Chapter 48

"Old man, what’s the meaning of us sitting here drinking and eating peanuts?"

In an ancient and simple tavern, Jiang Han and Old Yun sat face to face. He popped a peanut into his mouth and spoke in a low voice.

"Don’t you think the wine and peanuts here are quite good? They have a great flavor!" Old Yun took a sip of wine, then ate a few peanuts, looking very relaxed.

"Hey, are you mistaken? We didn’t come here to drink and eat peanuts, did we? What about the promised tour of the imperial palace?" Jiang Han was exasperated, suspecting that Old Yun might have dementia and couldn’t remember things clearly.

Old Yun’s hand paused as he held a peanut, then he turned to look at Jiang Han with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. "It seems you’re quite anxious?"

"Am I?" Jiang Han was taken aback, then shrugged. "I just want to see what kind of person that cheap father is."

"Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed." Old Yun popped a peanut into his mouth and chuckled.

"Maybe." Jiang Han raised an eyebrow.

Not knowing what Old Yun was up to, Jiang Han didn’t say anything more and started eating peanuts and drinking wine with interest.

It had to be said, the wine in this tavern was fragrant and mellow, with a strong rustic flavor. The peanuts were also very crispy and left a lingering aroma in the mouth, quite a delightful experience.

However, it was puzzling why the tavern was so deserted. The tavern wasn’t small, capable of accommodating over a hundred people, but now only about five or six people were eating and drinking, which left Jiang Han very confused.

"Another plate of peanuts!" Jiang Han called out loudly.

"Coming, coming!" The owner quickly brought a plate of peanuts over. "Here’s your peanuts."

"Hey, owner, why are you doing everything yourself today? Where are the waiters?" Old Yun suddenly asked, sounding puzzled.

The owner was an elderly man, already with white hair, but still looked robust and not old and feeble. Hearing Old Yun’s question, the owner sighed, his voice filled with helplessness and hidden anger.

"Alas, there’s no choice. The waiters have all been forced to leave. I estimate that in a few days, this tavern will have to close down!"

"What’s going on?" Jiang Han asked from the side. "Competition between taverns?"

"If it were competition between taverns, I would accept it, but it’s precisely..." The tavern owner’s face was full of anger, his voice filled with fury.

"Cough!" A light cough came from another table, and the tavern owner’s expression changed instantly. He hastily stopped speaking, his face showing fear.

Jiang Han and Old Yun almost simultaneously frowned. Any discerning person could see that the tavern owner was being threatened.

"Owner, continue. What is it that you can’t accept?" Jiang Han deliberately feigned ignorance and asked loudly.

"Customers, please don’t ask. It’s none of your business." The tavern owner smiled bitterly and was about to leave with the plate.

"Hey!" Jiang Han reached out and grabbed the tavern owner’s clothes. "I’m the kind of person who likes to meddle in other people’s affairs. It seems you’re being threatened. Tell me, maybe I can help."

"Some matters are not for just anyone to meddle in. Be careful, or you might end up in trouble yourself!" A sinister voice came from one of the "customers," filled with undisguised threats.

"Customers, I won’t do business today! Please, just leave!" The tavern owner’s face turned panicked, and he directly addressed Jiang Han and Old Yun, his voice filled with pleading.

"You... do you remember me?" At this moment, Old Yun spoke, his voice calm but heard by everyone.

The tavern owner was taken aback, turned to look at Old Yun carefully, and after a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up. His voice was excited and trembling. "Yes, it’s you... You’ve come to my humble tavern again after so many years..."

Old Yun’s face showed a gentle smile, and he nodded. "It seems you still remember me. The young man back then is now white-haired, and now we look about the same! Hahaha!"

"Old man, what are you laughing about? Don’t you know it’s noisy?" A cold, sinister voice came from another table, and Old Yun’s face instantly turned cold.

"Shut up!" Old Yun coldly waved his hand, and an invisible force struck the person who spoke, making him spit blood and fly backward. "Go back and tell your master to come see me."

All the other customers, except for Jiang Han and Old Yun, suddenly stood up, looking at Old Yun with panic. One of them, though outwardly fierce, inwardly fearful, shouted, "Do you know who my young master is..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish, the man was suddenly thrown backward, spitting blood, and then fell limp.

"Is there anyone else who wants to say something?" Old Yun looked at everyone calmly.

Too ruthless!

This was the common thought of the remaining few. They were all martial artists and could see that the two who were hit would be crippled, if not completely, for the rest of their lives, with no hope of further cultivation!

Daring not to say more, the few people didn’t even bother to check on their fallen companions and ran away as fast as they could, quickly leaving.

"This..." The tavern owner was dumbfounded, seeing these powerful figures, who were knocked out by Old Yun with two slaps, and the rest fleeing in panic, leaving him in a daze.

However, his face soon turned panicked, and he ran to close the door, then urgently said to Old Yun, "You should leave quickly. That person has a high status. Now that you’ve hit his subordinates, he will come soon!"

"No problem." Old Yun’s expression softened, and he smiled, waving his hand. "But you, how did you get involved with the powerful?"

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade Old Yun, and recalling Old Yun’s earlier actions, the tavern owner sighed and didn’t try to persuade him further. He knew that Old Yun was not from the same world as him.

Decades ago, Old Yun had come to the tavern. At that time, he was still in his prime, while Old Yun already looked like this. So many years had passed, and he was now white-haired, but Old Yun hadn’t changed at all. His robust physique was actually due to a pill that Old Yun had given him to strengthen his body.

Hearing Old Yun’s question, the tavern owner’s face immediately turned gloomy.

"Without hiding anything from the two of you, this old man has a granddaughter..."

"Spit!" Jiang Han sprayed out a mouthful of wine. Seeing that Old Yun and the tavern owner were looking at him with confusion, he hurriedly waved his hands, saying, "Nothing, nothing, I choked. Go on."

My goodness, Cao Cao! Another such cliché plot?

Jiang Han had already guessed what the tavern owner was going to say. It was probably that a young master from a powerful family had taken a fancy to his granddaughter and wanted to take her as a concubine. His granddaughter refused, so the young master sent people to cause trouble in the tavern, forcing her to comply.

Sure enough, the tavern owner nodded and continued, though it was slightly different from what Jiang Han had guessed.

"My granddaughter showed a talent for martial arts from a young age. Although I don’t have much money, I’ve saved enough over the years to provide her with the necessary resources for cultivation. Later, she was fortunate enough to be accepted by a sect and became a disciple." The tavern owner sounded proud.

"Later, when she came to visit me, she was spotted by that person, who wanted to take my granddaughter as a concubine. My granddaughter naturally refused, and I was a thousand times against it! Everyone knows that being a concubine is like sentencing oneself to a life of misery. How could I bear to let my granddaughter fall into such a trap? That person wouldn’t give up and sent people to guard my tavern every day, driving away many customers over time."

"Finally, my granddaughter took advantage of the guards’ inattention and secretly left, but that person still wouldn’t give up and deliberately spread threats to my granddaughter. Alas, I’m old and don’t have much time left. I might as well die! I just hope that my poor granddaughter never comes back!" The tavern owner’s face was dark, and he looked bitter.

"What do you plan to do next?" After listening, Jiang Han asked.

"What can I do?" The tavern owner sighed. "I can only take one step at a time."

"Don’t worry, with this old man here, you’ll be fine!" Jiang Han patted the tavern owner’s shoulder in a comforting manner.

At that moment, the tavern door was kicked open, accompanied by a cold laugh.

"I, the young master, have arrived! Who was the high-level expert who just hit my subordinates?"