Chapter 2

The inn was filled with a light hum of noise.

On the first floor of the two-story courtyard-style inn, various people could be seen: those having dinner, men drinking, and others fiddling with tiles at a corner table. Amidst them, a plump middle-aged man, who seemed to be the innkeeper, bustled about carrying bowls of noodles, bottles of alcohol, and snacks.

At that moment, a man wearing a straw hat entered the inn by lifting the curtain.

He was a stranger. People eating noodles and drinking alcohol glanced at him furtively. Given that he was carrying a sword, he was likely a martial artist, but in the New Continent, where everyone from dogs to cows claimed to be martial artists, it wasn't particularly unusual.

The man walked in with heavy steps and stopped when he felt the gazes. The innkeeper approached him, wiping his hands on a towel tied around his waist.

"You're a stranger, aren't you? Welcome, please come in."

The man slightly lifted the straw hat he was wearing and looked at the innkeeper. The innkeeper, looking into the man's eyes visible below the hat, continued.

"Are you here to stay?"

"Also for a meal."

The innkeeper nodded.

"Ten coins."

Without a word, the man took ten coins from his pocket and handed them over. The innkeeper accepted them and walked to the kitchen, saying,

"Please take a seat. I'll bring you a bowl of noodles right away."

The man walked to a corner of the inn, pulled out his sword from its scabbard and placed it beside the table, then took off his straw hat.

As he didn't seem to be causing any trouble, the inn, which had become a bit quieter, started to get noisy again.

The man, Zhang Jian, sat with his hands on the table, slowly surveying the people in the inn.

Most of the people in the inn, which also served as a restaurant, were from the local village or nearby farmers. Of course, there were a few who had swords or knives placed beside their tables, but there were only about five of them. In the cities and towns along the western coast, there were more people claiming to be martial artists than ordinary civilians, but this area was a bit removed from that. There were more farmers than swordsmen.

So, even the few swordsmen present looked like they had just equipped themselves with blades for self-defense.

Despite the many customers, it seemed the innkeeper was the only one working. There were no waiters, and the innkeeper didn't have a wife or children to help.

Zhang Jian thought that in such a situation, it would take some time to prepare a bowl of noodles.

"Damn it! You little brat! You cheated just now, didn't you?"

"What? Cheat? You didn't even think about your own crippled fingers, did you?"

At that moment, the voices of the men fiddling with tiles in a corner of the inn grew louder. One man suddenly stood up, facing the back of the man who was sitting with his back to Zhang Jian, and accused him of cheating. The two then stood up and started a verbal altercation, threatening to kill each other.

The people in the inn, used to such scenes, gently shook their heads or chuckled while drinking. Even the innkeeper, who had heard the commotion, only peeked out from behind the kitchen curtain, smiled, and went back inside. No one looked tense or anxious, so it seemed they would just end up cursing at each other.

However, Zhang Jian's eyes were fixed on them, specifically from the moment he heard the voice of the man standing with his back to him.

"Damn it! Then it means you win all day and I lose, right?"

"Well, that's your problem with your fingers. Everyone else won a lot, didn't they?"

"You little brat?"

The man accusing the other of cheating finally couldn't contain his anger and pushed him with both hands. The other, who had been mocking him, stumbled back a few steps and growled.

"What? You really want to fight?"

"Yeah, you little brat! I've been taking it all this time, but do you think I'm a fool?"

In the end, the two grabbed each other by the collars and shook each other roughly, spewing incomprehensible curses. Zhang Jian, who had been watching the commotion, finally saw the face of the man whose back he had been seeing.

A light smile appeared on his lips.

"You're here, huh."

Zhang Jian muttered to himself, then watched the two men struggle for a moment before getting up and walking towards them. Even as he approached, the two men were still spitting curses at each other. The other people at the table were just laughing, not trying to stop them.

"Hey."

The two men, who had been causing a commotion, turned their heads at the sound of Zhang Jian's voice. The man accusing the other of cheating looked at Zhang Jian with a "Who are you?" expression, but the other man turned pale in shock.

"What?"

The man accusing the other of cheating asked, but Zhang Jian shook his head.

"Not you."

The man who had turned pale looked around nervously, then said weakly,

"Brother Zhang, you're here?"

"Yeah. It's been two months. How have you been?"

The man, letting go of the other's collar, took a step back. The other, looking confused, also released his grip.

"I've been fine. How about you, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Jian shook his head with a smile.

"I haven't been doing well. How come everyone in your gang says they've been doing well?"

"…Have you found the others?"

"Yeah, you're the last one."

The man took another step back.

"Well, …actually, I, I told them not to do it. Right? Is it even reasonable to try to scam martial artists with tiles? If we got caught, we'd be killed, right?"

"But you guys did it anyway."

The man, hearing Zhang Jian's response, stared at him blankly, then laughed and suddenly turned to run. However, as he turned, he felt a rough hand grab the back of his head and slam it onto the table where the tiles were laid out.

"Ouch!"

