The sun was setting in White Moon Town . About a hundred miles east of Heavenly Wind City , in a restaurant with the " Traveler's Pavilion " plaque hanging on the door, a lady shopkeeper was standing at the counter, crackling the abacus in her hand.
At her side, stood a short girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, holding an account book and a brush in her hand.
The girl wore a water-blue dress matching her clear and bright blue eyes. She carefully noted down on the account book according to what the lady shopkeeper said.
"The four guests at the second table in the east ordered a roasted chicken and three pots of Spring Wine. Take note."
"Hmm, one roasted chicken, three pots of Spring Wine, a total of 27 spirit stones."
"Two guests at the west third tables, one plate of fried beans, two pots of Farewell to This Life."
"Yes... noted..."
...
After finishing the accounts, the lady shopkeeper looked at the dusk outside the window. Seeing that it was already night, she suddenly remembered the rumors she had heard in the past few months about the "pervert thief".
In recent months, twelve or thirteen-year-old girls had repeatedly disappeared in the towns and villages around Heavenly Wind City . The Snow Guards had investigated for a long time but had not caught anyone.
The lady shopkeeper looked at the little girl holding the account book. "Girl, how about you stay away from here for a few days and go to live in Heavenly Wind City ?"
"Ah..." Xu Xiyue froze. She frowned, looking a little disappointed, and asked, "Is it because I didn't do it well or..."
"It's not that..." The lady shopkeeper patted her shoulder. "There have been rumors about the pervert thief recently. This White Moon Town is a remote place. I am worried that something will happen to you."
"But I'm not worried, so why should you be?"
"Your sister is busy with official duties and rarely comes back. There are no powerful cultivators in this town. What if the pervert thief comes here?"
"It's okay..."
---"Boss! Another pot of wine over here!"
When the shout came, Xu Xiyue pursed her lips and waved her hand in response. "Coming!"
Then, she put the account book on the counter and went to the backyard to tell the chef the names of the dishes.
The lady shopkeeper watched her helplessly. This girl had a sister who was the leader of the Snow Guard , but she had to come to her place to serve dishes and earn spirit stones to buy Gathering Spirit pills for cultivation.
She didn't know whether her sister was too stingy or she was prone to work and didn't want to rely on her.
Anyway, that pervert thief was really sick, actually targeting girls as young as twelve or thirteen.
The point was that he not only attacked but also kidnapped the girls. In the past few months, she heard from the drinkers that at least twenty little girls had been killed.
What were the Snow Guards of Heavenly Wind City doing? They couldn't even catch a stinky kidnapper.
"Sigh..."
The lady shopkeeper shook her head and didn't think about it anymore. Looking down, she started to count the bills again.
Tap tap---
Unfamiliar footsteps came from the door of the restaurant. The lady shopkeeper's ears twitched, and she was a little confused for a moment.
Because White Moon Town was a small town in the mountains and didn't have many specialties, it was rare for foreign cultivators to come over. Those who came to her place were basically familiar customers.
"Are you here to visit or to stay?"
As she greeted them, the lady shopkeeper looked up at the two people who entered the room, seeing a young man in white with a sword on his back and a girl wearing a bamboo hat with a red bird on her shoulder.
Ye Anping took a look at the interior decoration of the restaurant. It was exactly the same as the " Traveler's Pavilion " in his memory, even the wooden boxes piled in the corner and the names of the drinks matched.
However...
He didn't see Xu Xiyue in the store and was a little disappointed. After a pause, he walked to the counter and took out a small bag of spirit stones.
"We're staying at the inn. Two rooms."
The lady shopkeeper looked at the smile on his face that seemed like he had returned home and was a little confused. She glanced at the bag of spirit stones, then pretended to take a look in the account book from the side before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, sir... We're full. How about I recommend another inn?"
Ye Anping quickly said, "Then, can I pay extra and find some people staying at the inn to exchange for two rooms?"
"No, the rule of this inn is first come first served."
Ye Anping rarely had requirements for the place to stay, but...
After a pause, he lowered his head to look at the jade pendant on his waist, put it back into the storage bag, and took out another small bag of spirit stones.
"Boss, is this okay?"
As the jade pendant was placed into the storage bag, Ye Anping's Core Formation spiritual power instantly flowed out of his body, causing all the cultivators sitting on the first floor to close their mouths and stare quietly toward him.
