Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

After settling their mules and horses, Old Master led the caravan hands into the Tongfu Inn.

Wang Chen was among them.

The inn's main hall was enormous, with four sturdy wooden pillars supporting the wide and long roof. There were over a dozen tables inside, and there was also a lofty second floor around the perimeter with many more tables.

Lanterns hung on the walls of the hall, lighting it up brightly, and the sound of voices was a lively bustle.

Merchants and travelers from north to south, hunters, and lone wanderers gathered here, drinking from large bowls and eating meat heartily, some whispering to each other, while others spoke loudly and laughed openly.

The moment Wang Chen stepped over the threshold, he was hit by a blast of hot air mixed with the smell of alcohol and the fragrance of meat.

Perhaps this was the scent of the Martial World!

Old Master skillfully found a spot for the caravan in a corner of the hall where a few tables were still vacant.

Then he called over a waiter from the inn.

"Master Sun, you're here! Was your journey smooth?"

The waiter obviously knew Old Master and greeted him warmly with a smile, saying, "We have fresh beef slaughtered tonight; would you gentlemen like to start with a few pounds to line your stomachs?"

"Then bring us thirty pounds of soy-braised beef to start!"

Old Master laughed heartily, "And three jars of rice wine, oh, and where is your boss lady?"

"The Shopkeeper is supervising in the back kitchen!"

The waiter winked at him, "We got too many customers today, the boss is too busy to keep up. You'll have to wait a bit for the soy-braised beef, but I'll bring the rice wine and some appetizers right over."

"That's fine."

Old Master waved grandly, "Go on with your work."

After sending off the waiter, Old Master turned to Wang Chen who was sitting beside him and said, "This Tongfu Inn has been open for a few years and has always done good business; it's quite safe to stay here."

As his voice fell, the curtain behind the counter upfront lifted, and a woman in a red dress gracefully appeared.

She appeared to be in her late twenties or just under thirty—the prime of a woman's beauty—with a melon seed face, phoenix eyes, a high-bridged nose, and fierce red lips. Her eyebrows expressed affection and her smile conveyed an indescribable charm!

At the precise moment the red-dressed woman appeared, the originally noisy main hall suddenly became quiet.

Pairs of fervent eyes focused on her.

"This is Manager Tong of the Tongfu Inn…"

Old Master whispered, lowering his voice, "Young brother, don't even think of entertaining any fantasies, alright?"

Wang Chen just smiled.

To run such a large inn in the middle of nowhere, thriving with business—one would need more than just luck, wouldn't they?

This Manager Tong may be beautiful, but she was probably like a rose with thorns.

Just by looking at the covetous yet wary eyes of those around, one could tell she was not someone to mess with!

Still, there were a few who couldn't understand their boundaries and gathered around the counter, grinning and chatting with the boss lady.

Manager Tong, however, was all smiles, attending to the customers without a hint of annoyance, deftly serving them while not letting them take any liberties.

At this time, the wine and appetizers for Wang Chen's table arrived.

Old Master personally poured a bowl of rice wine for Wang Chen and said with a chuckle, "The rice wine and soy-braised beef of Tongfu Inn are both exceptional. Every time I stop by here, I must drink a few bowls and have some meat to sleep comfortably. Young brother, you should try it."

"Thank you," Wang Chen replied.

He took a sip from the bowl—indeed, the taste of the rice wine was excellent.

The alcohol content was low, the taste was sweet and it didn't burn the throat. It felt warm and comfortable in his belly.

He drank two bowls in succession.

"Ah!"

Just then, a sudden scream attracted everyone's attention.

A man in plain clothes was seen rolling on the ground in front of the counter, clutching his broken left hand, howling in agony.

Manager Tong, standing behind the counter, frowned and said, "That's too ugly a shout. Someone come and throw this fellow out."

No sooner had she finished speaking than an inn attendant came over, grabbed the cloth-clad man off the ground,

and swiftly dragged him to the door and threw him out!

Bang!

Immediately, someone slammed down on a table and stood up, glaring at Manager Tong: "Tong Xiangyu, don't go too far!"

"Too far?"

Manager Tong's face darkened instantly. "Are those hands of his worthy of touching me? Pretending to be crazy because he's drunk, it's very kind of me not to have chopped off his hands already. Are you also looking to weigh in?"

The other party was instantly at a loss for words.

He knew all too well his brother's nature; a couple cups of rice liquor were enough to make him lose his senses.

But in full view of everyone, it was really hard for him to swallow being pointed at and cursed to his face.

"Who!"

The next moment, with a thunderous roar, a short, stocky man with a face full of horizontal flesh burst out from the kitchen, wielding two bone-chopping knives in his hands.

He glared with eyes as big as bronze bells and bellowed, "Who dares to touch my wife's hand, let's see if my knives agree!"

Everyone around was shocked to the point of earache and couldn't help but feel terrified.

The short stocky man, with a pair of knives in hand, exuded a vehement aura, his whole being radiating an invisible intent to kill.

The man he was glaring at immediately broke out in a sweat and couldn't help but tremble in his legs.

But he managed to stand his ground without backing down, hastily slapping a piece of silver on the table: "Keep the change."

Then he turned and ran towards the door.

The few people sitting with him quickly followed suit, not daring to linger a moment longer.

The stocky man "hmphed," scanning those around with fierce eyes, and there wasn't a single one who dared to meet his gaze.

"Darling, what are you doing!" Manager Tong came out from behind the counter, her voice tenderly protesting: "You've scared all the guests away, how am I supposed to manage you!"

Saying this, she grabbed the stocky man's ear.

"Ouch!"

The stocky man's face immediately showed a pained expression, his ferocity gone as Manager Tong twisted him back into the kitchen.

The tense atmosphere in the hall had dissipated quite a bit, as everyone continued to drink and chat, though the volume had significantly decreased.

Some people were at the Tongfu Inn for the first time and had just seen the innkeeper and his wife, finding this couple truly unique, with comments like "a flower stuck on a pile of manure" being whispered continuously.

Truthfully, in comparison to the charming Manager Tong, her husband was short, ugly, and rough—completely mismatched.

Old Master chuckled: "These people..."

Boom~

Right at this moment, the sound of thunder suddenly came from outside.

Then, one after another, incessantly, as if the whole world was about to collapse.

Clearly, a heavy rain was imminent.

Very soon, a gust of wind rushed into the inn from the entrance, bringing with it droplets of rain.

The inn's attendants scrambled to close the main door to keep the wind and rain from getting in.

Wang Chen's heart stirred, and he turned his head to look towards the entrance.

In this weather of stormy winds and rain, he heard a different noise, feeling that something else was about to happen.

And it was not going to be small!

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The first update is here.