The man's forehead hit the table, causing the tiles and coins to scatter. The people nearby were so startled that they took a step back. The man, with his face pressed into the table, writhed in pain, trying to escape Zhang Jian's grip, but the hand holding his head was as immovable as a rock.

"I, I really told them not to do it! And you, Brother Zhang, were the one who sat there and let all the money be taken! We didn't even think about stopping you when you got up! Really! Please, let me go!"

Zhang Jian, without a word, grabbed the man's left hand and placed it on the table, pulling out the hidden tiles from his sleeve. He then leaned in close and whispered in the man's ear,

"Does that make the cheating in the gambling ring disappear? Stop bullshitting and where's my money, Yang Hong?"

Yang Hong, seeing the gleaming eyes of Zhang Jian, swallowed hard and replied,

"…Well, I, I paid it as a bounty to the Martial Alliance."

"What the hell? You paid it as a bounty?"

Yang Hong, trembling at Zhang Jian's angry face, said,

"Well, there's a Martial Alliance branch here, what could I do? I had to eat when I came to the inn, right…"

Zhang Jian grabbed Yang Hong's head from the table and held him by the collar.

"So you don't have a single coin left?"

"…No, I do, but I have something else… Maybe…"

Yang Hong pointed to the coins on the table. Seeing this, Zhang Jian pushed him aside and walked to the seat where he had been sitting, starting to collect the coins.

The man who had been cursing Yang Hong as a cheat, the others who had been gambling with him, and the other customers in the inn all watched in shock. It seemed that Yang Hong had been caught after cheating in a gambling ring, but even considering that, Zhang Jian's actions were quite bold.

"Hey, wait a minute! Stop!"

The man who had been cursing Yang Hong regained his senses and shouted at Zhang Jian.

"Stop! That's all the money you cheated! That's my money!"

Zhang Jian glanced at the man and continued collecting the coins, saying,

"That's not my responsibility. You can get it back from him later."

"What, what the hell?"

The man, hearing Zhang Jian's response, his face flushed with anger, reached out with both hands, apparently intending to push him away.

However, as the man tried to push Zhang Jian, Zhang Jian grabbed his hands, pulled him, and stepped aside.

"Ouch!"

The man, pulled forward, fell and rolled on the ground. Without any martial arts training, he ended up face-planting on the floor. Zhang Jian, ignoring whether the man's face was scratched, went back to the table and collected Yang Hong's coins.

After collecting all the coins, Zhang Jian put them in his pocket, turned around, and grabbed Yang Hong by the collar again.

"Hey, what, what are you doing, Brother Zhang!"

"What, you little brat. You're still short, aren't you?"

"…But, I don't have anything left now…"

Yang Hong, smiling weakly, showed his empty hands, as if to say, "I really don't have anything left. If you don't believe me, search me."

Just as Zhang Jian was thinking about stripping the guy's clothes off,

"You, you little brat!"

The man who had fallen to the ground, holding his nose, stood up and glared at Zhang Jian. Blood was streaming from his nose.

"You bastard! You did this to my nose? You're dead!"

Zhang Jian, seeing his ugly face, awkwardly cleared his throat and said,

"I'm sorry for hurting you. But I lost a lot of money to this guy…"

Zhang Jian trailed off. The man, who had looked ready to attack, had already run out of the inn. Zhang Jian, watching the man's retreating back in disbelief, chuckled and turned back to Yang Hong.

"What's wrong with that guy?"

"…Well, …his name is Jin Yangshuo…"

Zhang Jian shook his head, interrupting Yang Hong.

"Never mind. What are you going to do?"

"Wh, what do you mean?"

Zhang Jian's grip on Yang Hong's collar tightened.

"Are you going to give me my money, or are you going to let me destroy your dantian?"

At these words, Yang Hong's left eye and hands trembled.

"…What, what use would it be to scatter my meager cultivation for you, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Jian, showing no sympathy for the pitiful trembling voice, silently extended his left fist, hard as stone, in front of Yang Hong's face.

Yang Hong, alternately looking at the fist and Zhang Jian's eyes, finally sighed deeply, hung his head, and said,

"…Then, let me go for a moment. I have something in my pocket."

Zhang Jian released his grip, and Yang Hong loosened his shirt a bit, tearing a corner of his shirt to reveal a small bundle of cloth hidden inside. He slowly unwrapped the cloth and showed a small jade ring.

He sighed again, looking at the jade ring, and handed it to Zhang Jian.

"…Well, what is it? I got it in Xincheng. It's real jade, so if you find the right buyer, it should be worth a lot."

Zhang Jian took it, examined it for a moment, and put it in his pocket. Yang Hong, watching Zhang Jian's reaction, asked,

"…Well, is that enough?"

"Yeah, that should be enough."

Zhang Jian smiled, and Yang Hong awkwardly followed suit. Zhang Jian then turned to look at the innkeeper, who had come out of the kitchen, seemingly bewildered by the scene. Ignoring the incredulous looks from the other customers, he asked the innkeeper calmly,

"When will my noodles be ready?"