Li Longling was also quite confused.
After they came out of the Commander's Mansion in Heavenly Wind City , Li Longling thought that Ye Anping would take her to stay somewhere in the city.
However, Ye Anping took the divine boat and brought her to this small town in the mountains. That was still fine, but now, he even took off the jade talisman that he'd been using to hide his cultivation level in order to stay at this inn.
What's so special about this place?
Could it be...
Li Longling quickly reached out and turned the head of the Fire Phoenix to stare at the lady shopkeeper...
She had heavy makeup and a curvaceous figure, and although she was not ugly, she had a smoky odor on her body. There was also a long-handled pipe hanging on her waist, which looked like a magic weapon...
Was she Xiyue?
Li Longling frowned and turned the Fire Phoenix's head back.
The lady shopkeeper was also shocked. She had the shop running for nearly forty years. Apart from Xu Xiyue's sister who would come to visit from time to time, the highest-level guest in her restaurant was only in the middle stage of Foundation Building .
Now that a Core Formation stage cultivator had come, she didn't even know how to receive him. "Master... this inn doesn't have proper conditions. I'm afraid you won't get used to living here."
"It doesn't matter. I'm not here for comfort. You have something that other places don't have."
Ye Anping smiled, glanced at the first floor again, and made an excuse. "I heard that your secret roasted chicken recipe is delicious, so I came here to try it."
Do Core Formation stage cultivators still need to eat?
The lady shopkeeper no longer dared to snub them. She hurriedly walked out from behind the counter and wanted to lead them to the private room on the third floor.
"Then, please, follow me. There are private rooms on the third floor..."
However, Ye Anping shook his head. "It's fine. We'll just sit on the first floor."
With that, he led Li Longling to an empty table on the first floor and sat down. When they saw him, the two cultivators at the second and third levels of Qi Refining sitting at the next table quickly moved their butts to pay the bill and leave.
After sitting down, Ye Anping took out the jade pendant again and hung it on his waist. "Boss, two roasted chickens and a pot of Wangchun wine."
Li Longling pouted, seeming dissatisfied that Ye Anping had brought her along when he came to see Xiyue and declined. "Master Ye, I don't want to eat."
"...Then, I'll eat two."
"Sigh..." Li Longling sighed lightly and propped up her cheek. Tilting her head, she asked, "So... that lady shopkeeper is your sweetheart?"
?
Ye Anping looked embarrassed and replied, "No..."
"Then, why do we have to stay here?"
Just as Li Longling asked this, the curtain leading to the backyard of the restaurant was pulled open by a small hand. Xu Xiyue came in from the backyard with a plate of roasted chicken in her left hand and put it on the table where the order had been placed.
"Freshly baked roasted chicken. Enjoy~"
She smiled, squinting her eyes, but suddenly found that the originally noisy restaurant seemed as if it had been swept by a cold wind, becoming much quieter. Even several loud drinkers no longer dared to compete in drinking.
Xu Xiyue glanced around the room. Sweeping over Ye Anping and the others, she saw the handsome young man in white looking at her tenderly.
She pursed her lips slightly, and not daring to make eye contact with Ye Anping anymore, she trotted to the counter.
"Boss... who are those two?"
The lady shopkeeper, covered in cold sweat, whispered. "A Core Formation stage cultivator who came to stay at our hotel and ordered roasted chicken. Be sure to be polite."
"A Core Formation stage cultivator?"
Xu Xiyue also frowned, wondering what a Core Formation stage cultivator was doing in their small mountain town, but she didn't ask more.
Seeing Ye Anping looking at her, she smiled shyly and bowed slightly toward him before running back to the kitchen to carry the plates.
After watching her run to the backyard, Ye Anping came back to his senses. It seemed that Li Longling had just asked him a question...
"Longling, what did you ask me just now?"
"...Ah--"
Li Longling sighed softly. It was the first time she saw Ye Anping distracted. Feeling somewhat reluctant, she curled her lips and replied, "Nothing. This is the first time I've seen you like this, Master Ye."
"..."
Ye Anping only realized after hearing this that he seemed a bit obsessed. Miss Xiyue, whom he had been thinking about for so many years, was just before his eyes. How could he not take a few more glances?
