities into consideration, why didn't they just go to the Futian Inn and rob someone, but were making a fuss to leave instead?

"N-n-n-no where!" The guide pulled a face that made him look even uglier compared to when he was crying, "I just feel a little numb at my knees, so I wanted to move a little!"

Cui Buqu asked, "Just now, you said this place was cursed. Why?"

The guide wiped off his sweat and immediately killed any desire of leaving, so he told them everything he knew.

The inn was cursed because it was haunted.

This was not a bad place to live if people were only planning to stay for a single day, because it didn't matter too much whether it was haunted or not.

But now, it was not quite right to say that this place was abandoned, because a little less than half of the hall was filled with people. However, when it was compared to other inns, inclusive of the Futian Inn that they have just left behind, this inn was getting a lot fewer customers.

In fact, as Cui Buqu scouted the area, he discovered that everyone was in a situation similar to them. Additionally, those who are here for the first time could not help feeling curious.

Those who came to this city often would never choose this place to live in.

Strictly speaking, the rumour of the haunted inn only began a year ago.

It had been a very long time, so the guide could not recall very well. He only remembers what happened in the beginning—the incident that happened in a well behind the inn.

A customer came to live in the inn who became drunk the very same night and vanished the next day. His friends and group of people couldn't find him, and at that time the Imperial Court had yet to send the magistrate. Having nowhere to report the case to, they could only assume that he had lost his senses when he was drunk and fell into the well.

Thereafter, people who lived here would hear some cries and wailings in the night that called for help. Some of them were even bold enough to follow the voice only to discover that it came from the bottom of the well. After the rumour became popular, the owner of the inn was forced to move the boulder away from the well and send someone down to search, only for them to find the corpse of the drunkard.

And then after that, the rumour of the haunted inn spread. Some people said that his friends stole from him then murdered him. That they threw his corpse into the well so he could not rest in peace. So he turned into a wandering spirit, but this was only the beginning.

Half a month after the corpse was found, another customer who lived in the inn went womanizing. In the end, he suddenly became mad and died on the prostitute's bed.

Another person lost his life simply because he ate from this inn before. When he returned home to take a shower, he was drowned alive.

The forth one was short lived. He simply drank too much and died in a tavern.

At this point, Jin Lian couldn't help saying: "If it's just the first and the second, then it could simply be a coincidence, but there's even a third and forth, this is too much!"

The guide said secretively: "It's not even the end! The fourth one that died bought his wine from this place!"

Jin Lain had nothing to say to that.

The guide continued: "Although fights happened every day in this city, and murder counts are high, it's not just a story that this inn is haunted. According to the rumours, every midnight, people who lived here could hear cries and wails speaking of how pitifully they died. In fact, one need only to live here for a day, and even if nothing happened to them, they would surely lose money from their business. It could range from losing half your fortune to completely losing all of your wealth! Speak for yourself, isn't this inn cursed?"

After Qiao Xian booked the rooms and ordered the food, she returned just in time to hear the second half of the conversation. "How did you know they lost money? Did you see it for yourself?"

The guide answered without doubt: "Everyone speaks about it, how can it be false?"

Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao exchanged glances and felt that there were more than meets the eye to these rumours here.

Losing money was a taboo to people who ran a business. And so, if they wanted to come to the Central Plains a thousand li away, burdened by the heavy costs of merchant groups that would range from three to five months or more if they were planning to travel further, they would rather pay a little more to sleep in places like the Futian Inn rather than come here to get the bad luck on themselves.

When the guide saw that they weren't convinced, he didn't say much since the one that would be having bad luck wasn't him. He definitely wanted to neither eat or spend time here, as it made him feel uneasy all around him.

Qiao Xian tossed a bag of silver to him and told him that his job was finished and that he could leave.

The guide didn't stop longer either; he nodded, took the money, and quickly left.

As they spoke, the servant brought the dishes.

The dishes were, of course, not as delicious as the ones from the capital. Even when compared to the City of Six Crafts, they looked a little dull. Thankfully, the employee was being quite nice and welcoming. Qiao Xian took a mantou and was prepared to put it into her mouth, but she caught sight of Feng Xiao making a disgusted face while he looked at his bowl of congee.

"Isn't there a clean bowl in this place?"

Qiao Xian couldn't refrain herself from ridiculing him: "Even when travelling out, you want to put up a show and flaunt your style?"

Feng Xiao did not pay her any attention. He instead tugged at Cui Buqu's sleeves and started speaking in a girly voice again: "My husband ~ your wife wants a new bowl, would you buy it for her?"

Cui Buqu was expressionless. He raised a bowl to his lips and took a sip. "No. Don't drink if it suits you."

Feng Xiao spoke as if he was undeserved: "Your wife knows that you wanted a concubine a long time ago, and you were still angry at me about it, but is your wife, I, not just concerned for your health? You are already not in a prime state of health, that you couldn't even satisfy me. How could you still get a concubine? Isn't this just asking for an early death? How can I, your wife, allow that?"

He hadn't spoken softly at all. It was loud enough for the customers from the adjacent table, drawing their gazes and attention as they looked at this couple: one who looked sickly, and one who looked as beautiful as a cherry blossom; they couldn't help feeling as if they suddenly understood something.

As the saying goes: women are like wolves when they are thirty, and like tigers when they are forty1. But how could this woman look so thirsty when she was only over twenty?!

Qiao Xian gritted her teeth, she couldn't help roillng her sleeves up and feeling like beating up somebody. However, she sat back down quietly after a glare from Cui Buqu.

Everyone saw the brother who almost wanted to hit his sister-in-law, an incredibly inappropriate gesture. Cui Buqu and his group were only by passers who wanted to stay for a night, they were not here to create a scene.

Feng Xiao was absolutely fearless because of precisely this fact.

He leaned onto Cui Buqu and gave him a rub, speaking in a tiny, squeaky voice: "My husband ~ your wife knows you want it, but your wife, that is me, is currently having her period. Just wait for two more days, and I will give you as many times as you want, okay?"

There was a loud ping!

Cui Buqu dropped the bowl heavily onto the table and told Qiao Xian: "Go. Buy him2 a new one."

Feng Xiao quickly said: "I also want a pair of chopsticks, a spoon, and I'm actually much more simpler when I'm travelling, so an oak one or a bamboo one would be suffice."

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[1] Women are like wolves when they are thirty, and like tigers when they are forty: I believe Feng Xiao used this phrase before, but I did not explain it. It sort of means that women get fiercely as they grow older—the young ones are naïve and tender, but the older ones are always cunning and sharp,

[2] Him: Another reminder that although Cui Buqu used the word 'him', male pronounce, in Han, him and her sounds the same in Han, so there is no way of telling that he was referring to Feng Xiao as a male.