After a moment of silence, he pinched the bridge of his nose, suppressing the throbbing in his heart. "Sorry, after all... after so many years, there are still times when people feel emotional, and I am no exception. I used to think that I would die at the hands of a demonic cultivator named Wu You, but now looking back, I have come through it."
Li Longling let out a small smile. Although she didn't know what Ye Anping had experienced before, she expressed her understanding and nodded. "Why don't you tell me about that demonic cultivator named Wu You?"
"Well, the Magical Poison Sect's Grand Master traveled to the Western Region and encountered me and my sister, and then he met Sister Feng, and the three of us joined forces to kill him in Wuxi Town ."
"So..."
Ye Anping nodded, remembering the original plot of the game.
In fact, according to the original game plot, after being severely injured by Feng Yu Die, Wu You slaughtered the Hundred Lotus Sect to recover from his injuries and fled the Western Region .
His second encounter with Feng Yu Die was in the main storyline of Cold Country .
Wu You secretly captured boys and girls over ten years old near Heavenly Wind City and used them to make toxic parasites. Then, he was found by Feng Yu Die, who had come here.
With the help of the Heavenly Dao Scroll , Feng Yu Die found some clues and cooperated with Xu Mulan to break into Wu You's lair here, avenging the previous shame and taking the fragment of the Black Moon Routine from his storage bag.
However, this was the plot of the game.
Now, Wu You was no longer in this world, so his mission of capturing boys and girls should not exist at all.
It was for this reason that Ye Anping did not originally plan to come to Heavenly Wind City but wanted to go directly to Cold Moon City , the capital of the Cold Country .
"In short, he was burned to death by my sister with a stack of fire talismans, along with the toxic parasites in his storage bag."
Li Longling propped up her cheek, tilted her head, and praised him. "At that time, you were still in the Qi Refining stage, right? Three Qi Refining stage cultivators actually killed a Core Formation cultivator. This is truly amazing. It seems you have been very strong since you were a child."
"...You're too kind." Ye Anping smiled. "It was just a gamble. I wasn't sure I could kill him at that time."
Ye Anping stopped talking abruptly.
Carrying the roasted chicken and wine, Xu Xiyue lifted the kitchen curtain with her shoulder, looked at them, took a deep breath, and walked over with her chest and head held high.
"Please enjoy your meal, Seniors~"
"Hmm..."
Xu Xiyue pursed her lips and nodded to Ye Anping, but when she looked up, she saw him staring at her and felt a little nervous.
Why is he staring at me?
Is there something on my face?
Xu Xiyue was a little nervous but didn't dare to ask. After thinking for a while, she whispered. "Senior, if you need anything, just call me."
"...Good." Ye Anping nodded slightly. Seeing her turn around and prepare to continue serving the dishes, he said, "Come to think of it, you look familiar..."
---Huh?
Xu Xiyue turned her head to look back, then replied with a bow, "I think you must have remembered wrong. I've lived in White Moon Town since I was a child, and you don't look like a cultivator from around here..."
Li Longling, sitting opposite, heard Ye Anping talking to her and slightly frowned. She raised her hand to turn Ah Feng's head again, "click-click-click" toward the girl carrying the plate.
?
She was a pretty little girl, but her cultivation was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining , and her hair was tied into two buns, which meant she was not yet of marriageable age...
Hiss--
Could she be Xiyue?
Li Longling said nothing and frowned, not wanting to believe it. But in the next moment, she heard Ye Anping ask, "Is your last name Xu?"
Xu Xiyue was slightly surprised. She tilted her head and asked, "Do you know my mother?"
?
"Err..."
Ye Anping froze. Could it be that she thought he was a cultivator who lived for eighty or ninety years? He felt a little depressed and explained himself. "Indeed. Earlier today, I met Commander Xu of Heavenly Wind City Snow Guard . When I first saw you, I felt that you and Commander Xu were very similar. Are you her... daughter?"
"Do I look like my sister?"
Xu Xiyue frowned and whispered to herself, but soon came back to her senses and answered with a bow. "To answer your question, my name is Xu Xiyue. Commander Xu of the Snow Guard of Heavenly Wind City is my biological sister."
"So that's how it is..."
Xu Xiyue's anxiety was slightly relieved. Since he was someone her sister knew, he shouldn't be a bad person.
Or so she thought...